Once upon a time, like most members of the intelligentsia, I used to have a largely negative opinion about politicians.
Thanks to the regional manager of a leading engineering company (Hint: I took the job!) who interviewed me during campus placement at IIT Bombay, all that changed around 25 years ago. Himself a part of the intelligentsia – having graduated from IIT Madras ten years before me – he enlightened me about what politicians have that most of us don’t.
“Every time I went to my native place in Nasik during my vacations”, he recounted his own ephiphany moment, “I’d come across some politician or the other giving a speech in the vacant ground next to my house. Even if they were obscure guys, the ground would be full of people who listened to them.
“Now, how many of us from IITs and other colleges can gather even ten people to listen to us?
“Also, as regional manager, I have control over the future of everyone in my office, still, whenever I call a meeting, no one lands up despite sending an Inter Office Memo (there was no email then) until my secretary personally goes around the office, rounding up people to attend.
“That’s when I realized that politicians have the rare and uncanny ability to rally people around them, that too with no formal power – something which most of us don’t”.
From that moment, my view about politicians was transformed and I’ve been objective in my views about them.
All media reports on corruption have met a stony gaze from me since they tend to blame politicians unilaterally for corruption. For one, according to me, corruption is like tango: it takes two to play the game. For another, many things nailed for corruption in India are above board in many developed countries e.g. election campaign funding by business houses, and sale of concert tickets at prices driven entirely by supply and demand forces even if they end up being 10-100X of the face value (something that’s termed “black market” in India).
This recent article in the The Economic Times was an exception to such media reports. Professor T T Ram Mohan of IIM Ahmedabad, the author of this article, puts things in the right perspective and makes many insightful observations:
- The majority of people see the politician as the most venal element in Indian society. They are wrong. The fountainhead of corruption is more likely the businessman.
- Corruption in the corporate world would not be possible without the participation of the middle-class.
- The politician is seen as not only corrupt but incompetent. One is struck by the general lack of appreciation of the abilities of politicians and the contributions they make. Few people are aware that debates in Parliament are often of high quality. So are the reports of various parliamentary committees . Question hour can be very illuminating. Those who habitually denounce politicians would be well-advised to visit Parliament’s website and browse through the material posted there.
His concluding remark is bang on: “To demonise the politician is not only to betray ignorance of the Indian political system (but to devalue) one of (its) most precious assets, our democratic process itself.”
This is true for democracies all over the world and more so for one like India. With its vast diversity in religion, language and income levels, it’s no mean task to hold such a nation together.
Warts and all, India has a robust and functioning democracy. And, for that, we have to admire the unique ability of politicians to rally people from all walks of life around a common cause.
On a side note, the aforementioned regional manager also shared a trick about office announcements. When he posts a circular on the notice board, no one reads it. So he marks it PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL, leaves it on his desk, and steps out of his office for an hour – by the time he returns, everyone in the office has read the announcement!