The greatest gift for an individual or a nation, so we had been told in our ancient books, was Abhay (fearlessness), not merely bodily courage but the absence of fear from mind. Janak and Yajnavalka had said, at the dawn of our history, that it was the function of the leaders of a people to make them fearless. But the dominant impulse in India under British rule was that of fear – pervasive, oppressing, strangling fear; fear of the army, the police, the widespread secret service; fear of the official class; fear of laws meant to suppress and of prison; fear of the landlord’s agent; fear of the moneylenders, fear of unemployment and starvation, which were always on the threshold. It was against this all-pervading fear that Gandhi’s quiet and determined voice was raised; Be not afraid.
– Jawaharlal Nehru, “The Discovery of India”
These are the words of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India. He was talking about Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the leader of India’s struggle against British colonial rule, and about India before he entered the freedom movement. Gandhi’s greatest contribution to India’s freedom movement, Nehru says, was abhay, which woke them up from a deep slumber and awakened them about their national pride and self-confidence.
In his book, “The Discovery of India,” Nehru wrote: “Realizing that the main props of British rule were fear, prestige, co-operation, willing or unwilling, of the people [with the colonial rulers], and certain classes whose vested interests were centered in British rule, Gandhi attacked these foundations.”
Nehru was Gandhi’s most worthy student, and Gandhi, in his lifetime, had anointed Nehru as his successor.
And reading “The Discovery of India,” one can say with clarity and conviction that no one knew Gandhi better than Nehru. He firmly believed that Gandhi fundamentally changed the mindset of the Indian people, who by nature were “quiet.” “Thus he [Gandhi] effected a vast psychological revolution not only among those who followed his lead but also among his opponents and those many neutrals who could not make up their minds what to think and what to do,” Nehru wrote.
Does the word “abhay” ring a bell in our ears?
I do not know if Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has read his great-grandfather Nehru’s book. But it seems he has understood a basic creed of Indian civilization that to be recognized as a leader, one not only has to be abhay but also has to make one’s supporters and followers and the larger masses abhay.
In his first speech as leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, India’s lower house of Parliament, Rahul, invoked the Hindu deity Shiva and talked about the “abhay mudra” (posture of fearlessness). While invoking abhay mudra, he sought to convey that the opposition to the government is not scared of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government’s misuse of different government agencies to intimidate and arrest them. According to Business Standard, “He highlighted the first idea as ‘confronting fear and never being scared,’ symbolized by the snake around Lord Shiva’s neck. ‘That is the spirit with which we fought the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP),’ Rahul said.”
After losing badly in the 2014 and 2019 parliamentary elections, Rahul realized that Modi’s biggest asset is his capacity to inflict fear. Leaders in his party and in other opposition parties were fearful of the prime minister.
A few years ago, a senior leader of the Congress confided in me that “many senior leaders of the Congress did not want to speak on the floor of the house as they were scared that the wrath of the prime minister and his deputy would fall on them, and then, their careers would either end or they would land in jail.”
It was this fear that was the main hurdle in the way of the opposition demanding accountability from the government. Modi was striding India’s political arena like a colossus. He was believed to be invincible. Even senior-most leaders of the BJP were scared to speak a word against the prime minister in private. A few leaders told me that it was dangerous to talk on the phone as everything was monitored and watched, and a minor slip of the tongue could be hazardous, not only for them but also for their loved ones.
During his Bharat Jodo Yatra (Unite India March) in 2023, Rahul’s message to India’s youth was: “Never be afraid of anything in your life. If you are fearless, you won’t hate anyone. Remove fear from your hearts and work for the country.” Though he later clarified that he was not hinting at the prime minister or the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP’s ideological mentor, his message was clear.
Bharat Jodo Yatra drastically changed perceptions about Rahul among the masses. He was no longer the “Pappu” (young boy) that the BJP branded him in the past to mock him. Through the yatra, he emerged as a fearless leader, who had crossed the Rubicon, and was not scared to call a spade a spade. Rahul’s “Daro Mat” (Fear Not) campaign was a logical corollary of his new politics.
Last month, while addressing the Congress’s Bhagidari Nyay Sammelan, Rahul tried to demystify Modi and his invincibility. He said, “You know what is the biggest problem in politics … No, Narendra Modi is not a big problem … I am telling you, you have given him too much importance, he is not a problem. Earlier, I had not met him, but now I have met him 2-3 times. Now I understand there is nothing – he is all show, no substance.”
I dare not compare Rahul with Mahatma Gandhi, who is beyond comparison. I am of the firm belief that there won’t be a second Mahatma Gandhi.
But it seems that Rahul is treading Gandhi’s path, and like Gandhi, who blew the cover of the British, Rahul is boldly trying to disintegrate the cult around Modi, of which fear is an integral part.
Leaders have been too scared of Modi and of his agencies. But Rahul, through his own conduct of criticizing the prime minister despite the risk of invoking his wrath, is demonstrating that if one wears courage and conviction, the government can do nothing. Following a series of severe attacks on Modi, in March 2023, Rahul was convicted in a defamation case, sentenced to two years of imprisonment, disqualified as a member of Parliament, and asked to vacate his bungalow immediately. But that did not stop him from attacking the prime minister’s actions. He did not surrender to the Modi government when he was grilled by the Enforcement Directorate, a federal agency that investigates economic crimes, for over 50 hours.
He is also valiantly battling several frivolous charges filed with the police in different parts of the country. In fact, he responded to his critics and supporters both by saying, “I know I am playing with fire … but then everyone has to go to fire in the end.” His reply is symbolic and spiritual, both.
Now, Rahul has coined a new slogan. He has tangentially called Modi a “Vote chor,” i.e., a stealer of votes. For a man like Modi who is very careful about his image and his place in history, such names are damning.
Modi is not new to criticism. He was strongly criticized when he was the chief minister of Gujarat. However, after becoming the prime minister in May 2014, Modi has craftily cultivated an image of himself as a great leader, indeed one who can’t be compared with lesser mortals and is above criticism and comparison. He referred to himself as “non-biological,” i.e. not mortal.
Modi has a pathological hatred for the Nehru-Gandhi family. Any criticism from the family shakes him up, upsets him, and rattles him no end. He believes that he belongs to the pantheon of great leaders who are born to change the destiny of nations and countries. In this league, Rahul Gandhi is a nonentity, a political parasite who is nothing other than his renowned family surname. Modi has no respect for Rahul.
However, Modi demands respect from Rahul. And when he is referred to in derogatory terms, he loses his cool and becomes more bitter. Indeed, every time Modi speaks in Parliament, he spends more than half of his time attacking and ridiculing the Nehru-Gandhi Family.
Rahul’s “abhay mudra” campaign is gaining momentum among the opposition leaders. This is a big and decisive moment in India’s recent history, when opposition leaders have torn off the facade of civility and their attire of timidity and chicken-heartedness to shout “Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod” (Vote Stealer, Quit Your Seat of Power), when the prime minister was present in the house. They also shouted “Tadipar, Go Back’” (Fugitive, Go Back) at Home Minister Amit Shah. These events were not reported by newspapers and TV channels, when they, in fact, deserved wide media coverage and debate.
Modi and Shah preside over a regime of fear. If the opposition is not scared of them, then it is the beginning of a new dawn in Indian politics and Rahul should be given credit for this.
After a long time, the pendulum of Indian politics, which had moved to the right, seems to be shifting back to the center. What happens next will depend on how the politics of abhay unfold going forward.