I strongly recommend Swapan Dasgupta’s brilliant essay in the Pioneer (Pioneer urgently needs a Web designer who knows his job) reproduced entirely here.
Although I abhor using “Right” in Indian political parlance, I’ve resigned myself to accept it until a better alternative is found.
This piece is one of the best analyses of the Indian “Right” I’ve read so far, almost comparable to Elst’s mammoth Decolonizing the Hindu Mind [Aside: It's an unfair comparison because Elst's scope is gigantic.]. Dasgupta quickly demolishes the pseudo-liberal, Ramachandra Guha’s recent utterances in a Tehelka interview. He first chides and then, prescribes possible solutions to rectify the balance of political discourse in India.
Right awaits its moment
Swapan Dasgupta
In a recent interview to Tehelka on his new book on post-Independence Indian politics, Ram Guha mentioned in passing that whereas liberals and the Left play a meaningful role in the country’s intellectual and political discourse, the Right has been hamstrung by its close association with Hindu nationalism. Despite professing a degree of respect for the erstwhile Swatantra Party of C Rajagopalachari, Guha went on to argue that the intervention of the Right would acquire greater currency if its adherents cease to be “spokesmen” for the BJP.
Without going into the merits or otherwise of Guha’s idealisation of party-less intellectuals, the larger issue of a void on the Right needs to be seriously addressed. It is a fact that the boundaries of so-called “respectable” discourse have been shaped by a Left-liberal consensus. This is particularly so on the vexed questions of nationhood and national identity - what is known as the “secularism” debate. Even before the Ram Janmabhoomi movement sharpened the polarisation between India’s intellectual establishment and Hindu assertion, there was a significant mismatch between the Right’s electoral and intellectual influence. The fierce resistance to Mr Murli Manohar Joshi’s assault on the Left-wing bias in history and the social sciences and the same elite’s acquiescence before Mr Arjun Singh’s “detoxification” campaign are indicative of the lack of equivocation.
After it first tasted power at the Centre in 1998, the BJP leadership went out of its way to acquire social respectability and shed its outlander status. Dispelling all fears of India being turned into a Hindu fascist state, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government moulded itself as a conventional Right-of-centre regime. It tried to blend market economics with a foreign policy that incorporated the nationalism of French Gaullism and the realism of Mr Henry Kissinger. In their own ways, both Mr Vajpayee and Mr LK Advani tried to forge the BJP as the party of the Indian establishment.
The results were awkward. First, the NDA Government relied excessively on a bureaucratic elite that was inherently conservative, cautious and non-political. Governance and politics were projected as purely managerial issues. Second, as a political party the BJP steadily acquired all the negative characteristics of the pre-1969 Congress. Dispensing patronage and collecting funds somehow became the rationale of its existence - a habit that explains many of its post-2004 convulsions. The mission of being a “party with a difference” was lost sight of.
Throughout the NDA’s term in office policy issues ceased to be the pre-occupation of the party. In retrospect it can be argued that one of the main reasons why ‘India Shining’ failed to motivate the electorate was its insufficient internalisation by those who were meant to disseminate the message to the grassroots. No wonder there has been an abrupt U-turn in the BJP’s approach to economic and foreign policy in Opposition. Third, the controlling stake of the RSS in the BJP was sought to be significantly diluted, leading to prolonged tensions in the Parivar and accusations of betrayal. These problems haven’t been fully resolved.
Looking back, the NDA Government’s tenure was marked by many missed opportunities. To my mind, two are particularly glaring. First, in focussing on the co-option of an establishment that had been nurtured by the Congress over five decades, the BJP lost sight of the need to craft a counter-establishment. The failure was not unique. In other countries too, first-time rulers have often been beguiled into equating the culture of obsequiousness (one of the perks of the job) with institutional endorsement. No wonder that in Opposition, the BJP finds itself reduced to playing mindless anti-incumbency games.
Second, in attempting to forge an elusive consensus, the BJP proved incapable of grasping the simple truth that compromises were being made by only one side. The BJP owed its spectacular growth after 1989 to its willingness to question the fundamentals of the great Nehruvian consensus.
