When dissenting voices and rectifying forces across political parties appear to be facing extinction, Vylappulli Mama Sudheeran stands in glorious isolation. His bold critique of the Congress party for abandoning its commitment to Nehruvian Socialism and secularism has been a lone voice in the wilderness. Although it appears as clear as daylight, the 75-year-old Sudheeran is the only public voice to point out that Congress’ ongoing crisis was because it became a B team of the BJP. By embracing market-friendly economics and practicing soft Hindutva policies, Congress has failed to present an alternative before the people. So why wonder if the voters in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, or Chattisgarh went with the A team instead of wasting B?
The Youth Congress of the 1960s and 70s under AK Antony and Vayalar Ravi was known for its corrective power with the Congress. The old tycoons in Congress used to tremble at this youth power. A generation of youngsters like Sudheeran, Oommen Chandy, PC Chacko, Shanmughadas, and many others were the products of these bold and idealist days. Over time, with growing age and craving for positions, most of these one-time idealists settled down for compromises. Sudheeran remained the exception. Even when he held positions of power, Sudheeran tried to fight the chronic ills of the system and stayed true to his ideals against all odds.
For the past few decades, Sudheeran has been the only voice of dissent and caution whenever Congress showed signs of growing sickness. In fact, not just the Congress but every party, including the Left too, have seen the extinction of internal dissenters and critics who are indispensable for the health of a party. V S Achuthanandan was the last of the species in CPM and what happened to the party after his eclipse is for all to see.
Sudheeran had not minced words or deeds when K Karunakaran tried to be the unquestioned dictator in the party, or when factionalism hit the ceiling under Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala, or when sleaze swallowed the Chandy government. It is great to see the fire blazing in Sudheeran, even at 75.
As Sudheeran stated unambiguously now, the recent state elections have yet again proved the bankruptcy of Congress’ soft Hindutva policy, which is no answer to BJP’s hard Hindutva. He has been trying in vain to bring these issues to Sonia and Rahul’s attention for more than two years. Congress’ most pathetic rout happened in Madhya Pradesh, despite the perceived anti-incumbency feeling against the BJP government. Congress’ campaign in the state was led by Kamal Nath, whose only agenda was to prove how he was more Hindu than BJP and roll out the various pro-Hindu policies his government implemented.
But Congress appears reluctant to learn lessons from these continuing setbacks, as shown by its ambivalence on attending the inauguration on January 22 of the new Ram temple at Ayodhya. Congress leaders like even Digvijay Singh, who was once the most outspoken critic of Hindutva politics, have publicly stated that Rahul Gandhi is likely to attend. Thanks to Kerala politics’ secular traditions, at least a few Congress leaders from the state, like Sudheeran or K Muralidharan, had the political sagacity to ask its national leadership to keep away from the function. However, far from listening to these voices, Congress’ central leadership is out to smother them, as shown by AICC representative Deepa Das Munshi’s reaction to them at the recent KPCC meeting.
KPCC President K Sudhakaran’s and Opposition leader V D Satheeshan’s acrobatics were even more ridiculous. Both of them and also leaders like Shashi Tharoor, bent over backward to underplay the patently anti-secular dimension of the new Ram temple, built on the spot after razing down the Babri Masjid, which stood there for centuries. It is no surprise that the Congress’ soft Hindutva stand was no different on the entry of women to the Sabarimala shrine.
Congress’ justification for its soft stand is that it would electorally lose if it is seen as anti-Hindu. It also points to the Samajwadi Party’s decision to accept the invite to the temple inauguration. Congress keeps harping on this despite suffering heavy political losses even after proving itself pro-Hindu. Congress doesn’t seem to note that it keeps its influence in Southern and Eastern India, where it doesn’t play the Hindu card. If not for ideological conviction, even for electoral purposes, Congress has to look different and not be a mirror image of its rival. Congress doesn’t understand a simple fact; be it politics or a product, a person’s choice is made based on how different it is from others. Why should a voter favor a party with politics so similar to its larger rival?
