Verbal abuse of political opponents part of a larger malaise

Substituting shrillness of tone for substantive arguments, personal attacks rather than promoting policy critique go counter to promoting civility in public life

So long as Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma kept a low profile, he was seen as an emerging leader from Assam. However, with political success he has turned into a profligate commentator and revealed himself as incapable of civilised political discourse.

His comments on Rahul Gandhi’s parentage normally should not be worthy of public comment except that such mud-slinging is indicative of a larger malaise emerging in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Much in the same mode Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath uses street lingo threatening to extinguish his opponents in the state assembly election on counting day March 10 (“garmi nikal denge”).

Is it that both Sarma and Adityanath have to be extra aggressive to prove their credentials to the BJP’s political leadership as neither is a product of the party or its parent body the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)? But such aggression is also visible in the larger politics of Hindutva all over India. The language used by the so-called Hindu saints at their religious colloquiums against Mahatma Gandhi would turn one’s  ears red in shame. Abusive public discourse has not only become pervasive in India today, but also acceptable to our political leaders.

Even while the Nehru-Gandhi family was always the target of Hindutva organisations, the BJP’s top leadership used to disapprove of abusive and uncivilised barbs against them. One might recall how a comparison between Sonia Gandhi and Monica Lewinsky made by Pramod Mahajan in a campaign speech in Amaravati was criticised by the party leadership -- from Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to senior minister Murali Manohar Joshi. Mahajan was forced to offer a public apology.

Today, Himanta Biswa Sarma is not likely be ticked off. The rabid sadhus asking for genocide of Muslims are yet to be reprimanded by either the prime minister, or members of his cabinet. Even RSS leaders who harp endlessly on the importance of the right “chaal, chalan aur charitra” (demeanour, behaviour and character) have not spoken up.

Substituting shrillness of tone for substantive arguments, insulting political opponents, personal attacks rather than promoting policy critique, belittling political opponents on the grounds of their religion, caste, community or gender and ‘othering’ an entire section of the population seems to have has benefitted the BJP in successive elections. These intentional strategies to demoralise the Opposition and mislead the electorate go counter to promoting civility in public life. 

Why does the RSS, which takes the high moral ground in public discourse, accede to such riff-raff being the flag-bearers of its ideology? Its members speak to each other extremely respectfully, its full-time functionaries lead spartan lives and there is no whiff of financial corruption around them. However, with the political success of its agenda, the RSS is at the centre of an ever-expanding periphery – and those further away from the core are less and less subject to its discipline. This periphery is essential to expand its influence in every political interstice of society. Unfortunately, the periphery, comprises the irregulars of Hindutva, provide the manpower needed to win elections, and help its ascension to political power.

The biggest challenge to the BJP’s quest for absolute power today is not a national party like the Congress but powerful regional parties. In the states, retaliation for mudslinging, slander or defamation can be pretty swift and brutal, with complete disregard for the judicial process. At the local level muscle, money power and patronage disbursal are manifest in their raw form. This was evident in political violence during elections in West Bengal as well as in states like Kerala and Karnataka where the BJP is competing for hegemony.

To defeat the local legislator, councillor, panchayat member or influence-peddler, the contender has to become more like the adversary – display greater money power, muscularity, patronage and overt partisanship. To fail on any count would mean not being taken seriously as a political challenger.

Like every political party it must have local leaders who wear their infamy as a badge of honour; recall Minister of State for Home Ajay Misra Teni boasting of his ‘reputation’ while threatening the agitating farmers in Lakhimpur. When Adityanath or Teni speak the language of goons, it suits them to ignore it. Even while Adityanath calls the Samajwadi Party – the Tamanchawadi Party (a party favouring guns) he himself has a mile-long reputation as a leader of the violent Hindu Yuva Vahini and having a personal licenced gun to boot – he is applauded. The RSS-BJP combine needs such people to acquire power because without controlling the levers of the state, their agenda cannot be implemented.

Money power in politics was taken care of by the BJP first by demonetisation which essentially purged money out of the coffers of its rivals before the UP election of 2017. This was followed by introducing an opaque system of electoral bonds to institutionalise corporate financing of the party. But muscle power still remains localised and decentralised. Musclemen demand their pound of flesh in terms of being granted political respectability. This criminalised underclass today has made its entry into legislatures and even Parliament. Along with it has come its venal discourse. This periphery which wallows in mud-wrestling could soon overwhelm the core of the Hindutva family. The tail may soon begin to wag the dog.