DR. S. AUSAF SAIED VASFI criticises the ever increasing sycophancy in our political circles, and pleads for adherence to principles and loyalty to party and not personalities.
Has the Congress, amidst its ranks, sycophants? What initially makes a sycophant? Is there some difference between sycophancy and loyalty? Is it a central phenomenon or it has its share in the state capitals as well. Or it is a world phenomenon? Is there any system of governance which is or may be free from the disease?
These are some of the questions that are being avidly discussed at various fora following the publication of a book entitled Mohin Kahan Vishram containing articles of the admirers of the H.R.D. Minister, Mr. Arjun Singh, who has added a fresh interview to the book, which has raised the storm. The controvertial points are two: Questioning the party’s decision making process, he said there was no inter-party democracy in the party and that “the evaluation of loyalty (in the present Congress) is done in a very narrow sense.”
The said compendium of articles was released recently by the President, Mrs Pratibha Patil at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh was also present in the function.
This granth was presented to Mr. Arjun Singh by his admirers in April 2005. How can one philosophise the re-release of an already released book, and that too by the President of India. Has she not been taken for a ride? And how would the Minister explain his real intention behind adding a fresh interview to the old book? One need not be a Socrates to get the real motive behind the exercise.
One need hardly point out here that the Congress president, Ms Sonia Gandhi felt offended at the acid in the interview. Much before she started ignoring him at public functions, the Congress high command snubbed him twice for his indiscreet remarks. His former colleagues or juniors, who have openly come out against him are Mr. Digvijay Singh, Mr. R.K. Dhavan, and Mr. Ajit Jogi. The septuagenarian Congress leader had felt isolated in the party rank and file soon after he tried to project Mr. Rahul Gandhi as future Prime Minister.
HASTY RETREAT
Finding wisdom in beating a hasty retreat, the beleaguered H.R.D. Minister did not waste time in buying peace. He said in a one-page statement: his loyalty to the Nehru Gandhi family had been unflinching since 1960 when he met first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. To quote him: “I shall also do everything to maintain the loyalty and commitment to the remaining members of the family till I live.”
Not satisfied fully with this trucy statement, Mr. Singh again rushed to the press, clarifying: “I am a loyalist, not a sycophant and there is no need for me to give my statement on oath.”
In this, the observers read the aging Minister is neither defensive nor demoralised. But in his earlier statement, analysts had read “abject surrender” rather than “a tactical retreat.”
Mr. Arjun Singh is sulking since the reported refusal of the Congress to accept his request for the occupancy of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Since then he has been found preparing for a fight.
This is true that Mrs. Pratibha Patil too is a light-weight. But where is the question of anything like “sacrifice” in the current cutthroat competition for power? The entire rat-race is for the occupancy of chair.
Not long ago, our two less-than-elegant, regional lady politicians unabashedly informed the nation that their ultimate objective in life was becoming Prime Minister of the country. You, or a few more, may see absurdity in it. But that is all the game is about. Does anybody today go to Parliament or state legislature to serve the nation and the countrymen? Today politics is a lucrative profession. The more you invest, the more the probability is of returns.
As far as the sycophancy is concerned, the old timers vividly recall that even the first Prime Minister of India had his own coterie of sycophants. They work in groups or as lobbies. These groups or vested interests see to it that in the decision-making their “target” does not adversely affect their “clients.”
Each and every party and its respective leaderships have their respective “constituencies”. These constituencies more often than not finance their representatives in the legislature. This is true from Panchayat level to the highest level of Parliament.
The case of the Arjun Singhs is different as they insist upon extracting their pound of flesh. If they show their loyalty or sincerity, it is because of innate desire to cash it in the form of gubernatorial post or anything like that.
FAMILY OR VALUES
In this discourse, an important point is likely to go uncommented upon. To us, devotion to any family, whatever its services, is ridiculous. It is not family but values and principles that deserve respect and observance. Adherence to any family is against principles. It is the ideals that deserve to be shown reverence. One could have understood if Mr. Singh had said: I will preserve and pursue Congress values like Secularism and Democracy. But he is talking of his pledge of total loyalty to Mr. Nehru and his family. Had he talked of adherence to principles the Congress stands for, it would have carried weight.
As regards a political system which, as a rule, keeps the doors shut for sycophants, we know only one system. And that is the institution of Caliphate. The simple reason is that in caliphate, criterion of evaluation is its constructive content, oriented in divinity. It is not the person who counts. It is what he stands for and the principles he promotes. Then his motives and intentions.