Page 30 - EW March 2021

Expert Comment

Chip on shoulder

governance

RAJIV DESAI

ONG YEARS AGO, I WAS AT LUNCH WITH It’s ridiculous that the BJP government
Michael McGuire, foreign editor of Chicago
Trib une, a newspaper that published and which said nothing about the Chinese
Lsyndicated my columns. The venue was Sayat aggression or the coup in Burma,
Nova, an Armenian restaurant on Ohio Street in the buzzy kicked up a royal fuss about pop singer
Streeterville neighbourhood, a lively luncheon place for
those of us fortunate enough to have offices on Michigan Rihanna’s support for India’s farmers
Avenue, the glittering street that is Chicago’s answer to New
York’s Fifth Avenue.
Dotted with fabulous stores, boutiques, restaurants, litical psychology that combines inferiority complex with a
and buildings including landmarks like the Wrigley Build- search for standing.
ing and the Tribune Tower plus the riverfront One Illinois Search for status seems to drive the current dispensa-
Center, a slick modern glass structure where my office was, tion. A clue can be derived from the changed appearance
Michigan Avenue was famous. The name was used as a title of the leader: from a fierce Hindu hriday samrat (em-
for an instrumental piece in a Rolling Stones album. To peror of hearts) of yore to an earnest tap asvi (ascetic) of
walk up and down the avenue was a distinct privilege; we the overgrown white hair and unkempt white beard. Af-
were an enviable lot. ter the statesmanlike Jawaharlal Nehru, self-effacing Lal
We lunched almost daily on Armenian delicacies at Sayat Bahadur Shastri, determined Indira Gandhi, sophisticated
Nova. For our loyal custom, we were invariably rewarded Rajiv Gandhi, scholarly Manmohan Singh, this projection
with an after-lunch cognac by Arsen Demirdjian, the owner. of persona is unusual, to say the least.
It was truly the best of times. aving transformed governance to a spectacle of
Usually, we just sat at the bar counter and talked about Hmontages, now fierce, now gentle, the regime
this and that. On that afternoon, though, we sat at a table seems unconcerned about the institutional damage its
talking about world affairs, especially India’s dashing new policies have caused: from demonetisation down. While
leader Rajiv Gandhi. I had just written a cover story on him mainstream media continue to be cheerleaders, a growing
for the paper’s Sunday magazine. Unsurprisingly, Mike led number of people in India and abroad are beginning to
with a question: will Rajiv change things? express disbelief. But the ruling party pays no heed to the
The conversation veered round to the Indian govern- mayhem caused by its unthinking actions; it remains firm
ment’s notorious chip on the shoulder foreign policy. In- in the belief that electoral victory is like a dip in the Ganges
deed, Mike had often been at the receiving end of complaints which washes away all sins.
from the Indian consul general about critical coverage of What is clear is that voters expect governance. Given the
the jerry-rigged Janata governments of the late 1970s. And economic collapse, widespread protests, Chinese aggres-
about feature stories on child marriages and bride burning. sion, and not least the deadly Covid pandemic, the saffron
Through Rajiv Gandhi’s term, however, the external affairs party may quickly be judged inadequate to the task of gov-
ministry remained admirably quiet and dealt with the world erning this large, diverse, poor country.
in a mature way. The consequences are a huge contraction of GDP, ris-
The Sayat Nova interlude came to mind when I wit- ing joblessness, increasing civil unrest, disturbed relations
nessed the entire weight of the Modi government and its with neighbours, a military assault on sovereignty. Most
fanboys and chorus girls lean on Rihanna, the pop singer important is India’s standing in the global order. That is
who tweeted in favour of the ongoing farmers’ protest on why the government massages readouts of a plain vanilla
the outskirts of Delhi. It’s beyond ridiculous the govern- message from the US State Department to fudge the mean-
ment, which said nothing about Chinese aggression on the ing to where it sounds like an endorsement of the Modi
Himalayan borders or the coup in Burma, kicked up a royal government. These are played up by lapdog media and then
fuss about Rihanna. trumpeted through the community of believers, known as
The chip on the shoulder is back big time. It is a sign of b hak ts.
the leadership’s deep anxiety about India’s English-speak- Masters at managing perceptions, the ruling dispensa-
ing sophisticates, who stride the world with consummate tion may find that no amount of posturing and headline
ease and breezy confidence. With notable exceptions, this management can obscure the underlying reality. There is
small but influential segment of the population has proved no quicker downward spiral than lost jobs, higher prices,
immune to the virus of communal politics. It stands in loss of sovereign territory, and given the pandemic, fear of
marked contrast to the sullen resentment of the saffron life loss.
crowd who see their parochial lifestyles including diet and (Rajiv Desai is president of Comma Consulting and a well-known Delhi-
habits as a handicap in global circles. It’s a cassoulet of po- based columnist)

30 EDUCATIONWORLD MARCH 2021