Independent India has noticed a conscripted transformation of Indian National Congress into a forefront political party from a confederation of freedom seekers.
It was once more of a luminary nucleus of the freedom movement built against the British Raj. Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal, Sri Aurobindo, Subhash Chandra Bose, Sardar Patel, Rabindranath Tagore and many more staunch nationalists along with Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru were all affiliated to Congress. Though there were multiple other freedom fighting factions and leaders opposed to its views, Congress was unanimously considered as an apex freedom movement platform.
Gandhi’s disagreement on Congress’s post-independence existence was very much evident in his note “Though split into two, India having attained political independence through means devised by the Indian National Congress, the Congress in its present shape and form, i.e., as a propaganda vehicle and parliamentary machine had outlived its use”, which was written three days prior to his assassination and later published in Harijan, Yet the Congress continued its existence.
It is an open secret that the Post-Independence Congress, until Rahul Gandhi’s portrayal as the prime ministerial candidate in 2014, had managed to politically survive by adopting conciliatory ideologies. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of Independent India, was also simultaneously assigned the role of the Congress president from 1951, since then the Congress fell under the direct control of the dynasty.
Nehru, his daughter Indira Gandhi and his grandson Rajiv Gandhi, have together ruled India for almost thirty-eight years out of the total fifty-five years Congress regime. The dynastic dominance in the party’s organizational structure is also consistently evident, the immediate past president of the party, Sonia Gandhi, was consecutively holding the position uninterrupted since 1998, she only stepped down a few months ago to pave way for her son to preside over. Indira Gandhi had assumed the very same office in 1978 and was in chair until her assassination in 1984 who was eventually succeeded over by her son Rajiv Gandhi until his killing in 1991.
The family has always reserved the final say throughout the Independent India’s Congress’s seven-decade history. As the succession of Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi consumed a recovering time, it was only between 1964–66 and 1992–98 respectively that the family lineage was simultaneously out of representation from both the prime minister’s and the party president’s office.
Despite power which has always revolved around the Gandhi residence, the efforts of untainted leaders such as Lal Bahadur Shastri, V P Singh, P V Narasimha Rao, Pranab Mukherjee and few others with utmost national interest cannot be either discounted, it was only due to their perusal that the congress on certain occasions has worked in the interest of the nation. It must also be noted that the dynasty had no political representation immediately after Rajiv’s untimely death in 1991, due to which the then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao succeeded in rescuing the citizens from the clutches Nehruvian Socialist policies by liberalizing the Indian Economy.
Occasional instances could also be traced where few leaders have dissented all-out when the dynasty was too intransigent, VP Singh who was the Finance and Defense minister in Rajiv Gandhi’s cabinet had openly accused him by stating him of being a Prime Minister with neither a sense of direction nor dedication to the country, however after his expulsion from the party, Singh overthrew him by getting elected as the prime minister in the following elections.
Sharad Pawar, who has mastered the politics of opportunism had also discorded the Congress for electing Sonia Gandhi as its chief. The reminiscence of the party validates that for the sake of power retainment, the dynasty led Congress functioned as an ideal proxy Anarchy with a blend of Corruption, intense minority appeasement, disrespect to the Constitution and conspicuously lacking basic qualities of political Integrity.
However, the then party framework though diminutive, comprised nationalist thoughts unlike the present-day Congress-2.0 which is not only perplexed but badly stung by deceiving and destructive ideologies.
It all started after Narendra Modi assuming the Prime Minister’s chair by defeating his Congress counterpart. Ever since, the so-called gen-next organizational structure of the Congress, now led by Rahul Gandhi himself has shifted its prime focus from being a responsible aspiring opposition into an intolerant disruptive assortment, the theory of Anti-Modism has not only blindfolded them but have also turned them into impulsive and belligerent politicians.
The Congress-2.0 under Rahul Gandhi is confronting a major battle of inferiority complex, it subsequently lacks a robust political vision, it has consistently failed in fact-fully countering the Modi government, it has fizzled in churning the second line leadership, the coterie is unwilling to up bring the non-dynastic talents into the forefront due to the fear of perception setbacks, the handpicked crux leadership of the party unitedly silences every voice raised against the dynastic scion.
These facts have not only convinced the Congress about the reality of their incapability to legitimately fight the Modi model of governance but has also made them choose an erroneous path to quench their power thirst at the cost of national interest. The very same Congress which had harassed Dr B.R Ambedkar all his life, in the last four years, has left no stone unturned in politicizing any popped up Dalit issue; be it Rohit Vemula’s Suicide, the koregaon agitations of Maharashtra, the Una protests of Gujarat or the novel Bharat Bandh which killed nine innocent people. Indian politics has stooped to such a low where the innocent Dalits are repeatedly being made the scapegoat, instigating violence in the name of Dalit agitations as to divide the society for a political advantage is a citation of zealot mindset and at most of the instances Rahul Gandhi has tried to score political points by spewing venom and terming the respective incidents as the ‘so-called’ upper class oppression upon Dalits.
A series of neo-left inspired campaigns are initiated and Ironically Congress which had publicly developed an antithesis earlier are now shamelessly found in-sync with them, plotting against the integrity of the nation. Kanhaiya Kumar- the poster boy of the neo-left posse, who has steered multiple events by hailing terrorists, shouting anti-army slogans and desiring for India’s further disintegration has been defending the Congress on multiple occasions, this proves that his repeated meetings with the Congress president are not casual or coincidental but intentional.
A bunch of ‘intolerant’ intellects had attempted to brand India intolerant at international level by initiating an Award Wapsi campaign, however their screech was diminished after the Congress sponsorship was exposed. Most Islamic organizations have now developed a strange bonding with the Congress and that lenience has made it easy for them to accelerate their agenda in such states where Congress is in power. Congress government in Karnataka has very openly supported the Fundamentalist organizations such as the PFI which has killed more than two dozen nationalists in the last four years, it has also withdrawn more than 250 criminal cases against the jihadis allowing them to roam freely.
Congress is also consistently attempting to destabilize the Hindu society by fomenting Caste-reservation agitations, instigating inter-caste Conflicts and provoking aboriginal Hindu sects to abstract itself from the concurrence. The Patidar agitations in Gujarat, The Jaat upheaval in Haryana, The Lingayat-Veerashaiva demand for an independent religion in Karnataka are all the part and parcel of Congress propaganda.
Congress intends the Dalit community to invariably be on a regressive mode so as their united-anger is retained and their rebellion against the Constitutionary Provisions is active, It wants the Hindu Society to stay divided on the basis of Caste, Sub-Caste and Minority reservation issues, It abets the Islamists to accelerate their fundamentalists activities so as to keep the nation disturbed, It backs the neo-left driven “Bharath-ki-Barbadi” forces so as to provoke the nationalists and keep the nation befuddled.
Despite political rivalry and democratic warfare, Congress 1.0 had strategically managed to distance itself from the practice of anathema politics, unlike the Congress 2.0. The present-day congress is desperate and frustrated, it lacks gallant leaders to question the directionless spree of the party and if anyone shows up their spine, they will be dumped like Shahzad Poonawalla. However, it is evidently and efficiently leading a communion of Hate India – Break India forces and is evolving to become a national peril each day.
