The Hindu and its protection of Bharat Jodo Yatra: Only goal? Propping Rahul Gandhi

When you are taking up any venture (small or huge) at your faculty, school, work or in life, one of many first belongings you visualize is learn how to quantify your outcomes. What do you propose to realize? How will you go about attaining it? Can you make it novel? How are you able to stand out out of your friends? These and plenty of such ideas undergo your thoughts and you’re employed in the direction of attaining them. 

Now think about if you hear a few political venture by the Congress celebration on the scale of Bharat Jodo Yatra. We had been consistently instructed about how this Yatra is geared toward unifying India and stopping hatred. So, the least you’ll anticipate is that the Congress celebration will not less than keep united and never unfold hatred within the nation. 

But how can any of those be achieved when there is no such thing as a inherent sincerity within the man main this yatra? For instance, he was in Hyderabad. He addressed a public gathering proper in entrance of the Indira Gandhi statue, at what’s famously referred to as the Necklace Road. Right throughout the highway, should you actually stroll for about 100 toes, is the statue of one other former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao. 

Map of the statue

Rahul Gandhi and your complete Congress celebration didn’t even trouble to pay homage to this statue. In reality, this statue was not constructed by the Congress celebration within the first place! You might have noticed the “P.V. Narasimha Rao Marg” proper subsequent to the statue of P.V. Narasimha Rao. Do you already know the place that results in? Let’s check out the map beneath:

map of the realm

That highway results in P.V. Narasimha Rao’s samadhi – P.V. Gyan Bhoomi. Rahul Gandhi and your complete Congress celebration didn’t trouble to go to P.V. Gyan Bhoomi and pay homage to him. It was as if the statue and the samadhi didn’t even exist for them. And subsequently when Rahul Gandhi did the drama of visiting the samadhi of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in New Delhi, it was not very tough for the widespread citizen to see by way of the vile nature of the Gandhi household. Rahul Gandhi’s favorite newspaper, The Hindu, although ignored this contradiction. In reality, they instructed us that “By paying tributes to A.B. Vajpayee, the first Prime Minister from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Mr Gandhi has sought to make a distinction between the current iteration of Hindutva from its own original content and intent, tenuous as that may be.”

P.V. Narasimha Rao was a lifelong congressman and stepped up at one of the crucial essential moments for each the celebration and the nation. What actual “unification” can somebody like Rahul Gandhi obtain when he can’t even adhere to the fundamentals of that idea in his personal celebration? Very conveniently, of their total protection and evaluation of the BJ Yatra, The Hindu makes zero point out of Rahul ignoring and insulting a Prime Minister from the Congress celebration. 

The inherent lack of sincerity doesn’t finish with this instance alone. At the start of the yatra, The Hindu instructed us that “Bharat Yatris to eat, sleep on the road for 5 months”. For some unusual cause, The Hindu has completely different headlines on the net and print editions, for the similar story! 

The Hindu’s protection of Rahul Gandhi and Bharat Jodo Yatra

You would think about that Rahul Gandhi and his 119 co-walkers, referred to as Bharat Yatris, will truly “tough it out” and really “sleep, and eat on the road”. Hidden within the information report is a small element – they may truly sleep in containers mounted on vans – a complete of 60 containers have been utilized by the Congress celebration. Not talked about in any respect in these stories of The Hindu is the character of those “containers”. NDTV made a short try to point out the motion of those containers nevertheless it regarded like there was some strain to not spotlight them.

NDTV headline

Towards the tip of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, The Wire was commissioned to raise Rahul Gandhi’s “sufferings” however this good OpIndia piece dissects and reveals us the luxurious way of life that Rahul Gandhi has lived all alongside the yatra. All of those had been AC containers fitted with luxurious beddings and loo fittings, however newspapers like The Hindu very conveniently selected, not solely to cover such luxurious however to misinform all of their readers in a blatantly insincere try and elevate Rahul Gandhi. 

