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We, as mere mortals far away from the corridors of power remain clueless to the parleys of politics. L.K.Advani, hailed by all as the lone Hindutva leader to have a decent shot at being India’s future prime minister virtually sealed his approval by ‘pandering’ to the masses. Of course, there have been other hardliners in the Hindutva movement but most are considered as extremists to have any significant credibility. In one swift move, Advani shifted his ideological leaning from hardened nationalist leader to soft moderate or even, gasp! a secularist! After sending ripples in the Indian political stream by voicing pro-Jinnah opinions, he redeemed himself in the eyes of the suspicious voters by stepping down as the BJP President. Inside sources (inside my head, I mean) confirm that this was merely a political stunt to appear as a more likely candidate for the nation’s top post. It is almost unanimous that no extremist is ever going to rule India, regardless of our proclivities for passionate jingoism. Within a week, Advani shed his hardliner image and appeared more ‘electable’. But of course, that signaled the beginning of the end of the Hindutva movement.
Now to get to the crux of the matter, why did Advani say the things we least expected him to? The answer is simple – Hindus do not vote as a block but rather vote as Yadavs, Brahmins, or SC/STs. The vote bloc is deeply fragmented. The minority voting bloc dominated mostly by Muslims usually is more likely to vote in unison. Amongst the Hindus, they aren’t afraid to call on our leaders and aren’t generally swayed by the religious jingoism. Of course, the Hindutva movement in the early 90s did usher in new ideas but often Hindutva resurgence is likened to communal tension even when they mean no harm. I am no supporter of VHP, Shiv Sena, or Bajrang Dal’s extremist policies but often think that too much blame has been laid on the Hindutva movement. The resurgence in Islamic terrorism is a far greater danger to the world as America realized on September 11, 2001 simply because they aren’t open to reasoning. This is no ‘My God strongest’ contest but when things get serious, better sense should prevail. So is the ability of a community to indulge in logical reasoning rather than succumbing to jingoism a liability in a democracy? Would it make sense if Hindus were irrational and voted enmasse to the Hindutva parties instead of being totally fragmented? Should we vote for a candidate simply because they belong to our religion? Common sense tells us not to but in politics, common sense is extremely uncommon. Political leaders are expected to be masters of guile.
A community or religion votes as a bloc only when their existence as a majority is threatened. George W. Bush and his team recognized this simple fact. Even though Christians number more than 90% in U.S., he gave the illusion that their way of life was threatened by Islamists and left-leaning policies like abortion and gay marriages. The result – the religious right led mostly by church groups turned up in greater numbers than the ‘rational’ folks opposing the war and advocating for stem cell research giving Bush a decisive victory.
Does rationality not have a place in democracy? I think not.
Update: Predictably, Advani withdrew his resignation after 4 days of intense politicking.
by Patrix | on Friday, June 10th, 2005 at 2:00 am | 
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June 10th, 2005 at 3:25 pm reply
“Man is a rational animal…or so I have heard”- Bertrand Russell
June 10th, 2005 at 7:49 pm reply
it’s hard to understand your dislike of LK Advani and BJP.
They are doing what anyone in politics will do.
You admit that Hindus wont vote enbloc, unless there is a compelling cause (Ayodhya).
What way you propose to end left monopoly over our intellectual space ?
Being moderate right may sound cool on blogs but I am afraid its not going to get you votes.
In fact, Mr Advani gave right a respectable state instead of pontificating (like people usually do on blogs)
One another thing, you didn’t seem very concerned the blight of casteism that our country.
May be you don’t have the experience, in that case let me assure you it’s biggest hindrance to our growth and unity
June 10th, 2005 at 9:15 pm reply
Hi Patrix
I think Kerry should switch parties. The Dems are always dis-ing him now that he lost. He should join the BJP.
Flip-flopper? No problem. He could say “Actually I condemned Jinnah before I praised him.” and the BJP would love it.