<<Previous Page Next Page>>     forthrightness he told the seasoned George Bush senior, as also his leaps and bounds Press, that 'I too have dreams.' The world took note, more seriously than it had ever done before - not because India had suddenly shed its snakes and charmer image in Western mind, but because they saw a new face of India in Rajiv - that of dynamism, potential and honest intent. To fully understand Rajiv's five-year Prime Ministership and the reason behind his having to sit out as Opposition leader, one has to look beyond what he could not do. That he meant well was a fact seldom challenged; that he had no greed for power was borne out by his circumstances. His misfortune to continue in the good books of the electorate stemmed from the fact that he spent too much time on cleaning the cobwebs and ruffling powerful feathers which were to fly against him during ballot hours. Again, put it to fate, the collective clamour of the nation for magical results grew much faster than time could afford, leaving the man and his promises far behind. He needed time to work on his plans and time was one thing that he was not given - neither by his electorate nor by the Gods in heaven. But that did not deter him. 'It does not matter whether I win or you win. What matters is that India wins,' was his answer to defeat. As Opposition leader, he took time out to be with his family, study the problems afresh and get back to doing what he did best - being with the people of his nation. Assigning his home constituency to his wife Sonia, he embarked on a win-back trail. His successors in Parliament were soon into bits and pieces, breathing their last within a year of perennial mumble-jumble at the top. People had realized that in a fit of haste they had let down their prince, that wrongly, they had associated him with a Quottrochhi when they should have with a Sam Pitroda. Maybe, they would have hesitated to seek him out again due to the sheer embarrassment of their own folly. But they just had to turn their heads and there he was - at their doorstep again, demanding their love and trust for a future 'we will build together.' No rancour, no raised eyebrow and no regrets that he had been put out of power. That was quintessential Rajiv, a Prime Minister in the making yet again. The crowds had just started burgeoning around the kurta-clad Rajiv's alert, untiring and relentless pursuit of a mission - to finish what he had started; to implement his dream; to fulfill his prior commitment to the nation. But then, Gods wanted a heady dose of earthly goodness. And, India's man of the moment was taken away without consideration, with excruciating violence, sans a viable reason. What was left behind were two things that had stayed with him forever - his honest aspirations and his Lotto shoes. It was India's cruellest hour when Sriperumbudur harboured a human bomb to bring wound to the young secularist from Doon School who believed in the rare dictum that 'it takes more guts to be non-violent than violent.' Rajiv had so much to give when he was snatched away. In his demise at a mere 47, India lost a principle, a promise, a synergy of future, a sense of fairness and its genuine chance of a resurrection. Indeed, on that fateful day of May 21, 1991, God was not himself. Nevertheless, He should have remembered - India and the world needed Rajiv more than Him. If, only if, He had been Godly enough to be benign! <<Previous Page Next Page>>