THE
SUNDAY SENTIMENT
October 27, 2013
Congress
over-sensitive
How is shahzaada
"undignified"?
Congress has taken exception to BJP's Prime
Ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narinder Modi using the word
"shahzaada" to refer to its Vice-President Mr. Rahul
Gandhi. Calling upon him (Mr. Modi) to
desist from using "undignified" language, Congress spokesperson
Janardhan Dwivedi said their vice-president should be addressed in the same
manner in which he addresses people.
The Congress
reaction, on the face of it, displays over-sensitivity on the part of the
party. The word "shahzaada"
can, by no standards, be called or considered "undignified". On the use of word "shahzaada"
Congress is fuming — and threatening Mr. Modi — the same Mr. Modi
whom Mrs. Sonia Gandhi had no regrets to call "maut ka saudaagar".
Shahzaada is an Urdu word meaning a "prince" which cannot be
taken as "undignified".
It is true that the word "prince" or shahzaada is an antithesis
to democracy. It revives in us the memories of a bygone era of monarchic
governance. Yet, at the same time, we cannot deny the fact that since the times
of late Mrs. Indira Gandhi in early seventies, even in Indian democracy the ruling
Congress Party stands reduced to a dynastic entity where the crown prince is the
apparent heir to the throne on relinquishing or death of the head of the ruling
family. This transformation of Congress party into a dynastic organism has
resulted in Indian democracy, in effective, turning into a dynastic democracy
as for as the ruling party is concerned. First, Mrs. Gandhi groomed late Sanjay
Gandhi and after his unfortunate death, made the reluctant Indian Airlines
pilot, her elder son, Rajiv Gandhi as the heir apparent. This became a reality
following her unfortunate assassination and the crown prince was elevated to the
throne.
I am reminded of a prophetic comment by a journalist friend in Shimla.
Following Mrs. Gandhi's death Doordarshan was giving live coverage to
people queuing up before her body to pay their homage. Looking at Rajiv Gandhi
and his son Rahul, then in early teens, my friend remarked, "We have a
glimpse of three generations of our prime ministers — past (Mrs. Gandhi),
present (Mr. Rajiv) and future (Mr. Rahul)".
Only exception to the rule during the last about 40 years was in 1991 when
Mr. Rajiv was unfortunately killed. His widow, then, refused to take the reins
of the party, then not in power but in opposition. Till then she had not
thought it fit even to be an ordinary member of the Congress Party. In March
1996 she came out from her self-imposed political exile, joined the Congress
and in just two months was catapulted into the position of national
Presidentship of the party. She was, at one time, projected as the prime
ministerial candidate and in what circumstances she renunciated her claim and
brought in Dr. Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister is a matter of discussion and
controversy.
In democracy, people are enrolled into party as ordinary members. They rise
to be leaders through a long and tedious process of perseverance, strife and
struggle. This is not true either of the three Gandhis — Mr. Sanjay or Mr. Rajiv
Gandhi or Mrs. Sonia or now Mr. Rahul.
Since then in the ruling Congress Party dynasty has become the rule;
democratic election of leader an exception. Like his father and in the present
circumstances, how can calling Mr. Rahul as prince or shahzaada be
irrelevant and wrong?
If Congress party, despite its claims to be a stickler to the principles of
democracy, is not a political dynasty how is it that after some Congressmen
entertained some doubts about the capability of Mr. Rahul Gandhi to steer the
Congress boat out of the present turbulent times to the bank of power, some
threw up the idea of Mrs. Priyanka Gandhi being made the leader instead of
looking up to any person beyond the dynasty?
It is not only the Congress, the likes of Rashtriya Janata Dal of Bihar,
National Conference in Kashmir, Samajwadi Party of Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav and
the like, too are sailing in the same boat as far as dynastic politics is
concerned.
The words shahzaada or sahibzaada we use in our day-to-day
parlance. We call our friend or relation's son or daughter as "aapke
shahzaade or shahzaadi or aapke sahibzaade or sahibzaadi".
Nobody takes offence to such epithets.
We and our media are used to calling Mr. Amitabh Bacchan as shehanshah,
Ms Lata Mangeshkar as "Melody Queen" and Mr. Shah Rukh Khan as
"King
