Chanakya, 3 Idiots, Rahul and the Signals in the Noise.
In 2008, I bumped into Rahul Gandhi at a bookshop in Heathrow. I couldn’t resist saying Hi. He put his hand forward, shook mine firmly, looked me in the eye and with a winning smile, said “Hi” back.
I wished him Good Luck for the upcoming elections (which they later swept) and he thanked me back loud and clear. That was the end of it. There was an unmistakable connect. I thought, Yes, I could vote for him. If younger intellectuals (I’ve stopped being modest about it now) like me can connect with him, I’m sure there would be others. If choosing your leader is going to boil down to picking the lesser evil, let my poison be mine.
He’s silently swiftly sweeping the nation. He’s shaking hands with the people, who are buying tickets to see 3 Idiots, who are going to come out and vote again in a few years time. I’m not yet a fan of Rahul Gandhi per se, but i certainly prefer him over the rest of them.
The signal in the noise for politicians and parties is clear, do you connect with the aspirations and desires of those who would buy tickets for 3 Idiots?
BJP got a jolt in the last 2 elections and their future does not look bright in the next one as well. I don’t think they have a connect with the Idiot generation. The generation that connected with BJP was the angry young man generation of Zanjeer. Their followers are mellower now. The chicken legs under the khakhi knickers have arthritis. Also arthritis 2 inches north of the nose. The assorted bunch of clowns in VHP, RSS and Bajrang Dal are also unlikely to find a footing or resonance in modern India. The lust for power of the senior members of the party choked it, they prevented any fresh blood from entering the veins. Rahul shakes your hand.
Shiv Sena is a dying brand of a dying hateful old man. It’s bullying toothless posturing, irrational and divisive agenda, absence at times of crisis have distanced themselves from the Idiot generation beyond repair. Their mandate is going to reduce further in a few years time. Once Bal Thackeray goes to the grave, his power will vanish however one hopes he sees that for himself before he meets his maker. Every time a Thuggery makes a statement, they’re digging a deeper hole for themselves and their party. Rahul delivers a winning smile.
Communists are disintegrating among themselves. They don’t know their Maoists from their Marxists. With exemplary leaders of the kind Achutanandan in Kerala and Karats somewhere in the center and no-one out in the west, it’s fast reducing into oblivion. Rahul says Hi.
So who is the next opposition? To me, the new opposition is an assortment of parties that connect with those who cant buy tickets to 3 idiots. Probably BSP and the assortment. There is no denying that hundreds of years of the caste system has taken its toll. We’ve given them reservation in jobs, colleges, civil administration and they’ve lapped it up. They’re also making sure that they’re getting their moolah with their power. Corruption is rampant and power will shift towards the have-now-had-nots. It will take a generation or two of prosperity for them to catch up. In the forseeable future, they will be the opposition for the next 20-30 years in India. Rahul gets serious.
Congress has made a firm bet on the future. Their young turks (mostly netas ka betas for now) under the tutelage of Chanakya, the graduating class of 2014, 2019, 2024.
I’m extremely optimistic about our country. The last 60 years were necessary for the next 60.