Shiban Khaibri
Bihar elections are over; people there have given their verdict and given it decisively. The choice of a voter being that of a sovereign is unquestionable and particularly, when it is in favour of anti BJP combination. It is unlike the vast spectrum of the electorate giving massive mandate to BJP led NDA combination in 2014 general elections as, to put it in the words of Rahul Gandhi,” A fascist Government believing in and practicing divisive politics is in power…..” Since Rahul Gandhi’s Congress has made a superb come back and so soon so as to secure 27 seats in Bihar elections as against just 3 in the last one, his words, now, carry politically some weight. The important issue is that applying the same yardstick of the sovereignty of the voter in choosing his or her choice, it is questioned when the massive verdict is favouring the “Communal and divisive” BJP. The results in Bihar have upset, rather topsy -turvy, all the calculations and surmises of Political Pundits, analysts and even psephologists. It won’t be an exaggeration to say even those who have emerged victorious. In other words, people in Bihar surprisingly have preferred Lalu Ji to Nitish not to speak about Modi. The contention that had Nitish not combined with Lalu, as held earlier, the chances of his sweeping the polls, would have been bright. It is now proved the other way, had Lalu not joined Nitish , he would have performed still better. Look at Congress, joining the bandwagon of this “Grand Alliance” and the blessings and support of Lalu made Congress richer by as many as 25 seats and had they been given more, they could have done better. That just getting 8% more votes than NDA, the Grand Alliance is set to form the Government in Bihar. That the whole of the middle class and the upper class did not come out to vote massively looking to the turnout, cost the NDA dearly. The biggest one factor responsible for the rout of BJP led alliance and the Grand alliance marching towards government formation is the fiercest opposition and Joseph Goebbels’ propaganda by Congress and other parties among the rural farming community against the Land Acquisition Bill that Modi was bent upon snatching their “Niwala” from their mouths by “forcibly” occupying farmers’ land . This worked wonders for Modi ‘s detractors to thwart his developmental march so as to paint him in 2019 as non performer and promise breaker only to return to power and at the outset, unseat him in Delhi and now in Bihar.
That people forget and forgive so soon the scams, corruption, nepotism, financial irregularities and even leader’s conviction and jail is proved in Bihar elections by reposing massive faith in Lalu Ji and Congress Party. Bihar elections saw a new political environment enacted and created like the beef controversies although the constitution speaks about the ban on cow slaughter and the same was not new. It saw the Dadri episode blown to unbelievable proportions; it saw mysterious burning of two children in a village in Haryana given “grave political overtures”. It saw with a master stroke, hype creation of “Intolerance” and to make it look in phenomenal proportions. A few writers, intellectuals and artists were motivated to “return “their awards to the government so as to paint the country as a medieval thinking oriented primitive one practicing hate, prejudice and “discriminatory treatment” towards minorities resulting in upheavals, murders, stifling of “poplar” dissent and what not.
The results in Bihar have ensured that the tsunami of award “wapsi ” had achieved its immediate objective , to give a jolt to the BJP and the Prime Minister who worked hard and sort of put many a stake in these elections . It was meant to be that, looking to the timing of the showbiz -zing of the wapsi melodrama. Now, till another important event with ramifications of wider dimensions takes place, there shall be a lull in the wapsi game. Whether metaphorically the lull shall be followed by the storm has got to be expected to be seen going by the success, the theatrics achieved or indirectly can claim to have achieved both by the awardees as well as their mentors, if any. Bihar elections winning by this combination or that one should have been thought to be of trivial importance compared to the standing and the reputation of the country of which both the combinations and their followers belong. If foreign investors feel shy of investing and opening ventures here because of the factor of intolerance, who ultimately was going to be affected? It looks strange that an unfortunate murder in a country of 125 crore can be blown to unprecedented proportions, so much that almost whole of the world came to know about it as if that world was a divine place without any murders, racial attacks, apartheid, inequality between the sexes, rapes and associated crimes, drug trafficking and the associated violence or the spine chilling human rights violations. How many times, the intellectuals in the US have returned their honours and degrees to the administration over frequent racial attacks? How many times have the American secularists and NGOs as also leading personalities returned their honours over the increasing rape incidents in that country? How many times have such personalities did a replica of recent Indian award wapsi drama in US, Sweden, France, Canada, UK and Germany just over the fact that they were internationally the leading countries in reported rapes and crimes against women? How many times have the writers done the same thing in these and other countries not to speak of China declaring wide and open that their countries were intolerant of women’s rights and non white population’s basic rights as also religious minorities ? Advanced country like Australia’s case is worth making a comparison with. A maid’s hand was recently chopped off by her Arabian employer and did not admit her in the hospital even, how many writers and even religious leaders there decried their country and the administration as being intolerant? In the same way, A Professor from Kerala T. J. Joseph’s hand was copped off by jihadi fundamentalists but no award was returned. After partition of the country, a biggest forcible migration from their birth place in Kashmir of the ethnic minority, the Kashmiri Pandits numbering nearly 5 lacs preceded and followed by massive killings, rapes, loot and arson and their perpetual denial to them to their birth place now for over 25 years was no sufficient ground for award returning for these “intellectuals,” seems ludicrous.
How much damage this INTOLERANT bogey did to our country internationally perhaps may be known to the actors of wapsi drama but are feigning innocence while feeling relaxed that Bihar stands lost to BJP and Modi for at least 5 years. Our strength and fame internationally is known mainly because of the highest tolerant character of its people since early Vedic times. That stands dented and aborted and it will take a long time in repairing the damage when this country needs massive international cooperation and assistance in our turning out to be a power. It may be noted that Modi Ji tries to be known as Gandhi in that he is behaving as a most tolerant PM to the extent of being labeled as weak. He shall never get any certificate of “merit” from his avowed opponents for showing exemplary accommodative response to the political and even personal onslaughts which calls for his discreet but very firm handling. He introduced “one from one family norm” for party cum administrative accommodation of the members of the Party in an accepted tradition of promoting family and close members. Like this, veterans like Yashwant Sinha, R. K.Singh both from Bihar were not included in Government neither at Delhi nor in Bihar elections and another veteran and ex NDA Cabinet Minister Arun Shorie stands totally ignored. Bihar is lost by the BJP led NDA, the results project an allegory that needs to be deciphered to make repairs but only when the sun shines, not when the night approaches.
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