Let’s channel-surf. Breaking news continues to be the same old stale information about Pratibha Patil.

As the saga of the battle for the presidency unfolds, and as all kinds of charges are exchanged, Karan Singh seems to have been the only candidate with a clean reputation amongst those short-listed. But the Left ruled him out and started this farce that India is witnessing. To have had Karan Singh, the former maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, as the president of India, while the world is busy disputing whether the state is an integral part of our nation or not, would have made a salutary, silent and strong political statement. But, alas, subtle political symbolism is not something contemporary politicos comprehend. As the heir apparent to the throne of Jammu and Kashmir, Karan Singh was close to Jawaharlal Nehru, who called him Tiger. When India gained independence, Jammu and Kashmir became a part of the federal republic and Karan Singh became the sadr-i-riyasat. Karan Singh earned his doctorate by writing his thesis on Sri Aurobindo. He is not one of those fakes who have had an honourary degree bestowed upon them merely because of their social or political position, rather than because of their intellectual endeavours. Cultured, dignified and erudite, he was the ideal person for the job and would, most certainly, have protected the Constitution, which is the prime responsibility of the president of India. To have disqualified him because he was an erstwhile royal only exposes the petty parameters within which the Left opposition selfishly operates in a modern, open environment.

Shifting house

It was remarkable to see the Blair family outside 10 Downing Street, allowing the next incumbent, Gordon Brown, and his family to move into the prime minister’s official residence. This never happens in India. Either our leaders hang on to government property indefinitely till they are forcibly evicted, or the residences turn into museums. Three years ago, it took over a month for Atal Bihari Vajpayee to move out of Race Course Road, the official residence of the prime minister, while another government property was being done up for him to occupy as a former prime minister. The whole thing is a bit of a joke. Former prime ministers live off the land till they depart. They sit about with their families in government mansions, where they spend their spare time manipulating and scheming, playing divisive politics — all at the cost of the country. Possibly we are the last bastion where the government gives its babus, all members of the upper and lower houses of parliament, and members of all irrelevant commissions, free or subsidized accommodation. Corruption starts here, at home. This freebie must end and with it, government expenditure will fall dramatically.

Human face divine

Finally we have our very own genre of pop art. I cannot, for the life of me, understand the mad frenzy of some people as they protest against those poster wallahs who have produced inventive visuals of our leaders, depicting them as characters from the ancient legends of Bharat. The belief in the divinity of man is a great and ancient philosophic faith, one that has allowed Hindustan to stand apart from other nations over the centuries. Hindu gods and goddesses have a human face, have human characteristics and human follies. The loud rhetorical declamations by the band of conservative, holier-than-thou, self-appointed arbiters of fresh cultural expressions are restrictive and unwarranted. Liberty needs careful nurturing and any assault on it will constrict creativity and thus create an antithesis to the great traditions, past and present, of akhand Bharat.