We have to acknowledge ‘Sadhvi’ Pragya Thakur for one achievement. She has succeeded in doing what no one has yet been able to do to Narendra Modi and Amit Shah: Put them on the defensive.
She also managed to do another thing her party brass truly hates: To lose the power of deciding headlines. After brilliantly using the strategy of changing and controlling the headlines for five years, the BJP ends the campaign with just the one it didn’t want. For the first time in the entire duration of their public lives yet, Modi and Shah were given a case even they found indefensible.
A few of the BJP’s Twitter-happy usual suspects, including minister Anantkumar Hegde and IT cell head Amit Malviya, initially jumped to her defence, or to take “the debate on Gandhi and Godse forward”. All were squashed. The last five years have shown that the BJP can defend or dismiss as irrelevant anything offensive said by a party person against anyone, individual or community. This includes an ‘Ali versus Bajrangbali’ bigot, why should there be electricity on Eid but not on Diwali dog-whistle, a ‘Modi ki Sena’ claim, ‘illegal immigrants are termites’ slur, and Rahul the ‘Pappu’ has now brought his ‘Pappi’ (Priyanka) crack.
But taking on the Mahatma? Forget it. Some might do it in whispers, debate his ‘blunders’, blame him for Partition, but in drawing rooms, goshthis or shakhas. Never in public. Not after having spent the past seven decades distancing your ideological parent RSS from his assassination.
Here, a prized, saffron-clad candidate, a Hindutva icon undertrial in a terror case you fielded and defended with the usual “innocent until proven guilty” line, is calling the Mahatma’s assassin a patriot. You do not take on the legacy of a man you also hail as Father of the Nation. Not in the year of his 150th birth anniversary when you’ve so successfully taken away the Congress party’s original icon. The prime minister himself takes great pride in escorting his foreign counterparts to landmarks associated with the Mahatma, rode the train in Pietermaritzburg, blogged on the 89th anniversary of the Dandi march, held forth in Champaran on the centenary of that satyagraha, got photographed spinning the charkha in Sabarmati and made Gandhi’s familiar, rounded spectacle frames the logo of his precious Swachh Bharat programme.
This, from Pragya Thakur, who actually counts for a big cipher either in vote-catching ability or the party’s moral positioning, is a vicious kick in her prime minister and party chief’s guts. They can’t even complain, because they are the ones who consciously pulled her out of nowhere.
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Why, was explained by Shah at his press conference with Modi. He said it was his party’s ‘satyagraha’ against the Congress party’s campaign to malign the Hindus by inventing the bogey of saffron terror.
Please make note of two points here. The first, the reason why it is now impossible for his party to distance itself from ‘Sadhvi’ Pragya: She was the deliberate choice, to make what the party sees as a principled point. And second, an irony: Even to explain this political statement, the expression Shah used was a Gandhian trademark: Satyagraha. When you employ the unique form of non-violent protest Gandhi gifted to mankind to defend your choice of a person who hails his assassin as a patriot, you know where you are headed.
Never do the wrong thing even if for the right reasons is a good principle, in life or politics. The BJP has a bone to pick with Digvijaya Singh, we know. He has been the Congress party’s most vocal spokesman on “Hindu terror”. He has also gotten ahead of himself, raising questions about New Delhi’s Batla House encounter and the sacrifice of yet another heroic police officer, Mohan Chand Sharma, decorated with a posthumous Ashok Chakra for that encounter, like Hemant Karkare in 26/11. Later, he also spoke in endorsement at the release of a book calling 26/11 an RSS conspiracy.
In the BJP’s view, he deserved to face the most prominent face among the radical Hindu activists arrested on terror charges. Until late last month, when Pragya Thakur made her first headlines by calling Hemant Karkare names and claiming that he died because she put a curse on him and his family (we should remember that his shattered wife also died six years after his death in 26/11, incidentally on the anniversary of the 29 September Malegaon bomb blast), and then boasted she had climbed the dome of Babri Masjid to break it, quick damage control was done. Partly by sending her on a maun vrat (vow of silence) and partly by counter-attacking Digvijaya and Congress for having “similarly insulted” Mohan Chand Sharma. Her praise for Godse now leaves her party no place to hide.
