Why new found 'Majoritarianism' is okay for 'tolerant Hindus' ? 'Gujarat Model' could be an answer --- because States ruled by 'secularists' Left kept Muslims under-developed and socialists in UP kept caste angles boiling

(India is marching fast towards an epoch-making general Election -- that will inspire many a book -- non-fiction and even fiction. One has heard that "these are the stuff" journalists and historians and even playwrights and possibly film-makers itch to lay their hands.) 

 The Hindus no longer want to be told that on a expressway, they should drive slow - of course figuratively. They should drive slow because they are the Majority. The minorities and especially the erstwhile rulers' votebank Muslims can drive full steam and attain their milestones; but Hindus should drive slow so that minorities who are driving fast are not hurt !

In other words, Indian Secularism - we call as SICKULARSM - was one kind of Fundamentalism. It gave more rights to minorities -- sometimes in writing but mostly in practice. 

It left Hindus frustrated !!

Can you judge the audacity when as Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh said the minorities have the "first right" to national resources ? 

No doubt, a few years later after this statement from the Congress Prime Minister; the A K Antony-panel found that people considered Congress as an anti-Hindu party. In contrast, Hindus and even others had the 'Gujarat Model' on the table.  It is a truism that Development and Democracy have rarely been good associates, particularly in the context of transitional societies. The so-called 'Gujarat Model' under Narendra Modi showed that a determined assault on obstacles to economic growth through investment, infra developments and effective and accountable leadership can generate sustained growth.  

To the contrary on what was going around in Gujarat under a pro-Hindutva leader Modi; in regions and states ruled by casteists Lalu Yadav or Mulayam Singh Yadav and the communists in West Bengal - people had many stories of sufferings and caste and religious conflicts. Goondaism thrived in Bengal under Marxist doyen Jyoti Basu and it has survived even in 2023-24 - more than a decade after the communists were shown the door.

The Sachar Committee report at the instance of Manmohan Singh government showed the plight of the Muslims. Ironic that even Modi could claim that Muslims in his state were better off despite post-Godhra mayhem !  

The committee was composed of seven members. The committee was headed by Rajinder Sachar, former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. The other members of the committee were Sayyid Hamid, M.A. Basith, Akhtar Majeed, Abu Saleh Shariff, T.K. Oommen and Rakesh Basant. 

The decline of Bihar was aptly described in the words 'Jungle Raj' and Lalu was one of the tallest 'secular' (read Sickular) leaders who also aligned with the Congress at the national level in the nineties itself. 

Now in circa 2024 into the election season, the main talking point for Narendra Modi or the BJP has been the agenda for 'Hindu reawakening, including the inauguration of the grand Ram temple on the site of a 'destroyed mosque' at Ayodhya.

Even his detractors agree that Narendra Modi has overseen an unprecedented consolidation of power and his Hindu nationalist politics are highly popular, particularly in the populous northern states.  

Modi's target is 370 seats for his party and 400-plus for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the 543-member lower house of Parliament. Essentially Modi wants to wrest more than 50 per cent of votes to expose his detractors who in the last 10 years often said that while BJP had numbers, technically about 65 per cent of people remained against Modi. 

In 2019, the BJP's numbers went up to 303 and the tally was more than the 350 the NDA won.  The Lotus party received 37.36% of the vote, the highest vote share by a political party since the 1989 general election.

In 1989, the Congress under Rajiv Gandhi had polled 39.53 per cent. Notably, five years earlier (1984) - the Congress tally was 414 and percentage of votes was 46.86 per cent.

V P Singh - Ex-Congress Man who toppled Rajiv 

The 2019 performance was the best ever for the BJP which in its new avatar was formed in 1980. Indeed, the BJP is being challenged by an alliance of some two dozen opposition parties led by Congress. The alliance formed last year has, however, been struggling to stay united and share seats amicably. 

It is generally a matter of concern that the Congress, which has ruled India for 54 of its 76 years since independence from Britain, has sunk to record lows after 2014 -- when Modi swept to power.

In 2019, the Congress gave a pretension of a mega course correction but nothing substantially happened and hence the grand old party is still struggling to revive support.

The Congress and other parties highlighting unemployment, rural distress, what it says is crony capitalism, the need for more affirmative action for the so-called backward castes and the need to end religious polarisation and hate in its pitch to defeat Modi.  “This will perhaps be the last chance to save democracy and our constitution from dictatorship,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge posted on X. 

Kharge remains a remote-controlled part chief and the real battle is between Modi and Rahul Gandhi. And as Rahul has not been an achiever; there is a huge advantage for the BJP.  “We the people of India will together fight against hatred, loot, unemployment, price rise and atrocities,” says Congress chief Kharge. 

On the other hand, the prime minister has been flying around the country almost daily. In his speeches, Modi has been showcasing India’s economic growth, with India becoming the fastest-growing major economy in the world at present, as well as investment in infrastructure and welfare programmes for the poor.

Hence, it may not be erroneous to suggest that the BJP has got the wind in its sails. 

Achievements:

*** 350 million women have been benefited by 13.5 million toilets across India.

** India has risen from 11th position in 2014 to fifth (5th) surpassing United Kingdom.

** India under Modi is the third largest automobile industry surpassing Japan.

** India is 4th largest stock market

** Defence and Chemical exports risen substantially. Over 100 per cent defence exports.

-- And Chemical exports up by 300 per cent. 

The BJP leaders show that 13.5 crore houses now have 'tapped water'. 

*** 400 million new bank accounts have been opened for those who did not have access to banking. The impact has been tremendous as the government benefits now reach their bank accounts without any middlemen play. 

A victory would make Narendra Modi, now 73, only the second prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to win a third straight term.

Jan 22, 2024 --- 

Interestingly, the only person who got to share the frame with Modi through most of the ritual was Bhagwat. This was appropriate, because for his organisation, the RSS, this moment of Hindu triumphalism has been nearly a century in the making. Founded in 1925 to forge a Hindu nation, the RSS is both Modi’s and the BJP’s parent organisation. Bhagwat was there in his role as the political Hindu’s paterfamilias. --- 'The Guardian' 

The London-based newspaper also said --- 

"Outside the sanctum, the campus of the half-built temple was crowded with an invited audience made up of religious ascetics, members of hardline Hindu organisations such as the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, early adopters of the temple cause and celebrities from the worlds of business and cinema. 

The billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani and his family were there, as were film stars such as Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi, Madhuri Dixit, Hema Malini, Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor, Ayushmann Khurrana and Vicky Kaushal. One breathless television anchor gushed about Ayodhya becoming “celeb central”. 

Whether they knew it or not, these celebrities were there in a dual capacity, or, to put it in terms they would understand, in a double role: as devotees of Ram and as extras for Modi." 

ends