Skip to main content

OPINION | Dear Congress, Either Join The Tea Party, Or Lose T-Shirt In Gujarat

The BJP understands, as the Congress does not, that tea symbolizes all the fuzzy warmth of Indian culture. It is a great leveller — from the richest to the poorest, everyone drinks tea.


Mahatma Gandhi famously took his tea with a pinch of salt. It was 1931, the Salt Satyagraha was a year old and his tea-serving host was the British Viceroy, Lord Irwin. Had the Indian National Congress recalled that little soupcon of history, it would not have put out a meme of a British Prime Minister ordering another Gujarati (PM Narendra Modi) to ‘go sell tea’.

The Mahatma was no great votary of tea, but was a master of symbolism. Gently rubbing salt into the Imperial wound, he twinkled, “To remind us of the famous Boston Tea Party”. An exquisite reference to the genesis of American Independence, with the implicit promise of freedom for India.

If only today’s Congress understood the power of symbols a tenth as well. In 2014, the BJP parleyed Mani Shankar Aiyer’s infamous ‘chaiwallah’ remark into an unprecedented victory. The Congress, reviled as an elitist party led by the sons of Macaulay, drank the bitter brew of defeat. Incredibly, on the eve of the most critical election since then, it has served up a vile concoction and expects the voters of Gujarat to swallow it!

The BJP understands, as the Congress does not, that tea symbolizes all the fuzzy warmth of Indian culture. It is a great leveller — from the richest to the poorest, everyone drinks tea. Tea also symbolizes unity in diversity. Every region has its own variant, from the karak Punjabi chai to the rich kahwa of Kashmir. In every village, the tea shop is the hub of discussions and newspaper-reading, caste and class no bar. Everyone has the very same cuppa, although caste may determine the choice of glassware.

Most of all, it is the basis of hospitality; a glass of water is inevitably followed by an offer of tea. If it isn’t, you are clearly unwelcome and your very presence is an imposition. During a one-to-one interaction with journalists at 10, Janpath in her maiden year as Congress president, Sonia Gandhi made the critical error of failing to offer them water and tea. The lapse of etiquette was forgiven, but never forgotten.

Likewise, the Congress will never be allowed to forget Aiyer’s ‘chaiwallah’, which proved even more poisonous for the party than Shashi Tharoor’s ‘cattle class’ comment. Most Indians have never taken a flight, but all of them drink tea. Modi made ‘chaiwallah’ sexy, by owning it through his chai pe charcha campaign; he wore his erstwhile poverty like a badge of honour. A year later, images of the gorgeous, blue-eyed Pakistani chaiwallah-in-fact Arshad Khan, broke the internet and made it even sexier! The Congress failed to imbibe the lesson.

Chaiwallah 2.0 is already being positioned as a rich versus poor, Indian culture versus foreign ethos narrative. Belatedly realizing the emotional quotient of the controversy, the Congress has frantically sought to distance itself from the meme, but the damage is done. Congress president-in-waiting Rahul Gandhi is already burdened with a classist image: a platinum-spoon heritage, foreign education, a passion for drag-racing, five-star restaurants and holidays abroad. Small wonder he is unable to connect with voters, in a time of growing nationalism and distrust of feudal privilege. The current controversy ruthlessly focuses public attention on all these negatives.

So what if the PM can’t pronounce meme correctly? We are proud of our Hinglish, or Gujlish, as the case may be. Voters are more likely to laugh at Rahul’s accent when he speaks Hindi, rather than Modi’s when he struggles with English. The Congress had best join the tea party, or it may lose its (T) shirt in Gujarat

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Bill Gates says coding is easy check out

Billgates In 1975, Gates and Allen launched Microsoft, which became the world's largest  PC  software company. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions of  chairman ,  CEO and  chief software architect , while also being the largest individual  shareholder  until May 2014. Gates stepped down as chief executive officer of Microsoft in January 2000, but he remained as chairman and created the position of chief software architect for himself. In June 2006, Gates announced that he would be transitioning from full-time work at Microsoft to part-time work and full-time work at the  Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation . He gradually transferred his duties to  Ray Ozzie  and  Craig Mundie . He stepped down as chairman of Microsoft in February 2014 and assumed a new post as technology adviser to support the newly appointed CEO  Satya Nadella .

Golmaal Again

Golmaal Again box office collection day 10: Ajay Devgn film continues to remain a rage Golmaal Again box office collection day 10: Having earned Rs 153.94 crore until Sunday, Golmaal Again is the second-highest grossing film this year yet. The second week of the film is well underway, and this Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty starrer has not showed signs of slowing down Golmaal Again box office collection day 10: This Ajay Devgn film has earned Rs 153.94 crore. RELATED NEWS Golmaal Again box office collection Day 9: Ajay Devgn film collects Rs 153.94 crore Golmaal Again box office collection day 8: Ajay Devgn film earns Rs 143.33 crore Golmaal Again box office collection day 7: Ajay Devgn’s film earns Rs 136.07 crore Rohit Shetty directorial Golmaal Again has grabbed the second spot on this year’s top grossing films after Baahubali 2. It is difficult to believe as it is only the first week of the film, which is the fourth iteration in the Golmaal Franchise, th...

Kiran Bedi a courage need to be saluted

Kiran Bedi  Kiran Bedi  was born and bred in the holy city of Amritsar, Punjab. She is a social activist and the first woman IPS officer in the country. She has not only served her department with full conviction, but has also made whole-hearted contribution to many social causes. A former tennis player, the multi-talented social activist from Amritsar is credited for bringing down the number of crimes against women in West Delhi during her service. She introduced several reforms at Tihar Jail, which gained worldwide acclaim and won her the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1994. In 2003, Kiran became the first Indian woman to be appointed as a Police Advisor to the Secretary-General of the United Nations in the Department of Peace Keeping Operations. She resigned in 2007 to focus on social activism and writing. She has written several books, and runs the India Vision Foundation. Kiran Bedi introduced a number of reforms in the management of Tihar Jail, Delhi when she was th...