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Since 1989, the BJP has pursued a sharp strategy of slow and controlled escalation. At any point of time, beginning with the early days of Advani’s Ayodhya movement, a more extreme “fringe” has been cultivated. In the course of time, some are dumped. Remember Sadhvi Rithambara, Praveen Togadia, even Vinay Katiyar. Some are mainstreamed, from Uma Bharti to Sakshi Maharaj, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti (of Ramzade and Haramzade fame), to Yogi Adityanath.
This worked for three decades, but was too clever to last. Some of us had foreseen this. Do check out Mainstreaming the Lynch-Fringe, my National Interest just after the Akhlaq killing by gau-rakshaks in Dadri. Pragya is only the latest, and the most embarrassing example. It can’t even be described as a misstep, because the party president has himself told us that this was a deliberate, well-thought out move, a satyagraha. This was an utterly unwise statement of intent, drawn partly from an all-conquering hubris and partly from a misreading of how Indian nationalism has evolved.
It lies in believing that somehow Hinduism (and by implication Hindutva) is the primary glue that keeps India together, and defines its nationalism. Further on, it narrows down Hinduism and Hindutva to the RSS-Hindi heartland vision: One faith, one people, one language, one nation. India is much too diverse to keep its cohesion like this. Modi has to remember that even if he gets a full majority, in four of the southern states, Andhra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, BJP will be blessed to win even two seats out of 103, if at all. All parts of India, like these, will resent this kind of Hindu-isation, an immune reaction will kick in, setting off a centrifugal rash. This runs contrary to the vision of our founders, who built us as a voluntary federation of states. There was no one vision flowing from a faith, a scripture or an ideology. That is why India has not only stayed together so marvellously, but become stronger and more secure with the passage of each decade, while the ideological state next door, Pakistan, broke up.
India’s great gift to the modern world is its comfort with diversity. This, in a world where different cultures find it increasingly difficult to co-exist, as in the Middle East, is a brand value that will have the greatest return on investment going ahead. And if India is the world’s greatest brand for diversity, Mahatma Gandhi is, what Swiss philosopher Carl Jung would call, its brand archetype.
Fighting, repudiating, bad-mouthing Nehru is easy. Some people already call Indira and Rajiv Gandhi’s assassins heroes. Mahatma Gandhi, even for those on the extreme Hindu Right who believe he founded the politics of Muslim “appeasement”, is suicidal to target. Modi may indeed be honest in saying his heart will never forgive Pragya. He could begin by praying that she doesn’t win next Thursday. Or it will be an embarrassing five years swearing by the name of Gandhi, and carrying along in your parliamentary party one hailing his killer as a hero.
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Whatever you say, knowing what we know about Pseudo secularists, we will be proud of Sadhvi Ji. We hope she recovers from the Trauma soon.
the sole purpose of nominating pragya was to insult digvijay singh another moron who was the architect of hindu terror. if she loses, fine. if she wins, they might ask her to resign and go for a repoll. she is a embarassment someone who cant keep her mouth shut.
The defining fact about Hinduism that distinguishes it from christianity and Islam, is that we Hindus believe that different people have many different ways of thinking about god and also one does not go to hell just for not believing in a particular version of God. Hindutvawadis believe in one nation and one people no doubt. But the ‘one faith’ that we believe in is not our particular version of God, but the faith that there are many ways to think about God, which per se does not lead to hell. That eternally puts us at loggerheads with Christians and Muslims who believe that those who don’t share their faith are evil and hell ward bound.
Shekhar Gupta, I read your article and comments. I reread your article and again the comments. What worries me is the absence of readers’ projections of the risks incurred by the political and institutional system set up in 1947. There seems to be a form of amnesia at the level of the readers. One should meditate, read and reread the last 3 paragraphs of your article.
But what if Mr Modi has shifted to wilderness, and there is no way to ascertain if he’s feeling embarrassed or not? Just this morning saw him in a cave. Well, for now it looks all drama, but who knows, he might be forced, courtesy Rafale, to scoot to cooler and more pleasant places than Hot Delhi!
30 years ago “Chacha” Nehru was sacred too…
This has always been the core RSS stand, which runs all across mainstream BJP now.
It is great that there are no layers, it is out in the open.
If people want this then let it be. This is democracy.
On this road Sadhvi Pragya could be a future prime Minister with Godse named as father of the nation in another 20 years or less.
