The Kejriwal Phenomenon

The downside slip of  Arvind Kejriwal,  as manifested by his dharna against Union Home Minister  for as frivolous a cause as the demand for suspension of some  policemen and then  grabbing the face saving offer of sending them on leave  for  withdrawing the agitation hastily , was as disappointing a phenomenon as phenomenal  and euphoric had been his emergence on political firmament with a bang . And now, his  exit from Delhi, after he could find an escape route to get pushed to  the national scene, with general elections round the corner, leaves  many  amongst millions, who had pinned hopes with him and his   Aam Admi Party, in a state of fix, though the aura  around him lingers on and  people seem to cling to him even now with the bag of hopes on their backs .  

Whatever be the case , this certainly leaves me, and perhaps many like me, worried  since we had  started looking at him as the harbinger of change   that the country so badly needs ,  the torch bearer  who may beacon light to put the nation on the right track. My worry emanates from  inevitable assessment that he is not the stuff  for the national scene, unless he shows up signs of dramatic changes  in his personality, attitude and  style of  working on a mission.  Not that I had expected miracle from him or from  his newly formed party. To be honest,  I had reservations initially  about Kejriwal and his party’s capability which I aired unhesitatingly only to be the butt of friendly  scoffs  in course of discussions in drawing rooms.

 I had reason for my  reservations about Kejriwal even on the face of his overwhelming popularity when he  wiped out the then  ruling party in the Assembly elections of Delhi. I had reservations because he could not measure in my eye to be really able to make a dent into the existing political system of India which , to my mind, is at the root of all ills and evils that have been   eating up the vitals of the country  like moth, leading to all round   frustrations  despite apparent glamour and prosperity. The fact is that we expected our democracy and democratic institutions   to come of age by now.  Instead,  what have matured and got deeply entrenched   into our socio-political life   are the  ills and evils associated with democracy.  Somehow, the system of governance, which otherwise  is deemed ideal for human existence with dignity, stands woefully polluted and  has become breeding ground for  ills and evils like corruption, nepotism ,parochialism, casteism, communalism, to name only a few.  I am afraid that an old adage: ‘Politics is the last refuge of a scoundrel’ may not become the order of the day later or sooner.  And the task of cleaning  the rotten  system  seems to be  an utopia, perhaps as impossible a task to achieve  as was the plan of the rats to tie a  bell round  the neck of   a cat which had been  hounding and devouring them one by one every day by stealthily treading on their space. Who was to do it?

But  I started  entertaining hopes with the new party and its leader, dismissing my earlier stance of disapproval , when I looked at Kejriwal’s  advent in political arena against the backdrop of this utterly  depressing scenario. When he  sent chilled waves in political circles, engulfing even  age old political parties,  shaking  even the political veterans of established  outfits  by buffets  of his stormy  victory in Delhi elections, I started  nourishing  the  thought  that , may be , he is the one who may lead the light in the right direction and put the nation on track. A ray of hope kindled on the horizon.  While his upward swing could be attributed to his superb leadership qualities and ability to pull masses who are desperate to locate an alternative to the existing political parties, doubts are now overtaking us that he may not really  come up to our tall expectations   because of some compulsive parts of his personality.   One of the  telling weaknesses  that his personality appears to reflect  as a leader   is his impulsive temperament . Once his brain is fired by an idea , his agitating mindset would not let him stop and think . He would jump the guns, whatever the results. And a massive systemic change in a country as vast and as diverse as India  does not come by thoughtless haste, howsoever sincere be the  intentions . It needs a cool and calculative mind added  to superb  leadership attributes that can make a difference.   

Kejriwal, perhaps, needs to be advised by the intellectual giants in the country who have so far chosen to  sit in their protected  professional boundaries  and then he may be  able to work out a sensible and foolproof  road map, after thread bare analysis of the ills that have crept in the system . It is only when wisdom is mixed with   emotions  that some tangible results can be expected, for emotional approach may pull the masses that may be needed to support the struggle, wisdom will guide the leadership to carve its way ahead to reach the set objectives. Otherwise, it remains  the cry in the wilderness.