Rahul in the Hindi press

BY ANAND VARDHAN| IN Opinion | 25/01/2013

The limited scale on which the Hindi press engaged with the Jaipur event reflects the diminishing pull that 'national' political parties have for the political discourse of Hindi heartland states,

says ANAND VARDHAN

THE HINDI PRISM
Anand Vardhan

Almost four decades ago, in his seminal work Politics in India (Orient Longman, now Orient Blackswan, 1970) eminent political scientist Rajni Kothari had memorably used the phrase ‘Congress system’ to describe the overarching presence of the Congress as an umbrella party in the Indian political system. That seems a distant past now and such expressions of casting Indian democratic politics in the image of the Congress would sound anachronistic, despite the party leading the ruling alliance at the Centre for the last two consecutive terms. This change could be viewed in the shifting sands of the scale and terms of media’s engagement with the recently concluded Jaipur conclave of the party.

In this context, the discourse in the Hindi print space becomes interesting because it caters to the heartland states which once formed the backbone of an erstwhile ‘Congress system’, and now symbolises the site of the party’s shrinking influence.

For starters, it is relevant to see how the major Hindi dailies responded in serving appetisers for the conclave which the party rather pensively (and officially) called Jaipur Chintan Shivir (Jaipur Contemplation Camp). Preceding the AICC meet, two dailies chose to have editorials (in the form of previews) on the possible agenda for the meet. Dainik Bhaskar (Naye Aandolon Par Gehra Chintan, Deep Contemplation on New Movements, January 16) has taken note of signs that the Congress is willing to discuss messages coming from the urban middle class. The paper also foresaw the party coming to terms with the impact of social media. As its edit remarked (as translated from Hindi):

“In fact, the Congress is now taking serious note of the spontaneous upsurge of people in anti-corruption and anti-rape stirs. The impact of social media will also be discussed in the meet. Party leaders have observed that to mobilise people through Facebook and Twitter, organisation is not required.”

Amar Ujala sought to trace the strands of evolution of the party’s electoral strategies of staying away from alliance politics in its Pachmarhi meet (1998) to its willingness to send clear signs of seeking allies at its Jaipur meet (Pachmarhi Se Jaipur Tak, From Pachmarhi to Jaipur, January 18). The paper observes (as translated from Hindi): “It seems that the party has gone far beyond the 1998 Pachmarhi conclave where it was allergic to alliance politics. In its brainstorming over the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, there is no doubt in the party about alliance politics. From party president Sonia Gandhi to P Chidambaram to Jairam Ramesh, they have accepted this reality.”

However, when a conclave acquires a leitmotif overshadowing all other issues on the agenda of the meet, responses can vary from addressing the key development to lamenting the marginalisation of other developments or expectations from the meet. First, the response to a key development. Rahul Gandhi’s elevation as vice-president of the party and his much-dissected acceptance speech was one such leitmotif around which media discourse on the conclave revolved. All Hindi dailies (except one) engaged with it in their editorial commentary or opinion pieces.

The inevitability of the development and the concomitant responsibilities and expectations constitute the common thread running through editorial responses in Hindi dailies to Rahul’s new role in the Congress. Apne Liye Uchi Kasautiyan (High Touchstones for Oneself, Dainik Bhaskar, January 22), Badlao ki Baatein (Talk of Change, Dainik Jagran, January 21) and Zimmedaari Nibhane ka Samay (Time for Fulfilling Responsibilities, Amar Ujala, January 21) strike an almost similar note of heralding the new Congress vice-president with cautious optimism.

However, it’s interesting to note that similar to a marked departure in how positively the major left-of-centre English daily The Hindu commented on the new leadership in the Congress (Rahul is Willing, January 21), the Hindi newspaper perceived to have right-of-centre leanings, Dainik Jagran, also offered a cushion period of restrained hope to Rahul in his early days as Congress vice-president. In its edit Badlao ki Baatein (Talk of Change), Dainik Jagran remarks: “The promises with which Rahul Gandhi has impressed his party and people in his new role as Congress vice-president make it clear that he is aware of the responsibilities of his new role...There is no doubt that Rahul Gandhi has left an imprint with his speech but things will work only when he is able to change the direction of the party through his actions.”

