Dining with the Dalits

The charisma of Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, so far considered one among the 'baba log', seems to give sleepless nights to politicians who've carved a niche for themselves among the more senior lot. After the Kalawati episode, Rahul has entered a league of leaders that no one of this generation has. Be it dining with the Dalits or visiting the Left wing at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Rahul is undoubtedly a rising apostle of peace, stability, consistency and equality.

In the true sense, this Gandhi seems to be walking well along the Mahatma's path, as efficient a means of marketing it may be seen as. How else do you explain dinners with Dalit families, sleeping on traditional cots without mattresses or power supply, taking a hand pump bath and bearing tiny toilets?

The young Gandhi is surely keen to learn. On many occasions, he openly accepts he is ignorant about various subjects, and he who accepts his ignorance is far wiser than the most knowledgeable. I have never seen a politician as forthright as him. On his JNU visit, his meeting with students was not restricted to the members of National Students Union of India, a student wing of Congress, but all of the varsity was free to mingle. He even allowed student leaders of left-oriented parties to debate with him. A rare challenge perhaps no one else would take up.

Youngsters feel Rahul carries with him a certain freshness of thoughts, and that's what the country most needs at this point. Of course, the ideas are yet to be tested, but it is this spirit of risk-taking that could help
this young Gandhi and his party of 125 years to reinvent and redefine its role in present times.

The success of the party in Uttar Pradesh, in the Lok Sabha polls, was a standalone example of political gain.

This fourth generation Nehru-Gandhi scion would, however, face his real test in the Gujarat and Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, slated after almost a year.

An erstwhile colleague may have once quoted Indira Gandhi as a synonym of Congress, but things are different for her grandson. Rahul is not Congress, and Congress is not just Rahul. Much would depend on how this young leader builds a team of youngsters in the regional arena, and also around him in central politics.

Till then, the nation awaits the day when Rahul Gandhi's discovery of the nation finishes, and he assumes command. For those who are interested, Rahul Gandhi's sister Priyanka Vadra Gandhi is in touch with him on his BlackBerry all the time, even while he is in the remotest forest of Chamraj Nagar, or in the ravines of Bundelkhand. Whoever says he goes too far.u00a0