The Chalice of Poison

The week has been full of events related to change of guard in national parties: building consensus for peaceful transition of power. These events take place in political parties after a period of time as required by their constitutions. This time it happened in both the main national parties within the span of a week’s time: the formal anointing of Rahul Gandhi as Vice-President of the Congress, and the election of Rajnath Singh as President of the BJP. Both will be key players in the run up to the general elections due in 2014.

It is not on these events and their consequences that I will comment but on the powerful message that was conveyed to the party and the nation by the acceptance speech of Rahul Gandhi. It was a speech that touched hearts, evoked memories and inspired hope. A speech I will not forget even if it does not turn out to be a turning point in the immediate future. It has the potential to inspire, to warn, to bring about change.

The crown of power comes with the chalice of poison.

But the one who wears the crown does not necessarily have to drink the poison. He or she has to make the choice, a very difficult choice in the face of circumstances that may camouflage poison as honey. One has to be shrewd and aware all the time because the poison will always be there.

Rahul referred in his speech to the “dark and cold” at dawn when he began his day outside in the balcony at Jaipur. He may as well have been referring to the cold darkness in the corridors of power. His father, the late Rajiv Gandhi, had in his first year as prime minister often mentioned his wish to free the administration from the clutches of power brokers. He had meant well, but must have realized in the course of time how well entrenched the brokers were in the dark corridors of power. Rahul spoke of alienation and mediocrity: “People are angry because they are alienated from the system, their voices trampled upon…Our systems are designed to keep people with knowledge out.” Was he talking of the marginalized sections and the very poor whose legitimate demands are always met with deaf ears? Of those who are crushed by the might of the establishment when they choose to protest and agitate? It is true that Rahul has tried his best to meet the weaker sections and understand their problems during the last eight years as MP. He has, no doubt, shown that he has a socialist bent of mind like Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

“It was dark and cold and I decided I’m not going to tell you only what you wanted to hear… (but) a little bit about what I feel… about hope and power.”(Rahul Gandhi)

I hope Rahul will also listen to what he does not want to hear, a little about what the people feel, and not be guided only by official statistics. India is such a huge country where feelings and facts can be drowned in a sea of statistics.

I should say that Rahul has begun well. His performance from now will be measured by many methods, among them the inspiring words he spoke. Words that touched hearts and brought tears. I will now share with you what touched me most: “Last night every single one of you congratulated me. But last night my mother came to my room and she cried… because she understands that the power so many people seek is actually a poison… The only antidote to this poison is that we should not become attached to it. We should not chase power. We should only use it to empower the voiceless.”

Power should never be the end but the means to a worthy end: empowering the people. Whenever power becomes an end, it becomes a poison. The poison that kills slowly. It kills others but it also kills the one who wields it.

Sonia Gandhi made a historical mark when she renounced ministerial power in 2004. That decision, in the Indian tradition as she said, marked her apart from other politicians. When she advises her son on matters of power, she does it from experience and from a position of strength. 

The greatness of power is when it is used as tool for service. The more the power, the more the capacity to serve and empower others.

The chalice of poison will be wherever the crown of power is. The greatness of a leader lies in his ability to wear the crown while keeping the chalice away. If Rahul manages to maintain this balance, we can hope for a better future for India. 

Published in The Navhind Times, Panorama 27.01.2013

At Crossroads Again

Goa is once again at crossroads beginning of 2013 after a decisive verdict in March 2012.  People who voted for change are getting disillusioned. Mind you, not all people voted for change. The committed vote banks of mainline parties never get disillusioned. They never see drawbacks, errors or horrors, corruption, scandals or anything for that matter as reason enough to seek change. Their party of choice or their representatives have to continue for ever, come what may. The other party will always be worse in their eyes. They are comfortable and complaisant. This is true of the traditional voters of any party, whether Indian National Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party or Communist Party.

Those who seek and bring about change are citizens who do not belong to any party. They are sensitive to what goes on in the society and the state. They hope for the better. They do their bit, big or small, to bring about change. They are many a time taken for a ride by politicians, and soon get disillusioned. They say, and rightly so, the erstwhile rulers were bad but the new ones are hardly better. They ask what is to be done? Has it always to be from the frying pan into the fire? Hope is their only energizer. And if hope is lost then all is lost. 

I am not saying that the performance of the Parrikar government has been bad. Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has definitely brought about a refreshing change. There are no divisions in the government, no divisions in the legislature wing of the ruling party, no toppling games from within, and no discordant voices in the party. It is one chief minister, one government unlike twelve chief ministers, one government in the past.  But the one chief minister does not always speak in one definite voice. Instances have been pointed out when consistency has been on the decline. The actions of the chief minister have not always been those expected from the man who is  the immediate past opposition leader. 

Our CM is more than the first among equals in the present ministry. He does not have a challenger from within and no challenger from the opposition as of now. That is why much is expected from him. And it must not be forgotten that he is the architect of the victory of his party in 2012 just as Dr Wilfred D’Souza was the architect of the Congress victory in 1980. But Dr D’Souza  was never allowed to lead the government while Mr Parrikar is leading from the front. And that is why, I repeat, much is expected from him. We do not want to see him ousted before he completes his tenure unless he makes major blunders. He has the mandate to rule as he often keeps saying these days.