The Hindu’s elevation of Rahul Gandhi, all by way of the yatra, is a superb journalistic lesson on learn how to be extra loyal than the king! In numerous cases, we have now been instructed how bold and audacious this yatra is. We had been instructed by The Hindu that “his message of harmony is as inspiring as it is innocently idealistic.” The “message of harmony” took a extreme beating proper from the beginning of the yatra itself – when Rahul “innocently” met Pastor George Ponnaiah, who fiercely advocated the breaking of India; met Uday Kumar who stalled many growth initiatives within the nation; met Medha Patkar who was the rationale for the distress of crores of individuals; met Naxal sympathizers resembling Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan all alongside his yatra. Now, think about the wordplay The Hindu would have resorted to if BJP did a program geared toward “Jodo” (unify) and met with those that follow the precise reverse! But they conveniently selected to disregard all of these extreme incidents and continued to raise him. 

Just a month after Rahul Gandhi left Telangana, elected MLAs, MPs and different leaders raised a banner of revolt and got here up with a “Save Congress” plan. The Hindu wrote a glowing report on November ninth on how Rahul Gandhi united and enthused Congress leaders and cadres. And on December 18th, a banner of revolt was raised by the very same leaders! 

The Hindu’s protection of Rahul Gandhi and Bharat Jodo Yatra

And in fact, The Hindu decides to not touch upon the futility of the “Jodo” yatra (particularly when it gave a glowing tribute when Rahul was touring!). We had been instructed that there was widespread pleasure when Rahul Gandhi was touring Kerala for a full 18 days (in Sep-Oct of 2022). This can also be the state from the place he’s an MP too. He needed to struggle towards hatred, communalism and whatnot.

And in February 2023, we’re handled to this opinion article that describes the varied issues plaguing the Kerala Congress – and that features how they bullied (i.e. unfold hatred) towards their very own chief and compelled him to resign. The solely fault of Anil Anthony was to face up for India! 

The Hindu’s protection of Rahul Gandhi and Bharat Jodo Yatra

The February sixth article makes no references to Rahul’s “message of harmony”; doesn’t level out the irony of Rahul conducting a Bharat Jodo (Unify India) yatra after which firing his personal leaders for doing the very same factor. It’s as if the Bharat Jodo Yatra didn’t even occur within the first place! The article tells us that “Political observers feel that there is a crab mentality in the Congress leadership”. What an excellent method to escape naming Rahul Gandhi because the “Congress leadership” (in spite of everything he’s an MP from this very state!) 

Rahul goes to Punjab and the celebration splits there – discover the stark distinction between The Hindu’s headline and of the opposite media. 

The Hindu’s protection of Rahul Gandhi and Bharat Jodo Yatra

The extreme infighting in Rajasthan that led to unprecedented chaos for the Congress’s personal Presidential election occurred simply a few weeks after the Bharat Jodo Yatra started. After the Yatra left Rajasthan, the Congress was nonetheless a disgruntled unit. Before the Yatra entered J&Okay, leaders resigned from the Congress celebration, however we noticed zero references to those essential occasions in The Hindu’s evaluation of the BJ Yatra. 

News18 headline

Instead, we had been handled to glowing articles that inform us that “Bharat Jodo Yatra is not for the faint-hearted or the weak-kneed — the pace is back-breaking, the terrain can be challenging.” You learn it proper, they wrote this! 

The Hindu’s protection of Rahul Gandhi and Bharat Jodo Yatra

We are instructed that in actual fact “The frenetic yatra is also an escape for Mr Gandhi from the malfunctioning Congress.” This type of evaluation completely confuses me. What type of a frontrunner escapes from issues in his personal celebration? And extra importantly why does the identical newspaper then elevate him with flowery language resembling “The march is on. Long. Arduous. Lonely.” Such robust prose by The Hindu in the identical article the place in addition they say that Rahul is escaping from tasks is confounding! 

The Hindu printed such glowing items very recurrently all by way of the BJ yatra – and never a single one in every of them touched on any tangible profit to the Congress due to this yatra! My private favorite is Kamal Hasan’s “A yatra that is the darn to repair India’s gashes” – so vacuous in its content material that it’s a miracle it occupied a lot area! 

