Tamasha-2

                         TAMASHA

I have always been wonderstruck at the congress party’s absolute surrender to their High Command. It  is more than awe , it is more than discipline. Except for the brave soul Chandrsekhar,  I have never seen any congman doubt the wisdom of the High Command , much less criticize it .Not that there are no wise people in the party, nor that there  is any dearth of politically astute leaders in its ranks. But the hold of the High Command is absolute , undeniable and strangulating . And what keeps baffling  me is that the High Command is not a group of leaders who have emerged and risen by proving themselves but the members of Gandhi-Nehru family whatever be their background or achievements. We move on from Indira to  Sanjay to Rajeev to  Soniya  to Rahul  to………

 

 I made an effort to find out the reasons for this family-worship. I do not find an iota of truth in the family-espoused   idea that it has made huge sacrifices for the nation and therefore commands huge following everywhere. Sanjay Gandhi’s death was an accident of his own making and although Indira was assassinated we must not forget that the trouble in Punjab  and   Bhindranwala  was her own creations . Rajeev Gandhi was killed by the  LTTE  but again the question is—who created the LTTE and what was its purpose . There is hardly any sacrifice made by the family for the nation or for any national cause.

 

To me the reason for this back-bending of cong-men appears umbilical. The Indian National Congress was created by A.O.Hume  in 1885 not for the purpose of enabling its members fight for the freedom of India. It was to be a forum   where educated Indians could discuss their problems and request their British masters to grant them   favours . The culture of Congress therefore, right from its inception has been one of servant approaching master in supplication. I am not being sarcastic , unfortunately  that  is a fact of history. Hume was a civil servant and before he formed the  INC  he had had elaborate discussions with the local British officers as well as those in London responsible for India affairs. Although W.C.Bonnerji  was elected President , Hume was appointed Secretary and effectively ran the show. Gokhale accepted later that had it not been for Hume the authorities would not have allowed the formation of INC . As most historians  agree  the party went on giving petitions to  the British authorities till 1905 without much change or impact . The nature of demands did change after 1905 but this did not change the  basic character of the party or its members .The ruthless dominance of Gandhi-Nehru family in post-independence era can be understood as a continuation of this character. “The British have a right to rule  and we can request them for favours....the High Command has a right to rule….” is only a continuity. It is a blasphemy to challenge this  . In 1988 a senior congress leader said, “In order to be successful in our party one has to have 3 basic qualities.” When I looked askance he added, “You must know English, you must be fair and you must be a Kashmiri, preferably Brahmin.” It means you must resemble a European in as much as you can.

 

 This explains the special affiliation or commitment of the congman to the Nehru-Gandhi family. Simply put they are as good as Britishers —tall,  fair, English-speaking—different in culture and style of living . This also explains Sonia’s acceptance by the party without much demur. With her at the helm only one preference seems to have changed. Instead of Kashmiri Brahmins the first choice now goes to Christians.

 

Considering the above one can understand the cult of Nehru-Gandhi family in Congress and in Indian politics. Unfotunately for this nation most other parties have evolved from INC and have retained the culture in some form --generally family-dominance and family –worship. Even those parties which evolved independently have been influenced by the culture of INC- the party that dominated the Indian political scene for a very long  time  . Not only this ,even the so-called intellectuals of this country are so enamoured of the family cult  that they find it difficult to accept and understand the idea of a collective leadership or the idea of a party in which issues could be discussed hotly, strongly and threadbare. Alas! That is the essential requirement of a vibrant and successful democracy.

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