My elderly neighbor, Mahajan Sahib, is perturbed over his grand-daughter, Vibhuti’s, future. This cheerful teen is near perfect in her own way – she is good looking, she has poise, she talks impressively and she can hold herself pretty well before strangers. But her report-cards from the school do not make a happy reading. Mahajan Sahib fears Vibhuti has bleak chances of making something out of her life. ‘Without a solid degree in her bag, what will she do in this highly competitive world? But the girl just doesn’t listen. She is more into play-acting and theatrics rather than devoting her time to studies.’ I tried to mollify the venerable man with platitudes about everyone having a destiny of her own. But Mahajan Sahib’s words kept ringing in my ears long after I had returned home. Is a ‘solid’ degree all that a person requires for advancement in life, I wondered.
‘Son,’ said Kaga Bhushundi ji, ‘Getting a degree alone is no guarantee to a person’s rise in life. In fact, you don’t require any degree at all if you possess just one qualification. ‘
‘And what’s that, Kagaji?’
‘Ooper wale ki dayaa – the grace of the Most High!’
‘I don’t follow you.’
‘Then listen to what Goswami Tulsidas ji says in the Ramayana: “Mook hoi baachaal, pangu charhayee giribar gahan/Jaasu kripaan so dyaal, dravaoo sakal kalimal haran!” As the dumb turns an adept speaker and the lame climbs up the most arduous hilltop/So does the grace of the Munificent rid me of all the world’s impediments. Look at Smriti Irani ji. If Modi ji had been less than munificent to her, I doubt she would have been accepted as a primary school teacher, leave aside being made the minister in-charge of education.”
‘Smriti Irani is an exception that proves the rule. Everyone waits with the bated breath to see how she acquits her role. ‘
‘You people don’t have to worry about her performance. Son, rajas and your present-day mantris didn’t have to go through the sweat and grime of acquiring a degree like ordinary people. It is not many centuries ago that kings of the Western World thought it below their dignity to be called literate. One foolhardy royal among them did possess a nodding acquaintance with letters and had the ignominy of being labelled a ‘beau-clerk.’ Your Shrimati Irani ji is of a different class altogether. So what if she did not waste her youth in musty college rooms, I am told she holds a certificate from one of the world’s most prestigious universities!’
‘Kagaji, the certificate awarded to her by the Yale University is about her participation in a leadership programme for a few days. It has nothing to do with her academic achievement.’
‘Son, your problem is that you miss the tree for the forest. Don’t forget Smriti Irani ji is a cabinet minister.
‘Indeed, she is. But a cabinet minister has to have all that it requires to take important decisions, frame policy and guide its implementation.’
‘For tackling all important matters, you have Modi ji. Isn’t it? There are a whole lot of ministries in Bharat Sarkar and ministers as well to grace them – Smriti Irani ji being one of them. But it is for the prime minister to run the government. Take good old Raj Nath ji. He is your Home Minister, but for appointment to every single high-level post, it is Modi ji and not he to whom the file goes directly.’
‘Kaga ji, the Prime Minister cannot be expected to personally face the barrage of mind-boggling issues that the government has to face in its day-to-day functioning. Ministers have also to justify their existence. They too are answerable to the parties in the opposition, the media, even their own supporters.’
‘Son, what is a whole army of learned babus and professionals and minions for, if not to assist their ministers in whatever they do? Your sarkar applies the most stringent yardsticks to select ablest persons for the public services. You know why? That is to ensure that the worthy ministers do not have to exert themselves overmuch in the demanding task of governance.’
‘But what if the highest civil servant is in doubt about the right course of action to follow?’
‘He or she can go direct to Modi ji for guidance. Nothing can be simpler, my son.’
‘You mean ministers don’t count for much in the present dispensation?’
Kaga Bhushundi SpeakEth
Suman K Sharma
‘They do count as much as any one of their predecessors. With Modi ji around, they can do no wrong and Smriti Iranis may continue to rule the destiny of the Bharat Mahaan for years to come.’
‘I wish Mahajan Sahib’s grandchild Vibhuti has Smriti Irani’s luck!’
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