Choose the battles you want to
fight- My ex-boss used to say. Implying, you have too many things to deal with
on a given day and it’s for you to prioritize. It was a mere statement or quote
for us. But I am pretty sure, she lives it every day! Being a working woman
with husband, kids and all sorts of 'social expectations’, such things come to
women easily. I am pretty sure she didn't invent that quote. I didn't care to
look up google for the original source (else this para would have started with
XXX said!!). For me the message is important than the source. Unfortunately
that is not the case generally speaking. Now-a-days, 'who' said matters more
than 'what' is said. Anyways, that’s a different theme.
History, as they say is a great
teacher. This applies as much to individuals and organizations as to nations as
a whole. While there is focus on 'correcting' the history of Bharat, one need
not lose sight of the immediate past.
Year 2004.The only non-Congress
government to have completed a full term, since Independence was gearing up for
general elections. The economy was on growth path. Share markets were booming.
GDP was soaring. Incidentally the monsoon was normal that year. Even at the
foreign policy front, there were a lot of ‘achievements’, so to say,
notwithstanding the Kargil war or the earlier fiasco of Kandahar hijack. At a
high level, the ruling dispensation looked all set to return to power. Odds (and
bets of course!!) were heavily in favor of NDA/BJP. Not surprisingly the think
tank of the BJP coined the slogan 'India Shining'. Who would have imagined that
this would result in the ultimate fall of the government! Results were shocking
to most -particularly the urban educated and the elites. Subsequently, a lot of
political analysts tried analyzing the loss and came up with various reasons- all,
not necessarily false.
A few of the reasons are noteworthy and need to be listed
here
1. Corruption in the central and state ( BJP ruled)
governments leading to the general disillusionment of people and making them
believe that the NDA/BJP government were the other side of the Congress .
2. Disconnect with the people on ground. While NDA was
relying on the GDP numbers, majority of the people, particularly in rural areas
were suffering. Their condition had either not improved or had turned worse. So
the slogan of 'India Shining' was a salt on the wounds for them.
3. Youth had contributed significantly to the rise of BJP in
general and particularly to the change of government in 1999. With different
voices coming from the Government, the party (BJP), the Sangh parivar and the
associated institutions, the youth were in a dilemma which ultimately led to disillusionment.
4. The 'parivar-as they say’, was not very happy with the
government 'achievements' in those 5 years since it did not cater to their
agenda items. So, though there was official support, the enthusiasm on ground
was meek.
5. While the government was busy projecting ‘India Shining’,
they were losing their NDA partners one by one (some for genuine reasons, other
were opportunists). The task for opposition (in this case congress) was simple-
Just manage a coalition of ‘non BJP’ parties! Which as history shows, they
successfully managed.
Year 2014- NDA Government again! A
quarter of those who elected Modi in 2014 were busy watching cartoons back in
2004. A little less than a quarter were either busy with their studies or
enjoying their newly found financial sufficiency arising out of economic
liberalization. Effectively, there is a whole (and significant) class of
electorate that has played defining role in election of Modi government. Not to
mention, ‘the parivar’ and the loyalists who played an important role as well.
Then there are always the ‘uncertain layer’ which was swayed towards Modi due
to the prospects demonstrated and promises made.
The reason for digging up the past
is – It should be a lesson to the present day government .Things that they
ought to do and particularly the ones they should certainly avoid. If you look
at the current day situation closely, it is – or fast turning out to be the way
it has been listed above. Having said that, the government still has close to
four years to complete its term and that is good enough to reverse the tide.
Functioning of parliament was never
going to be easy for the government, even with a majority in Loksabha. Firstly,
they were a minority in Rajya Sabha- which was known even before the Loksabha
elections. No way would any new government have changed that! Secondly, with
the way BJP transacted during 2004-2009, it was only a matter of time Congress
and/or other parties reciprocated. So there is no point in ‘projecting’
congress as the culprit. BJP started it. And they cannot wash their hands
saying it was ‘Not Modi’! Floor managers
of the government ought to do a better job than crying foul. At the end of the
day, as they very well know, it’s about negotiations. If the government took
credit of some ‘115%’ business done by Parliament in the winter session, it has
to take the blame of the wash away. There is no easy way out!
There are a thousand spokespersons
of the government and another thousands of Modi and a thousand more of the
“Sangh -but not Modi” and a thousand more of
“Hindutva but not Sangh” and a few hundred left of ‘ BJP but not Modi’.
So net net there are far too many voices that an average human can hear and
bear! While during the elections, they all had a single agenda – To make Modi
the Prime Minister. So these multitude of layers actually helped the cause. But
the same are turning out to be nuisance now.
You see different (or differential) versions of stories emanating from
these groups that adds to the confusion about the government stance on matters.
Plausible deniability does not help in these matters because on social media or
otherwise, people have been used to accept these voices as the BJP/Modi stance
since the “Modi as PM” days. It is hard to shrug off now. And government stance
(or no stance) makes matters worse. This leads to confusion among people,
particularly some of the youth who do not necessarily adhere to the ideology
and also to those who have ‘shifted’ their loyalty in hope of a better future.
Then there are those issues that
the government need to bother at this time. Actually never at all!. FTII issue
being a case in point. No amount of justification is going to lead students
(and since it’s a national issue now, people at large) to accept the decision!
There are a few thousand (a few hundred I myself know) better qualified people
to take the job. Why the government is
making this a prestige issue is beyond my understanding. The other day I heard
somebody saying (not sure if it was an official spokesman or one of those “unofficial”
tout) that students in their youth are inclined towards “Left”. The same youth
that brought you to power! Are you nuts? Accusing the FTII students of being
leftist is public. Well, how does it
matter even if they are? And if the government had appointed somebody of
impeccable credentials, that justification would have made sense. In current
situation the government are making a mockery of themselves. Similar was the case with some issue at IIT
Madras and few others.
Use of social media is another scourge.
As mentioned above, there are far too
many ‘Well Wishers” who actually rot the web. The problem is compounded by the
fact that the party or government has not effectively dissociated from, or
accepted their views publicly! So there is a load of scum published by these
jokers which passes on as the party or government position –and trust me – it
makes the government position weaker, if not better. A case in point – The
recent trend to blame MSM (Main Stream media for those who are new). Well, the
media is commercial – it ought to be! A bit (or more than bit) left leaning –
for whatsoever reasons. Agreed! But to project that they are the reason for
everything bad happening today! Well that’s stretching the imagination too far!
Similarly, everybody who takes a stance contrary to the government (read Modi,
BJP, Sangh –any one) is anti-national or anti Hindu! These kinds of things
provide a ready platter to the opposition to create issues out of something
that’s too trivial even for a local body government! There is filth in the
social media even on the other side. But here is the thing- You have to run and
maintain the government, they don’t!! .
To their credit, the government
indeed has done good work on a number of fronts. It has been adequately highlighted
as well. But then, nobody remembers good things forever do they? And can’t
blame the social media or MSM here. You create those news more often than not.
And those things linger. The government, party – in general the ruling
dispensation would be faced with numerous challenges every day. It is for you do
decide which ones to address and where to withdraw /ignore.
Learn from History - Choose your own battles!
Jain Hind!
