The major fear of the liberal camp against the new chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath seems to be arising out of the concern that he might emerge as a successful leader with the political agenda of Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas
Dr Sudip Kar Purkayastha
BJP by choosing Yogi Adityanath as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (UP) has elicited enthusiastic endorsement from the MLAs and people of the State. In the so-called liberal media, however, it has set a cat amongst pigeons. They are betraying fear, frustration and spreading messages of hate. Funnily in United States, The New York Times editorial in an assault over genuine democratic processes in India criticised BJP for choosing a “fire brand Hindu cleric’ as a ‘shocking rebuke’ to religious minorities”. But why such intolerance, prejudice and indignation towards a person whom a party which won a massive mandate elected with hope and expectations? Why such overwhelming contempt to the basic tenets of democracy?
Although till recently the ‘liberal media’ had been, in nexus with the successive pseudo-secular political regimes, dominating the public discourse in India, the national mood is changing steadily. But looking at its visceral antipathy to Yogi and his appointments it is clear the ‘liberal camp’ still has no ‘clue’ to the public mood. One needs to understand why it has set out to denigrate and defame him even in the wee hours of
his governance?
At the cusp of the ‘liberal media’ in India, there are few widely known journalists who repeatedly flaunt their ‘secular’ credentials and pretensions as if they were repositories of the humanity’s wisdom. Varieties of disclosures from social media together with public suspicion arising out of cases such as ‘Nira Radia Tapes’, have worn out their credibility. But they are not out as yet.
Taking a ‘moralistic’ stance on the issue they have been warning people against giving the rein of India’s largest province in the hands of a ‘polarising’ leader. Behind them raising high decibel of noise are an army of intellectual foot soldiers. Spanning across the country they are spreading misinformation about the Yogi through reports, editorials, prose
and poetries.
This ‘liberal media’ has thrived so long by
creating series of false narratives. It has tended to divide Indians on the basis of caste, creed, language, income, water, state boundaries, and other
contentious issues. It sought legitimacy by
perpetuating the schisms. It betrayed its ugliest face on the issue of religious divide. Instead of facilitating a spirit of unity, it worked assiduously over decades in nexus with the pseudo-secular political parties to raise minority appeasement to an absurd level. They created a perception that it was incumbent on the majority alone to preserve the religious and cultural plurality and diversity of India. It seemed immaterial to them if such lopsided politicised approach was progressively creating conditions of self-effacement by the majority in terms of their religious and cultural practices. To lend credence to their ‘precepts’ the members of
‘liberal’ media belonging nominally to ‘majority
community’ deftly paraded their religious identity card to mislead people.
The major fear of the liberal camp against the Yogi seems to be arising out of the concern that he might emerge as a successful leader with the political agenda of ‘Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas’. If he can unite people across caste and creed and achieve development for all, their decades-old carefully crafted
theories of ‘development of one at the cost of the other’ would be trashed. This would bury simultaneously the journalism of the ‘liberals’ and the
politics of ‘pseudo-secularism’.
The cerebrals amongst the ‘liberals’ are digging into archives—years-old photos, videos, magazines,
newspapers, books, web, or whatever
available be it in bytes or even bits to sully Yogi’s image and convince people that they had, driven by propaganda of communal polarisation, made a wrong electoral decision. Interestingly, only last winter a couple of top ranked ‘liberal’ journos had tried sheepishly to introduce and suggest the concept of ‘post truth’ politics in ‘post 2014’ India by drawing linkage to the US elections and Trump Presidency. Fortunately they could not make headway at that time. They are back at their mischief, struggling to explain the UP elections in the light of that ‘conspiratorial’ jargon!
Generally speaking, the reactions of ‘liberal’ camp comprising media and intellectuals range from ridicule and sarcasm to mud slinging and direct assault on Yogi’s integrity and
capability. The common complaint against Yogi is that he is a hardcore Hindutva-vadi and he would destroy the pluralistic nature of Indian society bringing doom to both UP and the country. There are no
factual substantiation, but casting aspersion-unmitigated and unrelenting.
