Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra has been started on September 7 from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, it is one of the longest Padayatras after the Dandi march that Mahatma Gandhi lunched on march 12, 1930 against the colonial regime. This Bharat Jodo Yatra, as Rahul Gandhi said during a press conference, is an attempt to connect the common people and during this Padayatra he said that he will just listen to the common public. But the ruling party is attacking Rahul Gandhi by saying that it is not Bharat Jodo Yatra rather it is an attempt to revive the Congress and to make again Rahul Gandhi the president of Congress . Apart from this, several other BJP leaders are giving ridiculous remarks on Rahul Gandhi and his Bharat Jodo Yatra so that the image of Rahul Gandhi can be maligned again.
This Padayatra is one of the important steps that have been taken by Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party to challenge the existing situation and it cannot be ignored. This padayatra has a specific objective to reach out to the common people who have been ignored by the existing government for a long time and this objective of any Padayatra demand major change in existing social and political condition. It is a fact that the ruling government has systematically challenged India’s secular identity and this attack has brought out significant changes in India’s social and political structure by creating the notion of hate and fear across the society. In this case the question of India’s secular identity and cultural diversity cannot be ignored because both intentionally defend India’s unity.
Why is this padayatra needed?
Ever since the ruling party came into the power, a new social and political condition has emerged which intentionally discriminates against the minorities in the name of religious faith. A panel of Independent International expert consisting three international low exports lunched their report on serious human right violation against Muslim in India since 2019. As the panel found that a wide range of International human rights of Muslim communities has been violated by the government authorities in India. In this case, we cannot ignore the role of the ruling regime because since 2014, it has lunched a systematic attack on Muslims and other minorities that has defined the Muslim community as anti-Hindu. This has resulted in several violent attacks on Muslims and other minorities and created a very strong notion of fear and hate among both communities- Hindu and Muslim. Recently, Nupur Sharma, a spokesperson, BJP in her interview gave ruthless remarks on Prophet Mohammad that triggered protests in the Islamic word.
Besides, in March 2020, capital New Delhi experienced its worst communal violence targeting Muslim community. Official figure says total 53 people were killed and 250 were injured. After this communal class, Delhi Police filled large number of cases against the religious minority and arrested several leading social activists in the name of communal clash. All these accidents are clearly exposing how the ruling regime has systematically attacked the Muslims and other minorities that has not only created fear and hate across the society but has also defeated the entire basis of religious faith. Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, in this case, will challenge the anti-Muslim politics of the regime by uniting the entire Indian society.
What will be the effect?
Today when much of the country is living under the condition of fear and no one is ready to speak against this condition. In such a situation Bharat Jodo yatra will strongly challenge the anti- Muslim politics of the ruling party and give confidence to the common public to unite against the fear and hate that has been created by it. Especially in the case of social and political change, this padayatra after the dandi march will leave an impact largely by bringing social problem at the center of debate. Since a long time after the implementation of neoliberal policy by the government of India has brought out several changes that gradually synchronize the space in mainstream debate for common social problems. In this case, Bharat Jodo Yatra will on the one hand bring common people together to raise the voice against ruling government and on the other hand it also changes the narrative of Indian politics. Besides, due to having wide support from various civil society bodies and common masses, this padayatra will appeal to the larger population and will encourage them to lead a strong movement against inequality, privatization and unemployment.
Omprakash Kushwaha teaches Journalism and mass communication at Chandigarh University, Punjab. The opinions expressed here are solely that of the author and are not endorsed by The New Leam whatsoever.
