Robbed of their pet theme of Hindutva, the anti-BJP and anti-Modi forces are nitpicking on the party’s document of ‘intent and commitment’ to keep the issue alive. The desperation is there for all to see
Devi lal had once famously remarked that an election manifesto is a useless piece of document that even its framers do not take seriously. This disdain has over the years rubbed off on the voters as well, who have treated manifestos as a bunch of empty promises that political parties make without the slightest intention of honouring them. Parties have added their bit to the cynicism by living up to the low expectations that the people have had. They have all too often got away with giving assurances before elections and going back on them thereafter.
But the days in which Devi lal did his politics are over. The 24x7 media attention, the increased awareness among the people, the monumental change in the aspirations of the new voters who dominate the demographics of the country, and the growing realisation that caste and community politics is not going to make the lives of people better, let alone take the nation forward, have made it impossible for parties to be as lackadaisical about their manifestos as they have been. They know that they will be held to account on the promises they make in print. That they cannot escape is evident from the enormous attention which the media has given to the manifestos of the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party for 2014, and from the detailed dissection — at times reduced to hair-splitting — which television channels and newspapers have put these documents to.
Given that the Congress is on its way out and nothing, least of all a manifesto, can reverse this trend, the larger media focus has naturally been on the manifesto which the resurgent BJP released on Monday. It must be something of a first for a party to release its national manifesto on a day the country went into the first phase of its month-long voting process. While the delay led to a great deal of speculation on the party’s supposed internal differences that had held up the document, it also enhanced the interest quotient among the people and the Press on what to expect.
Depending upon which side of the political fence you are on, you can either welcome the BJP’s manifesto or condemn it. What you cannot do is to ignore it, because this manifesto attracts attention. It has the Narendra Modi stamp on it without doubt, including a quote of his favourite spiritual teacher, Swami Vivekananda: “You can do anything. Believe in that.” But this is not the only reason why it is to be taken seriously. The manifesto is refreshingly specific. It cuts out ambivalence and provides clear directions on economy, internal security, defence, federalism, urbanisation and rural challenges.
While it offers not just the party’s take on these matters but also a broad plan of action, wherever possible, to realise the promises made, the talking point for both the media and the rivals of the BJP has been the mention of the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. This, when it’s not just a mention, but a passing mention towards the very end of the document. There is no belligerent assurance to construct the temple come what may. Instead, the manifesto says in the mildest terms: “BJP reiterates its stand to explore all possibilities within the framework of the Constitution to facilitate the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.”
One sympathises with the anti-BJP and anti-Modi baiters who have been robbed of their pet secular theme to flog the party with. They have been going round in circles in the past 48 hours trying to convince all those who are willing to listen — the numbers of which are not too many now — that the underplaying of the Ram temple issue is only a smokescreen. The BJP, they have been claiming, has not abandoned its ‘communal agenda’. They fail to appreciate that the issue has been mentioned in the manifesto not as part of the BJP’s political ideology, which may have been problematic for many people, but under the title, ‘Cultural Heritage’. Surely, a party which has risen from the Ayodhya movement to reach a pre-eminent position today, cannot altogether obliterate an issue that finds resonance not just among its supporters but also a vast section of the population in the country.
But what has really taken the wind out of the sails of the opposition parties is that the manifesto promises to address the construction of the temple by “exploring all possibilities within the framework of the Constitution”. How can any Indian have a problem with thatIJ Parties that have an issue with the Ram temple have not had the courage to mention, even vaguely, in their manifestos, that they are opposed to the construction of the temple in Ayodhya. Nor do they have the conviction to come out of their pseudo-secular shell and own up the temple issue.
Having lost the edge on the issue, the BJP’s rivals in politics, media and intelligentsia, have seized upon another matter: A commitment in the manifesto that India shall be the “natural home for persecuted Hindus and they shall be welcome to seek refuge here”. They have accused the party of bringing Hindutva by the backdoor. If a country which has the world’s largest population of Hindus has reached out to this religious denomination, where is the compromise on secularismIJ The approach does not threaten to make India a ‘Hindu state’ or in some way diminish the position or security of other religious communities in the country. The inclusion of ‘persecuted Hindus’ does not automatically lead to the ‘exclusion’ of other persecuted communities who may want to seek refuge in India. However, for that to happen in an institutionalised manner, there is a need for a national refugee policy. Hopefully, it will come about sooner or later.
The assurance of a refugee status for persecuted Hindus must be read alongside the other observation the manifesto makes in the same chapter, titled, ‘Foreign Relations — Nation First, Universal Brotherhood’, which is that of the need to “harness our soft power avenues into our external interchange”. If India reaches out to the persecuted Hindus across the world, it will send a strong message that no country can take us for granted. One has to only look at the examples of Israel and the US to realise how they stand by their people or people of their origin spread throughout the globe.
The refugee issue is only one of the points that the manifesto has raised on the need for India to flex its soft power muscle. In what can dramatically alter our disastrous foreign policy, the document has also assured that “instead of being led by big power interests, we will engage proactively on our own with countries in the neighbourhood and beyond.”
Nobody can deny that we have failed spectacularly in the last 10 years to capitalise on our soft power, and have ended up becoming soft without wielding any power. The BJP’s manifesto promises to change this perception and reality through a series of steps. The promise to make India the natural home for persecuted Hindus worldwide (found especially in countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh) is one such enabling tool.