'Why is Sonia Gandhi striking a divisive note?'

In last year's British general election, the Conservative Party put out a telling advertisement. It showed a black man alongside a simple message: "Labour says he is black. We say he is British." In this season of political iftar parties and contrived pre-election apologies, it may be pertinent to consider the relevance of the Conservative message for this country. Particularly after a generous dose of the gospel according to Sonia Gandhi.In 1950, India gave itself a Constitution which, for all its other shortcomings, conferred a common citizenship on all the people. Apart from the separate civil codes - which were recognised as aberrations - and a dose of affirmative action for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, the Constitution established a legal framework for Indianness. Of course, it didn't quite work that way, but at least enlightened souls believed that somewhere in the not-too distant future a pan-Indian political identity would emerge. Secularism was an ideal not because there was any real fear that India would become a confessional state like Pakistan or Israel. It was envisaged as a modern mantra on the conviction that political identity ought not to be crafted on primordial logic.There is unlikely to be any consensus on why it all went wrong. The Congress, particularly Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, must accept a lion's share of the blame for injecting a cynical dimension into electoral politics. The Khalistan movement that devastated Punjab for a decade was a colossal Congress misadventure. .preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}Sonia's anxiety to revive her party is understandable, but is it necessary for her to prey on sectional fears?The more doctrinaire of the old Nehruvians and Communists compounded this by promoting minorityism and belittling the cultural basis of nationhood. These triggered a fierce majoritarian backlash that culminated in the Ayodhya demolition five years ago. The BJP, not the Congress, was the unintended political beneficiary of Indira and Rajiv's political chicanery because there was a reactive yearning for Indianness.Sonia - to be precise, her erudite speech writers - has learnt nothing from the past. Just as India was preparing to overcome the traumas of the past decade and look beyond limited concerns of identity, Sonia has reopened old wounds. Whether it is the preposterousness of her Bofors protestations, the disingenuity of her claims on the Babri Masjid or the "anguish" over Operation Bluestar and the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, the Congress' star campaigner seems hell bent on injecting a plethora of divisive notes into the 1998 election campaign. Her anxiety to resuscitate a moribund Congress by using dynastic charm is understandable. Less desirable is her willingness to perpetuate a family trait and prey on sectional fears.It is fortunate that so far the non-Congress parties have maintained a certain level of decorousness, the outbursts of Chandrababu Naidu and Bal Thackeray notwithstanding. But if Sonia begins to cruise home with her recklessness, it is almost certain that this election will degenerate into a no-holds-barred brawl. That may be entertaining to the non-voting classes who in any case nurture a deep contempt for democracy, but for ordinary Indians, the consequences may be far more fearful. In Sonia's vision, the family comes first and foremost. Then comes the family's old faithfuls - divided conveniently into Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Adivasi and Dalit vote banks. Sonia clearly doesn't know the meaning of being Indian.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Feb 9, 1998--- ENDS ---

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'Why is Sonia Gandhi striking a divisive note?'

Why is Sonia Gandhi striking a divisive note?

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