by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group
Harish Gupta
A Lonely At the Top
Harish Gupta
In Steven Spielberg's Oscar-winning 2012 film Lincoln, biopic of the US President during the American
Civil War, the uneasy relation between the President and his son Robert stands
out. It casts a shadow, however small, on the Lincoln presidency as the legendarily
upright President indeed had to request his army chief for a safe posting for
Robert, and that too in the risk-free last stage of the war when the
Confederates were preparing to surrender.
Politicians have a natural tendency to promote dynasties,
a tendency which the evolved democracies have learnt to curb. In India, though,
political dynasties are not only tolerated but worshipped. Congress vice
president Rahul Gandhi had said he'd put an end to hereditary leadership and
family bailiwicks in his own party but he not only unblushingly occupied an
inherited post himself but made sure that every crumbling oak in the garden of
the Congress got its sapling replanted in its place-creating a green house of
such budding worthies as Prasad, Pilot, Deora or Jitendra Singh. Dynasty is now
the order of the day. Sharad Pawar hopes to bloom a new through his daughter
Supriya Sule, and Mulayam Singh Yadav is perpetuating his DNA through his son
Akhilesh. Besides, NDA member Ramvilas Paswan, after his electoral victory, has
made it a point to have his son in tow at every photo op. On the other hand,
Lalu Yadav and his beleaguered brood is history. Even Mamata Banerjee, famed
for her Hawaii
chappal and much advertised spinsterhood, has now got a loved nephew elected
this time round. Over the years, the dynasty culture, began perhaps on an
evening in 1928 when Motilal Nehru had hired a house in Lahore to see his son
being anointed Congress president (M. K. Gandhi was the obvious priest), has
become like weed that chokes all marine life in a lake. Without a burnished
lineage, or a nod from those who have such lineage, nobody can hope to lead
even a ministry in the government, not to speak of heading it.
What does it
mean to Indian
political system
The magic that came to life on May 16 was that of an
ordinary man without pedigree-one who was never a member of the parliament
before-to become Prime Minister. Narendra Modi comes from a poor family with no
caste credential. He graduated through distance learning and didn't quite see
the inside of a high-class Indian institution, not to speak of Oxbridge or Ivy
League. He never lived in Lutyens' Delhi
the way leaders live. He is a political sannyasi who renounced family life
early in life. He has no son, no daughter, and no son-in-law, real or foster,
to do career-planning for. The country has found for the first time a Prime
Minister without baggage. The Congress committed another hara-kiri by raking up
the issue of his wife with whom he had parted company 46 years ago, to devote
his life to the RSS. Except for his mother, he has no connection whatsoever
with anybody in his long social and political journey. No one knows if he has a
friend. People stay in his system who deliver. Amit Shah is his alter ego
because he delivers and knows what to talk and what not to. But there is none
in the family and party who can claim to get things done. Will it help? If so,
how?
I think it may have a resounding effect on the country's
political culture, though it is unlikely to happen overnight. Contrived
"demands" by retainers of political dynasties that the old order must
continue-as it is happening in political parties of the day-will help the
privileged to retain their thrones for the time being. But what will hit the
dynastic castles some day is the improvement in governance that an unencumbered
and highly motivated leader like Modi can achieve without difficulty. If power
situation improves in Uttar Pradesh, the proposed Freight Corridor creates jobs
in Bihar, and a determined security-cum-welfare
push brings the Maoists of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand back from forests into
democratic life, such manifestations of superior governance cannot but
transform the idea of politics. Since Delhi is
the Capital of India and directly under the Central government through the
Lieutenant Governor, Modi would like to make it "rape free" to send
the right signal to the women across India. It will make political posts
non-heritable and therefore open to all with merit and public spirit.
I shall conclude this article with a word about the
reason for the Congress debacle. It has happened as the party found itself
pitted against the monumental ability of an ordinary Gujarati to connect with
the masses everywhere. The Congress had no answer to Narendrabhai Modi's
amazing power to compel everyone to listen to him.
The last mass leader it had on the saddle was Indira
Gandhi. In 1971, when she said garibi hatao, the appeal had a resounding echo.
It gave the Congress the famous "massive mandate" of 1971. The party
excelled this performance once again, in 1984, when it won over 400 seats. But
that election took place against the tragic backdrop of Indira's 31 October
1984 assassination. Indira Gandhi thus proved her magical ability to connect
with the people even in her death.
Narendra Modi's quality as a communicator is of the same
league. His chant, 'Achchhe din aane
walein hein…. & Least government, Most government" appealed to the
aspiring classes in cities as well as villages. It resonated across the entire
Gangetic belt from Kanpur
to Kolkata. It worked like a big vacuum cleaner that sucked in decades of
complex calculations of caste and community, giving in exchange a short but
irresistible message of hope.
In the coming years, Modi can cross all political hurdles
as long as he can reassure them that good times are round the corner. It will
work, unless a calamity happens, and the common man's trust goes for a toss.
(The author is
National Editor of
Lokmat group)
