By Shubham Ghosh
Rahul Gandhi, the opposition leader in the Lok Sabha of the Indian parliament, recently visited the United States. While many expected him to come out as a man with better ideas during the trip, his performance wasn’t too convincing. For the observers, the leader of the Indian National Congress, who was accused of belittling his own country on foreign soil during his previous tours, could utter things more constructively this time since he holds a statutory position. Yet, Gandhi chose to repeat his conduct as a mere opposition leader.
The 54-year-old, whose political career witnessed a turnaround after the Indian general elections this year, perhaps was energized by the fact that India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi saw its dominance curtailed by the electorate. He made claims that the “fear” for Modi and the BJP had vanished after the polls and accused the right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of treating some religions, languages, and cultures as “inferior” to others.
On religious freedom, Gandhi said in a diaspora event in Virginia that the fight is about whether a Sikh is going to be allowed to wear his turban or a kada in India. He also spoke on the reservation, an ever-burning issue in India, saying his party would think of scrapping reservations when India becomes a fair place. In Texas, the opposition leader accused the BJP and RSS of being anti-women, saying they want women to lead a restricted life. On India’s employment problem, Gandhi said it is a problem that India and the West have but a country like China, with which India has serious border and geostrategic issues, doesn’t.
While the Congress and its leadership’s quest to reach out to the Indian diaspora in today’s changing times is laudable, it is upsetting that it turns those opportunities into dull shows of political arm-wrestling with the domestic opponent. It is unfortunate that unlike many other Indian sectors like corporate bodies, think tanks, academia, media, and non-governmental organizations, the country’s political class is lagging when it comes to embracing internationalism. Away from the national borders, they display acrimony towards their opponents to score political brownie points when they should be trying to paint a positive image of their country abroad.
It is not that only Gandhi is engaging in such acts time and again where he picks a party/government in place of the nation while placing a narrative. In 2015, PM Modi faced flak for remarking in South Korea that Indians were once ashamed of being born in India till his government took over. While such political remarks on foreign soil concerning domestic politics are never desirable, an over-enthusiastic Rahul Gandhi perhaps risked it far too much by uttering things about Sikhs in the US.
Polarizations in countries can affect members of their diaspora and the politics of nations where they are settled. While India’s engagement with its diaspora grows politically, there is every chance that the security agencies of the host nations monitor it closely. With the Khalistan issue emerging as a major security concern for New Delhi in some frontline Western democracies, including the US, Gandhi’s remarks on Sikhs’ religious freedom in India could lead to more headaches for his government.
Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun’s endorsement of Gandhi’s observations is a fresh example. India’s political representatives need not take on each other while speaking on foreign soil. A country has its advantages and challenges and governments work in continuity towards national interests. Rahul Gandhi would do better if he outlined a solid economic vision on foreign soil, for example. Two of India’s major information technology hubs – Bengaluru and Hyderabad – are in states ruled by Gandhi’s Congress. What’s the party thinking about making those cities even better to woo investors – this could be something for the party’s top leaders to speak abroad.
(Shubham Ghosh is a senior journalist and political analyst based in Bengaluru, India. The views expressed are his own)