The Hindu’s protection of Rahul Gandhi and Bharat Jodo Yatra

In addition to the multitude of glowing articles, The Hindu additionally printed three editorials on the Bharat Jodo Yatra. In the first editorial, firstly of the yatra, we have now been instructed that the yatra shouldn’t be about Rahul. 

The Hindu’s protection of Rahul Gandhi and Bharat Jodo Yatra

Such sagely recommendation from The Hindu was not adopted by The Hindu themselves! It has already been proven how The Hindu focussed a lot on Rahul Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi alone. They have even remoted him from the issues of Congress and naturally, they’ve even remoted him from the opposite “Bharat Yatris” who travelled together with him. Have you seen a single story about these yatris, who maybe confronted extra hardship than Rahul Gandhi truly did? Nope. It is comprehensible that the Congress celebration doesn’t need such tales, however what explains media like The Hindu ignoring these tales? Especially after they themselves have sermonised that the BJ Yatra shouldn’t be about Rahul! 

In the identical editorial, The Hindu wrote that “The notion that NGOs and actors outside the Congress structure will give buoyancy to his politics is wrong and misplaced.” Yet one other sagely recommendation. Now let’s see what The Hindu analysed when the state of affairs ended up with NGOs and actually actors exterior the Congress construction getting concerned. 

The Hindu’s protection of Rahul Gandhi and Bharat Jodo Yatra

I don’t perceive how one can lose elections should you “establish a direct connection”. And if the yatra failed in establishing a direct connection, then what actual function has it served? 

Their second editorial was ambivalently titled as “Clarity and Confusion”. The editorial is a masterclass in creating confusion and never offering any readability! 

The Hindu’s protection of Rahul Gandhi and Bharat Jodo Yatra

Take a have a look at the road beneath the title for instance – “Use moral clarity for a roadmap for electoral success”. The use of lofty phrases resembling “moral clarity” might make them sound mental however such phrases have zero worth to anybody. In reality, on this editorial, we’re instructed that Rahul Gandhi’s “intentions are beyond reproach.” The language is baffling – it’s as if we should always not query Rahul Gandhi in any respect. 

Their third and last editorial was poetically titled “Miles to Go”. If the conclusion after actually strolling miles, is that there’s nonetheless “Miles to Go”, it actually speaks volumes concerning the nature of the yatra!

The Hindu’s protection of Rahul Gandhi and Bharat Jodo Yatra

But why are they saying that there are “Miles to go”, after publishing so many articles telling us that Rahul Gandhi was the very best? 

Because, for starters, this yatra has not seen any electoral profit for the Congress – they misplaced an necessary bypoll in Telangana when the Yatra was within the state; they misplaced the Gujarat elections very badly; the Himachal victory was regardless of of Rahul Gandhi! 

Because no new political alliances had been shaped even after a lot strolling. Some zillion events had been invited – most of them declined to take part. The solely place the place regional events confirmed pleasure was J&Okay. Everywhere else, not a single new alliance was shaped. Not a single new pal was made. 

Because no new narrative was created. It was all rhetoric about “hatred” at each single state he went to. Local points had been referred to in passing solely. The total message at all times boiled all the way down to how courageous Rahul Gandhi is and the way he’s preventing towards “hatred”. And in the direction of the tip of the yatra, Rahul Gandhi ended up boasting how he hasn’t seen any hatred within the nation. If the very premise of your yatra has been dismantled, then ofcourse you have got “miles to go”! 

Because the yatra titled Bharat Jodo, ended up belittling the Indian Army; ended up creating variations between areas in India; and ended up with Congress Todo at many locations. 

The Hindu’s protection of your complete yatra was bereft of all these contradictions. The focus of their protection was to raise Rahul Gandhi, though there is no such thing as a substance. Their protection is really an awesome lesson to be taught in journalistic colleges – learn how to be extra loyal than the king! However, amidst all of this, the very best headline additionally got here from The Hindu, which aptly summarized your complete BJ Yatra! 

The Hindu’s protection of Rahul Gandhi and Bharat Jodo Yatra