Do you think India's nationalist ethos can withstand pressures from the politics of regional identity and chauvinism? (9 marks) please explain in a descriptive way
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Credit: Flickr/ Chatham House
When India’s general elections concluded in May, the Indian National Congress was faced with a devastating defeat. The Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party won 303 seats, marking a comfortable return to government. In sharp contrast, the Congress mustered only 52 seats, nearly one-sixth the BJP’s total.
One of the few bright spots for the Congress was the re-election of Shashi Tharoor, a former international civil servant who has been serving as Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha representing Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, since 2009. While his party as a whole underperformed compared to the last elections, Tharoor beat the trend, winning by nearly 100,000 votes in 2019, versus his winning margin of just 15,000 in 2014.
Dr. Shashi Tharoor talked briefly with journalist Arun Budhathoki for The Diplomat about the election results and the future of Indian politics, especially the fate of the liberal, secular values espoused by the Congress.
The excerpts below have been lightly edited for clarity.
First of all congratulations to you for getting the hat-trick in your Lok Sabha constituency, Thiruvananthapuram. What does this win mean for you given the adversary that your party, the Indian Congress, has faced in the recent elections?
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Thank you. I have been overwhelmed by the support of the people of Thiruvananthapuram, which gave me a near one-lakh [100,000] majority I could scarcely have dreamed of. At the same time, the situation with the national picture has certainly made this an equally somber and bittersweet moment. I feel like a batsman who has scored a century while his team has lost.
Where do you feel India is heading under the leadership of the re-elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the next five years? Do you feel it will be a difficult time for religious minorities in India?
If the government’s track record in office is to be considered, there is an understandable reason for worry. It is now a well documented fact that religious minorities have been systematically targeted in the last five years. Just last year for instance, according to a report by Hate Crime Watch, religious hate crimes in the country reached a 10 year high in the country with members of religious minorities being the victim in 75 percent of these cases. Similarly, it is also telling that out of 70 cases of cow-related violence have been reported in the last 70 years, 97 percent (68 out of 70) have occurred during the first four years of BJP rule and a majority of these have occurred in BJP-ruled states. A hundred and thirty six people have been injured in these attacks and 28 killed: 86 percent of the victims were, of course, Muslim. While one cannot place all the blame on the government and hold them directly responsible for such unfortunate instances, one can certainly and rightly criticize the government for not condemning such events vocally enough at the highest levels or clamping down strongly on its perpetuators.
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