This essay was first published in the National Herald. Politics is often deceptively simple, needing nothing more than common sense to unravel its many strands. However, it can quickly get very complex, requiring use of many counter-intuitive concepts to explain its logic. The use of Nationalism as tool for nation-building, in a diverse polity like ours, is one such complexity, that is not easy to grasp. After all, what could be simpler to intuit than the fact that if you unite all Indians behind a common agenda, its achievement could be facilitated? However, when you try and “force” such a unity, using for instance religion, or even culture, as RSS/BJP do, all sorts of problems rear their head. Can we use the analogy/model of Prisoners’ Dilemma [PD] to examine this conundrum?
A must-read for all those who wish to understand the complex reality of our India.
Written with passion and savagery, this is a astute, insightful, empathetic and highly readable essay which diligently captures qualitative kink of Short-sighted, self-indulgent politics of the RSS/BJP with the help of various markers & unhealthy symbiosis that brought us to this point.
Some quotes
Short-sighted, self-indulgent politics of the RSS/BJP kind has already plunged the polity into the snake-pit of identity politics from which there is no easy escape.
The sooner we recognise the problem, the quicker we can begin the repairs. Even then the damage done will be humongous. It is just that RSS/BJP/Modi are in denial over the problems that lie ahead.
We as a polity have not only lost our innocence, but also our only valid reason to be here, -for the good of all our citizens.
Excellent analysis. Liked the graphics. But wondering - now that the Pandora's box of identity and religious politics has been opened - side stepping it will not help. I also wonder, even if the BJP had not stirred the pot - Identity politics was always there as an undercurrent - look at the fall out of VP Singh's implementation of Mandal commission. Now that the SC/ST and OBC are much more aware of their rights and power of the vote - they are rightly demanding their place in the power and economic structure of the govt. This is now more evident now. This would have eventually come to the forefront. The last 7 years just made it come to the forefront faster. The big question is how to deal with it without completely ruining the "Idea of India".
Old men of BJP/RSS , who think they have achieved what they want in life, now the purpose of the rest of their lives is to dehumanize muslims and other minortiies. It is the young, who must choose what they want from life and how they can achieve it. Any achievement is possible only when people are united. This is the key realization that must sink in. Second is the ability to separate truth from fiction, the youth must develop ability to separate the fiction of RSS/BJP being fed to them from the real facts.
It's just a wrong narrative. Nectar is said to be venom.Nehru didn't skip step -1 or step-2.For Nehru step-1 was - " No one is Indian, even Aryans are outsiders"
Step-2 - " Accept the formation of Pakistan "
Sep-3- " Procure votes by appeasement of Muslims".
A must-read for all those who wish to understand the complex reality of our India.
Written with passion and savagery, this is a astute, insightful, empathetic and highly readable essay which diligently captures qualitative kink of Short-sighted, self-indulgent politics of the RSS/BJP with the help of various markers & unhealthy symbiosis that brought us to this point.
Some quotes
Short-sighted, self-indulgent politics of the RSS/BJP kind has already plunged the polity into the snake-pit of identity politics from which there is no easy escape.
The sooner we recognise the problem, the quicker we can begin the repairs. Even then the damage done will be humongous. It is just that RSS/BJP/Modi are in denial over the problems that lie ahead.
We as a polity have not only lost our innocence, but also our only valid reason to be here, -for the good of all our citizens.
Brilliantl.
Clinically explained. But will we ever learn?
Good graphic + analysis
We must emerge unscathed from this 'snake pit of identity politics' for our own good, for the good of all citizens of this country.
Great and wonderful work
Excellent analysis. Liked the graphics. But wondering - now that the Pandora's box of identity and religious politics has been opened - side stepping it will not help. I also wonder, even if the BJP had not stirred the pot - Identity politics was always there as an undercurrent - look at the fall out of VP Singh's implementation of Mandal commission. Now that the SC/ST and OBC are much more aware of their rights and power of the vote - they are rightly demanding their place in the power and economic structure of the govt. This is now more evident now. This would have eventually come to the forefront. The last 7 years just made it come to the forefront faster. The big question is how to deal with it without completely ruining the "Idea of India".
Exquisitely written.
Well conceived
The solution however seems far fetched, just because of the Indian psyche of living in the past.
That's what I feel.
Peace 🙏🏻
Old men of BJP/RSS , who think they have achieved what they want in life, now the purpose of the rest of their lives is to dehumanize muslims and other minortiies. It is the young, who must choose what they want from life and how they can achieve it. Any achievement is possible only when people are united. This is the key realization that must sink in. Second is the ability to separate truth from fiction, the youth must develop ability to separate the fiction of RSS/BJP being fed to them from the real facts.
This is an excellent analysis.
This is a brilliant article! Very few have analyzed the issue in similar way.
Very cheap essay is presented as a brilliant one.
Answer to every step is very simple which according to author is so complex that it is impossible to find the answer by any society.
Let me answer them in seconds.
Step-1- Who we are ?
Ans- We all are human beings.
Step2- What do we want to do?
Ans- We want our all around growth & development.
Step-3- How do we want to do it?
This 3rd step is very wrongly put.It should be
" HOW can we do it ?"
Ans- By honesty & cooperation & industriousness.
In fact the author has a hidden agenda of maligning India as was the agenda of BRITISHERS.
It's just a wrong narrative. Nectar is said to be venom.Nehru didn't skip step -1 or step-2.For Nehru step-1 was - " No one is Indian, even Aryans are outsiders"
Step-2 - " Accept the formation of Pakistan "
Sep-3- " Procure votes by appeasement of Muslims".
We Indians should come out of the snake bit, it will take time. RSS may ditch Modi if he fails win UP
Excellent piece. Thanks.
I seem to recall the articulation of the 3 steps (Who we are, What we want, Hiw to get there) as coming from Nitin Pai, not Shekhar Gupta.
This is brilliant analysis. Depressing, but true.