Shiban Khaibri
Whether for amusement or for adding to our elementary knowledge in Economics, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi intermittently dishes out new theories and amusing finds. The question is not what he speaks and how much that holds water but what about those on the dais knowing more, better and rather correct but under compulsions of ”loyalty” and hence obedience, do keep mum which lends legitimacy in its own way to what Rahul Ji often speaks. After the very famous but so easy solution of making farmers rich instantaneously, given by him in the shape of ”Aaloo ek taraf daloo , sonna doostri taraf nikaloo” or insert potatoes from one end and grab gold on the other end or that soft all purpose potato to be converted into hard yellow but highly priced metal – gold has, undoubtedly, become one of the themes of literature than anything with that ticklish economics . We very much remember another developmental economic model of “Escape Velocity” invented by him way back in 2013 and reports are that many enthusiastic ones from the audience are still at work deciphering the nuances of “escape Velocity” and may be, some big ”blast” in economics of development takes place some fine morning.
In that rally of 2013, he had shared with the gullible audience in Utter Pradesh, “dark forces powered by dark energy are trying to divide you on religion , it is like the quantum physics ”you all know so well”-they will tell you that you are quarks, some are leptons and some are gluons”. Bottom strings, vibrating strings – little pieces of strings ….like complicated alien phraseology was shared by him with the public and repeated using of the word strings had, of course, one immediate impact on them – that they were perhaps to get new strings of pyjamas from the ”young” Neta as most of them looked dubiously at their pyjama strings. Why not, we Indians are simple and gentle but most of us try to find ”matlab key baat” and here, it was thought to pyjama strings but it was not , instead it was ”Jupiter’s escape velocity” economic model. Research, however, is going on in the joint laboratories of Physicists and Economists in India and elsewhere to connect somehow the concept with actual theories of economic development. Right from the father of Economics Adam Smith to Ricardo to Marshall to Lord Keynes to Milton Friedman etc none could develop economic thought so hypothetically and with so wild assumptions as Rahul Gandhi and , therefore, Abhijit Banerjee along with Esther Duflo who believe in experimental approach to developmental economics under which specific policies could be precisely evaluated, must throw light on the above ”revolutionary concepts” propounded by the Congress leader from Wayanand Kerala.
Congress party , appears to be failing in political pursuits one after the other, to attempt to prevent the present dispensation from getting elected to power for the third consecutive term in 2024 , if not pin it down right now or before the next Lok Sabha elections. It has now coined phraseology of Hindu and Hindutva projecting as being not antagonistic inter-se but in fact, with intent to denigrating Hindus in the only country in the world they live in majority, not to speak of belonging to its roots from times immemorial. That country which the communal Muslim League rubbing shoulder to shoulder with Congress Party succeeded in slicing the country into two parts ”thanks ” to Mr. Nehru and Gandhi Ji and that country where in 1947-48 ,due to ”great statesmanship and great patriotism” of Mr. Nehru the advancing Indian troops were ordered a cease -fire and not capture those parts of Jammu and Kashmir which on October23 and earlier were ruled by the then Maharaja , hence so called “Aazad Kashmir” was allowed to sprout or in other words, Pakistan illegally and by aggression occupying many areas including Gilgit and Baltistan, known as PoK.
Since in the above pursuit to capture power in 2024 and to spread all discontentment against the present dispensation for alleged ”failures on all fronts” attempts of encouraging , if not inciting for Shaheen Bagh failed . This happened when even after the Congress President on December 14 last year exhorted people to ” Come out of your homes to fight for your identity” and from December 16, Shaheen Bagh protests started and continued for weeks and months together . On the social issue of Triple Talaq , it could not muster political support . However, handy came thereafter, the “bonanza” of anti Reformist Farm Laws agitation by thousands of “aggrieved farmers” . Sorry and bad luck for those who “Sahil par baith kay toofan ka nazara kartey hain” or those who comfortably sitting on the shore, enjoy the turbulent storm in the sea, Narendra Modi government pulled the carpet from under the feet of such ”Sahil par baithey ” political leaders by rescinding the three farm laws and in highest Bharti traditions , even apologised with folded hands to all those who stood discomforted on account of the fallout of these laws vis-a-vis ” our inability to convince farmers about the advantages of these laws”.
Despite all strenuous efforts to keep this agitation going by raising ancillary demands as an afterthought like MSP guarantee, withdrawal of criminal cases, electricity and stubble burning related issues, compensation for those ”farmers” who died during the agitation etc but here also, the sparrow flew deep into the skies and agitators folded their belonging and even ‘stocks-in trade’ to go home happily . It is not that they won and the government lost but the Indian system won, democracy won hence both sides won . If anyone lost , it is those again who are habitual of making a spectacle of the storms in the sea from a safe far away distance. Salman Khursheed , as a secular Congress leader discovered Hindutva being equivalent to Boko-Haram and the ISIS and instead of taking action against him for drawing such a wild , silly and untrue analogy , Rahul Gandhi and his party are trying this new ”find” ,thanks to unlimited tolerance of Hindus , to do what earlier issues could not do for them to recapture power.
Congress, now does not tire in getting engulfed willingly by Godsey phobia after he was hanged by the country’s justice system seventy years ago for the offence he committed. That by resurrecting his name, Congress could somehow get what the people snatched from it seven years back, could or could not materialise, is not known but one thing is known that this plank too will meet the same fate as other ones tried. Before the new phobia of Hindutva is unfolded through host of other facts and points of logic, it is pertinent to mention what the highest court of this largest democracy has ruled about “Hindu”, “Hinduism” and Hindutva and not even remotely identified “Hindutva” as the militant or the fanatic version of the Hinduism. More than 50 years ago, a five judge constitution bench of Chief Justice P B Gajendragadkar, K. N. Wanchoo, M. Hidayat Ullah , V. Ramaswami and P.Satyanarayanrju narrated the etymological and historical genesis of these words.
The leaned Bench in its judgment said, “It is difficult, if not impossible to define Hindu religion or even adequately describe it……………it does not satisfy the narrow traditional features of any religion or creed….. it may be described broadly as a way of life……….” The Supreme Court in its judgment further says, “Considering the words Hinduism and Hindutva per se as depicting hostility , enmity or intolerance towards other religious faiths or professing communalism, proceeds from an improper appreciation and perception of the true meaning of these expressions emerging from the detailed discussions in earlier judgments of this court.
In the context of the above historic judgments as also as per the traditions, civilization(al) highest standards, historical and cultural backgrounds and the realities on the ground , it is beyond comprehension how Hindutva is denigrated now by the Congress Party to the extent of treating it like dreaded ISIS and Boko Haram or the utter fallacy of the inflation being ”done” by Hindutva forces in this country. May it be known that according to Merriam – Webster’s Encyclopaedia of World Religions , Hindutva is defined as a concept of ” Indian cultural, national and religious identity – the term conflating a geographically based religious , cultural and national identity “. On a serious note, therefore, Rahul Gandhi must learn to know what he speaks , he must do an honest and hard home work before addressing public rallies . It is his democratic right as an opposition leader to criticise the government in power but not on unfounded, imaginary and unsubstantiated grounds, never even in the least, by maligning the oldest religion of the world and its followers by attempting to split it in “isms” and ”Tvas” . That would surely push Congress party further deep into the mire of confusions and contradictions.
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