The Felony of Monotheistic Fixation !

The battle lines for the most coveted residence on Raisina Hill have been drawn and with the kind of hullabaloo and surprises the Indian presidential elections seem to be more happening than the Presidential elections in France. Quite ironical, considering the fact that while the former will perform functions as perfunctory as reading speeches on Republic Day eve or addressing the joint sessions of the Parliament, the latter can very well change the way the Euro zone is going to look like a few years from now.

But the aim of this blog is not to take potshots at the farcical post of Indian president or in its election process. I was as nonchalant to the whole drama as the rest of the world is towards developments unfolding in Africa. However when the name of APJ was thrown in the ring, with all the media and online endorsements it generated, it did get me interested and my first reaction was like ... Him?Again?

I don't have any aversion towards him. He was perhaps the only one since my childhood, who restored some dignity to the whole thing during his tenure. But the issue is more about our tendency to idolize someone, looking upto him as the lone savior and elevating him to the status of some kind of monotheistic deity...with a complete disregard for other potential candidates, complete disregard for a logical reasoning and most of all complete disregard for even the 'One's age.

And this whole thing about idolizing someone is not restricted to the presidential elections alone.

The Metro Man: E.Sreedharan was brought out of retirement to start working for the ambitious Konkan Rail project. That successful endeavor led him to Delhi where he maintained his reputation and finished the first phase of Delhi Metro well on time. Poor chap would have thought he would get some rest but he was given extension after extension to see another couple of phases get completed. He was soon called for consultation for Hyderabad metro, Jaipur metro, Bangalore metro and almost every city which aspired for the metro. He 'finally' retired last year. But the obsession with the deity reached heights when this year Kerala CM said he wanted Sreedharan as the Chairman of Kochi Metro Rail Corporation. The guy is 80 now. Now that he's not there with DMRC will the bridges start collapsing or will there be infinite delays? A country as big and as hungry for infrastructure as India is definitely running on shoulders of more than one Sreedharan. More than 2 decades since he first retired and we still harp on one Sreedharan. In our pursuit of idolism either we have trampled upon numerous Sreedharans-in-making or have just closed our eyes to alternatives.

The 'Economist': This is perhaps the most cliched one. Ask anyone who is our best bet to handle our economy and the name crops up - MMS. Quite ironical considering the fact that the person seemed to have gained his 'charisma' to an act (liberalisation circa 1991) which was done more due to lack of options rather than by conviction. And had I.G.Patel (the first choice of Finance minister for Narasaimha Rao) accepted the offer, the charisma would have been his today. Anyways, riding on that charisma he was given the reins of the govt in 2004. He was hailed as many the best PM we could have and paeans were sung to him and to the trio of Montek, Chidu and MMS. Call it the Peter Principle at work or a complete disregard for a basic fact that you need administrators to run a country not technocrats, the expectations set in 2004 have been belied. And people with a rather humble background, with no fancy degrees and who can't speak  accented English have done  far better jobs in Gujarat and Bihar - both on administrative and economic fronts.

The 'Crusader': This one perhaps owes a lot to the media! From the dusty tracks of Ralegaon to being a nation wide phenomenon, it certainly inspires a case study. There was a deluge of supporters to the cause against corruption but things started turning personality driven when people started using the (much irritable) slogan "I Am Anna". I couldn't understand why I need to be Anna to fight this. This is my fight also and I will be myself.  The fallacy of this whole "I Am Anna" campaign was exposed when some wrong doings (malicious or truthful) on part of Anna or his team are brought to light and suddenly people don't want to be Anna anymore. I wonder what happened to all those "Anna" enthusiasts and their crusade against corruption.

The Bharat Ratna: The debate for Bharat Ratna is opened to the public and the only question being asked is whether Sachin should be given the highest civilian honor or not. Even the criteria is amended to accomodate sportspersons. But am sure there would be better contenders than awarding it to someone who has achieved fame in a sport which is followed by a group of countries where the only names worth mentioning are Australia and England. At best he has been an entertainer for the masses, but then so is Salman Khan. Not surprisingly, there is no mention of any other sportsperson. There are some hushed voices for Dhyan Chand but am sure he will not get it - for he was not 'God' . 

I am too humble a soul to question the greatness of these greats. I am only questioning the attitude to look upon them as a perennial solution to all our problems. I'm only questioning the fixation to the One because it restricts debate, restricts meritocracy, restricts risk taking, restricts newness...restricts and opposes about anything which should be a feature of the vibrant democracy, a vibrant culture, a vibrant nation.

And that is why I call this fixation with the 'One' a Felony.

P.S: The whole hysteria about APJ as President provided the motivation for this blog and hence has been included. Its noteworthy that the whole thing seems to have suddenly died down after an initial rush.