V asked me yday how things would evolve in WB now that the Left had been unseated from their throne. I told him that the Left would go back to doing what they do best – throw a spanner in the works of any and every developmental activity Didi planned. After all, that’s what she did too, right? That’s the beauty of multi-party democracy.
Anyway, the topic meandered off to Didi & how she’d mobilized the movement for change so much that even avowed Didi-critics like V and my dad claimed that they’d voted for her because they were sure that even if nothing changed, the party in power had changed. Now I’m the odd one out here for such change doesn’t mean anything to me and I abhorr her. But after the conversation I tried to evaluate her achievement as neutrally as I could and something struck me – Didi’s victory means nothing to me politically for I’m that jaded old cynic who has given up hope things will improve in WB. But her victory means something to me as a woman, as a mother to someone who will grow up to be a woman.
Of all the other female politicians in power in India today, Didi is the only one who hasn’t reached the position of CM by climbing on the back of a man or a familial dynasty. Be it Sonia Gandhi or Jayalalitha or Mayavati or Rabri Devi or Renuka Choudhry – they have all either had men who were entenched in party politics mentoring them and granting them a platform to enter the political fray or come from dynasties that were in power. But not didi.
Eccentric and irresponsible as she is, she nurtured a dream long ago while in college, like many of us. Unlike most of us, she didn’t let it die, nor did she trade it for false Gods. She did it all without the support of a man. This is the only aspect of her victory that makes me happy.
Anyway, the topic meandered off to Didi & how she’d mobilized the movement for change so much that even avowed Didi-critics like V and my dad claimed that they’d voted for her because they were sure that even if nothing changed, the party in power had changed. Now I’m the odd one out here for such change doesn’t mean anything to me and I abhorr her. But after the conversation I tried to evaluate her achievement as neutrally as I could and something struck me – Didi’s victory means nothing to me politically for I’m that jaded old cynic who has given up hope things will improve in WB. But her victory means something to me as a woman, as a mother to someone who will grow up to be a woman.
Of all the other female politicians in power in India today, Didi is the only one who hasn’t reached the position of CM by climbing on the back of a man or a familial dynasty. Be it Sonia Gandhi or Jayalalitha or Mayavati or Rabri Devi or Renuka Choudhry – they have all either had men who were entenched in party politics mentoring them and granting them a platform to enter the political fray or come from dynasties that were in power. But not didi.
Eccentric and irresponsible as she is, she nurtured a dream long ago while in college, like many of us. Unlike most of us, she didn’t let it die, nor did she trade it for false Gods. She did it all without the support of a man. This is the only aspect of her victory that makes me happy.
2 comments:
As Swapan Dasgupta quoted very aptly in her context: "Be realistic. Demand the impossible."
Two things worry me most -- one, the CPM, entrenhed in every field, will put a very big spanner in everything she plans to do; two, she herself, being unaccustomed to any responsible politics, will veer to populism instead of initiating real changes.
Having said that, I am still glad that the left has finally been ousted.
S:
Agree with you abt the 2 things. Let's see.
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