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POLITICALLY
CORRECT
Releasing
The Genies
With his
unrestrained comments on Ayodhya, Vajpayee has opened a can of worms
By
P. Chidambaram
A
full 10 days after he re-ignited the mosque-temple controversy, Prime
Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee told a FICCI meeting that he hoped "the
unnecessary political controversy of the week gone by is behind us. It
is time now for all of us to refocus our attention on the most important
agenda before the nation, namely, development".
Taking Vajpayee's
statement at face value, several aspects are clear:
The controversy
was political;
It was unnecessary;
The most
important agenda is development;
We must
"refocus" on development;
"All
of us" should do so.
 However,
Vajpayee did not retract his statement that the Ayodhya movement was "an
expression of nationalist sentiment". Nor did he re-examine his belief
that the "work remains unfinished". These were sought to be
explained away as off-the-cuff remarks.
The more
questionable formulations were made by the prime minister during the debate
in Parliament, presumably after careful deliberation. Vajpayee said that
there were only two ways to have the dispute resolved: one was for the
courts to give a verdict in favour of building the temple on the disputed
site and the other was for Muslims and Hindus to arrive at an amicable
settlement. I cannot believe that it did not occur to Vajpayee that the
courts could rule in favour of the Muslims' case and direct restoration
of the demolished mosque. He also told Parliament that his ministers-Advani,
Joshi and Uma Bharati-had gone to Ayodhya to protect the mosque against
the demolition. On the contrary, Advani had carried on a hate campaign
for several days until the infamous rath (chariot) reached Ayodhya. Millions
saw Joshi and Uma Bharati on television embracing each other with joy
as the domes were being pulled down.
In effect,
Vajpayee has told the Muslims: "I win, or you concede defeat."
He has told the CBI: "Your fir is not worth the paper on which it
is written." He has told the courts: "I expect you to deliver
judgement in favour of building the temple."
Thus, in
one stroke, Vajpayee has revealed where he stands on matters such as secularism,
rule of law, pluralism and democracy, and the dispute resolution system.
The RSS' views on these matters are a negation of the postulates of a
modern nation. The RSS does not believe that India is a plural society.
Nor does it believe that the followers of every faith have an inalienable
right to profess and practise their religion. Nor does it believe that
there can be a dispute between Hindus and Muslims-or Hindus and Christians-in
which, under our system of jurisprudence, the Hindus could lose their
case.
At the height
of the controversy in 1992, the RSS-VHP-BJP parivar (brotherhood) had
declared that courts cannot rule on matters of faith. They continue to
show the same disdain for any inquisitorial process. Note that Advani
and Joshi have not yet appeared before the Justice Liberhan Commission
of Inquiry or before the criminal court in the charge-sheet proceedings.
Despite
Vajpayee, the CBI may still pursue the charge-sheet with vigour, the Liberhan
Commission may still give its report and the courts may still try the
criminal and civil cases. And Vajpayee's plans may go the way of well-laid
plans of men and mice. These, therefore, are not my worries.
My concern
is why did Vajpayee choose this particular moment to provoke an "unnecessary
political controversy"? I suspect that Vajpayee has done a deal with
the rss-vhp-sjm. Note that the Ayodhya contretemps came after the cease-fire
initiative in Kashmir and before the pre-budget consultations which will
start in January. The RSS-VHP-SJM are implacably opposed to the National
Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government's political, economic and social
agenda. I suspect that Vajpayee yielded ground on the mosque-temple issue
in order to save his Kashmir initiative and his reforms programme.
It may turn
out that Vajpayee has been too clever by one-half. When there are many
genies in the same bottle, you cannot uncork the bottle to release one
and hope that the rest will remain safely bottled. A medieval RSS, a strident
VHP, a bumbling Bangaru Laxman or a disgruntled Shiv Sena may trigger
the unravelling of the NDA. Elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu will
force the Trinamool Congress and the DMK to stand up and be counted. The
two parties-and the TDP-may soon realise their studied ambivalence is
eroding their credibility and painting them as opportunists. Vajpayee
may discover that even he cannot hold the NDA together.
History
may then write the epitaph that India missed another opportunity and sacrificed
development at the altar of an unnecessary political controversy.
(The author is a former Indian finance minister and
a TMC leader.)
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