The mandate, however, is a democratic one. He has been elected democratically as a democratic ruler. Such a ruler must take all shades of opinion before arriving at decisions. The party manifesto and party ideology as well as personal preferences must be implemented after listening to the public opinion expressed through the media, public platforms, even demonstrations and agitations. The voice of the opposition deserves consideration because it has the backing of a large section of the people who voted for the opposition parties.

It is important that our CM gives priority to those issues that have the backing of all parties and sections of population: better transport, better facilities for education, better infrastructure for healthcare, more non-polluting industries that promote jobs for the local youth, protection of the environment, tourism with values, legally approved and sustainable mining, expediting Regional Plan 2021 to protect land and ecology, and special status for Goa to protect our land for our people. Add to these the primary duty of any government to maintain law, order and peace.  These and some other areas of people oriented development including roads, water, electricity and agriculture are enough to keep the government fully occupied to the satisfaction of the people. The government can tackle divisive issues like the Mopa airport, Khazan land development, etc. at a later date after building consensus.

The people who voted for change last year still hope that CM Parrikar will give top priority to their aspirations which have the backing of all sections of Goa. They hope that their elected CM will not get bogged down with divisive issues. If the CM does not measure up to their hopes, they will have to find or at least begin searching for other leaders who can meet their profound aspirations. The main opposition party is not showing any signs of revival or renewal. Will a third front or a new regional party offer hope?  

Published in The Navhind Times, Panorama 20.01.2013

The New and the Old

The euphoria, the dust and the din of the New Year celebrations has by now given way to settling down with routines and responsibilities. As we do so, we realize year after year that there is nothing new and nothing old in our day to day life with the change of the calendar. It is only a way of marking time. But there is always hope, and hope is expressed by greetings and encrypted in resolutions. All for the best. Work in progress.

Looking into the year that has passed you will find so many issues that came up, so many events that took place, so many changes that were brought about. So many births and so many deaths. So many marriages and a few divorces. New Governments. New scandals. New agitations. New business developments. We may have symbolically burnt the Old Man on 31^st December 2012 but human nature is the same. An important part of our human nature is the yearning for change and the aspiration for the better. Never for the worse. Notwithstanding the fact that some of our actions, especially selfish actions, make our world a more difficult place than it was the year before. And so we bring our aspirations and our struggles into the New Year with new determination and more enthusiasm in spite of more complications. As President Barak Obama said it: If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.

In 2012 when I started writing this column, I picked up issues sometimes from the sidelines and sought to bring them into spotlight. Sometimes this type of issues remained in the spotlight  for long because many others also took them up for reflection and deliberation. Sometimes the topics remained just topics with no follow up. What was in the Margins never entered the Mainstream. But I am happy that some issues have become burning topics today, thanks to the much maligned media and the mass movements. The march is on, among other subjects of concern, against corruption, against sexual violence, for special status for Goa, etc. I shall quote from two of my articles last year to make a point that issues that matter must be taken up continuously month after month, year after year till we achieve the goal.

On molestations:

“The Guwahati incident of the molestation of a teenage girl by a crowd of males in full public view was a matter of shame.  Irrespective of the circumstance of time and place in which the incident occurred, the assault has been condemned all over, and rightly so. The alleged culprits have been arrested. The electronic media has displayed the incident to one and all. The argument is that by recording and displaying, the arrest of the culprits has been facilitated, which might not have been easy otherwise. The question of the incident itself having been orchestrated by the television channel is being investigated. Shock and shame, it has brought about. But has there been any restraint on those others with a similar criminal bent of mind? The answer is an emphatic no.” (Encroachment on the Body,29/7/12) 

The print, the electronic and the social media have played a great role in picking up and highlighting sexual assaults, although sometimes with avoidable details. I need not say more about the way the entire country has taken up the cause against rape after the Delhi incident in December 2012 that shocked the nation.  This battle is only the beginning of the war.

Now over to special status for Goa:

“My first big disappointment with Chief Minister, Manohar Parrikar, came about this week when he declared that the special status for Goa was not his immediate priority, and that he would take it up over a period of time. Now this is one issue over which the people of Goa are not divided. One issue that has been pending for too long a time… Mr. Chief Minister, Sir, the time for special status for Goa has come. And history has placed the leadership on your broad shoulders at this point of time that you may lead Goa to obtain the special status due to her in the Republic of India.” (Special Status Urgent for Goa, 26/8/12)

Many Goans took up this cause, including the Navelim Panchayat Gram Sabha which was the first to pass a resolution asking for special status. Our Rajya Sabha member,Mr. Shantaram Naik, said he would take up the issue with the centre. It gladdens my heart to read the news that finally our Chief Minister is serious about taking up this issue to protect our limited land for the people of Goa. May we win this battle in 2013.

Published in The Navhind Times, Panorama 13.01.2013