The RSS stands for cultural nationalism, thinks pan-India and espouses the cause of Hindu (read Indian) valour, dignity and respect. In India's 7,000 year-old history, this is the first civilian attempt on a mass scale to consolidify, organise and channelise the fragmented Hindu base for mutual support and security. It must be remembered that historically Hindus have been a much divided community and often at war with each other. Besides, Hindus are known to time and again abandon their fellow Hindu brethren in distress and often found cheering/jeering from the sidelines in the gallery the embattled, lone warrior caught in a deadly combat in a life and death struggle in the arena but never once coming to his rescue.
As a result, invaders of all shades and hue have exploited this weakness to the hilt, cunningly pitting one Hindu against the other, and thus enslaving the motherland for a thousand years. Obviously, inimical forces to Hindu unity and strength try to paint the RSS in a negative light so that they can divide the Hindus, arm-twist them, browbeat them and lord over them. The presence of a strong RSS negates the nefarious designs of such forces, leaving them often frustrated. The RSS ideology, like that of any dynamic entity is continuously evolving, and the majority who abide by the RSS have come beyond the erstwhile call of Guru Golwalkar/Guru Hegdewar who felt that Christians and Muslims were all out to hijack the Indian agenda and were a threat to the country.
Sensible is he who braces his beliefs on the current situation with a focus on the future and does not let history cloud his judgement. Today, the majority of the people who support the RSS believe that India is a place for all communities and religions. It is only natural and desirable that a strong organisation like the RSS exists to protect and safeguard Hindu interests, preserve and propagate Hindu culture in the country and abroad. One must never forget that a weak, divided, fragmented Hindu society undermines the very existence of the Indian nation as can be seen from the 1,000 year conquest of India by invaders from the North West whereby nearly 100-150 million Hindus were killed in the atrocities and organised pograms that were conducted for centuries at a stretch.
On the other hand, whenever the Hindus have put up a united front, they have become a deadly and potent force defeating and driving back some of the most marauding armies that entered through the Khyber Pass. Some amongst a handful of Muslim political leaders are known to relish power and will go to any lengths to attain it by often misleading their community members but by and large 'now' the majority of Muslims are law abiding, honest, hard working and patriotic citizens of the country.
STRONG LOKPAL NEEDED: Anna Hazare’s crusade against corruption is laudable and his demand for a strong Lokpal is justifiable. Anna is a man of courage and sincere intentions otherwise anyone else would have fallen seriously ill by now or backed off. No doubt he has got the support of the common man and dozens of political parties cutting across ideologies. This issue is more relevant than ever before because as the Indian economy grows and touches $5 trillion by 2027 AD from the present $1.7 trillion, there is a genuine fear that scams may become bigger in size. While it is true an individual’s intent and motive determine whether he is likely to become corrupt, but even then sometimes people are lured to corruption and knowing that there are strict laws or bodies put in place to deal with offenders can be a great deterrent.
Like Britain and the US, India too has a series of mountain peaks in governance which keep checks and balances in place. The Supreme Court, CAG, CVC, CBI and the Lokpal should be made into constitutional bodies independent of the government in power to check corruption, misuse of power by the government functionaries. At the same time the propounders of Lokpal should not make it into a Jokepal by probing false, unsubstantiated charges against politicians and bureaucrats. It is hoped that the Lokpal does not become a place where some 2,000-3,000 well healed Indians get plush jobs, because then it would become a big Jokepal.
TODAY'S LEADER SHOULD BE DIFFERENT: Mahatma Gandhi is respected by all Indians and a substantial amount of people around the world. I personally never understood the powerful philosophy of non-violence during my earlier years but only during the last 15 years. Truly, a person has to be strong from within and needs moral credibility if he desires to be non-violent in thought, speech, behaviour and action. Though a frail man in physique, the father of the nation was truly a strong man in mind and soul. But ideally in today’s world, men must have both physical and moral strength. Both are difficult to achieve and require tremendous amount of hard work and sacrifice.
