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Journalism of Courage
When faced with the challenge and opportunity of great power and privilege at the ministerial level, lesser mortals may often fail to rise to the challenge and come under the temptation of seeking narrower goals. Many of those who jostled hard for plum ministerial posts last week for the most petty personal considerations would do well to internalise this principle. Any residual arrogance they may harbour should be tempered by the knowledge that it is the ordinary Indian who got them to that perch of power. The new ministers would need to understand that they are there to govern the largest democracy at a crucial juncture of its history. India is at the threshold of a new era of prosperity and power. The trajectory ahead will be shaped considerably by those sworn in as ministers on Saturday evening.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s ministry reflects both deep experience and youthful exuberance. It also reflects the regional diversity of a broad coalitional arrangement that the United Progressive Alliance is. Certainly, some of those who made it to the list did so for reasons that had more to do with politics than personal ability. It is therefore incumbent on each and every one of them to rise to the levels of personal integrity, awareness and energy that their new responsibility demand. India, in many ways, is a one giant joint family and, for the ministerial incumbents, the country itself must be viewed like a national constituency; the requirements of the whole country, and not just some part of it, must be uppermost in their minds. We have witnessed over the years the dangers of narrow self-interest. Railway ministers wanting to start new train services to their home towns, regardless of more pressing needs. We have known of defence ministers spending most of their time in politicking in their constituency rather than in addressing urgent matters of national defence. The examples are endless.
The essential question, however, is whether the first government of the largest democracy in the new century would, in fact, start to govern on the basis of sound principles, or quickly sink into a rut of incompetence, venality and apathy. India has just got itself another chance to come good after yet another general election. May we, therefore, appeal to those 68 men and women just sworn in as ministers to the Republic not to confuse public welfare with personal welfare. May we remind them that they are, ultimately, ministering to the needs of a republic of over a billion people — a historic and valuable project.
