First things first. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, all of 5'.5', thirty-seven years of age has ignited the world of cricket and provided joy to a nation of over one billion people. Like his childhood hero Sir Donald Bradman (1908-2001), he is a gentleman cricketer — never questions an umpire’s decision, never argues with any member of the rival team. He transforms the mundane into the stylish, while casting a magical, inspirational spell around himself and his teammates. Comparisons with Bradman are a shallow undertaking. Give both their due. The Don played 52 Tests, scoring 29 centuries. World War II deprived him of three Test series — 1940, 1942, 1944. His average of 99.94 can never be equalled. He inspired his nation when it was in a deep economic depression. Sachin Tendulkar is a perennial inspiration.
I briefly met Sir Donald Bradman once, in Sydney. I had taken a letter from Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for Prime Minister Bob Hawke of Australia. Our meeting got on to a wrong start. Mr Hawke was known for his undiplomatic functioning. He was being unreasonable. He said, “India was being intellectually lethargic.” I made it politely plain that he couldn’t be more wrong. I kept my cool and we parted amicably.
At the time all Australian Airlines were on strike. I had driven from Canberra to Sydney in the morning. To repeat the journey the same day was not an attractive prospect. I learnt Mr Hawke was flying to Sydney for a Bradman dinner. I requested a lift. He graciously agreed. “Have you met the Don, the PM asked. “No, but I would very much like to pay homage to one of my sporting heroes”, I said. I did meet Sir Donald Bradman. No photograph exists because the Don did not think it worth his while to be seen with an insignificant minister of state!
Should Sachin Tendulkar get the Bharat Ratna? Most certainly. On his 50th birthday.
The 125th anniversary of the Indian National Congress was an important landmark in the party’s history. It was celebrated at Burari earlier in the week. In 1985, I attended the 100th anniversary session at Bombay held at the CCCI stadium. Entry was not easy. The Maharashtra police were unfamiliar with the mugs of Delhi VIPs. I was staying with my late friend Sunil Dutt. Everybody knew him. Ahead of us in the queue were future President K R Narayanan and P A Sangma. “I am P A Sangma”, got an impolite response. “For PAs there was another entrance.” Sunil Bhai intervened and all was well.
Rajiv Gandhi made a brilliant, passionate, inspiring, visionary speech which electrified the audience. It still resonates. At Burari, Sonia Gandhi made a forceful speech. She did well to condemn vulgar, conspicuous consumption. She struck the right note. Moral transformation of a society or a political party is an uphill task. One needs a Confucius, Buddha, Socrates, or a Gandhi to attempt such a reform. Even these luminaries did not wholly succeed. The creditable thing is that she brilliantly succeeded in uplifting the moral of the party at the session. No one else could have done so. Without her the Congress would become a lame duck organisation.
It has been a leaky year. First, the irrepressible Mr Assange. Then the irresistible, enterprising Indian femme fatale, who irresponsibly exposed a few holy cows, besides doing the craft of lobbying considerable harm. I would give Mr Assange much higher marks. He has changed the future conduct of the foreign policy of the United States. No irreparable harm has so far been done. American diplomats would have a few lessons to learn. They should be less judgmental and less indiscreet. However, there is a worrying aspect. American infiltration into our intelligence and security outfits is growing. This needs to be monitored and closely watched in a sustained way. Our relations with the United States are far-reaching to be jeopardised by the irresponsible, self-appointed American point men in our Capital.
Tailpiece
See Naples and die. See India and live. As a keen diplomatic observer for 57 years, I have not seen such an India gold rush. Within a period of six months, we have witnessed David Cameron, Barack Obama, Nicholas Sarkozi and Dimitry Medvedev falling and fawning with folded hands in search of Indian markets and entrepreneurs and IT geniuses. It’s quite a sight and a pleasing one.
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The country to watch is China. Mr Wen did not bow or scrape. He was friendly, subtle, inscrutable. He conveyed a very clear message by flying from India to Islamabad, where he felt more at home. All the cackle about our aspirations for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council should now be tempered with hard-headed realism. The US, the UK, France and Russia can promise and propagate. Only China can deliver. That will take longer than nine months.
Finally, all the best for 2011.