Understanding Politicians

This is a subject that can give birth to a hundred doctoral thesis, and still have enough and more left over, with no answers. The attempt here is not to give answers, but to give some perspectives so we understand the subject and the protagonists better. Also, this is not about the exceptions.

Firstly, any of us, humans, as we grow and join any job (unless family has kept a cushion warm for us) want to grow, be more powerful, earn more money, enjoy all the good things of life, buy fancy cars/watches/ jewellery/ dresses, be recognised, appreciated, rewarded, go to star hotels, give children a better life/ education, have sex, drink, dance, make merry, travel, be promoted, get a bonus, get the best medical treatment, take vacations, become CEO’s or whatever – the list is endless. We also take risks, a leap of faith and expect to be rewarded many times over in the shortest time and the world applaud us. We also work 12 to 14 hrs a day, some even risk their lives. 

If any of these don’t happen, we are unhappy, and if we are overlooked, whether we deserved it or not, we will quit jobs, do whatever we think gives us satisfaction, even if it hurts someone else and throw “tantrums”. Each of this is considered perfectly normal, justified human behaviour.

But, when a politician exhibits any of these traits – we call them names, abuse them, grudge them anything they get or aspire for, want them to work 24 hrs a day and appreciation ? Forget it. Anybody appreciating a politician is immediately termed a sycophant or whatever. While we switch off our phones so as to be not disturbed, we complain they don’t receive calls – never mind that they get more than a hundred calls a day. Vacation ? That is blasphemy for a politician to talk about.

In other words at a fundamental level, even if many of the criticisms and abuses hurled at politicians may be justified, we need to stop, ponder and ask ourselves – how often do we appreciate them or  the so called public servants we see on the road everyday – policemen, civic workers, others? When it comes to appreciation, we demand that we get it in public, but, if we are to be “given a mouthful” for something wrong we did, we want that in private. Let parents even say something innocent in front of our friends, and we get upset at being insulted. But we never think twice of abusing politicians, public servants publicly, as if it is our birthright !!!

Are politicians some alien beings while we are humans ? Sorry, they come from amongst us, and are as human as we are. They have families, desires – they also have sex, food, drink like humans – and they also aspire for all that we aspire for. They pursue those desires in the field of politics, while we do in other areas.  I am not for a moment talking of exceptions, exceptional situations, because having observed politics for 40+ years the majority are not monsters. Just because we disagree with them strongly, we make them look like monsters.  

If someone spends a week with a successful politician, trust me, you will be exhausted – mentally, emotionally, and physically. You are walking a tight rope and on eggshells all the time, and anything you do is wrong because somebody will be hurt, disagree with the options you chose. In an office if 3 juniors came to us or as a parent 3 kids seeking attention – we ask 2 of them to shut up because the only option we have is to prioritise the 3, even if for each, their own issue is the most important in the world. Now multiply that by 10 or 20 and then see what we would do because for a politician that’s what happens – too many people seeking their attention.

We also fail to realise, that just as in real life we cannot satisfy and make everybody we meet happy, they can neither do so. But there are some qualities a successful politician has that most of us lack – 1) a long term, distant dream and target, and the ability to create that first push that can have a domino effect 2) a phenomenal memory for names/ faces, issues 3) ability to grasp complex issues  in simple terms to convert ideas into action 4) the patience of a monument 5) the fantastic ability to straddle two completely conflicting situations and bringing them together 6) understanding human psychology and emotions almost perfectly 7) The ability to see issues from 50,000 feet up in the air and predict likely outcomes of different decisions

While there are so many more, I have often said - Political leadership is the art of making the impossible, possible and the science of making the possible, impossible.

As voters, each one of us have an opinion on everything and often from a limited logical perspective, are right. But when we step into the other’s shoes we can better understand decisions and their imperatives. For example, way back in 1998, when India tested a nuclear device, the whole world protested and “boycotted” us with the exception of France. That one act helped India from not becoming a pariah in the global community. Like in life we repay debts, when the time came to buy fighter aircraft recently – almost 2 decades later – India chose the French Rafael once they had qualified as a sort of thank you note.

