• Sunil Kumar

Shri Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ reached Delhi yesterday amidst the baseless advice of the Central Government, where, in a public meeting near the Red Fort, he spoke on many issues related to the Central Government and the country. He said that the Modi government was diverting the attention of the people from the basic issues.

He also said that this is not the Modi government, but Adani-Ambani’s government. So far, after completing a journey of 2800 kms, Shri Rahul Gandhi has reached Delhi and will leave for Srinagar from January 3 onwards. In the political history of India, no one had done such a padayatra and the way Rahul ji is seen in a T-shirt, walking along in the cold North India, walking among people laden with thick warm clothes, that too is a testimony to his heat of enthusiasm; which stems from unprecedented and unexpected public support.

Till now, this padayatra has covered a span of 100-125 days and has met people from ten states. No one had seen in Indian politics the way Shri Rahul Gandhi is trying to unite the country without any election agenda and the way common people are sharing their happiness and sorrow by hugging him.

Investing their hard work of ten years, the big forces of this country spent hundreds or thousands of crores to prove that Shri Rahul Gandhi was a ‘Fool’ and with the help of corrupt media or social media, they affixed the name ‘Pappu’ on Rahul ji. All that has been washed away by this ‘padyatra’.

The poisonous air of hatred that pervades the country today, the way different sections have been pitted against each other for communal violence, the way Dalits are being crushed within the so-called Hindu society, the abode of their lives is being snatched from the tribals, the way constitutional institutions of the country are being saffronized and the way the fame of Indian democracy has been lost for half a century - Meanwhile, beyond Rahul Ji, countless peace-loving people have felt the need to unite the country.

The tragedy of Indian democracy is that those who have succeeded in fragmenting the country’s society, do not get tired of calling others as ‘Tukde Tukde Gang’. The country has been thrown into communalism to such an extent that now people sitting in government, courts and other constitutional institutions openly talk about communalism and there is no question of any kind of shame!

In such a divided Indian society today, if Shri Rahul Gandhi is doing such a ‘padyatra’ without asking for anything by raising the slogan of ‘Nafrat Chhodo, Bharat Jodo’, then it is a significant event in the recent democratic history. Especially when Rahul Ji is at risk himself just like he lost his grandmother and father in terrorist attacks, but the way he is walking from one end of the country to the other without caring about anything, is a matter of great courage.

Hugging hundreds of thousands of people every day, the way he continues walking hand-in-hand even without any possible protection in the midst of the crowd, his courage is worth seeing. The truth is that in less than 125 days, Shri Rahul Gandhi has earned a new respect, a new credibility, which he probably could not have achieved even in his entire political life.

This absolutely strange and unique thing proves that in a democracy, nothing matters more than contact with the public. Gandhiji lived and died in the midst of the people throughout his life, eating in the midst of the people, washing the latrines, fasting and he did not hold back even in giving up his life.

In the half century after him, no one had perhaps used such power to connect with the public to the extent that Shri Rahul Gandhi is doing. Perhaps he himself might not have realized that he would get so much public support, and even in the face of an undeclared blackout in the Indian media, he would reach people’s hearts through the flood of social media, and people would reach him. The specialty of this padyatra was that in the elections held during this period, Shri Rahul Gandhi neither tried to save the Party from defeat nor did he himself try to accredit the Party’s victory to himself. He largely made this padyatra non-electoral, and that is the reason why leaders of a dozen parties and countless writers, journalists, artists have walked with him; showing their solidarity.

Along with this reality of padyatra, now in two minutes it is also necessary to see what Rahul Ji has said in the meeting after reaching Delhi. He has asked the media to show hate news round the clock because that money goes into the pockets of the media-owners by diverting the attention of the people.

Regarding the aggressive attitude of today’s ‘Hindutva’, he reminded the basic thinking of Hindu religion and asked that where is it written in Hindu religion that the poor should be crushed, the weak should be killed? He has talked about the failure of the government on the China front and has also attacked the ‘Adani-ization’ and ‘Ambani-ization’ of the country.

Shri Rahul’s words may not find any place in the country’s media, but with the help of social media and a small section of the media, his words are reaching the people and raising a hope against hatred.

Without any intention of supporting the Congress Party, or opposing the Modi government, today we are feeling very strongly the need to unite the country, and that is why we have written a couple of times on the same place during this padyatra of 108 days so far ‘The importance of overcoming hatred should not be underestimated.’

Leaving a legacy of hate and violence for the coming generation in a democracy would also mean never allowing democracy to become civilized and developed, therefore Rahul Ji’s ‘padyatra’ needs to be understood beyond political consensus and disagreement today that how much does the country need to be connected.

The author is a Senior Journalist.

Courtesy: Politics Vaala