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AMULYAGANGULIonthebalancetheBJPneeds tonegotiatebetweenitsrevivalistfactionsand developmentagenda

TheBJP'supward mobility last yearwas confirmedwhenthe allianceJed byit securedamajority in theJliatkhaud assembly and the party put up itsbestever showinJ&K.

Buttherejsahiminboththeelectionsthat theparty's ascentmaynot continue tobeas smooth andeffortlessin 2015 as it hasbeen in2014.

InJhark.hand,for instance, theBJP could crossthehalf-waymarkinthe 81-member legislatureonlywiththehelp of itsally,the AUJharkhandStudentsUnion,which added fiveseatscotheBJP'stally of 37.

Whatismore,theBJP'svictory rath (chariot)cameto ahaltoutside theMuslimdon.1.inatedKashmirvalley,showing chatitis onlytheparty'svote bankof theHindusof Jammuwhosupporteditwhilethel\foslims gave itawidebertli,sincetlieBJP could secureonly2.2percent of thevotesin tlie valley.

The reason for therebuff bythe minorities is clearenough.Theyare angeredand disheartened bytheaggressiveantiMuslim andanti-Christian camprugnsof the Hindu supremacistRSSand its rabid affiliatesliJ,edie VishwaHinduParishad (VHP)a1id theBajrang Dal.

These fundamentalist outfits haveseentheBJP's riseco power at tliecentre asthemostoppornme tinieco pushtheirfascistic ideaof convertingsecular lncliaintoatheocratic Hindumshtm(nation). TI1ereislittledoubt theproselytizingghar1vapasi(homecoming) canipaignstowoo die minoritiesback into theHindu fold.

Modiisnotunawareof what'shobbling him.But,inaway,heis helplessbecause havingspentallhislifein tliefundamenta]jsc environment of theRSSsbakhasand among its kmyak.a1tas(workers)-Modirurnself was onceaprachamk (preacher)-itmustnowbe difficult forhimto rum againstd1em.

AJtl1oughhehas partiallysucceededin tanungdiehardliners bypersuadingtliem toput off theissue of constructingthe Ram tenipleby ayear, in keepingwith hls IndependenceDay call for amoratorium on sectarian a.rumosity,he doesn'tseem to have reckonedwith tlie penchantof the e..xcremists toconceiveof onedivisivejdeaafteranotlier -lovejehad,gl1ar1v,ipsi, bahttlao-betibachaoand soon.

''Asaresultof the xenophobiapropagated bythevotariesof Hindutvawithclaims thatIndia exploded anatonucbombin prelustoricti.mes,asstated by Ramesh Pokhriral Nishank,MP,and inventedplastic surgery

WhiletheBJP's -an assertionmadeby Modi llll1self -Indiais passingthroughasurreal atmospherewhereapromarketeconomyreAected bythe glitteringmallsand multiplexesiscoexisting witharticulationsredolent of anunscientificand unsophisticatedworldview.

Successstory Canbesaidtobe

continuing,its mainadversary, theCongress,is goingsteadily downhillandhas Thiscont:.rasrisalso evidenti.ndie govemmentformingnegotiations between dieBJP and Muslim-majority parties nowreacheda that if NarendraModi stagewhenits revivalseemstobe nearlyimpossible of theKashmirvalleylike thePeople's Democratic js unablecoreinintlie HinducvaGestapo,thenhi5 memorablevictorymthe generalelectionwill begin to unravel.

While tlieBJP'ssuccessstory canbesrud to becontinuing,itsmrun adversary,tl1e Congress,is goingsteadilydownhillandhas nowreachedastagewhenitsrevivalseemsco be nea clyimpossible Thereasonisitsinept leadership:botliSoniaand Rahul Gandhi lacl< politicalcharisma(whicl1 used tobethe Nehru-Gandhifamily's forte),incellecLUal acuityandaneconomic visioninsyncwith the modernworldwhich haslostpatience witl1socia]jsm,wh.icliilieGandhis seemm prefer.

As aresult, tlie Congress has lostvirtually all themajorelectionsformore thanayear whilethe BJP hasforgedahead.Only in severalby-elections,notablyin Rajasthan and,surprisingly, in GujarathastheCongress faredwell but theyhavebeen too fewandfar betweento rejuvenateiliepatty.

In contrast,Modibasallthereguisites of awinner-charisma, oratory; aforwardlookingeconomicagendaandadministrative acumenwithahands-onapproach.But hls Achilles heel comes from the RSS,VHP and other Hindu militantgroups like tlieDharma JagranSa.mjti,whichhasbeen organising

Party andtlie National Conference,which the saffronhawks regard aspro-separatist and, tlierefore,anti-national.

UnlessModicanresolvethese contradictionsbetween a21st cenn1ry governmentand dieHindur:varadkals by comingdownheavily on the latterand resolutely pursuingeconomicreforms,the em:lieroptimismassociatedwithllill.1will disappear.

