Originally published in The Pioneer on 20th Sept 2011.
From Rama to Akbar to Shivaji, the Shveta Chhatra has been a non-theocratic symbol of the sovereign power of the State. The Shveta Chhatra envisioned a ‘Strong Republic’ but with a minimalist Government. From Kautilya to Gandhi and Ambedkar, we see glimpses of that tradition of political thought. It needs to be revived
A decade-long campaign of calumny marked by a frequent shifting of goal posts and extraordinary court interventions is finally staring at the end of its road. In a very wise move the Supreme Court in its orders on the appeal to further probe the ‘role’ of Mr Narendra Modi and others in relation to the Gulbarg case asserted both restraint and discretion. In doing so the Supreme Court reminded us that the “sky will not always be the limit”, when in fact precedent and Constitution define those limits to what the highest court will do and will not do. This is a slap in the face of those who attempted to invoke the non-existent doctrine of ‘command responsibility’ so they can achieve by extra-legal means what they failed to achieve by political means.
The only salve for the wounds of Gujarat 2002 is for truth and justice to prevail. By seeking retributive political vengeance through the court system, agenda-driven NGO activists have actually insulted the memory of the many dead in Gujarat 2002 while also abusing the sentiments of their next of kin. No words or actions can satisfy Ms Zakia Jafri’s cry for justice on account of her husband’s horrific death. The criminal case over the burning has to be taken to its logical conclusion and the perpetrators must be served the toughest sentences by the courts. But the NGO activists do Ms Zakia Jafri no good by leading her down the path of retributive political vengeance in the trial court. Ms Zakia Jafri needs justice and that justice will not be found by making a case rooted in falsehoods.
The process of uncovering the truth and upholding justice must continue in every one of 2002 riots cases. Agenda-driven NGO activists and the media must do the riots victims a favour by not second-guessing the process of Justice, thus delaying it even further. The politicisation of the justice process in the riots cases must come to an end.
The media must also cease its vacuous agenda of raising false bogeys in the aftermath of the Supreme Court orders. There is no general election next week, next month or next year. By posing dishonest questions on the BJP’s prime ministerial candidates, the media is deflecting attention from its own shameful record on not subjecting the Congress’s internal affairs to the same degree of scrutiny.
While the time to debate prime ministerial candidates will come at some point in the future, the time to debate issues, platform, agenda and vision is now. We have in front of us two vehicles that have been advanced by the BJP in the past fortnight. On the one hand we have the yatra announced by Mr LK Advani and on the other we have the Sadbhavana Mission launched by Mr Narendra Modi. While the two have very distinct stated goals, those goals are inter-related.
Both the yatra and the mission have to address three challenges for the BJP-led NDA to displace the UPA by presenting itself as a viable, credible and legitimate alternative.
The first challenge that needs to be addressed is differentiation. A clear distinction needs to be drawn from the corrupt politics and the statist policies of the Congress. The second challenge that needs to be addressed is inclusivity. While drawing that sharp differentiation care must be taken to demonstrate that the alternative presented will not result in exclusion. The third challenge that needs to be addressed is consolidation of the base.
Mr Modi’s formulation of ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’ can be the new political construct that drives a clear distinction from the Congress’s corrupt politics and statist policies. While this will effectively address the first challenge, the message of ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’ must also transcend demographic fault-lines to address the second challenge.
That can happen by projecting the NDA as a Big Tent coalition to convey a message of inclusivity. BR Ambedkar, speaking in the Constituent Assembly, spoke of a vision of an assimilated Indian republic where the distinction between the majority and minority ceases. By drawing on Ambedkar’s words, ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’ will have to assuage anxieties of the minorities.
How can such a Big Tent coalition reassure with sincerity and credibility that justice will be delivered to all and there shall be discrimination against none?
How can such a Big Tent coalition do so without incurring the wrath of its own base by not being accused of the very same appeasement it has always been so critical of?
To accomplish this it is important for the proposed yatra by Mr Advani to advance a new construct that fuses the two ideas of ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’ and a ‘Big Tent coalition’. It must do so by reinforcing Ambedkar’s vision of an inclusive and assimilated republic with “Justice for all and discrimination against none.” Finally, it must draw positive inspiration from the cultural nationalism of our ancient past in a non-theocratic manner.
From Rama to Akbar to Shivaji, the ‘White Umbrella’ or the Shveta Chhatra has been a non-theocratic symbol of the sovereign power of the state. The Shveta Chhatra also stood for a tradition of school of political thought that envisioned a ‘Strong Republic’ but with a minimalist Government. From Kautilya to Gandhi and Ambedkar, we see glimpses of that tradition of political thought.
Hence, this yatra must consider embracing the Shveta Chhatra as a moniker for that inclusive Big Tent coalition that shall deliver on the promise of ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’.
Filed under: Advani Yatra against Corruption, Ambedkarite Constitutionalism, Assembly elections 2011, उत्तर प्रदेश २०१२, Baba Ramdev, Narendra Modi, Nitin Gadkari, Shveta Chhatra, UPA-II Critical Appraisal, Uttar Pradesh Polls 2012, Varun Gandhi
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