Summary
- One of them is the recent state elections in a neighbouring country, whose results are no less than a political revolution in Indian politics.
- Mamata Banerjee, who ruled West Bengal politics for the past fifteen years and was considered the sole authority over political decisions, had even positioned herself as a potential national-level leader against Narendra Modi during the 2024 Indian general elections.
- She often presented herself as a strong challenger to the BJP, even sending signals of political independence, especially regarding her relations with Bangladesh, treating West Bengal almost like a buffer state.
In recent days, global affairs—especially the Iran–US tensions—have dominated attention so much that it feels difficult to focus on anything else. Even today, the mind is inclined toward discussing those unclear aspects of the issue. However, there are several other important matters that are being ignored. One of them is the recent state elections in a neighbouring country, whose results are no less than a political revolution in Indian politics. Due to the intense focus on the Middle East situation, failing to analyse these Indian state elections would be a significant delay or omission. Therefore, today’s column is necessarily limited to this topic.
Unfortunately, Pakistani media, regarding the importance of Indian democracy, is not only quite irresponsible and unaware but also trapped in artificial and unproductive hypocrisy. Because of this mindset, it often fails to properly analyse the world’s largest democracy or presents it negatively due to hostility. There exists a mentality that even upon hearing India being called the world’s largest democracy, people react negatively. Perhaps such individuals are unaware of the fact that the combined votes of Western democracies, including the US and Europe, are still less than a single Indian vote base in scale. Immediately, negative propaganda begins: “What kind of great democracy is this? They have made life unbearable for Muslims there; politics is driven by Hindutva ideology under the Bharatiya Janata Party.”
Such people are generally unaware of the region’s history, yet consider themselves intellectual authorities. This is the same India where Muslim rulers enforced centuries of rule through the power of the sword until the British Empire removed these incompetent rulers and established colonial rule. Against this, various independence movements emerged, and eventually under Mahatma Gandhi’s leadership, the Congress movement, in the context of changing global conditions, forced the British to leave.
It was also Mahatma Gandhi who, after accepting partition, went to great lengths to appease the Muslim community, even risking his life to protect millions of Muslims. He worked to secure Pakistan’s financial assistance of 55 crore rupees at the time. Despite facing anger from the Hindu majority, he continued his efforts for Muslim reconciliation and was ultimately assassinated by Nathuram. Even after his death, under Nehru’s leadership, Congress continued its policy of minority appeasement, which continues in some form even today under Rahul Gandhi, though at great political cost.
As a result of this long-standing policy, the Bharatiya Janata Party emerged, and Congress gradually lost its broader national appeal and was reduced to what some describe as a communal party. Although historically, it had built the foundation of a modern India while securing independence for such a large country, due to its inability to adapt to changing times, Congress has now significantly weakened. As per Assam Muslim leader Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, “Congress has now become a new Muslim League.”
Perhaps the BJP has succeeded in convincing its majority voters that Congress is effectively a “new Muslim League” for Hindus.
Let us now examine this reality in the context of recent election results.
Recently, elections were held in four Indian states—West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala—as well as in one Union Territory. The results have been quite interesting. In West Bengal, the once-strong and dominant leader Mamata Banerjee and her party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), have suffered a major setback. Mamata Banerjee, who ruled West Bengal politics for the past fifteen years and was considered the sole authority over political decisions, had even positioned herself as a potential national-level leader against Narendra Modi during the 2024 Indian general elections. At that time, the entire opposition saw her as a strong alternative to Modi and had high expectations from her.
She often presented herself as a strong challenger to the BJP, even sending signals of political independence, especially regarding her relations with Bangladesh, treating West Bengal almost like a buffer state. (Continues…)
