AAP Arvind Kejriwal - Fascism and Hitler. Paradigm or Enigma?
Robert Paxton argues that fascism is "a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victim-hood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy, and purity, in which a
mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but
effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties
and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints
goals of internal cleansing and external expansion."
Not being an academic nor a
political historian, I was intrigued by similarities, albeit partial,
between the subject under discussion and Hitler. AK exhibits some similar
characteristics and convictions, mainly, that he alone has been ordained to
solve the problems faced by the helpless people of India.
AAP and Hitler's workers
Party which later was better known as Nazi Party, exhibit similar strains of
fascism-exempt militancy for now. I say for now, as I did notice signs of
militant behavior among the AAP senior echelons - Bharti is a good example.
When a former Ambassador,
who happens to be a lady, goes public with her discomfiture with the
"Militant" men of AAP- the inner circle- and their patronizing attitude, it says it all. One can reasonably assume that she has had many
occasions to deal with all types of men while discharging her duties as a
diplomat and that there must be good reasons to go public on her strong
objections to the conduct of members of AAP. Until then she was a well-respected member of the core team of policy drafters. Their articulation on merits of Khap may
substantiate her claims.
When tens of thousands of
people chant "Arvind, Arvind" and shower their affection through a
show of faith, very few leaders can remain with their feet planted on Mother Earth.. It is an addiction that drives the subject of adoration to believe
them. Public show of swearing-in, mass contact programmes, and frequent Media
interactions for sensational revelations are all symptoms of a disease that is
known to convert an ordinary well-meaning individual into a megalomaniac. Arvind
would do well to note what Ashutosh Varshney wrote recently in an OPED
column, which suggested that there is a great difference between popular will
and popular sentiment - sentiment can quickly change. It is the people's
sentiment that needs watching.
The early days of Hitler
were full of some of the above characteristics. Germans wanted a change. They
thronged in large numbers to his sessions of public ranting and raving. He
began to believe in them and they in him. History is replete with instances of
such leaders, who from heroes became hated despots over time.
While the militant part of
AAP has not been on display, an occasion that needs serious introspection is
when AK threw an invitation to the Delhi Police to shed their uniform and join
his agitation on Raj Path. Sedition is more serious than militant behavior.
AK also threatened to disrupt the whole Republic Day parade, even as he went on
to question the sentiments of Indians and the need to participate in an
elitist display of marching columns. It exhibits a poor understanding of the implications of such actions and utterances. There is thus a reasonably good
chance of turning a peaceful demonstration (repeatedly emphasized by Anna
during a mass gathering of IAC) into a violent and destructive event.
Why would a group of fully
educated and well-experienced scholars, diplomats, bureaucrats, industrialists, and others not advise and guide a relatively less experienced engineer turned bureaucrat
on negotiating land mines on his path. It may well be the haste with which AAP
wishes to fully capitalize, on what they perceive to be a historic window of
opportunity.
Running before learning to walk first can be an exceptional
occurrence in individuals gifted to compress time-related activities. Movements
and reforms need time, careful handling, nurturing, and above all selfless
leadership. The Arab Spring, Libyan attempt to correct decades of misrule, and
the Egyptian political experiment in haste, give us enough material to
introspect.
AAP needs to consolidate,
learn to govern under a given framework of law, respect laws of the land before attempting to rewrite
them, and finally show the way to reform an arguably decadent system." A good
leader should also be a good follower", is an axiom worth reflecting upon.
