Opinion Collective incompetence and negligence

Undaunted by such small matters,our leaders are convinced that the important problem is the politics of the issue. Raja Digvijaya Singh with his infallible nose for controversy averred that the Mahabodhi incident was connected with Narendra Modi’s interaction with the Bihar BJP cadre. No doubt a Hindutva conspiracy! Who knows? Historically,he is not wrong. The Mahabodhi temple was desacralised by Brahmins who made many Buddhist shrines into Hindu temples. There are accounts,which tell us that the original Nalanda campus was destroyed by Bakhtiyar Khilji with Brahmin encouragement. This episode in the war between Buddhism and Brahmanism has been erased from our history by the Hindutva camp who want to believe that Hinduism is incredibly tolerant. The secularists want to deny that Khilji could ever have done such a thing on their general principle of not blaming Muslims of any century for any outrage.

History is best forgotten and rewritten to suit contemporary needs. Thus,few recall today that in the mid-1990s people were saying that if the BJP ever came to power,it would be like Hitler and 1933 (Indians like their fantasies in European colours). Vajpayee was just a “mukhota”; it was Advani who was the sinister fascist behind the scene. Fast forward and now,Advani is a moderate soul. Congress members are rushing to commiserate with him about what that horrible man Modi has done to him. Vajpayee was a saint who was broad-minded and almost secular. BJP was good then.

The issue is Modi,the new ‘fascist danger’ of the new century. Not even a mukhota on him. There are intellectuals with impeccable secularist (i.e. Congress) pedigree who are frightening each other by blogging that if Modi comes to power,they would have to exile themselves like the great German intellectuals of the 1930s. They should not worry. India is a tough democracy. It survived the only fascist experiment of post-independence India—the Emergency. Indira Gandhi failed to break the spirit of the nation. Sanjay Gandhi led attacks on poor Muslim households,who were forced into accepting nasbandi. Their slum dwellings in Turkman Gate were torched while the RSS combined with the imam of Jama Masjid to defy Congress stormtroopers. Happily,the whole episode has been written out of history and Indira Gandhi re-emerged as a great democrat.

It would be healthy for India to have an open debate about what Modi represents,and to examine its own history honestly. The secularists are convinced that if they can only frighten the voters about 2002 and the coming “pogrom” of Muslims if Modi ever came to power,they will win. People will forget inflation,stagnation,scams galore,a falling rupee and a dismal investment record.

History can be rewritten but alas,not the future. People,especially the 300 million under the age of 30,may ask about their future. Will there be good education where teachers turn up to teach,jobs when they have finished school,stable prices of daily necessities,a decent growth rate? Which party will offer that? That is what counts. Not the craven fantasies of those who worry about Hitler.