The Indian Conservative by Jaithirth Rao

Author:Jaithirth Rao
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: null
Publisher: Juggernaut
Published: 2019-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Let me also talk about a worrisome socio-cultural issue affecting politics. One of my friends calls it the Dhritarashtra complex. This is the ability of otherwise intelligent persons of high integrity to have a blind spot when it comes to their children and families. There seems to be no end to the wealth people accumulate for their families, no end to the nepotism and favouritism involved, even if this goes against the public weal. Here is an area where we might wish to study the ancient Romans, who put the commonwealth first. This might be an important attribute we need to cultivate and acquire, gradually, but with a certain determination if we wish to remain a successful and civilized republic.

On balance, political conservatism in contemporary India needs to accept that an outright revival of the Burke–Rammohun Roy–Swatantra tradition is unlikely to succeed. However, the battle to try and plant conservative ideas in existing political formations and to steer them in that direction is one that has sanguine prospects. The continued evolution of the Hindu nationalist conservative position on pragmatic, empirical lines, an acknowledgement of the diaspora and a possible position for us in the Anglosphere is certainly a source of optimism. A century ago, the Kerala conservative Sankaran Nair warned the Mahatma that civil disobedience and hartals could lead to anarchy. The dangers of mob action remain a definite risk. Regional parties, despite their rather quaint utterances, should not be written off. They can be sources of unusual, if limited, optimism. And it is a mistake to write off the Congress as a leftist den. In the past, conservative caucuses within the Congress have worked in fits and starts. That tradition needs to be strengthened. India’s grand old party remains a challenge and an opportunity.

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