LJA and Modi

From Indira P. Gandhi to V P Singh to Vajpayee   to Narendra D. Modi Percentage of votes polled in the Lok Sabha elections was never a barometer for determining the popularity of a leader in this part of the world.  All of us would agree, perhaps, that – if anything – the % of vote polled have only increased since the times of Indira Gandhi; intermittent fluctuations, notwithstanding. The times have unrecognisably changed since 1989; whatever pretensions there used to be about being Indian (desi) all have been shut in to a kind of graveyard silence, post globalization & modernization. Therefore no comparisons shall stand. However what is significant to note is that when Indira Gandhi swept the polls there was no ‘Mandal’ politics and no coalition politics in vogue. Indira Gandhi had the knack of winning elections by coining new slogans to hoodwink the masses into a belief that only she was capable of showing some light at the end of a very dark tunnel. That was her genius and she did not need any organisational support to achieve electoral victories. The election results of 2014 elections have come in the backdrop of the ‘triumph’ of the Mandal politics leading to birth of coalition governments. We need to remember that even Vajpayee could not – for all his charisma- undo Mandal politics and as a political strategy came out with the idea of putting BJP’s agenda on the backburner only to garner support from a wider political spectrum symbolized by various political parties. Vajpayee succeeded in transforming BJP from an island party to the one that was not to be a pariah in political discourse. The coalition era, thereafter, turned out to be the most infamous chapter in the history of independent India and the people saw through the game; essentially because the era had succeeded in systematically relegating the then middle class to lower middle class in a top-to-bottom approach that was bound to make the 80% of the population more starved, emaciated, humiliated and, indeed, exploited. This situation needed someone who could not only promise redemption of the Indian society on all the planes of human endeavour; but also would sound honest in doing so. We need to understand that the people of our country might have lost everything in their lives, but have not lost commonsense to discern ‘honesty’ in a statement; the people also are matured enough to appreciate that miracles won’t happen and any betterment in their lives was bound to be only gradual, but they would like to see it happening. Modi captured the space; like Indira Gandhi, Modi succeeded in having his finger on the pulse of the people; his election speeches were too simple and straight and therefore easy for a common man to understand their import. Modi sought votes for ‘Bharat Mata’ not for BJP & post results expressed his gratitude to the Indian masses in a way none of his predecessors and peers had done! Let us not forget that L K Advani got chances in 2004 & 2009; he too had full support of RSS and its associates, but he never had his finger on the pulse of the masses; more than that he was never trusted by them for all his talk & sermons. The significance of Modi victory is that it has come post ‘Babri Masjid’ demolition, Mandal, Maut ka Saudagar, et; el. In Urdu dailies I have seen posters being published where a group of young Muslims are shown wishing well for him in the elections; that is a good & relevant sample for me which I would find it meaningless to further dissect in terms of how many & how many not voted for Modi. Instead of discarding Modi right at the outset it is prudent to test him and his election speeches. Lokavidhyadhar Samaj:           The question that I would like to address is: whether Lokavidhyadhar Samaj & LJA is ready for taking up the challenge? I am aware that other social organizations need to be roped in, but probability of that happening cannot and should not decide the future dynamics of LJA. Numbers do not matter, the content matters and in today’s world of Information Technology it much easier to reach anybody for placing the content before them. The Kisans, the Karigars, the Adivasis, and the women have been associated with LJA. BKU, in my understanding, has been more active as compared to other farmer organizations and there has been some point of view coming in from Maharashtra based farmer organization. Other than their demand for fair prices for their produce, do they have a kind of view on issues related to agricultural land, farm labour, fertilizers, and land transactions, etc; etc. Like one would say that if any farmer wants to dispose of his land he may do it to only another farmer. What is being suggested here is that if Modi has to be given a list of requirements that would make agriculture more attractive than what it is, prevent suicides, enhance fertility of lands, retain ground water levels, etc; does BKU or Shetkari Sangathana have material(s) ready; if not they may have to get one ready; the same holds good for Karigar Samaj; small traders; the Adivasis; the women, etc. The articulation by way of the relevance of their requirements to the Indian society is important. In UP, MP, and Bihar preparation of these documents may be undertaken by LJA while at the same time engage BJP karyakartas at various hierarchies to hammer Lokavidhya perspective in their heads; to put some sense in to RSS to tell them that by just putting the stamp of ‘Made in India’ does not make a product ‘Bhartiya’ because all those products have evolved out of the brilliance of minds that are alien to what RSS calls ‘Bhartiyata’; and whatever is ‘Bhartiya’ – the Lokavidhya & Lokavidhyadhar Samaj- is being systematically oppressed and annihilated. हज़ूर !  कहीं तर्क वितर्क के भवंडर में 'एल जे ए' न डूब जाये ! इसका ध्यान रखना जरूरी है ! क्योंकि कहीं हमें भी कुछ ऐसा न कहना पड़े जो एक शायर ने कहा है : ' ता  उम्र  ढूंढ़ता  रहा  मंज़िल  मै  इश्क़  की अंजाम  यह  कि  गर्द -ए –सफर  ले  के आ  गया ' इस तर्क वितर्क से बाहर निकल कर सब मिलकर कुछ ऐसा करने की सोंचे जिससे कि लोकविद्याधर समाज का सही मानों में भला हो और 'एल जे ए' एक ऐतहासिक भूमिका निभा पाये ! हर प्रश्न का उत्तर खुले आकाश के नीचे और धरती माँ के ऊपर खुली हवा में सम्मलित होने से मिलता है , निरंतर  बंद कमरों की बैठकों में नहीं ! नागपुर की बैठक कुछ खुले संगर्ष के कार्यकर्मों की  योजनायें बनाने हेतु वक़्त दिया जाये , ऐसी मेरी इल्तज़ा है।  कौल Lalit Kaul Click here to Reply or Forward 6.72 GB (44%) of 15 GB used Manage ©2014 Google - Terms & Privacy Last account activity: 2 minutes ago Details