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Tuesday, June 21, 2005
A shift to the centre
It isn't only pundits who've been pontificating about the BJP realising the limited value of Hindutva and shifting to the centre. It's the BJP itself. Here's an Indian Express report on a blueprint for the BJP's political future, prepared by Sudheendra Kulkarni, an influential thinker in the party who was once Atal Bihari Vajpayee's speechwriter, and is now LK Advani's. Here's an excerpt from Kulkarni's paper:
We may not like it, but here is the INESCAPABLE TRUTH OF INDIAN DEMOCRACY—at best, the BJP will remain one of the most important poles in Indian politics and, at worst, it will become a slightly larger version of the Hindu Mahasabha. But, with a narrow Hindu-only approach, never will it occupy the dominant position in Indian politics that the Congress once enjoyed... In fact, this narrow approach is the surest way of allowing the Nehru-Indira-Rajiv-Sonia-Rahul dynasty to remain alive, and as a dominant player, in Indian politics. [All caps in the original.]Sensible thinking. But Advani's retreat after the Jinnah affair seems to have scuttled the chances of such a shift happening anytime soon. Pity. Indian politics needs the emergence of a secular-right party.
