The Next Generation

Reams of newsprint have been dedicated to this theme. However, the recent developments have forced thoughts in this
direction.

The recent passing away of Pramod Mahajan (Photo Courtesy IBN) in a rather sad manner adds to the list of people who were perceived to be the next
generation leaders.

The list includes names such as Madhavrao Scindia, Rajesh Pilot and PR Kumaramangalam all of whom were not really leaders in the conventional sense with lots of mass base. One from a princely state, one from a small town in Maharashtra, one with a political lineage and the other a man who flew in the skies but had his feet firmly planted on the ground. These individuals displayed the true multiplicity of our democracy.

What separated these individuals from the rest of the pack was their appeal and the respect they all drew across party lines.

In a sense all of them were perceived as people with calibre by the educated middle class which in the era of Mulayam, Lalloo and Paswan's really could not identify with the politics of rhetoric.

Today, the BJP has to deal with a void created by the passing away of Pramod Mahajan, the same way in which the ageing Cong(I) leadership felt at Scindia's demise. There's talk of how there's no one of the stature of an Adwani or Vajpayee for the reins to be passed on.

Well, my opinion is that leaders are created by the circumstances, sometimes even by consensus and they emerge at a time which is not really predictable. Most of our Prime Ministers are cases in example Rajiv Gandhi, VP Singh, IK Gujral, Charan Singh, Narasimha Rao and now Manmohan Singh.

The question is where do you find the talent and resources of a Mahajan or a Scindia? There will always be the likes of Rajnath Singh, Venkaiah Naidu on one side and Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu on the other to fill up party posts, but do they really possess the skill of a Mahajan, the resourcefullness of a Pilot, the charm of a Scindia or the candidness of a Kumaramangalam??

Fact is that India has perhaps in the past 5-6 years lost it's brightest politicians. A few individuals who perhaps stood tall amidst the ruins that politics today is. The leading lights of the next generation.

But hope as they say springs eternal.

Somewhere in the halls of parliament there's a new breed of politicians... probably, the generation after next who will rise above petty differences to take this nation forward.

Meanwhile, we hope that no other name gets added to the list.