When the Ryan O'Neal, Ali MacGraw starrer Love
Story was released in the 1970’s it went on to gain cult status, not only for the gorgeous O’Neal
and leggy MacGraw but also for its
preppy dialogues. A dialogue which became an anthem for the flower children of
that period was Love means never having
to say you are sorry. So, it was used in all the tear jerker, angst driven moments
of youth: while making up with the best friend or showing noble forgiveness to
the ass hole dumping you.
Love Story and its
dialogues may have become passé for a generation swooning over vampires and
idolizing boy heroes vanquishing those who shall not be named but clearly not
for our politicians. From Kashmir to
Kanyakumari political families have bequeathed not only petis of hard cash to the next in line but also a paraphrased
version of the iconic last liner. Obviously the grand dads and moms who had
sneaked in a peek at the movie while studying at Yale (why Yale? couldn’t resist
that one Ms Irani !) smelled a good thing and after themselves latching on to it
like a limpet gave a clarion call to the sons, bahus and grand children about
never letting go of it. They knew even back then, helped I am sure by prescient
family purohits, that a time would come when media would cease to mean a few
power loyal retainers but instead would resemble a pack of hungry hounds baying
for the truth, led by an earnest bespectacled figure waving sheaves of white
paper .
That the paraphrased line, power means never having to say you are sorry, has been the
leitmotif of political life is amply visible to all. Mrs Indira Gandhi talked
about everything under the sun, gave interviews by the dozen to Indian and
foreign media but did she ever say sorry for the imposition of, and excesses
during, emergency? Or for unleashing her younger son, Sanjay Gandhi, on the
people and giving him a free hand to pursue projects close to his heart such as
forcible sterilisation? Did her elder
son, after publicly humiliating a serving officer and forcing him to put in his
papers, ever tender an equally public apology? Did Rahul Gandhi agree on
hindsight that he should not have termed the ordinance, cleared by the Cabinet
led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on convicted politicians as
"nonsense" that "should be torn up and thrown away”?
It would be wrong to single out the members of the dynasty
alone. Manmohan Singh has remained ever and anon mum on the coal block
allocation; Shiela Dixit on CWG; Mamata Banerjee on her infamous remark on a
sensitive issue such as rape- she said rape is on the rise because men and women
interact with each other more freely. Gulam
Nabi Azad as health minister called homosexuality a disease;
an optimistic Sushil Shinde as home minister said,’ The public forgot Bofors, soon they will
forget this(Coal Scandal) as
well’ and Mulayam Singh Yadav ,excusing rape, said ‘boys will be boys’.
What is surprising is that the Bhartiya Janta Party has, in a marked departure from bhartiya values, also cottoned on to the fact that it is manlier to strut a 56” chest than to show contrition. In 2013 Narendra Modi tendered an apology for the Gujarat riots of 1969 and 1985 which took place under Congress governments but not for the riots of 2002. The BJP’s sadhvis and other sorority have spent much of 2014 and 2015 mouthing utterly startling statements. Sushma Swaraj and Vasundhara Raje have till date not admitted to any impropriety; Smriti Irani has not apologized for submitting an affidavit with a ‘typo’ error; Pankaja Munde is clear that she did no wrong; Shivraj Singh Chouhan is insouciantly going about his daily chores in a state where corpses are tumbling out almost daily …..
What is surprising is that the Bhartiya Janta Party has, in a marked departure from bhartiya values, also cottoned on to the fact that it is manlier to strut a 56” chest than to show contrition. In 2013 Narendra Modi tendered an apology for the Gujarat riots of 1969 and 1985 which took place under Congress governments but not for the riots of 2002. The BJP’s sadhvis and other sorority have spent much of 2014 and 2015 mouthing utterly startling statements. Sushma Swaraj and Vasundhara Raje have till date not admitted to any impropriety; Smriti Irani has not apologized for submitting an affidavit with a ‘typo’ error; Pankaja Munde is clear that she did no wrong; Shivraj Singh Chouhan is insouciantly going about his daily chores in a state where corpses are tumbling out almost daily …..
Even more surprising is the fact that the Aam Aadmi Party
has also joined the power play party. Surprising because Arvind Kejriwal should
know the power of saying sorry since it was his repentance and remorse that got
him a clear mandate in the 2015 Delhi
assembly elections. Post the results, an obviously quick learner; Arvind kept shielding his law minister,
Tomar, till the absolute last moment of truth. Even after that what emerged was
not an apology but the shifting of blame to Tomar who ‘kept him in the dark’. It
is early days but the AAP shows tremendous promise for following the script.
In Love Story Ryan
O'Neal’s father is the villain of the piece in the moistened eyes of the viewer
for much of the movie. He redeems himself
in the climatic scene by saying
‘sorry’. The son hugs him and says,’ Love means….’.
Will our politicians ever realize that a lot will be
forgiven if we get to hear that one word?
I couldn't agree more with you. A very convenient interpretation of power.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Somali:)
DeleteThis needs to go to Kejriwal!! Amazing thoughts
ReplyDeleteThanks:)
DeleteAgree about the Kejriwal bit!
I was attracted to your post because of the headline. Amazingly it applies not only to political life but to all power equations, even those between individuals. Somehow, sincerity, being genuine and really wanting to mend fences are secondary to 'being right'. Very sad.
ReplyDeleteKalpanaa, you are absolutely right. The piece is about people in politics but yes, cutting across all spectrums and stratas the 'powerful' are arrogant and shy of saying sorry for any wrong.
DeleteTrue, genuine sorry can do miracles. At the same time look at Hema Malini saying sorry from hospital, after her speeding car killed a kid. She instead of helping the victims left the spot. Does this kind of sadness and apology mean anything?
ReplyDeleteTrue, Abhijit- a sorry that has been issued after media and public attention certainly loses its meaning but is still better than saying nothing at all.
DeleteYou have rounded it up nicely Anju.It is a very strange situation because saying sorry would have only added to their stature.But they can never admit they did wrong.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Indu. Very well put - about 'them' not realising that an apology will only add to their stature.
Delete:)
अंजू जी, बिलकुल सही कहा है आपने! बड़े लोग गलती करने पर भी अपनी गलती जल्दी से मानते नहीं है और सॉरी शब्द तो जैसे उनके शब्दकोष में रहता ही नहीं है .
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jyoti.
DeleteGreat post. Sad, isn't it? They not only don't feel sorry, but aren't even ready to mouth the word. Sorry is a difficult word to pronounce with ego held high.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kiran. You are totally right about the ego bit:)
Delete