Blame it on the fakir with the toothless smile.
When Mahatma Gandhi went to England in his trademark dhoti and chadar, Charlie Chaplin- that great mocker of capitalist civilization- had to bend and crane his neck to catch a view of the man who was mobbed as if he was a messiah. But Gandhi was a politician and some say a clever one.
In his cladding the simple way of life, he became one of the poor and exploited Indians that he represented at the Round Table Conference. Living in an ashram, spinning the wheel, eating frugal vegetarian meals, wearing two pieces of khadi- Gandhi was a world away from the suited-booted Jinnahs & Nehrus of his era.
Why, he was the ‘Father of Austerity’ in public life. The debate that has caught headlines and which inspired Sonia Gandhi to travel economy, in reality begins with the greatest Congress man ever, MK Gandhi.
But it would be sacrilege to compare the new-found austerity of Indian politicians with that of the Mahatma. For he constantly struggled to achieve the higher truth of life through his actions and words. If the ministers of today vacate their 5-star suites and shift to posh guest houses, then that is sheer tokenism.
The problem is Indians love tokenism and sometimes tend to suffice with symbolic gestures: they are happy if the Lok Sabha Speaker is a woman and tend to see it as a beacon of hope in the dark prospects of women’s reservation.
Such tokenism, it goes without saying, is of little use in a country where the problem is of distribution and not availability. Foregoing first class tickets is not going to help the drought-hit; the Math just doesn’t add up. If public money needs to be saved, then the government must look at expenditures incurred in providing luxury bungalows, private staff, unlimited telephone usage etc to its ministers and officers.
While it is true that a vast majority of our people would like to see pay-cuts for elected representatives, who unfailingly close ranks to increase their salaries every year; closer scrutiny of the issue will reveal a nasty grudge of the masses behind such a wish. When most of us can’t even cross the golden gates of a 5-star hotel, why should those who represent us, lead such lavish lifestyles?
This could, thus, turn-out to be a case of simply being sensitive to the constituencies of the politicians. Since those who voted for them can’t have membership to exclusive clubs, the MPs and MLAs should also not aspire for the same.
But this will be the most damaging part of the austerity debate because this will go on to mean that India cannot and should not aspire to become member of any elite global club- Security Council, the nuclear powers club, the space club etc. It’s true that India represents the Third World at the Doha table, but it is our economic muscle that has helped us stand for the South Hemisphere.
Till the time the high tea bills are not paid from my taxes, why should I have a problem with Tharoor staying wherever he wishes to? Pranab da asking him to vacate in view if the economic crisis and drought may be indicative of a dangerous situation- the government has run out of ideas and is now adapting imagery to tackle a massive problem, including asking Congress MPs to donate 20% of their salaries, which adds up to thirteen lakh rupees!
As I said in the beginning, blame the Mahatma. Since the world became crazy for Bapu, the politicians of this country learnt a shrewd lesson- Indians tend to make idols out of leaders who seem to be making sacrifices.
It would do Indians well to not behave like girls who get impressed by bank-balances and big cars (the opposite in this case). They should not forget that ministers have just remembered the age old virtue of austerity when elections are due in three states and are ridiculously promising to fly in the cargo holds if need be!
What else, Pranab da has gone on to clarify that these measures are only for a year. So much for moral mountain climbing.
More than his personal austerity (on which Sarojini Naidu famously said was costing the Congress a fortune), it is the very public courage and boldness of Gandhi that mobilized millions. Undoubtedly that strength was derived from a reservoir of qualities like ‘simple living, high thinking’ and it would do us all a lot of good if we were to take that path.
But it will do us a lot more good if we call this bluff of our politicians who are suddenly acting like hermits.
(The views expressed by the author in the blog are his/her own)