Page 32 - EW April 2025

Expert Comment

Can India afford bazaar

politics?

RAJIV DESAI

LMOST EVERYONE KNOWS THAT WHAT The BJP/NDA government’s survival is
Union home minister Amit Shah says is usually a
prelude to some policy action that will be to the now dependent on two of India’s most
Adetriment of minorities. It is also widely assumed opportunistic politicians, Nitish Kumar
and with some justification, that his utterances set the BJP/
NDA government’s agenda. From early days, his target has and Chandrababu Naidu — leaders with
been the Muslim minority. Risen from the ashes of Guja- transactional mindsets
rat’s communal harmony, established many years ago by
Mahatma Gandhi and policed by the indefatigable Sardar
Patel, the saffron agenda is running rampant. British colonial government with his tactics of non-violent
Digging into the playbook of the Hindu advocacy group, non-cooperation. Unable to find adequate response, the
the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Shah has estab- British Empire bowed to his pressure and quit India as de-
lished that stirring insecurity in the population is a sure-fire manded by nationalists.
way to ensure election triumphs for his Bharatiya Janata This rich history of successful protest is being sorely
Party in Gujarat and elsewhere. tested, many Indians feel, by Narendra Modi whose govern-
Curiously, this strategy was used by Muhammad Ali Jin- ment stands accused of silencing opponents, suppressing
nah and his Muslim League to achieve the establishment of protest. Luckily for him, the opposition has been unable
Pakistan. Likewise, Shah presses the communal mobilisa- to coalesce around a leader, helped largely in part by the
tion button to ensure electoral victory for his party. It is the fierce, and some say unscrupulous, campaign against the
polar opposite of the unity and amity Gandhi propagated Congress’ Rahul Gandhi.
and Patel ensured. owever, the reality of misrule and bigotry is beginning
It is sobering to recall, for example, in the United States, Hto assert itself. Modi stands diminished by striking
coloured citizens and women did not win the right to vote losses of the last national election. His survival is now de-
until almost two centuries after the declaration of indepen- pendent on two of India’s most opportunistic politicians,
dence in 1776. Even more surprising is the fact that India’s Bihar’s Nitish Kumar and Andhra Pradesh’s Chandrababu
Constitution derived sustenance from the one signed in Naidu. Many in the opposition charge both leaders with
Philadelphia. The concept of “We, the People” unites the having a blatantly transactional mindset: support will be at
two countries in an unshakeable bond of self-determination the cost of ruling alliance seats in the Central government,
that led to the shredding of colonial shackles. or largesse for their states.
At that fateful stroke of midnight clocks some seven de- This is a relatively new development in Indian politics
cades ago, Indians cheered, much as Americans rejoiced at but happens a lot in Western Europe, which has a history
the sonorous peal of the Liberty Bell more than two centu- of cold, calculated coalition politics. But given the level of
ries earlier. It was the first demonstration of the power of development in these countries, where politics is often a
civil disobedience, a nonviolent revolution envisioned by distraction and modernity is the norm, the question arises:
the likes of Henry David Thoreau who wrote that because Can India afford it?
“…governments are typically more harmful than helpful; Just look at Bihar, compare Andhra Pradesh with the
they therefore cannot be justified. Democracy is no cure for rest of South India. Ask whether these regions can afford
this, as majorities simply by virtue of being majorities do such mercantile politicians? Lift your gaze to the national
not also gain the virtues of wisdom and justice. The judg- level and ask if India can afford such bazaar politics.
ment of an individual’s conscience is not necessarily infe- Some observers might well ask if introducing such com-
rior to the decisions of a political body or majority, and so mercial elements into the body politic will help in the funda-
it is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much mental task of alleviating poverty. According to the second
as for the right. Law never made men a whit more just; and, edition of the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) re-
by means of their respect for it, even the well-disposed are leased by Niti Aayog (formerly the Planning Commission),
daily made the agents of injustice.” approximately 14.96 percent of India’s population is con-
No one imbibed Thoreau’s words better or more thor- sidered to be in a state of multidimensional poverty. The
oughly than Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Perfected as index assesses simultaneous deprivations in health, educa-
a protest against the racial discrimination of Afrikaner re- tion, and standard of living.
gime of Jan Smuts in South Africa, Gandhi’s satyagraha Others wonder if there is anyone in the current dispensa-
movement proved spectacularly successful. tion who understands that eradicating poverty is not about
When he returned to India, Gandhi joined the Indian alms and charity.
National Congress and converted the modest Home Rule (Rajiv Desai is president of Comma Consulting and a well-known Delhi-
demand into a radical freedom movement. He targeted the based columnist. Views are personal)

32 EDUCATIONWORLD APRIL 2025