What does BJP loss mean to India?

In the recently concluded state assembly election in Bihar, India, the Hindu nationalist party, the Bhartiya Janata Party while capturing over 24 percent votes got only 53 of 243 seats. The victory of parties in the Grand Alliance should not be seen as a surprise. It is an inevitable outcome that has repeated itself in almost every election in India. Whenever political parties with secular outlook have split their votes, the Hindu nationalists have won and whenever they have overcome their differences, the victory has touched their feet in an overwhelming manner.

Indian society is a highly polarized society. On the one hand are those who believe that India is the inheritance of upper-caste Hindus who have the right not only to rule over the country, but the privileges to demote other communities to a status of second or third-class citizens.

On the other hand, are those who believe in a pluralistic India with equality to all and special privileges to those who through their political, social or financial skills are capable of running the affairs of the country.

The Hindu nationalists have consistently enjoyed the support of the 30 percent electorates while the secularists of various shades have the theoretical support of the remaining 70 percent whose majority usually does not come out to vote on the Election Day.

The Hindu nationalists have a grassroots network of dedicated and ideologically motivated volunteers, ready to offer everything for the vision of the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS). The RSS has over 6 million members and more than 51,000 local units as well as hundreds and thousands of other outfits in educational, political, social and financial sectors.

Among the secularists the Indian National Congress and the two communist parties have a nationwide infrastructure while the rest center around caste, ethnicity or community based social network.

The RSS believes that India is to be ruled only by Hindus. It views Muslims, Christians, and people of other faiths as invaders. It strictly believes in a caste system that divides people on the basis of their birth families. It practices strict Hindu laws of purity and profanity as described in upper-caste religious books. It wants to implement the code of Manus, known as Manusmriti, an ancient upper-caste book of laws. In one of its publications, the RSS ideologues were highly critical of the Indian constitution when they said:. "But in our constitution, there is no mention of that unique constitutional development in ancient Bharat... To this day his laws as enunciated in the Manusmriti excite the admiration of the world and elicit spontaneous obedience and conformity. But to our constitutional pundits, that means nothing.” Manufmirit believes in inbuilt discrimination and violence on the basis of caste loyalties.

Secularists, on the other hand, are not driven by a single ideology or vision. The common theme among all of them is that the country should not be ruled in the name of religion and religious differences must not be used to serve one caste or community.

The RSS has always exploited religion and caste to serve its political interests. The party is not directly involved in politics, but its political wing, the Bhartiya Janata Party and many other outfits are. It serves as the boot camp for Hindu nationalists who join different groups and serve its ideological interests. Whenever the Hindu nationalists have succeeded in heightening tensions among various religious communities or castes, they have helped their political parties win elections. They did in Gujarat under the leadership of current Prime Minister Narendra Modi and in Uttar Pradesh during the last parliament elections.

One must recognize the fact that some 30 percent of Hindus would continue to support the hate-based ideology of RSS unless there are efforts at the grassroots levels to promote a counter perspective. Through its schools, study circles, and audio and video productions, RSS, indoctrinate millions on a regular basis. The secularists do not have either the network or the ideological vision to counter it. Thus election results in India would be determined on the following factors in the foreseeable future.

1.      How much RSS and its affiliated outfits succeed in spreading communal and caste hatred?

2.      How much reconciliation the secularists are willing to achieve among themselves?

If secularists succeed in creating a national alliance, the BJP would stand no chance despite all the nefarious manipulations by the RSS, but if the secularists keep on focusing on their differences, the Hindu nationalists would not have difficulty in imposing their agenda. After all, during the last few decades, they have succeeded in making their presence felt in every institution of India.