By Manju Gupta
Triumphant March to Param Vaibhav by Kanayalal M. Talreja, Rashtriya Chetana Sangathan, P-65 Pandav Nagar, Mayur Vihar, Phase-1, New Delhi-110091; 96pp; Rs 50.00
Written by a senior member of the BJP, who has been associated with the party since the days of Deendayal Upadhyaya, this book lists the 200 shining achievements of the BJP-led NDA government. It begins by talking of the political scene today when the NDA is providing political stability as a ?unique unifier?, quite unlike the rule of ?Congressmen, who often misguided the people by spreading the myth that the Congress alone can provide a stable government and that only a person from the Nehru dynasty can provide successful prime ministership to the nation. They equate democracy with dynasty. They equate Bharat with one family. That myth has been shattered into pieces??
Praising the BJP as the main partner of NDA government and for emerging ?as the single largest party in three successive elections? because ?the BJP is a party with a difference?, the author lashes out at the Congress which is ?headed by imported, raw novice Videshi dynastic bahu? against the BJP which ?is guided by an experienced, honest and dedicated team of tried, tested and trusted leadership.?
Talking of the Centre-state relations, he praises the BJP for ?strengthening the spirit of federation through healthy Centre-state relations, which often remained tense in the authoritarian era of the Congress.?
Referring to the economy, the author praises the BJP-led NDA government for making the country cross the US $100 billion mark in foreign exchange reserves and for the GDP registering an 8.4 per cent growth rate during the second quarter of the financial year 2003-2004; the acquisition of a new look by rural India with the food-for-work scheme wherein Rs 5,000 crore worth of food grains are distributed free of cost to those working for rejuvenation of the rural sector; the uplift of farmers through loans provided under the Kisan Credit Card Yojana is sure way to usher in the second Green Revolution into the country; the information techno-logy revolution and the highway connectivity project.
The author has enlightened the reader on two particular aspects of BJP´s commitments: one, ´antodaya´ and two, ´integral humanism´. Under the antodaya scheme, it means giving shape to Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya´s (BJP ideologue) concept under which the last person at the lowest strata of the society should benefit from the economic project. Deendayal had said, ?Just as ´each citizen having one vote´ is the touchstone of political democracy, similarly ´each person having one job´ should be the yardstick of economic democracy.? According to him, industrialisation, which deprives the common skilled craftsmen and workers of their job, is not only undemocratic but also detrimental to the interest of the nation.
On the concept of ´integral humanism (ekatma manavavad)´, the author says, ?Bharat does not need the Western concepts of competitiveness and survival of the fittest. What our nation needs is political philosophy of Ram rajya, which resembles neither socialism nor capitalism, but ´integral humanism´. It is humanistic in orientation and integral in its form and content.?
Expounding on BJP´s ideology of Hindutva, the latter ?means Bharatiyata, i.e. cultural nationalism of Bharat. Just as ´Arabtva´ means cultural nationalism of Arabastan (Arabia), ´Turktva´ means cultural nationalism of Turkistan, similarly ´Hindutva´ means cultural nationalism of Hindustan. Thus Hindutva is a unifying principle, which alone can preserve the unity and integrity of our nation. It illustrates the BJP´s concept of ´one nation, one people, one culture´, as defined by our ancient cultural heritage.?
This book has more relevance to learning more about the ideology of the BJP than to the achievements of the BJP-led government, particularly since a lot has already appeared on the latter in the media.
