On February 14, the day large parts of Uttar Pradesh went to polls on Phase 2 of Assembly elections, incumbent Chief Minister Adityanath once again spoke of Muslims as the ‘other’, using terms like ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’, ‘religious fanatics’ of ‘Talibani thinking’, liberally. He said, “India will run according to the Constitution, not according to Shariat.”

Adityanath was speaking to news agency ANI in an interview aired on the day of polling, and said that he stood by his statement and that this was an “India run by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This India will run according to the constitution not the Shariat.” He continued, “I also want to say it clearly that the dream of Ghazwa-e-Hind will not be fulfilled even till the Qayamat (end of the world).” However, he did not bother to explain or prove when India was not run by the Constitution or when it was run according to Sharia laws as he has claimed twice on the same day, that too on polling day.

…’गजवा-ए-हिन्द’ का सपना कयामत के दिन तक भी साकार नहीं होगा। pic.twitter.com/T5iel1q8Dn

— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) February 14, 2022

Adityanath claimed, “Traders, and women were safe in UP, There have been no riots in five years,” adding, “Today grand Kanwar Yatras are taken out in the state, kanwar yatris chant ‘bam-bam (to invoke Hindu god Shiva)’ and this makes people “feel safe” in the state.” He also invoked the “80 versus 20” claim on polling day, saying that 80 percent are/ will vote for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In the past the CM has in the past used the “80 versus 20” which has been interpreted to hint at “80 % majority Hindus” versus “20 % minority Muslims”. However, he has now claimed that he means to refer to the Opposition as the “20 %”. He said the elections were a fight between the 80 percent “who back progress” and the “20 percent who oppose everything”.

Adityanath stayed in campaign mode attacking Opposition leaders saying, “I say this again and again. The ration being received by the poor today used to be eaten up by the goons of SP earlier and the ‘elephant’ of Behenji (BSP chief Mayawati) has such a large stomach that everything is less for it.”

As many of those yet to vote in UP are paying attention to the words of the leaders of all political parties, CM Adityanath also commented on the saffron shawls versus hijab crisis that began in Karnataka and has reached Uttar Pradesh and other parts of india saying, “We cannot impose our personal beliefs. Am I asking the people and workers in UP to wear saffron? What they want to wear is their choice. In schools, there should be a dress code… discipline in schools.”

He reacted to AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi’s comment that  one day a hijab-wearing girl will become Prime Minister, saying, “It is for the freedom and rights of every girl that PM Modi put a stop on the malpractice of Triple Talak.”

He also defended his comment at the start of the UP election, “warning” voters that if they do not vote for BJP the state can turn into West Bengal or Kerala. He said, “People are coming from Bengal and spreading anarchy here. It was necessary to alert people against it saying that ‘be alert – the security, respect that you are getting, people have come to disrupt that and do not let that happen’. It was my responsibility to alert people.” Adityanath had made these comments just days after Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited UP to campaign for Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. The CM made personal comments on Yadav, calling him a “bade baap ka beta” (Translation: Rich man’s son), who is not aware of “facts and figures” because he is busy “sleeping for 12 hours” and “dreaming.”

Adityanath also “claimed victory” and made an exit poll style prediction on the phase 2 polling day saying, “I am confident after the first phase of the Assembly election. The scenario has become clear that BJP will form the government again in UP with an overwhelming majority. There should not be an iota of doubt about it.”

Related:

Hate Speech: BJP MLA Raghvendra Pratap Singh targets Muslims in UP election meeting  

UP can become Kashmir, Kerala, Bengal if you do not vote for BJP: CM Adityanath

Are Christians being targeted in Uttar Pradesh with the blessings of the regime?

Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami’s UCC talk, a sign of pre-poll jitters?

Lakhimpur Kheri case: Farmers remain enraged by Mishra’s bail

UP professor throws Muslim girl out of class for wearing hijab!

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has been claiming that the Uttar Pradesh model has become ‘ideal’ for the rest of the country. Darbari media has already hailed UP as one of the best ‘governed’ states.

As the first phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh ended, things are not that rosy for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as they claim. Hence BJP leaders, including the prime minister as well as chief minister, have been making such comments which are aimed at polarisation. Each statement is made in an extremely ‘well planned’ and ‘calculated’ way so that there is a consolidation through polarisation.

