10-21-2004, 10:44 PM
A panegyric to Sonia Gandhi but has some relevance to this thread. From Pioneer, Op-Ed, 21 Oct., 2004...
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Victory of the renunciant
Bulbul Roy Mishra
In my May 27 article in this column titled 'Sonia's sacrifice kills a dozen', I concluded with reasons why Ms Sonia Gandhi's sacrifice was more Machiavellian than spiritual. I also mentioned that the public image attained by her would help the Congress sweep the coming elections in Maharashtra and Bihar and later in UP and lastly West Bengal, the last frontier for the party.
If one takes into account the dismal record of the Congress-NCP in Maharashtra in the last five years, which left an empty coffer and a series of scams including Telgi haunting public memory, none could be in doubt that but for Ms Gandhi's much publicised renunciation, the anti-incumbency factor would have surely done both the ruling parties in.
It goes to the credit of Ms Gandhi that she, her foreign descent notwithstanding, has understood the psyche of Indians more incisively than the Marxists. It is the spirit of renunciation, and not the revolt of the proletariat, that still sways the mind of Indians in general in keeping with the country's spiritual tradition. Spiritual India has always shown greater respect to those who have renounced power than those who have enjoyed it. <b>Swami Vivekanand called renunciation "the theme of Indian life-work, the burden of her eternal songs, the backbone of her existence, the foundation of her being, the raison d'etre of her very existence." </b>It is in conformity with this spiritual tradition that saffron symbolising renunciation finds a place in our national flag.
Ms Gandhi's contradiction, however, lies in the fact that while her party, with her approval, has been proudly parading her renunciation, it has been consistently pejorative toward saffron, ignoring that the colour stands singularly for renunciation. The battle-cry for de-saffronisation unleashed by the Marxists as well as Ms Gandhi's men leads one logically to infer that her sacrifice of the premier's post was prompted more by Machiavellian realpolitik than her spiritual inner voice.
Be that as it may, Maharashtra election bears testimony to the fact that the people of India today believe Ms Gandhi is a renunciant, and, therefore - unlike people in any other country where such sacrifice would not have been worth a dime - they have unhesitatingly reposed their faith in the party led by her. The fact that Mr Pawar's NCP has secured two more seats would not change the above proposition, when one considers the anti-incumbency factor that affected the Congress more than its coalition partner, while both the partners derived equi-benefit from the Sonia factor.
It is significant that smaller parties with caste-based identity like the BSP have been decimated in the Maharashtra election. It is not difficult to foresee somewhat similar fate of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav or his compatriot Ram Vilas Paswan in the coming Bihar Assembly elections once Ms Gandhi addresses rallies there. The simple commoner in India still appreciates the spirit of renunciation and rarely bothers about the intricacies of realpolitik. The tussle over seat adjustment with Mr Yadav appears to be an avoidable exercise for the Congress given the current popularity of Ms Gandhi.
Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav will certainly find it more difficult to contain the onslaught of the Gandhis in UP, traditionally beholden to the only ruling family of India. Ms Gandhi's sacrifice here is likely to produce a much bigger wave to enable the Congress sweep the election. In all likelihood, she will pull the rug only after seeing the end of the RJD in the Bihar polls.
Her "renunciation" is most likely to produce favourable waves in the southern states as well, including Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal where the Marxist are in power for nearly 30 years. Incidentally, it is the Marxists who have been aggressively campaigning for de-saffronisation of Indian history and culture, as in Marx's materialism the word "renunciation" is a misnomer and "saffron" anachronistic.
The reason why West Bengal still finds Marxism attractive is that Bengalis are yet to get over the allergy to the exploitative babu culture, a legacy of the British Raj, which continued even after Independence. Second, innately spiritual Bengalis find a similarity between the liberal Bhaktivad of Sri Chaitanya, same-sightedness of Ramakrishna, spiritual equanimity of Swami Vivekanand, humanism of Tagore and non-discriminatory patriotism of Netaji Subhas on one hand and the Marxist prescription for struggle against exploitation of the have-nots on the other.
<b>Traditional India </b>was socialist from the very outset, <b>subordinating individual interest to collective interest of society as a whole. Even in the heydays of monarchy, exploitation of people was a taboo for the royalty. </b>In this background, the alien materialistic philosophy of Marxism has precious little to offer to <b>India that possesses the treasure of spirituality, at the core of which lies renunciation - of the haves for the benefit of the have-nots. </b>It is queer that Ms Gandhi despite her foreign descent has fathomed the depth of the Indian mind which the Marxists have failed. Nevertheless, Marxist devotees of Goddess Durga and Kali in West Bengal today are more reformed than they reforming the society. Their exit from power when in conflict with Ms Gandhi-led Congress is only a question of time.
