Understanding Gandhi’s re-emergence in India’s oppositional politics

Mahatma Gandhi is back at the centre of India’s oppositional politics and public imagination. On the evening of 8 October, MPs from the INDIA bloc, including Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, started a sit-in protest against India’s Chief Election Commissioner at Raj Ghat, the Mahatma’s memorial in New Delhi. At protests in Mumbai on the same issue on October 2, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke called Gandhi “the soul of India”. Protestors dressed as Gandhi have emerged across the country.

Citizen activists, such as the Uttarakhand resident “Mohammad” Deepak, who have defended members of the minority community against violent communal elements, claim to be inspired by Gandhi. And Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj party, having opened its legislative account in Bihar and expanding to Delhi, uses Gandhi as its central inspiration alongside B.R. Ambedkar.

These are significant examples. The protests the country has seen in recent months are the strongest and potentially the most consequential in years. Mr. Rahul Gandhi and the INDIA bloc MPs appear to be effectively mobilising against the establishment. And Jan Suraaj’s focus on education and accountability is refreshing in a region where social justice has descended into cynical politics based on caste, religion, and patronage. The world’s largest democracy is experiencing a churn — as illustrated by cross-regional protests, mobilisation of Opposition lawmakers, courageous citizen action, and the emergence of a new party with a strategy to break the mould of regional politics in the Gangetic region. That Gandhi is at the heart of this churn speaks to his utility to those wishing to inject civility and decency into India’s public life, mobilise the masses for systemic change, and redefine electoral issues.

Gandhi has come back despite concerted efforts to diminish him. These efforts have come from the political right, and the purveyors of identity politics who dominate the progressive intellectual space in Indian universities, media, and public forums.