The Yogi and the Prince

It's a study in contrasts as the Commissar seeks to look sagely, the Prince struggles to transform into a decisive leader

The first is a ‘yogi’ in the making. The recurring images of 2021 are those of PM Narendra Modi in a striking, cascading snowy beard framed by luxuriant white mane, launching events and election rallies -- still a veritable lion in spring. An image makeover from a tough, muscular administrator, an astute politician, the unquestioned party supremo and a much adored and feared ruler, to an elder sage, not entirely a saint, but a Raj Rishi -- still reigning over matters of State, with the reins firmly in his hand -- is a big political gamble.

His fans on social media share his pictures with words of raving adulation, juxtaposing him alongside the towering figure of the poet laureate of Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore; in Tamil Nadu, he must seem like Periyar; in Pondicherry, the mystic Shri Aurobindo. It’s like looking at some ancient paintings and temple sculptures where the same figure takes on different forms when viewed from different angles by the beholder. If Modi had the current round of elections in mind when he decided to embark on this transformation, it’s sheer marketing genius, requiring foresight, insight and advanced planning to go from his clipped white beard and well-groomed visage that had already propelled him to the heights of a demigod to this sagely figure.

It’s also fraught with political risks. Who can divine the mind of the public? It is inscrutably fickle. Will those who loved a strong, muscular leader -- on which premise Modi’s image was assiduously built over decades -- accept a new, softer, sapient being, a persona now portrayed in complete contrast to the former?

The problem with strong leaders is, over time they develop opaque vision and don’t see what everyone else can see. They become cocksure. As Bertrand Russell said, “Nobody should be certain of anything. If you’re certain, you’re certainly wrong, because nothing deserves certainty.” A lack of certainty, being unsure and accepting dilemmas, is necessary in a leader as it will make him humble and impel him to seek wider consultations and reduce committing grave errors. But history bears out, strong leaders cast a spell on their people. Will Modi, going forward, consult widely, in keeping with the new image he is morphing into?

From time immemorial, Indians have had a special fascination for sadhus, babas, swamis, maharishis, gurus, and the like. That world is full of charlatans and crooks. It has also been blessed with many noble souls. Modi’s moment of epiphany – to fashion himself into a sanyasi -- may have come when he went to the cave in Kedarnath. If you visit the Himalayas and sit on a peak and watch the sun rise or behold the Ganga in the higher reaches at sunset, you too will wish to just walk away forever from this base material world and dissolve in the mountain mist.

So, this dramatic transformation from a Commissar, who justified all means to achieve ends for his country, to a Yogi who has transcended all mundane and corporeal grossness of life, while being in the thick of venal politics, yet floating above it like the lotus flower, the symbol of the BJP, is an apt metaphor. The imagery is perfect. Will the people embrace Modi in the new avatar? Only time will tell.

At the other end of the spectrum, you have Rahul Gandhi, the ‘prince’ who is not able to shake off the image of a dilettante, of an easy-going dynast with privileges and entitlement -- an image that has stuck to him. He comes across as more of a perennial Prince Hamlet, forever dilly-dallying and postponing. Nehru was suave, a great thinker, but he was not a ditherer, never suffered fools, and did not let emotions and sentiment make him squeamish. Many feel that Rahul doesn’t seem to inspire his cadre and seems to lack that killer instinct his opponents possess to lead a political party. Napoleon once said. “I’m no capuchin” (I’m no saint)." An Italian proverb says, “If you wish to succeed, you must not be too good." Emerson, speaking of Napoleon, said,“Napoleon renounced, once for all, sentiments and affections, and would help himself with his hand and his head...it’s an advantage, within certain limits, to have renounced the dominion of sentiments, of gratitude and generosity; since what was an impassable bar to us, and others, becomes a convenient weapon for our purposes...”

Rahul Gandhi’s recent interviews and interactions with economists, intellectuals and reputed foreign universities reveal him as a decent, relatively young man with knowledge and maturity. He’s no ‘Pappu,’ nor an imbecile as made out by his opponents. He has wit and a sense of repartee. He is a bugbear and a gadfly who continues to bite Modi, and Modi can’t shake him off. He attracts crowds and media attention as he and his family name still have charisma with large sections of the population. He is seen as the only fierce and consistent critic of Modi from the opposition parties. The rest are conspicuous by their silence.

He seems strong as a Sherpa, accomplished in martial arts, and he has displayed phenomenal fitness on stage, competing with young athletes and besting them easily. Yet, for all his discreet attempts at image transformation, he’s perceived as weak while Modi is seen as strong. Rahul’s ambivalence when it comes to leading his party and his equivocation on many issues seem stark in contrast to the shrewd mercilessness, swiftness and purposive actions of not just Modi but of his own grandmother, Indira Gandhi.

Will the image change Rahul is attempting of himself crystallise in the minds of the populace? Will it count with the voters? Can the people decipher the precise man that he is? Will he be able to steer Congress out of its morass and unseat Modi as the latter changes his own persona and reinvents himself? We have to wait and see.

It’s not enough to “Know thyself”. To win a battle, you must “Know thy enemy,” as Sun Tzu said. Maybe, Rahul must study Modi.

(The writer is a farmer, soldier and entrepreneur)