India 2016: Are We Regressing to the 1990’s?

 Kashmir is burning in the North & Bangalore burned for a day in the South, both gaining international headlines. The game of musical chairs continues in Arunachal with 43 of the 44 MLAs shifting allegiance from the Congress to the opposition; Centre throttled development funds to the state forcing regime change, accuse the Congress. Earlier, article 356, was used with impunity to dislodge the Congress governments in Uttarakhand & Arunachal till the Supreme Court intervened to make amends. The Patels in Gujarat, Marathas in Maharashtra, Jats in Northern India & Kapus in AP are up in arms demanding reservation. Campus eruptions abound; while the JNU imbroglio raised the bogey of the real definition of “nationalism”, the actions in the Rohit Vemula case in Hyderabad University, Periyar Study circle in IIT – Chennai & the Una trashing incident perpetuated by the cow vigilantes, have raised Dalit identity issues. Religious polarization is on the rise too. While the riots in Western UP, in 2013, pitted the landed Jats against the Muslims, slogans like “Love Jihad” & “Beef Ban” have continuously raised the temperatures; incidents such as the lynching of Mohd. Akhlaq & the activism of “Gau Rakshaks” have accentuated the divide between the 2 largest religious communities of the country to precarious levels. Racism is reaching catastrophic levels; while ethnic maltreatment of Africans & people of the NE, visible vide incidents in Bangalore & NCR is deplorable, the “Insiders- Outsides” branding in the NE is equally reprehensible. These schisms in our polity are a consequence of linguistic, caste, ethnic & religious polarizations.  That raises the question: Has India regressed to the 1990’s? Is war mongering being used to supress all these issues?

The 1990’s arguably were the most trying times for the Indian polity. While the break-up of the Soviet Union forced India to devise a new foreign policy in a unipolar world, financial distress prompted us to initiate economic reforms. Kashmir was burning then too with insurrection fronted by the JKLF & Hizbul Mujahedeen in the valley with support from across the border & Kashmiri Pandits were forced to become refugees in their own country.  Article 356 continued to be imposed with impunity with Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan & states of NE being the significantly effected ones. The acceptance of the Mandal Committee recommendations in1990, by Prime Minister VP Singh, to shore up a support base for himself, at the expense of his deputy, Devi Lal & to checkmate a rising BJP, unleashed in its wake a wave of protests, largely led by the students, who felt their career ambitions threatened.  Forward castes reacted violently & OBCs countered the protests creating a violent political cauldron. A desperate BJP, finding its Hindutva base getting dispersed, raised the “Kamandal” issue of Ram Janmabhoomi, which triggered the Babri Masjid demolition, in 1992, leading to the Hindu-Muslim riots that were soon followed by the Bombay blasts the next year. Are the events of today not ringing a similar bell?

All political parties in India, generally, ride on caste combinations & therefore it is in their interest to further caste polarization. The core base of many regional parties is based around a particular caste. Parties like the BJP, AIMIM et al, on the contrary, succeed through religious polarization.  Ethnic & tribal polarization has frequently been employed in the NE. Raising issues of Identity without resorting to violence is a legitimate political act but unfortunately that has rarely been the case; polarization is seen as assuring a more surer shot at political power. The scourge of polarization of all hues, therefore, unfortunately, appears back on the horizon.

Mid 1990’s saw major problems being addressed through political initiatives & Supreme Court judgements. The Punjab problem was solved by PM Narsimha Rao who initiated a political process, in 1992, in the state despite many odds & persuasions to the contrary; the Mandal agitation was solved through a Supreme Court judgement in 1992, restricting the reservation to 27% to ensure that overall reservation in India is under 50%. Pragmatism defined the Kamandal forces resolve to lower the rhetoric in a bid to win allies which they did & formed the govt. in 1998 post a short lived 13 day stint, earlier, in 1996. Sanity was restored in state legislatures vide the Bommai Judgement of 1994 that ensured a drastic reduction in the misuse of Article 356. Hiteshwar Saikia’s able administration in Assam coupled with Operation Rhino launched by the Army broke the back of ULFA in the early 90’s while the talks initiated by Home Secy. Padmanabhaiah, in 1997, with the Naga outfits of the NE ensured long lasting peace in the region. Vajpayee initiated the Kashmir peace talks with Pakistan & Manmohan Singh took the same forward through a Track II backchannel diplomacy. Regrettably, we seem to be squandering all these gains.

Instead of solving the new problems of pollution, climate change, abysmal social indicators et al we are regressing & opening up old wounds, the solutions for which were arrived at post intense debate & sustained through bipartisan support across the aisle. The culprit as one can guess appears to be the lust for political power.

India needs leaders who display vision & statesmanship in good measure, unwilling to enter into Faustian pacts for political gains for whichever entity wins in this war of polarization, India shall be a loser & that should be unacceptable to any “patriotic” Indian.