Narendra Modi has changed the manner Indians will do politics. He has also changed the manner - the mass Indians are thinking today and will be probably thinking at least next two decades.
All of it did not come easy. Namo himself has come up the ladder - hard way. A man from OBC community and he emerged as a political star and icon of a party -- that is guided by the RSS, which was known for pushing Brahminism.
Even the BJP not long ago was called - the Baniya-Brahmin party.
Perhaps the RSS’s 'mindlset' on caste and social justice has changed over the decades. In 2015, Mohan Bhagwat called for a review of the Reservation policy. In the process, the BJP paid a heavy price electorally. Now both the BJP and the RSS are all defending the continuation of the reservation policy.
Modi even agreed to Rahul Gandhi's demand for caste census.
But over all the society and polity is Polarised. Either you are pro-Modi or you are impressed by Rahul Gandhi's 'vote chori' charge. Either you are pro-Hindutva or may be you are anti-Hindu.
In 2014, after the Congress debacle, a noted Christian leader in the grand old party A K Antony said that the party has already got a tag 'anti-Hindu' and that has completely eroded its support base.
Hindutva and RSS are at the centre stages. Even while discussing about who would be UP Home Minister or Gujarat Finance Minister - often the debate is -- whom will the Sangh fountainhead push.
BJP and RSS observers agree that no social organisation in independent Bharat enjoy as much power and as much legitimaacy as the RSS does.
It has number of vice chancellor and Governors from its cadres.
Even the selection of India's new vice president -- was based on how much deep and organic connections he has with the Sangh.
New Vice President: Radhakrishnan, a RSS leader
But there has been a paradox.
Modi along with Amit Shah have also ensured that the party has today bases across India and even deputy chief minister Nagaland is a local BJP man.
The Prime Minister has also made a strong pitch for introducing a genuinely 'secular personal code' (Uniform Civil Code)
---- applicable to all Indians, ending the religion-based norms to govern marriage, adoption, divorce and inheritance.
True, this may not be a very surprising development as Modi's Hindu nationalist BJP had been campaigning on these lines since 1980s.
Along with the UCC, the BJP wanted abrogation of Art 370 in Kashmir ans also construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya.
What might have caught many of Modi's friends and foes by surprise was Modi's neo- but characteristic confdence :
“A large section of the country believes — and it is true — that the Civil Code that we are living with is actually a communal civil code in a way."
In true sense, the table has been turned. This is perhaps seen as one of the "biggest assaults" on the Nehruvian secularism cherished by left-liberals and Sickulars and also by minorities including Christians and Muslims.
"Modi has sought to redefine Indian politics in the realms of an entirely new secular-communal narrative," says Varanasi-based pro-right wing analyst Tushar Bhadra. Journalist Harsh Vardhan says, "Modi has changed the political agenda of the last 75 years as pursued by his rivals."
However, others disagree with what the prime minister said. Christians are opposed to the UCC. Earlier this year during the election season, the Federation of Catholic Associations of the Archdiocese of Delhi stated that a “united” nation need not necessarily have “uniformity.”
Many Muslim leaders see the UCC as interference with centuries-old Islamic practices, including polygamy and instant divorce. Some others consider a common code as “a violation of the fundamental right of religious freedom" as guaranteed in the Indian Constitution.
"This UCC is like a hot air balloon being floated to somehow distract people and polarise society," remarked Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate.
*** Different prism:
"Hindu nationalism is a political ideology that dates back to the 19th century. It encompassed a broad range of groups but at its core is a belief that Indian national identity and culture are inseparable from the Hindu religion.
It began to gain prominence in the early 20th century as part of the independence movement in India, which sought to separate itself from the identity of British colonial rule and the Islamic Mughal dynasty, which had previously governed India from the 16th century." -- Hannah Ellis-Petersen in 'The Guardian'
A few years ago, in an open letter to Modi; one Pune-based gentleman write in a news magazine
- "Prime Minister, you understand better than many others, that the people of this country want to move away from divisive politics .... The future is something that you have articulated - of Development. Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas.
You have seen the consequences of Communal polarisation - as in 2002 -when Hindu-Muslim riots swept Gujarat".
Neerja Chowdhury:
(in 'Indian Express')
"Like the Sangh, the BJP too may have to shift gear and avoid the politics of polarisation even if it is tempting electorally in the short run.
From the BJP’s perspective, the “Hindu-isation of Hindus” has taken place and there may be diminishing returns in playing this card again and again.
Now, many expect the PM to focus on governance and bring a new energy and freshness to his ministerial team as well as the party organisation, starting with the appointment of a new party president".
She also says under Balasaheb Deoras, the 'change' began in the RSS and more or less Mohan Bhagwat is only a 'moderate' champion of Hindutva.
ends
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