A Fall from Grace

In the years since Mr. Vajpayee took the brave decision at Pokhran, I had been very proud of my beloved nation. It has only been since then that I have actively begun understanding the mannerisms a country must present before the world order in order to effectively establish its needs and rights in the cut-throat competition at the international level. I recognize now the need for technological advancements and a willingness to stand firm in the face of relative hostility from arguably more advanced nations.
It was not just the improvements on a global scale that I was proud of though. I was incredibly proud of the fact that the head of the largest democracy in the world was a man who filled the credentials to a T. After all how many nations in the world could boast of a president who had not just the title of ‘Doctor’ to his name but also a past where he had not only been a pioneer of his country’s nuclear development program but had also held the distinction of heading it. I had not thought that anyone might ably fill in the shoes of the dynamic Mr. Vajpayee even less, Mrs. Gandhi, whose sole credential was her marriage into the Gandhi family. However, with a twist of fate, the shoes were filled in by someone who might not have had the same dynamism that our previous prime minister possessed but definitely had the credentials to carry forward the financial progress this nation has recently been making. In a matter of time, we had two leading intellectuals of their generation at helm of the two most powerful offices in this country, Dr. Kalam and Dr. Singh.
Yet, all good things must come to an end. The next likely president seems to have been nominated more on the discriminatory grounds of gender favoritism and with a view to garner regional support. Need I mention also, that she is buoyed by the same member of the Gandhi family whose credentials are doubted by not just me alone but a large faction of the educated class in this nation. Mrs. Patil does not seem to be in the same league as Dr. Kalam and not by any standards does she possess the credentials necessary for the office leave alone those necessary to fill in the shoes of Dr. Kalam. Her past misendeavours that dominate the headlines in the leading newspapers these days, do not help her case either. To have played the hand that the faction supporting her have in being responsible for the withdrawal of the candidature of Dr. Kalam, is condemnable, to have played petty politics even in the appointment of the president of our nation is to desecrate the values the office upholds. Mrs. Patil for Dr. Kalam? What a fall from grace…