By Swapan Dasgupta
A casual reading of India’s post-Independence
history may well prompt the belief that the Republic was born to be Left in its
political orientation. From the time Jawaharlal Nehru warded off the challenge
of the orphaned followers of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabbhai Patel in the
early-1950s, socialism was the buzzword of the times. This deification of state
control with its attendant inefficiencies and the celebration of centralised
planning persisted into the tenure of Indira Gandhi when it was obligatory to
be progressive.
Apart from institutionalising sluggish economic
growth, creating a bloated and venal state, and driving honest entrepreneurship
into oblivion, Indira Gandhi, who entered into a marriage of convenience with
an opportunistic Marxist Left, distorted the vocabulary of Indian politics. As
opposed to Nehru who transplanted the genteel traditions of upper-class British
socialism into the discourse, his daughter had little inhibition in borrowing
generously from the crude, sloganeering language of the pro-Soviet
intellectuals. Thus, the denunciation of “right wing reactionaries” that was
the hallmark of the battle against the Syndicate became a feature of the
political landscape until the collapse of the Berlin Wall put an end to the
supposed march of history. Its high
point was the Emergency when the Preamble to the Constitution was modified and
replenished with the terms ‘secularism’ and ‘socialism’.
The economic liberalisation process initiated by the
P.V. Narasimha Rao government in 1991 was an important trigger in breaking the
Left consensus. Hitherto, the so-called Right had existed at two levels: as a
traditionalist critique of a nationalism that was insufficiently mindful of the
cultural moorings of India, and as an alternative to statist economics. The two
strands, initially represented by the Jana Sangh and the Swatantra parties
remained on the margins and were unable to effectively challenge the Nehruvian
consensus. It was the Ayodhya movement and economic liberalisation that created
the conditions for a viable Right—a process that, however, remains work in
progress.
For the Indian Right, the general election of 2014
presents the greatest opportunity to rectify the ideological imbalance. The
rise of Narendra Modi as a pan-Indian challenger to dynastic politics and the
Left consensus is located within a definite context. First, thanks to the UPA
Government’s hesitation in carrying forward the process that had been
inaugurated by Manmohan Singh when he was Finance Minister in the Rao
government, India’s growth rates have slipped alarmingly. From being a rising
world power, India appears to have lost steam in the increasingly globalising
world. Secondly, the BJP, with its emphasis on infrastructural development and
the promotion of entrepreneurship, has emerged as an alternative to the
Congress’ well-meaning but inept welfarism. Finally, the steady dilution of the
rough edges of ‘cultural nationalism’ has meant that the Congress attempt to
paint the BJP as a party of the lunatic fringe is carrying diminishing returns.
These trends have coalesced around the personality
of Modi for a variety of reasons. As a three-term Chief Minister of a
rapidly-growing state, Modi has had the opportunity to demonstrate an
alternative approach in action. Despite his commitment to a ‘minimal state’,
Modi isn’t a classical Thatcherite. Rather than dispense with state-sponsored
initiatives—a difficult proposition in a country marked by economic and social
inequalities—he has focussed on two things: doing away with needless
bureaucratic controls and demanding efficiency from the state. Lacing his
larger-than-life persona with an enthusiastic promotion of technology, he has
sold a dream to an India that is longer content to remain stuck in the Third
World. Modi has whetted the Indian appetite for modern governance draped in an
Indian flag. A formidable communicator who loves to take on his opponents
frontally, Modi has used Gujarat as the launching pad of an audacious attempt
to make a parliamentary election presidential.
As the general election battle heats up, there are
likely to be two emerging trends in the Modi campaign. First, it is more than
likely that the facets of governance, particularly the approaches to economic
management, which distinguishes Modi from the rest of the pack will be
aggressively showcased. Those wishing for a manifesto commitment to large-scale
privatisation and the abolition of the Planning Commission could be
disappointed. But their enthusiasm may well be kindled by an assurance that the
days of big government are over.
Secondly, it is also likely that the projection of
Modi may well be aimed at elevating him from the humdrum of party politics. A
carefully-crafted and nuanced distinction between what Modi stands for and what
the BJP represents could well find reflection in the next few months.
For the Indian Right, the Modi campaign is
make-or-break moment. The outcome will prove crucial in determining whether or
not Indian politics can be re-calibrated to reflect the logic of the changes
that have affected the country over the past 25 years. India has changed
unrecognisably but its politics is still stuck in a rut. Modi represents the
most coherent bid to bring governance and politics into the 21st
century.
The voices that were stifled after 1947 are awaiting
their moment, eagerly.
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