WHAT DO WE WANT - DEVELOPMENT OR PROTECTION?

I know this is a sensitive topic and a lot of us hesitate to talk about this in public.

But if you talk to anyone remotely associated with the BJP, they will tell you the need for Hindu vote consolidation. There is definitely a justified anger among the Hindu community on the cultural destruction attempted by the Mughals or the lured conversions from the Christian missionaries. The anger continued during partition and exists to date because the Hindus feel the Muslims and Christians still think of their religions as superior and ridicule the stone worship of the Hindus. On top of this, the attempts to establishing an Islamic Caliphate cannot be rubbished. From Iraq to Syria to Lebenan to even Kashmir, people have seen different variants of this. Whether or not this threat is as severe as what the RSS and BJP claim is an argument that can be never ending.

But if we leave these arguments aside, are we ready to vote for a party that promises "development" instead of "protection"? Subramanian Swamy says Narasimha Rao and Vajpayee were not given second terms in spite of their development work and the only way for BJP to win is to seek votes on Hindutva. He goes on to even say that the "Triple Talaq bill" was an attempt to split the Muslim votes by getting the Muslim women to vote for them, to possibly compensate for the Hindus who will not vote on Hindutva. But then he does not advocate hatred against other religions. According to him, "the lumpen crass criminal elements have climbed on the bandwagon of Hindutva upsurge to target other religions."

However, the BJP knows that the Hindu fear can be capitalized for the next 100 years, while a development agenda can always be hijacked by someone else who can promise "more" development. But then UPA did win a second term by riding on the "India story". So if development can give you votes, is the BJP just attempting the easier route? In the process, is the country suffering? Most economic, social and political rankings for India have dropped in the last few years.

Development is not only the sole way to a $5 trillion economy that the BJP no longer talks about, but also the only way to the social well-being of all Indians - Hindus, Muslims, Christians. While the BJP is talking about "Hindu vote consolidation", is there an opportunity for someone else to talk about "Indian vote consolidation". Today the BJP has succeeded in making the other parties play communal cards (Kejriwal recites the Hanuman Chalisa and Mamata proclaims she belongs to Shandilya gotra). Can some party make the BJP play the development card again and convince us that development is the only way to protection?

2024 will be one of the most significant elections in our times. "Who wins on what" will have long term implications for generations to come!