In the 16th century AD, a king who ruled India went on to become one of the greatest emperors in Indian history after Ashoka, and also one amongst the world’s greatest rulers. It was on his administrative model that the British based their own administrative structure in India and ruled the country for over two centuries. The emperor was none other than Jalal ud-din Muhammad Akbar, who was known for administration, governance, diplomacy and his foreign, religious and economic policies.
One may wonder why I am pondering over these facts mostly known to the educated class. I’m trying to highlight that despite being an emperor with such extraordinary skills, Akbar, as many would otherwise believe was not literate. But, he had remarkable insights to manage vast swathes of territory that he ruled, and was assisted by a galaxy of stalwarts from various fields for administrative purpose. The fact that he picked the best brains of his time to become a part of his administrative machinery says a lot about his competence to spot right talent for the right job.
So, if one is not a graduate from an Ivy-league university,it does not mean he does not have the potential to become a good leader. India’s new union HRD minister Smriti Irani is a case in point. Immediately after she was anointed as the HRD minister, the Congress and the so-called ‘pseudo-secular intellectuals’ (one such name coming to my mind is Madhu Kishwar) unleashed an attack on her credentials, questioning her educational qualification, or rather the lack of it.
The critics questioned how a person, who was not even a graduate, could become a minister for HRD – the department that primarily deals with education. But, before questioning her skills – which she is yet to prove – her critics such as the Congress leader Ajay Maken or columnist Madhu Kishwar must revise their knowledge on Indian political leaders, who have not only earned a place for themselves in the country’s long history but have also substantially contributed in shaping the history of this country.
The highest office in India is that of the President, and everyone is aware of Gyani Zail Singh. He earned his title ‘Gyani’ due to his education on the Guru Granth Sahib but had no formal education as recognised by Indian school boards and universities. Despite that, he became the chief minister of Punjab, Minister of Home Affairs and finally the President of India – all during the regime of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
So was the case with Indira Gandhi, who is often considered even by her strongest critics as the best prime minister that India has ever had. She was mostly taught at home by tutors, and intermittently attended school until matriculation. She went on to study at the Vishwa Bharati University in Shantiniketan but that too for a year. Later, she went to Europe and took admission at the University of Oxford, but returned to India without completing her education. The university later conferred on her an honorary degree. Despite such interrupted formal education, the intelligentsia within the Congress and its supporters never questioned Mrs Gandhi’s credentials and held her in high esteem.
Last but not the least is the example of K Kamraj – one of the political stalwart that post-independent India witnessed and who was known as the ‘Kingmaker of Indian politics’. He had dropped out of school at the age of 11. But it was the same Kamraj, who had worked as a sales boy to earn livelihood for his family, who later became instrumental in bringing two prime ministers to power, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi. Under him as the chief minister of Madras province, the state made immense strides in education and trade. It was under Kamraj new schools opened in the state, and the poor rural students did not have to walk more than three miles to their nearest school.
As a nameless, faceless Indian citizen residing in any Tier-II or III city, it amazes me to see the urban elites getting easily floored by the fancy degrees earned from foreign universities (like the advisors Rahul Gandhi have), without even considering that the person from an Ivy-league university or a B-school ever delivered anything worthy. By the time performance factor is taken into consideration, these elite professional make enough money and quit. That is why many Congress leaders openly criticised Rahul Gandhi’s war-room strategists after the 16th Lok Sabha election debacle.
Let’s not forget that it was under many of the Harvard and Oxford educated ministers in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the nation witnessed a steady decline in growth and increase in inflation and price rise. To the extent, that the Congress got reduced to a double-digit party (44 seats only), and the UPA failed to reach anywhere near the 100 mark!
So why is the sudden hullabaloo on Smriti Irani’s educational background? Nobody questioned her credentials till she was the most favourite ‘Bahu’ of the ‘Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ TV serial or had been effectively handling panel discussions on TV channels. Or, does the attack reflect elite snobbery or political opportunism? The nation needs to wait and give sometime to Smriti Irani to prove her mettle. Or else we have the power of democracy, which can effectively bring her down if she fails to perform, like it recently happened with Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party.
The political bigwigs can either like us or hate us, but can’t ignore the crores of nameless Indians, who ultimately vote them to power, as they did Narendra Modi this time, with a stupendous majority – which will go down as a milestone in India’s political history.
(The opinion expressed in this column is solely that of the writer – A Nameless Indian)
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