"Pappu," as he was called for nearly a decade, has now been replaced by "ji" in the ruling camp's speeches. It is a massive shift in how they address the Hon. Leader of the Opposition, Mr Rahul Rajiv Gandhi. Many of my "bhakt" friends used to argue about how unfit he is to sit in the Prime Minister's chair. I always countered that even if Congress won a majority, I wondered whether he would take the oath of that office at all.
Every human being has an instinct to outgrow their parents and grandparents, and we Indians have this embedded in our culture. Parents feel proud when their child surpasses their success. For most Indians (poor and middle-class), who are employed, this growth is measured in economic terms: a car, a house, foreign trips. But for the few (leaders, celebrities, the ultra-rich, the power lobby), economic measures hold little value, and success is calibrated differently. A movie star or a sportsperson, for example, would not measure their child's success purely in money but in success within their own domain.
Now, try placing yourself in Rahul's shoes. Your great-grandfather was India's first Prime Minister for around 17 years. Your grandmother was Prime Minister for nearly 16 years in total. Your father was Prime Minister for about 5 years. You were virtually born and brought up in the Prime Minister's residence, 7 RCR, and your early childhood and schooling happened around it. What, then, is the minimum benchmark that certifies you as successful, and how would you outgrow it?
You feasted on the power corridors in childhood, so they won't entice you enough. You would want to scale up and level up. Becoming Prime Minister would surely not be enough. Tenure-wise, you would need to hold the post for four terms just to make a mark in the history books. Even then, something would feel lacking, because that is only equaling, not scaling or creating a new benchmark. So you would have to look for something beyond the PM's chair and office.
The soul of this nation, its mascot and spiritual guide, is Mahatma Gandhi. He held no chair and no official position, yet he is a leader associated with India across the globe. Neither Nehru nor Indira, with their combined 30 years in office, can match the Mahatma's aura. His name is given to most government schemes, and nearly every city and town in India has an M. G. Road. His photo hangs on the walls of every government office and is printed on the currency every Indian uses. Internationally, India is known as the land of Buddha and Gandhi.
Gandhi walked across India to meet people, stayed in villages, interacted, dined with them and then moved on to the next village. He read the Indian people, learnt Indian conditions and experienced its cultures and diversity, and that is how he became the Mahatma. He was politically connected to the remotest person in the country. His voice could not be ignored, even by those who differed with him. Nehru, Patel, Bose and Ambedkar all disagreed with him at times, yet they ultimately obliged him.
I can think of no other leader in the world who has walked more than 4,000 km to meet the people of his land, except Rahul. The youth-connect programmes he organises have received a stunning response. The best part is that he is not the only speaker. He gives others space and encourages them to speak. Uncomfortable topics like patriarchy have helped him make inroads into new territories beyond politics. He does not talk about elections or his party. He talks about the soul of India. He voices India.
He knows that the government machinery (the Parliament mic) won't let him speak, and that the media, as everyone knows, is biased. He converted this challenge into an opportunity by going directly to the people. Today, no ruling party leader can match his mass reach and connect. He has direct influence, information and access to the people, something we have not seen in Indian politics for a long time. The last 12 years were full of monologue and one-way communication, and the 10 years of Manmohan Singh before that were purely parliamentary. Together, that is nearly a quarter of a century. Rahul has refreshed the political approach, and the ruling regime has no idea how to handle this novel technique.
I believe Rahul has now outgrown the chair of Prime Minister. Even if the Indian National Congress secures a full majority, I think he would hesitate to occupy it. If it doesn't, he will spend his time channelling the soul of the nation. What Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi did from 1925 to 1948, Rahul is attempting to do now. And this success, I believe, will help him outgrow Nehru, Indira and Rajiv.
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*Contact: vivek.sakpal@gmail.com
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