5

Dec

Friday Fuss

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Perception, Anticipation And Reality

A person with white hair and glasses Description automatically generatedSince  I have always been opposed to Sangh Parivar’s sectarian agenda and majoritarian politics , I was not happy when the BJP moved closer to capturing power at the Centre in late 1990s. However, as  the party came to power under a gentleman leader like Atal Behari Vajpayee I thought since the BJP rule is a reality now let me look for some plus points of a BJP government  over former non-BJP governments.

I always knew that whatever they may say the BJP government’s economic policies will always favour pro small and big business at the cost of the common man. It was also obvious that a BJP government would be pro upper caste and it would not do anything to change the  status quo.

But I thought the BJP rule could be better in two ways. Despite a jaundiced view of history, the RSS cadres and leaders were educated and cultured in their behaviour and BJP leaders and cadres were friendly even with those who violently disagreed with them. Therefore, our polity will become more civilised and we will see political leaders of better culture and etiquette.

The other plus point ,I thought , would be education. Since the BJP leaders valued our ancient culture of intellectually sophisticated rishis and munis, they will put more stress on education and academic research.

However, to change mass mind and public perception a subtle  attempt started in the Atal Behari Vajpayee   years to saffronise  education. Undermining the autonomy of universities and institutes of higher learning the UGC circulated a model syllabus. As course director and head of journalism at IIMC, in New Delhi , the UGC model syllabus on mass media was also forwarded to me. I found it to be no good. Its tilt was quite obvious. We had a much better course curriculum. Therefore, I threw the UGC model syllabus in the dustbin.

With reduced budget outlays,  steep hike in fee structure,favouritism in faculty appointments and efforts to saffronise the course curricula education has suffered the most in BJP rule of past 10 years

 

At A Glance
The author reflects on their initial hopes for the BJP government, led by Atal Behari Vajpayee, despite their longstanding opposition to the Sangh Parivar's sectarian agenda. They anticipated a more civilized political culture and an emphasis on education, given the BJP's appreciation for ancient Indian intellectual traditions. However, they soon observed a troubling trend of "saffronization" in education, undermining academic autonomy and promoting a biased curriculum.
FRIDAY FUSS
By Pradeep Mathur
The author notes a decline in political decorum, with personal attacks on opposition leaders becoming increasingly vulgar, particularly during Narendra Modi's tenure. They express disappointment in the BJP's failure to contribute positively to the nation’s development over the years, including during Vajpayee's and Modi's administrations. Ultimately, the author acknowledges their misjudgment about the BJP's potential for fostering a better political environment.

 

The petty , personalised attacks on political leaders started even in the Vajpayee years in power between 1998 to 2004. In the late Manmohan Singh years blended with falsehood and ridicule these BJP attacks on the Opposition leaders became dirtier and indecent. The advent of the BJP in power in 2014 under Mr Narendra Modi saw the beginning of a new low in independent  India’s political culture. Mrs Sonia Gandhi was called a jersey cow and a 50 crore widow, a great scholar and perfect gentleman like Dr Manmohan Singh was ridiculed as a man who takes bath wearing a rain coat, Nehru was a debauch who came from Muslim ancestors, his daughter having married a Muslim and Mahatma Gandhi was a British agent who made no contribution to India’s freedom struggle and his killer Nathuram Godse was a real patriot. And Harvard-educated Rahul Gandhi is of course a known Pappu.

Then nothing was done to develop the country in the first 70 years after independence which meant a period from 1947 to 2017. This surprisingly included six years of the BJP’s Atal Behari Vajpayee government as well as three years of the Modi Government.

This much about the better political culture and etiquette which I had expected from a BJP rule.

I thought I was a well-read person, a bit of a   thinker and a  good journalist and journalism teacher who could foresee things and anticipate developments in time to come. Now I look back and realise how wrong I was.

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