C Rajagopalachari is not the Hindutva icon the BJP imagines him to be

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With the bust of statesman C Rajagopalachari replacing that of English architect Edwin Lutyens in the Rashtrapati Bhavan, an old icon is being recast in a new political form. Rajagopalachari, one of Mohandas Gandhi’s closest confidantes, was independent India’s first governor-general and chief minister of the Madras State. In his twilight years, he challenged the Congress by forming the Swatantra Party – at one point it was the single-largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha.

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By appropriating Rajagopalachari, a prominent leader in the Independence struggle and early years of the Republic, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is once again attempting to force-fit a historical figure into its own ideological mould.

President Draupudi Murmi, in her speech at the installation of the bust, said that the event was a sign of “mental decolonisation”. But BJP’s vision of decolonisation has long been clear: it aims to delegitimise the freedom struggle led by the Congress while positioning Hindutva politics as “true decolonisation”.