Modi 2.0 and the road ahead

The spectacular Narendra Modi show in the 2019 GeneralElections marks a new chapter in the history of Indian democracy.  For the struggling opposition and religiousminorities, especially nearly 200 million Muslims, this victory seems even moredaunting and portentous than the outcome of 2014 Elections.

In many ways, it is. The BJP’s victory in the battle forpower in the world’s largest democracy has been most emphatic so far. The partycouldn’t manage such numbers — in the range of 343 plus in a 542-member house —even at the height of the all-consuming Ayodhya agitation.

   

Doubtless, the credit for this overwhelming and landslidevictory goes to Prime Minister Modi and his doppelganger Amit Shah, the BJP chiefand fellow Gujarati. But does this represent a success of the facetious ‘sab kasaath, sab ka vikas’ (together with all, development for all) mantra? That is adifferent debate altogether.

In a way, the stunning outcome of these most bitterly-foughtelections in the country’s history is hardly surprising given the incrediblehubris and shortsightedness of the opposition to ensure unity in itsranks.  Rahul Gandhi’s Congress Party issingularly responsible for and criminally guilty of failing to unite theopposition.

If Modi has won despite the long history of failures on theeconomic front, bad governance and the open war on religious minorities, it isbecause the opposition, especially the Congress, allowed him to.

If the BJP and Modi have won this election, they perhapsdeserved to win.  They put in a greatdeal of hard work and have had the hunger to win.  While we cannot ignore the epic lies,obfuscation and jingoism and hate that the BJP brazenly used against IndianMuslims and Pakistan to win this election, you have to acknowledge that theopposition failed to call Modi’s bluff and expose his failures on everyfront.  It failed to offer a positive,redeeming narrative to counter the BJP’s campaign of hate and toxicity.  Other than the single point agenda of gettingrid of Narendra Modi, the opposition did not offer anything else.  The Congress’ promise of ‘nyay’ (justice forall) came very late in the day and was simply lost in the BJP’s propagandablitz screaming about its various schemes and initiatives.  

Rahul Gandhi remained fixated on Rafale and ‘Chowkidar ChorHai’ without realising that the message is not hitting home.  Also, many did not like their prime ministerbeing described as a petty thief at every rally.  If the opposition failed to unite to take onModi and his fiercely, well-oiled war machine of a party, it was chieflybecause of the political myopia and rigidity of the Congress party, which spentmost of its time fighting opposition parties, rather than the BJP.

While the BJP bent over backwards to keep old, cribbingallies and win new ones in every state, the Congress simply refused to come offits high horse and failed to accommodate allies like the Bahujan SamajwadiParty, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress and Aam Aadmi Party despite sharingthe same values and beliefs and the goal of getting rid of the BJP andModi.  Thanks to the selfishness andcussedness of its old guard, the grand old party lost sight of the morepressing and immediate goal of defeating the BJP.

Political scientist and activists Yogendra Yadav may havebeen a bit harsh when he said this week that the Congress must die so that anew opposition could emerge to confront the BJP and its divisive worldview. Buthe is accurately voicing the mounting frustration of progressive forces in thecountry over the pathetic state of the main opposition party that once ledIndia to Independence. 

Indeed, if the BJP and Modi owe their victory to a singlefactor, it is none other than the criminal failure of the main opposition partyand its failure to see the big picture. Despite the series of devastating debacles that it has suffered over thepast several years and the rout of the party in every state and constituency ofthe country, the grand old party simply refuses to part with its delusions ofgrandeur.  No wonder the Indian voter haspunished the Congress for it and handed Modi such a handsome mandate.  In any case, the Congress and other oppositionparties are no match against the BJP’s massive muscle power, money power andmilitary-like organisation.

Successfully deploying the hundreds of front organisationsof the RSS and millions of dedicated and driven workers at its disposal, theBJP ran an epic and flawless campaign. Using conspiracy theories and hateful propaganda that would make theNazis proud, the saffron party stoked and tapped into the Hindu-Muslim divide,persuading the Hindu majority that despite their many failures, Modi and BJPare best suited to deal with Pakistan and the wretched minority that is perceivedas loyal to it.  In this atmosphere ofhate, secular forces stood no chance.    

Yours truly and a number of other pundits have beenpredicting this outcome over the past year or so.  Indeed, the writing on the wall had beenthere for all to see.  Yet we had beenhoping against hope that somehow things would turn out differently. 

We believed in the famous commonsense and reason of ordinaryIndians.  But clearly that was not to be.Preying on the Hindu angst about the minority as an existential threat, the BJPstitched together an extraordinary supra-caste coalition of various communitiesdefying post Mandal realities.

Its well-oiled machinery has been zealously working, usingmore than 20,000 WhatsApp groups, neighbourhood committees and network of temples,akharas and schools for the final push. The result has been spectacular. TheBJP won, thanks to all its hard work and of course the clever messaging againstthe demonised Other. By unifying Hindu society and targeting its ire againstMuslims, the BJP not only swept the polls, it has brought down the Muslimrepresentation to a historic low.

Where do we go from here? What is the way ahead for India’sMuslims? One thing is for sure. With this massive mandate, the saffron partywill certainly try to shape the republic, its Constitution and its democraticinstitutions in its own image and hue. Already, no arm of the republic is beyond the overarching influence ofthe Parivar, be it the Election Commission, the judiciary, universities andadministration.  It is only going toexpand in months and years ahead, further cowing down the Muslims and otherminorities.  

What we urgently and desperately need to do right now is tobuild bridges with our Hindu brethren whose majority remains reasonable. Theyare our biggest hope and allies in this war for an inclusive India. We pay muchlip service to solidarity with fellow travellers like Dalits but how many of ushave actually taken such a step?

Wherever we are, we must reach out to our non-Muslim friendsand neighbours to address their misunderstandings about Islam and Muslims. Thisis the key to many of our problems. This is something that Muslims who havelived in India for more than a thousand years should have done. We are payingfor the indifference and apathy of our forebears. If we do not do our bit, ourfuture generations will not forgive us.

Whatever the future has in store, we need to prepare for it.We cannot afford to lose hope. We cannot give in or give up.  Indian Muslims need a new road map, a wholenew approach to reinvent and empower themselves. Avoiding confrontationalpolitics and emotive issues, we must focus all our energies on the realchallenges and problems facing us like economic deprivation and educationalbackwardness. Election 2019 is not the end of the world, if we draw the rightlessons from it.

(Aijaz Zaka Syed is an award-winning journalist and former editor).

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