More than a single colour

Twenty years is a long time in life and in politics. From 1997 to 2017, the political landscape of India changed considerably. A significant part of the change was the nationwide rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), of which journalist Saba Naqvi has had a ringside view as a reporter covering the right-wing party.

Naqvi seems an unlikely choice for the BJP beat; it is, after all, a Hindutva party whose online trolls spend large parts of their days, and perhaps their lives, spewing venom against Muslims. It is a dichotomy she is acutely aware of. Her latest book, Shades of Saffron: From Vajpayee to Modi , begins by addressing the question: “How do you, as a Muslim, cover the BJP?” Her answer is simple: “I have never perceived it as a problem. And given the access I have got over the years, I give many members of the party credit for not judging me on the basis of my name, but on my professional ability”. It is evident from Naqvi’s book that she did indeed have access to many top leaders of the BJP during the years when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the party’s top leader. Early on, she mentions an exclusive interview with Vajpayee for India Today magazine in which he sought to clarify: “The RSS has views of its own. The BJP has views of its own.”

We also see her on the campaign trail, following Vajpayee during a visit to Surat before the 1998 parliamentary elections. She writes: “One day, even as he stepped out of his car, a volunteer who appeared to be in a state of frenzy began shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram (Hail, Shri Ram)’. I vividly recall Vajpayee turning around and snapping rather poetically, ' Bolte raho Jai Shri Ram, aur karo mat koi kaam! (Keep shouting Jai Shri Ram; do little else)!’”

Naqvi’s book, which reads like a reporter’s diary, is peppered with many such small but revealing anecdotes gathered over years of interactions with leaders of the BJP and the larger Sangh Parivar. She was assigned the BJP beat in India Today when the magazine was at the peak of its popularity. At the time, Prabhu Chawla was the editor, while Swapan Dasgupta headed the political coverage. Their right-wing leanings opened doors for her. Uma Bharti, then a prominent firebrand of the party’s far-right, took Naqvi to meet Giriraj Kishore, a senior leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. After examining her name card and holding forth on what would today be called ‘love jihad’, Kishore explained to her that gau mutra (cow urine) would be the Bharatiya (Indian) solution to the energy crisis. Apparently, among the many magical properties of gau mutra is its ability to generate electricity. He then turned to being a good host, and gifted her cow urine churan (digestive) and soap, promising her improved digestion and complexion if she used the products regularly. She thanked him, and promptly gifted the products to Dasgupta. They both had a good laugh about this, Naqvi writes.

There is a world of difference in the shade of saffron represented by Dasgupta, who is more likely to appreciate fine wine than gau mutra , and the one represented by Kishore. There is a world of difference, too, in the shades of saffron represented by the BJP under Vajpayee and the BJP now. The checks and balances and old-world niceties are gone. The hardliners have largely prevailed, so much so that even Harvard graduates with McKinsey experience are now trying to ingratiate themselves with the former by garlanding lynch mobs. The party’s primary concerns now seem to revolve around building a Hindu Rashtra of nationalist, Hindi-speaking vegetarians.

Compulsions may force the BJP to improvise a mukhauta (mask) once more if the party falls short of a majority in 2019, but that will obviously depend on the outcome of the electoral battle. The contours of the forthcoming contest are emerging into view. On one hand are seasoned regional leaders and the Congress in their respective strongholds. On the other are Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and the superb organisational machineries of the BJP and RSS, backed by ample money and muscle. The battleground States include the usual ones, such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, but also new ones, such as West Bengal, Assam and Odisha. Maharashtra may well be added to the list if the Shiv Sena sticks to its promise and fights the polls independently.

Shades of Saffron: From Vajpayee to ModiSaba NaqviWestland/ TranquebarNon-fiction₹599

The official pitch will probably be based on claims that Bharat is racing towards vikas (development) and that results will show in just another year or two. To help the party’s base digest this claim easily, they may be fed a dose of their favourite gau mutra churan in the form of actions that put Muslims, Christians, ‘sickulars’, ‘urban Naxals’, and other elements undesirable to the party’s core voters even more firmly in their place. This will be presented, naturally, as evidence of the nation being ‘rescued’. The accompanying soundtrack may include cries of “Mandir wahin banayenge (we will build the temple there)” and “Jai Shri Ram” .

Will voters ask about “kaam” if they hear the name Ram? Judging from the story of the BJP’s growth as chronicled by Naqvi, the answer is, probably not.

Samrat is an author and journalist; Twitter: @mrsamratx

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