When the news reached that the government is awarding Bharat
Ratna to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, one of the most towering figure of Indian
politics, it became a matter of personal jubilation for me. In 2001, on one
colorful evening of the chilling Delhi winters, I was visiting a prominent
Muslim cabinet minister who was a part of a coalition government headed by
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee of BJP. There were some prominent people
sitting in the dining hall like, an influential Christian rights leader, who
was a staunch opponent of BJP and a human rights activist, who was also a
bitter critique of BJP. After some niceties of wine and cheese, I saw the
minister asking his close aide to carry some nicely cooked chicken curry to
Prime Minister’s house. For a moment, I was amused by the childish demeanor of
the minister and his innocent enthusiasm to send the chicken curry which he had
himself prepared. In the dinner that
followed, the motley garb of secular, liberal and western-educated socialites
who would not spare a single occasion to lampoon the saffron ideology and its
torch-bearers, was praising Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Unison. I could see that
Vajpayee ji was equally popular among his friends and foes as a man who enjoyed
life, loved people and nurtured a poetic, romantic and innocent heart.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee is a legendry character in the history
of India. He as a human being is liked alike by his friends and foes. Often,
compared with Nehru, he was once mentioned as a right man in the wrong party by
Congress leaders. Vajpayee ji, in his characteristic humorous style, once
declared that he is a bachelor but not a Brahmachari. For any Indian
politician, such a statement would be considered very bold and, on top of it,
if it comes from a person who is born and brought up in strict Hindu
nationalist ideology of Sangh and Jan Sangh , it feels like a cool breeze
making one feels that his leader is a man with heart and humor. Even when I
talk to my friends from Pakistan, they often express their genuine love and
praise for Atal Ji. A few days back when he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, it
became a matter of pride for everyone. Even a person like Mamta Banarjee who is
famous for her acerbic tongue said that Atal ji is beyond politics and we all
respect him.
While writing this article, I feel driven by two instincts.
The first one, closer to my heart takes me to my schools days when I used to
read Nehru’s autobiography and felt myself a part of world history. Atal ji has
always given us a glimpse of Nehru in him, with his vices, poetry and vision.
But, nevertheless, a politician must be the one who can connect with the hearts
of people and if that takes some vices also, I feel that there is no harm in
them. My second instinct compels me to venture beyond the aforementioned personality
traits of Atal Ji and explore his leadership style. Someone who has held a soft
corner for BJP and who is a keen student of Indian politics must feel the urge
to see Modi vis-à-vis Atal Ji. I feel this urge because Modi ji has shown us a
whole new dreamland of promises and his vision for India. He has also conveyed
a genuine desire to execute his plan but having seen him work for last six
months one can easily feel that there is something wrong; if not in the
intensions of the man then most certainly in the way he practices his dreams. Atal
Ji was never as vocal as Mr. Modi is about his vision for India but today when
one looks back, one can easily see that he could achieve almost a revolution of
sorts with his easy-going and humorous style.
For Vajpayee Ji, one expression, not very often used for politicians,
can be used in order to give a best description of his leadership style and
that is, ‘smooth player’. Yes, Vajpayee jee was a ‘smooth player’. He could
steer India in the direction of rapid economic growth with a coalition that was
marked by innumerable frictions ranging from ideologies to vested political
interests. India made huge strides in the field of telecom revolution,
liberalization, defense, diplomacy and infrastructure under Vajpayee ji’s
leadership. He emerged as a strong leader in creating a brilliant nation-building
team that comprised people like Adwani, Pramod Mahajan, Arun Shaurie, Suresh
Prabhu and Jaswant Singh. The whole new chapter of Indian diplomacy with US was
authored in Atal ji’s reign. One could feel the individual presence,
personality and freedom of every minister under the towering personality of
Atal ji. Additionally, to a large extent
he was able to keep Hindutva extremists at bay and did not hesitate in
reprimanding Modi jee to follow the ‘Rajdharma’. With such an exemplary
performance in governance, he was least expected to lose the elections. But he
lost. I guess, Indian voters were not yet ready for such a big leap, but
nevertheless, he definitely gave an impression of an institution-builder in his
short reign.
In the present dispensation, any lay observer will feel that
the Modi ji must take a cue from Atal ji. He is certainly becoming famous as
someone who is giving sleepless nights to the ministers through his highly
regimented schedule, spy-machinery and domineering style of administration. One
feels that there is only one real ministry i.e. PMO and the rest are all
honorary positions. One hardly feels any other presence than that of Mr. Modi,
except a few people like Jaitly and Parikkar and, even they are known account
of their previous credentials not because of their actions in the existing
portfolios.
The government seems to be high on words and announcements
but low on the follow-up. Abbreviations,
slogans, photo-ops, catchwords and loud declarations are abound but concrete
actions plans are not yet visible for schemes like swachcha bharat, major
reforms in civil services, infrastructure etc.
The essential difference between the two lies in the fact
that Modi jee is at his best a crusader, and Atal ji,a philosopher, a zen monk
who looks like a politician or Zorba the Buddha who happens to be a politician.
Narendra bhai as a crusade has single-handedly fought against a nation-wide
ostracization campaign led by media, intellectuals and politicians for almost a
decade, for still-debatable, uncomfortable and hard-to-gloss-over reasons. But
finally he rose like a phoenix, riding on the wave of development/Hindutva and
made his way to seven race course. But, the problem is that he is still in the
‘crusader-mode’. He is still fighting and having witnessed his enthusiasm for
elections, it seems that he still wants to go back in time and fight elections.
His past still haunts his sub-consciousness. The personality conditioned by the
circumstances of battle has its own complexities marked by fear, inability to
trust, dictatorial attitude and little-bit of ruthlessness. But these
complexities can never make a successful administrator. The times of elections
are gone and now there is not even an opposition. Hence the obsession with
elections and electoral victories must be left behind. After all, someone had to win the elections
after the vacuum that emanated from Congress’ incompetence and, this time it
was BJP under Narendra Bhai. However, that is not all. If he needs to make a
real difference then he has to rise above the narrow confines of ideology and
show his mettle as a true statesman and administrator, like Atal jee.
It is high time that Modi ji took a lesson from the Bhishma
of BJP i.e. Atal ji, become a bit more democratic, soft , trusting and liberal
in leadership and, work on a long-term vision based on a wise statecraft and a
sound understanding of the nation’s needs. If nothing else, then at least one
of the most essential and a much-needed aspect of Vajpayee Jee’s model must be
adopted with immediate effect, and i.e. non-polarizing approach and image. His
public image still remains that of a polarizing leader who finds it immensely
difficult to come out of the unrealistic and self-imposed confines of RSS background
(rather than Hindutva ideology) and, is on the verge of failure to control the
Hindutva extremists. Narendra Bhai needs to snip the wings of extremists with
immediate effect, if he genuinely wants to have “Sabka Sath” and see “Sabka
Vikaas”.
The crusader must seek blessings and wisdom from the ailing
and dying, Zorba, the Buddha’.
