Why are the Left and Right clashing like never before?

The age of ideology is upon us -- expect more noise in the next few years.

WrittenBy:Abhinandan Sekhri
Date:
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The liberal–conservative divide has never been as stark in India as it is now. Not necessarily because opinion has never been so polarised, but possibly because we can see it now. Social media has made the invisible, visible — opinions, prejudices, slants, rants sometimes camouflaged as attempts at humour and so on. The “environment-of-intolerance” debate has given the perfect battleground for this contest to play out. And it should. There are some great perspectives emerging from the overwhelming volume of trash and bile, much of both from journalists.

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I have this hypothesis of why we are witness to such noise today unlike ever before. Technology is one obvious factor. Television, news channels and social media certainly make it loud and visible and the Internet allows us to form tribes and groups advocating one point of view or another. But there is another thing. The progressive-liberal activism and protestations though louder now are not as new as the muscle-flexing from the Right-wing conservative corner.

First, we need to pull out the dictionary to see what these words and phrases mean since nowadays words are used not for their true definition, but for whatever you want it to mean (tolerance and freedom of expression being great examples).

right-wing
adjective
conservative, rightist, right-of-center, right-leaning, ultraconservative; blimpish, diehard; reactionary, traditionalist, conventional, unprogressive; fascist.

left-wing
adjective
the committee’s left-wing policies: liberal, leftist, left-of-center, left-leaning; socialist, communist; Labor/Labour, Marxist, Bolshevik; informal commie, lefty, red, pinko.

liberal
adjective
open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values

progressive
adjective
(of a group, person, or idea) favoring or implementing social reform or new, liberal ideas.
noun
a person advocating or implementing social reform or new, liberal ideas.

conservative
adjective
holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation, typically in relation to politics or religion.

Familiar?

Nowhere in the world would the Right-Left divide be absolutely consistent on all definitions above. The inconsistency is even starker in the Indian context where these identities are a little more complex and fluid (and let’s not even get into the constructs of libertarian conservative, conservative liberalism etc). For example, many who consider themselves liberal are only liberal on religion but conservative (even primitive) on other social reform of rights, equality or caste and most other liberal values. That the Congress can even be considered to stand for liberal values is laughable with its history on freedom of speech and with the Gandhis and Scindias, steeped in primitive feudal traditions, being their stars.

So, India is confusing.

Similarly, many who are Right-conservative on economics and religion are socially liberal on gender, diet and sexuality. But as political groupings of Right versus Left go, you know where you stand and which political grouping you back. Most have chosen their tribe.

First, let’s ask why the Left-liberal tribe is so loud today? Well, it isn’t any louder than it has been in the past. It is part of the liberal DNA. Like progressives anywhere, the liberals thrive in a hostile climate. Activism is second nature. Debate and dispute is the default setting. Just sit in a room with Aruna Roy, Prashant Bhushan, Arvind Kejriwal, Medha Patkar, Akhil Gogoi, Shekhar Singh and a few other liberal activists to find out. Mind you, this is not when they have gathered to disagree but rather to decide the next step of a campaign (Right to Information in the case I witnessed) that they agree on. The liberal will not conform or follow. Right now, they are in their element because the current adversary is louder, more combative and aggressive -– a resurgent conservative Right, where you conform, lining up at a shakha or being part of a sena.

Meanwhile, the conservative Right is so loud today because it thrives in a friendly climate. The Right roars loudest when establishment is favourable but falls silent and withdraws when not. That is also the time when the sense of victimhood (imagined and real) and persecution foments. They’ve had 60 years and there is vatfuls of it.

The conservative Right appears to see the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and Congress as India’s primary enemy. Yet this was not the grouping that led any anti-UPA movement in the 10 years of UPA rule. All civil society non-party affiliated movements — RTI, Janlokpal, tribal rights, opposition to Section 66A — were planned and executed by progressives. There is a reason why the liberal ideological position is also described as progressive. Because there is always the tendency to push further for change — progress. Especially on individual rights and liberties. Give them step one, they ask for two and three and so on — pushing from decriminalising same sex relationships to legalising same sex marriage to constitutional posts they’re barred from, or on land rights, tribal rights and so on. Move ahead and challenge established social and political norms. It’s part of the definition.

And why is the Right so loud today? Does it take a special kind of courage to protest in favour of a government that has an awesome majority headed by a party that has affiliate and allied organisations and senas with spectacular records of violence and goon behaviour? The “India is tolerant” march in favour of a government you support is really a novel concept. You would think the Right-wing would be out in numbers in an unfavourable environment like during the UPA term. But now! It’s unlikely you will ever find a group of progressives marching in support of establishment.

How does the conservative river of thought flow? “Traditional” and “cautious of change” is in the definition. Since change is inevitable, what direction would conservative thought go? Towards tradition, which inevitably takes us backwards. Replace history with mythology, science with superstition, gender equality with established rules of dressing and public behaviour, dietary habits with religious restrictions. That’s the only change one can push for. Unsurprisingly, the “where-were-you-in-19XX” thought process comes from this corner and goes backwards.

The 2006 nationwide RTI campaign that was the first major non-political grouping to really take the UPA head-on was conceived, planned and executed by a grouping of progressive liberals as was the super noisy Janlokapl movement.  And those liberals were happy to let any other grouping join in the issue-based protest without asking where were you in 1999, 2002, or any other time.

I don’t know if others have observed this, but in the last 16 months I have seen people I have known for years, if not decades, transform into belligerent far-Right, baying-for-blood ideologues. This is because they thrive and “come out” when the climate is in their favour. They never displayed their combative side or even ideological positions earlier.

I would like to share an experience from the Janlokpal movement in which I was involved from the beginning. When it had gained a little traction but not enough to be taken as a serious irritant to the UPA, I approached many acquaintances and friends to lend support. These were people I was aware disliked the UPA government immensely. They were not involved in any political party or grouping and were independent writers or professionals. I asked them to get involved, come to Jantar Mantar, and write, speak up, do anything – against the brazen corruption of UPA-2 since they were always trashing it behind closed doors. They declined and one advice that stands out in my head is: “Niku [my nickname] tu jaanta nahi ye sarkaar badi kameeni hai. Teri gaand maar degi. Tu door reh is sab se.”  (“Niku [my nickname], you don’t know, this government is not to be trusted. It will bugger your happiness. It’s best you stay away from all this.”) Imagine my surprise when I see that face often on TV as a hard-core Right-wing voice telling the nation that the Left liberals are lily-livered cowards and have hogged the narrative for too long. This is typical of the Right, displaying the classic symptoms of a bully. Roar loud when strong and slink away quietly and let the feelings of inadequacy and impotent rage with imagined or real wounds fester into a nice cocktail of venom and pus to be poured during favourable times, often onto a lone journalist or the “other” when part of intimidating packs online or on ground.

And that is why any non-party opposition and dissent against establishment will only come from Left liberals whether it’s BJP, NDA, Congress or UPA at the Centre. And that is why, expect more noise in the next few years.  It’s the perfect storm, created by a power-backed conservative Right and habitually-combative progressive Left clashing.  One hopes the media narrative feeds a healthy and robust battle of ideas because the age of ideology is upon us. Let the games begin.

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