Indira and the Common Man
Published by Ravikiran Rao November 26th, 2003 in IndiaIndira!…
This morning’s Asian Age, has an editorial by H.Y Sharada Prasad about Indira Gandhi titled “What did she do for India?”. This is quite an important question, because whether it is far flung villages or Upper Middle Class dinner parties, she is considered oddly enough as a Martyr, a Saintly governess, who took a battered India under her wing. What she did with it is another story conveniently forgotten.
I am too young to remember her rule, but from what I have heard from my father, (who was in Delhi during the emergency, and thankfully survived Sanjay Gandhi’s ruthless campaigns) tells of a maniacal control of power, surpassing even obsessive behaviour. But when we see that the Janata Party her prime adversaries were also just about the same in their attitude to economics, if not to power, then how will history, judge the lady with streaked hair?
I am beginning to believe that she was an archetypal mother, who always wants to hold her child close, and never let it stray, from the path that she sees as good. I guess she just did not know when to let go.
…and the Common Man
From Mr. Prasad’s Editorial
…curious to know why the common people continue to think well of Indira Gandhi. She subjects them to grilling, and she finds out that the general feeling among the poor is that Indira Gandhi was for them, although they could not give any concrete proof to substantiate their belief.
This left the columnist in a quandary. On one side of the balance are the known bad things of the Indira regime, such as the Emergency excesses, the mishandling of Kashmir and Punjab problems, the failure to liberate the economy, and the damage to political morality and administrative integrity. On the other side are unnamed, unquantifiable benefits. This makes the columnist throw up her hand and exclaim, “It is not for us political pundits to disregard the wisdom of the common man.”
Must Political Pundits and everyone else, concede so quickly to the unfounded Wisdom of the common man? My answer: I don’t think so. What do you think?
hey man.. long time no see.. thought i’d hop in for a quick hello! :)
“What did she do for India”, well as pointed out, one might not have a long list of points to answer that question. But whatever she did, was done so charismatically that its impact still remains in the minds of the people and thats the reason for her popularity.