Are we making too much of Congress declining Ram temple inauguration invite?

The Congress’ regressive stance in the Shah Bano case, followed by the opening of the locks in the Babri masjid are two sides of the same coin, speaking to the murky politics that has defined the Congress’ relationship to religion and secularism.

Ending the flurry of speculations, the Congress finally decided to stay away from the Ram temple inauguration in Ayodhya, on January 22. That the main opposition party’s delayed decision has touched off another spell of accusations is entirely expected given the controversy-driven ecosystem we inhabit today. Whether such controversies are organic or manufactured is, of course, another matter altogether.

True to script, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has whipped what it considers to be its most potent weapon in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections out of its political arsenal. Soon after the Congress declared its decision to not attend the inauguration, the ruling party labelled the Congress ‘anti-Hindu’ and ‘anti-Ram’. By playing upon the familiar ideological/political turf and leveraging religion and majority sentiment, the BJP hopes to push the Congress to an even more vulnerable position than it already is in.

These are not surprising elements in the BJP’s time-tested political playbook.

The element of surprise has come from the Congress. It may be argued that the only option before the Congress, which projects itself as secular and in opposition to BJP’s Hindu majoritarian agenda, was to stay away from the January 22 event. How could the Congress possibly have participated in an event that is so overwhelmingly a BJP-nurtured political project? Especially given the polarised direction the BJP is steering the country towards, deepening alienation within the minority communities, particularly Muslims, and mainstreaming Hindu majoritarianism.

Two sides of the same coin

But then the Congress itself has not exactly lived up to its claims of being a secular party. Nor has it worn the thorny crown of secularism with any conviction. The party’s history of toying with Hindu sentiment has deep roots, going back to the times of the freedom struggle.

In the more recent past, it was former Congress Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who set in motion the controversy in Ayodhya by unlocking the gates of the Babri masjid in 1986. As a report in Frontline says: “The mosque had been locked by the Jawaharlal Nehru government in 1949 after idols of Ram appeared on the premises under mysterious circumstances on the heels of a campaign that sought to prove that the masjid stood at the exact birthplace of the Hindu deity Ram.”

This disastrous move came on the back of another disastrous decision by Rajiv Gandhi. Pandering to Muslim orthodoxy, the Congress government had overturned the Supreme Court’s judgment in the Shah Bano maintenance case. The party’s regressive stance in that case, followed by the opening of the locks in the masjid are two sides of the same coin, speaking to the murky politics that has defined the Congress’ relationship to religion and secularism. Most importantly, these moves cleared the way for the rise of extreme majoritarian forces.

A pusillanimous Congress

Following the Narendra Modi government’s ascension to power in 2014, the Congress’ contorted efforts to compete with the BJP’s Hindu majoritarian political project have met with little or no success. In this context, one could say that the party’s refusal to participate in the temple inauguration ceremony, though mired deeply in the politics of polarisation, marks a break — perhaps only tenuous — with the continued sidestepping of the main narrative overwhelming the country.

The politics of pretending to not see, hear, or comprehend what is going on, of coming up with dodgy statements on critical issues while failing to drum up a strident campaign on them has further dragged the Congress down. If such compromises were aimed at pacifying majoritarian sentiments, that strategy has clearly not worked on the ground.

Ignoring the BJP’s toxic campaign around majoritarian nationalism and focusing on economic issues such as unemployment — important and valid as they are — has not nudged people to pay attention to the Congress. It is still inexplicable why the Congress, particularly Rahul Gandhi, the architect of the impressive Bharat Jodo Yatra, continues to deny the political character of such a crucial march. The feel-good nature of such yatras, their messages packaged in abstract concepts like love and hate sans political content, only helps them eventually fade away.

It suits the BJP to accuse the Opposition, when it speaks out against the release of Bilkis Bano’s rapists, the sexual harassment of women wrestlers, or recent allegations of sexual assault of a student at Banaras Hindu University, of politicising these incidents. The question the Opposition should ask the BJP is how are such cases not political when the accused and the convicted appear to enjoy the patronage of the powerful in this dispensation.

Play on the front foot

Putting together a bold — instead of a defensive — narrative is perhaps the need of the hour. Even if such a narrative appears to hurt majoritarian sentiment for the time being. In more ways than one, the impending electoral battle is going to be brutal. The Opposition needs to play on the front foot on a pitch that is uneven to pull any substantive weight behind it.

But an unavoidable question remains: Are we making too much of the Congress staying away from the Ram temple inauguration? Are we being too optimistic or reading too much into a move that comes too late and after bouts of procrastination?

As mentioned earlier, the Congress’ decision to break out of a tired political mould, including its half-hearted seconding of the BJP’s cultural nationalism and commitment to fuzzy messages, could well turn out to be fragile. The jury is out on whether the decision will lead anywhere significant.

Overall, the entire Opposition’s conduct over the past decade has been anything but inspiring. Its actions have lagged its routine expressions of concern over the attrition of democracy, secularism, and the rise of authoritarian tendencies under the current dispensation. The familiar patterns of brinkmanship and mutual sniping continue to this day.

The writing could not be any clearer on the wall. To make any headway amid the daunting challenges, the Opposition needs to jointly present a convincing, energising narrative backed up by a non-porous seat-sharing formula.

(Monobina Gupta is a Delhi-based journalist.)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.