My quasi-holiday mood made for a leisurely read of the newspaper today. It resulted in musings of a wide-latitude, random wandering kind. In that frame, the journalistic chatter over Elections 2009, or brouhaha over IPL venues, seemed idle or puerile. Instead, what struck me most was a comedy of vanities over an overhyped 'legacy' of our dear departed Father of the Nation.
In short, the melodramatic medley of emotions and rhetoric over an auction of some of Gandhiji's historically insignificant items, appeared soap opera more than national pride. Hero's mantle for the episode fell on the unlikely shoulders of Shri Vijay Mallya, liquor baron and prominent glitterati specimen. A few of his beer-begot millions and the Mahatma's mundane belongings got added to a collection that boasts of (among other things) racing horses, vintage cars, a plodding airline and two under-performing sports teams. In tune with the self-righteous debate on the auction's immorality and overarching desi claims to items on offer, Mallya ji too made suitable noises on the acquisition being spurred by patriotic fervour, national duty etc. In any case, given that he pays taxes and has somewhat recognized means of earning his bread (unlike some of his peers in the Upper House), we may steer clear of excessively flagellating his spending habits or extant motive.
Our effete government has no such escape hatches though. Paying lip service to the Mahatma being a practice perfected by Congressmen over decades, perhaps their aggressive posturing in days and weeks preceding the auction was only to be expected. Some of us recall a similar episode a couple of years ago when government intervention (taxpayer expense) had 'saved' Gandhiji's heritage from being irretrievably lost. Yet, going so far as to bestow agent status (post facto) on a protesting VJM was surely taking things too far. Ambika ji, who gives the extraordinary Yechury-garu a run for the money in the foot-in-the-mouth Hall of Fame, dramatically proclaimed that Mallya was a front for the government as if no less 007-esque manouevre was needed in a staightforward auction. Minister for Tourism and Culture, anyone?
On cue, this spurred into action the irrepressible Amar Singh who, in true Goebbelsian genius, summoned the press corps to proclaim how he would have been the saviour of the 'legacy' but for his health (a temporary indisposition, since miraculously cured). He has his hands full, in any case, in saving Gandhigiri with the inspired Samajwadi choice for the Lucknow Lok Sabha seat (that counts, amongst others, Smt Sheila Kaul, Smt Vijay Lakshmi Pandit, and a certain AB Vajpayee, as its erstwhile tenants).
Perhaps all this chicanery only epitomizes what has become of Gandhiji's legacy. After all, it 'cost the nation a fortune to keep him in poverty' in his lifetime, as an otherwise loyal Sarojini Naidu pithily observed once. There is also a school of thought that traces our personality dominated polity and marriages of convenience (in guise of highfalutin principles), to some of Bapu's actions in the later years of our independence struggle. Likewise, some of his ideas on education, public health, poverty alleviation etc deserve more critical scrutiny. Regardless, today is not about calling into question any of those facets or inconsistencies in the principles by which he led life. It is about not letting the very mention of his name elevate the object under discussion to demi-god status, beyond rational debate. Failing this, such ammunition of opprobrium and purported sacrilege shall continue to be used by opportunists to hijack our framework for partisan agenda or personal gain.
Even beyond these fault-lines of reverence there is much to introspect in the 'crisis' and our collective national response. For instance, investigate how the items left the family's possession to wind up under the hammer. Another pertinent aspect is whether current policy restrictions on private participation in trade of historical objects are counter-productive (artificially bolstered price attracts the mercenary-minded). Further, what constitutes national heritage needs better delineation (should resources be focused on, say, preservation of national monuments, cleansing holy rivers, or greening our forests). Finally, consider if the government can freely squander taxpayer money dubious concerns. Any or all of these have sharper linkages with culture, or impact on tourism, in a fashion that Ambika ji shall likely never understand.
In short, the melodramatic medley of emotions and rhetoric over an auction of some of Gandhiji's historically insignificant items, appeared soap opera more than national pride. Hero's mantle for the episode fell on the unlikely shoulders of Shri Vijay Mallya, liquor baron and prominent glitterati specimen. A few of his beer-begot millions and the Mahatma's mundane belongings got added to a collection that boasts of (among other things) racing horses, vintage cars, a plodding airline and two under-performing sports teams. In tune with the self-righteous debate on the auction's immorality and overarching desi claims to items on offer, Mallya ji too made suitable noises on the acquisition being spurred by patriotic fervour, national duty etc. In any case, given that he pays taxes and has somewhat recognized means of earning his bread (unlike some of his peers in the Upper House), we may steer clear of excessively flagellating his spending habits or extant motive.
Our effete government has no such escape hatches though. Paying lip service to the Mahatma being a practice perfected by Congressmen over decades, perhaps their aggressive posturing in days and weeks preceding the auction was only to be expected. Some of us recall a similar episode a couple of years ago when government intervention (taxpayer expense) had 'saved' Gandhiji's heritage from being irretrievably lost. Yet, going so far as to bestow agent status (post facto) on a protesting VJM was surely taking things too far. Ambika ji, who gives the extraordinary Yechury-garu a run for the money in the foot-in-the-mouth Hall of Fame, dramatically proclaimed that Mallya was a front for the government as if no less 007-esque manouevre was needed in a staightforward auction. Minister for Tourism and Culture, anyone?
On cue, this spurred into action the irrepressible Amar Singh who, in true Goebbelsian genius, summoned the press corps to proclaim how he would have been the saviour of the 'legacy' but for his health (a temporary indisposition, since miraculously cured). He has his hands full, in any case, in saving Gandhigiri with the inspired Samajwadi choice for the Lucknow Lok Sabha seat (that counts, amongst others, Smt Sheila Kaul, Smt Vijay Lakshmi Pandit, and a certain AB Vajpayee, as its erstwhile tenants).
Perhaps all this chicanery only epitomizes what has become of Gandhiji's legacy. After all, it 'cost the nation a fortune to keep him in poverty' in his lifetime, as an otherwise loyal Sarojini Naidu pithily observed once. There is also a school of thought that traces our personality dominated polity and marriages of convenience (in guise of highfalutin principles), to some of Bapu's actions in the later years of our independence struggle. Likewise, some of his ideas on education, public health, poverty alleviation etc deserve more critical scrutiny. Regardless, today is not about calling into question any of those facets or inconsistencies in the principles by which he led life. It is about not letting the very mention of his name elevate the object under discussion to demi-god status, beyond rational debate. Failing this, such ammunition of opprobrium and purported sacrilege shall continue to be used by opportunists to hijack our framework for partisan agenda or personal gain.
Even beyond these fault-lines of reverence there is much to introspect in the 'crisis' and our collective national response. For instance, investigate how the items left the family's possession to wind up under the hammer. Another pertinent aspect is whether current policy restrictions on private participation in trade of historical objects are counter-productive (artificially bolstered price attracts the mercenary-minded). Further, what constitutes national heritage needs better delineation (should resources be focused on, say, preservation of national monuments, cleansing holy rivers, or greening our forests). Finally, consider if the government can freely squander taxpayer money dubious concerns. Any or all of these have sharper linkages with culture, or impact on tourism, in a fashion that Ambika ji shall likely never understand.
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