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Journalism of Courage
Now that we have two BJPs, it8217;s all very confusing. There was, as we know, an Old BJP. It spoke a familiar language and, in case we didn8217;t quite understand what it stood for, went on to pull down a mosque or two just to make things clearer.
Then we were reliably informed that there is this spanking new model, the New BJP, that speaks a wonderfully evolved new language full of gentle-on-the-mind words. To discover whether it was the New BJP or the Old BJP that was the Real BJP, I made my way to the party office.
8220;Jai Shri Ram,8221; said Old BJP, looking up from a copy of Panchajanya,8220;You have, no doubt, come to learn more about our party.8221;
Ah,8221; I said, 8220;You are Old BJP, aren8217;t you?8221;
8220;Namaskar,8221; said New BJP, putting down a glossy English weekly, 8220;You are, no doubt, looking for a copy of our National Agenda.8221;
8220;Ah,8221; I said, 8220;You are New BJP, aren8217;t you?8221;
8220;Hindutva, that8217;s our guiding force,8221; explained Old BJP emphatically.
8220;Ah, this is Old BJP speaking, isn8217;t it?8221; Iasked.
8220;Hindutva is nothing but Bharatiyata an ancient Indian tradition,8221; smiled New BJP.
8220;Ah, that is the voice of New BJP, isn8217;t it?8221; I asked.
8220;Hindi, Hindu, Hindustan. One nation, one people, one culture,8221; spat out Old BJP. 8220;Ah, no doubt you are Old BJP,8221; I said.
8220;We don8217;t define Hindutva in narrow exclusivist terms. We recognise that ours is a culture made of many elements,8221; said New BJP.
8220;If I am not mistaken, that is New BJP, isn8217;t it?8221; I ventured a guess.
8220;Cultural nationalism constitutes the identity of this party,8221; said Old BJP, thumping the table lightly.
8220;Do I hear the voice of Old BJP?8221; I asked.
8220;Cultural nationalism we categorise within the larger perspective of integral humanism,8221; smiled New BJP .
8220;That8217;s certainly the voice of New BJP,8221; I concluded.
8220;It8217;s our ideological issues that have made this party different from all other,8221; said Old BJP, thumping the table heavily.
8220;Ah, undoubtedly Old BJP,8221; I thought.
8220;Ideological issues can take thisparty this far and no further, our emphasis will be on governance,8221; said New BJP, sweetly.
8220;Ah, New BJP, is that you?8221; I asked.
8220;The election results have totally vindicated our ideological stand it8217;s a vote for Hindutva,8221; said Old BJP, clutching at the air.
8220;Ah, that8217;s Old BJP, I presume?8221; I asked.
8220;The election results have totally vindicated the politics of consensus,8221; New BJP pointed out with reasonable sweetness.
8220;Ah, without doubt, it8217;s New BJP speaking,8221; I said.
8220;We will not budge an inch from our earlier commitments, especially on Ram mandir,8221; said Old BJP, punching the air.
8220;Ah, clearly, the voice of Old BJP isn8217;t it?8221; I asked.
8220;Compromise is the essence of coalition politics and we will concentrate on building a Rashtra Mandir,8221; said New BJP, beaming beatifically.
8220;Ah, that8217;s clearly New BJP speaking,8221; I said.
8220;We will immediately move a Bill for legislation on the mandir issue and end the decade-old controversy as quickly as possible, mark my words,8221; saidOld BJ fervently.
8220;Ah, this is pure Old BJP-speak,8221; I observed.
8220;We would prefer a dialogue with all communities to resolve the issue,8221; said New BJP.
8220;Ah, this is pure New BJP-speak,8221; I observed.
8220;We will defeat the designs of the pseudo-secularists,8221; said Old BJP, raising a right hand.
8220;We will defeat the designs of the pseudo-secularists,8221; said New BJP firmly.
8220;We will build up the motherland and revive nationalist fervour so that India is fully prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century,8221; said Old BJP, clawing at the air.
8220;We will build up the motherland and revive nationalist fervour so that India is fully prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century,8221; said New BJP, looking serious.
8220;We will make the new millennium the Indian Millennium,8221; said Old BJP, bringing his fist down on the table.
8220;We will make the new millennium the Indian Millennium,8221; said New BJP, looking with pride into the distance.
8220;Hey,8221; I said, 8220;Hold on a minute. Now both of you arespeaking the same language. Will the real BJP stand up, please?8221;
At this, both BJPs were on their feet.
8220;Namaskar,8221; said New BJP.
8220;Jai Shri Ram,8221; said Old BJP.
