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POLITICAL DIARY
Swearing By Or At Gandhi?
ENOUGH OF RHETORIC & GIMMICKRY
By Poonam I Kaushish
New Delhi, October 02, 2007
The drumbeaters were out. Hooting for Rahul Gandhi. “He is
the country’s future,” gushed Congressmen. “Is the movie
‘Gandhi my Father,’ connected with him?” queried a schoolgirl.
“No, it’s about the other Gandhi, the one we read about in
history and get a chutti for,” answered her friend. “You mean
the Mahatma in the super hit Lage Raho Munnabhai. Who
popularized Gandhigiri -- truth, morality and values. The one
our netagan talk about ad nauseum to acquire a halo around
their own heads,” replied the schoolgirl.
She was damn right. Look how our netagan, who till yesterday
remembered Gandhi only ritually, are today falling over each
other to be first past the post in everything Gandhian. The
Congress has claimed proprietial rights on the Father of the
Nation. Amidst celebrations to commemorate 100 years of
Satyagraha, it has not only got the United Nations to declare
Gandhiji’s Birthday 2 October as “Non-Violence Day” but Party
President Sonia Gandhi is also addressing the UN at a special
function today. Remember, the Party held a two-day jamboree in
January on Gandhian philosophy in the 21st Century. Leaders
from all over the world then pontificated on peace,
non-violence and empowerment.
Do they honestly believe in Gandhiji? Adhere to his values?
Forget it. All are busy riding the crest of popularity of
Gandhigiri to reap a political harvest. Today, at the crack of
dawn a smattering of leaders led us to Rajghat, the samadhi of
freedom. With beatific smiles even as they inwardly cursed the
time wasted. Ritually offered flower petals. Observed two
minutes’ silence. Gave sound bites to the TV cameras. Duty
performed, they rushed back to their heavily securitized cars.
Heading to their next destination. To go through the ritual
again.
New Satyagraha
Ignoring the genuine Gandhians, some of them in their
eighties, who have formed a Gandhian Satyagraha Brigade, based
in New Delhi’s Lajpat Bhawan, and have been conducting “a new
Satyagraha” for the past two months against the failure of
successive Governments of India in combatting mounting
corruption and criminality in public life. And the aam aadmi
who patiently awaits his turn to pay his sincere homage.
Opportunity comes only when the VVIPs and VIPs have departed
and the security barricades are removed.
Look at the irony. Gandhiji wanted to wind up the Congress
party and have a Lok Seva Sangh (servants of the people
society) to take its place. This was primarily because of the
rot that was setting into the Party. He had received
information that some Congress legislators were taking money
from business houses to get them licences, that they were
indulging in blackmarketing and subverting the judiciary and
intimidating officials to secure transfers and promotions for
their protégées in the administration. He wanted somehow to
stop the Congress and Congressmen from capitalizing on the
freedom struggle in which the nation as a whole had
participated.
Going a step further, Gandhiji wanted to sternly screen
candidates for Parliament and provincial legislatures and put
up only those with integrity and a selfless spirit of service
to the community. This, he urged, would guide the voters in
their choice of suitable persons to speak on their behalf in
the nation’s highest forum. The members of these
organizations, which were to be engaged in constructive social
work among the masses, were to keep out of politics
themselves.
Mahatma Isolated
But Gandhi’s proposals did not appeal to his lieutenants, who
were more interested in using the Congress ladder to power.
The Mahatma thereupon felt even more isolated than ever from
the very men who claimed to follow him and practice his
precepts. He felt like one exploited by his close comrades for
their own political ends. Tragically, he was killed by an
assassin’s bullets, before he could purge Indian politics of
its fast corrupting influences.
Today, Gandhiji’s fears have come a full circle. Just look
around and sees how far removed we are from Bapu’s vision of
India post-Independence, his ideas of simple living and high
thinking, his sense of right and wrong and his value system.
If ahimsa, or call it soul force, cast a Mahatma’s halo around
him universally, himsa has become the universal truth for our
society.
Wherein Gandhi’s teachings have been reduced to mere pious
platitudes and inane speeches on his birth anniversary and
martyrdom day or during elections, courtesy our parochial
leaders. The fire and zeal across the nation to come out in
response to Gandhi’s “do-or-die” slogan died an early death.
