Benito.Z.Swu
Never in the history of free independent India has the grand old Congress party faced the prospect of complete irrelevance as it readies itself to face the moment of truth – the ‘saach ka saamna’. It is no political rhetoric when we say that the Lok Sabha election 2014 will go down in history where the people in the rural areas and in the urban towns and cities, literate and illiterate, rich and poor, north and south, east and west, regional and national, Hindus and Muslims, Christians and the Parses, the Buddhists and the Jains, all came to that ultimate meeting point of agreeing to the bitter truth that it is not just any other party but the mother of all the parties – the Congress party which beyond all reasonable factors of doubt is in reality a hardcore communal party in its mindset. The Muslims in India always fearing at the back of their mind that India as Hindustan might one day be provoked and rightfully so, would go the Pakistan way of segregating, isolating and ill treating the minorities, the Hindus and Christians in particular as second class citizens and as such had always voted en-block in order to protect their interests with the Congress party being the main beneficiary. Coming direct to the point, the Muslims of India had been the major vote bank of the Congress. While the majority Hindu Indians inspite of whatever they say and which ever party they might be rooting for ultimately press the EVM button on caste lines, the Muslims were very obedient to what they were generally told by their political and religious elders. The Congress had all these years fed on this fear by feeding this fear and even covertly engineering riots from behind the scene. However it has been just a one way street. While the political party they voted for benefitted, the Muslims just could not see through the cosmetic benefits that came their way. When the Muzaffarnagar riots took place the Congress was quick to blame the BJP as usual and the ruling Samajwadi Party of inaction which was very much true. Rahul Gandhi even went to the extent of visiting the Muslim riot victims. So far so good. But now with the decision of the Samajwadi Party not to field any candidates to fight both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi the people seems to have got the picture. The Lok Sabha election will come and go but the ruling Samajwadi Party will remain and the Muslims of Uttar Pradesh cannot effort to antagonize it. They have already suffered enough. Hence like it or not the Muslims of UP have to vote for the Samajwadi Party or any other party the SP boss wanted them to. But in doing so Netaji Mulayam Singh Yadav knows the advantage goes to the BJP or Mayawati’s BSP – both his political rivals and hence the decision not to fight the mother-son duo. The Congress as it is with no hold in Uttar Pradesh is not a threat but the obligation of Sonia and Rahul will come handy if at all he is to play a national role. In both scenario he wins and so why not a riot to make it sure. And working behind the scene of the Mazaffarnagar riot is the Party you have guessed which is as good as mine. They get the muslim vote by default in that two constitutiencies. So much for secularism.
With India opening up its economy, Indians as a whole benefitted but minus the North-East and the Muslims. The per-capita income of the average Indians increased with extra money to burn, there were jobs for the taking, the literacy rate increased, Indian names became permanent fixtures on the super-rich lists, natural resources got exploited, multi-national companies made India their home and India also had its own Silicon valleys. Amidst such advancement the Muslims got confused by the day. Neither did they have extra money to burn nor did their literacy bar graph spiked. The presence of some Pakistani rotten apples in India saw to it that all Muslim youths became suspects, terrorists or terrorists in the making. They expected the Congress to come to their rescue but the Congress very conveniently had only Modi to be blamed for all the ills the Muslims were facing and did nothing to alleviate their fears. Infact the congress were feeding on that fear. And then again the Muslims saw that the much feared BJP Party had more Muslim leaders than the Congress. The Congress in their policy to always maintain the Muslims as a vote bank had intentionally or unintentionally ghettoized the Muslims and forced them to face the brunt of everything that was going wrong with the Congress party. The Muslims are no more surprised that Muslims living in Gujarat today are doing exceedingly well in every parameter of wellbeing, and just as fish takes to water they are taking to Modi’s slogan and model of ‘development first’. Gujarati Muslims today say, OK Godhra happened but in the first place it was because nearly a hundred Hindu pilgrims - Kar Sevas were burnt alive to death inside the infamous train. However much the propaganda wing of the Congress try to paint N.Modi as a devil incarnate they cannot just explain why Muslims are flocking towards Modi. Take M.J Akbar, a staunch congressman with a never say die attitude who had with his multi-faceted personality been the ever Gandhi family loyalist for which the Gandhi family should and must remain forever grateful today is wearing the much preferred hat of the BJP spokesperson. The Congress actually do not digest uplifting of the muslims beyond a certain marked level. This in itself speaks volume of the Congress stagnancy and taking for granted attitude of the Congress party’s uncureable disease.
