Evolution in politics – Part II
In 2010, when the Shashi Tharoor – IPL controversy was at
its peak, I wrote a small note wondering about the future of politicians like Shashi
Tharoor – well qualified, polished, with international exposure – in the Indian
political environment. Here is a link to that note.
I worried then that the environment is too hostile for this
new life form – let’s call it the T-gene - to survive. Half a decade has passed
and there is good news as well as bad news.
The good news is that he has survived the test of time so
far. If anything, he is stronger today than he was then. The bad news is that I
still don’t see many more like him coming into politics. So the T-gene survives
but does not seem to prosper.
It is not difficult to see why. The environment of selection
remains as hostile as what it used to be. If the T-gene has survived, it has
survived on its own tenacity and not by benevolence of selection. Media still
prefers Lalit Modi or Lalu Yadav brand of politics. Let us consider a couple of
more recent examples to illustrate this.
When the Tharoor-IPL controversy surfaced, Lalit Modi was the
undisputed king of IPL. Since then his karma has caught up with him and he has
fallen from his position in the public eye. But the media still travel with
him. Anyone who crosses LM’s path automatically crosses path with the media. All that LM has to do is to shoot out a tweet
accusing someone. The examples are many.
Or let us consider how media covered the Sunanda Pushkar
murder case. I can understand the interest in the case considering the profile
of people involved and the drama that preceded the unfortunate event. But how
do you explain the way Shashi Tharoor was treated in some of the media reports
and discussions? According to the investigating agency Tharoor is a witness.
But if you see some of the media coverage you would think he was the prime
suspect.
I guess it will be long wait to see the genepool in Indian
politics change.
The particular category of people is loyal to Mammon - So anyone with a demonstrated capability to deliver on Mammon will find favor with them in India - havent seen any exceptions - regardless of which side of the political, ideological, geographical, thrasonical divide the person falls. Mr Tharoor - is a strange kettle of fish, he shouted about the recent dharna led by crypto convert girl from AAP , to be allowed inside the Shani Shingnapur temple - but is absolutely mum on the fact that Muslim women are not allowed into mosques and many dargahs or that there are no women priests among the xtian community even when directly asked! Especially when pictures appeared on the internet showing him and Sunanda at the same temple - he changed his tone to - women are not allowed to participate/conduct rituals at the temple!! So not quite sure what Mr Tharoor's international exposure etc has given him which makes him any different from the regular politicians we all are familiar with!
ReplyDeleteJaya, if you see his tweets he has definitely supported the agitation to get Muslim women inti Haji Ali and other mosques and explicitly called for an end to gender discrimination irrespective of the faith. On Shani Shingnapur he certainly was not one of the shouters and commented only after he was dragged into the debate with the circulation of the picture with his late wife. Please check your facts before you criticize a good person.
ReplyDeleteIncorrect on both counts - please check his tweetlines and match it to timelines.
DeleteJaya, thanks for your comments. I see that you don't agree with his views on specific issues like the Shani temple issue. My point is different. I was very happy to see someone of his background joining politics. The party he chose to join or the ideology that he follows are incidental. I would have liked to see more people like him come into politics. I thought it would bring in a much needed diversity to our politics. (I mean diversity in the plain english sense and not in the limited context of political correctness)
ReplyDeleteOne of my thoughts about someone of Shashi Tharoor's stature ( by the way - i think he is immensely talented, extremely intelligent and very articulate) is how he seems to comment on issues from one perspective only (when he can rise above one sided views adn still be one of the top congressmen around) - Here is some additional info on women in temples:http://www.sundayguardianlive.com/news/3050-women%E2%80%99s-only-temples-aplenty
ReplyDeleteMonettan, evolution is basically driven by the environment not by the gene, the gene has to just adapt to it, which is what has happened in his case too. His 'good' genes which were not required to survive in this environment or rather were obstructive to survival in this environment were muted, and those dormant genes which he possessed but not required to survive in his earlier habitats were expressed well in time which enabled him to adapt sell and survive.You can very soon see him skipping parliament sessions or lumbering during them, which will prove his ultimate adaptability to the requirements of this environment
ReplyDelete