Tuesday, May 20, 2014

A Lonely At the Top

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group 



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)