Thegainerwillbetheopposition parties, whosestalling of parliamentover theantics of thesaffronactivistscompelledModico take theordinance route topasscrucial pro• reforms laws.Butsuchbull-dozingtactics areasign of tlieprimeminister's,andtlie democraticsystem's, failure.

If Modineverthelessopted for them,it wastodivertartentionfromtlie Hinducva fanatics.Hewillhavecopursue tlieeconomic reforms -theroadcomiddleclasshearts -evenmore energeticallyif tlieBJPfruls tostaveoff d1eAa.m Admi Party's (AAP) challenge intheDelluelections,likelycobe heldinFebruary.

Mocliwill have to confronttliesaffron brigadehead-oninaface-off remiruscent of ffitler'snight of the knives.

In downtown Worli,it is common tobearthestrange greeting of !/1.rsalt111Jt1Alqykum, Gttrttii'whenever an 80-year-oldMuslim man stepsout of his modest home.

Heis noneother than renowned Sanskrir scholar Pandit Gulam Dasragir,who O\Ter six decadeshas impressedtheShankaracharyas, lateprimeminister lndiraGandhi, RSSleaders andIslamicscholars, aU withe9ualelan.

Armedwitha deepknowledge of bothIslain and Sanskrit, Pandit Dasragi.r can speak with authority on any religious copic-andearn their w1abashed adm.iration.

Born in ChikhaliyilJagein Solapur district,Pandit Dastagir completedhis schooling d1ere beforejoininga goYernmem Sanskrit institution.

"1 was theonlyNfuslimstudent in a classof arou.nd four dozen Brahmins.My Brahmin Guruji developedaspecial likingforme andencouragedme.1 ac9uiredmy entireSanskrit knowledgeof the scriptures,Vedas andod1ertexts d1ere;' Pandit Dastagirrecalls.

In themid-1950s,he shiftedto Mnmbai,andjoined theMaratha i\fandirSansthan'sMarathimediumWorli High School asa Sanskritteacherfor allclasses.

Twodecades lacer,cocomply withprofessionalre9uiremenrs, he appeared directly for a Masters' degree in Sanskrit fromMysore University.

Afterthe Emergency,when theJanataPartyruledIndia, PanditDastagirwas suddenly targeted."Theysuspected l was a namesakeMuslim propagating the RSS andJanaSanghideology throughSanskrit. It wasonly after a longinvestigation chat they were provedwrong," theman chuckles.

When Indira Gandhireturned topowerin1980, she summoned him andwassurprisedto discoverthatPanditDastagir was actually a 'Syedvanshi',or belongingto a clan considered the directdescendants of Prophet Mohammed.

"Shemet meseveral timesand appreciatedmy knowledge and lovefor Sanskrit. In1982, she told theeducationministryto appoim me asa 'RashtriyaSanskrit Pracharak'."

When baffledofficialsasked Gandhihow hisdutiesshould beclassified, shereportedlyshot back: "He will teach us what needs to be done.Let himfunction independently."

Fortwoyears,hetouredIndia extensively andpropagated Sanskritingovernment andprivate institutions.He9uitthe postafter Gandhi'sassassinationin 1984.

"Iac9uiredMAinSanskrit only in1987 whenI was aronnd 50 years oldald10ugh l was proficientinthelanguage long before."

Since his retirement,Pandit Dastagir lecn1resonthe similaritiesbetweenIslam and Hinduismwithreferenceto variousaspects of one of theworld'soldest andrichest languages,Sanskrit.

"Sanskritis not onlyfor Brahmins.Buttl1isperception made themasses reluctantto studyit.Icreateawareness aboutSanskritallover India amongdifferent castesand religions,"he says.

Pandit Dastagir explained that Hinduism does not recognise 'conversions' or thecaste syscem."The currentcraze for'conversions' has no basis in Hinduscriptures.Ac best, you can change a person's name, norhis soulfromthe religion of his/herbird,," he notes.

An old darli1.1g of d1eRashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS),Pandit Dastagir credits the group with givinghimfullencouragement to pursuehis vocation without havingcochangehisreligion. HefeelstheRSSis notagainst anyreligion."Butif anybody threatensHinduism, they will hitbaclt,irrespectiveof the opponent's religiousbeliefs," Pandit Dastagi.rsays.

He bas also neverencountered objectionsfromfeUowMuslims over hispassion for Sanskrit "Comparative smdyof different religionsmakesyoumore reasonable. I aninotafanatic, just an ordinaryMuslim."

Hislovefor Sanskrit d1ough hasnot madehim lose hisIslamic identity.r-le prays daily atthe mosque."lhave built up ahuge library of thousands of books on Sanskrit andIslam which I smdy andpropagate,"Dascagir says.

He laments that there are manyotherMuslim Sanskrit scholars in the country bur financial constraints prevent chem from propagatingthe ancient Indian language.

PanditDastagir'swife Vahidasupportshiscalling wholeheartedly. Theirson Badiujjamaisa businessman butis Sanskritscholartoo,and daughter Gyasunissa Shaikh runs aSanskrit researchcentrein Solapu.t. !ANS