Voltaire said, “to the living we owe respect, but to the dead we owe only the truth”. Of course no one follows his advice. After a person especially a politician is dead, all we get to hear are lies. I read a piece, which was published after Arjun Singh passed away. This article was a scathing indictment of Arjun Singh’s political life. Nothing good was said about this guy. The author’s tribute to Voltaire indeed!Every human being must wonder how he or she is going to be remembered after they are gone and what would their legacy be. That is our way of leaving something behind, something that will last for a much longer period of time. Which is why, unless a person is a complete self absorbed sociopath; he or she always tries to do something good so they can be remembered as such. The article begins with the following line: "A master manipulator of power politics, Arjun Singh was a one-time Congress bigwig who was known to set his eyes on the highest political throne but saw his political fortunes dwindle in the last decade and a half."
It’s a good thing that the man was cremated otherwise he would be spinning in his grave.
It is said that in the US, the President does what whatever it takes to win the second term. When he wins the second term, then he does whatever it takes to cement his legacy. This brings me to the question about where do our politicians stand on this issue. Do they not worry what the generations after then will think about them? Are they okay with people cursing them after they are dead? From what we know about Arjun Singh, I do not think that he ever wondered about petty issues like legacies. But what about our PM who until recently was thought to be Mr. Clean? Is he not worried about going down as the head of the most corrupt government to lead our unfortunate country? Octogenarian politicians cling to their seats like their lives depend on it and do all kinds of criminal and immoral acts to do that. One would expect that these people would start to wonder about their mortality and wonder and fear the afterlife. I guess you have to be an amoral and a shameless person to be a politician in India. That is why the aam aadmi cannot empathize with the way these people think and act.
Power + politics + manipulation = Arjun Singh
After the Bhopal gas tragedy, questions were raised about his closeness to the Union Carbide management. But he got away. Then, as Punjab Governor during the state's crisis phase, he escaped blame for the 1985 Rajiv-Longowal Accord, a flawed agreement of which he was a key architect.The unwinding of the Accord led to a disastrous spiral of violence in Punjab, but he whistled his way out of the mess.
The article can be read at: http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-power-politics-manipulation-arjun-singh/20110304.htm
WHEN U THINK POLITICS IS A CAREER LIKE ANY OTHER ONE, THIS SORT OF THINGS WILL BE CONTINUED. POLICS IS NO A LIVELIHOOD. IT IS NOT MEANT FOR EARNING SOME HUGE WEALTH SO THAT THE POLITICIANS AND THEIR FAMILIES CAN LIVE PEACEFULLY FOR EVER. IT IS A SERVICE TO THE NATION ABOVE SELF. IT IS SERVICE TO MOTHERLAND SIMILAR TO SERVICE TO OUR MOTHER, DOING
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