Rahul Gandhi in the US: ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra introduced idea of love in politics’

India’s Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi interacted with students and faculty at the University of Texas, US during his first visit to the United States of America as LoP.

He touched upon several issues, including the role of the Opposition, what he has learnt as a politician over the last 20 years, the Bharat Jodo Yatras and the key learnings, his perception of Indian political thought, and the unemployment situation in India, the problem with skilling in our country, and the "institutional capture" by the RSS/BJP during the past 10 years.

Role of Opposition in India

Rahul told the gathering that at its heart, the Opposition is the voice of the people.

“Your main focus is to consider where and how you can raise the issues concerning the people of India. You think from an individual perspective as well as from the perspective of groups such as industries and farmers,” he said.

He said the important thing is to do this sensitively, after carefully listening and understanding.

“In Parliament, you arrive in the morning, and then it’s like a battlefield where you engage in a war of ideas and words,” continued Rahul.

What he has learnt as a politician over the past 2 decades

The Congress leader said, “Listening is much more important than speaking. It is fundamental to understanding people. You don’t raise every issue, but focus on addressing the fundamental ones. You choose your battles much more carefully.”

On the Bharat Jodo Yatras and learnings from them

“The first question you asked is why I walked four thousand kilometers - what created the need for us to do this? The reason is that all avenues of communication in India were shut. Every single one. No matter what we did, everything was blocked. We spoke in Parliament, but it wasn't televised. We went to the media, but they didn’t pick up what we said. We even presented documents to the legal system, but nothing happened. So, all the avenues were closed, and for a long time, we literally couldn’t understand how to communicate,” said Rahul.

He said that they suddenly hit upon the idea, that if the media wasn’t reaching the masses and the institutions weren’t connecting them with the people, they had to go directly to the people.

Rahul said, “We realised that the best way to do that was to literally walk across the country. And so, that’s what we did.”

“In the beginning, I must tell you, I had a knee problem. For the first 3-4 days, I thought, 'What have I done?' Because when you wake up in the morning and say, 'I’ll run 10 kilometres,' it’s fine. But when you wake up and say, 'I’ll walk 4,000 kilometers,' it’s a completely different paradigm,” the Congress MP said.

Rahul explained how the yatras fundamentally changed him.

“There were moments like that, where I thought, 'This is quite a big thing.' But surprisingly, it wasn’t difficult at all. And it fundamentally changed the way I think about my work. I would say it completely changed how I view politics, how I view our people, how I communicate with them, and how I listen to them. It wasn’t just me - many people were involved in the yatra,” he said.

Idea of love in politics

The Congress leader discussed how the introduction of the idea of love in politics happened organically.

“For all of us, the most powerful thing that happened organically, something we didn’t even plan, was the introduction of the idea of love in politics. This is strange because if you look at political discourse in most countries, you’ll never find the word love. It simply doesn’t exist in that context. You’ll find hatred, anger, unfairness, corruption - all these words - but rarely the word 'love.' The Bharat Jodo Yatra actually introduced that idea into the Indian political system, and I’ve been amazed at how well that idea has worked,” he elaborated.

On his perception of Indian political thought

“In Hindi, we have a word, Devta. Do you know what it really means? It’s not just God or Deity. Devta actually means a person whose internal feelings are exactly the same as his external expression, meaning he is a completely transparent being. If a person tells me everything he believes or thinks and expresses it openly, that’s the definition of a Devta.

What’s interesting about our politics is this:

* How do you suppress your own ideas?

* How do you suppress your own fears, greed, or ambitions and instead focus on observing other people's fears and ambitions?

If you look at our great historical leaders, you can see extremes. You can see Buddha, who represents an extreme, and you can see Bhagwan Ram and Mahatma Gandhi. The basic idea is the destruction of the identity, the destruction of the self, and listening to what others are saying,” said Rahul.

“That’s the heart of Indian politics, and that’s what defines an Indian leader,” he said.

Rahul said that’s how an Indian leader is different from, say, an American leader. An American leader would say, 'Listen, we’ve got to go there. I’m going to take you to the promised land. Let’s go.' An Indian leader, on the other hand, challenges himself, said Rahul.

“Gandhi ji essentially challenged himself. It’s a different concept. In some ways, Bharat Jodo Yatra was an attack on myself. Four thousand kilometers - let’s see what happens. This generates a completely different way of thinking and creates a unique relationship with people,” he said.

“You know the idea of Shiva - when they say Shiva is the destroyer - what is he destroying? Himself. That’s the idea. He’s destroying his ego, his structure, his beliefs. So, Indian political thought and action are all about going inward,” shared Rahul.

On the unemployment situation in India

“I think many people say that India has a problem with skills. I don’t think India has a problem with skills. I think India has a problem with respect for skills. India doesn’t respect people who possess skills. But I don’t believe there is any shortage of skills already available in India,” he said.

“Our education system doesn’t connect with the business system. You have a business system operating independently, and then you have an education system that exists in an ivory tower. The education system does not connect deeply with India’s skill structure. Bridging that gap or linking these two systems - skills and education - through vocational training is fundamental in my view,” said Rahul.

‘Institutional capture’ by the RSS/BJP

Rahul felt the major issue with the education system today is ideological capture, where ideology is being fed through it.

“Most of our vice chancellors today are appointed by the RSS, an organisation with a very particular perspective on life, history, and the future. This is really damaging. Having one organisation placing all its people in the education system is harmful. It’s important to ensure that those running our education system are independent, not ideological, and not committed to a particular way of thinking.