What would my dream PM be like?

In this many-phased ‘Election ‘24’, with my tryst with the polling booth drawing nigh, I sat thinking– away from the din and bustle replete with empty bombast and bereft of reasoned discourse. I shut-upped the shouting “lapdogs” masquerading as expert, know-all TV anchors with one angry finger-tap on the remote. The little stupid device in my hand – the mobile – that has held me captive and robbed me clean of so many priceless hours and years with its claptrap served sizzling hot by WhatsApp university, I junked in the nearest closet. I also powered off my laptop which I employ to serve you my ‘Heart-to-Heart’ dishful: though not without a little wrench. For, of late, with a naughty twinkle in the eye, I am trying to woo Chatbot GPT to help me indulge in some fanciful things in the virtual world!

Alone under the cool shade of my own ‘Bodhi’ tree – the neglected but resilient Kanakchampa in the corner of our compound – I sat to address the one big question haunting my mind: “What would my dream PM be like?” With my mind cleansed of ‘digital’ shit and unabashed lies, at once the images of our PMs now relegated to the pages of history (history that gets revisited and distorted so often to suit the whims and prejudices of our bigoted lawmakers) flashed across my freshly mopped mind. Nehru came first. A picture of grace and elegance: white achkan and churidar, the white Nehru cap sitting prettily on the head, and a smiling rose tucked into the buttonhole to match the benign smile on the face. Nehru who inspired love, amiability and exuded childlike charm. Cerebral, erudite, humane Nehru who gave us his ‘Discovery of India’ that he penned in the dank, dingy confines of his prison cell, unaided by reference books or library– reflecting the extraordinary depth and breadth of his understanding of India in all its diverse manifestations. Lal Bahadur Shastri came next on my mindscape. A person of disarming simplicity, of a short stature but endowed with towering courage and fortitude. Shastri who not only gave us an iconic slogan (not a jumla!) ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’ but also lived it and even died for it. I also thought of Indira Gandhi known for her political heft, iron will and for her abiding love for nature and environment: one who gave Pakistan a bloody nose and made Nixon and Kissinger squirm and grunt. But alas! Her misguided ‘Emergency’ misdemeanour that shocked the nation and rained havoc on our democratic ethos brought her down from the high pedestal of glory and honour of a successful statesperson. Likewise, many other succeeding PMs catwalked on my mind’s canvas as I sat thinking.

I realised that all had their faults and committed follies; even blunders. Nehru’s China fiasco, Indira Gandhi’s Emergency, VP Singh’s controversial brainchild the ‘mandal commission’, Rajiv Gandhi’s sorry indifference over 1984 Sikh riots, Narsimha Rao’s ostrich-like shut-eye over Babri Masjid demolition and so on. But, by and large, all were persons of integrity and vision and possessed of an innately democratic and inclusive ethos. Yes, the Emergency was a sad exception, a black spot, but still our democracy was smiling and shining. Our moral high ground on issues like apartheid, providing asylum to the Dalai Lama, and our scientific strides were earning us applause in the world and inspiring hope and vision of a happy new world especially among most of our smaller SE Asian neighbours…

…But cutting my reverie short, I came to the question that had triggered it: My dream PM, post ‘Elections ‘24’.

To me, my ideal PM would perhaps be all that was best in most of our erstwhile PMs. My dream PM should have the statesmanship, moral substratum, vision and refinement of Nehru, self-effacing simplicity of Shashtri, political acumen of Indira Gandhi and her love for nature, Rao’s scholarship, Rajiv Gandhi’s futuristic leap, Vajpayee’s large-hearted respect for the opposition, poetic oratory, his idealistic streak and his charming sense of humour.

I envision a PM who doesn’t breathe and live vote bank politics, 24 X 7.  One who never lets the political discourse plumb nether depths of hate and absurd lies; who talks to the nation not by bombastic speeches, but through regular, inter-active, non-scripted press conferences to stimulate debates and spell out policies; and has the courage to admit failures. One who doesn’t glorify mythology and ‘miracles’ as science, has a healthy respect for history, is not riven by parochial considerations and doesn’t weaponize religion, caste, community to win elections…

Will the samudra manthan of ‘Elections ‘24’ – hoping that it is fair – churn up some hitherto unknown ‘gem’ to lead this great country on to heights of cherished glory? Will it bring up more nectar than poison? Or will it be just a leap in the dark? I wonder.

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