5

Jan

Lok Sabha Elections 2024: A Battle Between Two Narratives

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Today’s Edition, 5 January 2024

Pradeep Mathur

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With the start of the New Year the battle for power has begun in right earnest . All kinds of speculations are being made as to when elections will be held, what will be the main issues in the election campaign and what will be the deciding factors before the electorate. The  future prospects of all  big and small  parties and their leaders  are being debated. The thrill of elections is the soul and spirit  of a democratic system.

Any election, whether small or big, is important for us. But the upcoming Lok Sabha elections are particularly important because their outcome will determine the future of our country and society as no election has done before.. This election is not only about two options but also about two diametrically opposite political narratives and voters will put their stamp on them.

One political discourse considers India as a proud symbol of a unified, majoritarian and  traditional social system based on old glory and  ancient Indian culture. This is, however, marked by  a sectarian mindset and unscientific thinking. To make this narrative popular and universal, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) calls it nationalism and terms its opponents as anti-nationals.

On the contrary, the other discourse considers India as a multi-dimensional political entity of different civilizations, cultures, races, religious beliefs, languages ​​and different social customs, whose society can absorb all these diversities into a singular identity and move forward in the modern world with scientific tamper and rational thought process.

The conflict between these two opposing streams of thought processes has become increasingly intense over the past 10  years or so. However, it is not a product of the 'Modi era' that came into being  after the 2014 elections. Its roots lie in the Industrial Revolution that took place in Europe at the end of the 18th century and the increasing stranglehold of British colonialism in India. The association with the British colonial rulers created  an  awareness among the upper and English educated people in India about the emerging new world of liberal and democratic ideas. This led  to the start of a process of social renaissance  in India in the beginning of the 19th century, which produced personalities like Raja Rammohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda, Swami Dayanand, Sir Syed Ahmed, Jamshed Ji Tata and others who gave a new life and new inspiration to our society which was then  in  deep darkness of social evils and ignorance.

Foreign rulers turned this cultural renaissance towards protecting their administrative and business interests and strengthening their colonial system. For this, they first created a climate  of social conflict and pursued the divide-and-rule policy  that strengthened the chasm between people in India on the basis of caste, creed, region and races . This culminated in the partition of India in the year 1947.

The majoritarian political discourse adopted by BJP-RSS combine is knowingly or unknowingly keeping alive and nurturing the same conspiratorial colonial mindset which has blocked  scientific temper and progressive thinking which is essential for the development of the country into a modern nation.

The backdrop of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections is a direct and perhaps the biggest conflict between these two opposing thought  currents and the public  discourse based on them. The results of this election will be far-reaching and will define as to what sort of  society and public policy we want .Do we want a society on the Gandhian model of humanitarian concern based on the doctrine of Anthodaya or we want to be an aggressive and ruthless country of  sectarian belief and crony capitalism. Which of the two narratives the country votes for will be  more important  than the future of political parties and their leaders.

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