WHY INDIAN CONSERVATISM STRIKES A FINE BALANCE

Democracies are mostly informed and guided by political ideologies, though technological change, globalisation and its backlash have somewhat blurred the lines. Politics in India is, and has been, more muddled and the leading parties have often taken the same position on different issues. The lack of any formal response from the leading parties to the ongoing Sabarimala controversy is an evidence of the ideological ambiguity in Indian politics. Can a case be made out for developing and articulating Indian conservatism based on the Indian experience?

The obvious question would be why do we seek to conserve values in a society that is unequal, has seen tremendously oppressive social systems, and is still poor? Would this mean perpetuating the status quo? Can we identify specific Indian values that would form the bedrock of Indian conservatism? Christopher Jafferlot quotes the reformer MG Ranade, who said that India is conservative, “but that conservatism is its strength”. There will be no break with the past and we would not give up our values, morals or customs. A recognition that there is a lot of good in our cultural traditions and our institutions is a sound place to begin. The easiest way to destroy a society is to make it forget its collective memories and historical experiences. These are real and tangible, not imagined, and centred on the Indian nation, not limited to the nation state, which is a new phenomenon.

That should not mean that Indian conservatives should feel self-satisfied or that nothing needs to change. We are far from being an ideal society; and a conservative should not be a reactionary. Critical self-reflection is intrinsic to conservativism. All issues need to be discussed within society, argued over and consensus built up in the spirit of reconciliation of differences. But this change in the Indian context must not only be internal, but should be, and has been, incremental, and not revolutionary. The reasons for not wanting revolutions are straightforward. Revolu-

NEWS OF THE WEEK