When it abandoned this combativeness for short-term respectability, it lost momentum. In the process, the project of evolving a robust, intellectually vibrant Right-wing tradition also fell by the wayside. Today, we have the unseemly spectacle of the party having to disown crass propaganda CDs and maintain a distance from the loony Hindu fringe that believes in playing the moral police.
The creation of a vibrant Right has never been easy for the simple reason that it is not dependant on the revealed wisdom of a Marx or Mao. Social institutions and custom, including religion, have been the bedrock on which political conservatism rests. Grafted to these is the historical memory of both the nation and individual communities. Modern conservatism is a considered blend of these - the process of incorporation and exclusion is never-ending - tailored to the imperatives of a modern, ordered society.
No Indian conservative movement is possible without a meaningful participation of the RSS. Apart from the Sangh’s commitment to India’s inheritance, its relevance stems from its vast organisation and network. However, in insisting that the RSS must have a controlling interest in the BJP, the Sangh has introduced some needless exclusionary distortions. First, it has created a divide between those who are from the RSS and those who found Hindu nationalism by another route. Second, by its stated over-reliance on one tradition, the BJP has failed to inject the dynamism of other social, cultural and religious movements into its bloodstream. It is particularly significant that the BJP has (except in Gujarat) failed to grasp the opportunities arising from the new Hindu evangelical upsurge.
It must be emphasised that conservatism is not the only basis of today’s Right. The American and European experience - and the awesome victory of Mr Nicolas Sarkozy in France is still fresh in our minds - clearly shows that to be effective social conservatism has to be tied to audacious prescriptions for political change. Issues of national identity are important but if their invocations become Pavlovian responses to every situation, the results can be drearily predictable. Despite some electoral victories in recent months, the BJP has been inflicted by a collective non-application of mind on issues related to economics, national security and India’s relation with the world. Against Mr Sarkozy, who has bravely taken on and demolished the pernicious Left-liberal stranglehold on France, and Mr David Cameron, whose “cool”, compassionate and contemporary conservatism has begun yielding results, the BJP is overwhelmed with its awesome show of deficiencies.
The Indian Right still awaits its moment.
11 Comments on “What Ails the Indian Right?”
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“Pioneer urgently needs a Web designer who knows his job’
I completely Agree !!!!
Posted on May 10, 2007 at 7:17 PM.
I think Swapan has pretty accurately identified what BJP failed to do in its term in office - though he could have used simpler words
But this -
“It is particularly significant that the BJP has (except in Gujarat) failed to grasp the opportunities arising from the new Hindu evangelical upsurge.”
I dont get this ‘Hindu evangelical upsurge’. And I would prefer a right wing party to stay clear of overt religiosity.
anyway, the BJP appears to be unclear about being a right wing party - they seem to be interestd in caste calculations and OBC votebanks like everybody else.
Posted on May 10, 2007 at 10:45 PM.
i guess one crucial point that was missed by mr das gupta was the lack of a charismatic leader on the *right* side. a guy who can take the nation my storm. advani and vajpayee’s charisma is not pan-indian in nature.
even today the conservatives in the US allude to reagan era at every possible forum as the tory’s in UK look up to the Tatcher era.
a person who can capture the imagination of people right from age group of 20 to 80 is needed on the right.
modi had that ability, but the left-liberal-media has already preempted his rise.
he is india’s ultimate untouchable today.
specially in a country like ours where demi-gods galore, we need personalities more than ideas; atleast for ruling over people.
in indian context ideas and ideology have its limitation, because of lack of education and literacy. what drives the large indian population is a rajnikant or an indira gandhi or an mgr. someone who people follow blindly. sadly, the best govt that india every got was nda, which was rejected by the people. [the second best was mr. rao's]
had there been an extremely popular leader, who could have negated the awesome and coordinated media campaign against the nda in 2004 elections, nda would still be ruling us and the shift to the right wouldn’t have been halted abruptly.
Posted on May 11, 2007 at 12:45 AM.