To illustrate political thinking, the armed forces may look at the best equipment/ weapons to use in a war – but then depending upon who India is fighting the war with, the country may need to depend on different countries for support.  The strategic/economic relationship between our supplier country and our enemy country will often guide what we do.  We may find India using weapon X when weapon Y is far better and in today’s world, every expert will point that out as stupid. But it is the politician who takes the heat – not anybody else. Such a decision can cause more casualties and to think that politicians are heartless folks who happily send people to death, is a huge mistake. These are not easy decisions and if the outcome is victory, the soldier gets the most applause, even if a politician tries to bask in the limelight. But if there is defeat, the politician is the only man standing out there.

While we correctly laud Field Marshal Maneckshaw for the victory in the 1971 Bangladesh war, remember that the Americans had the 7^th fleet ready to enter Indian territory and the “unexpected” presence of the Russian war ships at the Indian borders held them off. Recall also, that in August 1971, India in a major move away from Non Alignment, signed a friendship treaty with Russia and in December 1971 waged  a war knowing that the Americans may well poke their finger into the pie. This was pure politics and political foresight and led by Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi and her team. More recently, when India planned the Balakot strike, if anything had gone wrong, including the Wing Commander being killed, the entire heat would have been on the Modi government and nobody would even whisper a word against the armed forces.  

Politicians take immense risks, take the most unpleasant decisions and above all need to strategise issues far above and beyond the operational managers, be it in defence, economy, industry etc. Opposition politicians need to out manoeuvre them, while ruling politicians need to outthink the opposition. Any such leader in the corporate world, would be called Dr. God.

Almost a decade ago a politician in a different country, small and yet to develop told me as I observed him planning some visit – cutting short our meeting – "There has been an accident, and many have died. If I do not reach there before tonight, I will be vilified by the entire country and media as insensitive tomorrow morning. However, it will take me more than 8 hours to drive to that place by which time it will be dark. I can’t ask for a chopper from the army or air force because I am neither entitled to it nor will anybody approve such usage or expenditure. My only option is to ask a rich friend to hire a chopper for me in the next hour and reach the spot before dark. But then you know what happens when one does such things. That is how the cycle of compromise starts."

It was easy for me to judge that as an excuse or rationalisation but thinking deeper, debating the issue after he returned, I realised that corruption, compromise may never go away, but as a country develops, this goes up to a level where, society at large is considered honest. 15 ~ 20 years ago we had to pay a small bribe to the lineman to come fix our telephone at home, we locked up our suitcase in the hotel room, but today technology and development have taken away such situations.  

Just as society develops, politicians also develop, grow, and change but in the interim they can and will do a far better job if we appreciated them a bit more, treated them as human beings like us. They don’t get born being egoistic, corrupt, insensitive, thick skinned – we make them that way and then, finally they change and then, we complain, they are like this only. 

Last year in the pandemic as the sudden lockdown threw life out of gear, a political leader seeing a headline of how some folks had gone hungry and was being roasted alive on the issue said to me – since I also knew and involved in the facts – "that we fed and supported more than 1,000 people yesterday, nobody seems to have noticed. But these few are used to make it seem, like the whole city is starving."

During the 3 months as a volunteer, as I came face to face (albeit over the telephone helpline) with family rape, death, attempted suicide, medical emergencies, passing out due to hunger, fear, and many many more incidents, I was a mental wreck by the time the crisis passed. The satisfaction and happiness of having helped so many in every case using the volunteer network cannot even be described. When I mentioned this to the politician who had coordinated this volunteer movement, his response was – welcome to my life, this is how I lead 365 days a year.

I realised that 40+ years of abiding interest in politics and yet, I was blind to reality. So, the next time you abuse a politician – whoever it may be – walk a day with him and observe life, you may just learn, that what you thought life was, was more an illusion and the politician deserves your appreciation a lot more.