The nowhere yatra

The confusion within the Hindutva fold has just got more confounded. First, there was the spectacle of the BJP coming up with not just one rath yatra, but two of them 8212; spearheaded by Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani, on the one hand, and party president, Rajnath Singh, on the other. Then there was further intra-Sangh dissonance on view, with the RSS blessing the venture wholeheartedly, and the VHP disassociating itself from it in no uncertain terms.

There will not be many people in this country who will rue the prospect of the rath yatras failing to take off. At one point in India8217;s history, against the ferment unleashed by the twin forces of Mandir and Mandal, such grand symbolism may have stirred the air. But today 8212; when the political discourse has switched with a vengeance to bijli-sadak-pani, when people want their political leaders to have their feet on the ground, arguing for infrastructure and social welfare, rather than riding imaginary chariots of fire 8212; such symbolism is emptied of all meaning. Nothing underlines the bankruptcy of such political gestures more eloquently than the response of the city which had inspired L.K.

Advani to announce the rath yatra plans in the first place. Varnasi wants its security; and wants the criminals who tore into its sense of well-being last Tuesday to be brought to justice. Sure. But it also wants to carry on with life, unimpeded by divisive politics and the ambitions of individual politicians.

So maybe the VHP has done the BJP a good turn by disassociating itself from the rath yatra adventure. Of course, it is doing this for all the wrong reasons. It wants to continue punishing L.K. Advani for deviating from the saffron straight and narrow. But its surly stance of non-cooperation could well be the red light to the sponsors of this mission within the BJP. The rath yatra is quite clearly an idea whose time has gone.