Offstumped – Commentary on India

Had initially thought of titling this post as “Down with the Anarchists” but ….

http://twitter.com/offstumped/status/78430384173498368

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instead decided to go with a positive theme before taking a Summer blogging break.

Much has already been written and said on the anarchist streak within the so called “civil society movements” from either end of the ideological spectrum.

This blog has analyzed the dangers posed by Left Liberalism ad-nauseam.

This blog has also on multiple occasions advocated on why the counter political movement to the Left Liberalism of the Congress has to be based on a Triangulation of the three principles of

#1  Constitutionalism (Dharma in the public context)

#2 Enlightened Pursuit of Self Interest (Artha in the socio-economic context)

#3 a Socio-Cultural Value System or a Personal Moral Compass (Dharma in the individual context).

Building on the above 3 principles this blog has also hypothesized how such a Triangulation can bring together the three constituencies in the broad space to the Right of Center combining

#1 those who believe in a Strong Republic and stand for its strategic interests

#2 those who stand for a limited role for the State in Socio-Economic Decision Making and stand for economic freedom and the pursuit of Enterprise

#3 those who stand for Socio-Cultural Values drawing inspiration from them as a Personal Moral Compass in the conduct of our Public Affairs

These three constituencies however are not without inherent contradictions for we often trip because:

#1 there are many who put Moralism of different kinds over Realism in the pursuit of Strategic Interests

#2 many more who put more Faith in the Wisdom of the State over the Individual and Private Enterprise in socio-economic decision making

#3  a significant, vocal segment who put Cultural Identity above personal freedoms

It is unfortunate that all three of the above often come together in a reverse traingulation of sorts in the political responses of some within the broad political movement that swears by Hindutva and identifies with the Bhagwa.

Describing this process of  reverse triangulation as the “Saffron Left” as this blogger has often done perhaps doesn’t quite do justice in understanding this phenomenon accurately. Much of this phenomenon can be traced to

#1 Unresolved emotions over an unfinished Culture War and….

#2 a superficial understanding of native traditions of political science and statecraft

Hence we have this periodic hijacking of the broad political space to the Right of Center by those who are in awe of the Bhagwa to the degree it reminds them of Shivaji’s guerrilla tactics against a cultural onslaught of that era while being blissfully ignorant of what the Chhatra stood for when Shivaji became Chhatrapati.

Media reports quote RSS Chief Shri Mohan Bhagwat mentioning that he believed in Shivaji’s Model of Governance. Now we dont know what exactly he meant by Shivaji’s Model of Governance:

Small Government – Shivaji only had a Cabinet of 8 Ministers

Flat rate of taxation

Openness to Foreign Trade – Shivaji negotiated trade routes with the British, transacted with them through his conquests

The problem is beyond the feel good sloganeering on the romantic notion of a Welfare State aka “Ram Rajya” this movement has failed to define itself on the guiding principles of statecraft and on the role of government more specifically limits to government. Th

The culture of anti-intellecutalism that has seeped into this movement has ensured that half baked ideas and feel good slogans have become a substitute for a sound guiding philosophy on political issues.

If only the movement’s leading lights were to rest Bhagwa back in its sacred corner and remind themselves of what the Chhatra in Chhatrapati stood for we would all be far better of with

a political movement that while drawing its moral compass from Hindu Values does not lose sight of both Constitutionalism and the Enlightened Pursuit of Self Interest.

Ending this post with a quote from this out of print book on the rich ancient Indian Tradition of Political Science on what the Shveta Chhatra or the White Umbrella stood for:

 the core of the tradition as symbolized by the “White Umbrella” is essentially this: The problem of government is the ethical problem of the individual projected onto the field of the State. Its solution lies in Dharma.

Offstumped will be on a break for the next few weeks.

Filed under: Ambedkarite Constitutionalism, Anna Hazare, उत्तर प्रदेश २०१२, Baba Ramdev, betrayal of aam admi, Local Governance, Narendra Modi, Nitin Gadkari, Shveta Chhatra