Replaced by a rent-a-crowed brought by chartered buses to
election rallies. Might is right, after all.
Bringing things to such a ludicrous pass that today Gandhi
seems an alien from a different planet. Said he: “The
ministers are the people’s servants. They will not stay in
office a day longer than the people’s wish. These offices have
to be held lightly, not tightly. They are or should be crowns
of thorns, not renown.” Sadly, the Mahatma did not visualize
portly ministers fitting tightly into their polyester khadi
kurtas! And khaas kursis. Or, how these heavy weights would
not take anything and everything lightly! Certainly, not their
offices.
Wherein corrupt and convicted leaders shamelessly strut around
as proud peacocks. He could never have imagined a day when
tainted ministers would adorn the Treasury Benches and the
Prime Minister would justify their inclusion as the
“compulsions of coalition politics!” Or, that a Cabinet
Minister would be jailed for murder and another would go
“underground” to evade arrest. Could one imagine the Father of
the Nation manipulating the system to achieve this? Never.
Code for Ministers
Bapu had said, “Ministers should not live as ‘sahib log’ or
use private work facilities provided by the Government for
official duties.” Nothing could be farther from the truth
today. Yesterday’s princes have been replaced by Ministers,
and MPs, who see themselves as winners. Not one Minister is
willing to give up his colonial bungalow and be anything less
than the Burra Sahib! Lutyen’s Delhi is being absurdly treated
as a holy cow. There are no rules of the game any more. You
make your own rules. The business of democracy is all about
rule by law not rule of law. The doctors of all trades.
Experts in doctoring facts and in fixing deals.
At various election rallies, our polity emphasises a return to
Gandhian values. “Our life styles must change. Vulgar,
conspicuous consumption must go. Simplicity, efficiency and
commitment to national goals hold the key to self reliance!”
Brave words indeed, words which taunt the five star culture
reality of today.
How many have read the Arjun Sengupta report on unorganized
labour which talks of 70 per cent of India’s teaming billion
living in abject poverty, earning less than Rs 20 a day. Are
they aware that there are over 12 lakh manual scavengers who
load human excreta with their bare hands? Yet they continue to
woo illiterate masses with money and pipe dreams of roti,
kapra and makan.
Depressingly, nowhere does ideology, principles, party
interests or policies even rhetorically figure in our leaders’
vocabulary. In the past, the leaders at least used to
camouflage their intentions in ideological garbage. Today,
even that fig leaf or verbosity has been discarded. “The truth
I proclaim is as old as the hills,” said he. Alas, he did not
visualize that the hills could be decimated and truth erased
and replaced with only one lakshya these days: “gaddi rakho,
paisa pakro”. Power and money at any cost. The country and its
democracy can go to hell.
The Mahatma’s view as stated in his biography, “Experiments
with Truth”: “I do not want my house to be walled in on all
sides and my windows to be shuttered. I want the cultures of
all lands to be blown about freely. I refuse to be blown off
my feet by any. Mine is not a religion of the prison house. It
has room for the least of God’s creations. But it is proof
against insolent pride of race, religion or colour.”
Secularism Diluted
Most sadly, India’s secular credentials today have been
dissected, butchered and roasted to suit political convenience
and tactics. Unfortunately, the secularism advocated by the
Mahatma and our founding fathers has got greatly diluted to
brazen minority appeasement. Carrying it to such absurd limits
that our polity takes offence to the rendering of Vande Matram
but willy nilly talks of giving reservation for minorities.
Equality for them connotates giving first preference to the
Muslims.
Less said about the raging controversy over the Ram Setu the
better. Clearly, a day is not far when Mahatma Gandhi’s call
for Ram Rajya will be dissected and debunked as the
outpourings of a rabid Hindu fundamentalist. This is the
secular reality of what a wit described as India’s “420
secularism”.
In the final analysis, what should one say of a polity that
swears by the Mahatma but doesn’t heed him. “Today I am your
leader but tomorrow you may have to put me behind the bars,
because I will criticize you, if you do not bring about Ram
Rajya,” he said. We did not put him behind bars. Instead, we
murdered him --- and continue to do so daily. Our experiments
with untruth! ---- INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature
Alliance)
E-Mail :
newseditor@sarkaritel.com
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