Death absolves the mortals of ignominy on earth, at least this is what the scriptures on Hinduism have to offer as a philosophy of death for the one who dies. With this impression of belief in mind I offer my deep condolences to the grieving family of Ahmad Patel who died due to complications arising due to Covid-19.
But before you believe otherwise, this write up is not yet another obituary towards him on the lines of so many already crowding the web and print platforms. Rather this write up is about making sense out of the many obituaries floating all over onto his death. On a different note, Off late, I have been able to experience the power of usage of words and sentences like never ever. The astute use of sentence and words can present exactly same piece of information, emotions, news, experiences in such a way so that the readers may end up grieving, laughing, lacerating, sympathizing or scorning the subject of the article. Let me demonstrate classic scenario through the different obituaries which they wrote in the fond memory of their Ahmad Bhai!
Here you go! A Woman and fiction writer in the garb of journalism, writes an eulogy on NDTV-
- [What she writes]– “The first and second UPA governments were entirely his creations, though he never joined Manmohan Singh’s cabinet.”
[How I read this]– So far, the world believed that Antonio Maino was the conjurer behind the puppet called Manmohan Singh and his government. But here comes the revelation that even that puppet show was managed and being played not by the conjurer himself, but job was relegated to assistant juggler. Worst is, even the assistant juggler was reluctant in joining the podium of the show at the end. In nutshell, one could only imagine the extent of degeneration this whole nexus has been able to bring into the office of highest executive for the country. A person who fought his last election in 1990, with no accountability to the electorate, almost equivalent to a warden of a privileged family, who managed connections and corporates had effectively architected the formation of cabinet which governed this country for 10 years.
- [What she writes]– “Patel was a “politician’s politician” with a huge network of relationships across party lines, corporates and the media.”
[How I read this]– He was “politician’s politician” as she has to celebrate but what she writes in the same breath is not to be missed. According to her he was such because of his connection in corporate and media. When I illustrate this, let me clarify that there is nothing unprecedented for a party of having a person like Patel was. In fact, persons like him are indispensable in political party given the kind of resource party need to manage their affairs now a days. But the origin of discomfiture arises when you juxtapose two information which are- her claim that he had huge network in corporate and media and he alone being the architect of United progressive alliance government. this is where the alarm is, a guy with no adherence to ideology (across the article he has been unanimously described as the loyalist to Gandhi clan from Indira to Antonio to Vinci who Mr. Patel regrets of not being into his good book) having no accountability to electorate directly( he was made to be the member of upper house) , being a minion to a family has been made so powerful that he managed everything good bad ugly for the elected goverment.
- [What she writes]- “Patel was genuinely unassuming and used to say with pride that he had worked with all generations of the Gandhi family”
[How I read this]– Now read between the lines, his source of pride was his service to Gandhi family and not his adherence to ideology and not Congress(I) as a political party. This very assertion about Mr. Patel’s pride by the boogey journalist tarnishes and further puts a question mark over the rich tribute towards his contribution for nation if there was any( given I know little about him and as they suggest too that he was more a back room manager than a front row politician) .
Though there are other piece of excitement she has added but let’s move to one more tribute(in the interst of plurality of the articles) which is posted on NDTV by a senior journalist who has poured his bleeding heart out for Mr Patel. let’s call him “A”
- [What he writes]- “Yet, for the ten years that the UPA was in power, he was one of the most important people in India; his influence was exceeded only by Sonia Gandhi and during UPA I, at least, by Manmohan Singh.”
[How I read this]- He further accentuate the over arching power and impact Mr. Patel had over the highest decision-making body in the country. Arguably he did not have enough political might within him to have such an influence over the elected government. Rather he derived his power from a family and scion which itself had not constitutional validation. So, short version is he was a bridge between Gandhi Scion, corporate and an elected government which proved more accountable to the family than to the nation.
- [What he writes]- “To have been part of Rajiv’s team was a huge advantage in the early Sonia years because she took it to mean you were committed to the core Congress values of liberalism and secularism.”
[How I read this]- These sentences are more intriguing in more than one way. This is where you will almost miss the trickery of a word juggler of the league Mr “A” belong to. Please, probe for the way as to how he furnished congress a certificate of being the flag bearer of liberalism and secularism, that too under the guise of writing obituary for Mr. Patel. Mr. “A”, it is to remind you that a family managed hypocrisy, circus and scam called congress( congress of post-independence) imposed emergency which effectively killed the soul of democracy, it dragged the political opponent and journalist into the jail, it divested the executive and judiciary in one go, so effectively Congress is the pallbearer and not a torch bearer of liberalism in true sense but not you Mr. “Word piper”.
Secondly, the architect of worst massacre which congress sponsored and actively participated in 1984, one who was chief executive of Bofors scam and presided over a lame duck government which allowed Warren Anderson of Union Carbide to escape the culpability for the genocide has secularism as value within his structure, isn’t it Mr. “A”. On a different note, Mr. “Word Player” estimates the merits for selection of Mr. Patel into the proximity of Mrs. Maino as he was from Rajiv Gandhi Coterie. With insinuation like this he absolved Rajiv Gandhi from the heinous crimes he committed against the citizen, country and humanity all together, all under the garb of writing the obituary for Mr. Patel.
There are many more citation and memory which Mr “A” has quoted but I request the readers to get through the admission which he has made on behalf of congress and Mr.Patel who is no more. But in the interest of time, let me pull a few samples from the “Stamped from USA” Bag piper Mr “B’s” condolences which he has written for Mr. Patel. It is lying for you on India Today.
[What he writes]- “In 1989, he lost a Lok Sabha election, losing again in 1991. Gujarat and indeed India, was changing as the rising tide of Hindutva rhetoric swept away Muslim political representatives (Gujarat has not had a single Muslim MP since 1989).”
[How I read this]-For Mr “B”, It was as if Mr. Patel was so diligent for his constituency and he built towers of work, but it is rising Hindutva tide which did him in and he lost twice. It is for all to see that Mr “B” lives in regression where he believes that the readers are as naïve as they were a decade ago. We all know that congress ruled Gujrat since independence and effectively it is they and their representatives who are responsible for what Bharuch was till 1990 and for all of us to know how Bharuch was which Mr. Patel represented twice. It riddled with water and health issue along with myriad other issues which contributed into its backwardness. But instead of blaming that for the defeat which is self-inflicted almost, the “Durbari” Journalist attributes rising Hindutva for two consecutive defeat of the departed soul.
[What he writes]- “His wasn’t the politics of threat and intimidation but of genuinely cultivating people and friendships, of negotiation not confrontation.”
[How I read this]- Here, he tricks fully trying to compare the style of working which Mr. Patel had with insinuation towards BJP whom he attributes of doing the politics of threat and intimidation. Mr. “B”, how you described Mr. Patel indicates clearly that he was a backroom manager for Gandhi Family. He did everything good bad and ugly for them. Hence it does not make any sense for what your instrument are, be it threat or intimidation, nothing makes a backroom job so shiny irrespective of the instrument through you carry it out.
There are other articles by so many journalists around. They have fond memories with “Back room manager” and “minion of Gandhi family” as they claim themselves though they do it through different words. This itself shows the kind of privileged relationship they enjoyed during the scam riddled regime. Through these obituaries and condolences one can easily see as to why these power brokers who used to enjoy the access to power corridors are so unnerved as they miss the absence of jugglers and conjurers in current regime.
