The Hindu Business Line : Politicians in the news

Politicians have been in the news in recent weeks. What is the big deal, you might as well ask, for don’t they love to hog the news most of the time? In fact, most politicians have the craving to see their names in the print and electronic media as often as possible, since it is publicity for them and, as many of them believe, indirectly translates itself into that many more votes at the time of elections.

Media crazy

That is why even the glummest politician breaks out into a broad smile on seeing a reporter and camera person, and is so very keen to appear in all manner of TV programmes. Even exalted Cabinet Ministers, who want to see officials and henchmen grovel before them in awe, interjecting a “Sir” or “Madam” (as the case may be) between every pair of words while addressing them, are like lambs before TV anchors who blithely call them (by their) names without a Mr or Ms and heckle them at will.

That is why also, it is always easy to get a politician or Minister to take instant note of something by having it put out by the media as a news report or a commentary. All that a clever official needs to do to prompt the Minister to give a fast forward kick to a matter long languishing in an office file on his table is to have a nicely dressed up report or column on the same matter aired by a friendly reporter or columnist in the media.

In the immediate aftermath of the horror perpetrated in Mumbai on November 26-29, however, politicians got into the news for the painful bashing to which they were subjected at the hands of the media and the civil society for their callousness, negligence and worse in ignoring the security of the nation and the citizens, while they themselves strutted about surrounded by dozens of ‘black cats’ pointing their guns in all directions.

Bizarre notion

Their apologists lost no time in dubbing all the hullabaloo as a synthetic concoction by the media which, they asserted, deliberately whipped up the frenzy against them. They even put forward the bizarre notion that this was a wanton plot to traduce and subvert democracy itself, since politicians, in their view, were an integral part of the democratic dispensation itself. No politicians, no democracy — so ran their argument.

It is really an intriguing poser. May be, in the way democracy has evolved, they are right. But can there not be a democracy of scholars and statesmen who will put service before self, public weal before personal greed, and the country before everything else, and who will be respected for their simple living and high thinking?

Better politicians

Will not better politicians who are also dedicated, socially committed and refined human beings make for better democracy? India did have the good fortune in the early years after Independence of having as politicians who were also role models in sacrifice, nobility and passion for public service without thought of using office for amassing wealth. Can not those halcyon days be here again?

There is no reason for India’s politicians to lose heart, though. They can take comfort from the fact that politicians elsewhere are held in equal disdain and contempt. The recent incident of shoe-throwing by a reporter at the US President, Mr George Bush, during his visit to Iraq, has been greeted with an outpouring of mirth and applause in the US media, as evidenced by the numerous cartoons and ribald jokes on late night talk shows.

B. S. RAGHAVAN