BJP’s growth is the story of this calculation and shifting goal posts, developing perceptions and building up narratives. Every powerful leader has a ‘dirty trick department’ which is ‘weaving’ new ‘narratives’ and converting them into ‘perceptions. Politics is not ideology, but perceptions and for that ‘WhatsApp’ forwarded messages comes handy.

In a way, Narendra Modi and BJP have succeeded in bringing knowledge from ‘elite’ class to ‘aam admi’ through Whatsapp. So, there is a ‘whatsappisation’ of knowledge which is extremely dangerous but it is for this the chief minister’s comment may be ‘fascinating’ but for the rest of the world, who knows facts, the chief minister’s statements ignore facts about Kerala and there cannot be any comparison between the two states which even the government’s own ‘NITI Ayog’ have said many times. We will discuss those issues in the coming days. Let us first discuss what the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh said.

Yogi Adityanath released a video statement on social media saying, “I want to say something from my heart today. In the past five years, many wonderful things have happened. However, if you make a mistake, the hard work of these five will be wasted. And this time, it will not take time for Uttar Pradesh to become Kashmir, Bengal or Kerala. Your vote is a blessing on my work for five years, but remember, the vote will also guarantee a fear-free life in your future.”

It is not that Adityanath has spoken like this for the first time. During his campaign in Kerala, he spouted the same rhetoric that Uttar Pradesh’s health system is the best in India and Kerala must learn from it. Kerala people rejected Adithyanath’s politics and ‘sermons’ outright, as did people in West Bengal and elsewhere. He has been a ‘star campaigner’ for his party, but is right now stuck in Uttar Pradesh and unable to campaign elsewhere which reflects his ‘confidence’ level.

BJP leadership deliberately use such tactics which polarise people. They know well to raise an issue which will become a hot discussion point with people in other states will be pick up the issue and counter it so that a ‘controversy’ is created. That is the way they wanted to create ‘sub-nationalism’ where it suits their interest. As Hindus and Muslims join hands in Uttar Pradesh, such politics is bound to happen which can create division among them. Right from Hijab to Kerala, all are deliberate efforts which have paid them in past.  During the Gujarat elections, BJP and Narendra Modi had often used ‘Pakistan’, ‘Mian Musharraf’ or confronting the then chief election commissioner Mr Lingdoh deliberately raising fingers at his faith, has been part and parcel of Sangh Parivar’s agenda to win elections at any cost. The language issue, the Hijab controversy too comes handy for them. Kashmir has often been invoked by the Hindutva leaders deliberately to create a sense of ‘insecurity’ among people. All this is used to ‘otherise’ the Muslims and ‘eliminate’ ‘caste differences’ to consolidate them as ‘Hindus’ in this ‘war’ against ‘jehad’.

However, comparison with Pakistan or Bangladesh too is highly unwarranted during the elections as it creates a diplomatic row. But the issue is that Sangh Parivar, and leaders who have emerged from it, don’t understand those things which can put our diplomats too great embarrassment as happened during ‘abki bar Trump Sarkar’ slogan that Narendra Modi raised in the United States against all norms of political decency which suggest one should not involve in electoral processes of other countries as a ‘party’. What will happen if the Americans or Europeans start supporting political parties of their choice here in India?

Similarly, responsible people should not engage in such comparisons among the states for their electoral benefits because all these states are run by the Constitution of India and are part of the Indian Union. Each one of us loves India and definitely will have respect for our state, even if it has not functioned well just because of the failure of the political leadership. I was born in Uttar Pradesh and can say that it is not that bad. It’s a state which not only led during the freedom movement but also gave strength to Baba Saheb Ambedkar. It is the state which has become the best hope for the political success of Ambedkarite polity. It is the state where Dalits and backward classes have gained in political leadership and roots of democracy now deepening. But these are the very facts that the Hindutva forces are unhappy about and want to undo through their ‘nationalists’ agenda.

However, you will not become anti-UP if you accept the real facts that Uttar Pradesh cannot be compared to Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra or Punjab with respect to developmental indices. All these states and many others have performed fairly well in the health, education and agricultural sectors.  The social justice record of Tamil Nadu exceeds all other states in India, let alone Uttar Pradesh. Kerala remains perhaps the best Indian state in terms of health infrastructure and education.

