Highlighting India’s supposed problems, and garnishing the same with falsities and outright lies becomes an evidently disingenuous effort to score political brownie points and paint a “cool” picture of oneself abroad. The question then arises – why is this being done? Is this an attempt to paint India as a broken country and a dysfunctional democracy, thereby paving the way for foreign intervention to “fix” India’s problems?
In 2023, Rahul Gandhi claimed in London that “India’s democracy has come undone.” He did not stop there. Gandhi even questioned why the US and Europe were oblivious to the democratic backsliding of India under the BJP’s rule. Now, India’s Leader of Opposition (LoP) is in the United States, and is making news for mostly the wrong reasons. One would assume that holding the constitutional post of the Leader of the Opposition would make the Congress leader measure his words when abroad. As it turns out, Rahul Gandhi’s statements are only further maligning India on foreign soil.
Is Rahul Gandhi Sacrificing India’s Image for Political Brownie Points?
In his attempt to paint India as an abject failure under the BJP’s rule, Rahul Gandhi ended up glorifying China. He claimed that while countries like India and those in the West have a major unemployment problem, China does not. However, just in July, China’s youth unemployment rate soared past 17 per cent. In fact, China went to the extent of not publishing its youth employment figures for the last six months of 2023, after the metric hit a record high of more than 21 per cent.
Rahul Gandhi is betting big on affirmative action as a tool to bring the Congress back to political relevance across India. To do so, he has been incessantly harping on the supposed lack of opportunities which India’s backward communities and castes have. For a layman listening to Rahul Gandhi on foreign soil, it would almost appear like India is being run as a Brahmin-Baniya nexus where nobody else has the chance to flourish or accomplish something. That is an outright lie and does a disservice to the many efforts India has undertaken since independence to uplift large swathes of its people – who were beaten and broken after thousands of years of foreign occupation and rule.
In doing so, the Congress scion discredits his own party’s efforts to give all Indians a fair chance, considering how the Gandhi family has held power for most of independent India’s history.
If the claim is that such efforts have yielded no tangible results, then Rahul Gandhi should instead be advocating for an alternative, and not be doubling down on efforts to further increase reservations and possibly even undertake a nationwide redistribution of wealth. At best, that would be a lousy socialist experiment that divides and further disintegrates the country.
Rahul Gandhi Should Have Avoided Playing to the Khalistani Gallery in US
In Washington, Rahul Gandhi made another rather disturbing claim. He thought it fit to claim that there is a culture of viewing entire languages and certain sub-cultures as inferior in India. He said that his “…fight is about whether a Sikh is going to be allowed to wear his turban or a kada in India. Or (whether) a Sikh is going to be able to go to Gurdwara. That’s what the fight is about. And not just for him, for all religions.”
The remark may have got Rahul Gandhi applause from a crowd oblivious to India’s realities, but for people who know better, it was a clear attempt at spreading falsehood. After all, where exactly in India are Sikhs not allowed to wear their turbans or the kada, and who exactly is stopping Sikhs from visiting Gurdwaras in the country? Unless we are back to the dreaded 1980s when Sikhs were killed, raped and assaulted with impunity, in the country’s national capital no less?
The Modi government, for one, has taken several steps to celebrate the culture and legacy of Sikhs. To list all these efforts would require a separate article. For context alone, look up the various Sikh centennials that the Centre has celebrated since 2014. The Modi government has also facilitated the opening of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor, apart from waiving GST on Langar and exempting Sri Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar from FCRA regulations so that Sikhs from around the world can offer donations to their most revered shrine.
The narrative Rahul Gandhi is trying to build on American soil is particularly concerning given the rise of Khalistani extremism in the Western hemisphere. His statements only provide ammunition to anti-India separatist groups, who by the way, also claim that Sikhs are subjected to ill-treatment and violence in India. In doing so, Rahul Gandhi is painting a false picture of India in elite foreign circles.
Why Paint a Dystopic Picture of India?
Rahul Gandhi has claimed that the RSS, who the BJP is supposedly beholden to, thinks of certain Indian languages and sub-cultures as inferior. He specifically pointed towards Tamil, Marathi, Manipuri and Bengali languages to claim that these were viewed as inferior by the RSS and its affiliates. In his enthusiasm to be seen as an anti-RSS crusader, Rahul Gandhi forgets all that Prime Minister Modi has himself done to celebrate India’s diverse basket of languages and traditions.
Take the case of the Tamil language alone. The prime minister has time and again recognised Tamil as the world’s oldest language. The BJP’s manifesto even promised to promote Tamil globally. Besides, it is his government that started the annual Kashi Tamil Sangamam – a month-long programme organised to celebrate, reaffirm and rediscover the age-old links between Tamil Nadu and Varanasi.
Rahul Gandhi has also claimed that “the BJP and RSS believe women should be restricted to a particular role, they should stay at home, they should cook the food, they should not talk too much, and we believe that women should be allowed to aspire to be whoever they want to be.” What Rahul Gandhi did not mention to his American audience is the fact that Narendra Modi has constantly pushed for the welfare of women. In fact, women are among the four new castes described by PM Modi, besides youth, farmers and the poor.
The Modi government has implemented several transformative initiatives for the welfare and empowerment of women in India. A landmark move was the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill last year, which reserves 33 per cent of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women, ensuring greater political participation. Additionally, under the PM-Awaas Yojana, the government has facilitated the registration of houses in women’s names or as joint ownership, granting them property rights and security. One of Modi’s earliest initiatives was the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign, focusing on improving the status of girls through education and awareness.
Through the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, millions of free LPG connections have been provided, ensuring women’s health and safety and a departure from the menace of cooking using firewood. Financial empowerment and inclusion of women has also been a priority, with the Mudra Yojana providing loans to women entrepreneurs, even as the Jan Dhan Yojana brought crores to the banking fold. The initiative to create “Lakhpati Didis” aims to make two crore rural women earn at least Rs 1 lakh annually by promoting self-help groups and micro-enterprises.
Rahul Gandhi’s recent comments on foreign soil paint a misleading picture of India’s democracy and social structure. By focusing on alleged failures and making dubious claims, he risks undermining India’s global image and providing ammunition to anti-India factions. His remarks on unemployment, caste dynamics, and Sikh rights not only distort facts but also overlook the strides India has made under successive governments.
Instead of fostering constructive dialogue within the country, Rahul Gandhi’s statements abroad seem more about scoring political points than offering genuine solutions. Such actions raise concerns about whether his intent is to advocate for India or to simply tarnish its image for personal gain.
Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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