With only paper champions defending the idea of India, the party must self-reflect critically to understand its plight
With only paper champions defending the idea of India, the party must self-reflect critically to understand its plight
On the eve of 75th year of India’s independence, we the people of India are groaning against the poison of Hindutva and the rudderless opposition. Collectively, these two factors are overshadowing the destruction of India’s political liberalism. like there is little hope for constitutional values May you have all religions: (Equal respect for all religions under the law), and equal treatment for all citizens. Unfortunately, we are in a position where India can turn into a Hindu Pakistan, as desired by the assassins of Mohandas Gandhi.
political development
The founding figures of India understood the importance of religious diversity. Swami Vivekananda, the patron saint of Indian youth, argued for the need for religious diversity. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army worked continuously with all religions to defeat the British. Bose’s closest allies were Muslims. The experience of the freedom struggle was rooted in the constitutional idea of India, which was created by Maulana Azad, Jawaharlal Nehru, BR Ambedkar, Sardar Patel, among many other stalwarts.
The legacy of the freedom struggle was the fundamental reason why India surprised the world by turning it into a resilient democracy with abundant poverty, with civilian control over the military. The Congress party under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi was largely built on these foundations. This led not only to a rapidly growing and globalizing India but also to consolidated citizenship rights and welfare. During the first decade of the new millennium, India’s development surpassed that of China, while historical financial and human investments were made to redistribute that wealth. These remarkable achievements have been forgotten today.
India’s Congress problem
Today we find only paper supporters defending that idea of India. The once mighty Congress party, the armour of the Indian nationalist movement, is in such a state of disarray that even the opposition parties consider it a liability. How is it that the party which ruled India for almost 60 years has been reduced to a farce? In order to understand and develop this situation, the party must introspect critically on four main factors.
First, the Congress party has a leadership problem. It has a lot to do with the people who take over the reins of the party in the name of the Gandhi family. Sonia Gandhi’s managers such as Ahmed Patel, Motilal Vora, Janardan Dwivedi, Oscar Fernandes and Ambika Soni were politically grounded, and were well versed in real politics.
Rahul Gandhi, on the other hand, wanted to play the role of a democrat within the party, experimenting with the youth and student wing of the party. Still, he ironically replicates his mother’s and grandmother’s high command model with the difference that his team is politically inept and rudderless. KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Ajay Maken and Randeep Surjewala do not have the political skills of Digvijay Singh or Ashok Gehlot. None of these and other advisors have respected the art of winning elections.
So unexpectedly, a report headed by former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan recommending radical reforms was summarily dumped in the dustbin of history by loyalists. A similar fate may be seen in the recent recommendations made at the Chintan Shivir (Reflection Conference) held in Udaipur earlier this year (May 13-15, 2022). Former Delhi chief minister, late Sheila Dikshit’s son, Sandeep Dikshit, was also not invited to the conference, among other important people. It is mind-boggling that the Congress party will refuse to introspect after horrific political losses.
Second, while experimentation with political strategy is healthy, ideological confusion is not. Today’s Congress high command is swinging between extreme right (tampering with soft Hindutva) and extreme left (tampering with radical anti-incumbency ideas). The right-wing leadership matches Hindutva, by visiting temples, unfurling the sacred thread, and softening on issues such as the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, dilution of Article 370 and several attacks on minorities. Such nature of the three Gandhis must have made Jawaharlal Nehru sad.
On the other hand, the Left faction of the Congress wants to create an anti-corporate and ideologically pure Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) type cadre, without lusting for political power (by 2029 or 2034). It is this faction that has persuaded the leadership to distrust power-hungry Congress leaders, and replace them with outsiders like Kanhaiya Kumar, Jignesh Mevani, Alpesh Thakor, Hardik Patel, Nana Patole, Revanth Reddy, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Siddaramaiah. has included. e.t.c.
A clear political narrative will require a new Congress leader who can build a consensus out of this maze. It would take intellectual sophistication to weave such a leader with a pro-poor, secular and liberal outlook. Given that India has a young population, this leader will also need to be young and energetic.
Third, successful political leadership demands a combination of charisma and shrewd political management. The charismatic leader can attract the crowd while the political manager strategizes the elections, operates the government machinery, and ensures adherence to the party’s ideological agenda.
Nehru had a Sardar Patel to work with. While Nehru articulated the idea of India, Patel ran the party. This model was replicated under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, which was led by Dr. Manmohan Singh, while Ahmed Patel managed the party. The same can be said about the political success of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.
Even though Rahul Gandhi has declined the Congress president’s throne since 2019, his team called the shots at his behest. That is why in the eyes of the public, he and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have brought the party to the ground. The party was absent from almost all major protests on issues such as the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the National Register of Citizens, farmers’ protests, or the Agneepath scheme for the armed forces. In contrast, the Congress chose to oppose the inquiry of Rahul Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate in the alleged National Herald scam.
And, finally, the deep ties of the Congress within the state and society are broken. The party once commanded a vast network with administration, media, civil society and even foreign governments. It can raise enough money. This infrastructure was a resource that the party could leverage to support the less affluent parties in the coalition. If it cannot fulfill all these why should the opposition parties work with the Congress? Yet, the team led by Rahul Gandhi has failed to strengthen old bonds and forge new ones. This is the reason why the sphere of influence of Congress is shrinking rapidly.
Future
The multi-million dollar question is where will Congress go? Will the party continue with its internal elections to be held in September 2022 until a Gandhi is re-appointed as President? Or, will it delay the election once again in the hope that Rahul Gandhi will change his mind? India couple Travel (now from September)? In that case, Gandhi, like Bahadur Shah Zafar and his sons, may be the last Mughal of the Congress. However, he still has time to invest in the right persons so that the Congress party can grow. It is the best service that Gandhi can do to the party, and to preserve what is precious in India’s civilizational journey.
Rahul Mukherjee is Professor and President of the Modern Politics of South Asia, South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University, Germany.