<b>"We have solved our problem ages ago," wrote Vivekanand in 'India's message to the world', "and held on to it through good or evil fortune, and means to hold on to it till the end of time. Our solution is unworldiness - renunciation." </b>It is this renunciation, the whisper of which is strong enough to make a non-performing government win election. It is this renunciation that the Congress is sure to capitalise, till its effect either wears off in public memory or gets diluted by the challenge posed by a rejuvenated BJP under its new president.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Â
Victory of the renunciant
Bulbul Roy Mishra
In my May 27 article in this column titled 'Sonia's sacrifice kills a dozen', I concluded with reasons why Ms Sonia Gandhi's sacrifice was more Machiavellian than spiritual. I also mentioned that the public image attained by her would help the Congress sweep the coming elections in Maharashtra and Bihar and later in UP and lastly West Bengal, the last frontier for the party.
If one takes into account the dismal record of the Congress-NCP in Maharashtra in the last five years, which left an empty coffer and a series of scams including Telgi haunting public memory, none could be in doubt that but for Ms Gandhi's much publicised renunciation, the anti-incumbency factor would have surely done both the ruling parties in.
It goes to the credit of Ms Gandhi that she, her foreign descent notwithstanding, has understood the psyche of Indians more incisively than the Marxists. It is the spirit of renunciation, and not the revolt of the proletariat, that still sways the mind of Indians in general in keeping with the country's spiritual tradition. Spiritual India has always shown greater respect to those who have renounced power than those who have enjoyed it. <b>Swami Vivekanand called renunciation "the theme of Indian life-work, the burden of her eternal songs, the backbone of her existence, the foundation of her being, the raison d'etre of her very existence." </b>It is in conformity with this spiritual tradition that saffron symbolising renunciation finds a place in our national flag.
Ms Gandhi's contradiction, however, lies in the fact that while her party, with her approval, has been proudly parading her renunciation, it has been consistently pejorative toward saffron, ignoring that the colour stands singularly for renunciation. The battle-cry for de-saffronisation unleashed by the Marxists as well as Ms Gandhi's men leads one logically to infer that her sacrifice of the premier's post was prompted more by Machiavellian realpolitik than her spiritual inner voice.
Be that as it may, Maharashtra election bears testimony to the fact that the people of India today believe Ms Gandhi is a renunciant, and, therefore - unlike people in any other country where such sacrifice would not have been worth a dime - they have unhesitatingly reposed their faith in the party led by her. The fact that Mr Pawar's NCP has secured two more seats would not change the above proposition, when one considers the anti-incumbency factor that affected the Congress more than its coalition partner, while both the partners derived equi-benefit from the Sonia factor.
It is significant that smaller parties with caste-based identity like the BSP have been decimated in the Maharashtra election. It is not difficult to foresee somewhat similar fate of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav or his compatriot Ram Vilas Paswan in the coming Bihar Assembly elections once Ms Gandhi addresses rallies there. The simple commoner in India still appreciates the spirit of renunciation and rarely bothers about the intricacies of realpolitik. The tussle over seat adjustment with Mr Yadav appears to be an avoidable exercise for the Congress given the current popularity of Ms Gandhi.
Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav will certainly find it more difficult to contain the onslaught of the Gandhis in UP, traditionally beholden to the only ruling family of India. Ms Gandhi's sacrifice here is likely to produce a much bigger wave to enable the Congress sweep the election. In all likelihood, she will pull the rug only after seeing the end of the RJD in the Bihar polls.
Her "renunciation" is most likely to produce favourable waves in the southern states as well, including Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal where the Marxist are in power for nearly 30 years. Incidentally, it is the Marxists who have been aggressively campaigning for de-saffronisation of Indian history and culture, as in Marx's materialism the word "renunciation" is a misnomer and "saffron" anachronistic.
The reason why West Bengal still finds Marxism attractive is that Bengalis are yet to get over the allergy to the exploitative babu culture, a legacy of the British Raj, which continued even after Independence. Second, innately spiritual Bengalis find a similarity between the liberal Bhaktivad of Sri Chaitanya, same-sightedness of Ramakrishna, spiritual equanimity of Swami Vivekanand, humanism of Tagore and non-discriminatory patriotism of Netaji Subhas on one hand and the Marxist prescription for struggle against exploitation of the have-nots on the other.
<b>Traditional India </b>was socialist from the very outset, <b>subordinating individual interest to collective interest of society as a whole. Even in the heydays of monarchy, exploitation of people was a taboo for the royalty. </b>In this background, the alien materialistic philosophy of Marxism has precious little to offer to <b>India that possesses the treasure of spirituality, at the core of which lies renunciation - of the haves for the benefit of the have-nots. </b>It is queer that Ms Gandhi despite her foreign descent has fathomed the depth of the Indian mind which the Marxists have failed. Nevertheless, Marxist devotees of Goddess Durga and Kali in West Bengal today are more reformed than they reforming the society. Their exit from power when in conflict with Ms Gandhi-led Congress is only a question of time.
<b>"We have solved our problem ages ago," wrote Vivekanand in 'India's message to the world', "and held on to it through good or evil fortune, and means to hold on to it till the end of time. Our solution is unworldiness - renunciation." </b>It is this renunciation, the whisper of which is strong enough to make a non-performing government win election. It is this renunciation that the Congress is sure to capitalise, till its effect either wears off in public memory or gets diluted by the challenge posed by a rejuvenated BJP under its new president.
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