Religiously Oriented Parties and Democratization by Luca Ozzano & Francesco Cavatorta

Author:Luca Ozzano & Francesco Cavatorta [Ozzano, Luca & Cavatorta, Francesco]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, Political Process, Political Parties, Religion, Religion; Politics & State
ISBN: 9781138775381
Google: L3W-nQAACAAJ
Goodreads: 19150055
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2014-01-15T13:18:22+00:00

The radical phase of the BJP (1989–1998): elections against democracy or the polarization of the Indian voters along religious lines

During the 1989 election campaign, RSS activists, VHP religious figures, and BJP candidates canvassed thousands of towns and villages to consecrate bricks stamped with Ram’s name and destined to be used to “rebuild” the Ram temple. The bricks were carried in processions imitating those organized for religious celebrations in which idols are carried along a precise itinerary.34 In several places these processions resulted in riots when militants entered the Muslim neighbourhoods chanting slogans such as “there are only two places for Muslims, Pakistan and the cemetery” [Pakistan aur Kabristan].

This pre-electoral sectarian violence was a clear component of the new strategy of the BJP, which wanted to polarize the electorate along religious lines and thus deepen the Hindu group identity so that its members would end up finally “voting Hindu”. Recourse to so-called religious processions proved crucial for mobilizing people. The Ayodhya temple campaign contributed to bringing the score of the BJP from two seats (out of 543) in 1984 up to 85 seats in 1989 in the lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha.

Immediately after the 1989 elections, the BJP became part of a coalition which comprised many different parties, including the Janata Dal of the new Prime Minister, V.P. Singh. As in 1967, Hindu nationalists combined an ethno-religious radical electoral campaign with a post-electoral coalition with parties that did not share its ideology. And, like in 1967, they proved the moderation thesis wrong because coalition politics did not lead them to dilute their ideology: indeed, they continued to mobilize support on the very divisive Ayodhya issue. In the midst of a new wave of riots, the BJP withdrew its support for Singh’s government in 1990 and the latter collapsed as a consequence. When mid-term elections were held the following year, the BJP jumped from 85 to 119 seats in the lower house of parliament, indicating that radicalism had paid off. This radical phase of the BJP culminated in the demolition of the Babri Mosque by Hindu nationalists on 6 December 1992.

The radicalization of the BJP in the late 1980s–early 1990s stemmed from the interplay between three variables. First, the RSS, whose leader had decided to promote a Hindu vote bank through the instrumentalization of the Ayodhya issue, remote-controlled the party, whereas the VHP provided the party with religious leaders who bestowed additional – sacred – legitimacy to the movement. Second, the BJP could cash in on a deep sense of Hindu vulnerability. Third, the political context allowed the party to pursue its radical agenda. On the one hand, its coalition partners of 1989 had not seriously objected to its political use of the Ayodhya issue during the election campaign and the government of V.P. Singh waited until the last minute to deal with the issue. On the other hand, the Congress, after it returned to power in 1991, did not prevent Hindu nationalists from attacking the Babri Mosque and the organization that had been responsible for its demolition was never indicted.

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