Remembering Rajiv Gandhi.

I regret to say that I hardly saw him remembered today 30 years after sacrificing his life, that may have been wasted for a cause that was absolutely undesirable and unwanted. Sending IPKF to Sri Lanka just to show the big brother attitude was uncalled for and after getting no credit and killing our own ethnic brethren was the stupidest diplomacy as anyone pre facto and post facto could tell. 

Still remember looking out of the same window where I am writing this note 30 years back and watching the smoke from the Veer Bhoomi near Rajghat, that was the his departure from this material world, with tears in my eyes. In those days there were no installations between the window and Rajghat and one could watch it clearly.. smoke still coming out of neighboring Nigam Bodh Ghat, especially since past one month clearly establishing failure to contain Corona (whether natural or otherwise) who is having a whale of a time making this country it's killing fields.

Barring this fatal mistake, he has been a charming, youngest of the PMs of India, one who was pushed into politics under circumstance and had a disastrous start when this country became a killing field aiming for our own, who are so integrated that they could hardly be called " other minorities".  

Everyone in his right senses make mistakes when holding a leadership position whether in a corporate or in the country, some innocently some with EVIL INTENTIONS. Rajiv Gandhi became PM without any political or administrative experience and that innocence was an asset for this country when he tried to bring the best of the brains from DOON or other backgrounds, who he though would infuse fresh blood and ideas to build this country, whose growth was hampered (even if that was in the hands of his own ancestry) and not at par with the modern era. In his five years as PM he took the country from behind and put it at par on science and technology (especially IT & Telecom) with the rest of the world by putting Dr Prabhakar Deodhar (electronics) and SAM Pitroda (ICT) in charge of development and by giving them the autonomy that was unheard of then. Sam may have been a bit eccentric but that's how scientists are. Had this not been the case our country could have been struggling in both IT and Telecom the areas that we can claim to be best in the world. IT is the engine of our economy today and so is the telecom, the revolution that we have achieved thanks to Raji Gandhi's dream. Had that not been the case even opening up economy by Narsimha Rao and Manmohan Singh would not have achieved where we are today.

However, much today's leadership, politicians and their stooges criticise this visionary, the facts remain what they are and when the current dispensation ends (nothing is permanent), historians will give a due and desired seat to Rajiv Gandhi in the modern Indian History for accelerating the growth of the country.

RIP Rajiv Gandhi ( 20.August.1944 - 21.May 1991), I may be one of the few to remember you and pay homage to you, but remember I am not alone.