05 March 2013, 03:40 PM IST
The authorities of the Wharton Business School were naive, to say the least, when they endorsed the decision of the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) to invite Narendra Modi to deliver the key-note address at its annual function. Had they done their homework, they would have realised that his participation even via a video-conference was bound to polarise opinion in the Indian diaspora and well beyond. It includes both zealous admirers of the BJP's rising star, especially in the Gujarati community, and those on the left and liberal spectrum who loathe him. The Wharton authorities should also have factored in the US State Department's recently reiterated position that Modi will not be given a diplomatic visa to visit the country. Therefore, purely on pragmatic grounds, the invitation bore all the hallmarks of a gaffe.
To compound it, the authorities rescinded their decision under pressure from a group of scholars and students of Pennsylvania University opposed to Modi's development model and his government's failure to protect the life and property of the state's Muslim minority. In a university founded by Benjamin Franklin – a vociferous promoter of freedom of speech and exchange of ideas – this move smacked of pusillanimity. All that they had to do was to change the format of the event that would have allowed the three-term chief minister, who so craves a cachet of legitimacy from the outside world, to have his say and given his critics an opportunity to question him on his record in office. Meanwhile, to charge, as Modi acolytes have done, that Wharton's refusal to give him a platform is an insult to India needs to be seen for what it is: a self-serving hyperbole.
Here is the reason. In Gujarat, Modi managed to make mince meat of his rivals, including Keshubhai Patel, Praveen Togadia and RSS functionaries who crossed his path. With a technology-driven propaganda blitzkrieg, he projected himself as the sole representative of the people of his state and their identity as Gujaratis. Corporate India bought his claim as a development chieftain without the slightest qualm. So did the UK and the European Union as a whole.
His rivals, including, especially, the victims of the 2002 victims of the riots could not match the blitzkrieg. Nor could the victims of his much-touted development model. This lacuna enables him to bamboozle his party's leaders to fall in line. Never mind that other BJP chief ministers – particularly in Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Goa – have, in many respects, outshined him. But they aren't good at oratory; no good either in PR; and, no good, especially, to match Modi's demagoguery.
Add to this the present and potential allies of the NDA. Modi's rise on the national stage leaves them discomfited. That sentiment will dominate their future moves even if Modi were to express remorse for the 2002 communal riots. For, what matters to the minorities, who will have a decisive say in the elections in over one hundred constituencies, is justice, not a pale apology. It will be difficult for him to persuade, for example, Nitish Kumar in Bihar, Naveen Patnaik in Odisha, TDP's Naidu in Andhra, even Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, that aligning with the BJP with him as a mascot will prove to be a winner.
Not that Modi hasn't tried to re-brand himself. In his address to the BJP's National Council meeting, what he said was as significant as what he did not say. His no-holds-barred attack on the Gandhi family, Manmohan Singh and the Congress party was doubtless music to the ears of the traditional anti-Congress forces. But will they be impressed by what he failed to mention? That includes the sangh parivar's pet themes: terrorism, Pakistan, Article 370, Uniform Civil Code, Bangadeshi migrants, a Ram temple in Ayodhya etc. This was Modi's first attempt to deviate from the concerns and ambitions of the BJP's core, Hindutva constituency. Whether that attempt would be sufficient to enhance his acceptability among avowedly secular, if anti-Congress, parties is still a moot question.
In plain words, Modi's transition from an all-powerful leader of Gujarat to the most effective leader who can challenge the Congress, and the UPA as a whole, in the next general elections is still littered with several uncertainties. To witness a Modi who is miffed because the Wharton Business School cancelled his address is to realize the extent to which he is vulnerable. That rebuff won't affect his popularity either in his home state or among his supporters elsewhere in India and abroad. But it will be seen as a vindication by those who fear that this hugely divisive personality cannot yet be trusted to be at the helm of affairs in a country as diverse as India. That, in substance, is what Wharton's naive and weak-kneed flip-flop was all about.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Lessons from Wharton’s gaffes about Modi
Dengan url
http://osteoporosista.blogspot.com/2013/03/lessons-from-whartonas-gaffes-about-modi.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Lessons from Wharton’s gaffes about Modi
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Lessons from Wharton’s gaffes about Modi
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar