The changing guard
Sunday, March 15th, 2009
Photo credit: Balaji Shankar
Universal appeal is a tricky thing. India’s central governments, up until the late 1970s, had one thing they shared (besides of course, the fact that they were all Congress Party governments): they viewed themselves as a father and mother figure rolled into one, the mai-baap, and also as an authority that didn’t discriminate or favour any one group of citizens over another.
Since the 1980s, as regional parties have gained power, governments have become far more focused on their particular ethnic identities and groups, and this has sometimes come with open hostility to groups that they don’t represent. So we saw Mayawati in UP call the Brahmin and Bania castes ‘chor’ in her early campaigns, and the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra throw vitriol at non-Marathi residents in the state. And let’s not forget Gujarat’s Chief Minister Narendra Modi - the BJP since the NDA government has been a much more moderate religious force compared to its past, but its most promising young leader is by no means a uniter. (Here is an excellent piece on Modi in the Atlantic Monthly).
These leaders arouse high emotion, both among their followers and their dissenters. They do not feel accessible outside the caste/religious groups they represent. I find their lack of broader appeal worrying. Political leaders with limited reach, and those who inspire fear in some citizens and passion in others cannot effectively lead a country as diverse as India.
And while we have so far managed reasonably well with coalition governments that cobble together a variety of religious and regional views, the Prime Ministers that headed them were always determinedly moderate figures. If this changes in the coming years, it will mean an unfortunate turn in our politics.