Al-Jadaan at WEF: Saudi Arabia achieves $200 in investment returns for every dollar it spends    Maximum fine of SR900 for using mobile phone while driving    Saudi House pavilion at WEF showcases Kingdom's key achievements and promising investment opportunities    Convicted US Capitol rioter turns down Trump pardon    "Theeb Rent a Car" receives two awards for Best New Sustainability Practices and Most Distinguished Company in Social Responsibility from The Global Economics    US tech giants announce AI plan worth up to $500bn    Israel's military chief resigns over 7 October 2023 failures    Dangerous drug-resistant bacteria are spreading in Ukraine    France issues health warning as tons 'aphrodisiac honey' seized    Tariffs on imports only way to get fairness, says Trump    24 Democratic states and cities sue over Trump's bid to end birthright citizenship    Al Nassr secures hard-fought 3-1 victory over Al Khaleej in Saudi Pro League    Al Hilal signs young Brazilian talent Kaio César from Vitória Guimarães    Roberto Firmino's volley secures Al Ahli's 2-1 win over Al Ettifaq    Saudi Arabia introduces national policy to eliminate forced labor    Al Hilal solidifies Saudi Pro League lead with a 4-1 victory over Al Wahda    Saudi foreign minister expresses cautious optimism about Syria Prince Faisal will visit Lebanon soon    Arcapita & Parkway invest in a portfolio of high-growth Artificial Intelligence companies    Princess Hessa bint Salman attends launch of fashion design exhibition in Riyadh Princess Noura Al-Faisal: Art of Heritage showcases Saudi identity with a modern vision    Weight-loss drugs may boost health in many ways    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



The vote is for 2014, not 1947
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 03 - 11 - 2013


M. J. AKBAR
During a week when we pondered over the iron man of India, Sardar Patel, and remembered the iron lady, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, a question kept flitting through my thoughts. Did the great Sardar dismantle the princely order of the British Raj only so that it might be replaced by a princely order of an Indian Raj?
Both Patel and Mrs. Gandhi were undiluted nationalists, but the Sardar was not encumbered by any ism other than nationalism. Mrs. Gandhi selected a limp form of socialism as her security blanket when the electoral temperature dropped for the Congress in 1969. Her weak-pink socialism provided the temporary warmth of false comfort. A highlight of her program was the abolition of commitments made by Sardar Patel in 1947 to princes who surrendered their treaty rights with the British to join the Union of India.
And then, when the political weather turned icy in the wintry Emergency of 1975 and 1976, Mrs. Gandhi turned her own party into a princely order, by opting for dynasty. The Nehru-Gandhis once belonged to the Congress; the Congress now belongs to the family.
The idea of dynasty, however, had such rare power that it went viral and infected other strains of Indian socialism, particularly the Ram Manohar Lohia school. The most lurid examples of reverse takeover are the parties led by Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Yadav. Their sperm-antics have had significant consequences, not just for them but also for the larger politics of north India. As the credibility of socialists gets punctured repeatedly in the north, the non-Congress space is being filled by BJP. The socialists lost the game early in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan; they could now be marginalized in UP and Bihar.
In theory, democracy provides an egalitarian opportunity base for merit to flourish and mediocrity to wither. A dynastic dispensation imposes entitlement on democracy. If pushed, dynasty seeks relevance through sentimental history. Rahul Gandhi wants legitimacy for his personal ambitions in the assassinations of his grandmother Mrs. Indira Gandhi and father Rajiv. If the sacrifice of ancestors was sufficient to propel anyone to power, then surely the articulate Gopal Gandhi, great-grandson of the one Gandhi who was a Mahatma, deserves a look-in?
Those who milk the past, whether that icon be Mrs. Gandhi or Sardar Patel, are missing the bigger point: young India's attention is locked into the future. Confidence in economic growth has snapped. Rising prices and falling incomes are the visible sides of an economy falling south. While their parents feel helpless, the young are beginning to feel hopeless. They want to believe in India, which is why they are so deeply incensed by the betrayal evident in the careless indifference of the UPA government. Their anger across the country is palpable to everyone except occupants of gilded cages in the Delhi zoo.
Narendra Modi is the flavor of this season not because he is building a statue of Sardar Patel, but because he is the outsider who has laid siege to Delhi. He is voice and beneficiary of this rage. Whenever Delhi's sniffy elite responds with contempt — as when a Cabinet minister dismisses Modi as a mere chaiwallah — it only increases the multitude behind Modi. After all, there are more Indians earning their livelihood through tea and labor than sons of a class that has passed its sell-by date. Modi has walked into the void of governance created by the UPA; the space is his to fill to the extent he is able to.
The best one can say about the spat over Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru is that, for a change, the debate is on a civilized subject. But not a single vote will be cast in 2014 about who would have been a better Prime Minister in 1947. The vote will be about who can be the best Prime Minister for 2014. Modi is lucky. He is facing a double vacuum. Dr. Manmohan Singh has faded out, but Rahul Gandhi is not being permitted to fade in, since the Congress leadership is uncertain about the consequences of a head-to-head comparison.
It is perfectly reasonable for a political party on the dipping end of public support to raise its drowning spirits by clutching at a straw. Hence the floater that Modi has peaked too early; elections are still six months away. The objective answer lies in the Diwali depression visible in the shops. A recent survey showed that 57 percent respondents believed this is the worst Diwali in a decade. As for the next six months, 77 percent thought the economy would remain as bad or get worse. Such a trend might ease, but will not disappear. India is not a happy nation. That should make any ruling party deeply unhappy.
– M. J. Akbar is an eminent Indian journalist. Write to him at: [email protected]


Clic here to read the story from its source.