Bofors scandal was certainly a big event that spiraled to bring more political alternatives that the country not only required by deserved back then.

But then if you look at that scandal in context to how things have been in the past decade – from Coalgate to commonwealth to now Rafael deal – Bofors scandal doesn’t look to be “very” big, as often tossed by the media.

Letsdiskuss How Bofors changed India’s politics?

People in the bottom end, which made up for more than 50 percent of the Indian population back in the days, didn’t care much about this scandal really. The poor, unemployed, farmers and jobbers—in the presence of their own issues and in the absence of TV, they had least interest in if there was a scam in the arms deal that took place between India and Swedish arms manufacturer AB Bofors.

The hullabaloo lingered only in the upper echelons—among the news publications and people who were actively involved in the politics. Be it Jayaprakash Narayan or VP Singh, they touted a large following, not necessarily due to their stance about the Bofors but due to their identities and cult-like personalities. India, on many levels, was much similar back in the days as it is today: identity-based politics dominated the issue-based politics even then.

rajiv gandhi

Also Read :-What would have been the state of Congress had Rajiv Gandhi been alive?

The whole Bofors scandal was a pivotal point, on the political front, in independent India. The country dared to look beyond the Congress party. Many new leaders emerged whose titles weren’t ‘Gandhi’. Alternative parties and ideologues surfaced. The voters started looking in different directions to find their niche parties and politicians. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar got in the front seat to become the political heartland of the country with leaders like Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar, Ram Vilas Paswan, Kalyan Singh, Mulayam Singh Yadav, and so many more.

It was also a true testament for the Indian media, who, during the whole controversy, elevated the class of its investigative journalism.

Bofors scandal did impact India’s political scenario. But in today’s context when the country went through so much since 1986 – be it in scams or social revolution – it isn’t something “very big” as the media claims.