Ironically, the responsibility for
damaging the religious and cultural
plurality and diversity of India, nay the Indian sub-continent rests squarely on the ‘liberals’ especially ‘liberal media’. Being the fourth pillar of democracy in the post 1947 India, they lulled the
successive governments to sleep on the issue of the sustained persecution of religious minorities in the seceding state of Pakistan (and Bangladesh)
facilitating the ‘religious and cultural diversity and plurality’ nearly wiped out there i.e., in one fourth of the sub- continent, over last seven decades
In India they have been intellectually shielding political parties adept at playing vote bank politics to the manifold miseries of the majority
community. It is this tribe of myopic journos who chose to shut their eyes when tens of thousands of Pundits were driven out of Kashmir Valley by
religious fundamentalists under the indulgent eyes of the pseudo-secular political regimes. They also play
similar irresponsible role in other parts of the country like Assam, Kerala, UP and West Bengal – to name and thus encourage assaults on the majority and thereby values of ‘plurality and
diversity’. Depravity plumbed new low when the liberal camp began to discover yearnings for ‘plurality and diversity’ in myriad slogans raised by sections of JNU students such as ‘Bharat Tere Tukde Honge Inshaallah …’
By their acts of omission and commission the ‘liberal media and intellectuals’ seem determined to destroy in tranches the social fabric of India that has been for ages ‘plural and diverse’. It is pathetic to hear them saying that Yogi Government would be working against these ‘values’! To
buttress their charge they have been, as is their wont, calling him a ‘Hindutva Hardliner’.
India’s strength has been on her emphasis on search for ‘truth’ rather than paying blind obeisance to
‘belief-based’ conventional religions. Embedded in the bedrock of spirituality, the Indian culture and
heritage have naturally been all embracing, unbiased and encouraging to different shades of inquiries, views and opinions. Diversity and plurality have been in her very fabric. In accordance with such exalted values, India passed on to the world such inspiring messages as ‘Let
Noble thoughts come to us from all directions’, ‘Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah’, ‘Shrinwantu Vishwe Amritasya Putrah’ and the like. These are amongst the founding blocks of Hindutva. There can be little doubt that Hindutva as the substratum of life can elevate and blossom human lives. Significantly Supreme Court had described Hindutva as a ‘Way of Life’ and not any conventional religion. It is absurd to conceive any thing like a ‘Hindutva Hardliner’. The two words are repugnant to each other.
Indians, irrespective of their conventional religions, are inheritors of this Hindutva legacy. True, vast majority of Indians belonging to Hindu religion connect to it more
readily. But followers of other religions in the country are equally entitled to this great legacy. Forefathers of all conventional religionists were once part of the
exalted Indian civilisation which is several millennia old. Only some changed their conventional religion at some points of time over past few centuries!
Things could only get better if the truly liberal ways of living as enshrined in Hindutva are invoked again in India. The 34 months’ long governance led by Modi and his steadfast commitment to the principle of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas, is in accordance with the concept of
‘plurality and diversity’ –which are but essential attributes of Hindutva. There are hopes and positivity all around today. Indians in general barring the so-called liberals and small sections they keep confusing and misleading, have begun to believe that the country is moving in the right direction. Magnitude of electoral victory in UP is a vocal confirmation of their belief.
Why does not the ire of the ‘liberal camp’ against Yogi mitigate? Notably the Yogi, has from time to time, in the past risen both in Parliament and in procession to protest against grave injustices meted out to the religious majority by successive pseudo-secular political regimes in UP for the sake of minority vote bank. While on such occasions the liberal media had abdicated its responsibility and lapsed into shameless silence, Yogi’s fearlessness and spirited defence of the people who were wronged had exposed the imbecility, spinelessness and pettiness. Probably it is their own cowardice and selfishness that bring them both shame and anger towards him.
‘Liberals’ should get over the ‘paranoia’ and consider the aspirations of large numbers of Indians who look at the Yogi as an inheritor of the great Hindutva tradition. They believe that as the Chief Minister of the largest province, he would be in a position to bring about ‘development for all’ in UP and thereby to contribute to the resurgence of India. Whereas constructive Opposition should be welcome. In the interest of the people of UP the cribbing must therefore stop.
(The writer is a senior columnist)
