Rahul Gandhi: His Tryst With Dynasty
 |
|
Image: Dinesh Tripathi
|
’ll be upfront about this and I am reasonably sure you’ll agree with me. Deep down, most of us nurture disdain towards those who come to occupy positions of power by virtue of birth. Quite honestly, that has, at least until I started researching this story on Rahul Gandhi, been my stated position. And because there is no other polite way to say it, I’ll say it as it is: Respect for those in power who inherit it, usually comes from the unwashed, illiterate masses that can be manipulated. This, to my mind, is a truth leaders have always acknowledged throughout history. That explains why, as his power grew, Alexander the Great perpetuated the myth that he was sired by the god Jupiter Ammon and not Philip II of Macedon, who incidentally, used prudence as a tool to rule and outgrow the shadow of his father Philip I of Macedon, a paradigm of boundless energy.
But as I begin to write this story, I must confess, the ground beneath my feet has shifted and my stated position has taken a hammering. As this story goes into print, and I fine tune all that I’ve collected from my various conversations with a few dozen people about what exactly Rahul Gandhi is all about, things stand at a knife’s edge and I can’t help wonder which way things will go.
Right now though, I’m willing to take a punt and argue that Rahul Gandhi ought to take a call and make a go for the country’s top job as its prime minister. If he doesn’t do it now, there is a pretty good chance he may never get a shot at it again. The reason I say that is because he’s spent a good number of years lurking in the shadows, and contrary to what many believe, has the pedigree to make for a good leader.
Sure, there are many ifs and buts and nuances to what is an incredibly complex story, all of which I will attempt to tell here. But before that, I will also take refuge under a famous Winston Churchill quip: “Politics is the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month and next year — and the ability afterwards to explain why it didn’t happen.”
The way things are, urban India seems in a state of revolt. It’s the kind of thing that the ruling Congress coalition hadn’t anticipated. Who, after all, would have imagined urban Indians donning Gandhi caps and organising mass protests, candle light vigils, and participating in raucous street side debates across the country to support a benign Gandhian who goes by the name Anna Hazare?
Infographic: Sameer Pawar; Photographs: Digvijay Singh: Arvind Yadav / HT; Meenakshi Natarajan: Sushil Kumar / HT; Jitendra Singh: Arvind Yadav / HT; Sachin Pilot: Sushil Kumar / HT; Milind Deora: Sonu Mehta / HT ; Sonia Gandhi: Utpal Baruah / Reuters; Priyanka Vadra: Adnan Abidi / Reuters
His stated cause — to implement the Jan Lokpal Bill that will ostensibly go a long way in weeding out corruption — clearly struck a chord with middle class India. It is another matter altogether that while the Bill has its heart in the right place, it is most certainly not the panacea for all the evils that plague our democracy. For various reasons though, Team Anna and his campaign managers have managed to sell a dream — that if this Bill is implemented the way they want it, it will go a long way in dealing with the many evils that plague our system.
Now, Baba Ramdev, whom most of you know as a spiritualist, yoga practitioner and television evangelist, was quick to spot the potential of the assault Team Anna was mounting on the government. He, therefore, quickly attempted to hijack the agenda and mounted an indefinite fast listing a variety of issues they wanted to see achieved. These included an end to black money and promotion of the Hindi language. But the Congress, master at the art of calling a bluff, took a tough line and refused to get into any negotiations with him. Baba Ramdev was compelled to cede ground in disgrace. He quietly abandoned his fast and went back to doing what he does best.
Strategists at the Congress headquarters reckoned they could do much the same thing with Anna Hazare. What they underestimated though was the groundswell of support mounting in his favour. Some sources I’ve spoken to tell me that the RSS, which would do anything to topple the Congress, saw the momentum building in Anna Hazare’s favour much earlier than anybody else did and infiltrated Hazare’s ranks with their supporters to give the movement the mass support it needs. I’m not entirely sure how true this theory is — but I suspect it is a theory that cannot be dismissed entirely.
Single Page View
Disappointed to see Forbes India lowering their editorial standards. its shocking that such shallow, pointless & politically biased article, which does not even deserve to be printed, is made the cover story! nothing new to add except confusion, nothing new to say except singing paean for Rahul Gandhi. just lost some respect for an otherwise great magazine.
