(Aam Aadmi Party has the potential…)
In an interview with ET, Ashutosh Varshney, Sol Goldman Prof, Brown University says AAP has potential of winning a lot of urban votes. It is bringing something new to politics.
Do you agree with PM Manmohan Singh's argument that the Maoist insurgency is India's biggest internal security threat? Or is it right-wing nationalism that is a bigger danger?
It is now clear, at least in retrospect, that the Naxal threat was overstated by Prime Minister Singh. Perhaps the intention was to focus governmental energies because of which Naxalism has waned. If so, the overstatement of the problem has led to good results on the whole.
RSS nationalism is not directly subversive --primarily because it seeks to keep the nation together. But, indirectly, it can be subversive. If the minorities are targeted too much, RSS nationalism has the potential of making minorities, especially the Muslims, rebellious. The RSS has to learn something conceptually simple: at what point does its sense of patriotism lead to a weakening of the nation because of how the RSS defines and practises nationalism, making the minorities deeply threatened? It needs to accept that the minorities can practice their way of life, and that is not unpatriotic.
How different is Narendra Modi's politics from that of the RSS?
Modi has to win votes; the RSS does not have to. That is a fundamental difference. Modi has to accept the constraints of functioning in a democratic polity. The RSS can go on calling the Muslims unpatriotic; Modi can't if he wants to be India's Prime Minister.
Why did you write the book (Battles Half Won)?
I wrote it because it is clear that India's democracy is an electoral wonder, but it performs quite badly between elections. At low levels of income, no country has practised democracy for so long. That is to be noted. But India's democracy has developed an ambivalent character. At the time of elections, the polity seeks to woo even the most ordinary citizen, but between elections, the polity becomes an unfeeling polity. The ordinary citizen feels quite powerless. That is why battles are half won.
You describe the Congress (since the 1980s) "as a rusty, clay-footed colossus". Where is Rahul Gandhi leading the Congress?
Unless Rahul Gandhi can restore internal elections to the Congress and leaders emerge on the basis of internal, not dynastic, legitimacy, the Congress is really in trouble. It can come back to power only because others have misbehaved. The Congress should seek internal modes of resilience, not external mistakes, for its revival.
You say that secularism as innocence can spell danger. Could you elaborate?
I used the term "innocent secularism" for how Rajiv Gandhi practised secularism as opposed to secular tolerance, a principle I associated with Nehru. Rajiv first gave the Muslims their personal laws and then, to appease Hindus, he opened the disputed Ayodhya temple to Hindu worship, innocently thinking that both communities will be calmed as a consequence.
Instead, a violent commotion ensued, for each community thought that Rajiv went too far. In the current political situation, the Congress is very weak. It might still try to project itself as the saviour of Muslims, but the argument is unlikely to yield serious dividends. Corruption has harmed the Congress so badly that trying to be the saviour of Muslims and the poor is not working.
Do you think AAP is here to stay? Why?
Yes. Millions of Indians are tried of the way democracy is practised in India. Because AAP wants to undermine the traditional ways of doing politics, it is here to stay. How far it will go remains uncertain. The 2014 elections will teach us all a lot. At the very least, AAP has the potential of winning a lot of urban votes. It is bringing something new to politics.
How do you respond to the criticism that you have a Nehruvian approach?
Politically, I am a Nehruvian at heart. Economically, I am not. Nehru is the father of Indian democracy, just as Gandhi is the father of the nation. Nehru's pluralism and secular tolerance are the only way to run India sensibly. Nehru's economic policy, however, is not practical any more.