The Kerala and Uttar Pradesh comparison is not being explored for the first time. The most fascinating analysis is actually explained by Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen in their book  Indian Development long back in 1997. The contrast is remarkable and will not really ‘gladden’ the ‘heart’ of those who ‘vouch’ for the ‘thok do model’ of the government. In this extraordinary work, Prof Amartya Sen writes, “Kerala’s achievements in the social fields have been quite remarkable, including an achieved life expectancy of well over 72 years (69 for males and 74 for females by 1991) that compares well with China’s (69 years) and South Korea’s (71 years) achievements, despite the much greater economic advancement of these other countries. At the other end, Uttar Pradesh remains one of the most backward states in India, and had this state of 140 million people been an independent country, it would have been not only one of the largest, but also one of the most socially deprived countries in this world—giving its citizens less than some of the worst-performing economies in sub-Saharan Africa. We have to ask why—and to what extent—Kerala has succeeded, and why Uttar Pradesh has failed so badly in precisely those fields.”

I want to explain further what Prof Sen says that if Kerala were a separate country, its life expectancy would be compared to China and South Korea, two highly developed countries. If Uttar Pradesh was a separate nation, its economic performance would be worse than sub-Saharan countries.

One drawback of the Amartya Sen-Jean Dreze work is that it is from the late 1990s and things have now moved ahead and two sectors of Health and Education the things have deteriorated further. After the 1990s things have deteriorated further. With the mushrooming of private schools, the conditions of the government schools have worsened. The health sector crisis is far bigger where the crisis at Primary Health Centre has only escalated with continued neglect of the health sector. The Corona crisis actually provided an opportunity to our health sector but disturbingly the government used the opportunity to privatise the health sector in India. More focus on ‘insurance’ and less on strengthening the existing infrastructure or developing the new PHCs so that to overcome the crisis that the country faced. Despite the fact that Uttar Pradesh claims to have increased the number of medical colleges in every district, all this is in the private sector and health remains the core concern for people as private health services remain out of bounds for even the middle classes.

Southern India has been out of bounds for the BJP, and the only state where it has been able to enter is Karnataka. It failed miserably in both Tamil Nadu and Kerala though the party’s leadership tried to create the same type of narrative as they have been able to do in various north Indian states. In Karnataka too, the party is facing a serious crisis as there is nothing that the party can show as ‘achievement’. In the Southern part of Karnataka, the party seems to be following the UP model of vilifying the minorities but it will ultimately boomerang.

Southern parts of India have progressed more because of the politics of social justice and inclusive India. Kerala and Tamil Nadu today are the best governed states of India and are attracting the foreign investment too. Both the states have shown the power of inclusive development where Christians and Muslims can live in complete harmony with their Hindu counterparts and none feel threatened or challenged. There is no fight on what you eat or what is being cooked by your neighbours. Nobody feels threatened by an Azaan or the ringing bells of churches during the festive times. In fact, most of these states are ideal examples of the idea of an inclusive India. Kerala is the best example of religious diversity in India and how they live in greater harmony. Christianity and Islam came to Kerala much before they could reach Europe. Bengal has been the vanguard of our inclusive culture where a huge number of people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar found their life and employment for generations.

It was good that Kerala Chief Minister Pinyari Vijayan responded it in his tweet:

If UP turns into Kerala as @myogiadityanath fears, it will enjoy the best education, health services, social welfare, living standards and have a harmonious society in which people won’t be murdered in the name of religion and caste. That’s what the people of UP would want.

— Pinarayi Vijayan (@vijayanpinarayi) February 10, 2022

In fact, Yogi Adityanath has, on many other occasions as well, spoken about the Uttar Pradesh model but one does not know whether it was the ‘health’ model or ‘thok do’ model that he was speaking about. A lot has been spoken about Uttar Pradesh’s law and order. Right from Unnao to Hathras, Agra and many other incidents victims are just running from pillar to post. As far as the goondas are concerned, it is a clear case of ‘our goonda is better than your goonda’. While nobody will blame Yogi alone for the state of Uttar Pradesh and nobody can rule a state by vilifying one community or where the minorities are openly threatened and considered as unwanted.

