Er P L Khushu
Rahu / Ketu are two shadow planets having no physical form of their own. They are the two nodes of Moon, when these two shadowy planets are always considered to give bad and malefic effects upon a person or a situation. Rahu is a shadow planet and king of meteors among the Navagrahas (nine planets) mentioned in Hindu texts. During Samudra Manthana, an Asura named Svarbhanu, disguised as a Deva, appears and drinks amrita. Svarbhanu later is caught and is cut into two parts by Bhagwan Vishnu’s Sudarshan Chakra. These two parts became Rahu and Ketu. Rahu is considered a malefic planet (planet giving adverse results), which tries to eclipse the Sun and its prevailing time, when Sun is the king in the planetary cabinet. Sun sustains the universe. It gives energy and synergy to the various creatures on earth. It is believed to influence a person or a situation with inauspicious results.
Rahu Kaal is a phrase that relates to an inauspicious time period each day, which is not regarded favorable for beginning a new task. In Hindu astrology, it refers to 90-minute period between sunrise and sunset every day, on different timings of the day. Rahu Kaal is also known as Rahu Kalam or Rahu Kala, It is considered very important by those who believe in astrology. Especially in South India, people believe Rahu Kalam to be quite crucial even in day-to-day activities. Rahu Kaal in simple language occurs every day, which is considered inauspicious as per Vedic Astrology. Rahu governs this period. No important activity should be undertaken during this period. If any action or work or adventure is begun in Rahu Kalam, it is said, that action does not give positive results. Those activities that have already been started do not get affected by this period governed by Rahu. Anything that is considered auspicious or very important should not be started during Rahu Kaal. Those who believe in it avoid activities such as new work, marriage, buying anything, and trading in this period. In the present day prevalence of deep polarization of various political parties in India, this concept of Rahu – Kalam gets applied to various political parties in India, which have lost power and position, when such political parties have apparently become the targets of perpetual Rahu – Kalam perpetually, even though this period of Rahu – Kalam is limited to a short period during the 24 hours of a day. In the phraseology of the present day intemperate verbose once referred to an academic discussion of discontent and anguish in political debates between various political parties, it is referred as being the worst time for a situation or for a political party. Thus, Kapil Sibal, the member of the upper house of parliament made a sarcastic remark, while expressing his views on the recent union budget that ‘India is not in Amrit Kaal but in Rahu – Kaal since 2014’. Amrit – Kaal as the word suggest is supposed to be a period of Amrit, the Nectar for a person or a situation. Probably he needs to be reminded of his own phase of passing through Rahu – Kaal as a prominent member of the congress party, along with other 22 prominent and senior members of the Congress, when they had to become rebels within their own party because of having lost importance and strategically reduced to naught, for the congress party. Who is responsible for their such a situation Rahu-Kaal or something else having similarity with the word Rahu – Kaal. It is essentially needed to remind all of them, that the congress as a whole is under Rahu Kaal, likely to be consumed fully to its extinction by Rahu, through a denominator in the congress party of almost of a similar name with a little difference.
To quote the Finance Minister of India in this context in the Rajya Sabha, Sitharaman took strong exception to senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal’s remark that ‘India is not in Amrit Kaal but in Rahu Kaal since 2014’.
She said that ‘Rahu – Kaal’ was then, when an ordinance brought by the Prime Minister of their own party was torn in front of the media, she said referring to the 2013 incident of Rahul Gandhi. “That was the Rahu – Kaal,” she said. Rahu – Kaal is what produces G-23. G-23 is a grouping of 23 Congress leaders including Sibal who have voiced concerns over the party’s leadership style. “Senior leaders of the party are leaving the party. That is Rah – Kaal,” she said. “No wonder Congress party which is facing the ‘Rahul – Kaal’ in getting 44 seats and remaining there and is not able to come out. Where Rah – Kaal is there, where the Congress is in power. Elaborating that congress was in Rahu – Kaalam phase, when faced with criticism for her latest budget not doing enough for the poor, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman mocked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s 2013 comment of poverty being a state of mind, and asked if this is the poverty she was supposed to address. Replying to the discussion on budget 2022-23 in the Rajya Sabha, she said her budget brings stability to the economy and has measures to create jobs. Without naming Gandhi, she referred to the Congress leader’s remarks on poverty to counter the criticism from opposition leaders, including former finance minister P Chidambaram of the budget leaving out the poor. She said, “Please be clear, is this the poverty that you wanted me to address, the poverty of mind?” she said. “Your former (Congress) president said the poverty does not mean scarcity of food, money or material things. If one possesses self-confidence, then one can overcome it. He said it is a state of mind.
