https://www.dhakatribune.com/opinion/op-ed/2021/10/01/op-ed-a-stress-test-for-indian-democracy
An unexpected surge of non-stop intraparty hubbub is throwing up novel configurations that have considerable implications for India’s overall political scenario. The most public intrigues have been underway in Punjab. As described by Amardeep Sandhu in *Outlook*, “within almost 24 hours, the Congress high command effected a massive change which upturns the state's history of selection of chief ministers. It not only pushed former royalty Captain Amarinder Singh to resign but also installed an unlikely common man, a Dalit Sikh as the chief minister.” Sandhu is a superb observer and analyst of the region, whose 2019 book, *Panjab: Journeys Through Fault Lines* [the author prefers the older transliteration of the state’s name] is a brilliant evocation of how “the old spirit of the land beats away an undercurrent of resistance to power and hegemony that holds the hope that Panjab's unyielding knots can be untied.” In *Outlook*, Sandhu described how and why the Congress Party swiftly deposed its ruling chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, whom he describes as “the personification of royal disinterest.” However, in another explainer in the *Times of India*, he cautioned that “highlighting [the new CM] being Dalit is similar to British ascribing people on spreadsheet columns. It is a parochial view and ends up exaggerating the Jat-Dalit fault line as if that has been Punjab’s primary concern.” He concluded, “This time, Congress has presented itself to the people without the baggage of feudalism. Yes, it may be symbolic, but symbols too have value.” Then, on Sept 28, after yet another shock development when the volatile ex-cricketer, and ascendant political force, Navjot Singh Sidhu resigned from his position as the Congress Party’s state chief, seemingly in a fit of pique, Sandhu wrote on Facebook, “I am wondering if [popular] critiques are coming from our set biases. If [Sidhu] resigned because the new CM appointed tainted faces, then something very interesting, in keeping with the spirit of Panjab is playing out. I am watching as of now.” On the very same day all this was happening, the riveting young politician Kanhaiya Kumar (the 34-year-old was previously with the Communist Party of India) joined the Congress in New Delhi, supported by another young star, Jignesh Mevani (who is 38, and an independent MLA from Gujarat). Kumar, who is already something of an icon to Indian students, explained that “I am joining the country’s oldest and the most democratic party, because I feel and so do many other young people, that if the Congress does not survive then the country will not survive. If we do not save the big ship, then the smaller boats too will sink.” Responding to these developments, the veteran journalist, author and activist Salil Tripathi (he was just appointed to the board of PEN International) tweeted thoughtfully: “I have admired Kanhaiya Kumar’s spirit and attitude – his famous speech after he was released from prison was mesmerising, as was his rebuttal [about preferring to say Jai Sita-Ram, among other things] when confronted by a hyperventilating student who thought KK would not say [Jai Shri Ram].” Tripathi added that “I have also admired Jignesh Mevani’s scholarship of Gujarati poetry, in particular Mareez’s ghazals, and share his outrage over how Dalits were treated – Unza was only one incident among many. I can’t – and won’t – predict electoral outcomes. But if such people feel they’ve found home in Congress, then that bodes well for the India ‘we had all agreed to dream,’ in Saleem Sinai’s words, in 1947 [a reference to Salman Rushdie’s masterpiece, *Midnight’s Children*]. In the same 24-hour span, another highly unlikely development saw Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress foray purposefully into Goa, my home state, which is often considered a bellwether for national politics. Here, with considerable fanfare, 70-year-old Luizinho Faleiro defected to the TMC, saying “Didi has been a streetfighter, the only leader who has opposed the BJP and destroyed their agenda. It is the moment to join forces. With Didi, we will bring a new dawn in Goa.” As in Punjab – and also with Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mevani – what will result from these fresh machinations is currently unclear in Goa. The immediate results range from intriguing to ludicrous: the TMC immediately erected billboards which highly visibly misspelled basic Konkani words, but at the same time they also managed to reach out to some potentially terrific new candidates who could indeed signal distinct improvement in the state’s legislative scenario. The main common factor binding this week’s rollercoaster of events in multiple locations across the landscape of India is the broad perception that all pandemic-times and post-pandemic elections are going to scramble previous reckonings, and upturn all certitudes. This means there is huge opportunity lurking for those who might be capable of seizing it. In the balance is the future health and direction of Indian democracy.