Is democracy a working ideology? For the Marxists, ideology is a blinker that legitimises the existing power relations. Ideology is naturalisation of the symbolic order or the law of the father in a given society. To discern whether democracy has become an ideology we have to ask: ‘does our democracy in some way becomes a mask for some vested interests?’ This question comes to the fore as the strongest Party in India today has begun to act like a weak insecure political establishment. This is why when we are facing a self-professed and self-proclaimed triumphant nationalism with exclusionary religious and cultural tilt; substantive moral questions concerning its conduct on all scales come to haunt it.
The new developments which seem to indicate that BJP is ready to embrace anyone in power (when it really does not even need it to stay in power) points to a weakness and lust that is distasteful. Often dubious characters are born again after they clean bathe in the purifying Ganges of BJP as we might see in the case of TDP MPs and some Congress MLAs in Goa and Congress and JDS MLAs Karnataka. By embracing these MPs and MLAs, the BJP seems to have stepped out of its ideological skins. Thus, this unholy embrace not only ‘purifies’ the tainted MP’s and MLA’s but also pollutes the BJP whole sale. Already several circles in the BJP are feeling the heat and have voiced their concerns. Some even say that these new developments have hit a minority community within the Hindu community. In Goa, this unholy embrace has been greeted as congressization of the BJP.
Given this condition, we may ask: Will the habit of laying the blame on the circumstances exonerate the guilt of the both the partners in this unholy embrace? We can clearly find circumstances being blamed by the Congress faction that hides its interest in the claim of lack of development of their constituencies. We also notice this in the lament of CM Pramod Sawant that there were administrative hurdles which he faced during the last three months. Thus, this means they are saying, ‘we would be good instead of being rude only if the circumstances were right?’ Can we accept this cover up of what is nothing but blatant self-interest masquerading as helplessness? Can we Goans as well as Indians overlook or even forgive this stepping out of ideology? Recent by-polls in Goa seem to indicate that we too have lost our moral compass. This is why; today it is possible to lie in the guise of truth. This shows that the sublime object of BJP as well as its partners in the unholy embrace is not their ideology nor the good or love of the nation but their sheer vested interests.
The ideological personification of the rightwing is giving way to pragmatism raising questions about its moral integrity. The logic of the unholy embrace defies all reasonable explanation and seems to manifest that we have entered a post-ideological era. Post-ideological era is a scenario when ideologies have no political relevance once the elections are over. In such a context, political pragmatism rules and all principles melt in the air. Hence, the question that asks ‘what does this post-ideological era do to our democracy?’ becomes extremely important. Will democracy survive this assault? We cannot push this issue into a collective amnesia. We can no longer take recourse into inter-passivity that thinks that democracy will work by it-self in our interest like some comedy shows on TV. We are challenged to engage our political condition on everyday basis to make our democracy work for us. Otherwise the post-ideological condition that is afflicting us will take the ‘demos’/ people out democracy in search of brutal ‘cratos’ / power and pelf.
In a post-ideological condition, ideology is empty space and cannot be occupied by any positively determined reality. Maybe it has to become what Jacques Lacan calls the Master Signifier. This means it is political exigencies and pragmatism that allows a particular content to slip into it. Thus, ideology is a body-without-organs that organises its limbs from outside in accordance to vested interest that has hegemony and primacy. For the time being the winning horse is BJP. This is why all vested interests are joining it. These MPs and MLAs concerned are becoming the limbs to the ideology that operates as a body-without-organs. Several among us with our etatist leanings towards strong regulatory state had already accepted such an eventual fate that is facing us today. Hence, we as citizens have to first examine our leanings, ideological fantasies and their hauntologies. These unholy developments will be accepted, rejected, questioned on the basis of the above three by each of us. In a post-ideological era, ideologies (plural) are in many ways more real than reality itself. Because we are ideologically laden in this sense, we keep electing those we condemn as unprincipled. Hence, ‘what is the sublime object that enthuses us and produces are leanings?’ may also be the question that invites us to critically ponder. The event of unholy embrace has put a cleft into our society that deifies all previous symbolic totalizations. BJP’s claims about Congress’ corruption and immorality have begun to look to be an open hypocrisy. Its symbolic totalisation as a Hindu first Party has also received a jolt with number of Christians outnumbering the Hindu counterparts for the first time in the history of ruling BJP in Goa. The ideology that it personified seems to have been abandoned in favour of pragmatic gain. At its height of power, ruling BJP appears to be the weakest in its practice. Faced, with this precarious condition, we can only dream for the return of radical democracy. This radical democracy is paradoxically not radical in the sense of pure, true democracy. On the contrary, it only means that we can save our democracy by factoring its own radical impossibility without our active participation. We have to give up the ideology that democracy will work for us without our active and morally sound participation.
(The author is Professor of Rachol Seminary.)
