Nonetheless, going by past experience, the trump card lies with the rural voters, as 70 per cent of the 725-million-large electorate is rural. Psephologists, some large media houses and some market research companies will dish out projections about the outcome in the 2014 polls and make money, even though all is set to end up in a damp squib.
My interest lies elsewhere, namely, Modi’s ideological ostentation. Speaking at a rally in Hyderabad, he listed three greatest men of the 20th century — Mahatma Gandhi, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia and Deendayal Upadhyay — responsible for rebuilding India. India’s first minister for home affairs Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, in a letter on August 18, 1948, addressed to Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, Hindu Mahasabha president at the time of assassination of Gandhi, wrote: “There is no doubt in my mind the extreme section of the Hindu Mahasabha was involved in this conspiracy. The activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) constituted a clear threat to the existence of the government and the state.” He also stated therein, “our reports do confirm that as a result of the activities of these two bodies, particularly the former, an atmosphere was created in the country in which such a ghastly tragedy became possible”. Interestingly, Modi-backers extol him as chhote Sardar — a smaller version of Patel, ‘iron man’. The RSS and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, later mutated into the BJP, contested the accusation arguing that on January 30, 1948, the Mahatma-killer, Nathuram Godse, was no more in the RSS, the mother body of the BJP and all saffron set-ups like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal , storm-troopers of which made the Gujarat mega-riot successful.
But why does Modi take the name of Gandhi? In 1980, the first president of the BJP, Atal Behari Vajpayee, floated the idea of ‘Gandhian Socialism’, obviously to pit it against everything Nehruvian, particularly his concept of ‘socialistic pattern’. But the RSS and its subordinate outfits such as the VHP never uttered Gandhian Socialism. Modi rakes it up to create confusion among the masses supporting the president of the Indian National Congress and chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance.
For a student of political theory, the more interesting references are to Dr RM Lohia, eminent social thinker of the Gandhi-Nehru era and the ideological mentor socialists who comprised the think tank of Jaya Prakash Narain and his battle for ousting Indira Gandhi before and during the Emergency (1975-77). Lohia had built the basis for ending the Nehruvian political economy and polity through an opportunist slogan of anti-Congressism after the demise of Nehru in 1964 to bring the socialists and the BJS together. Modi’s political shrewdness to club Lohia and Upadhyay is a polemical offensive against Lohiaites like the Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav whose party has a strong influence in UP and will elect 80-odd MPs to the 542-member lower house of parliament and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose success stories include challenging the urban-corporate hoopla of the BJP’s prime-ministerial candidate. The saffron nominee’s oratory is full of such verbiage that confuses the masses following his adversaries. But he knows well that ideas of Gandhi or Lohia are not in his agenda.
The Gujarat riot in 2002 under Modi’s hegemony was a rehearsal of ‘theo-fascist terror’ . The oratorical skill mesmerises the footloose ‘intermediate strata’, especially the ‘salaried bourgeoisie’. The extravagant campaign for Modi, unprecedented in India, fits into the ‘politico-bureaucrat-tycoon combine’ with ‘saffro-Nazis’ as foot soldiers.
India is in a quagmire of a sanguinary uncertainty.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 29th, 2013.
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COMMENTS (19)
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The Name, symbol and the ideology of original INC was drowned. INC now is not the party of Mahatma Gandhi, it is the party of ‘fake Gandhis’. (@harkol)
Gandhi joined INC sometime in 1918. He resigned in a huff from primary membership of Congress in September of 1934. However,as was his wont he continued to rave & rant against it, meddling in its affairs & demanding that it should be wound up, once he had quit. He never made that demand when he was in it. Better sense (or instinct for self-preservation) prevailed among Congressmen. MK Gandhi neither started nor ended Congress. He was a member for barely 15 years, played his part spectacularly well but he was too independent a man to be confined to a political party. Sant, Mahatma & Sufi are subservient to none except God..
Look a Pot is calling Kettle black. An apologist for Naxal terror has been given the divine right to single out who is a fascist. Of course, why not those who have ideals like Stalin and Polpot, are comfortable teaching others about non violence and liberalism, and then butcher millions in the name utopian equality.
It is the intellectual arrogance I guess, irony is when Naxals, Polpot or Stalin come to power, the first thing they do is send these so called intellectuals to Gulags and Labor camps for social re-engineering. Of course Modi is right wing nut job, I donot contest that and I donot support him. Who will take to task these pseudo intellectuals like Sankar Ray and many others who will not say thing against the Naxal terror, those who support an organization that doesn't even believe in Democratic polity.
Comrades like Sankar Ray have lot of blood on their hand, who do the bidding for left and violent extreme left in the media. They always need boogeyman like Modi to deflect any attention away from their own ideology, which is vicious, violent and hateful as any ideology can be.
@John: Calling someone suffro-Nazi and not accepting extreme response is far fetched........
ETBLOGS1987
@Parvez: Or given that the number of comments that regularly show up on any Modi related article from the 16.5 plus some Pakistani trolls it invariably attracts, it is a way to drive up numbers. You will notice that serious subjects that S M Ali writes about barely get 2 or 3 comments. But yes, I too am completely surprised by the disproportionate coverage given to Modi as my earlier comment shows.
Thanks for the laughs, Commie chacha.
@Author:- Modi has no ideology of his own; RSS ideas apart. Besides, don't accuse the man of intellectual attributes he doesn't possess.
@Californian Desi: Gandhi and Patel also suggested “Congress” be desolved.
Patel suggested that? And then without demurring he promptly became Dy.PM of India!! Are Indians such hypocrites? Or, is this one of those stories invented by "Feku" Modi like the one he recently told a Gujarati newspaper about Nehru not attending Patel's funeral?
This tells me that ET must be read far and wide in India and not just by the 16.5 who comment regularly, otherwise all this fascination with Modi would really be a waste.
I hate Communists.
@Author: Gandhi and Patel also suggested "Congress" be desolved. For reasons refresh yoru knowledge in history. With respect this space is not enough to debate. On other note, people choose their leader depending on their needs and who they find fit for leading nation. When all the options are flawed they will choose the one who stands out more stronger and convincing no matter how tainted he or she is. More than Modi it is the anti-Modi comments from people with far lesser credibility with Indian voters which will make the tide turn in favor of Modi. Good luck tryin to wish that Modi shouldnt be next Prime Minister. I haven't seen such negative campaigning against a prospective leader since Obama - McCain Presidential race.
The author forgot to mention that Gujarat has historically been a riot prone state and that under Modi in the last 11yrs there has been no riot.
Me: This article is written by a communist. Common Indian: Communist? Me: yup...you know CPI and all right? Common Indian: Who? Me: well lets just say they are CPI "Chinese People in India" :p
@sid: Try to absorb all kind of views minus the extremist views and at the same time you dont need anyone to tell you whom to vote for,you yourself are the best judge
Modi is an international leader. throw this report to dustbin.
LOL...make no sense in pakistani news portal and in india it helps Modi to get more vote because peoples knowns what's the truth.
Hahahahaha. Merely 'air quoting' catchy phrases does not make you right my dear friend. I fail to understand how 'commentators' like you think they are the only 'intelligent' amongst the millions of common voting public. It is shameful that you call anybody who supports the opposing view point a saffron-nazi; independent observes have started to understand which is the actual facist lot.
It is not the 'intermediate strata' or the 'salaried bourgeoisie' that is confused. It is you and your ilk. Wake up and smell the coffee. Change is coming. #TsuNaMo
Where does ET finds these journalist....Mr writer tell us whom we should vote........only rants no suggestion.....
Modi.....not again............A naxal supporter calling others Nazis..........