BJP & Elite

Rohit muses upon the Mangalore incident and accompanying media firestorm. I agree with most of his post except for the conclusion. I have come to believe that no matter what BJP does, it is going to incur the wrath of elites*, because cultural nationalism which is the mainstay of BJP is anathema to our elites.

This is not to excuse the hooliganism at Mangalore pub, there are many legitimate issues that we cultural nationalists can spar and joust with secular-liberal establishment, this is not one of them. In this, I agree with Rohit.

*I will qualify the term. It is true that elite, as understood in sense of social class, is a frequent adversary to cultural nationalists. But the main opponent or antagonist, so as to say, is the cultural elite, the group which is firmly anchored in post national, post faith, or broadly post identity milieu, and therefore has fundamental hostility with cultural nationalism. This group, which is recognized as secular-liberal establishment may disagree on the economic nuances, but as I pointed out earlier share the same bandwidth culturally.

From where I stand the current acrimony and conflict in political discourse owe their cause not to economic reforms but to a battle, a battle for the soul of India. My aim, as a cultural nationalist, is clear, to recognize secularism for the intellectual fraud it is, and to reject it along with its ruinous consequences.