The first Bharat Mata Mandir was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi himself: Anand Kumar

Interview with president of Swaraj Abhiyan

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Recent events, including when parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi received flak for his refusal to chant the 'Bharat Mata ki jai' slogan, have made the issue of nationalism and patriotism a political bone of contention. Observing the Bharatiya Janata Party's success in strengthening its stronghold over national politics, opposition parties, such as the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party, are realising the political dividend of playing up the nationalism debate. In an email interview, Anand Kumar, president of Swaraj Abhiyan and retired sociology professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, tells Manavi Kapur that BJP is not alone in favouring the country-as-motherland trope

Historically, how have political parties in India used the evocation of 'Bharat Mata' to gain politically?

The Indian freedom movement and 'Bharat mata ki jai' have been inseparable since the beginning of the Non-cooperation Movement under the banner of the Indian National Congress. The first and only Bharat Mata Mandir was constructed by militant-patriot Shivprasad Gupta at Varanasi in the 1930s, which was only a geographical representation. It was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi himself. Conceptually, it has a strong association with the Bengal trajectory of the national freedom struggle, because the mother image was given content by influential authors such as Bankim Chatterjee and creative artists such as Abanindranath Tagore. Congress has always used it and except the Left parties, all shades of national political spectrum found it useful. At the same time, it is also true that it has been vulnerable to communal interpretation because of the Hindu custom of worshipping goddesses, which was strongly contradicted by Jawaharlal Nehru in his famous article Bharatmata Ki Jai, which provided a secular and social context to it.

The trope of the motherland elicits deeply emotional reactions from those who believe in it against those who do not. While it has polarised social perspectives, has this also consolidated public discourse in BJP's favour?

There cannot be any national polarisation about this slogan because it can only be contested by those who do not value its link with the national freedom struggle - whether its Gandhi-Nehru-Subhash Chandra Bose- Vallabhbhai Patel lineage or the Bhagat Singh-Chandra Shekhar Azad- Ashfaqulla Khan-Ram Prasad Bismil tradition. Therefore, it is not surprising that there is a competition between all parties to remain linked with it.

What is your assessment of BJP's deployment of patriotism and nationalism as a political strategy? Does it stand to gain from this in the upcoming Assembly elections?

Use of nationalism and patriotism as a political shield to divert the attention of common people from main issues is an old tactic of all failing governments. But it soon becomes counter-productive in the absence of genuine threat to national security or advancement of anti-patriotic forces in power conflicts. It will have very limited use in the Assembly elections of Assam, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu due to declining significance of the national issues in provincial contests.

Congress's Digvijaya Singh and AAP's Ashutosh have come forward with statements in favour of the 'Bharat Mata ki jai' chant. Is this an attempt to jump on the bandwagon and dilute BJP's stronghold among voters who identify with a hyper-patriotic agenda?

It is strange that BJP is trying to monopolise 'Bharat mata ki jai' in its contest with the Congress, which has more authentic claims to it. Of course, there is organic connection between this slogan-Anna Hazare anti-corruption movement and AAP. The BJP will find the need to go for course correction as the slogan of 'Sabka saath, sabka vikas' will be more effective in promoting its agenda rather than stigmatising non-BJP students and opposition parties.