Wednesday, April 15, 2009

The Curse of Nehru

The ambitious and the not so ambitious who are born into a legacy are forced to live with a Curse. They must live upto the standards set by their forebearers. While millions envy the lives and recognition that goes with a famous surname, few realize the traumatic state of the persons destined for stardom. They who have to go on living upto the expectations of those who are condemned to read the history books.
If Varun Gandhi lost his balance of mind while attempting to carve out a niche of his own in the political space of India, the maveric lad has to be seen in this context. He cannot be a Jawahar Lal Nehru or Indira Gandhi, who apart from being remarkable political leaders were also bestowed with an exaggerated halo by sycophantic writers and historians. Even Rahul or Sonia or Priyanka cannot hope to emulate them - given their much larger than life persona. However Rahul and Priyanka are walking on the right side of political discretion and biding for their moment. Varun egged on more by his ambition than personal ideology has committed grave error. He must realize that he will forever be judged by his political legacy of 'the great Nehrus'.
And then one cannot be too generous either ! If the inheritors of the Nehru legacy were to stoop so low in order to win a Lok Sabha seat or two; then who can blame Bal Thackeray, Raj Thackeray and the rest for communally polarising the state and the Nation to win Political Power !
Rahul, Priyanka or Varun Gandhi must live with the realization that they are not merely born into privilege and stardom but that they are also doomed to live with the curse of being the Nehrus - They must bear the cross !