Fairweather enemies who don’t know art of war

There is no warfare without understanding the enemy. There is no understanding the enemy without understanding Sun Tzu, the 6th century Chinese general who wrote The Art of War. Military commanders read Sun Tzu to plan strategy. Political leaders study him in times of strife. Captains of industry delve into his treatise to deal with hostile takeovers. Corporate executives pore over his manual to advance their careers. But it is one book the Congress party doesn’t have in its library. They recognise as their evergreen enemy only one: Narendra Modi.

To quote from Sun Tzu: “It is said if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.” By turning their guns constantly on the Gujarat Chief Minister—who gets reprieve after reprieve from the judiciary—it is obvious that the only Bible the party swears by is ‘Son Tzu’. A US Congressional report has concluded, 2014 may be a direct contest between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi. Modi, on his part, seems to have read Sun Tzu: “To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.” Modi doesn’t bother to fight the Congress, he frustrates it by ignoring it.

Rahul’s Muslim politics in UP is a trial run for 2014. The results will determine the thrust and tenor of his next campaign. The BJP has anointed Modi as a prime ministerial contender. The party’s advantage is its credibility: Vajpayee never believed in opportunistic alliances. In 1937, Nehru had an agreement with the Muslim League to form the government in Uttar Pradesh. When the Congress won an absolute majority, it dumped the Muslims, only to ally with the League again when it won 87 per cent of seats reserved for Muslims of British India in 1945-46. Six decades later, Rahul is taking the same road.

Historically, the Congress is a fair-weather enemy. Rahul’s enemies are Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav, and alliance with the latter is not an impossibility. The UPA doesn’t realise its real enemy is not Modi, but inflation, dipping growth, capital flight and corruption. By questioning Batla House and supporting Muslim reservation, it isn’t going to vanquish these foes. Naming Modi maut ka saudagar for the Gujarat riots, is not going to increase its green cover. Narendra Modi is a formidable opponent, not because he is a Hindu demagogue, but because his personal emphasis is on non-corrupt, good governance, and not just political survival.

On September 12, 2011, the Supreme Court had refused to pass any order on Modi’s alleged inaction in containing riots. All efforts to keep the Sohrabuddin encounter case alive; belated revelations by pet cops like Sanjeev Bhatt, and the spate of legal applications filed by discredited activists like Setalvad failed, when the SC-appointed SIT found no “prosecutable evidence” against Modi.

The report has vindicated his decision to bring the bodies of the 59 kar sevaks who died in the Sabarmati Express fire, to Ahmedabad, as they needed to be identified and handed over to relatives. When Ehsan Jafri was set on fire by killer mobs, it was an unpardonable act of murder. So was the burning of innocent women and children in Godhra. To quote Sun Tzu, “Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” Digvijay, will you give young Rahul that book?

Ravi@newindianexpress.com