With
UP elections round the corner (Feb. 2002) the VHP,
a part of the Sangh Parivar
(Sp) has begun its Chetawani
Yatra (warning campaign). Contrary to their
expectations they drew flak from public and fortunately
it has turned out to be a poor flop. The attempt
of VHP 'Sants' to influence P.M., Mr. Vajpayee,
to let them initiate the temple building are unlikely
to yield any 'helpful' results as Mr. Vajpayee is
adept in the game of 'politics' and knows well as
to how to carry on the RSS agenda without jeopardizing
his 'image' and contingencies of the political chess
board.
Currently all the components of Sangh Parivar,
the progenies of RSS, may be sounding to work at
cross-purposes but their deeper coordination becomes
obvious when we analyse the whole picture. UP elections
has forced the Sp to 'search' for an issue that
can have appeal on the emotional level. Sp knows
well that its Govt. in UP has nothing positive to
project to be able to lure the voters. Just before
the attack on parliament by terrorists, on various
occasions Mr. Advani,
the 'architect in chief ' of Ram Janmbhumi campaign
and demolition of Babri Masjid, had pointed
out that this campaign will be central to the BJP's
future programs as it is this campaign which has
built up the BJP to its present strength. Since
the demolition in 1992 this issue has been raised
off and on depending on the needs of Sp politics,
the current effort being one of the most serious
in this direction. What are the portents of this
politics, which breeds hatred and is patronized
in the name of religion? What are the dangers posed
by this politics, which rouses religious sentiments
on one hand and tries to create a barrier between
two communities at deeper level? What is the future
trajectory of this politics, which buries the issues,
which our society should be addressing on urgent
basis like the one's related to food clothing employment,
shelter and health care etc. This retrograde politics
ensures the marginalization of the issues of Human
rights of weaker sections of society while giving
strength to the affluent sections and the prevalent
status quo of caste and gender relations.
As a matter of 'fact' a process of trial and error
discovered this 'issue' over a period of last five
decades. Initially Sp had seriously tried the issue
of 'protection of mother cow' (Janam Janam ka Nata
hai, gau hamari mata hai. "It is a question of generational
relations, cow is 'our' mother). This Cow campaign
launched by RSS was a total failure even in the
cow-belt. The Babri masjid was not made an issue
out of the blue. It remained in the freezer for
decades after the Ram Lalla idols were installed
in the mosque on the night of December 22-23 in
1949. The mosque, where regular prayers were held,
was locked on the order of local magistrate and
all the efforts of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to revert
the status to pre- 49 situation were foiled by the
local administration, especially by K.K.Nayyar the
local magistrate, who after his retirement, joined
the previous avatar of BJP, Bharatiya Jana Sangh,
to become its M.P. The matter remained frozen in
the files of the court while a thick lock adorned
its doors.
With the rise of the communal impact of the affluent
middle classes in the 80s, VHP campaigns started
drawing some responses. VHP, on the pretext that
Islam and Christian are a threat to Hinduism, as
they are forcing the gullible to embrace the 'alien'
religions, started its Yatras etc. Conversion of
Dalits to Isalm in Meenakshipuram and later the
retrograde response of Fundamentalist section of
Muslims in getting the Shaha Bano verdict was used
as a pretext to intensify the VHP's agenda. The
upper caste/class sections of society lapped up
'Hinduism in danger' theme
and they started supporting Sp through and through.
At the same time Rajiv Gandhi did play in the hands
of fundamentalists of both the religions and after
getting the court order in ShahBano case reversed
through an act of parliament got the locks of Babri
masjid open for performing puja by the Hindus.
Seeing that a section of Hindus is coming in the
ambit of religion based politics, Mr. Advani took
it up as 'the' core BJP agenda and made a thorough
brew of religion and politics. The earlier goal
of BJP, Gandhian Socialism
(!), was dumped for the Temple politics and
with his Rath Yatra, which bled the nation, which
led to series of communal riots; the seeds for the
upper caste Hindu vote tree were laid down. (.....To
be continued next week)
