On Wed, Jun 24, 2009 at 9:02 PM, ss <[email protected]> wrote: > > > I am not sure if the BJP know the meaning of Hindutva, or that anyone > really > knows what "Hindutva" means. And I don't think the BJP (or some of its > staunch supporters whom I sometimes interact with onine know what it is > supposed to mean.
This confusion is exactly what I was referring to. The problem is that the BJP defines Hindutva, or the media or their opponents do, based on issues as they arise. Hence when it was limited to the piquant issue of the creation of a "Bhavya Ram Mandir" in place of a structure, they could rally support because for a number of their voters this was either not a Hindutva issue or was a logical Hindutva demand. Hindutva is as amorphous as the Basic Structure doctrine in Indian Constitutional Law - you simply cannot define it till an issue arises. No independent existence or contours of it's own. > The real problem about the BJP is its need for support from (and > cultivation > of) fringe groups. And no I don't mean the RSS. The RSS has actually > advised/invited the BJP to give up Hindutva and has stated that such a move > will naturally distance the BJP from the RSS, but that would not affect the > RSS in any way. Which is true. It is the BJP that is trying to hold the RSS > in an embrace. The fringe groups are a fallout. Are they Hindutva or not? Depends on who's making that assessment. Clearly, this time around a number of people have seen the Sri Ram Sene and like entities, or even fringe goonda element in Bangalore, as representing a logical progression of Hindutva. Hindutva, in the mind's eye, for a lot of voters is now synonymous with barbaric violence, and not the nation-building exercise (Ram Rajya, anyone?) that the BJP has attempted to portray it as in the past. It's tough to tell whether Hindutva has completely failed - I doubt it very much. But it was certainly entirely unsuccessful this time around. Ergo the results in Gujarat. And the fact that they did not gain any new constituencies among those that Modi campaigned in. I would not write Hindutva off simply because this was more of an anti-Left and anti-Third Front vote. The problem was that as now seemingly the natural party of governance the Congress got the benefit of this shift. The BJP was never going to get these votes because they did not raise a single viable issue. Additionally, when a Gujarat or Orissa happens, it is very easy for Congress and the other "secular" forces to say "See, we told you so." This makes Hindutva an issue which will not gain votes for the BJP. Leave that out and there's very little going for the party. For educated voters, the party's stand against the nuclear deal was unpardonable. Smacked of shortsighted political opportunism. I completely disagree that the RSS tried to distance itself from the BJP. Or that it propagated a non-Hindutva based approach to the present elections. The Jinnah contoversy is a case in point. Let me give you another anecdotal example. Two of my friends, one Hindu and one Muslim, got married and wanted to have their union registered under the Special Marriage Act - inter-religious marriages are not legally recognized till they are registered under the Act. The Registrar refused to grant them registration on the ground that a floating objection has been filed by one of the fringe groups against all Hindu-Muslim marriages. A fringe group that has a number of RSS members as a part of its membership. Now, the state govt in Bangalore is the BJP led combine. They are deemed to have countenanced such action. It is one of the main reasons why I voted against the BJP. I'm told this is standard fare for all BJP ruled states. Now, if this starts being confused as Hindutva, and the BJP does not come up with any other credible issues, then they're deservedly toast. Even today Rajnath is trying to legitimize his control over the party by relying on Hindutva and the support of the RSS chief is a huge boost for him. The RSS should just come out and admit it is a political organization and not the socio-cultural organization it claims to be. Another apparent reason is that this country did not have a credible opposition for all 5 years of the last govt's tenure. The only credible opposition was the Left, which technically, did not sit in opposition in Parliament. As the second largest party, the BJP was rudderless over the last 5 years and is worse now. There's an abject lack of leadership. They look older in terms of personnel and completely archaic in their mentality when compares with the Congress. > > > >