It is but natural and again speaks volume about the state and condition of a political party when party men and women fights for the party ticket. While even a senior leader of Jaswant Singh’s stature was denied the BJP’s party ticket and asked to toe the Party line or face expulsion, the Congress Party’s ministers and heavy weights from the Prime Minister to Finance, External Affairs to Home, from Information and Broadcasting to Agri and its allied, having seen the writing on the wall is doing their utmost best to avoid the ignominity and humiliation of a resounding defeat in the coming election and requesting to be burdened and sacrificed for Party works. Some call this trend of the Congress ‘the height of hypocrisy’.
The only potent issue that the Congress had was to paint Modi with the color of communalism but with the Supreme Court having given the clean chit to Modi, it is but natural that the issue has been given an unsung quiet burial. Anyway, ask any Political Science student about the provisions the founding father of our constitution Dr Ambedkar has provided to safeguard secularism and we see all misgivings collapse like a house of cards. I for one am not a critic of Mayawati for erecting the statues of fellow Dalit Dr Ambedkar. Dr Ambedkar is the sole reason that the Indian constitution is studied and followed up in the constitutions of many a nation that got independence in around and after India got her independence. Despite his immense contribution to the idea of India as a free nation and a republic he never received his due and it was all because he was a dalit. It is poetic justice that Dr Ambedkar is being recognized today even as the Gandhis shouting and kicking is being relegated to the back ground.
Never in the history of Nagaland since statehood has an opening, an opportunity in every way one look at it looks so promising and surreal. We see the very dramatic decline of the Congress regime in the centre as never before even as the NPF led government victimized as it is by the central government is at its best of strength having won three state assembly elections consecutively. The state of Nagaland surrounded by Congress ruled states has for long cried itself hoarse against the cruel step-motherly treatment of the UPA government. But having managed to not only hold its fort but even expand beyond its borders have earned itself the respect of not just the ‘Big Brothers’ but the ‘Big Boss’ as well. As such it is no surprise that today N.Rio the Chief Minister of Nagaland is easily the tallest men standing without any crutches what so ever in the North-East not accountable to any ‘Big Boss’ but very much on his way to become the ‘Big Boss’ of not just Nagaland but that of the North-East & beyond.
As it is, Rahul Gandhi is no longer in that gear of canvassing to win the Lok Sabha election which he knows before-hand is a lost cause and as such the Congress in Nagaland should have understood and taken the moral high ground by accepting Rio’s idea of the Nagas having a consensus candidate. Rejecting the idea with the justification that it was suggested only after Rio had declared his candidature was just too amateurish and Oh! Very shortsighted as well. It is not Rio who is blowing his trumpet but just as any lay person sees and knows, the time, the circumstances, the power of now, the power of tomorrow, the reputation, the capability, the acceptability in fact the everything all points to Rio and favors him alone. One for all, all for one and he is the one. His weight alone as a Chief Minister for more than a decade where anti incumbency which is the common enemy every politician fear and dread became his friend speaks volume of his political acumen.
Nagaland today is at a juncture where we can be truly very confident that the so many problems and contradictions that we all are aware of but felt helpless can actually be brought to a closure. We can now not hope but be assured of those developments other congress ruled states of the North East enjoyed but was denied to us. We can now breathe easy and thank God for the circumstances which HE alone manipulated in Nagaland’s favor. The BJP along with its more than a dozen allies will be a counter check to each other and in this scheme of things our own Rio will be holding forth.
Please do be the father, the brother and the friend of every Naga irrespective of Party affiliations, religion, caste, creed or color and remain our super-achiever. The ball is in your court Boss. Allow us to hope and pray that God’s work in play never goes in vain. Our prayer remains.
Benito.Z.Swu