I am not in favor of a charismatic leader, who does not know the basics of economics and does not have a sense of being one of the masses himself/herself (Quintessential examples of such pompous leaders is Indira Gandhi and her progeny. I would not include her father here because his era was different, when socialism was in vogue)
I would go for a leader who is “First Among Equals” in his party and policy decisions are the result of a healthy debate in the parliament, rather than guided by the whims of any demi-God. Experience shows that such personalities have invariably been harmful to the country. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, so the demi-God would think of himself/herself above the nation
Posted on May 11, 2007 at 11:33 AM.
neither am i. i am just stating that in a country like india where literacy is so low, for people like us who do not subscribe to demi-godism, we often underrate charisma and ignore the real-politik.
i was commenting on the lack of *something* on the right and that is a charismatic leader.
Posted on May 11, 2007 at 10:30 PM.
“Despite some electoral victories in recent months, the BJP has been inflicted by a collective non-application of mind on issues related to economics, national security and India’s relation with the world.”
These ideas have to come from beyound political establishment - there is little time for thought, especially the way Indian politicians are groomed, about these issues, in political parties. From think tanks to university research to media.
But mostly, the right in India needs media, both print and TV to counter the onslaught of the left wing mainstream media.
“And I would prefer a right wing party to stay clear of overt religiosity.”
Entire Indian value system and traditions are based on religion especially Hinduism and other Indian born religions. Deemphasizing religion will get us Marx and Mao type values. Applying and modernizing the core Indian values and traditions to a modern state is what is need to withstand the onslaught of western values which, whether secular, religious, or atheists are values by and large Christianity driven.
Posted on May 12, 2007 at 1:17 PM.
And BTW, I wrote to dailypioneer website to make their weblinks permanent. May be they will actually take notice if more ask them to change, especially with regards to the impact of their temporary links on blogs.
I wrote to them at pioneerletters@yahoo.co.in. Their feedback email address bounced back.
Posted on May 12, 2007 at 1:33 PM.
Offstumped - » The Pioneer Plagiarises from Offstumped says:
[...] Offstumped Bottomline: It is rather ironic that Swapan Dasgupta had recently lamented in an editorial piece that appeared in The Pioneer on what ails the Indian Right. ( Sandeep’s reproduction of the same ). When the only mainstream newspaper that claims to have an official Right of Center editorial policy plagiarises from Right of Center blogs without attributing or acknowledging the source, something serious ails the Indian Right. [...]
Posted on May 13, 2007 at 5:40 PM.
Offstumped - » The Pioneer Plagiarises from Offstumped says:
[...] Offstumped Bottomline: It is rather ironic that Swapan Dasgupta had recently lamented in an editorial piece that appeared in The Pioneer on what ails the Indian Right. ( Sandeep’s reproduction of the same ). When the only mainstream newspaper that claims to have an official Right of Center editorial policy plagiarises from Right of Center blogs without attributing or acknowledging the source, something serious ails the Indian Right. The Pioneer should be collaborating with Offstumped and other blogs on INI towards the common cause of the Indian Right rather than shamelessly plagiarise. [...]
Posted on May 14, 2007 at 6:02 PM.
What ails Indian right is that till date they have not been able to decide what do they stand for.They are a right wing nationalist party a day and on another flirting with ’secularism’.They are neither here nor there.
Some stupid state level leaders like kesri nath or lal ji tandon,issue a cd and offer all the bullshit they dished out in defense.
Ideologues like Govindaacharya are thrown in the dustbin of history.
All these years they have yet to find sympathetic friends in media.What ever Chandan Mitra is doing is not enough and the above Offstumped’s comment leaves a bad taste in mouth.Pioneer should apologize.
Maya has taught them BJP a lesson.She knows how to moblise the workers.And the Indian right is still stuck with a motely group of retired school masters who meet every morning in some park.
This is my very own personal experience,i did start going there but then stopped.These old warriors haven’t come out from 1947 and there each logic starts from there and ends there.
Do they have any thing new to offer.
Why are people like Sandeep,Offstump all other friends or your truly are not invited to start and take the war to secularist’s’ bastions?
PI
PI.
Posted on May 15, 2007 at 10:11 AM.
Excellent article indeed!
Posted on January 21, 2009 at 9:29 AM.