I like to call it the Gandhian Hangover. For Gandhi, everything was in a way related to conscience and morality. We need to come out of the morality platonic space and come down on our feet in the real Machiavellian world of Politics and then do our theoretical work. A theorist or a political observer should not sit on a moral high ground in an ivory tower and use his moral compass to judge the politician. The Politician is the real of the society and the thinker is the fake. As soon as we accept it, we will have to rule out some trivial solutions from our popular solution list, for example: Morality, and conscience. I mean, come on, these are solutions of course. But, as a thinker, are you really working at all, is there any originality in your thought if you are putting the old crap narrative of morality in front of the masses who want a newer and original analysis of their ills.
Personally, I like Yogendra Yadav, but I have started a dislike for the theorist he is. The talks that he gives or for that matter any serious academic, a political scientist in this country, just copy pastes templates of old Indian thinkers of independence to analyze the present problems. Also, Gandhian template of truth, morality etc. is a popular template.
Politics evolves, and as it evolves, newer analysis, of the systems are required. Why do you think terms like Bio-politics, Necro-politics, or Psychopolitics come in light. Previous analysis was found insufficient. Modern relationship politics can only be explained by the Foucauldian politics of space today.
Anyhow, let's be ready for a shift in our thought process. I have an observation regarding Indian Politics. Although a minor one, I think it can have the identification of roots of the Leadership crisis that India faced since Independence. It may sound reductionist but a deeper thought into it will make it even trivial for some people.
Many people say that the main problem of Congress today is the lack of ideology and Lack of leadership. The second point highlights the Dynast democrat that is Rahul Gandhi. The Enigma that Rahul Gandhi's position is, is surely a matter of analysis here. Here, we are not concerned with the personality of the man, but what does his position represents. Rahul Gandhi today, represents, the face of democracy. The Narrative of a democracy Saviour. What contradictory position is his, that he is himself a 5th generation politician of a family that was at some time the face of Indian Political mainstream. The contradictory position is actually a position from where in a sense, a recoil might be possible. A man, who has seen the evils of power so closely, can recoil in either sense. He can be a dynast of the worse kind; he can be the democrat of the best kind and can bring a sort of Fabian Socialist trend back into Business.
Contrary to this, Contradictory is again the Position of the Current Prime Minister, Mr. Modi. Not again the personality of Modi, But the Positionality. The two counter narratives, in case of Modi also runs. He, in a way has a rags to riches story, hence represents the non-mainstream, here I am not talking about his current stature, rather the narrative that he carries. And the opposite narrative is also there where he can be the most ruthless, dictatorial leader ever from the Incidents of Godhra and the backing of a Controversial fascistic Organization RSS. These two images, a self-made man, and a fascist, is not new in History. Mussolini was a self-made man, so was Lenin. He can go either way again. These are the first signs of the existence of opposites in Indian Politics, the First Law of Dialectics, Existence of Opposites.
Now, if we see, the issue of Families running politics, I think it also does not exist in thin air. It has an evolution cycle. The beginning of this cycle in from the "Political Worship" that Indians do of a Particular leader, say, Nehru, or of Indira Gandhi at one time, and now, Modi. This Political worship makes the god out of a man. The beginning of Political worship had roots in, I claim, in Gandhi.
If anything, A ruthless criticism of Gandhism is pending on the chest of every Political thinker of this Country. Gandhi is not a thinker of a century. No one should become the thinker for a country.
Bhakti started with Gandhi and today culminated in Modi. This Political worship of a "Celebrity Politician", is the cause why dynasties form in this country and then they run the country. The clout of the celebrity politician becomes the shared clout of the Family. So, it is just a matter of time, and it already has started, BJP will have new mushroom families of Politics.
The root cause is the Dialectic Nature of Indian Politics, which is the nature in which Indian Political system runs is actually a feedback mechanism between a charismatic leader and family politics.
Nehru, Indira left a legacy of Family politics, because they were Political charisma of their time. Today, Rahul eats what Nehru had left.
Today Modi eats what Nehru had left because that's how the Indian Psyche thinks, to make a god out of the man. Tomorrow, A jay shah or a Bansuri Swaraj will eat what a Modi has left. It does not matter whether you have a biological heir or not, it is a matter of political heir, which shares your clout like you are their father. Modi is the Political Father of Jay shah. and that is not right.
If family politics has to end, it cannot end in itself, The Hero worship has to go along with it. Like if you want to remove the species of a tree, you need to make sure you destroy the seeds of the tree too.
Family politics has seeds in Bhakti culture in Politics. That is why, Ambedkar is our man. You cannot reduce this man to a politician, This man's a visionary and a thinker. He saw the ill of Gandhi, which No one even today sees.
The beginning of end of the Bhakti culture has to be from the OG boss. The original gangster, Gandhi. Get over him. He is done and dusted. Both literally and in his ideology. The better the sooner. He should remain in a sublime state in the psyche in the modern Indian man, just as all noble age-old thinkers remain, Plato, Socrates etc. This is Political thinker's laziness to come up with new ideas, new theories.
India has lazy Political thinkers and Ideologues.
This is the third Law of Dialectics applied in Indian Politics.
Law of Negation of Negation.
You do have to negate, Modi or Gandhi alone. You have to negate them both as they are related to each other by Political horcruxes. Rahul Gandhi is the horcrux of Modi and vice-versa. The reason why Rahul exists is because once, A Gandhi and a Nehru existed. The reason a Jay Shah will exist tomorrow, is because Modi today exists.
End Family politics. Better end both Family and the Family maker. The Myth of a "The Man, the myth, the Legend".
The reason these problems started was because of the frivolous nature of revolutions in India. Indian revolutions, be it Sampurna Kranti, be it Anna Andolan, or be it the India Alliance that was may be a sort of revolution, a weird one, is because no one in these revolutions are revolutionaries. These are a bunch of people (Quantity) who know what they do not want, that is, some present despotic leader, be it Indira Gandhi, be it UPA2, be it Modi.
They are the quantities that convert into qualities. They come into power with no other narrative than, "We are not him/her".
Like what the fuck? Indian Public, demand better. What the fuck is this, I am not like him. Give me an idea. give me a vision. You lazy ass politician. In times of Sampurna Kranti, we had an ideology, some sort of socialism. Some sort of total revolution, Lohia's idea of Sapt-padi Kranti.
But the decline of open ideologies as narratives has gone. Ideologies are the backbone of politics. One solid idea can change things drastically. Today, people do not even try.
This is the third problem of Indian Politics.
Populism, which is a quantitative idea, with an empty content of idea, has become the new qualitative. An ideology Shunya Political party hides Ideology of lethargy in their politics.
You might argue, Hindutva people have ideology. To which both Fukuyama and I would disagree. No one, after fall of USSR had a solid idea. The movement that a solid idea brings, you have no idea of that. Cultural revolution in Mao's China. That was Maoism at its best. 15 years of Hindutva regime, so called, and the most disappointed are ideologues of Hindutva only. This proves, Hindutva is yet not a solid idea.
I don't care if the idea is lethal or not. At this point, I want Ideology in politics, rather than no ideology or the ideology of "At least I am not as bad as him".
Some people, of the right are doing serious propaganda work, Like Sai Deepak, Anand Ranga, Sanjeev Sanyal. I like these people because at least these people are trying. The left is not even trying. The congress is dead long ago. The only life in Congress is in speeches of Tharoor, or in Raga a bit, or in politicians who have now joined BJP.
These three laws of Dialectics define Indian politics today. Which is sad, because it is so damn predictable that a 19th century German idealist predicted it. Hegel would have been sad too.
I want action.
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