Empire shrinking, chamchas calling you 'Badshah': Sonia Gandhi must hear Ramachandra Guha

Historian Ramachandra Guha on Friday took on Congress President Sonia Gandhi and said that the party reminded him of the "late Mughal dynasty" and how aloof they were of the state of their kingdom. He also said that "India is becoming more democratic and less feudal and the Gandhis just don't realise this"

'Your kingdom is shrinking more and more but still...'

Addressing the crowd on the second day of the ongoing Kerala Literature Festival (KLF) during his talk, "Patriotism Vs Jingoism", Guha said, "India is becoming more democratic and less feudal, and the Gandhis just don't realise this. You (Sonia) are in Delhi, your kingdom is shrinking more and more but still, your chamchas (sycophants) are telling you that you are still the Badshah," he said.

'...because Rahul Gandhi is there.'

Further, he quoted his teacher and noted Indian sociologist Andre Beteille to describe the story of Nehru-Gandhi family as a classic "reversal of the famous Biblical injunction": the sins of the father will be visited upon seven successive generations. 

"In the Nehru's case, it is the sins of the seven successive generations have been re-visited upon Nehru... look at the national debate today. Why is Nehru evoked every time? Why does Modi always say 'Nehru ne Kashmir mein yeh kiya, China mein yeh kiya, Triple Talaq mein yeh kiye' ... because Rahul Gandhi is there. Now if Rahul Gandhi disappears, Modi has to talk about his own policies and why they failed," he said.

Slamming former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Guha said, that a "fifth-generation dynast" Rahul Gandhi has no chance in Indian politics against a "hard-working and self-made" Narendra Modi, and Kerala did a disastrous thing by electing the Congress leader to Parliament. Guha said the reduction of the Congress from a "great party" during the freedom movement to a "pathetic family firm" now is one of the reasons for the ascendency of Hindutva and jingoism in India.

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'Young India does not want a fifth-generation dynast'

"I have nothing against Rahul Gandhi personally. He is a decent fellow, very well-mannered. But young India does not want a fifth-generation dynast. If you Malayalis make the mistake of re-electing Rahul Gandhi in 2024 too, you are merely handing over an advantage to Narendra Modi," said Guha. He added, "Kerala, you have done many wonderful things for India, but one of the disastrous things you did was to elect Rahul Gandhi to Parliament." Gandhi, who in 2019 general elections lost from his family bastion of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, had won from the Wayanad seat in Kerala.

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(with PTI inputs)