The most maligned man on a historical mission Bharat Jodo

 

The most maligned man on a historical mission Bharat Jodo

Swami Vivekananda was a towering spiritual leader who awakened national consciousness among Indians. Jawaharlal Nehru in his classic The Discovery of India pays a glowing tribute to him: “Rooted in the past and full of pride in India’s heritage, Vivekananda as yet modern in his approach to life’s problems. He had a dynamic and fiery energy to push India forward.” Vivekananda visited Kanyakumari before his historical voyage to America to participate in the first World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. For three days and nights from December 25 to 27 1892, he mediated on the rock at the confluence of three seas- Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean- in Kanyakumari- the only place on earth, where one can see the Sun Rise and Sun Set- and discovered the mission of his life of spreading Hinduism’s message of oneness of humanity.  And after his triumphant return from the West, Vivekananda gave a clarion call for Bharat Jodo at a rousing public reception in Madras in 1897.

 

Ironically, it is now Rahul Gandhi- the most maligned man- who started the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ –unite India march- on September 7,2022, after paying tribute to Vivekananda at the Rock Memorial. The Padayatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir seeks to cover a distance of nearly 3700 km. He was maligned by the ruling party and its IT Cell, the Sangh Parivar and the ‘Godi’ media, sparing no stone unturned to sully his image, spreading lies, hurling all sorts of abuses to discredit him, and calling him a 'Pappu', a politician of no significance and unfit for India. This is because they knew if someone who could be a potential challenger and threat to their ideological hegemony and to the Modi’s autocratic rule, it is Rahul Gandhi- a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family. 

 

It was because of Nehru that India was bequeathed the idea of pluralism.  At a time when the caste system was so rigid that Brahmins could be ‘polluted’ by the shadow of someone who was ‘untouchable’, Nehru’s commitment to social equality protected the depressed and the marginalized. And at a time when India had been broken up in the name of Islam, his assurance that the Muslims in independent India would be equal citizens saved India from disintegration. It was this pluralism that became the cornerstone of a secular India. Today, the constitutional democracy that safeguards pluralism is under threat by the Hindutva ideology, that tolerates no dissent and diversity, imposed by the right-wing regime.

 

As Shashi Tharoor, the author of the book Why I am a Hindu, says, “Hinduism is not and cannot be Hindutva. Belief in acceptance is fundamental to Hinduism. Hindutva reduces the majesty of Hinduism, the Vedas, the Upanishads. Hindutva is like the British football league’s hooliganism that cannot stand the other.” (FPJ 9/10). M.K. Stalin the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, after handing over the national flag to Rahul Gandhi on September 7, at the Mahatma Gandhi Mandapam in Kanyakumari, said in a tweet later: “Today, Rahul Gandhi has begun a journey to retrieve India’s soul, to uphold the lofty ideals of our Republic and unite our country’s people.”

 

To Rahul Gandhi, the Bharat Jodo Yatra is a battle with the ideology that killed Gandhiji. It is a battle against fear, hatred and violence to retrieve the idea of India and restore the social harmony.  Braving heavy showers in Mysore on the Gandhi Jayanti Day October 2, he said: “Just as Gandhiji fought the British Raj, we are today fighting a battle with the very ideology that killed Gandhi. This ideology has in the past eight years delivered inequality, divisiveness and the erosion of our hard-won freedoms. The Yatra will spread the message of ahimsa and swaraj. In the current context, swaraj is the freedom from fear…”

 

A columnist Darshan Mondkar writing about Rahul Gandhi, says, "Any other man in his position would have been shattered by the amount of vitriol that has been openly spewed about him, from targeting him, to his mother, to his sister, his entire family. That is when I decided I had to make an effort to understand this guy. He is an extremely well-read and intelligent person. His way of talking is unlike that of any other politician you may have met. Most politicians, however good your relationship with them may be, are highly patronizing; they try to intimidate you in the conversation and /or overpower you… Rahul is like your friendly neighbour. He is soft spoken and candid…When you look into his eyes you see kindness. He is devoid of ruthlessness, but is not short on resolve. Rahul is definitely one whom you can bank on to fight for you…whatever is being peddled about him is rubbish.  If you ever hear anyone saying, “But there is no alternative,” believe me, they are wrong. Rahul is an alternative and a strong one at that” (FPJ 13/11).

 

Anyone who observed Rahul closely would find him the most sincere, honest and truthful person; blunt in his views; and utterly selfless and deeply committed to India and her people. Only a Nehru-Gandhi family could produce a person like him. No other politician could do what he is doing for the country. His Yatra is compared to Gandhi’s Dandi March of 1930 that galvanized the nation. Today, lakhs of people, cutting across communities and political affiliations-children, women, old people, workers, farmers, Adivasis, unemployed youth, intellectuals, teachers, doctors, noted members of civil society, celebrities from film industry etc.- are joining the Yatra, expressing support and solidarity with Rahul. 

The people of all hues are meeting him, embracing, hugging and shaking hands, greeting and cheering, and presenting grievances as they find a messiah in him. He is drawing mammoth crowd wherever he walks. He is walking 25-30 km a day, listening to people and connecting to people at large on a scale unprecedented in independent India. Like his great grandfather Pandit Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi, he is discovering India and her people through the Yatra that he calls Tapasya. He is holding press conferences, taking questions and answering them very candidly and at the same time highlighting the problems facing the nation and offering solutions.

The Yatra’s message to unite people against the divisive politics is resonating on the ground. He is raising the issues that matter people the most- unemployment, inflation, privatisation of education and health system, growing inequality of income and concentration of wealth in the hands of a select few; problems of workers and farmers, divisive politics and social polarization.

 

The Bharat Jodo Yatra has turned into a people’s movement. It proved to be an effective intervention when the nation is facing a serious crisis. Rahul Gandhi is on a historical mission to unite India, to shed hatred and violence that come from fear. He is telling the people to stand up for their rights and speak fearlessly against atrocities of all kinds; and preserve the idea of India that the founding fathers of our Republic visualized.  He is awakening the people against the damage the divisive politics of the extreme right-wing regime inflicted on the nation.

Yogendra Yadav, President, Swaraj India, who is associated with the Yatra from the start, in an interview with Karan Thapar on The Wire, spoke about its impact on the people: “The tide is turning. The climate of loneliness, fear, spiral of silence- all that has changed dramatically. After a long time, the BJP is reacting, and the Opposition is proactive. Ordinary people are coming with hope. A stream has become a river in Maharashtra.  Public perception of Rahul has changed. Someone who had the courage to stand up and speak against Savarkar. Someone, who faced two assassinations in his family, is risking his life, while walking with hundreds and thousands walking along with him. The huge industry that painted him as someone inaccessible, arrogant and non-serious about politics proved untrue. The country is discovering Rahul Gandhi is serious. What this Yatra doing is to speak to the nation on the issues that matter. The Yatra is puncturing the narrative of BJP that there is no alternative to Modi. Hundreds of civil society organizations, people’s movements have come to support the Yatra. The narrative in the public discourse has begun to change.”