The state of political discourse presently on display must surely seem like the norm to younger Indians, who might not have had any exposure to a more tolerant, courteous brand of adversarial politicking. Yet, as their parents would know, this was not always so.
Even when political opponents used to plumb new depths of uncivil behaviour, there was one red line that was almost sacrosanct: not attacking domestic political opponents when visiting abroad. Nearly 20 years ago, I had occasion to host Hillary Clinton for an interaction with Indian MPs from various parties. The former US first lady was then a senator of the Democratic Party and aggressively taking on her opponents at home in the government led by the Republican president George W. Bush.
The US-led war in Iraq had already become hugely unpopular. It had consumed untold Iraqi lives, and thousands of American ones, without a trace of Iraq’s alleged stockpile of weapons of mass destruction that had been the ostensible trigger for the invasion. The domestic political rhetoric in the US had become sharply acerbic and accusatory, with Clinton as a leading critic of the Bush government. Yet, despite several attempts by Indian MPs to get her to comment on domestic US politics, she refused to be drawn into it. And, in fact, explicitly stated that despite her sharp differences with Bush, she would not criticise him when abroad.
That experience left a deep impression on me, and I dare say many of my fellow Indian MPs. A few years later, I was at another such occasion, when the former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was visiting India. At a major media conclave in Delhi, I heard her speak candidly on many topics, but demur when the anchor and attendees tried to draw her into condemning her domestic political opponents. Neither of these prominent women are wallflowers, in fact they are just the opposite. They are notably outspoken both at home and abroad, but adhered to the lakshman rekha of not washing domestic political dirty laundry when abroad.
Over the years, I have had the honour to be a part of, and also to lead, dozens of multi-party delegations of MPs visiting abroad. We, too, had a verbally agreed code of conduct to refrain from dragging our domestic disagreements onto the international stage. And I can report with some pleasure that, except for one or two minor instances, we largely adhered to that.
There was a dignity in talking to foreign audiences as Indians first and last, with our party allegiances being secondary, that many of us came to recognise and appreciate. I have had those experiences while representing both the treasury as well as opposition benches in Parliament, as have many of my peers. Which only goes to show that that sort of a bipartisan commitment to displaying a united front to the rest of the world is not a pipe dream.
The recent examples of Indian legislators taking domestic political squabbles abroad has an undertone of a colonial mindset. Seeking foreigners’ sympathy, let alone approval or support, demeans the clout that India has acquired as the largest democracy in history. It also betrays a sense of inadequacy and insecurity among those who indulge in it, as if doubting their own ability to persuade fellow Indians without external help.
India’s middle class and opinion makers can, and should, play a role to nudge politicians back towards earlier norms, when domestic differences did not get in the way of mutual courtesy, even cooperation, in interactions with foreigners.
Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda is National Vice President of the BJP and is an MP in the Lok Sabha.