amount of moneyon his electionas did
[formerU.S.President Barack] Obama on
his.A pointthatprobablywentunnoticed
by evensomeof thekeenestreaderswas
thatthemoneyhe raised andhoped to
keepraisingfromthecorporatesector
madehimconsiderablyindependent of
theRSS,theVHP[VishwaHindu Par-
ishad], andeventhe BJPitself,becausehe
nowhadenoughmoneyto buyup intohis
loyaltystructurethecadrestheRSShad
providedto theBJPforelectoral cam-
paigns, notto speakof themiddle-level
functionariesof the BJPwhotoo could be
boughtup withthatmoney.Theinvincib-
ilityof theModi-Shahduowithintheir
ownworldis probablyowedat leastin part
to the fabulouswealththeynowcontrol.
I hadarguedat greatlengththatthe
RSShadlongsettledon a strategywhereby
it wouldaccepttheliberalinstitutional
structuresbutwouldfightto acquire long-termstate
powerby takingovertheinstitutionsof thestatefrom
within. “Longmarchthroughtheinstitutions”I had
calledit, in an ironicreference to a famoussloganof the
Leftfromthe1960s.Onan evenbroaderscale, I had
arguedthattherewasno fundamentalcontradiction
between projectsof the FarRightandthe liberalinstitu-
tionalstructures; the RSScantakeholdof thoseinstitu-
tionsandrulethroughthem.Theseandmanysuch
propositionsin thatearlieranalysis stillgivemethe
rudimentsthatcan be developedintoa further analysisof
wherewe nowstand.So, for instance,andconsidering
whatI have arguedoverthe pastfewyears,I wasnotin
theleastsurprisedat thescaleof theelectoralfraudof
various sortsor the factthateverymajorinstitutionof the
Indian statehas colludedwiththe BJP/RSSin protecting
it againstanyfallout.Thestatehasbeentakenover
substantially, fromwithin.BITTER REALITIES
A morecomplex analysisshallhaveto wait.A coupleof
bitter thingsneedto be said,however.Thefirst is thatthe
BJPis nowreallythe onlytrulynationalpartyandthat
theModi-Shahduorepresentsa stablecentrein this
formation.Second,withthe exception of the Left,thereis
no politicalparty, including the Congress,for whichthe
needtofight collectively for secularcivilitytakespreced-
enceoverits ownsectoral, corporateinterest.Thecorol-
laryof thatrecognitionis thatthereis no suchthingas
“secular parties” withwhichtheLeftcanreliably align
itself;secularismfor everyoneof themis a matterof
convenience,andthe isolation of the Lefton thisissueis
absolute.Third,the declineof the Congress is definitive;
anysecondcoming willhaveto involvemajorchanges
thatare notin sight.
Fourth, electionresultsin U.P.[UttarPradesh]
demonstrate thata combinationof thepolitics of reli-
gious hysteria and social engineering
withinthe fragmentedfield of castepolit-
ics canprovestrongenoughto trounce
even the combined force of the S.P.
[SamajwadiParty]andthe BSP[Bahujan
SamajParty],the twomajorfacesof caste
politicsin theState.FromGandhi to the
RSS,the dreamhasbeento containcaste
antagonismswithin the largerHindu fold
througha machineryof concessions.A
middlecaste solution for the coexistenceof
theupperandlowercastes,so to speak!
TheU.P.resultsare onlythemostrecent
amongmanya success thattheRSShas
hadto its crediton thisscore,all the way
fromGujaratto the north-east. We haveto
re-examineverycloselyoursettledbelief
thatthequestionof caste willsomehow
trumpthe Hindutvaproject.
Finally,fromthelong-termperspect-
ive of anyprospect for a politicsof libera-
tionandrenovation, thecollapseof the
Left-oriented popularvotein WestBengal, andthe fact
thatmuchof it seems to haveveeredtowardthe BJP,is
virtuallythe most dishearteningeventof 2019. Thisis not
thefirst timewhen,noris WestBengalthefirst place
where,wehave witnessedhowverydisorientingthe
savageriesandduplicitiesof liberal politicscanbe for the
wretchedof thisearth.Whatdo the bereft,the desperate
andthe immiserated do as theytry to copewitheveryday
materialmiseriesandget caughtin the crossfire betweenJANUARY24, 1950:JawaharlalNehrusigning the
Constitutionat thefinalsessionof theConstituent
Assembly.It waslargelyowing to Nehruthatthecurrentof
secularismwasstrongin thefirstfew decades after
Independence.
THEHINDUARCHIVESB.R.AMBEDKAR.He
wasright to insistonthe
annihilationof caste.No
socialist revolutionis
possible in Indiawithout
the annihilationof caste.THEHINDUARCHIVES