Micro Analysis,Asia: Is the Indian BJP Holding on too Tightly to the Hindutva Ideology: Week # 79

Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh recently declared that there was no question of the party compromising on “Hindutva ideology” or its “original political thinking” because it lost the recent Lok Sabha elections. This stance was directed against the views of some political analysts who said the BJP should rethink its ideology and political thinking in the wake of the parliamentary poll debacle.

During the 1980s and 1990s the campaign to demolish Babri Masjid had caught the imagination of the Hindu middle classes proving instrumental in forging the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). According to Qamar Agha, a well-known academic and political commentator, another reason for BJP’s former success was due to the all-round respect Vajpayee commanded and his readiness to compromise with allies on such contentious issues as the building of a temple dedicated to the deity Rama on the site where Hindu zealots had demolished the 17th century Babri Mosque.

Agha adds that the new reality is a young, forward-looking generation that has grown up in the intervening period and has no interest in righting the wrongs of history. More over the current hard line stance of BJP leaders while in opposition is quite opposed to the reconciliatory tone adopted by Vajpayee when in power.

BJP leaders termed the India-Pakistan joint statement issued at Sharm-el-Sheikh an “unfortunate and shameful document” of the UPA government’s failure on issues pertaining to diplomacy, statesmanship, and national interest, believed to have transpired under pressure from the United States. This hard-line stance is perhaps driving away Hindu voters more interested in the potential they see in an economically burgeoning country.
At present some share the view that the BJP, faced as it is with several crises, including one over leadership following the retirement of the aging Vajpayee, seems ill-prepared to match the Congress party which took care to nurture its image as a secular one, standing for all people regardless of caste, religion or ethnicity.

Questions for Discussion:

• When considering BJP’s traditional politics over the years it would seem that the leader ship of the party, when in opposition, tows a more hard-line stance as compared to a relatively conciliatory one when in power. In your opinion do you think this sort of political behavior is generally observable in competitive politics or is the BJP case an exception rather then the rule?

• The current unfolding scenario on the Indian political scene indicates loyalties shifting away from the BJP in the Indian society. To what extent could this be attributed to:
  § Shifting priorities where interest based politics takes precedence over traditional ideologies,
  § Global exposure transpiring into evolving ideologies,
  § Or international pressures shaping the political arena?

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