What Rahul Gandhi does not say

It is difficult to speak of brand Rahul Gandhi in glib terms any more. M J Akbar has, with his trademark perceptiveness, called to our attention his turn leftwards in an article in this newspaper last week. Over the last two years, no political leader in India has transformed as much as the young Gandhi heir. From being a somewhatbland hitchhiker on the family legacy gravy train, he is today seen as apowerful political force by his party men and his opponents alike. His swiftendorsement of the decision to reject Vedanta's mining application in Orissa hasbeen seen as a watershed moment by many, in that it marks out his intent anddirection very sharply, but perhaps with the benefit of hindsight, this moveshould not have come as a surprise. Far more revealing than what Rahul Gandhi has said and acted upon is what he has chosen to ignore and keep his silence on. We have rarely heard him offer a meaningful opinion on the issues that are of deep interest to the middle class Indian. He has shown no inclination to get even remotely involved in issues like Kashmir, the relationship with Pakistan, or the N-liability bill. There is little interest evinced, in public at least, in the subjects dear to the middle class-issues of controlling corruption, reducing criminality in our public life, getting more educated people to enter politics and such like. We never see him at business gatherings schmoozing with Indian business leaders, he is not a regular on the Davos circuit and makes no pronouncements about India's ability to become an economic superpower. And much to the disappointment of his supporters from the middle class, he has steered clear of having anything to do with the mess we call the Commonwealth Games. For someone in whom a significantsection of middle class India sees hope for the future (there is, of course, asignificant section that is allergic in the extreme to anyone with his dynasticsignature), Rahul Gandhi has astonishingly little interest in either this classor in the issues it holds dear. In the mirror to India Rahul Gandhi holds aloft,the middle class cannot see itself, try as it might. And yet, in hisyouthfulness and his freshness, lies the dogged persistence of hope for thisvery class, sickened as it is by the venality of the current politicaldiscourse. He is, both to the media which covers him like royalty and to part ofthe middle class, a symbol of all that is youthful, promising and photogenicabout politics. But Rahul Gandhi is increasingly much more than an engagingsymbol, a blank personable slate on which we can write what we wish for. BrandRahul Gandhi, is moving deeper into more nuanced and complex territory and isunlikely to provide an easy fix for the middle class yearning for a cleansedfuture free from the baggage of yesterday. He is wading into areas that are ofmarginal interest to this class and more significantly, challenging the easytruths we have come to accept as part of conventional wisdom. In thelast few years, we have seen the emergence of a consensus of the vocal inmainstream media. Underneath the seemingly fractious nature of debate, there isa broad convergence of views. A lot of attention gets focused on symbolic issuesthat create emotional resonance with the consuming class and more fundamentalquestions are rarely asked. Politicians are reviled, business leaders arevalorised, terrorism is decried, corruption is lamented, the moral police islambasted, and any perceived slight to Indian pride is hunted down. Politicalparties stick to their scripts as does the media and life goes on. Radicalchallenges are rare, with the Left armed with an arthritic imagination and theRight mired in issues of insubstantial symbolism. When these challenges doemerge, as in the case of the Naxal violence, the media closes ranks and asingle homogeneous picture begins to appear. In this context, theRahul Gandhi move is the most direct challenge to the institutionalisedassumptions of the Indian mainstream. By challenging the founding assumptions ofthe modern Indian project (development is good, growth is better and doubledigit growth is the Holy Grail), a new strand of opinion is entering thepolitical discourse. And this comes from, of all the places, the most powerfulpolitical family in India. It is clear that Sonia Gandhi's inclinations too havetended to lie in this area, as evidenced by the kind of people she surroundsherself with in the NAC. Hitherto the territory of jholawalas who spoutedradicalese secure in their insignificance, we now see the question of what theIndian model of development should be coming into mainstream focus from a veryunlikely source indeed. Of course, the UPA government seems trappedmotionless between its many constituent parts and it does not help that itsdynastic leaders seem to be pursuing an agenda that it can only dimlycomprehend. The Congress seems to believe that it has figured out how to winelections and understood that it has little to do with running governments. Theonly decisive initiatives that we have seen from this two-time regime have to dowith subjects of interest to the Gandhi family. For the rest, stasis prevails.It is possible that the current strategy of speaking in differentvoices is a deliberate one, as some commentators have pointed out, mounted witha view to build multiple bases. Let one part of the government pursue the reformagenda, even if it is done half-heartedly and let the party focus on rebuildingbridges with the marginalized sections of society. But even if thatis the case, the strategy employed by Rahul Gandhi is a curious one for someonewho is seen as the prime-minister-in-waiting. This much is clear- if and whenRahul Gandhi comes to power, it would be difficult to predict what script hewill play off. In all likelihood, the middle class will be surprised, perhapsdisappointed. And depending on where you stand, that is either bad or very goodnews.santhoshdesai1963@indiatimes.com