Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Sunday opened up on the need to take out 4,000 km padyatra (foot march), which the party named as Bharat Jodo Yatra saying that all the avenues of communicating with the people were “shut” and no matter what we did, everything was blocked so we decided to connect with the people through the yatra.
Rahul Gandhi, who in on US trip from September 6, while speaking at the University of Texas said, “The first question you asked is why I walked 4,000 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.”
He mentioned that “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. Then suddenly, we hit upon the idea: if the media isn’t reaching the masses and institutions aren’t connecting us with the people, go directly to them. The best way to do that was to literally walk across the country. And so, that’s what we did,” he said.
The Congress leader began the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari on September 7, 2022 and walked till Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar, covering a distance of over 4,000 km in 146 days.
He said that 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 kilometers, it’s fine. But when you wake up and say, I’ll walk 4,000 kilometers, it’s a completely different paradigm,” the Congress leader said.
He shared that 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. 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,” Rahul Gandhi said.
He further said that 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 said.
He also said that in India at its heart, 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, adding, “The important thing is to do this sensitively, after carefully listening and understanding.”
He also mentioned that in Parliament, you arrive in the morning, and then it’s like a battlefield where you engage in a war of ideas.
Rahul Gandhi also emphasised on listening to people and 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,” the Congress leader said.
To a question, he responded that ‘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,” he said.
“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? Rahul Gandhi opined.
Mentioning about great leaders, he said that if you look at our great historical leaders, you can see extremes.
“You can see (Gautam) 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,” he stressed.
“To me, that’s Indian politics—that’s the heart of Indian politics, and that’s what defines an Indian leader. That’s how an Indian leader is different from, say, an American leader. An American leader will say, ‘Listen, we have got to go there. I am going to take you to the promised land. Let’s go.’ An Indian leader, on the other hand, challenges himself. Mahatma Gandhi 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.
He also cited the example of Lord Shiva and said that 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,” he said.
He also said that he thinks 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.
He asserted that India’s education system doesn’t connect with the business system.
He said, “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. I think the major issue with the education system today is ideological capture, where ideology is being fed through it,” the Congress leader said.
Taking a swipe at the RSS, he said, “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.”