<p> New Delhi: In <em>Autobiography of an Unknown Indian</em>, Nirad C Chaudhary’s critique of Gandhi’s punctilious preference for goat milk is based on a firsthand account of the Mahatma’s visit to the Bose household (Subhash and Sharat Chandra Bose) in Calcutta. Chaudhary, often referred to as the 'Last Englishman', takes goats for goats in analysing the saint from Sabarmati, when all the trappings could easily have been as much about Gandhi’s politics, carefully crafted perceptions, and the imagery he created to mobilise diverse multitudes against the British.</p>.<p>This week, as Congress workers of all ilk returned to the banks of Sabarmati in Ahmedabad to discuss and debate the way forward, a flashback of Gandhi's itinerary for 1925 gives a peek into the aesthetics of political mobilisation utilised by him. The same year, while Gandhi visited Kerala to meet social reformer Narayana Guru, he also travelled to Jamshedpur, the town that represented "Tata’s spirit of adventure". With the elan of a master politician, Gandhi managed these contradictions with aplomb, himself engaging with disparate groups while conceding as much space and scope for others in the party to pursue their ideas.</p>.<p>For instance, in a letter to the All India Parliamentary sub-committee of the Congress, a junior lawmaker from the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) in 1939 complained about the policy of the UP ministry (of the Congress) that was “weak kneed and pro-Muslim". The legislator, one Charan Singh from Meerut, who would go on to become the prime minister of India, held strong views on nationalism and Hindu-Muslim relations, some of which stood in sharp contrast to the ones espoused by Gandhi and Nehru.</p>.<p>Despite his contrarian stand, Singh continued in the Congress to emerge as one of the biggest champions of land tillers in the heartland states. The same year, in 1939, as a Member of the Legislative Assembly, he would move a resolution proposing reservations in government jobs for the intermediate peasantry and later introduced the term "backward classes" to the Indian political lexicon.</p>.Congress must talk about INDIA bloc status, says Shiv Sena (UBT); Raut bats for constant dialogue.<p>During the Independence movement, the Congress leadership was predominantly upper caste, but the party attempted to offer an overarching umbrella to accommodate diverse sections and their interests. It was a centrist outfit, in a true sense of being, that showed remarkable ability to carry both the Left and the Right of the centre.</p>.<p>In 2025, as it seeks to reinvent itself after its longest-ever stint in the opposition, is Congress perceived to be a centrist party anymore? Or has it conceded far too much middle ground as it jostles with its allies for political space on the Left of the political spectrum?</p>.<p>Parties represent people, their aspirations, needs, thoughts and demands in the prevailing social and economic milieu. Transnational trends and popular global doctrines also influence domestic polity. Circumstances and situations change. So do class enemies and socio-economic fault lines.</p>.Row over naming institute after RSS founder escalates; Congress lodges complaint against BJP leader.<p>To remain afloat, parties, like individuals, have to evolve. The pre-independence Congress was qualitatively different from the Nehruvian Congress, which was entirely different from the Indira Congress.</p>.<p>Apart from myriad organisational issues, the Congress' current dilemma also stems from its inability to draft a cogent alternative to the Sangh Parivar's pitch on nationalism and offer an alternative idea of India to the masses.</p>.<p>The former CPM general secretary Prakash Karat, in a recent interview, articulates this problem for not just the Left but the entire INDIA bloc: the failure to explain that they are opposed to the use of religion in politics and not individual’s faith or religious belief, which one is free to pursue.</p>.<p>In its formative years, the BJP was isolated by a 'secular-communal' binary. The ideological bulwark against this narrative was coined by Lal Krishna Advani’s expositions on "pseudo-secularism".</p>.<p>For the Ahmedabad resolution, tweaking the same phraseology, the Congress has accused the BJP-RSS of using "pseudo-nationalism" to unleash "state-sponsored cruelty".</p>.<p>The Congress, which led India’s freedom struggle, in expounding its position on nationalism, has taken the BJP-RSS as a point of reference. Rather than enunciating what it stands for, the party is saying 'we' are what 'they' aren’t, or vice versa.</p>.<p>Coming back to Gandhi, the most illustrious president of the Indian National Congress, who was demonstrably Hindu in practice and personal beliefs: goats, cows, fasting, abstinence, even sartorial preferences were elements of his ascetic self. He remained fiercely secular in his political outlook, leading a socially and culturally diverse set of people in their quest for their own nation state.</p>.<p>This is why allegations by both Hindu and Muslim Right could never really stick on him.</p>.<p>As it seeks to reinvent and repackage, Congress in 2025 has to articulate its independent position. It's not just about winning elections but finding one's raison d’etre, or the reason for existence. </p>