Congress in Kerala breathed a sigh of relief with the statements of the Muslim League and the Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, the supreme body of Sunni scholars. Earlier, Congress skipped a beat when Suprabhatam, Samastha’s newspaper, in its editorial, sharply warned it against being ambivalent on the temple issue and praised Sitaram Yechuri for rejecting the invite. Taking a cue from this, the Muslim League obliquely suggested to Congress that it should not be deterred from secular positions. But the next day, Jifri Thangal, the formidable President of the Samastha, turned Congress’ savior when he said Suprabhatam’s editorial did not reflect Samastha’s policy. He also remarked that Congress was free to take any stand on the temple issue, and whatever it decided would not affect the sentiments of the Muslim community, which he and other leaders were perfectly able to take care of. Following this, the Muslim League became more emboldened to throw a longer rope to Congress and let it take any line it thought fit. Congress and League were particularly relieved by the green signal from Jifri Thangal, who has been getting closer to CPM and Pinarayi Vijayan.
League’s and Thangal’s elastic stand may prevent upsetting the United Democratic Front (UDF) apple cart in Kerala. But the Muslim League would be missing an opportunity to stem Congress’ lurch towards soft Hindutva and its shift from secular and pro-minority positions, which has been making it lose heavily for some time. If this is the case, with the next general elections barely a few months away and BJP standing taller than all others, Congress is unlikely to be forced by its allies to change its politics. Of all its allies, the Muslim League should have been the first to stop Congress’ slide into Hindutva politics.
The Muslim League receives widespread credit for its moderate politics and its stand against extremist tendencies within the Muslim community. It was widely praised for not falling for militant temptations even in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 when Kerala remained calm, unlike the rest of the country, which witnessed widespread violence. Muslim League stood firmly with the Congress even when a major section led by its then-president Ibrahim Sait wanted to break its ties in protest against Prime Minister Narasimha Rao’s passive complicity in the Babri demolition. League has been widely credited for managing to hold the community under its control during that period when militant groups led by Abdul Nazer Mahdani were making a major impact on the young generation.
But League’s critics have always maintained that its moderate politics was driven not so much by any ideological or ethical consideration as by its single-point agenda to be in power in Kerala. League’s commitment to mainstream politics is also accused of being led by an opportunistic craving for power, even at the cost of the community’s genuine interests. Though this accusation looks exaggerated, the League’s abject failure or refusal to prevent Congress’ recent drifts from its traditional commitment to minorities and secularism cannot be overstated. League appears unconcerned with the total failure of Congress’ soft Hindutva line or even the intensified attempts to invisibilise or disenfranchise the Muslim community, as shown in the increasingly Muslim-mukt parliament and legislatures. In this context, the League’s and the Samastha’s “pacifist” view that the new Ram temple was just another temple sounds hollow and highly dangerous.
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Sudheeran@75: The Solitary Soldier
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02.01.2024
When dissenting voices and rectifying forces across political parties appear to be facing extinction, Vylappulli Mama Sudheeran stands in glorious isolation. His bold critique of the Congress party for abandoning its commitment to Nehruvian Socialism and secularism has been a lone voice in the wilderness. Although it appears as clear as daylight, the 75-year-old Sudheeran is the only public voice to point out that Congress’ ongoing crisis was because it became a B team of the BJP. By embracing market-friendly economics and practicing soft Hindutva policies, Congress has failed to present an alternative before the people. So why wonder if the voters in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, or Chattisgarh went with the A team instead of wasting B?
The Youth Congress of the 1960s and 70s under AK Antony and Vayalar Ravi was known for its corrective power with the Congress. The old tycoons in Congress used to tremble at this youth power. A generation of youngsters like Sudheeran, Oommen Chandy, PC Chacko, Shanmughadas, and many others were the products of these bold and idealist days. Over time, with growing age and craving for positions, most of these one-time idealists settled down for compromises. Sudheeran remained the exception. Even when he held positions of power, Sudheeran tried to fight the chronic ills of the system and stayed true to his ideals against all odds.
For the past few decades, Sudheeran has been the only voice of dissent and caution whenever Congress showed signs of growing sickness. In fact, not just the Congress but every party, including the Left too, have seen the extinction of internal dissenters and critics who are indispensable for the health of a party. V S Achuthanandan was the last of the species in CPM and what happened to the party after his eclipse is for all to see.
Sudheeran had not minced words or deeds when K Karunakaran tried to be the unquestioned dictator in the party, or when factionalism hit the ceiling under Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala, or when sleaze swallowed the Chandy government. It is great to see the fire blazing in Sudheeran, even at 75.
As Sudheeran stated unambiguously now, the recent state elections have yet again proved the bankruptcy of Congress’ soft Hindutva policy,........
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