Political Line | Growing old as a politician, Kejriwal’s dilemmas, MBBS in Hindi and more

Here is the latest edition of the Political Line newsletter curated by Varghese K. George

Updated - October 15, 2022 05:22 pm IST

Congress senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge.

Congress senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge. | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

(The Political Line newsletter is India’s political landscape explained every week by Varghese K. George, senior editor at The Hindu . You can subscribe here to get the newsletter in your inbox every Friday.)

Matters of age

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, at 80, is widely expected to succeed Sonia Gandhi as party president by winning the organisational elections for which voting is on October 17. Counting will take place on October 19. Ms. Gandhi is 75. Congress workers and external observers are amused by the fact that a 75-year-old president will be succeeded by an 80-year-old.

We also heard this week that Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad is contesting yet another parliamentary election at 97 and does not rule out the possibility of him being a candidate for PM.

Poll strategist Prashant Kishor has said age is catching up with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is 71. Both blow hot and cold about their mutual ties.

But does age matter in politics? In the BJP, after the rise of Narendra Modi there is an unwritten rule that leaders must retire when they touch 75. That rule was applied even for party veterans L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi and many others who were purged from electoral and organisational politics of the BJP. They were grouped under the Margdarshak Mandal, or advisory council, which went into oblivion soon enough. Mr. Modi turned 72 this September.

One politician who appears to be really impaired by age is U.S. President Joe Biden, though major American media platforms of the country do not find it noteworthy to talk about it. In the most recent faux pas, Mr. Biden called out for a lawmaker at an event — nothing amiss but for the fact that the person was no more: she had died in an accident. This reticence of the U.S. media in scrutinising the President is only about Mr. Biden; they were quite unhinged in speculating on Donald Trump’s health and mental state. Mr. Biden, now 79, has not ruled out running for a second term in 2024. He is the oldest President to take oath in the history of the country. His 2020 opponent, Mr. Trump, is 76, and is very likely to run again in 2024. Bernie Sanders, Senator from Vermont is now 81 and possibly contemplating another run for Democratic nomination in 2024. More so if Mr. Biden does not run. Mr. Sanders has a huge following among the younger, progressive segments within the party and outside.

In 1984, Ronald Reagan was 73 years old and seeking a second term as U.S. President. During a presidential debate, he was asked about his capacity to function as president. His answer was classic — you may watch it here.

The limits of Arvind Kejriwal’s politics

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal .

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal . | Photo Credit: -

AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal has managed to balance his politics in such a way that he appears acceptable to Hindu and Muslim communalists, Ambedkarites, secularists, and activists of all hues. This ‘please all’ politics may now be gradually unravelling, and a clear indication of the limits of this approach was the recent controversy of an AAP Minister in Delhi leading a conversion ceremony of Dalits to Buddhism. As the BJP labelled him anti-Hindu, Mr. Kejriwal caved in and got the minister, Rajendra Pal Gautam, to resign. “The expulsion of the Dalit leader from the AAP Council of Ministers in Delhi is in contrast with the complete backing that Mr. Kejriwal continues to offer another Minister who remains in office while being in jail on corruption charges. Therein lies the fundamental challenge to AAP’s national plan,” The Hindu editorial said.

We have a reportage on the contradictions in Mr. Kejriwal’s attempts to balance Ambedkarism and Hindutva. Several political observers quoted in this story, however, believe such contradictions may not necessarily impact his electoral appeal.

Federalism Tract

Dalit Christians staging demonstration near the Corporation office in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu.

Dalit Christians staging demonstration near the Corporation office in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu. | Photo Credit: KARTHIKEYAN G

Christian Dalits and Muslim Dalits

Dalits convert to Buddhism to challenge the Hindu social order, but they do not tend to convert to Christianity or Islam for the same purpose. Even when they convert to Christianity of Islam, they don’t make it official for fear of losing benefits of reservation which are not available to Christian and Muslim Dalits.

The Supreme Court of India has sought the most recent position of the Union government on a batch of petitions challenging the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order of 1950, which allows only members of Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist religions to be recognised as SCs. Why are Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims excluded from the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order of 1950? On what basis were Dalit Sikhs and Dalit Buddhists added to the Order in 1956 and 1990 respectively? Here’s an explainer on this issue.

The Union government has now formed a three-member Commission of Inquiry headed by former Chief Justice of India, Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, to examine the issue of whether Scheduled Caste (SC) status can be accorded to Dalits who have over the years converted to religions other than Sikhism or Buddhism.

Long reach of Hindi, into MBBS and more

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan | Photo Credit: Harikumar

A Parliamentary Committee on Official Language has suggested the use of Hindi as medium of instruction in IITs, IIMs and Central universities in Hindi-speaking States and regional languages in other parts. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan have protested against the suggestion.

“Do not forget that brave youths took bullets and even killed themselves to protect the mother language of Tamil, when contrary [to assurances made by Nehru] steps were taken to impose Hindi in 1965,” Mr. Stalin recalled. It was only after such protests resolutions were passed for making English and Hindi as official languages in 1968 and 1976, according to Mr. Stalin.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Mr. Vijayan said the proposal to render questions for competitive examinations in Hindi would disadvantage candidates from non-Hindi speaking States.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is launching the Hindi versions of first-year MBBS books in Bhopal on October 16. With this, Madhya Pradesh will inch closer to becoming the first State in the country to provide medical education in Hindi.

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