The principles of governance are very simple! Have a dynamic and positive vision for the country and its people, act with faith and belief, promise only what you can deliver, then deliver what you promise, be warned the public down to the lowest denominator is closely watching and scrutinising your every word and move, respect the last man’s intelligence and awareness, fight to serve and protect the public/national interest, uphold the values of the constitution, respect and serve all sections of society irrespective of religion, caste, class and geography, take up an official/political post to safeguard and serve the public and the nation, carry all sections of society with yourself and finally maintain internal harmony by abiding with the tenets of religious tolerance and pluralism.
Deviation from these abiding principles will lead to strife and dissent. Protests, riots, arson, anarchy, corruption, dissent are manifestations which befall the nation when you lose or divert yourself from these core principles. India is a unique nation---over 200 dialects and languages, nearly 10 major religions, ethnic diversity, cultural variations and seemingly every kind of topography and geography. It would be apt to correlate India with a unified EU or America in the 19th century. In politics you cannot wink or blink for a moment nor can you let your guard drop for a while. Politics is not for the weak or the faint hearted, it is for the brave and the tough-hearted. Politics is not everyone’s cup of tea---in India only one in 20 lakh gets the privilege to become a Lok Sabha/RajyaSabha member. Therefore, uphold this honour with care and concern.
Let’s lay threadbare and micro-examine 8 issues which the RSS/BJP must address on a war-footing with speed and panache:
WHAT SHOULD BE THE RSS’ DNA? Traditional and archaic RSS historical view has been a deep distrust and animosity towards the Muslims and the Christians. This is seconded by the writings of Golwalkar and Hegdewar. If we take India’s 7000 year archaeological history, we find that 600 years have been dominated by the Muslims and 300 years by the Christians. Let’s not forget that over 55 countries are Muslim dominated and over 60 countries are Christian dominated in the world. If India under the RSS/BJP wants to have amicable relationships with these 115-odd countries the RSS/BJP must treat India’s Muslim and Christian population with care and fairness accepting them as integral part of India. It is also important to do so to safeguard and protect India’s vast diaspora which lives in Christian and Muslim dominated countries.
WHAT CAN HINDUS LEARN FROM THE CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS? In order to overcome your shortcomings one should look at your own faults first and look at the good qualities of the other side of the spectrum. While it’s true that Christians have over 40 different churches and Muslims have nearly a dozen sects, they still speak and act in tandem. Christians and Muslims are united in the care for the brotherhood, they pray daily and go to churches and mosques regularly, they make financial contributions and also time in service of their religion, while they have a class system they treat their fellow brethren with respect and with equality, they are natural warriors and techniques of self defence and attack are ingrained in them from a early age, their spiritual masters have a unified vision of the religion. These are things which Hindus should learn from them.
HOW TO ORGANISE/UNIFY HINDUS? The RSS/BJP should stand for Hindu resurgence and unity and not for Hindu supremacy. Talks of Vishwaguru, supremacy of Hinduism sound hollow and laughable when Hindus are the planet’s most fragmented, divided, lot where a large majority who do not respect their religion and openly laugh and scorn Hindu culture. The RSS/BJP must first mass educate/make aware Hindus of their rich ancient and modern tradition and should ingrain in Hindus a deep rooted self respect and self esteem about being Hindus rather than the current deep sense of inferiority and rootlessness. It must be ingrained in the Hindus to pray/visit temples regularly if not daily, give money/contribute towards community/public service and propagate/defend their religion. Influential Hindu spiritual masters must send out a common, unified, dynamic and positive message to the Hindu masses after periodic internal consultations with each other.
HOW TO BUILD A BJP-ORIENTED CULTURE IN INDIA? The RSS/BJP must propagate that they stand for Hindu resurgence and unity without being seen as a threat to other religions. The RSS/BJP must ensure that people of all religions are free to practice and abide with their faith as long as they don’t impinge on the rights of the majority. India is the land where Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma was born and Hindus have a right to defend and safeguard their religious rights in India. A centrist party is the most widely accepted concept in democracies and the RSS/BJP should move towards the Centrist approach. It is the right of the party in power to appoint senior functionaries who align with its ideology in top posts of institutions. This it must do with speed and on a large scale. But such functionaries must be carefully selected who have the tilt towards its ideology, are knowledgeable and qualified, have experience in that field and who are charismatic and dynamic.
RECORDING HISTORY IN THE RIGHT CONTEXT: Today history textbooks at the school, college and research level are skewed towards extreme leftism or extreme pro-Congressism. The RSS/BJP must ensure that history specifically in the period 10th century to 19th century records the work done by native Hindus stalwarts and kings in defending their land, culture and putting up a good fight against the occupational forces. Valiant Hindu kings and queens who resisted and fought against the occupational forces must find a prominent place in history during this period. Examples and case studies of such kings and queens from the northern, southern, western and eastern regions must find a prominent place in History textbooks at the school, college and research level. Research paper contests must be organised in different regions of India on this subject and the findings must be compiled in text book forms and translated into all the major Indian languages.
HOW CAN MODIJI/BJP ENSURE A MEMORABLE CURRENT TERM? The best way that Modi ji and the BJP can ensure a memorable current term is to revisit and go back to the drawing board and recollect the basic mass-appealing promises that they made to the Indian public pre-2014 elections which brought them to power in the first place. These are: my holy book is the Indian constitution, sabka saath, sabka vikaas and sabka vishwas, minimum government-maximum governance, women empowerment, rebooting and revitalising the economy, strong national defence/attack capabilities and maintaining internal harmony and security for all citizens. To do this Modi ji must appoint the right men and women with the correct qualifications and credentials, expertise and experience in key ministries such as defence, external affairs, finance, commerce and industry, education, etc. Having the right candidate in the wrong portfolio or the wrong candidate in the right portfolio can be a great disservice to the candidate and the country.
WHY SHOULD MODI JI/BJP/RSS DO SUCCESSION PLANNING FOR 2024? Three to four years back, nearly 65% of the country’s landmass was under BJP governance. But today barely 30% is under BJP governance. This shows that there is waning of support for the BJP and its policies and style of governance. Ability to communicate is a sterling quality---but beyond words you need solid substance too. In many of the measures and schemes which the BJP under Modiji’s leadership has demonstrated such substance. While Modiji could well run for a third term, the Indian public knows he is a man of sound principles and stands for strengthening the democratic process befitting a mature nation and that's why Modiji will pass the baton to an able successor. The mood in the country is for change. The ideal candidate to spearhead the BJP charge in 2024 should have served at least 4-5 terms in the Lok Sabha and should have had at least 1-2 terms as the chief minister of a large state. This brings three names to mind: Shivraj Singh Chouhan of MP, Yogi Adityanath of UP and Dr Raman Singh of Chattisgarh. All three are able administrators and have demonstrated a knack with the economy.
CAN THE RSS/BJP BE A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE IN THEIR CURRENT FORM? Certainly not! Vendetta politics, hate mongering, bitterness for past inflicted wounds by the Congress and the yearning for revenge don’t bode well for the RSS/BJP fortunes in 2024. You have to send out a message of forgiveness, otherwise you will be trapped in the bitter past and you will have no time to move ahead or take the country forward. Introspection, admitting your own faults first before pointing a finger at others, analysing your own intentions and motives will give you a clear answer as to why things went wrong for you in the past at the hands of the Congress. To be a viable alternative, the RSS/BJP must be seen in letter and spirit as forward thinking organisations who can cooperate and collaborate with the opposition and carry all sections of society with themselves. Consolidation of Hindus means unifying and organising them, it does not mean driving a communal wedge/divide and polarising society.
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