Modi’s selfless service with a sharp and an apt mind considerations of ‘Sab-Ka-Sath, Sab-Ka-Vikas, Sab-Ka-Vishwas’ and now ‘Sab-Ka-Prayas’, to uplift India and its people on all the fronts of its economy and development along with the removal of poverty from this country is not palatable to the dynastic (Parivarvad) rulers. They are doing so, as they have lost their kingdom and power, when such people are now using all the ignoble comments and vicious campaigns against the present good governance, which is being provided by the present political hierarchy ruling India, under the stewardship and leadership of Modi, the giant politician and a statesman, with self less motives of serving India in all respects. In fact, Rah – Kaal is dominating their minds and unworthy of being good and devoted leaders to lead this country with corruption free administration and development of all sorts. The imprints of their corrupt acts while ruling this country are known to the whole nation. In fact, now history is privy to it, when congress is reduced to a figure of just fifty MP’s in the Parliament of India. Still vague and meaningless observations are coming from the mouths of some prominent leaders of this party, who have inherited the leadership of this party by default and not by design.
Rahul Gandhi unfortunately chanted a course to say in the Parliament that the state has been sought to be transformed from a democracy to rule by a ‘King, a Shahenshah, a ruler of rulers’, something that the freedom movement had fought and defeated in 1947. This was his oblique reference to Modi, certainly feeling frustrated and crest fallen, with the democratic fame and name of Modi, spreading like wildfire all over the country and abroad. This impliedly makes this leader of congress to feel that there are no chances for him for ages to come to power not to speak of his becoming the Prime Minister of India, a wishful dream of his, his mother and sister. What a bashful remark and that too inside Parliament, against a person who is leading the country for its prosperity with corruption free administration relentlessly and round the clock working. This is Rah – Kaal which is prevailing upon the conceit of thinking of such Congress leaders to the final and perpetual extinction of this political party. The deepening crisis facing the Congress since it was trounced in the 2014 general elections is indeed multifaceted. Ideologically, it has lacked clarity on issues like the Ram Temple and the abrogation of Article 370 and, organizationally, its mass party structure has been unable to combat the strong cadre-based model of the Sangh Parivar. Add to that a growing number of defections and limited success in overcoming the various contradictions in India’s political mosaic to make concrete the idea of ‘opposition unity’. The fact whether for good or ill is that India’s Grand Old Party seems unable to look beyond ‘the family’ for the top party post, when in recent months a few leaders have openly expressed dissatisfaction with the manner in which the party is run. Last year, a group of 23 senior Congress leaders, including former chief ministers, Union ministers and party general secretaries, called for ideological clarity, an overhaul of the party’s organization and addressing the leadership vacuum.
So is the case with the, 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections when Narendra Modi tsunami dismantled the entire opposition barring a couple of states where regional satraps still rule the roost. The mandate was not only for Prime Minister, but also a referendum on Rahul Gandhi’s leadership and acceptance as a leader who cannot replace Modi. The mandate shows that people not only rejected Rahul Gandhi but also the top brass of the Congress. It has swept both rural and urban areas. Has Rahul Gandhi become a liability for this grand old party? With this degree of performance, can Rahul Gandhi continue to successfully function as the leader of the biggest opposition party? Should he quit and make way for some other deserving candidate? Is this the effect of Rahu – Kaal on Congress and its leaders, particularly those belonging to now a mother, son and sister trio to call this combination as Indian national Congress as also high command of Congress party? Let it be diagnosed as to how Rahu – Kaal worked with the unproductive leaders of congress party. Immature anti Rafale campaign against an honest government led by an unblemished Prime Minister with an unparliamentarily cries that ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ campaign did not work at all and engulfed the Congress party within its own irritant fire and lost the governance to a point of almost no return. This is what Rahu – Kaal did to Congress, through its own actions like that of Rahu. Congress party for its revival shall have to locate the Rahu within its own party, to save it from perfect extinction. Losing to Smriti Irani in Amethi has dealt a major blow to the credibility of Rahul Gandhi. For long, he is going to be considered a non-performing MP. His massive lead in Wayanad would never ever compensate for the loss in Amethi. To put it neatly, Narendra Modi has defeated Rahul Gandhi with a resounding mandate both in India and in their family bastion, with the blessings of the ‘Amrit-Kaal’ upon him and the destruction of Congress with the shadow of ‘Rahu – Kaal’ upon it. Let the Congress leader who used this phrase of Rahu – Kaal against Modi government in the Parliament know its implication for his Congress party for future as well, when he is in deep oblivion along with other 22 senior members within Congress party, serving the wrath of ‘Rahu – Kaal’, for their good intensions and ideas of revitalizing Congress in country.
(The author is a Chartered Consultant Civil Engineer, passionately attached and devoted to his Motherland – Jammu & Kashmir).