By Dr. Sawraj Singh
The Delhi assembly results have been a shocking and a pleasantly surprising development. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by Arvind Kejriwal, swept the election and handed a very humiliating defeat to the BJP. Even though almost all of the polls were predicting victory for the AAP, but the margin of the victory is beyond imagination. The AAP won 67 seats while the BJP only got 3 seats. There are some local issues and the selection of Kiran Bedi as the leader of the BJP played some role in the crushing defeat for the BJP, yet I feel that this is nothing short of a mandate against the policies of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
There are two pillars of India’s policy. The foreign policy is based upon the principle of non-alignment, and the domestic policy is based upon secularism. People feel that the BJP is retreating from both of these. I feel this impression played a very significant role in the outcome of these elections.
President Obama was the Chief Guest during the Republic Day Parade and he just concluded his trip. Generally, there is an impression that India has given up its traditional non-alignment policy and has tilted towards America and the West. At the time of growing confrontation between the East and the West, the impression that India has aligned with one side makes India a likely arena for the Third World War. This is a cause of great concern for the people.
Similarly, India has also given the impression that it is going to change its traditional pro-Palestinian policy. For example, India has always voted for the Palestinians and against Israel. However, indications are that in the future, India may abstain instead of voting against Israel. The Palestinians, the Arabs, and the Islamic countries may see this as a tilt towards Israel. Such an impression can lead them to think that India is tilting towards an anti-Islamic alliance of America and Israel. Such an impression is particularly dangerous at this time when America is withdrawing from Afghanistan. The Islamic fundamentalists who can come to power in Afghanistan and Islamic militants who will be freed from fighting against America can now target India. This is a big cause for concern for the Indian people.
Secularism has been a fundamental and integral part of India’s policy. India can be considered the birthplace of true secularism. The Indian subcontinent is a multicultural, multireligious and multinational region. Pluralism and tolerating and accepting diversity have become essential elements of India’s policy. India gave the principle of unity in diversity to the world. Sri Guru Granth Sahib, which can be considered the climax of Indian spirituality and thought, advocates the concept of unity in diversity. This principle forms the basis for the message of love, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. This principle is essential for a diverse and pluralistic society like India. Without following this principle, it is almost impossible to maintain peace and stability in the subcontinent. Some supporters of the BJP had started to openly talk about giving up secularism and moving toward a “Hindu Rashtra.” This kind of talk not only made minorities feel insecure, it also alienated many well-informed and aware members of the majority community. These enlightened elements felt that this is not compatible with the fundamental interests of the Indian people.
Another factor which played a role in the movement of people away from the BJP was that they felt that the pro-corporate sector policies of the BJP are not fundamentally different than those of the Indian National Congress party (Congress). I have called this phenomenon the Congressization of the BJP. At first, there was a fundamental difference between the Congress party and the BJP. The Congress was perceived as the party of big capitalists and the corporate sector. The BJP was considered the party of small shopkeepers as well as the urban middle class. However, the BJP slowly adopted the pro-corporate policies of the Congress party. This is what I called the Congressization of BJP.
The vote in the Parliamentary elections was more of a mandate against the pro-corporate policies of the Congress party and corruption rather than a pro-BJP wave. When people are seeing that there is very little difference between the BJP and the Congress party, then they are becoming dejected and frustrated. They feel that the BJP is not a replacement for the Congress party and they need a third alternative. They are seeing the third alternative in the AAP.
Even in the parliamentary elections, the people of Punjab felt that the AAP was the third alternative. The AAP won four seats in Punjab, the only state where the AAP was able to open its electoral account. Now, the Delhi people have given the AAP a resounding mandate. This in turn can strengthen the AAP’s position in Punjab in the coming Assembly elections. Is Punjab going to play the role of a trendsetter?
Sooner or later, people in the rest of India are going to realize that the policies of non-alignment, secularism, and pro-people policies, instead of pro-corporate policies, are in their best interest. Instead of a pro-corporate culture, we need a pro-people culture. The Congress party is getting completely marginalized. If the BJP wants to avoid a similar fate, then it has to very seriously ponder over the Delhi election results and try to change the impression that it is becoming another Congress party instead of replacing it. The Swachh Bharat (Clean India) campaign of the BJP can become more relevant if instead of just physical cleansing, we also clean out our decrepitly old slavish mentality. Let us be proud of our Eastern civilization and heritage.
Dr. Sawraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S. is the Chairman of the Washington State Network for Human Rights and Chairman of the Central Washington Coalition for Social Justice. He can be reached at [email protected].
