Indian Congress: Then and Now

Congress, the grand old party of India, holds the distinction of being the largest and the one which helped in channelizing the efforts of our freedom fighters to win freedom for India. Though there is contrasting school of thought which states that WW –II along with several other factors, not the congress,  won freedom for India.  A lot of facts can be produced in against as well as in favour of this argument however focus of this topic is not to analyze the factors behind the Indian independence but  on the positive and negative contributions of congress to our nation.

There was time when congress was studded with the galaxy of leaders which includes the stalwarts like Gandhi, Nehru, Bose, Tilak, Patel and several other leaders who because of their sheer determination and indomitable courage put forward an example of extreme patriotism which in modern time is almost impossible to emulate. Though a lot of arguments can be put forward against Gandhi and Nehru however it should be kept in mind that nobody is perfect and they all were human being. Moreover the contribution of Gandhi is not confined to freedom struggle alone rather he gave us a legacy and principles, which if followed, can lead us to  become a great human being in general and a greater nation in particular.

However the congress during pre 1947 was not free of error it had committed some blunders which we still find difficult to undo its effect.  Acceptance of separate electorate for Muslims during the Lucknow Pact, preference of  Nehru over Bose and Patel by Gandhi, use of religious symbols by Gandhi,  inability to foster the trust of Muslims etc are few instances which can be cited to support  what blunders congress had made in the pre independence  period . However, inspite of all such blunders, Congress, at least till the death of Nehru, was one of the most progressive and popular  political organization in India.

Nehru was one of the best PM India has ever had. His Foreign policies, his attitude towards imperialism, colonialism and cold war had earned a lot of accolades for him. His attitude towards industrialization, though was against to Gandhian principle, was also welcomed. However his hunger of earning the stature of a global leader was robbed by china in 1962 war in which India suffered a historic shameful defeat by the hand of China. Nehru’s attitude towards china was though friendly but very ambiguous. At one place he gave the slogan of hindi- chini bhai bhai (India and china is brother) and at another place he welcomed the refugees from Tibet in India. Becoming of Indira Gandhi a congress president even during the period of Nehru had given the glimpse of future of dynastic politics in Congress.

After the sad demise of Shashtri, Indira Gandhi became the first and last woman PM of India. With her began the era of political dictatorship, dynastic politics not only in Congress but in India also.  She fought war of 1971 which helped in bifurcating the Pakistan and thus a rivalry with Pakistan became more intense. Can anybody explain why a country would not spread terrorism and would not produce a breed of people who would hate a country which helped in dividing that very nation? If china would have helped in dividing the northeast from India what could have India done? However  coming to Indira Gandhi  again, She also holds the distinction for imposing the emergency, placing puppets as CMs, imposing president rule for more than 50 times(unimaginable!!!) etc.  Nobody had harmed Indian political and democratic system more than what she had done. To sum up, she worked like an autocratic queen rather than a democratically elected PM.

Her death has given the way for Rajiv to become her successor in the same way the Mughals, Guptas, Mauryas and likes used to find their successors.  Though Rajiv was soft spoken but his alleged role in Bofors and anti Sikhs riots (1984) contributed towards his crushing defeat in next general  election.

PVNR was the best PM after Nehru as he initiated several policies which have changed the very face of India which includes opening of economy, look east policy, beginning of indo-Israel relations and several such other progressive policies. But pseudo democratic Congressmen and the army of sycophants   were unable to find the merits of PVNR over Indira and Rajiv.

Entry of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi was another instance which justified that congress was never interested in country’s development and always endorsed the person from Nehru-Gandhi family and is working more as a company rather than a political organization. See the courage of Sonia Gandhi that she started dreaming of becoming the PM of India. But when opposed by other political parties especially right wing BJP she wisely chose to keep herself away from the post and subsequently our congressmen termed her the goddess of sacrifice. This very behavior of congress is unparallel and unmatched in the entire political history of mankind.

Everyone knows why MMS is preferred over Pranav Mukherjee for the post of PM though later was more eligible and deserved candidate for the same post. MMS has made India a virtual slave of western world. He is more interested in becoming the darling of west and gandhis than that of Indians. Coming to Rahul Gandhi, he did not have any quality other than being the grand grandson of a person who was himself (Nehru) the spiritual son of late Mr. M.K. Gandhi. I don’t find any reason why and how Congress sees PM in Rahul Gandhi. He does not have any views and opinions on any topics of national and international importance.

To sum up, it can be said that congress has undergone a revolutionary change. What has founded to counter the British and propagating certain ideologies has turned into the nursery of political sycophants. Moreover its involvement in a lot of scams has further tarnished the image of congress. Moreover its attitude towards minorities is more because of vote bank compulsions than its intentions. What a paradox, the grand old political party of largest democratic country is not itself a democratic party.