[BJP News] Learn from Americans

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vaidika1008 (AT) hotmail (DOT) com >[bJP News] Learn from Americans >Sat,

6 Nov 2004 17:06:11 -0600 > >Learn from Americans >Swapan Dasgupta >The Pioneer

>November 6, 2004 > >Over the past week, both the supporters and detractors of

President George W >Bush have been marvelling at the awesome potential of

conviction politics. >Following an election where at least 20 per cent of the

US electorate claimed >to have been motivated by ethical concerns and moral

values, something the >supporters of Senator John Kerry failed to anticipate,

there is a realisation >that the reports of the death of ideology were somewhat

exaggerated. > > > >It is undeniable that ideology didn't manifest itself in

conventional ways. For >long, both the Left and the Right have believed that

the battleground is >economics. Government expenditure, social welfare,

employment, taxes and >inflation, and the attitudes of political parties to

these bread and butter >questions, were understood to be the bijli, sarak, pani

issues of advanced >democracies. In exceptional moments, such as in the

aftermath of 9/11, war and >terrorism have also intruded. > >All these issues

existed in America on November 2. Indeed, for the world, the >real issues of

the US election were the Iraq war and the role of hyperpower in >a polarised

world. Yet, for the people who made up the long voting queues, the >motivating

factor was abortion, same-sex marriage and stem cell research. They >voted for

Bush in overwhelming numbers because, in their mind, he epitomised >wholesome

Christian values. > >On his part, Bush was never apologetic about his

convictions. To the >sophisticated cosmopolitan the President's values may have

seemed extraneous >and irrelevant. But it was precisely this lack of

squeamishness, this ability >to rise above condescension and this unabashed

proclamation of his religious >convictions that appealed. Secularisation was

meant to have ousted religious >conviction and identity from public life. In

America, a country someone once >said was blessed with the "soul of a church",

the process has been dramatically >reversed. > >No two societies being exactly

alike, it may be hazardous to extrapolate the >lessons from America to India.

However, certain preliminary conclusions are >well worth considering. > >First,

the US too has confirmed observations in India about the disjuncture >between

governance and politics. Bad governance, it would seem, is not >automatically

punished. Conversely, good governance is not invariably rewarded. >People are

moved by economics but it need not be the driving force. Had it been >so, Laloo

Yadav would have been relegated to the electoral dustbin long ago. >Ohio lost

some two lakh jobs from the closure of manufacturing units in the >Bush years.

That didn't stop the State from giving the President a clear >majority. >

>Second, organised religion does not always remain confined to private puja

>rooms. Islam always had a strong communitarian streak as did Roman

Catholicism. >Now, the evangelical churches have joined the ranks. > >The

implications are obvious. Hindutva may be a way of life, as the Supreme >Court

has decreed, or an understanding of nationhood but it is also blessed >with a

mobilising potential that can cut across classes and communities. >Identity

politics is never static. The political identity that endures is the >one that

involves making a clear choice between good and evil. The rest is >maya. >

>Finally, the visible symbols of upsurge, such as the anti-war protests in the

>US, don't necessarily become over-weaning electoral factors. It is not the

>decibel of political discourse which matters. What moves people is the quiet

>ability to get to the depths of conviction. The Bush mobilisation didn't

follow >a boisterous VHP course but it was infinitely more effective. In an

evolved >democracy, and India is no less evolved than the US, it is often

>counter-productive to take to the streets or fulminate before TV cameras. The

>face of disquiet has to be appetising. > >There has been some debate in India

on these questions, in chintans in Goa and >Hardwar. We have heard of a surfeit

of righteous indignation and proclamations >of resolve. None of these were in

evidence in the mobilisation of the morally >committed in America. What

mattered there was patient persuasion -convincing >people that faith can

actually determine the way of life. > > > >

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