In this column, I have explained more than once that as a political columnist my job is to write about politicians, their policies, their governance, their flaws and foibles. I try to do this as honestly as possible. When I was a Modi supporter, I made my position crystal clear right here. When I thought it was necessary to point out that Parliament had become a private club for political princes and princelings, I made this clear. For the record, I am no longer a Modi Bhakt. And still believe that hereditary democracy is a bad idea.
This introductory explanation was needed because it seems that neither the Dynasty’s devotees, nor my former pals in the Modi Bhakt club believe me. No sooner does this column appear, than my timeline fills up with abuse and accusations. This time, it is Congress Party spokespersons and trolls on the warpath because I wrote that it was wrong for Rahul Gandhi to have said that the Lok Sabha election was rigged. And wrong for him to say that Sikhs in India were in danger of losing the right to wear turbans and ‘kadas’.
So, Dynasty devotees, sycophants and bootlickers took to social media to hurl abuse at me and charge me with ‘bias’ and ‘hatred’. Ironically, they sound exactly like their comrades in the BJP. The only thing that makes Narendra Modi’s trolls worse is that along with wrongly charging me with being a courtier in the Dynasty’s durbar, they charge me with being anti-national, treasonous and a ‘Hindu-hater’. My advice to both categories of trolls is, please spend some time introspecting on your own prejudices and half-formed political opinions. I am bored of listening to the same nonsense.
Now let me get to what I intended to really write about this week. I have been following the election campaign in Jammu & Kashmir closely, and am disappointed and more than a little disheartened by the speeches made by the Prime Minister and Home Minister. Last week, the Prime Minister in a speech in Katra asked voters to not vote for the Congress Party because it was promoting an agenda that was the same as that of Pakistan. He said, “Maybe there is no enthusiasm about the alliance of the NC (National Conference) and Congress here (in J&K), but the neighbouring country is very excited. Unki balle-balle Pakistan mein ho rahi hai.” Loosely translated, this means they are favourites in Pakistan.
The Home Minister, as usual, went one step further and said it was evident that the Congress Party and Pakistan had the same agenda. In a post on social media, Amit Shah had this to say, “Be it asking for proof of air strikes and surgical strikes or saying objectionable things about the Indian Army, the tune of Rahul Gandhi’s Congress and Pakistan has always been the same and Congress has always been hand in glove with the anti-national forces.”
When India’s two most important leaders turn an election campaign into a war zone in which political opponents become the enemy, it harms India. Rahul Gandhi is the Leader of the Opposition now, so to charge him with treason is a serious matter. Is there proof? Or is it just part of the hysterical attack on him and his mother that has lately been playing out on social media? The BJP’s dirty tricks department has run a campaign of innuendoes and lies that seeks to prove that the Gandhi family works as agents of Pakistan’s ISI. Prove this or stop.
The BJP obsession with Pakistan has served mostly to demean India. Think it through and you will see why. Pakistan is bankrupt, politically dysfunctional and subservient to China. To seriously believe that it is capable of being India’s equal is beyond belief. But for some reason, every time an election campaign gets underway Pakistan is dragged into the speeches of senior BJP leaders as if it is an existential threat to India. Of course, it continues to export terrorists into the Kashmir Valley, and more recently to Jammu, but surely it is those who handle our national security that we should hold responsible. Why does this continue to happen when we have been told that jihadi terrorism has been crushed and that Kashmir has once again become the paradise that it once was?
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Having visited Srinagar some months ago, I can confirm that I was delighted to see that the fear that once hung over the old parts of the city seems to have disappeared. I managed to drive around at night through bazaars filled with lights and shoppers. And I met Kashmiris who were enjoying the prosperity that an upsurge in tourism has brought. But I also met educated, young men desperate for jobs. When I talked to politicians and journalists, they admitted that beneath the surface calm, there was a simmering rage because of the denial of political rights.
We should celebrate that voters came out in larger numbers last week than anyone can remember from past elections. But it is still unclear why this has happened. When the results come next month what will we discover? Whatever it maybe, it is time to accept that if we still have a Kashmir problem, it is more because of mistakes made by our own leaders than because of meddling by Pakistan. For Kashmir’s wounds to heal Delhi needs to acknowledge this.