As Narendra Modi becomes India’s second-longest consecutively serving Prime Minister, we look at how he compares with Indira Gandhi across four key dimensions.
Trade Unionist, Communist leader and Indologist S. A. Dange had a prolific and captivating style of storytelling. He was popular at public meetings for this very reason. One of his well-remembered stories is about Marx’s trip to India! Comrade Marx, enjoying the peace of heaven (granted to him by God for working tirelessly for the working class) began to think about communism in India. The year was 1956 and Marx decided he would descend from heaven for a short while, to India. He landed in Kerala where the growth of communism made his heart swell with pride; at Hyderabad too, he was happy to see communism rising despite the Telangana failure.
Seeing that the south was progressing well, Marx now stepped into the ‘cow belt’, into the Hindi speaking heartland and landed in Lucknow. At the crowded railway station, he found a rickshaw puller, and assuming he was a communist too, asked to be taken to the party office. The rickshaw puller took Marx to the Congress Party’s office, the only ‘party office’ in the city! Marx, surprised but resolute, found the CPI office as it was a stone’s throw but was disappointed to find it locked.
A poor teashop owner informed Marx that comrades these days preferred coffee to tea and could be found at the prestigious Coffee House in the posh market of Hazratganj. Marx found well-dressed comrades here, chatting in raised voices. Walking up to them, he said bluntly, “I am Karl Marx. I want to know how our communist movement is going? What is on the agenda?” To his clear-cut question, a fellow comrade replied, “Oh dear comrade Marx! It is such an honour to welcome you in our midst. Please have this special coffee first, it is made with the finest hand grounded coffee beans and a teaspoon full fresh cream, just for you! We can discuss party matters later.”
Comrade Marx, disappointed, realised that Lucknow’s communism was merely an academic pursuit. He sought better news and hopes in Chandigarh, capital of Punjab. He could locate the CPI office easily due to the presence of was locked and the achievements of towering leaders including Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna, Sohan Singh Josh, Harkishan Singh Surjeet and Satya Pal Dang etc. But here too it was locked. He was directed by a nearby tea stall owner that comrades could be found at the nearby provision store. He found comrades sipping creamy lassi (yoghurt smoothie) in long aluminium glasses. Marx realized that it is impossible to fight a revolution on full stomachs. Peter Drucker has remarked, “In all recorded history, there has not been one economist who has had to worry about where the next meal would come from.” And this stands true even today.
Trade Unionist, Communist leader and Indologist S. A. Dange had a prolific and captivating style of storytelling. He was popular at public meetings for this very reason. One of his well-remembered stories is about Marx’s trip to India! Comrade Marx, enjoying the peace of heaven (granted to him by God for working tirelessly for the working class) began to think about communism in India. The year was 1956 and Marx decided he would descend from heaven for a short while, to India. He landed in Kerala where the growth of communism made his heart swell with pride; at Hyderabad too, he was happy to see communism rising despite the Telangana failure.
Seeing that the south was progressing well, Marx now stepped into the ‘cow belt’, into the Hindi speaking heartland and landed in Lucknow. At the crowded railway station, he found a rickshaw puller, and assuming he was a communist too, asked to be taken to the party office. The rickshaw puller took Marx to the Congress Party’s office, the only ‘party office’ in the city! Marx, surprised but resolute, found the CPI office as it was a stone’s throw but was disappointed to find it locked.
A poor teashop owner informed Marx that comrades these days preferred coffee to tea and could be found at the prestigious Coffee House in the posh market of Hazratganj. Marx found well-dressed comrades here, chatting in raised voices. Walking up to them, he said bluntly, “I am Karl Marx. I want to know how our communist movement is going? What is on the agenda?” To his clear-cut question, a fellow comrade replied, “Oh dear comrade Marx! It is such an honour to welcome you in our midst. Please have this special coffee first, it is made with the finest hand grounded coffee beans and a teaspoon full fresh cream, just for you! We can discuss party matters later.”
Comrade Marx, disappointed, realised that Lucknow’s communism was merely an academic pursuit. He sought better news and hopes in Chandigarh, capital of Punjab. He could locate the CPI office easily due to the presence of was locked and the achievements of towering leaders including Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna, Sohan Singh Josh, Harkishan Singh Surjeet and Satya Pal Dang etc. But here too it was locked. He was directed by a nearby tea stall owner that comrades could be found at the nearby provision store. He found comrades sipping creamy lassi (yoghurt smoothie) in long aluminium glasses. Marx realized that it is impossible to fight a revolution on full stomachs. Peter Drucker has remarked, “In all recorded history, there has not been one economist who has had to worry about where the next meal would come from.” And this stands true even today.