Ayodhya and Agra:
THE FOREIGN policy of any regime, it is said, is essentially a continuation of its domestic policy. Nothing bears this out more strikingly than the recent manoeuvres by the saffron rulers. Even as the nation’s attention was riveted on the escalating tension on the Indo-Pak front, thanks to the ongoing war in the neighbourhood, the socalled hidden agenda of the Sangh Parivar was forcefully brought into the forefront, through the sordid episodes in Ayodhya and Agra.
Fascism is the flip side of militaristic jingoism, but fascist consolidation doesn’t come about spontaneously. That needs conscious mobilization, in the first place. Hence, it is no wonder that the witch-hunt against Muslims is no less virulent than the war mongering against Pakistan. But the Parivar appears to be in need of some “positive” agenda as well. And the Vajpayee Government is getting ‘proactive’ on the domestic front, too. Hence the rekindling of Ayodhya.
Vajpayee himself first set the ball rolling, by “disclosing” that some secret negotiations were on regarding Ayodhya and confidently asserting that the dispute would be “solved” well before the VHP deadline of March 12, 2002. Then there was this proposal to set up an Ayodhya cell in the PMO. Meanwhile, much before the stipulated deadline, on October 17, 2001, the VHP top brass, including Ashok Singhal, Pravinbhai Togadia and SC Dixit, “stormed” into the garba griha of the makeshift “Ram temple” that was illegally put in place after Babri Masjid demolition. The Supreme Court, which had given a direction that nobody should be allowed to enter the enclosure, was once again mocked at with all the contempt its impotence deserved. Demonstrating their characteristic duplicity, both Vajpayee and Advani admitted to “security lapse” but the former turned hostile when a scribe asked whether anybody had been suspended for the security lapse. But none called for the arrest of Singhal and other stormtroopers. Rather, Singhal immediately rushed to Lucknow and was warmly received by CM Rajnath Singh. Any more confirmation needed that this is “state-sponsored” adventurism, if not terrorism?
Another instance of fascistic mobilisation was witnessed on 14 October in Agra where about 15,000 BJP youth went on a rampage vandalising Taj Mahal after the rabble was roused by fiery speeches from Advani and Rajnath Singh against “terrorists”, ISI and Muslims. The saffron hordes, attending a rally to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the BJP’s youth wing, stormed into the Taj Mahal, defiled the marble walls with saffron graffiti and shouted slogans on building Ram temple at Ayodhya. The hoodlums went on to vandalise the lawns, took bath in the fountains and even molested a young foreign tourist, in a splendid demonstration of saffron culture. In an act of cover up, mediapersons were not allowed inside to cover the extent of damage and a pliant ASI official was forced to deny any damage. The next day, Vajpayee duly went to Agra to address the same youth meet but did not utter a single word of disapproval of this hooliganism.
This is no isolated act of frenzied youth going berserk. Rather, this is exactly how communal frenzy is being whipped up and youth mobs are pepped up for a fresh round of communal offensive, which is quite probable before the UP elections. Nor are the saffron stalwarts, apologetic about any of these excesses. The mood is one of defiance. Look how brazenly George was brought back as Defence Minister. The war cries are not limited to provoking Pakistan. They are also in search of a communal-fascist way out of the domestic crisis. Needless to say, the implications for democracy and social harmony are ominous. A war-like situation, being drummed up by the communal-fascists, needs a fitting response from the forces of democracy on a war footing.