Personal histories

It is almost certainly the case that no presidential election has engendered the kind of candidate scrutiny as this time. The proximate reason is of course the intense politicking that preceded the selection of candidates. But there is a larger explanation. We, as a people, are getting more comfortable with the idea of demanding better assurances from those who propose to lead us. Therefore, raking up the past, examining a high-profile candidate8217;s public life, asking questions of events that happened two decades ago, all this is presumed fair. And of course it is fair.

If there was a weakness in Indian democratic discourse it was a general tendency to take the doctrine of not 8216;personalising8217; an issue to a level where undeserving candidates received the benefit of our decorous behaviour. Needless to say, the distinction between a candidate8217;s individual decisions that have a bearing on public life and details of his private life, however 8216;interesting8217;, needs to be maintained. Certainly, India will benefit if it never follows the tradition in America of equating candidates8217; suitability with a sometimes alarmingly rigid notion of righteous behaviour. With that caveat firmly in place, the fact that Pratibha Patil8217;s past is being examined closely, or that Bhairon Singh Shekhawat8217;s may also be, is all to the good. We will have a better idea of our next president by the time he or she is elected. And he/she will have to work harder to convince people that his/her general approach befits the grandeur of the office.

This of course applies to politics as a whole. Younger politicians who have a stake in the future must especially take note. They will be aspiring to become, and in some cases will become, powerful candidates for top jobs. They should stop presuming as many of their elders did that indiscretions and worse become unpublishable history once a sufficient span of time has passed. A thoughtless decision today by a young MP may kill his chances of becoming PM ten years from now. Young politicians in particular will also understand that 24215;7 news cycles are a natural medium for displaying results of political archaeology that employs sharp tools. A corollary of this is that today8217;s ambitious youthful politicians need to be more professional in managing their public lives. They need help to understand why and when, what might provoke who to ask questions.