Ignoring the core reasons for Modi’s rise, Ramachandra Guha focuses on Rahul’s foreign trips and Priyanka’s Hindi. The analysis can best be described as shallow
RENOWNED historian Ramachandra Guha’s recent article in Scroll.in, “How the Gandhi Family Has Helped Modi Consolidate Power,” offers a shallow analysis of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s meteoric rise.
What Guha says about nepotism in the Congress party doesn’t hold water, as the practice is rampant in other parties, including the BJP. While there may be some merit in his criticism of Rahul Gandhi for not consistently raising issues, we must remember that the Congress leader has constantly warned the nation about the dangers of the BJP’s parent organisation, the RSS, and its Hindu nationalist politics — which are causing significant harm to our democracy.
Rahul may have entered politics at his mother’s behest, but it’s safe to say she is no longer guiding him. He has interacted with almost every player in national politics. During his Bharat Jodo Yatra, he saw the country firsthand and met people across regions. His sister, Priyanka, is likely a better Hindi speaker than he is, but that alone cannot be used to judge his ability to lead a movement or a party. Rahul may be surrounded by a few sycophants, but he certainly uses his own mind when making decisions, and perhaps he’s building a relatively young team that believes in the principles of Gandhi, Nehru, and Ambedkar.
Has the Gandhi family helped Modi take control of the country? Guha should focus on the factors that helped Modi gain power and remain in power despite glaring economic and foreign policy failures.
Modi is a trained RSS pracharak and was appointed Gujarat chief minister by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, even though he lacked the experience and any unique ability to hold the position. The RSS’s ideology of Hindu nationalism flows through his very being. He consolidated power in Gujarat by fomenting communal polarisation following the Godhra train burning and subsequent violence against Muslims. The entire Sangh Parivar stood firmly behind him. When Vajpayee, after visiting the Juhapura refugee camp, admonished Modi to adhere to his Rajdharma, he replied curtly that he was doing just that. Vajpayee wanted to remove him as chief minister, but nearly the entire BJP sided with Modi, forcing the party stalwart to ignore the Gujarat violence.
Modi’s repeated, subtle, and veiled comments against Muslims bolstered the RSS’s Hindutva politics. The RSS was the driving force behind Modi’s rise to power at the Centre. The RSS’s displeasure with LK Advani over his comments on Jinnah also helped Modi secure the organisation’s blessings.
Advani, who travelled to Pakistan to inaugurate the Katasraj Temple, also visited Jinnah’s mausoleum and said that Jinnah’s speech to Pakistan’s Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947, best defined secularism. In that speech, Jinnah stated that with Pakistan created, all religious communities had complete freedom to practice their religions.
The 2014 elections were a milestone in Modi’s career. Before these elections, APCO Worldwide was hired to enhance Modi’s image, making him appear charismatic. His promises of reducing prices of everyday commodities, depositing ₹15 lakh in every account, and creating millions of jobs had a magical effect, especially in the backdrop of the Anna-Kejriwal movement for a Jan Lokpal. Critics argue the movement helped discredit the Congress and pave the way for Modi’s success.
After coming to power, Modi turned all government agencies, including the ED, Income Tax, and CBI, into his tame parrots and spared no effort to target the opposition. This misuse of agencies, and what many see as a favourable attitude from the judiciary, along with trained RSS volunteers and the Sangh’s Hindu nationalist propaganda, also played a key role in strengthening his position.
Critics say the media began to lean toward the RSS ideology after Advani became Information and Broadcasting Minister in the Janata Party government in 1978. As chief minister of Gujarat, Modi began wooing the corporate world. Not only did the media project Modi as a potential future prime minister, but major industrialists bought leading TV channels and other media outlets. Modi also made full use of social media and IT cells, leading media outlets to prostrate themselves at his feet.
Through heavy propaganda and repression, Modi succeeded in swaying public opinion in his favour. To replicate his success, he resorted to all means necessary. Under the 2023 law, the Election Commission came under greater executive control, with a Cabinet minister replacing the Chief Justice, or his representative, on the committee that selects Election Commissioners. With the Election Commission and the judiciary seen by critics as allies, the remaining tasks were achieved.
The issue of EVM misuse was already prevalent. By analysing voting data, Teesta Setalvad and Parkala Prabhakar concluded that 78 Lok Sabha seats were won through unfair means. Now, through SIR, the names of non-BJP voters are being removed from voter lists, depriving citizens of their right to vote. In West Bengal, 9.1 million voters were removed from voter lists, and the cases of 2.7 million voters were not properly re-examined. The result is before us.
Ignoring the fundamental reasons for Modi’s rise to power, Guha highlights minor issues like Rahul’s foreign trips, Priyanka’s improved Hindi, and Sonia Gandhi’s continued role. This misses the larger picture.
The primary reasons for Modi’s rise and continued hold on power are not the weaknesses of the Gandhi family or other opposition parties, but rather the RSS’s deep penetration into society. Indeed, the opposition has not adequately countered the RSS’s politics and propaganda. Emotive issues like temple demolitions, forced religious conversions, beef, and love jihad haven’t been fully addressed, and this has empowered the Hindu nationalist Modi. The opposition, and especially the Gandhi family, will undoubtedly have to adjust their tactics. However, the primary reason for Modi’s empowerment is the RSS’s massive penetration into society.
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Ram Puniyani is an eminent author, activist and former professor of IIT Mumbai. The views expressed here are the author’s personal and Clarion India does not necessarily share or subscribe to them.