However, whenever there is a vacuum in leadership in India, the ghost of Gandhi is invoked. We need another Gandhi, clamour Congressmen and ask “what the 21st century Gandhi would be like”. Gandhiji played his due role and helped the country during his time with his own unique ways. The leader of today will be different according to today’s situation. He will have his own personality, his own style, his own beliefs and way of working. Let’s not make emerging leaders in our country into Gandhi clones. It may be detrimental to the interest of the country and will stifle a emerging leader. Rest be assured, there is no dearth of leaders in India and every era will spawn its own unique set of leaders. Prospective leaders should be themselves and believe in themselves.
A NEW BREED OF LEADERSHIP: Today, we live in a globalised world where advances in technology have made people accessible to each other. There is free flow of ideas, concepts, products and services. We live in a knowledge economy where a good education is your only capital. As India’s economy grows from the present $1.7 trillion, to inflexion points of $2.5 trillion, $5trillion, $7.5 trillion and $10 trillion in the next 5 to 40 years time with annual growth rates ranging from 6-10 percent, we will need intellectually capable politicians and bureaucrats to manage and ensure this growth. There is a yearning need for politicians at the councillor, legislative and parliament level to have at least 10 years of professional job experience, be well educated and knowledgeable of economics, arts, management, commerce, defence, law etc.
We cannot afford to have 60 per cent councillors, legislators and parliamentarians who have dubious and criminal backgrounds and who are illiterate and uneducated. A professional politician is irrelevant in today's context and for a politician to be successful he must first have his basic grounding in a successful profession/career first. We cannot today take growth for granted. We cannot assume that the economy is on auto pilot and that we do not need to guide it and control it. Great power politics is a very murky business and at every step, in every move there will be obstacles and dangers and only a skillful pilot can steer the economy into a safe direction. That’s why its important that we have numerous pilots who are well trained in managing national economy, who are educated, professionally qualified, have a good professional standing and who are committed to the success of the country.
DELIBERATING FDI IN RETAIL: FDI in retail has been nixed by the opposition. If you want to arrive at a decision answer these questions. Will FDI in multi-brand retail, single brand retail and cash and carry formats result in cheaper, better quality, variety of products for the Indian consumer? Will it bring in management and distribution techniques which are not available in India or cannot be developed in India? Will it create infrastructure for storage, transportation, sourcing, distribution in India? Will the common man benefit and will it create employment? Will it help source goods from Indian manufacturers and service providers? Will it help the district, state and national economy? If yes, then bring in FDI in retail.
SMALLER STATES GAIN FAVOUR: Mayawati’s plan to bifurcate UP into 4 smaller states is not a political ploy but done to ensure the rapid development of the state. In fact, all the larger states should be divided into 2-3- or 4 smaller states. No one should protect his fiefdom but the common man should gain. Infact Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand have all clocked 9-12 per cent annual growth rates in the last 10 years. Smaller states are manageable and are administratively more efficient from the point of governance. What has to be kept in mind is that there should be a strong Centre to keep these states united within the Indian Union and that there is no breakaway from the federation. Practical reality proves that small states in India are all doing well in human development indicators.
SMALLER STATES GAIN FAVOUR: Mayawati’s plan to bifurcate UP into 4 smaller states is not a political ploy but done to ensure the rapid development of the state. In fact, all the larger states should be divided into 2-3- or 4 smaller states. No one should protect his fiefdom but the common man should gain. Infact Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand have all clocked 9-12 per cent annual growth rates in the last 10 years. Smaller states are manageable and are administratively more efficient from the point of governance. What has to be kept in mind is that there should be a strong Centre to keep these states united within the Indian Union and that there is no breakaway from the federation. Practical reality proves that small states in India are all doing well in human development indicators.
A beautifully written post. But are these points endorsed by RSS itself?
ReplyDeleteYes, we do not need a Gandhi Clone. And we certainly dont need the blatant boot-lickery which is happening in our country on Gandhi's name.
I agree with all the points you have written except the last one. If a state has potent and able administration, they don't need to be bifurcated. For example, Gujrat. Also, the states which are large and are still under-developed are so due to the lack of political will. I have no doubts saying that if Nitish Kumar was the CM of erstwhile Bihar, it still would have developed. Smaller states bring tremendous burden on the exchequer.