From the news reports and discussions on the social media, it would not be wrong if somebody assumes that the country and its governance currently seem to have been overwhelmed and taken over by the far fringes. That these elements are aligned with the ruling party and see their interests to be co terminus with the ruling party does not come as a surprise.
Some saner people, even among those who are supporters of the ruling dispensation may question why the government of the day appears to be less successful in reining these fringe elements. Some may even wonder how they can pull back from this current trend. And some may rue the fact whether this is actually possible at this point to happen?
The political parties in India has always been liberal but few of the them has always made conservatism their plank, firstly to woo the voters and secondly to further the interests of their backers, mainly from the business community. Previously the Congress had been the party associated with power and therefore it was always attacked by all parties including those who professed liberal values. But since the 80s, the situation gradually changed and the BJP has now emerged as the party which is increasingly seen as the party of power. They have achieved this position basically on the platform of a strident slogan of Hindutva which has now culminated to a Hindi-Hindu-Hindusthan concept.
The problem with Congress is that somehow they cannot remotely convince themselves that their base can deliver elections for them. Despondency and a lack of strategic thinking have made them falter and suffer from an identity crisis. On one hand the erosion of the traditional support base has made them wary of continuing with the liberal policies which were slightly left of the centre. They know very well that they must work to broaden their coalition—and to restrain their base from erosion. Their base knows it too as do their opponents and partners.
The BJP, however, is now in a position where they can imagine themselves as representing the conservative and capitalist phalanx of the society at large and they also know very well that they are on the path to gain a majority , or anyway, something close to it. What they need is one last push that would help them to ram through the wall of tolerance and breach the defence of the liberal culture in the society. Like the hunting animal who they can scent the prey. They believe that they are very close to having everything their own way—so they are not in a mood to compromise?
This hunger for the overwhelming victory in sight and the aversion to compromise intensifies the rise of the lumpen and the hate brigade. The supporters of BJP who are otherwise aligned to them on the promises of a better economic future in the horizon love to dismiss the fringe by terming them as lunatics and hotheads. A big section of the selfish upwardly moving middle class who dream of sending their progenies to the developed countries to study and settle overlook the rising menace of this fringe by assuming that they mean no harm to their interests. Monopolists and crony capitalists try to utilise this fringe to further their own interests against the labour, student, farmer, adivasi movements. Swadeshi, tradition, religion and nationalism can be a great tool to kill competition, evict people from their lands and pressurise officials to fall in line.
But as this fringe gains centre stage and destroys the social fabric of the country, the reaction to their ascendancy will not remain unanswered. The caste system of India will try to counter this rise of the religious fringe, so will the rise of sub nationalism. That does not look too optimistic for the future and can only bring further strife that will hamper education, industry and business. Perhaps that will be the time for the most affluent to become the most anxious.
I can only hope that this trend of fascism and rule of the religious lumpen will face a counter revolution from the downtrodden of the society soon. Because the middle class at large, along with the media and the institutions have actually capitulated to these fringe elements on the false promise of economic development.
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