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The assay of Rajiv Gandhi into politics seems so unreal and distant today but the truth is that during the short period that he was in politics he worked feverishly to transform from a lazy and resigned India to a dynamic and bubbling India. The confidence that is the hallmark of the modern youth and its ability to understand and utilize knowledge base is because of his efforts to use technology wit a missionary zeal. Harbans Singh
Even when he decided to resign from his job and enter politics, we understood the compulsions and admired him more for deciding to stand by his mother’s side. He epitomized family values, drawing more admiration. During the short period of apprenticeship he worked hard to evolve a vision of modern India and simultaneously created a following of his own as he had shattered the stereotyped image of an Indian politician. He was not afraid of treading on toes that were in the wrong place and demonstrated alarming intolerance for sloth and deceit. Politics was never to be the same again. His rise to the office of the Prime Minister came in tragic circumstances and was a little pre-mature. He himself would have preferred more time to learn about the pitfalls of politics, find solutions to the likely problems and forge a more reliable team. Nevertheless, he demonstrated energy and enthusiasm that the Indian polity was not supposed to possess. He impatience with the slow pace at which India was progressing and the determination to use the modern tools for creating a society that could truly hold its head high became his hallmark. In an era when the politicians were content in playing the game of power, he began talking of technology and infrastructure. He began convincing that science and technology were not just subjects that were to be studied in the classrooms to qualify for jobs but were tools for bringing about social and economic changes. When he talked about the twentieth century India, the traditional school of politics became uncomfortable; when he said science and technology would alleviate poverty that school mocked him for they were beginning to feel insecure under the onslaught of modernity and knew of no other method to undermine his growing popularity. Rajiv Gandhi had, in a very short period, become the face of hope and many, still baffled by the new vocabulary, waited for the miracle to happen. It is a tribute to his vision, even though his opponents found fault with him on count of lack of academic degrees and having been born with the proverbial silver spoon and therefore not qualified to understand poverty and India, that long after he is gone those very opponents not only enjoyed the benefits of science, technology and communication but also tried to appropriate credit for it. He possessed courage in abundance; rare in politicians as his was the kind that put the interest of the nation above that of his party. In the process he might have created a number of enemies within the party as he was building bridges and evolving new idioms that were alien to their nature. Thus when he made bold efforts to resolve the conflict in Punjab by entering into a pact with Sant Longowal and with the student leaders of Assam he also created a class within his own party that would not hesitate to fan a vicious and malicious campaign against him. Bofors provided that opportunity and after that it was a battle for survival. Unfortunately, destiny decreed against his making a comeback to oversee the work that he had begun but the fact remains that with increasing number of the young Indians asserting themselves and demanding a place in the global world, it was only a matter of time before the politicians steeped in the old values changed their priorities and goals. During the short period that Rajiv Gandhi lived and contributed to the public life, he triggered, as Sam Pitroda has recorded, a “dramatic re-engineering of the national mindset, enthusiasm, energy, hope, aspirations and mood …… One of the most important priorities that Gandhi and his advisors, such as myself, recognised was to use technology as an entry point and not end in itself to bring about generational changes in our age-old processes and delivery systems that affect mass of people specially in rural areas.” There is hardly any field that does not bear the stamp Rajiv Gandhi’s legacy be it defence, space, agriculture, computerization, planning or the Technology Missions related to water, literacy, immunization, oil-seeds, dairy development and telecommunications. It is a matter of conjecture as to what change he might have effected in launching other Technology Missions related to environment, housing, and managing floods and droughts as well. Suffice it to say, once again in Sam Pitroda’s words, “Rajiv Gandhi's legacy is more important now that the country's youth is confident and able to understand and utilize knowledge base. If the mid-1980's saw India's first modern mindset revolution, now is as good a time as any to start a second more comprehensive revolution to change mindset once again, to focus on technology and modern management methods, to address challenges related to basic needs and infrastructure, to benefit mass of poor people and to make India a true global economic power.” |
Rajiv
Gandhi belonged to that rare breed of politicians in the country who did
not adopt politics as a career and profession. He was what most of the
educated class wanted to be. Handsome, urbane, holding a steady job –
glamorous one at that -, a family man, enjoying the good things of life
with family and friends and far removed from the dirty politics.
