Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at an interaction with media at National Press Club in Washington DC, Wednesday. (PTI/File)
In her column (‘Why Rahul Gandhi needs an education’, IE, September 15), Tavleen Singh indulged in another diatribe against Rahul Gandhi. Riddled with unseemly remarks and sweeping generalisations, the column draws conclusions worthy of a summary rejection. Since such arguments are becoming a regular affair, we write to set the record straight.
Singh’s principal bone of contention is Gandhi’s remark questioning the fairness of the 2024 election process. She argues that if the BJP controlled the election, it should have won a majority. Establishment cheerleaders will often rely on such logical fallacies.
The right to vote is amongst the most crucial rights. But can any reasonable person claim that voting alone makes a democracy? It must be supplemented by transparency and ensuring a level playing field for all participants. A voter must be able to make an informed choice.
In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress’s bank accounts were frozen, later converted to a lien of a substantial amount. Investigative agencies have been on an overdrive to target opposition politicians. A concoction of fear and favour has turned most of the mainstream media into a partisan entity. The Election Commission watched on as the prime minister led an outright communal campaign. When Rahul Gandhi talks about a “controlled election” he alludes to the systematic erasure of the level playing field. That the BJP failed to get a majority despite all odds stacked in its favour shows that this is a deeply unpopular government held together by propaganda and oppression.
Vladimiro Montesinos, the infamous Peruvian intelligence officer, was known to control the media that helped consolidate support for the Alberto Fujimori government. Montesinos is accused of bribing media channels through advertisements. Nine of the 10 Peruvian channels were paid handsomely to broadcast favourable news. His downfall came when the 10th channel, a small network with only 10,000 subscribers, decided to broadcast a leaked video showing Montesinos bribing a judge. In hushed voices, people will talk of Indian Montesinos. The now shelved broadcasting bill is in line with how this government seeks to control every public avenue.
This brings us to the larger debate on how we view democracy. Should it be confined to casting a ballot? Should we ignore election finance that legalises corruption, promotes cronyism? Should we judge our institutions’ health by referring to the lowest standards?
In their final speeches in the Constituent Assembly, B R Ambedkar and Rajendra Prasad eloquently put how mere existence of an equitable governance framework does not guarantee equality. We must constantly strive towards raising our standards. As India matures, it must take a hard look at its journey so far and review the policy framework. The demand for a socio-economic caste census that Rahul Gandhi champions is a steppingstone towards a more socially just order.
Singh takes umbrage at this demand while skipping past the BJP’s doublespeak on the issue. Across the political aisle, there is an agreement in principle that we must conduct a caste census. As Yogendra Yadav mentioned in these pages (‘Ten half-truths about caste census’, IE, September 3), the BJP had endorsed a nationwide caste census in 2010 and the inclusion of other backward classes in the next census in 2018.
We wholeheartedly agree with her on the need to strengthen the education sector and vehemently disagree that education alone is the panacea to all evils. An analysis by Ankur Paliwal in Nature reveals how in elite research institutes like IITs, IISc, TIFR, over 90 per cent professors and assistant or associate professors are from privileged castes. Without official mandates, candidates from marginalised sections will continue to face discrimination.
Singh made a sweeping claim that “many ‘socialist’ prime ministers” ignored the need to provide “real education instead of just basic literacy”. She then goes on to say that one of PM Modi’s biggest failures is doing little to improve school education. We cannot but gawk at the obliviousness of these statements. Caste remains one of the barriers to getting an education. At Independence, India’s literacy was 18.3 per cent, which increased more than four times by 2011, reaching 73 per cent. Governments, Congress, Janata Parivar, and others introduced measures to improve students’ proficiency on different scores. PM Modi has presided over the gradual withdrawal of the government from education. This trend started in Gujarat where not a single public university came up during his tenure as chief minister. In this year’s budget, the allocation was reduced by 7 per cent.
Rahul Gandhi is an easy target. As Leader of Opposition, he has chosen to speak for the people. Behind the veneer of high growth rates is the reality of rising inequality. These issues are finding resonance with people. Targeting Rahul Gandhi is irrational, and as people showed this June 4, it’s out of fashion. We urge Singh to get with the times.
Kumar is member, Congress Working Committee. Satyawali is National Coordinator, AICC Research Department
