President Pratibha Patil

While the critics have been quick to dismiss her, and judging from the internet responses readers seem to concur with them, I will risk playing the devil’s advocate. First, let’s look at the charges against Patil: corruption, anti-Muslim disposition, lack of national stature, being a puppet in the dynastic politics, and all this in the name of promoting women’s cause!

BJP, the opposition party alleged that a sugar cooperative, whose chairman she was, defaulted on the repayment of agricultural loans to the bank. In three decades of politics, if that indeed is the most serious corrupt act she was ever involved in; she must rank among the cleanest Indian politicians! It is a sad reflection on our politics but unfortunately it is true. Given our electoral system that emphasizes spending huge sums of unaccounted money, honest politicians are a rare exception. For most, political office is an investment that needs to be harvested once elected. In such a scenario, if all Patil has done is to let a cooperative default on loans to another cooperative, she must be very clean.

Her comment that “purdah system began after Mughal invasion” and “her exhortation to women to, therefore, give up wearing the head-scarf” may show her ignorance and prejudice, but without condoning her remark I would like to point out that BJP is the last political party that can level charges of anti-Muslim bias against anyone. Patil, at least, had the grace to retract her comment; BJP has chief ministers, who have unapologetically used the state machinery to do much worse, not excluding mass atrocities, and have continued as chief ministers.

“First the puppet PM, now the puppet President” has been the war cry of the opposition. Indeed, Dr. Manmohan Singh was handpicked by Ms. Sonia Gandhi to lead the government and perhaps he would have to go as and when Ms. Gandhi so desires, perhaps also his appeal to the family emanated in no small measure from a lack of personal political base and loyalty to the Gandhi family. Whatever it took to get Dr. Singh in that office, could there have been a better choice? Before you pass any judgment, recall the economic crisis of 1991 and the reforms that followed. Dr. Singh is the man largely responsible for that sea-change in the economic reality and perception of a billion people. If it takes dynastic politics to get such competent people to run the government, I would prefer puppets any day. A comparison to Dr. Singh, by the way, is actually quite flattering to Ms. Patil, which I am not quite sure she has done anything as yet to justify. In fact, if she turns out half as good as Dr. Singh, she would have vindicated herself.

Now, the answer to the first question: is this merely a symbolic gesture as far as women are concerned? Yes, it is a symbol, but a powerful symbol. Remember, symbols and artifacts represent cultures and cultures do not change overnight. This does not reduce their importance, however. The longest journey begins with a small step. If you ever wanted to be reminded of the power of symbols just think of Mahatma Gandhi. Breaking a small law, Salt Act in 1930, for example, initiated a major movement that ultimately led to India’s independence.

Cynics claim that South Asia has had perhaps the highest number of women heads of governments and States, both at federal and provincial level, and yet the status for the women in society continues to be very low. There is some truth to it. However, there are two serious flaws in this argument. First, can anyone really argue that the position of women has not changed in the Indian society over last 50 years? Look around yourself and you will find perceptible improvements in all walks of life from workplace to home and from politics to business.

Second, more significantly, symbols have meaning only in how they are interpreted. What did each of these women; Indira Gandhi, Benazir Bhuto, Chandrika Kumaratunga, Sheikh Hasina, Khalida Begum, and Rabri Devi represent to the masses? They present the face of their respective political clan before they present the face of a woman. Ms. Patil is a novelty in this respect at the very least. She does not hail from a political or any other clan, and that makes her elevation an even more powerful symbol. Yes, she perhaps lacks a “national” stature but she was a governor of a state and before that a cabinet minister in another state, so she is not a political novice. Is that not enough?

Granted that she may not be the best choice, granted that the factors that lead to her election may have more to do with her loyalty than capability, granted also that it is not going to transform the lives of Indian women tomorrow or any time soon- notwithstanding all these qualifications, it still is a significant step for the Indian republic and half its population! The image of a woman as the head of state, the image of a woman receiving salutes from contingent after contingent of police and armed forces on the historic Raj Path each Republic Day is a powerful image, the one that cannot but leave a long lasting impression and the one that cannot but hasten the march toward gender equality.

Here is to Ms. Patil and the Indian women. May you live up to the expectations of the Indian nation!

Punit Arora is a freelance writer on management and public policy, and specializes in international business and politics. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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