Whether mistakenly or deliberately, Yogi’s statement has only created embarrassment for him and his ‘advisers’ and social media ‘doctors’ will be busy countering all those including Professor Amartya Sen, World Bank or anyone else as prejudiced against BJP or Uttar Pradesh but how would they ignore the Health Index brought out by the Niti Ayog and reported in various papers. A report in the Indian Express by Esha Roy on December 28, 2021 says, “Kerala remained the best-performing state in the health indicators for a fourth consecutive time, according to an index released on Monday, which also ranked Uttar Pradesh at the bottom of the rankings although the state also saw the most progress.”

Kerala got a score of 82.2 and UP, 30.57 — a difference of 51.63 points, which was an improvement from a difference of 56.54 points from the previous index. 

The survey[1] ranked states on indicators such as neonatal mortality rate, under-five mortality rate, sex ratio at birth, maternal mortality ratio, modern contraception prevalence rate, full immunisation coverage, antenatal care, identification and cure of TB, etc. 

In fact, Uttar Pradesh can also learn from the Kerala model of politics. The coalition politics in Kerala is a great example of how coalitions are cemented and can remain intact over a period of time. Uttar Pradesh’s maverick and self-serving politicians have actually undone the social justice agenda as they can make and unmake any coalition on the eve of the elections and hence ‘ideology’ if there is, get side-tracked to ‘opportunity’ offered by the ruling party. 

So, not only can Uttar Pradesh learn from Kerala’s welfare model, particularly its health services, but also through the coalition politics as without social coalition there is no possibility of representation of various marginalised and minority communities. Kerala grew because of full participation of minorities in its growth where Uttar Pradesh continued to vilify them resulting in nearly 20% of the state citizens feeling threatened and outside the developmental paradigm. It is not merely the issue of access to welfare policies but also about using the strength of minority institutions and networks to further them in the greater interest of the people. Exclusion of the minorities and marginalised is essential for development of the state. 

Nobody suggest that Southern states are flawless but definitely they have performed much better than the north Indian states in the developmental indices because society is learning to behave with the political changes of the time and politics understand need for social justice and inclusion where Uttar Pradesh model of the BJP tried to undo the strength developed through Mandalisation of the politics. BJP’s persistent focus on religion and nationalism was a clever plank to deny the OBCs and Dalits the leadership in Uttar Pradesh. Whether the marginalised of Uttar Pradesh will ensure that the Mandalisation process comes back or not will only be known after the results are out on March 10, yet one thing will remain that Uttar Pradesh will only gain through pursuing Kerala model of inclusion and welfare politics.

*Views expressed are the author’s own.

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Uttar Pradesh’s incumbent Chief Minister Adityanath, tasked with defending his seat, and the party in the Assembly elections now underway, has continued to use inflammatory speech. In his video message ostensibly to encourage voters to come out in large numbers, the CM ‘warned’ voters that if the electorate does not vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) “it will not take long for Uttar Pradesh to become Kashmir, Kerala and Bengal.”

The CM here is referring to the two states and Union territory as if they are not a part of India, and are “enemy states”. He posted this video message at 3.07 A.M on February 10, the day phase 1 of Assembly election has started, from his personal handle.

उत्तर प्रदेश के मेरे मतदाता भाइयों एवं बहनों… pic.twitter.com/voB37uA3uV

— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) February 9, 2022

Adityanath said these words were his ‘dil ki baat’ meaning that they came straight from his heart. While listing the ‘accomplishments’ of his government he claimed to have built pucca housing, toilets, providing cooking gas etc. When polling for the first phase of elections was due to take place in a few hours on February 10, the CM in this campaign video claimed he had taken decisions without discriminating based on caste, community, religion etc.

“I Am a yogi, no one can taint my saffron robes with corruption accusations… I am most satisfied that UP is free of goondas, anti social elements,” he said. He also invoked the alleged ‘exodus of Hindus’ saying that had returned home, and claimed that ‘women were safe’ in UP.

However, all his claims pale in comparison to what followed. Adityanath said ‘terrorists’ were out ‘threatening’ that ‘let the government come’, perhaps he was alluding to the Oppositons advertising campaigns that have spoken of a change in government and the “positive and progressive” changes it will bring in UP. 

The Uttar Pradesh CM then dropped the shocker, “Beware, if you miss the target, five years of hard work will go down the drain… this time it will not take long for Uttar Pradesh to become Kashmir, Kerala, Bengal!”

