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Yeh Sonia Mangey More!

I have a personal reason to thank Sharad Pawar, P A Sangma and Tariq Anwar: It is because of their delightful letter to Sonia Gandhi nee Maino that I have been spared the agony of getting over Monday morning blues. The dust and heat of Delhi does not seem so unbearable; the excessive debauchery of a weekend away from politics has no hangover; and, all does not seem to be lost.

Of course, I am being facetious. But trivia apart, the letter asking the Congress president to not only give up her dream of serving pasta at prime ministerial dinners but also propose a constitutional amendment, barring those not of Indian origin from holding the office of President, vice-president and prime minister, only goes to once again prove that a weekend in politics is a long time.

From declaring that she will "not be intimidated" by the popular will of Indians who want their government to be headed by an Indian, she is now confronted by senior leaders of the Congress telling her that the days of East India Company are over, that India is a "confident culture and a proud nation", that the "average Indian is not unreasonable in demanding that his prime minister have some track record in public life". Worse, she has now been told the harshest of truths by her own tribe: That her dream of becoming the empress of India "is an issue which affects not just the security, economic interest and international image of India, but hits at the core pride of every Indian."

This 'pride' has nothing to do with 'xenophobia', it has nothing to do with an individual’s religious persuasion, it has nothing to do with gender. It has everything to do with national identity: An Indian is proud of being an Indian, just like an Italian is proud of being an Italian. It is this pride that fuelled India's freedom struggle. It is this pride that has sustained our people through several trials and tribulations and enabled them to become self-sufficient in crucial areas like food production.

If this nation had been lacking in national pride, then we would still be holding out a beggar’s bowl to the affluent West and not become a food-surplus economy. If we look beyond India, we will find that Bangladesh emerged as a nation because it refused to allow Bangali pride from being trampled upon and destroyed by West Pakistan.

Indeed, it is national pride that helped forge the modern Indian nation state after the British left; it is this pride in being Indian that has held India together, forging a unity that is hard to define but is there for all to see. If only Sonia Gandhi nee Maino had the sense to sense the existence of this pride, she would not have looked so utterly silly today. After getting more than she ever deserved, thanks to the once mighty Congress being reduced to a moribund organisation of spineless cowards, she now wants to reach for the moon.

Her craving for more brings to mind the irrational, illogical demands of a spoilt idiot child who spurns his tricycle and wants to fly a jet. It is infuriatingly maddening, but like dealing with a spoilt idiot child, there is little that you can do to convince the woman from Turin that what she is asking for cannot be given to her. Each time you reason, she will pout and retort, "But why can’t I?" Pawar, Sangma and Anwar have now told her, in plain, unequivocal terms, in words simple enough for any simpleton to understand, why she can’t.

It is, however, unlikely that Sonia Gandhi nee Maino will get the message. It is equally unlikely that Pawar’s colleagues will now press home the point so tellingly made in his letter. After all, let us not forget that the Congress is a party of supplicants who are only too happy to be treated as doormats and subscribe to the view that "dynasty" precedes democracy. Nor should we forget shaming slogans like "Sonia lao, desh bachao" raised by Congress leaders or the humiliating spectacle of Sitaram Kesari placing his topi at Sonia Gandhi nee Maino's feet, urging her to save the party's izzat.

Those who lack in self-respect, self-esteem and self-confidence, cannot be expected to guard India’s national pride from foreign assault. After installing a foreigner as president of the party that was in the forefront of India’s struggle for freedom from foreign rule, they cannot be expected to stand up and be counted.

Just in case Sonia Gandhi nee Maino's loyalists happen to read this article, I will recall three historical facts involving foreigners in the national (not necessarily Indian) context.

Chanakya, for strategic reasons, arranged for Chandragupta Maurya's marriage with the daughter of Seleucus Nicator after the Greek general was defeated in battle. But Chanakya also laid down that no progeny of this marriage would ever inherit the throne of Magadh.

The second bit of history refers to foreigners heading countries not of their origin. Alexander, a Macedonian, led Greece. Napoleon, a Corsican, became the first consul of France. Adolf Hitler, an Austrian, was "elected" chancellor of Germany.

History is witness to the fact that all three exploited and ruined the countries they ruled. The last bit has to do with a certain Bengali film actress in the 1950s, Sonali, who I am told was quite a head-turner. Roberto Rosselini, the Italian director, had a stormy affair with Sonali and they eloped to Rome. Later, Sonali married Rosselini and acquired Italian citizenship. In the 1960s, Sonali wanted to contest a municipal election, but was debarred from doing so under Italian law.

If the Italians were right, then so are those Indians who don't want Sonia Gandhi nee Maino as their prime minister.

Kanchan Gupta