The write choice

Indira Gandhi once famously wrote to a dear friend that she wished she could revive a family tradition 8212; ended by Independence 8212; of writing deeply analytical letters with an eye on political engagement and on future publication. It was, in the end, a passing thought. But ever since it has highlighted the plight of the Indian politician, the inability to step back from the immediacy of political combat to interact purely with issues of policy and governance.

That reticence is unfortunate. And it is a reticence that is voiced even by a man who has been, in the last decade, one of the exceptions to this trend. P. Chidambaram in the years preceding his return to government wrote a lively and rigorous weekly column for The Indian Express. In his introduction to the compilation 8212; A View From the Outside Penguin Portfolio; the prime minister releases the book today 8212; he says he wishes the newspaper had allowed him a pseudonym. We did not. And we were right. No pseudonyms were used by Jaswant Singh either 8212; Singh as NDA finance minister was frequently a subject of Chidambaram8217;s Express columns 8212; and his sustained look at issues of daily life in Rajasthan, published in this newspaper in the 1980s, was later put together in a book, 8216;District Diary8217;. Jaswant Singh8217;s dispatches even now provide a welcome corrective to those who would see the Centre or the state capital as the sole site of governance. Arun Shourie has written for us, on issues as substantive as they have been controversial. He was recently involved in a lively debate about the nuclear deal hosted by these pages. Mani Shankar Aiyar8217;s frequently acerbic pen is still remembered by many Express readers.

These works are valuable because each column was written with the primary objective of inquiring into an issue at that very moment in time, without preambles to posterity. We have tried to do our bit to get the politician to think and write. We should do more. And we do wish more politicians and policymakers would consider it an obligation to engage deeply with ideas.