Ahead of the polling for the first phase of Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, chief minister Adityanath ‘cautioning’ voters against the state becoming Kashmir, Kerala and Bengal if they “make a mistake” is inflammatory to say the least. He claimed on polling day, that “rioters who have been restrained are getting impatient” and the “terrorists are repeatedly issuing threats.”

Around as 623 candidates are in the fray for the first phase of elections on 58 assembly seats, these include the Jat-dominant areas of western Uttar Pradesh, and Assembly seats include Shamli, Hapur, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Mathura, and Agra districts.

On the eve of the first phase of polling Adityanath shared a picture of him with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and claimed victory in the polls.

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Addressing the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha on February 24, 2021 Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath claimed, during the budget session, that every person visiting Haj from India is identified as a ‘Hindu’ rather than an ‘Indian,’ said Swarajya news.

“Hindu, is not a religion but a way of life and culture. Sanatan is a religion. We are all proud of our identity,” said Adityanath while talking about the ‘cultural pride’ of “akhand Bharat.”

It may be mentioned that his words violate the Preamble of the Indian Constitution that recognises India as a sovereign, secular republic as well as fundamental rights of Indian citizens that allows them to practice any religion of one’s choice. Notedly, indigenous people from central India have been long demanding a separate identity of ‘Sarna’ religion that is distinct from Hinduism and Hindutva, while retaining their Indian nationality.

During the two and a half hour speech, Amar Ujala said that he told Samajwadi Party (SP) members to learn about Ram, Krishna and Shankar from freedom fighter and leader Dr Ram Manohar Lohia and carry forward his legacy. “It’s better we follow those traditional values. Otherwise, the public will express its views,” said Adityanath.

Adityanath also brought up other recent incidents such as the construction of the Ayodhya temple which he called important for India’s cultural identity.

“People from across the world congratulated us on the rituals observed at the Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya on 5 August, 2020. We were able to carry out these rituals and related work during the spread of coronavirus and related restrictions and protocol,” he said.

Again, Adityanath’s statement disregards the Babri masjid violence that went on for many years. According to media reports, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) allegedly used the fundraising drives for the Ram temple as a means to gauge its popularity in different regions of the state of West Bengal.

The Chief Minister went on to dismiss the Hathras and Unnao sexual assault cases as conspiracies that were given the colour of caste. According to Adityanath, 85 percent of the tweets regarding such incidents were from Pakistan, Bangladesh. Alluding to Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi without naming her, he said that people who cannot differentiate between sugarcane and mango crops spread misinformation from Delhi.

Over the months, SabrangIndia covered incidents where journalists, politicians faced FIRs for “spreading fake news” about the Unnao case. Similarly, in October 2020, sanitation workers from the Valmiki community in Uttar Pradesh went on strike to demand justice for the Hathras victim’s families.

Regardless, Adityanath went on to attack the Opposition party stating that the BJP government had worked towards indigenous vaccines with two more vaccines on the way. Adityanath said these vaccines are being given free of cost, and exported to allied countries as well while the Congress attempted divisive politics in Kerala.

“They go to Kerala and speak another language,” he said to which Congress MLAs objected.

Nonetheless, the Chief Minister went on to say that he considered Kerala the centre of Sanatan faith, where Adi Shankaracharya was born.

“Instead of Lashkar-e-Taiba we are facing dangers from Indian organizations. What kind of political behaviour is this? What is the mindset to question India’s organizations in front of foreign ambassadors, discourage army personnel? It is this mindset that has threatened national security,” he claimed.

Regarding the UP leader’s “divisive” comment, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that in the last five years, no communal riots have taken place in Kerala while UP has the highest number of communal riots in the country.

Related:

Unnao reports: Twitter handles of Barkha Dutt’s portal, 7 others booked

Uttar Pradesh: Where women live in fear

Uttar Pradesh records highest crimes against Dalits: NCRB

Valmiki sanitation workers go on strike demanding justice in Hathras case

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Even while politicians and pundits are engaged in analysing the sweeping victory of the BJP at the polls in UP and are still discovering the lessons to be drawn , Hindutva forces have sent a ringing message, a warning, to the entire country.

