Independence Day- Musings
Great crisis produce great men and great deeds of courage.
- John F Kennedy
So, if Kashmir was a challenge, if not a crisis for India – it has produced two ‘great men’ – Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Without doubt, every soldier of BJP today feels proud of their leaders as they took a most decisive step in country’s political journey in last seven decades.
This fear is not new. In the 1990s, when Indian politics had entered an era of coalition regimes, veteran BJP leader L.K. Advani, a former deputy prime minister, had floated the idea of a presidential form of government. Advani said the Indian constitution required a “fresh look.”
The abrogation of Article 370, enacting Uniform Civil Code and a grand Temple at Ayodhya were three principal yet contentious promises made by the BJP in electoral politics. Now, one of them has been implemented ! In terms of election promise - it has been fulfilled.
To make things clear, I must admit that abrogation of the Article 370 does make me happy. That is of course a vital step; but what is most admirable is that the development-starved Ladakh region has been given Union Territory status.
This will help the Ladakhis and give them the fruits of development.
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| Blogger in corridors of Democracy's Temple |
In some other context, I have said earlier that one area the Modi government’s role remain far from satisfactory is - the absence of steps to be taken to dispel notion that India is heading towards majoritism.
Should the ruling regime remain inclusive remains a question! And Prime Minister himself seems to be not doing enough on this to eradicate the 'perception' that fundamentalism has been let loose in this country. I am saying this despite a firm belief that a section of 'self serving' intellectuals and the ‘sickular media and polity’ will never understand the genuine assertiveness of the majority community.
The Hindus are angry about 'minority appeasement' and the Modi-Amit Shah duo is smartly using this anguish no doubt.
Let us go back to Jammu and Kashmir and the new roadmap unveiled by Prime Minister in his address to the nation on August 8, 2019.
Prime Minister has linked the fresh initiatives in Jammu and Kashmir with his ‘New India’ vision and said the new measures are actually a step towards making of a ‘New J&K’ and New hope, and that fresh opportunities are awaiting people.
I agree with the Prime Minister that over the last several decades nobody could properly explain the benefits of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and why it was sought to be seen as a permanent measure. It is a matter of national agony that 42,000 innocent lives had been lost due to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir – which were inspired and aided by Pakistan; and had taken roots under the so called special status provision.
There are also merits in the argument that the Article 370 only encouraged dynastic rules in Jammu and Kashmir for Abdullahs and Mufti family over the decades. These had prevented the local youth and the village people from taking up leadership roles.
Here it will be relevant to quote Prime Minister Modi. "All our brothers and sisters who believe in the Constitution of India have full rights to lead a good life. To realize their dreams is the duty of each and every Indian,’’ the Prime Minister has said expressing confidence that separatism and terror need to be defeated by the local people.
That way; I am optimistic that the so called militancy problem or terrorism has been given a fight thought it could be erroneous and also too early to say that the menace is on the last leg in Jammu and Kashmir.
As someone brought up in wilds of Nagaland, I know many facets of ‘militancy’ and ‘separatism’. Essentially, these can flourish only when people feel disconnected from the power structures.
Therefore, there is a debate whether the Article 370 has really strengthened the ‘separatist tendencies’ or brought people closer to the national mainstream.
The history and statistics vis-a-vis Jammu and Kashmir tell a different story. Thus, the near conviction statement - the special constitutional provision has failed.
The original purpose was to encourage devolution of power, but in reality the Article 370 and even the Article 35 (A) were misused. While a few families thrived and years after years – the village level polls and panchayat elections were boycotted, and this resulted in ‘centralisation’ of power with valley based leaders and families.
I need not be wrong if I say – time is up for such politics where there was no space for Ladakhis and even for poor and downtrodden tribals in Jammu region.
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| Modi's campaign line: Bong Style |
It would be crucial to note that the Modi-Shah duo took immense risk in Jammu and Kashmir. Aided by Ajit Doval's experience in handling the security apparatus in a rather hawkish style, the PM-HM decision making system has banked a lot on presumption that the reactions to abrogation of the Article 370 would be handled well and not blow up beyond expected proportion.
One analysis suggests, PM Modi has been successful so far in Jammu and Kashmir as while preparing the ground for revoking Article 370, the centre had taken steps 'choking' the flow of money to the radical camps. This is where perhaps the demonetisation was a success and so was sudden harsh steps taken by the government against many Jammu and Kashmir leaders.
The hawkish temperament seems to have helped the Modi-Shah-Doval trio.
Looking back, the election results endorsed PM Modi’s style of governance and showed how ineffective the Congress’ attempts have been to project him as a 'corrupt' were. 'Chowkidar chor hae' slogan has simply boomeranged on Rahul Gandhi.
However, the election results have pushed Indian political history to a turning point.
Modi has shown time and again how he abhors Nehruvian politics and revocation of the Article 370 is certainly one such step to prove Modi's hatred for the Congress party and to country's first Prime Minister.
Little to add that since the British left, politics has mainly centered around the Congress, who ruled the country for a total 52 years with the odd interval.
That dominance waned in 2014 and the Congress strength came down below 50. In 2019, Modi's win virtually decimated the Congress further though number of seats in Lok Sabha crossed the 50 marks.
The BJP and its ideological guide RSS leadership is thus at the centre of everything that is happening in India today.
At the centre of all these - stands Modi - a man who made a synthesis of Hindu ideology and development. And it perhaps still sells even as overall job scenario has hardly improved from what was in 2014. To a large section of Indians it has only worsened.
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| Muslim Congress workers in Varanasi: 2019 Polls |
Well, the decimation of the Congress suggests the total collapse of a political system that had thrived since Indian independence in 1947.
It had demerits and there were some mistakes. Now whether the country has able to correct the mistakes or the story is something else - only time will tell.
“We were wrong. We were wrong in supporting ......A little being of own power, a few slogans which might have been initiated by a genuine desire for reform and change….”
The detractors of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be too glad to read these lines. Incidentally these lines are not mine and more interestingly, these lines are not about Narendra Modi. Now this is sheer coincident. History, truly, has a depressing habit of repeating itself especially in a democracy. These lines were penned decades back by Raj Thapar, a close friend of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 18 August, 1974, in her diary.
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