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Punjab politics and
ideological purity: The way forward
So
much has changed in Punjab in the last couple of weeks, and yet so
little changes ever. The Amarinder Singh government has been
replaced by the Parkash Singh Badal-BJP ministry. Some officials
will be sidelined, some will be put in plum posts, the phenomena
being only a reverse of what the earlier rulers had done. Amarinder
Singh had talked big about Badal's corruption; the Badal's will try
and find a matching rhetoric. Matching in its shallowness but even
louder in shrillness.
But
what will remain out of the scope of political debate are the key
questions. Is the Akali Dal-BJP alliance really an alliance between
the two parties, or is it an arrangement that only suits the Badals
to come back to power? How can the two parties with their
ideological positions directly opposed to each other actually have
an alliance? The entire raison d'etre of the Akali Dal is based upon
the objective of creating conditions for Khalsa Ji Da Bol-Bala and
on the unique and distinct identity of the Sikhs as a nation. The
most basic of the ideological positions of the BJP is that all
Indians are Hindus and that Sikhs are part of the larger Hindu fold
and that Sikhs are merely a sect.
The
ideological position of the RSS, the ideological parent of the BJP,
has been made clear repeatedly and frequently by none other than the
top most man in the saffron band. Time and again, statements are
issued that Sikhs are part of the Hindu samaj. But thanks to Badal's
unfathomable capacity to marry the irreconcilable, the Akali Dal-BJP
alliance continues, even thrives.
In
such a scenario, when others are ready to marry parties without even
an iota of ideological sharing of constructs, what can those who
stand steadfast by an ideology, any ideology, do? One simple answer
is that they must continue to be what they are best at: remain
ideological puritans and remain steadfast in their commitment.
Men
like Simranjit Singh Mann have done that. Exactly that. But what has
been the result? As we have mentioned elsewhere in this edition,
Mann and his candidates have suffered a humiliating defeat in the
Assembly elections. Surely, standing by an ideology honestly does
not deserve this. There must be a different explanation for this
phase in Punjab polity.
The
crooks are almost always the clever too. But the most pleasant
surprise is when the truthful prove to also shrewd. Why must
shrewdness be the sole domain of only those without principles? This
is the time for saner and honest forces to do some out-of-the-box
thinking. If the traditional is failing us, then we must innovate.
But dejection is certainly not an option for those born to fight for
what they believe in. Larger causes have many hurdles, and the
larger the hurdles, the better must be our response.
On
a different note, the elections have become a game of big money and
big muscles. This total annihilation of any third voice also
portends a threat to the democracy. The decimation of the CPI, the
CPI(M), all possible elements of the third front is a pointer. The
fate of the Mann-led Akali Dal (Amritsar) is only part of this
pattern. So while the response must be along ideological lines,
there is also need to bring back ideology to politics. Besides, the
electoral politics is not the only form of power polity. Many who
have never become part of it are also playing a major role in
decision making. The large number of NGOs which are forever gaining
strength have managed to do so while remaining outside the electoral
arena. So when we discuss the way forward, we must also think
whether withdrawing temporarily from this vote-specific politics is
also one way forward.
7 March 2007
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