By Robert G Lyngdoh
After it’s drubbing at the last Lok Sabha elections, and at the recent Delhi Assembly polls, it appears that the eyes of the entire nation is now looking to see how the Congress party will react. Will the party be able to recover and establish itself at the forefront of national politics once more? Or is it a spent force that now belongs in the annals of history. Unfortunately, the Party still seems to be reeling in shock from the body blows it received, first at the hands of Mr Narendra Modi and his team and then again at the hands of Mr Arvind Kejriwal and his team. Dazed, it appears clueless on how to start this process of introspection. Some in the media, and many a political pundit, seem to be content to attribute the cause of this debacle to one person – Rahul Gandhi. Even the Congress party itself seems contented with making him the scapegoat! His leadership quality, or the lack of it, his naivety, his inability to grasp political nuances, and even his personality is being blamed. Yet, the fact that a party that is over a hundred years old, having lakhs of primary members, can see only one possible leader within its folds seems to have gone largely unnoticed.
Personally, I feel that the Congress party has fallen victim to its own policies. When the British exited India in 1947, they left the Congress at the helm of affairs. Unfortunately, the Congress leaders of the day did not shed the colonial style of governance, but rather, they seamlessly stepped into the colonial shoes, and continued to govern the nation as if they were the new colonials. Initially, it was accepted, because the Nation felt emotionally indebted to them for having given them independence. The same opaqueness in governance that was employed by the British continued into independent India. This kept the masses in the dark about the policies and conduct of governance. To the people, the government continued to be something that did not really belong to them and, at the most, they believed it was there to control and assist them in some ways. The bureaucrats continued to serve the Indian Government in much the same manner in which they served the colonial government, with little amendment to the rules and procedures of governance. The education system did little to foster free and innovative thinking. In fact, it continued to promote total dependence upon the government for jobs, for assistance, and even for social security, much to the delight of active politicians who preyed upon this dependency syndrome to make themselves indispensable. The three pillars of democracy became lopsided as the legislature dominated over the judiciary and the executive. Corruption, nepotism, unemployment, frustration and unrest became more the rule than the exception. Today, corruption and nepotism are socially accepted behaviour.
In the midst of all this, the Gandhi family emerged as the only acceptable heirs to the throne of leadership within the party. They were portrayed, and by and large accepted, to be the only humans equipped with the correct DNA to lead the party and govern the nation – poor Rahul! Sycophancy was accepted as the correct behaviour. Infallibility of the leadership and blind allegiance was encouraged and promoted. The people were encouraged to see social security schemes not as their entitlements but as largesse on the part of their leaders. The divide and rule policy was mastered and used to create conflicts that would divert attention from more pressing economic and social gaps – look at how ethnic differences have become more important than economic and political strength.
But these policies could never sustain forever. “You can fool some people some time, but not all the people all the time.” Today, over seventy-five percent of the population was born after 1950. They harbour little or no emotional allegiance to the Congress as the party who brought independence to the country. The freedom struggle is something they read about, unlike the previous generation that actually experienced it. So, they are not as concerned about their past as they are about their present and their future. They are looking for solutions and not excuses. Gauging from the Lok Sabha and Delhi polls, they seem to be over the blame game, and are set on making the changes for themselves. They demand peace, justice, fair play, transparency in governance, accountability and responsibility with authority, economic growth, equal opportunity and social security. They see these demands as their entitlements and are willing to invest in leaders that are sincerely willing to work to achieve them. They have taken ownership of governance and are willing to closely monitor their representatives.
This is the reality that confronts the Congress party, and many other established parties spawned by similar beliefs and policies. There is a need to go beyond families and personalities to look for team players. (Here even the BJP and the AAP are on a sticky wicket!). There is a need to identify and promote statesmen with a twenty-five year vision for the Nation rather than promoting politicians with a five year vision for their constituency. There is a need for introducing reforms before violent revolutions take place. There is a need to build trust and confidence for long term gains rather than promoting suspicion and conflict for short term benefits. There is a need for stressing on economic and social problems rather than on political gains. There is a need for bottoms- up approach to policy and planning rather than a top -down approach to addressing problems. There is a need to build up capacities so people can find their own solutions rather than building dependency to make politicians indispensible. There is a need for educational reforms that will liberate the youth instead of domesticating their minds. There is a need to work with the people rather than for the people. There is a need for transparency and accountability rather than secrecy and infallibility. There is a need to encourage creativity rather than conformity. There is a need to allow the people to govern rather just be governed.
I firmly believe that the problem lies in the mindset of all the Congress leaders and not in Rahul Gandhi alone. The party has to realise that the colonial style of functioning is no longer acceptable to the vast majority. The many agitations against corruption, against the VIP raj, and against a lack of transparency, clearly indicate this. Any party that is willing to sincerely address these needs is set to win the peoples’ confidence and the next electoral battle. Just cosmetic makeovers will no longer sustain, and if the Congress does not reform and reposition itself, I fear its days are over.
(The writer is former Home Minister, Govt of Meghalaya and currently the Vice Chancellor, Martin Luther Christian University)