Indian politics is trapped in a peculiar paradox. A government with a parliamentary majority, a formidable political machinery and command of the institutions has little reason to fear its critics. Yet there is a steady barrage of FIRs against dissenters, police action, threat to livelihoods, and displays of official displeasure. The impression this creates is quite different from the one intended. Gen Z sees this demonstration of authority as the mark of an establishment uncomfortable with criticism.
This is Rahul Gandhi’s carpe diem moment. His escalating, combative interventions in Parliament, accusing the government of destabilising institutions, have reinforced this positioning. Going by YouTube, the BJP can no longer assume its old vocabulary will work indefinitely. The Opposition leader does not need to show he can outmatch the government. He only needs to persuade people he is willing to stand up to power, and that is easy when the government’s response to criticism appears disproportionate. A police deployment may be justified on grounds of law and order. An FIR may have a legitimate legal basis. Governments cannot abandon their duty to maintain public order merely because the Opposition sees an opportunity in confrontation. But politics is not conducted in the language of administrative files. It is interpreted through images, emotions, and historical associations. When a massive police presence confronts citizens carrying the tricolour and invoking freedom-movement slogans, the administration sees a security threat. The public sees an uncomfortable echo of the colonial establishment. No government can afford to let its opponents appropriate the imagery of India’s freedom struggle.
The BJP must recognise that it is not merely fighting Rahul Gandhi. It is fighting a moral narrative forming around him. Allegations of corruption, administrative failure and mismanagement are already handing the Opposition gunpowder. Every perceived act of intimidation lets Rahul shift the argument from his own record to the government’s conduct. He becomes the protagonist of a larger story about power and accountability. The BJP needs a moral machine, and needs it now: not just a political or religious engine. It needs an intellectual counter to Rahul Gandhi, framed in his own aspirational language: not another round of personal insults. A candidate blaming voters’ education for his defeat in Varanasi would be laughable if it were not so tragically revealing of the culture of the contemporary power apparatus. Narendra Modi understood that politics is not simply about delivering schemes or managing an economy. It is about creating a sense of belonging, aspiration, and national purpose. The language of a new India, cultural pride and Modi’s decisive leadership gives the BJP an extraordinary advantage. But when a leadership that projected confidence repeats the message without sensitivity, power looks like arrogance. What these restless times require is benevolence, which should not be confused with softness or political passivity. It is the willingness to absorb criticism without treating every critic as an enemy, to acknowledge mistakes without appearing diminished, and to distinguish between dissent and disorder. Modi has an opportunity to reclaim this space. An ideal patriarch need not constantly remind his family of his authority. He commands respect without demanding silence.
There is also a generational dimension to the BJP’s current political dilemma. Gen Z may not agree with Rahul Gandhi on every issue, or even consider him a convincing alternative to Modi, but it will sympathise with anyone taking on a system that holds all the institutional advantages. The underdog need not be perfect. He only has to be seen fighting for something larger than himself. Rahul is attempting to play the role of defender of democratic freedoms, and the BJP should be careful not to strengthen that image through its own response.
India’s philosophical inheritance offers the right manual of action. The Bhagavad Gita does not recommend permanent aggression for its own sake. In Chapter 6, Verse 5, Krishna tells Arjuna: “Elevate yourself through the power of your mind, and do not degrade yourself. The mind can be the friend and also the enemy of the self.” The first battle of leadership is often with one’s own impulses, and anger and insecurity can become greater enemies than a political opponent. In the Ramayana, Rama’s greatness is inseparable from restraint, duty, and the ability to inspire loyalty. The epic endures not merely because of Ravana’s defeat but because of its exploration of responsibility, sacrifice, and the conduct of a ruler. There is a time for firmness and a time for the open hand, and true wisdom lies in knowing the difference. The BJP has mastered the politics of assertion. It now needs to master the patience of magnanimity. The anger of citizens cannot always be overcome through official authority. Sometimes it can be won over only through the persistence of benevolence.
