Rumi Nations

Let’s consider a few fun possibilities that would occur if Gandhi were around today. What would happen to all the self-proclaimed Gandhians? Would Gandhi be in favour or opposed to Anna Hazare? What would Gandhi do with lying lawyers like Kapil Sibal or tendentious toadys like Digvijay Singh? May be Gandhi would go on an obligatory spin in the skies in the Sukhoi and the LCA Tejas. Would Gandhi have been miffed at Pokhran II àIndia’s famed nuclear tests of 1998? May be he would have gone on a fast unto death. And how would the glacially moving poet Vajpayee have reacted to that? Though he was lean and thin, still Gandhi would need a knee-cap replacement surgery at this age. Would Gandhi hum along with the catchy Kolaveri D tune or criticize it as nonsense … somewhat like … err … Javed Akhtar? May be Gandhi would have preferred Gangnam Style and we would all be seeing a YouTube video of him dancing merri...

Every so often we get to hear various opinion writers express some disappointment about the fact that in India -- this overwhelmingly young country -- the leaders are extraordinarily old. It's easy enough to find that thought agreeable. What's not to like about having young leaders who are able to may be play golf or throw a cricket ball or even enjoy basketball like Barack Obama. But I wrote in my previous post about how disappointing Obama has been as a president. He won in 2008 on the platform of change. Because of the nature of the U.S. -- the way some states are Red states and others are Blue no matter what -- and because of the way the electoral system works, presidents can appear to get huge majorities which are not really that spectacular. (Not to forget 2000 when Al Gore got more votes than George W. Bush but Bush won the electoral college and hence the election.)

It isn't as absurd an idea as it might appear at first sight. Which is to say, it would be easy to find folks who might peddle this idea or believe in it. Of course, you better just listen to such ideas without your jaws hitting the floor and not try to argue or anything. Others blame Gandhi for the partition of India. I don't know what they wish for ... a Great India encompassing present day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh perhaps. Which would translate to a current population of a cool billion and a  half  people. Some people praise the great deed of the great hero Godse. They do not see him as a killer or a murderer. They see him as a great scholar intellectual who had authored Great Books. So, with a few million published books out there to choose from, people seek out Godse's book to read.