Swami, Anna and Baba

Gurus must keep an eye on politicians, not politics

Swami Agnivesh with his Swami Vivekananda-style turban, Anna Hazare with his Gandhi cap, Baba Ramdev with his yogi’s beard...Who next? Time for a Maulvi? The voices from India’s civil society are getting curiouser and curiouser. Time was when gurus and yogis like these worried about the after life, or about the environment and vegetarianism. But today they have come to the centre-stage of Indian politics. Is it a sign of the reduced credibility of elected politicians? Is it a sign of the increased power of religion and semi-religious platforms? Is it just that most people think that the more spiritually-oriented are likely to be less materialistic? There is no simple answer. The late Sathya Sai Baba advised prime ministers and chief ministers, lived a lifestyle that was larger than life, but offered solace to millions. Baba Ramdev advocates yoga, but flies in a private jet. Mr Anna Hazare has built for himself a formidable reputation as an agitator but has revealed an incapacity to negotiate and work his way through the complex process of policy-making.

At one level all this is for the good, since it brings ethical issues to the centre-stage of public discourse. But Godmen and gurus can also walk the edge of fascist thinking — believe in me, listen to me and you are okay; disagree with me and you are condemned to go to hell! How can practical politicians deal with such personalities? Clearly, one escape route is populism. Can a Baba Ramdev bring the likes of a Mamata Banerjee to heel in Kolkata this week? Unlikely. But he has been able to get urbane ministers like Kapil Sibal running to him. Should Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi unleash the weapon of populism against these populist adversaries? Can they? The days when an Indira Gandhi could use populism to fight the likes of a Gandhian such as Jayaprakash Narayan are long gone. Nor can any government today use the threat of war or external aggression to unite the people behind it against domestic opponents. So a gentleman PM like Dr Singh has no option but to try and reason with the Swamis, the Annas and the Babas. Will they listen to reason? Perhaps, if left to themselves. After all, these are all people rooted in India’s consensual tradition. However, if they get manipulated by the social activists and closet anarchists they can spin public discourse out of control. Managing a Baba Ramdev is tricky business, but a necessary one in a country like India. Maybe that explains the government’s gingerly approach.

In the medium- to long-term, however, normal politics must re-assert itself. New movements like Jayaprakash Narayan’s Lok Satta are emerging across the country that take a more constructive view of social activism. Bad politics cannot be replaced by ‘no politics’, say these activists, but should be replaced by ‘good politics’. In other words, don’t subvert democracy, join in and change it. Will the Swamis, the Annas and the Babas contest elections and test their popularity? Should they? Or, is it best that they function as sentinels, keeping elected politicians in check and on the straight and narrow, but not disempowering them altogether?