Hinduism is the only thing that is keeping the country together. That’s what adi sangara did and made the boundaries of this civilisation. As long as the hindus from south consider kashi a holy place and north indians consider rameshwaram a holy place this country will remain together.
If it wasn’t for Digvijay Singh………
Digvijay Singh needs to be defeated for his invention of HINDU TERRORISM. For hell’s sake he was launching a book ’26:11 RSS ki sazis’ when his own party was busy proving Pakistan’s involvement in the terror attack. And for pragya, Modi will deal with her later I’m damn sure. They are no fools.
Even if she wins, BJP will either suspend her or expel her to ensure they distance themselves from the issue of mkg’s assassination. This would be the most sensible thing to do, even if she loses
No. If she wins, which is likely, she should be made the minister of state for Home.
This will directly put her in charge of NIA and then she can follow footsteps of Yogiji and withdraw cases against her.
Will Shekhar Gupta explain how Digvijay Singh white washing Jehadi terror and acting as a Jehadi spokesperson is any different from the alleged crimes of Pragya Singh Thakur?
You cannot compare tge two. The very fact that you’re trying to do it shows a low level of critical analysis. This is typical of the bhakts who don’t seem to have studied seriously when they were in school and college
Sadhvi pragya victory will be the one of India’s masses. More to come
I hope she loses, saving embarrassment all around. If she wins, she will have to be made to resign her seat. Too large an albatross for even the sturdiest shoulders to bear the weight of. In a sense, she broke the camel’s bank. Left no room for fudge and doublespeak. The other guy who will have to go is Mr Bisht, for more complex reasons, including the electoral outcome in UP and his dismal record of governance. Elections are about accountability. 2019 will enforce it.
… camel’s back.
If Sadhvi wins, the point is proven that there are no takers for “Hindu Terrorism”. Modi MUST ask her to resign from Parliament or She must be discarded from the party.
The though of a pseudo liberal Digvijay Singh, winning the election from Bhopal is far more petrifying!
You are right .. If Pragya Thakur wins there is no takers for Hindu terrorism, but only in Bhopal and in the present time.. It is bad times for Indian democracy, I think worst yet to come..
Shekhar Gupta is too easy with Modi and the BJP by using the word ’embarrassing’ in the title. In a civil society no murderer should be glorified. Gandhi or no Gandhi.
Why is everyone treating Modi and Shah with kid gloves?
Absolutely, Rajiv. That is the only way to look at issues.
The blogger is himself a well known wheeler dealer. How to take his views seriously?
Hinduisation, set up my Modi and Shah by nominating Ms Thakur is a setting off centrifugal force against the vision of our founders of voluntary federation of states. Where it would led to?, Why only southern states, subnationalism in Manipur, Assam, Panjab is aldo contrary to this Modi vision.
Forget other states like Nagaland or J and K.
Even Ms Thakur does not won the dichotomy of Modi’s heart and action is visible.
Very difficult to asses what would take India to serve Modi and his policy, his obsession with power.
Mr Modi is not going to be the next PM, nor is Pragya Thakur going to win. But if they do, then Mr Modi will not feel any embarrassment in having this MP around. Did he feel embarrassed with actual lynchings, and plight of the women, which even got India dubbed as the “most unsafe country in the world for women”? Imagine, this for a country which has so far been famous and admired for Ahimsa! Did he feel embarrassed when he installed Adityanath as the CM, a man who made similar, if not exact, statements as Pragya Thakur?
Nominating Pragya Singh was a blunder, but the BJP won’t acknowledge it openly. Now, the question is what happens if Pragya wins. This could be very unfortunate and embarrassing situation- not only for the BJP but for the nation as a whole. The Bhopal voters would feel ashamed of themselves if Pragya gets elected. If the BJP gets comfortable majority, the solution would be simple. Expel Pragya and she becomes an independent member of the Parliament and would still lend her support to the government from outside. Pragya gets her freedom from party discipline and party can easily distant itself from whatever she says. However, if it is a hung situation- Kanteki Takkar- then every seat counts. Pragya would be pardoned and the episode would be forgotten in the rush to cobble up majority. Either way, it is a tragic situation for the country. I hope the BJP has learnt its lesson. Encouraging fringe elements may have short-term gains, but in the end it will harm the party.