Forbearance and Virtue

Forbearance and Virtue

They defend their errors as if they were defending their inheritance

Edmund Burke (1729-1797)

Edmund Burke, British statesman and philosopher from the 18^th century, said “Among a people generally corrupt, liberty cannot long exist,” and, “the greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse,” in an echo of Lord Acton’s famous aphorism on the corruptibility of power.

In context therefore, it is somewhat amusing to witness parliamentary procedure being used as a shield to hide behind, by the very people who have outraged the public long enough with routine and boorish flouting of parliamentary norms. So much so that, both spontaneously, and as a consequence of political mobilisation, large numbers of citizens have finally take to the streets in protest, not just in Delhi but all over the country, led by an erstwhile army driver inspired by the Mahatma and  his methods.

In the midst of the extensive and most commendable media coverage, one can almost see the manthan, the churning of the political discourse, with the possibility of a distinct shifting of gears. This is what happened economically, and irrevocably, in 1991 and may be happening, in the political context, today. And since the political classes are under attack, they are scrambling to find consensus and common ground amongst themselves.

Mr. Varun Gandhi, strangely, the only MP to visit the Ramlila Grounds to see what was going on for himself, described it, in pointedly dulcet tones, as a milestone and turning point that will be in the political history books 25 years from now.

This young man of 31, educated briefly at the London School of Economics, who may have come of age at last, may also have realised something profound, in the very midst of the cacophony and multiple versions of the Lokpal Bill jostling for political space. He too looks at this protest not so much as an anti-government matter but as one that goes well beyond what is being talked about right now, to what this popular movement actually stands for. It stands for change in the way things must be done by politicians in future.

It was equally, if not more of a pleasure, to listen to Mr. Arun Jaitley’s broad spectrum speech on the multifarious ways and means of nearly institutionalised corruption on the part of the system. He spoke in the Rajya Sabha on the 24^th of August 2011, broadcast live on most of our English news channels.

Mr. Jaitley is probably the most articulate, modern and cerebral amongst the top leadership of the BJP, particularly in English. His passionate delivery and well reasoned arguments are made with the finesse of a top-notch legal luminary that he is, and this brings great lustre to his role as the Leader of the Opposition in the upper house.

There is something of Obama at the hustings about his style, that suggests he could do very well as the international face of the BJP at the next general elections, rather than confining himself to back-room strategies as an  in-charge of the election campaigns in various states.

Along with Mr. Narendra Modi, the great “NaMo”, with his tremendous governance skills and overwhelming grass-roots support in his home state of Gujarat, you’ve probably got the new avatar of the erstwhile Vajpayee-Advani team that took the BJP from two seats in parliament, namely their own, to power for a full-term, and  thereafter on to being the principal Opposition and ruling alliance in several significant states around the country.

Certainly this duo has relative youth and vigour on its side, and both are also seasoned players at the forefront of their party administration. The third member of what could be a winning team, with a view to carrying along the NDA allies, while drawing others into the fold, should probably be Mr. Nitish Kumar, a proven success in his home state of Bihar.

Ironically, he too is in the NaMo mould when it comes to governance, but without the taint of alleged communal bias in his image. Bihar, of course, has a large and eligible minority voting population, and it has been important for Mr. Kumar to pass muster with this sizable constituency. In addition, as Mr. Kumar is a leading light of the JDU and indeed the NDA, and not the BJP, he can be very useful in the Opposition bid for power in 2014.

As for the ruling UPA, much of their aam aadmi plank has been eroded, both by inflation, and the humungous parade of corruption scandals following each other like floats in a Brazilian carnival. Besides, there is a generational shift afoot in the ruling family but the burden of experience still lies with seasoned cabinet ministers and party satraps decades older than the heir apparent and his junior ministering contemporaries.

It is going to be interesting to see how the Congress Party manages its contradictions in this regard, and its effective transition to team Rahul Gandhi. Courtiers can’t hack it at the polls, and stalwarts will not do so at the expense of their self-respect and power.

We have seen the grand old party languishing for many years in the wilderness after the passing of Mr. Rajiv Gandhi till Mrs. Sonia Gandhi came to head the Congress Party apparatus. And this is still the salutary writing on the wall.

In the paralysis of governance and political confusion at present, it is also becoming increasingly obscure as to what the priorities of UPA II are. It is no longer the aam aadmi, because nothing is being done for his benefit, so what is it?

As for a possible UPA III, like a sequel to a sequel of a badly scripted franchise, there is some real doubt now on whether it can attract large audiences to the box office/ballot box.

The larger point however is to do with the Burkian concept of forbearance or patient self-control when it comes to the oppression of the people’s aspirations, however inchoate. Law and order cannot descend into a Stalinist pogrom time and again and certainly not in our main cities while showing the face of ahimsa to Maoists, seditionists and separatists! Our Home Ministry has a quixotic idea of firmness if it wants to negotiate with savage and murderous Maoists and stamp on peaceful protestors under the full gaze of our national media.

As for the Burkian notion of Virtue, it is the public that is trying to teach the political classes the meaning of the word afresh. They truly think the politicos have forgotten its meaning, and so they can ignore this only at their own peril.

(1,098 words)

26^th August, 2011

Gautam Mukherjee

Published in The Pioneer Edit Page Leader Edit on September 2, 2011 as "The game has changed" and online at www.dailypioneer.com simultaneously.