Mythologies the world over are full of stories of humble humans bringing down devils and demons. What happened in Delhi almost a month back was nothing short of it. This time the humble humans branded themselves as cockroaches! The CJP, surely the voice of Gen-Z (the talk of the country at this moment), showed rare guts and perseverance in the face of the police brutality they were subjected to when they began their sit-in at Jantar Mantar (where the Janata Party, which humbled another demon- Indira Gandhi and Emergency- had its national headquarters). They got their main demands after two weeks of slogans, songs, graffiti, and all the other facilities of the cyber age (I am totally ignorant here). The education minister had to go; the government announced a thorough overhaul of the structure of competitive exams and agreed to compensate the families of those who had succumbed fatally to the frustration of paper leaks and reexaminations. 

Abhijit Dipake, the US-returned (probably for match-making, as his parents naively revealed) became, along with Das and Verma, the most sought-after fellow -to have rescued liberty, democracy, constitution, the country’s youth with their faith in new communication strategies, the camaraderie that develops between the like-minded… Such was the momentum of developments that the otherwise gruffly Hindi-speaking RSS Chief, Mohan Bhagwat, opened his arms in Hinglish and certified the positive attitude of the CJP and the GEN-Z in general, and conceded that he would shake hands with them with closed eyes (sic, unreservedly)! 

Surely something has happened here; after the morgue-like, cold silence since 2014 when the NaMo Era started. While the CJP is a just-born baby, it has, like the Hanuman in Indian mythology, leapt to catch the sun? In a matter of just ten days, the pride of NaMo(‘s) administration, that there will be no resignations in this sarkar, has evaporated in thin air.

The bright portents did not stop in Delhi. Within a week of the CJP triumph there was a small victory in an assembly by-election in Bihar (dark state of the country). Prashant Kishore, self-hailed poll strategist, after his fiasco in the last Lok Sabha polls, won from Bankipur, humbling the all-too-smug BJP unit of Bihar! In a low-polling election, he secured victory with a margin greater than the tally of the third RJD nominee, thereby sealing the interpretation that he won because of a triangular contest. He has given a straight slap to the megalomania of the BJP at the state level.

Times could not be worse for NaMo and Co. That the above setbacks have come on the heels of the Ram Mandir scandal adds insult to injury! Like with the CJP here too the RSS is singing a different song; the Chief Secretary has categorically expressed outrage at the Ayodhya rot and assured the (Hindu) people that no one will be spared. Resignations, arrests, new appointments (also in the NEET muck) galore. There is hectic firefighting in the government and the BJP. In desperate damage control mode, NaMo sent midnight missives to the nation, forgetting that this is following Nehru, his hate-favorite! There is talk of a nationwide ‘Dhanyawad Modiji’ campaign to start very soon; probably from Independence Day. This is certainly going to be an exercise in what we have been listening to ad nauseam since he completed 12 years at the helm. It is a magic potion sans magic powers!

There is certainly no threat to the powers that be in Delhi and the states. They will continue without learning from the mistakes of others. Look at Jharkhand as an example. The rulers are different, but like Delhi, Ranchi too allowed the agitation to snowball. The BJP is enthralled that an opposition government is its equal-if not superior- in total lack of political finesse! Rahul has suddenly disappeared from the front page when he could have shown in Jharkhand that the country’s youth can be amicably approached, tackled and if possible, won over. Last but not the least, is the Centre going on the back foot on the FCRA Bill and throwing the crying baby in the lap of a Joint Parliamentary Committee; not for consensus, clearly; but to buy time to ‘manage’ support in the house?

While the high euphoria over the Gen-Z taming the NaMo demon is understandable and both CJP and PK deserve congratulations for creating possibilities of changing not just the political language but also the script the high optimism and expectations of both-CJP in Particular- call for serious consideration. It will be relevant to look at the twists and turns in national politics since 2003 when the BJP’s Feel Good Factor totally backfired and the party decided to let the RSS handle political strategy. This brought NaMo to the forefront and started the era of undermining democratic institutions and pushing the Hindutwa through shock treatment (Godhra for example) and fanning communal fire outside parliament. The country had a wise but weak PM in Manmohan Singh for a decade and his second term was clouded by allegations of corruption in the cabinet ministers. Two upstarts- Anna Hazare and the AAP- capitalized on. the clean governance card. After the AAP sankin Delhi under its own weight, the NaMo gang seized the opportunity to convince voters that ‘corruption free’ was in effect ‘ Congress free’and realized its long claim that the BJP was the only national party after Congress.

The unlikely support of a consolidated Hindu vote helped them to surmount blunders like denotification, mis-handling of Covid calamity, Pathankot and Balakot, campus unrest in JNU and Hyderabad, disappearance of the satellite to Mars to name but a few. The BJP consolidated its gains in 2019 and survived the 2024 rub down by splitting powerful regional parties and even floating rumours of some Congressmen (Shashi Tharoor?) jumping into its fold. This is political corruption at its worst! The electorate especially the poor, women and jobless young are being corrupted through direct dole to them. Unfortunately other political parties,including Congress, have never challenged this ‘unfair’ deal under the banner of ‘welfare’ state! Nor have they put forward a job-creation oriented economic policy.

The CJP success comes after ‘I am Anna’, the initial AAP mobilisation, Kanhaiya Kumar in JNU and the Vemulla tragedy in Hyderabad. It also comes after the Manipur bungling and the vengeance brought to bear on NCP, Shiv Sena in Maharashtra and TMC in Bengal. While they deserve the accolades of today they need to be cautioned that too much is expected of them by a frustrated society which has witnessed same ruling style from different political hues.

Strictly demographically, Gen Z comprises of those born between 1997 and 2012. So right now the eldest among them will be close to 30 and youngest in mid-teens, who will have to wait for the right to vote. Understandably, this is an urban crowd and might be cosmopolitan to that extent. They dress different, talk different and many of them must have been virgins so far as street political action is concerned. While their anger was lrgitimate we have to remember that the immediate high turn out- Dipake had only recently returned and campaigned in major metros- was a result of the NEET connection to the job market. The presence of parents in significant numbers too was rooted in that; a good departure from bourgeois parents who act like turtles at the possibility of political action and want their kids to follow their prudent chase of safety and security! Finally getting one minister to resign is like an ant biting a rhino; so thick is the skin of the political labyrinth where the most undemocratic seize power and humiliate the truly democratic day in and day out! Where, to borrow from Shakespeare, ‘Captive Virtue attends Captain Il!’

I congratulate both CJP and PK. I feel that I have found younger siblings in them. I hope that CJP through its ‘Kya Kahati Hai Public’ campaign and PK by attending the Bihar assembly, will emerge politically wise and conceive ways to democratize Indian polity by bringing to them the ‘mantra’ and not just the ‘tantra’ of democracy.

- Vinay Hardikar
vinay.freedom@gmail.com
(The writer has been working in the public sphere of Maharashtra for the last five decades. His versatile personality has several dimensions, but the primary ones remain to be that of an established writer, journalist, editor, critic, activist, and teacher.)

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