After almost two-thirds of the 3.5 thousand kilometers have been covered, 100 days later of Bharat Jodu Yatra, has the spirit of the ‘Idea of India’ been inspired?
Almost two-thirds of the three-and-a-half thousand kilometers have been covered and top Congress leader, and former president of the party, Rahul Gandhi presented the deeply disturbing issues of fear, hatred, inflation, and unemployment that are troubling Indians, as crucial agendas in his Yatra.
Rahul Gandhi has raised the crisis of fear, hatred, inflation, and unemployment as an essential agenda in his Yatra. In the tweet he tweeted on the completion of 100 days of Yatra, it is also written that “Cries of love are echoing in the noise of hate.”
“Amid broken hopes, bonds of trust are being forged. The course of history is turning in a new direction. Against unemployment, against inflation, against hatred, no one has been able to stop this penance of ours, nor will they be able to stop it!”
It was earlier extremely worrying that if time does not pay attention to these critical worrisome facets, the country would go into darkness. The overflowing great success of Rahul Gandhi’s Yatra is stupendous as he has not only attracted a large section of the country but has also lit a ray of hope in them and this is the biggest success of the Yatra.
There is no doubt that the biggest success of the Yatra is the emergence of Rahul Gandhi as a serious politician, who replenished the country’s largest opposition party and workers with enthusiasm. The massive supportive crowds in the Yatra are proof of this. Rahul Gandhi made it clear during his Yatra that this is the time for the struggle for ideas.
On the one hand, sectarian forces are willing to change the constitution, on the other hand, there are political forces that believe in upholding the constitution and want to maintain the country’s values, traditions, and unity. In this case, the people of the country made a marked choice in deciding who they would stand for in this battle for ideas.
While constantly raising questions on Savarkar and the RSS, Rahul has also made the ideological basis of being a Congressman or Congresswoman imperative. Rahul Gandhi actually questions and asks the Congressmen and Congresswomen who fear the power of Modi’s power or are reluctant to fight ideologically with the RSS to leave the party and this speaks volumes about his determination and resolve.
Has Rahul really succeeded in winning the trust of the people? In such a situation, it is natural to raise the question of whether Rahul Gandhi has filled the Congress and workers with enthusiasm, has he really succeeded in winning the trust of the disappointed people of the country?
While searching for the answer to this question, the statements of two important figures recently cannot be ignored. Just a day before the completion of 100 days of Bharat Jodo Yatra, Bollywood’s ‘Emperor’ Amitabh Bachchan released ‘Azhar Roy Ki Azadi’ at the Kolkata International Film Festival and surprisingly raised a pressing issue. In the presence of the West Bengal Governor Dr. CV Anand Bose, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Bollywood ‘Badshah’ Shah Rukh Khan, actress Rani Mukherjee and many important personalities of the Bengali film industry were present at the film festival, the superstar spoke. Addressing the topic of censorship in Indian cinema, Amitabh Bachchan said, “I am sure my colleagues on stage will agree that civil liberties and freedom of expression are still being questioned.”
Usually, Bollywood avoids speaking on sensitive issues. Amitabh Bachchan is also said to be Modi’s favorite person. Despite this, he was propelled to speak. Although this statement of his is not very clear, saying this was enough to indicate that the current situation has forced everyone to voice their concerns.
With the controversy over a song from the film ‘Pathan’, with the ongoing heated debate of this on media sets, superstar actor Shahrukh Khan spoke of the negativity of social media during this event and expressed that the trend is creating a divisive and destructive mindset. In such a time, the role of cinema is important.
Shah Rukh Khan said, ‘No matter what the world does, I, you, and all positive people are alive.’ These are the questions that a large section of the country, including many intellectuals, journalists and others, have already raised.
So these statements should also be seen as the ‘changing climate’ of the country. If so, the credit must surely go to the 100-day ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ and Rahul Gandhi. Because since the beginning of the Yatra, Rahul Gandhi has raised these questions. They are repeating over and over that ‘don’t be afraid’. Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodu Yatra has been largely ignored by the mainstream media. Despite this, lakhs of people from one state to another join this yatra with enthusiasm. Rahul Gandhi has succeeded in convincing people that the ‘Idea of India’ is under threat as well as the constitution.
For the first time, Dalits, Adivasis, and women especially were given the constitutional right to freedom and equality. Along with this, the minorities are assured a dignified life with all civil rights along with their religion and identity. The constitution through which this work was to be done is the target today.
Rahul prioritizes his Bharat Jodo Yatra over recent elections. A major achievement of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra has been that he has revived the tradition of dialogue with the people. There is no doubt that democracy runs on the wheels of dialogue between the people and the politicians.
If there is no dialogue, there will be no stability and strength in a democracy. With few exceptions, direct dialogue between politicians and the public has almost ceased in the last few decades. Bharat Jodu Yatra has ended this deadlock. Of course, this is a great achievement for Rahul Gandhi where he has interacted with millions of people through ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ and this has changed the environment considerably.
This pilgrimage is also unprecedented in the sense that hardly any politician in the history of the world has undertaken such a pilgrimage, the purpose of which was not to gain immediate political gain but to promote human and cultural qualities like love and goodwill.
Examples of this are the recent assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh and the local body elections in Delhi. Rahul Gandhi prioritized his Bharat Jodu Yatra over these elections.
A yatra has changed the entire Congress, apart from this yatra has also dealt a blow to those who created the ‘Pappu’ image of Rahul Gandhi. Rahul himself has said during the Yatra that ‘I have left the old Rahul Gandhi far behind’. Videos of his interactions with school children, youth, women, fishermen, farmers, and even former Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan have reached millions, making him a serious politician.
Not only this, the yatra has taken away the frustration of Congress leaders and workers, Joji seems to be suffering from a fragmented situation amid the tumult of the 23rd. This Yatra has changed not only Rahul but the entire Congress.
Today, social activists, ex-bureaucrats, ex-army officers, ex-judges, intellectuals, writers, sportsmen, and actors are joining this yatra, an achievement once thought an impossibility. This Yatra has succeeded in awakening the spirit of action in everyone who wants to save the ‘Idea of India’ from the ‘systematic hate campaign of the rulers’
(The writer, Dr. Yameen Ansari, is the resident editor of Inquilab, Delhi)