The surfacing of some core organisational issues plaguing the party in Rahul Gandhi’s speech found space in noted TV journalist Abhigyan Prakash’s piece (Naye Zimmedaari Ke Saath Bole Belaag Rahul, Unfettered Rahul Speaks with New Responsibility, Dainik Bhaskar, January 22) and former diplomat and former MP, Gaurishankar Rajhans’ piece (Chintan Se Upje Sawal, Questions Arising from Contemplation, Dainik Jagran, January 22).

Interestingly, in the context of editorial responses to the Jaipur conclave in English dailies vis-a-vis Hindi dailies, a contrast was too conspicuous to miss in the traditionally centrist-positioned and Congress-leaning Hindustan Times (HT) and its Hindi counterpart Hindustan. HT editorially engaged prolifically with the conclave and along with Rahul gave a favourable report card to Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s leadership at the conclave, especially for her role in bringing gender issues and women’s safety on the agenda of the meet (Politics Can Play a Positive Role, January 21), saying: “The Congress president's push in Jaipur for gender rights will make a big difference.”The daily published two opinion pieces that would match your arguments if you were a Rahul Gandhi supporter.

A piece by Sidharth Bhatia (A Work in Progress, January 21) argued, “Rahul Gandhi's elevation will give him a say in the way the Congress approaches the 2014 polls. It will allow him to structurally change the party too”. Even more generous is Ravi M Khanna’s piece (Inheriting the Reformist Genes, January 24) in which he traces the lineage of reforms in Rahul’s outlook, as he remarks:If Rahul Gandhi can give the aam aadmi a voice, he will be able to fulfil his father's dream. ‘ However, it’s surprising to see that HT’s Hindi sister publication Hindustan has neither editorially commented on any aspect or development related to the Jaipur conclave nor published any opinion piece concerning the event. The indifference is quite mystifying .

From one group to the other. Jansatta seems to be more forceful and less guarded than its parent publication Indian Express in articulating the second form of response to the Jaipur enclave: attacking the personality cult and dynastic politics and the resultant democratic deficit. It has also lamented the blinkered agenda of the conclave, symptomatic of the constricted terms of discourse in the political class. In its take on the Jaipur conclave (Rahul ki Raah, Rahul’s Path, January 21), the paper comments: “Our political parties have become individualistic. So there is neither open discussions on policies and programmes nor any space for questions or doubts. Congress has long been a victim of such tendencies. Expectedly, a meet called in Jaipur in the name of contemplation was limited to party president Sonia Gandhi’s address and Rahul Gandhi’s address.” In the only opinion piece on the conclave published in the daily (Jaipur Shivir ka Haasil, January 21), Ved Pratap Vedic has sought to expose the hypocrisy of any attempt to cleanse the party of power brokers in an organisation that has been practising power-centric dynastic politics for decades.

In the changing contours of India’s political landscape in which competitive electoral politics is veering towards pluralities of political forces, one cannot but agree with the view expressed by contemporary political scientists like Suhas Palshikar that ‘Rahul Gandhi inherits a Congress that has ceased to set the terms of political contestation. The post-Congress context provides many parties to choose from – particularly in terms of state-level political actors – and leaves the Congress to be just one among the many competitors. Today’s Congress finds itself on a middle ground that is only partly of its own making’.

The scale, rather limited, on which the Hindi press engaged with the Jaipur Chintan Shivir reflects the diminishing pull that ‘national’ political parties have for the political discourse of Hindi heartland states. It’s also important that like any other section of media, the Hindi press focused on the spectacle that the conclave provided – the coronation of a democratic prince. This is what engaged opinion- makers in the Hindi print space too.