<p> New Delhi: In <em>Autobiography of an Unknown Indian</em>, Nirad C Chaudhary’s critique of Gandhi’s punctilious preference for goat milk is based on a firsthand account of the Mahatma’s visit to the Bose household (Subhash and Sharat Chandra Bose) in Calcutta. Chaudhary, often referred to as the 'Last Englishman', takes goats for goats in analysing the saint from Sabarmati, when all the trappings could easily have been as much about Gandhi’s politics, carefully crafted perceptions, and the imagery he created to mobilise diverse multitudes against the British.</p>.<p>This week, as Congress workers of all ilk returned to the banks of Sabarmati in Ahmedabad to discuss and debate the way forward, a flashback of Gandhi's itinerary for 1925 gives a peek into the aesthetics of political mobilisation utilised by him. The same year, while Gandhi visited Kerala to meet social reformer Narayana Guru, he also travelled to Jamshedpur, the town that represented "Tata’s spirit of adventure". With the elan of a master politician, Gandhi managed these contradictions with aplomb, himself engaging with disparate groups while conceding as much space and scope for others in the party to pursue their ideas.</p>.<p>For instance, in a letter to the All India Parliamentary sub-committee of the Congress, a junior lawmaker from the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) in 1939 complained about the policy of the UP ministry (of the Congress) that was “weak kneed and pro-Muslim". The legislator, one Charan Singh from Meerut, who would go on to become the prime minister of India, held strong views on nationalism and Hindu-Muslim relations, some of which stood in sharp contrast to the ones espoused by Gandhi and Nehru.</p>.<p>Despite his contrarian stand, Singh continued in the Congress to emerge as one of the biggest champions of land tillers in the heartland states. The same year, in 1939, as a Member of the Legislative Assembly, he would move a resolution proposing reservations in government jobs for the intermediate peasantry and later introduced the term "backward classes" to the Indian political lexicon.</p>.Congress must talk about INDIA bloc status, says Shiv Sena (UBT); Raut bats for constant dialogue.<p>During the Independence movement, the Congress leadership was predominantly upper caste, but the party attempted to offer an overarching umbrella to accommodate diverse sections and their interests. It was a centrist outfit, in a true sense of being, that showed remarkable ability to carry both the Left and the Right of the centre.</p>.<p>In 2025, as it seeks to reinvent itself after its longest-ever stint in the opposition, is Congress perceived to be a centrist party anymore? Or has it conceded far too much middle ground as it jostles with its allies for political space on the Left of the political spectrum?</p>.<p>Parties represent people, their aspirations, needs, thoughts and demands in the prevailing social and economic milieu. Transnational trends and popular global doctrines also influence domestic polity. Circumstances and situations change. So do class enemies and socio-economic fault lines.</p>.Row over naming institute after RSS founder escalates; Congress lodges complaint against BJP leader.<p>To remain afloat, parties, like individuals, have to evolve. The pre-independence Congress was qualitatively different from the Nehruvian Congress, which was entirely different from the Indira Congress.</p>.<p>Apart from myriad organisational issues, the Congress' current dilemma also stems from its inability to draft a cogent alternative to the Sangh Parivar's pitch on nationalism and offer an alternative idea of India to the masses.</p>.<p>The former CPM general secretary Prakash Karat, in a recent interview, articulates this problem for not just the Left but the entire INDIA bloc: the failure to explain that they are opposed to the use of religion in politics and not individual’s faith or religious belief, which one is free to pursue.</p>.<p>In its formative years, the BJP was isolated by a 'secular-communal' binary. The ideological bulwark against this narrative was coined by Lal Krishna Advani’s expositions on "pseudo-secularism".</p>.<p>For the Ahmedabad resolution, tweaking the same phraseology, the Congress has accused the BJP-RSS of using "pseudo-nationalism" to unleash "state-sponsored cruelty".</p>.<p>The Congress, which led India’s freedom struggle, in expounding its position on nationalism, has taken the BJP-RSS as a point of reference. Rather than enunciating what it stands for, the party is saying 'we' are what 'they' aren’t, or vice versa.</p>.<p>Coming back to Gandhi, the most illustrious president of the Indian National Congress, who was demonstrably Hindu in practice and personal beliefs: goats, cows, fasting, abstinence, even sartorial preferences were elements of his ascetic self. He remained fiercely secular in his political outlook, leading a socially and culturally diverse set of people in their quest for their own nation state.</p>.<p>This is why allegations by both Hindu and Muslim Right could never really stick on him.</p>.<p>As it seeks to reinvent and repackage, Congress in 2025 has to articulate its independent position. It's not just about winning elections but finding one's raison d’etre, or the reason for existence. </p>