So intense was the media rage about Sachin Tendulkar possibly becoming a
politician that other aspects of the same story got sidelined. The Government
of India on April 26, 2012 nominated two more personalities apart from
Tendulkar to Rajya Sabha (RS)—the upper house of the Indian Parliament. Rekha,
the superstar heroine of Hindi Cinema of yesteryear, and Anu Aga, a social
worker-writer-businesswoman, got nominated too.
Rekha had been the unforgettable actress of the seventies-eighties with
loads of glamor and she made waves portraying all kinds of lead roles ranging
from sweet next-door girl to roles of tremendous depth and versatility. Tall
and attractive, an expert dancer, enriched with a resonant voice and in-born
acting skills, Rekha captivated the moviegoers of all age groups in those good
old days. From the beginning of the nineties Rekha’s image of a heroine
witnessed a declining trend thanks to her refusal to do character roles. Though
she started doing select character roles from 2000 onwards her popularity did
not pick up and her appearances got restricted to mostly award shows. But the
Rekha of yore is still firmly embedded in the minds of Indian moviegoers. RS nomination gives Rekha one more responsible role.
Now, the buzz was not at all about Rekha possibly becoming a politician.
The simple reason could be that she is no longer active in her profession while
Tendulkar has been not only active but has been riding on the emotions of
millions as the ultimate hero. Expectations are continuously being heaped on him
and these relate to more and more of cricket heroics. Therefore, becoming a
Member of Parliament (MP) was not at all in the celebrity agenda decided by his
fans.
Does this mean that taking the profession of a politician is okay as
retirement planning or benefit? I feel this is ‘mean’. We are in the largest
democracy of the world and here everyone has the freedom of choosing his/her
career/profession—let it be that of a police constable or a politician. Though
basically nominations to RS ought to be viewed as honors conferred on worthy
persons by the Government, questions are also being raised about how much
justice such celebrities could do to the new roles of MP. This is simply a
matter of expert time management and nobody has the right to interfere in this
personal domain. Building a legendary cricket career over more than two decades
Tendulkar must be well versed with the requirements of time management and even
if he is not so sure he can easily do a crash course in time management to get
ready for new responsibilities.
True, the political class has drawn a lot of public wrath since the
Mumbai terror attack of 26/11 and the unending stream of scams after that. But
there are good and efficient people in politics too and there is absolutely no
harm in more joining. Besides, one’s opposition becomes subjective and
relative, because the opposing groups or individuals or rival political parties
might be biased or prejudiced against a certain political party. One must also
remember that fight against corruption does not cover only the politicians; it
covers all of society from the government, corporate, private to the individual
sectors. Good and bad exist in every field of activity and every walk of life
on our planet of imperfections.
Essentially, what has been happening since yesterday concerning Sachin
Tendulkar’s nomination can in fact be called the politics of the worst kind!
