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Rajiv Gandhi, The Prime Minister continues....
Rajiv Gandhi, the new Prime Minister, had no prior experience in running a Government. This fact created apprehension in the minds of some political leaders. Shri Morarji Desai, the former Prime Minister, said:
“The country will have to pay a heavy price for his inexperience.”
This view was shared by many politicians at that time. It was natural for some of them to express apprehension about his lack of experience as he was taking over the leadership of the Government that had earlier been led by a seasoned individual like Indira Gandhi who had spent her whole life in politics and who knew the extremely tricky nature of Indian politics like the back of her hand. Indian politics is in fact a large minefield. Unless one is extremely careful, one could be blown to smithereens. So, experience in manoeuvering through the whirlpool of politics is necessary for survival.
From this point of view, Rajiv Gandhi was certainly not a politician. But it cannot be a disqualification for becoming the Prime Minister. And then, Indian politicians in general have not set any high benchmark in competence. Pandit Nehru often said that he was not much of a politician. Mohammed Iqbal, the great Urdu poet, once told Nehru:
“The difference between Jinnah and you is that Jinnah is a politician
but you are a patriot.”
The Discovery of India contains an interesting passage that sheds light on
Nehru’s perspective on India’s political class:
“...There is only one thing that remains to us that cannot be takenaway: to act with courage and dignity and to stick to the ideals that have given meaning to life; but that is not the politicians’ way.”
The whole debate among India’s politicians about the lack of political
experience of Rajiv Gandhi was devoid of much substance.
To be continued......