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Wednesday, September 21, 2005
A new beginning for the BJP?
"Crisis," writes Sudheendra Kulkarni in the Indian Express, "is a terrible thing to waste." And the one that the BJP is in may just help them burst free of the RSS's shackles towards a broader vision. Kulkarni writes:
Previous posts on the subject: 1 and 2.
For an organisation that claims to be committed to nation-building and has many admirable qualities (never mind the attempts by the communists and other Hindu-baiters to demonise it), the RSS has scarcely introspected publicly on why its influence in India’s political, intellectual and public life remains so limited — and rapidly shrinking. The RSS may or may not do such soul-searching. But if the BJP too shuns soul-searching, if it doesn’t pay heed to the hometruths spoken by [LK] Advani, its own space and influence in Indian politics will definitely shrink. If it does, the present crisis could mark a new beginning for the BJP and for non-Congress politics in India.I agree. If the BJP doesn't redefine itself, it's scope will inevitably diminish. But that change will have to come from within. Who will catalyse it?
Previous posts on the subject: 1 and 2.
