A SUITABLE BOY!

SUNNY THOMAS

You know why the British changed the capital from Calcutta to Delhi? The streets of Calcutta were full of (future) Mamata Banerjees that the far-sighted British thought it wise to shift the capital. Notwithstanding the British decision, Mamata Banerjee flew to Delhi to drop a bomb at 10 Janpath but it turned out to be a damp squib!

Compare the dignity with which Sonia Gandhi announced the name of the most Suitable Boy and the grace with which Pranab Mukherjee accepted the proposal. In politics, breed is not a disqualification but could be an asset. Cutting across party lines, Dada commands respect; respect not only of the species of politicians but all Indians across the nation. Nehru used Lal Bahadur Shastri as his emissary to resolve naughty political problems, just the way Sonia Gandhi used Pranab the Peacemaker. And finally, peacemakers always inherit the earth.  

The saddest chapter in the high drama is the dragging in of Abdul Kalam’s name. Those who did it had no regard for his reputation or human sensibilities. Like the cave man sending his stone missiles, they used Kalam in the same savagery; the only difference, they did it in the 21^st century while the caveman did it in his time, not known for civilization.    

Your decisions speak of your leadership qualities. The decision of the two chief ministers who proposed Purno Sangma’s name – the name of someone with dubious defection record – shows lack of vision and the parochial mindset in which regional satraps are trapped in.

The most eminent of India Presidents was Dr S. Radhakrishnan of Oxford fame. Incidentally, he was also the former Vice-Chancellor of Benarus Hindu University and the Ambassador of Enlightened Hinduism. The authority of Dr Rajendra Prasad, the first President of the Indian Republic, was unique. He was elected against Jawaharlal Nehru’s wishes because Nehru wanted C Rajagopalachari to be the first President. Congress party strongman Sardar Patel had his way and ensured Dr Rajendra Prasad’s victory.

Nehru’s eloquence was intimidating even for British Viceroys (like Linlithgow), and Rajen Babu (as the first President was endearingly called) chose to write to Nehru rather than meet him face to face, even though Nehru briefed the President every Monday morning on the state of the nation. Prasad was an ultra conservative and Nehru a liberal, and differences are bound to come up. But they debated among themselves through letters, of course, and arrived at a consensus on most of the issues. But Nehru always paid the respect that is due to the President, notwithstanding his reputation as a benevolent dictator.   

After Dr Zakir Husain, there was an erosion in the status of the President which has now come to be accepted, partly because the Presidents were handpicked. Most Presidents enjoyed the palatial mansion and the ceremonial trappings that they chose not to meddle with politics or politicians. President Pratibha Patil was at once a triumph of symbolism and hopes raised but not lived up to, while President Abdul Kalam was vision personified, who inspired and ignited young minds. But none showed greater statesmanship than Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma, the grand old Congressman raised to the Presidency.

Global credit rating agencies are like alligators in the deep, pulling down men in water to drown and feast on them. They are basically discredit agencies lying in wait to discredit global economies – true to their operational style, the Standard and Poor’s downgraded the American economy and now published a damaging report on the Indian economy. That the rich man’s toilet is more important than the poor man’s food is in essence the spirit of the economic reforms as practised by their exponents in India and their foreign patrons like S & P.