Change of guard

In the Westminster model, which evolved in England evolved over 300 years, the head of state (king or queen) performs almost entirely a ceremonial role. Rarely is he or she called upon to act as a referee in political squabbles. This is not the case in India. This makes the President's job harder, but it also makes it easier to judge how good he or she has been. The basic requirement is complete political neutrality. In the last three decades, the country has had to apply this test more often, and the test has become quite sharply defined.

The outgoing President, Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, passes the test, even though he did sign on the dotted line at midnight, to (wrongly, as it was established later) dissolve the Bihar legislative assembly in 2005. But he made up for that when it came to changes of government in some other states; he also took a stand on the Office of Profit Bill, which was a rotten piece of political skulduggery. His "defiance" may have put paid to a second term. Despite knowing this, he put it about that he was not averse to another. That was an unfortunate error of judgment.

But he brought the presidency closer to the people. It would be excessive to say the masses love him, but they do regard him with a degree of affection and even admiration that none of his recent predecessors has managed to earn. The closest when it comes to an earlier President matching what Mr Kalam has achieved is KR Narayanan, and it is worth noting that neither Mr Narayanan nor Mr Kalam was a politician. Children have been Mr Kalam's biggest constituency, in a country where half the population is under the age of 25. Perhaps the fact that he was a rocket scientist caught their imagination. Or maybe it was his easy and unassuming ways with them, and indeed with others as well, that he became in many people's eyes a "peoples' president". The job requires grace and individual style. The fact that he was apolitical in every sense of the word""Mr Narayanan was not, and R Venkataraman blotted his copybook by suggesting a national government that he would lead! "" also made a difference. It gained him the trust of the people.

His successor is Pratibha Patil, the first woman to become India's President. Until the Congress dredged her name out from an old shoe box, no one had heard of her. At first her nomination was greeted with lots of cheering. Then the bad news started to come. The election turned into a mud-slinging match. Mrs Patil has now won convincingly enough for Mr Shekhawat to feel obliged to resign as Vice-President. But she has to prove that she will pass the test mentioned above, namely, utter and total neutrality when confronted with difficult political choices. She is known to be completely loyal to the Gandhi family. This loyalty might be tested after the next general election, now less than two years away. In the meantime, she can enjoy the large house, the wonderful gardens, the pomp and the pageantry and all the rest of the things that go with the territory. But she should constantly remind herself: her first and only duty is towards the Constitution, and the Constitution alone.