PAYING a nuanced tribute to politicians of his time, Samuel Johnson would argue that patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. I am sure the good doctor, celebrated more for his one-liners than his formidable contribution to the English literature, would have come to the same conclusion about the politicians of our time. For politicians are the same everywhere, be it the land of the free or the world's largest democracy with more than 700 million voters. Even if they happen to be relatively new to their chosen calling, as Varun Gandhi is.
This Gandhi is no Mahatma. He was until recently known as a "poor cousin" of Rahul Gandhi, the prime-minister-in-waiting son of Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born chief of the Congress party. Not anymore.
This illustrious inheritor of the Nehru-Gandhi legacy has been hogging the limelight since he began exhorting the "Hindu brothers" to join hands to banish the "Muslim traitors" to Pakistan. That too from the platform of a party that is associated with the people who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi. Varun's grandmother Indira Gandhi and great grandfather Nehru must be turning in their graves. Nehru was a passionate champion of religious tolerance and pluralism. The first prime minister of the country is credited with building the secular, democratic India that we see today.
Of course, it's not unusual for Indian politicians to play on voters' insecurities and basic instincts by raising all sorts of bogies and specters. The Muslims and other religious minorities are routinely demonized by the Bharatiya Janata Party and its many rabid avatars like RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal. In fact, the BJP grew from its once two-member strength in Parliament to emerge as the biggest political party after Congress thanks to its hysterical campaign against Muslims in the 1980s and 1990s. Who could ever forget the riots that broke out after the Babri Masjid demolition in December 1992 or the horror of Gujarat in 2002? But the BJP's long spell in power under poet-politician A.B. Vajpayee seemed to have mellowed the party making it more amenable to reason and the exigencies of ruling a large, melting pot of a country. It's not a coincidence that despite his party's rhetoric against Pakistan, relations with the neighbor were at their best under Vajpayee.
Even after the BJP was driven out of power in 2004 - punished by the perceptive voters for its smug, India Shining rhetoric - it appeared as though the party had grown out of its Muslim-bashing days. Even in Narendra Modi's Gujarat, the BJP has been trying hard to woo the Muslims.
This is why Varun Gandhi's juvenile fantasy of driving the Muslims into Pakistan and his vow to cut off the hands that "threaten the Hindus" appear to have come as a surprise even to the BJP. Even though the party is going to ridiculous lengths to both embrace Varun Gandhi as the new mascot of Hindutva as well as disown his acidic attack on the Muslims, it is ironic that the 29-year-old alumnus of the London School of Economics should end up on the BJP's platform. Even more ironically, Varun's mother is a Sikh by birth, a religious minority like the Muslims. Even from his father's side, he is more of a Parsi or Zoroastrian than a Hindu. Varun's paternal grandfather and Indira Gandhi's husband, Feroze Gandhi, was a Zoroastrian. Which is why it's such a tragic irony that the son of Sikh-Zoroastrian parents should be trying to cash in his electoral chips by bashing up another marginalized, religious minority.
But then what's new? India's Muslims are used to being exploited either as a vote bank by secular parties or as a target board by extremist Hindu groups. Seems when it comes to Muslims, anybody can get away with murder. And most politicians do!
No wonder Varun thought this is the shortest and surest route to power and glory. So even though the Election Commission has asked the BJP to take action against this renegade Gandhi, the party would do everything to cash in on the nuisance value of this controversy. In any case, who remembers these things once poll results are out?
While there have been some protests across India, most Muslims have just dismissed it as just another existential problem that the community faces in the world's biggest democracy. Meanwhile, the Congress, headed by Varun's aunt, is hoping to make the most of the issue presenting itself as the only party that can "protect the Muslims." But the Muslims should know better. After all, it was during the Congress rule that the Ayodhya tragedy took place!
If the Muslims, or for that matter other minorities, indeed want to deal with the Varun Gandhis of this world, they will have to come up with better and more constructive solutions. Protests and marches, although ideal in a democratic setup, only make heroes of desperate politicians.
In this respect, the Muslims could learn a lesson or two from the Jews. I am not suggesting the Muslims manipulate world powers and institutions as the Jews do. But they will have to organize and empower themselves if they want to deal with the kind of witch-hunt that they face from time to time.
India's Muslims are often seen as king-makers and are supposed to play a decisive role in battleground states during elections. This is why come elections, politicians of all hues line up to woo the minority voters. This hasn't protected the Muslims from being targeted by all sides though. Even an upstart like Varun Gandhi finds them a tempting target.
This can change only when the Muslims empower themselves - economically, educationally and politically - just as the Jews have. While India is dreaming big, looking to be the next big power, the country's second largest community is struggling on all fronts. It's way behind even the Dalits, the low caste Hindus once considered untouchables.
The Muslims have little or no presence in the national media or institutions that play a role in forming opinions and decision-making. As long as this doesn't change, Muslims can do little to deal with people like Varun Gandhi, except pray to Almighty for their change of heart!
- Write to Aijaz Zaka Syed at [email protected]
