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Journalism of Courage
Of late games of cricket between Australia and Sri Lanka have been better remembered for unsporting conduct than for any feats of batting, bowling or fielding. Who can forget Australia8217;s refusal to play in the island nation during the 1996 World Cup, or Arjuna Ranatunga leading his team off after Muralitharan was no-balled? Which is why it was so stunning to see Marvan Atapattu cheerfully allow Andrew Symonds to return after Peter Manuel decided that he had made a mistake in judging the Australian LBW.
This, it seems, is the season when errors are being acknowledged openly and corrected. Some of that good sense seems to have wafted up to the north of the subcontinent as well, leading to two of India8217;s most prominent political formations admitting their mistakes rather than trying to save face. But the story must begin with two errors as egregious as that of the courageous Peter Manuel.
Meanwhile, just across the state border, plans were afoot in New Delhi to induct D.P. Yadav into the Bharatiya Janata Party. The calculation seemed to be that the move would pay off in and around Ghaziabad.
Both decisions were so mindboggling that you have to wonder who dreamt them up! Can anyone cite an instance of any Muslim leader or organisation demanding that schools be closed for Friday prayers? If anything, haven8217;t they been asking for more education for their wards? And surely somebody in Lucknow must have realised that it could lead to counter-demands from practitioners of other religions? Let us be frank: this had nothing to do with religion, it was trawling for votes in all its naked glory.
If the charge of playing the politics of 8216;8216;minorityism8217;8217; can be laid at Mulayam Singh Yadav8217;s doors, then the BJP was no less guilty of trying its hand at 8216;8216;muscle power8217;8217; tactics. Describing D.P. Yadav as 8216;8216;controversial8217;8217; deserves a prize for understatement! Whatever the gains for the party in Ghaziabad 8212; a highly speculative point in any case 8212; the move was tailored to antagonise the BJP8217;s core constituency. Which it did in truly spectacular fashion.
The party spokesperson was reduced to a feeble metaphor in the face of public outrage. The ocean, he said, accepted the flow both from sacred rivers and dirty gutters without its own essence being altered. Actually, environmentalists would argue the contrary! Let us face it, the crackling of Nitish Katara8217;s pyre sounded more clearly in the ear than any argument that D.P. Yadav has never actually been adjudged guilty by a court.
It has been a story of unmitigated misjudgment thus far, hasn8217;t it? But mark the sequel.
There was public outrage across the board. The media 8212; a favourite punching-bag with politicians when elections draw near 8212; picked up on it. Hard questions were asked of the politicians.
The reaction of the Muslim community at large to Mulayam Singh Yadav8217;s gambit was almost unanimous in its hostility. One man pointed out that the first word of revelation granted to the Prophet was 8216;8216;Read!8217;8217;; another quoted a telling Hadith: 8216;8216;One hour of teaching is better than a night of praying.8217;8217; The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board echoed the refrain for more schools rather than more time off. It took the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh less than 24 hours to turn on a coin and reverse his ill-advised order.
The BJP took a little longer to admit its error, but the rumblings of discontent had been coming in loud and clear very early from top to bottom. The prime minister and the deputy prime minister had been taken by surprise by the entry of D.P. Yadav, and their displeasure was obvious. The reaction from the grassroots was unambiguous 8212; the BJP8217;s claims of being 8216;8216;a party with a difference8217;8217;, of chaal, charitra, chintan, were faltering with the welcome given to D.P. Yadav. In the face of such opposition, the BJP chose the only sensible option and cancelled D.P. Yadav8217;s membership.
8216;8216;My respect towards the BJP has grown,8217;8217; Nitish Katara8217;s mother said, 8216;8216;They have shown that the ideals that they claim to stand for, they can abide by them also. By accepting their mistake and rethinking their decision, a national party like the BJP has earned the respect of the people.8217;8217; She was probably being more generous than most commentators would be, but let that pass. An obvious mistake had been corrected even if it took the authority of an Atal Bihari Vajpayee and an L.K. Advani for the party to do so.
These two incidents, both taking place in the space of barely a week, prove a couple of points. First, they show just how loudly the voice of the voter is heard even before a single ballot has been counted. They have made it very clear that they prefer development to tokenism. They have also made it abundantly certain that they shall not be intimidated by muscle power. If anything, such tactics are backfiring in the most spectacular manner possible. The second point to applaud is that senior leaders have the moral courage to admit a mistake and correct it.
We have heard a lot about the 8216;8216;Feel Good Factor8217;8217;. Here, finally, are reasons to feel good about the state of Indian politics, not just the economy.
