By NIMMI RAGHUNATHAN
At the end of the day, it’s only a city that Arvind Kejriwal is going to administrate. In Washington, D.C., the other capital Indian-Americans are concerned with, we call the person in charge of running the town, Mayor. But what makes Chief Minister Kejriwal’s position very visible is this: he will oversee the quality of life of over 25 million people, the world’s second most populous city according to a 2014 U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division report.
At the end of the day, it’s only a city that Arvind Kejriwal is going to administrate. In Washington, D.C., the other capital Indian-Americans are concerned with, we call the person in charge of running the town, Mayor. But what makes Chief Minister Kejriwal’s position very visible is this: he will oversee the quality of life of over 25 million people, the world’s second most populous city according to a 2014 U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division report.
A powerful position for anyone who wants to make a difference.
From the looks of it, Kejriwal wants to. And it’s not an observation that stems from his constant bomb-throwing sound bites or idealistic promises, but from what he does away from the cameras. Those associated with him have reported that in the mid-2000s he moved out of his modest apartment to live in a basti to understand ground issues. He has stayed in terrible conditions amongst tribals to understand their needs. It’s no wonder that his party’s platform includes what the Aam Aadmi needs: water, sanitation, power, education.
What Kejriwal has also managed to do, and which is why he draws the attention of the educated and the middle class, is make democracy seem accessible. Who are these people in his cabinet which includes a 34-year-old Sandeep Kumar? Who is young Raghav Chadha who gets to speak for the party and has to bat away reporter comments that suggest he is a college kid? For a nation where media, business, Bollywood, politics and everything in-between is determined by whose son or daughter you are, really, who are all these people? Seemingly, the suggestion is anyone can become an MLA if they care enough and are idealistic enough. Also to be noted is the responses of the newly elected Aam Aadmi Party legislators, volunteers and spokespersons: each is empowered enough to feel the victory is a collective one and not beholden to one leader unlike the truism in BJP and the Congress. Nothing much happens there, without reverential references to Modi and Sonia.
The AAP victory in a way, paves the way for allowing the so-called “good” people (read non-professionals) to tread into politics. One of the failures of the Gandhian brand of public service has been its refusal to get into electoral politics. Morarji Desai was viewed as someone traitorous to the cause and Anna Hazare has constantly thumbed his nose at anyone who seems to want to translate ideology into political will. Kejriwal has straddled that bridge. Following Gandhian methods of dharnas, fasts and jail visits, he has not shied away from wanting to be in a place that can effect change.
The win has been good too for democracy, at this moment in time, when the BJP has simply steamrolled the opposition into silence. Without disputing anything that Modi or his party stands for, it is simply not healthy for a country to have no debate. Ironically, the AAP win, is similarly positioned. The Delhi Assembly can pass any bill it seeks to without a murmur from anyone on its floor.
Then there is the optics. No Rs.10 lakh custom made clothes for this new CM. Kejriwal coughs his way through speeches and meetings like there are no pharmacies in India and wears mufflers like it’s always winter. No fashion conscious woman would give him a second look. But note this: he is about the only Indian politician in power who has acknowledged his wife.
A quick quiz. What was the name of Narasimha Rao’s wife? What is the name of the current President Pranab Mukherjee’s wife? Does Bihar’s Nitish Kumar even have a wife? Who does Arun Jaitley one of the richest politicians of India at Rs.110 crore, share his wealth with? Surely, many blanks. But Kejriwal tweeted his win with a picture of him hugging his wife and wrote, “Thank u Sunita for always being there.” The city which the new Chief Minister will run needed to see this. Delhi has been abhorrent in the way it treats its women.
All this does not mean it somehow endows Kejriwal and his people with skills to govern. In fact this is THE indeterminate in all the amazement that surrounds the AAP win.
If Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has worn his chaiwala days as a badge of honor and given hope to the middle class and, the IIT educated, Income Tax Commissioner Arvind Kejriwal who has given hope to the poor, use their combined oratory and work together on their common business ideals, India’s capital might be able to show the way to other metros.
Meanwhile, Indian-Americans whose deep pockets are always being tapped by the politicians of India can wait, watch and see if they should continue to contribute, and to who.
From the looks of it, Kejriwal wants to. And it’s not an observation that stems from his constant bomb-throwing sound bites or idealistic promises, but from what he does away from the cameras. Those associated with him have reported that in the mid-2000s he moved out of his modest apartment to live in a basti to understand ground issues. He has stayed in terrible conditions amongst tribals to understand their needs. It’s no wonder that his party’s platform includes what the Aam Aadmi needs: water, sanitation, power, education.
What Kejriwal has also managed to do, and which is why he draws the attention of the educated and the middle class, is make democracy seem accessible. Who are these people in his cabinet which includes a 34-year-old Sandeep Kumar? Who is young Raghav Chadha who gets to speak for the party and has to bat away reporter comments that suggest he is a college kid? For a nation where media, business, Bollywood, politics and everything in-between is determined by whose son or daughter you are, really, who are all these people? Seemingly, the suggestion is anyone can become an MLA if they care enough and are idealistic enough. Also to be noted is the responses of the newly elected Aam Aadmi Party legislators, volunteers and spokespersons: each is empowered enough to feel the victory is a collective one and not beholden to one leader unlike the truism in BJP and the Congress. Nothing much happens there, without reverential references to Modi and Sonia.
The AAP victory in a way, paves the way for allowing the so-called “good” people (read non-professionals) to tread into politics. One of the failures of the Gandhian brand of public service has been its refusal to get into electoral politics. Morarji Desai was viewed as someone traitorous to the cause and Anna Hazare has constantly thumbed his nose at anyone who seems to want to translate ideology into political will. Kejriwal has straddled that bridge. Following Gandhian methods of dharnas, fasts and jail visits, he has not shied away from wanting to be in a place that can effect change.
The win has been good too for democracy, at this moment in time, when the BJP has simply steamrolled the opposition into silence. Without disputing anything that Modi or his party stands for, it is simply not healthy for a country to have no debate. Ironically, the AAP win, is similarly positioned. The Delhi Assembly can pass any bill it seeks to without a murmur from anyone on its floor.
Then there is the optics. No Rs.10 lakh custom made clothes for this new CM. Kejriwal coughs his way through speeches and meetings like there are no pharmacies in India and wears mufflers like it’s always winter. No fashion conscious woman would give him a second look. But note this: he is about the only Indian politician in power who has acknowledged his wife.
A quick quiz. What was the name of Narasimha Rao’s wife? What is the name of the current President Pranab Mukherjee’s wife? Does Bihar’s Nitish Kumar even have a wife? Who does Arun Jaitley one of the richest politicians of India at Rs.110 crore, share his wealth with? Surely, many blanks. But Kejriwal tweeted his win with a picture of him hugging his wife and wrote, “Thank u Sunita for always being there.” The city which the new Chief Minister will run needed to see this. Delhi has been abhorrent in the way it treats its women.
All this does not mean it somehow endows Kejriwal and his people with skills to govern. In fact this is THE indeterminate in all the amazement that surrounds the AAP win.
If Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has worn his chaiwala days as a badge of honor and given hope to the middle class and, the IIT educated, Income Tax Commissioner Arvind Kejriwal who has given hope to the poor, use their combined oratory and work together on their common business ideals, India’s capital might be able to show the way to other metros.
Meanwhile, Indian-Americans whose deep pockets are always being tapped by the politicians of India can wait, watch and see if they should continue to contribute, and to who.