It is not so much what was stated at the elite conclave by the supreme leader. It is not the latest slogan of “New India” laced with the gross rhetoric of everything having gone wrong in the last seven decades. Nor is it the oratorical flourish to start afresh a movement to reconstruct India from a scratch, as it were. This style which seeks to substitute substance is now familiar. But it assumes a new and sinister meaning when juxtaposed with the real-politick of the choice of CM for UP.

All the feints (or was it simply wishful thinking of the media) of floating names of different candidates for that important constitutional office soon came abruptly to an end. And the choice rested on the name which is most remembered for its authorship of or association with a bunch of crude and uncouth statements bordering on or amounting to incitement to communal disharmony. And even worse, for involvement in cases of communal rioting.

Also read: The real message from UP: Need for an alternative political narrative for mobilising the peasantry and the youth

Not long ago, the 'liberal' chatterati and the self- confessed protagonists of neo-liberalism were trying hard to convince themselves and others that the dispensation in New Delhi was distancing itself from the stray elements within its fold, whose staple diet was raw communalism and whose project was to push India into pre-modern medieval times. And many political novices were hoping against hope that this was so in reality. Growing evidence that it could be quite a different ball game was being ignored. Genuine apprehensions were being dismissed as political prejudice or helpless groans of the disgruntled elements of the earlier regime now out of power.

Now it should be easy to put two and two together even for the sympathisers of the New Delhi regime. Starting with Muzaffarnagar riots on the eve of the 2014 general elections; reaching a new high in the adroit decision of not finding even a single Muslim candidate deserving a BJP ticket for the 2017 assembly elections in the very state which has the largest Muslim population; and peaking in the crude, communalising innuendoes of Kabristan vs Samshan and Ramzan vs Diwali : communal polarisation has been and continues to be the overarching political theme and the strategy. The choice of CM says it all. And says it without any gloss or ambiguity.

This is an audacious extension of the Gujarat model of politics developed successfully by the Hindutva forces. Administering 'Shock and Awe' was the essence of the Gujarat strategy. The state machinery there connived at it, and turned its eyes away from mob crimes. That strategy effectively subdued the 9 percent strong minority of Gujarat.

One always thought that this strategy may not be expedient in a state like UP with its Ganga-Jamni tehzib, with little ghettoisation of its minority community, and above all, with the huge size of its minority and its close and enduring intertwining with the majority community. But ideologues of state power seem to be in a different mood. A point sought to be driven home is that subduing of the minority is possible in UP, ergo across the whole country. This cynical and sinister mood is rooted in the hubris of being in power at the Centre, on the one hand, and the popular appeal of the supreme leader, as re-vindicated in the UP assembly polls, on the other.

For this subduing to be achieved, what is necessary is not so much the actual communal conflagration, although the fear of the same erupting any moment must always be kept alive and real. What is essential is the generation of a feeling of hopelessness and acceptance in the minority community at large, particularly in affairs political. Equally important for the strategy to be successful is the co-generation in the majority community of the fear of the “enemy within”, so essential for the sustenance of the distorted and imported concept of “nationalism” cherished by the Hindutva legions. And the right moment for this seems to have arrived in the imagination of the Hindutva forces.

The history of Indian Republic is at the crossroads. The electoral majorities and adroit communal strategies are geared to make history take a decisive regressive turn. But it will never be a one-sided affair. The response has to come and will come from those who are sworn to the IDEA OF INDIA which is enshrined in our Constitution. Which itself was the product of a long and valiant freedom struggle against colonialism, a struggle which built an inclusive political platform seeking to overcome divisions and injustices which characterised the subjugated polity and society of the subcontinent.

The political response has to come primarily from the majority community believing in the Idea of India. And mere waving of the secular flag is not going to cut much ice either with the majority or minority community. What is necessary is an all-inclusive and broad-based campaign to “Save the Constitution”, on the one hand, and, on the other, radical politics of mobilisation and involvement of peasantry, youth, and the working classes on the minimum alternative agenda of agrarian reorganisation, right to work and provision of basic economic, social and personal security to all.

Nothing short of such a response will be adequate to meet the unfolding challenge to the Idea of India.

Times are difficult. The challenge is serious. But, as Lenin said in a different context, “We shall not lose heart, no matter which turn history takes. But we shall not allow history to take any turn without our participation, without the active intervention of the working class.”

(SP Shukla is former Finance Secretary to the Government of India. He is a retired bureaucrat who has spent his life working for the marginalised in India)

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