Deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha Harivansh said at the Times Litfest on Saturday India’s Hindi-speaking politicians were not given their due and the trend continues to persist even after the emergence of Narendra Modi as the country’s top leader.
Speaking at the session, “Icons of Ideological Politics”, Harivansh highlighted the relevance of his book, “Chandra Shekhar, the Last Icon of Ideological Politics”, a biography of the former PM, a man who, Harivansh said, practised politics with conviction as he started his career as a socialist and died a socialist.
“I have no hesitation in saying Hindi-speaking leaders were given less importance in the country... In fact, there was an elite divide, which is relevant even today. I recently traced over 800-900 pages of Madan Mohan Malviya’s speeches but the country didn’t take note of them. Similarly, Acharya Narendra Dev developed the Indian tradition of socialist politics. He was a Buddhist scholar too but there was hardly any appreciation for his works,”said Harivansh.
Argued that leaders like Chandra Shekhar did not win the space they deserved as they had to face a “hostile”media because of their background, Harivansh said, “All kinds of allegations were made against Chandra Shekhar. But there was hardly any debate about how he emerged as one of country’s top politicians despite coming from a poor background and one of the most backward regions of the country.”
As for his take on contemporary politics, the deputy leader in the House of Elders said, “Earlier politics used to be determined by ideology but now technology determines it.”