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Journalism of Courage
If the world had indeed been there, it would have understood, at least partly, what the Congress party is all about. In ‘Bow to the Left’ (IE, January 25), Sandipan Deb is unduly harsh and dismissive of an occasion that was emotionally moving and significant to thousands of party workers, gathered from all over the country and abroad, proud and happy to be an integral part of what is undoubtedly the single largest political party, not just in India but among world democracies. The idealism, the bonds of long association united by the flag of the Congress party, enthused workers from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. The atmosphere of hope and expectation that their individual effort would be an important brick in building the India of their dreams filled the minds of the assembled Congress workers and fuelled their determination to strive yet harder for the party and the country.
To dismiss the important deliberations at the AICC session in Hyderabad as nothing more than groveling sycophancy is blatantly untrue. It is also outrageous that serious resolutions passed after anxious consideration by a major political party are sought to be trivialised. It would have been healthy for democracy had there been an attempt to analyse the resolutions on the economy, politics, agriculture or international affairs passed by the party. No such attempt was made. On the contrary, the entire AICC plenary was dismissed with cynical observations about sycophancy, based on erroneous assumptions in the first place.
It is precisely this brand of flippant cynicism that gives all politicians a bad name and hangs them, resulting in the worrying chasm of credibility that now divides our political establishment from the people of India. I do not hold a brief for corrupt politicians. But it would be less than responsible to throw the baby out with the bathwater. It is important to get both your perspective and priority in order, before damning an entire political party and lakhs of its workers simply because they have faith in their leader and use the opportunity to share their aspirations with her.
For the record, sycophancy was not in evidence at the AICC session. It is a flight of fancy to claim that Priyanka’s posters outnumbered those of the prime minister. This is not only demonstrably untrue, but indicative of the constant effort by some in the media and elsewhere to malign the family of Sonia Gandhi. Nobody prostrated themselves, least of all before Mrs Gandhi. Mrs Gandhi actually requested speakers to not waste time in unnecessary praise. There was an outcry from the assembled delegates that Rahul Gandhi be brought centrestage, but Rahul Gandhi himself not only sat offstage, among the delegates, but also said in his speech that he believed leadership cannot be created but must be built brick by brick. And that he was going to work at the grassroots to earn his spurs.
In fact, it was not just senior or junior leaders but the assembled Congress workers who called for Rahul Gandhi to come centrestage. These were faceless workers, from the farthest corners of the country, who do not hold elected or party office, and had travelled to the session because of their deep commitment to the Congress and admiration for Sonia Gandhi. They were only motivated by their commitment to the party. Their demand may be right, or it may be wrong in the view of rival parties or cynics. But to dismiss these feelings as sycophancy is not only unwarranted, but also demonstrates a supercilious disdain of genuine emotions of grassroots workers.
Should, then, the first order of business in every AICC session be a stinging indictment of Sonia Gandhi? Should senior leaders of the party not tell our workers about the achievements of the government they fought to install? Should we not be proud that — in sharp contrast to every other party and its leaders — our leader actually gave up the office of prime minister, in the interests of the country and the party? How is it sycophancy if we recapitulate events of the past year and pat ourselves for what we have achieved? Do our critics expect us to assemble and hurl abuse at our leader and each other?
I was part of the emotional gathering in the Central Hall of Parliament that tried to prevail upon Sonia Gandhi to accept the office of prime minister. Sonia Gandhi had led us to victory in the teeth of a vicious personal attack launched against her by the BJP and NDA. The country is aware of the foul things BJP leaders said about her, and of the tremendous forces unleashed against her and the Congress. Yet she stood firm and led us to victory with a calm dignity that made us proud to be members of the Congress. Nobody who was not a part of our party, nor felt our rage at the hounding of our leader, can possibly understand how emotionally we felt that she would not occupy the post now that she had led the party to victory.
We are proud of our prime minister and the magnificent work his government is doing. The unique partnership of the prime minister as the leader of government and Sonia Gandhi as the chairman of UPA is so successful and so dynamic, that no amount of carping cynicism can derail this effort.
Those who seek to mock at institutions, at genuine admiration that party workers have for their leader, or the right of a party to call for a young leader to take centrestage, not only destabilise the right of a party and its workers to decide their own affairs, but also trivialise the feelings of admiration and commitment that are basic to Indian political sentiment. It is strange that despite the multitude of burning issues that cry out for attention, and the actual outcome of the session as documented in the official resolutions, the internal dynamics of the Congress party should have provoked such sarcastic comment.
A footnote: As a Tamilian, I can assert with authority that while MGR was a much loved leader, and particularly among women voters, I have not heard of a single Tamil woman who either tattooed his name on her breasts or bared them in public to show the tattoo. The so-called ‘‘Tamilian’’ who related that nugget to Deb was probably delusional or hallucinating. After his spectacular bad taste in making this sexist remark, I would strongly advise him to keep his identity a secret. Otherwise, he will have to face the wrath of every right thinking Tamilian.
The writer is a spokesperson of the Congress party
