Seldon and Theseus Walk Into a Bar… and Find Indian Politics

The Ship of Theseus is a philosophical thought experiment about whether an object that has had all of its components replaced remains fundamentally the same object.

Almost every day, Prime Minister Modi and the BJP berate the Congress for the faults of the past. It’s like blaming the Ship of Theseus for the outcome of a battle fought 60 years ago.

Over time, parts of the Ship of Theseus are replaced year after year. The Congress, too, has changed continuously. Leaders have changed, members have come and gone, and today none of the original “parts” of that old Congress are even alive, let alone active in politics. Yet, like a gift that keeps giving, the BJP continues to flog this old ship as if it alone is responsible for all present-day problems.

An extension of the Ship of Theseus thought experiment asks: what if we assemble a new ship using all the discarded parts which one is the “real” ship? The irony in Indian politics is that the BJP has used many discarded “parts” of the Congress to build its own ship. Many past and present BJP leaders were once members of the Congress. So which, then, is the “real” Congress?

There’s a story about a new leader who, on assuming office, is left three chits by his predecessor, to be opened only in times of crisis. It’s a bit like a low-budget Seldon Plan not predicting the future, but prescribing how to survive it.

Sure enough, a crisis arrives. He opens the first chit. It says: “Blame past governments.” He does, the narrative sticks, and the crisis fades from public memory.

Another crisis comes. He opens the second chit: “Announce new schemes with catchy names.” He rolls out grandly named initiatives, headlines are managed, and once again, the moment passes.

Then comes the third crisis bigger, messier, unavoidable. He opens the final chit, expecting a masterstroke worthy of Hari Seldon himself. It reads: “Prepare three chits.”

Dear Modiji and BJP, we’ve been on the third chit for quite some time now, yet you keep opening the first two again and again. Perhaps it’s time to finally write the third chit.