Rahul Gandhi’s ‘automatic’ disqualification as a Member of Parliament consequent to his conviction in a case of criminal defamation has again triggered a debate about qualifications, disqualifications and issues entwined with these.
Qualifications and disqualifications are obviously two sides of the same coin. No one can contest elections if the qualifications laid down in the People’s Representation Act aren’t fulfilled, but these qualifications don’t provide protection forever. An elected representative of the people may be disqualified for reasons detailed in the same Act. The list is quite comprehensive—from corrupt electoral practices to subsequent conviction in a criminal case to the decision of the speaker or presiding officer in the legislature. How this disqualification can be stayed or undone is being debated by jurists and constitutional experts in the context of the specific case of Rahul Gandhi. In our view, the time has come to go beyond the individual and the instant.
Much before RaGa’s expulsion, the critics of NaMo had tried to keep the pot boiling by raising questions about our prime minister’s educational qualifications—mocking his master’s degree in ‘entire political science’ and filing a slew of PILs to breach the stonewall that denied access to details. Before we proceed, it must be made clear that our laws don’t require an MLA or MP to have minimum educational qualifications. It is also recognised that an individual is entitled to privacy. The privacy argument, however, ceases to be valid if what is at stake is the veracity of an affidavit filed by a candidate at the time of nomination.
Having said this, one must hasten to add that educational qualifications are hardly essential in politics, literature, arts and even science. Outstanding leaders don’t require crutches of undergraduate, post-graduate or doctoral degrees. Rabindranath Tagore and Indira Gandhi had not completed ‘higher’ education recognised by society. Charisma that can galvanise millions and performance are enough
to propel such persons to the top, vanquishing opponents flaunting impressive academic credentials.
None can deny that Modiji has gathered ‘nine gems’ and more with combined qualifications and super-specialisation to realise his vision to make his followers chant ‘Modi hai to Mumkin hai’ From S Jaishankar, Hardeep Singh Puri, Milan Vaishnav, Amitabh Kant and more, the PM has at his command persons with domain expertise, performance well-tested and administrative skills to silence the detractors. Not to forget party colleagues like the home minister who brings to the table formidable election management and post-election majority-building skills. Ask not what were the Mughal-e-Azam’s educational qualifications, look around for the Navratans—Abul Fazal, Faizi, Abdur Rahim Khan-e-Khana, Birbal, Todarmal, Miyan Tansen et al. Men for all seasons and reasons. But let us not digress.
Not all who lack formal education can compare themselves to exceptional school dropouts—leaders and legendary inventors such as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Celebrating one intuitive mathematical prodigy like Ramanujan, we cannot consign to oblivion dozens whose genius comprised 99 percent perspiration spiced with 1 percent inspiration: Sir JC Bose, Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, CV Raman, Satyendra Nath Bose, Meghnad Saha, Homi Bhabha, Vikram Sarabhai, Birbal Sahni and the polymath DD Kosambi.
In polarising partisan polemic, it is easy to devalue education and taint anyone with a different ideological orientation as a traitor, foreign stooge, and enemy of the people subverting our civilisational values. This tendency can only harm national interest. Most of the time education is an invaluable asset and no nation can do without experts in diverse fields, free to interact with their peers in foreign countries. China’s dramatic rise as an economic and military power demonstrate this. Frog-in-the-pond mentality can’t allow aspiring vishwagurus to take off.
There has been a real glut in the market of fake experts—lacking credible qualifications—trying to piggyback on the prime ministerial bandwagon, and encash reputation built in one field to another, making hay while the sun shines. This was demonstrated by a hath yoga master launching a ‘sure cure’ for the Coronavirus. Alas, not all that is old, and glitters, is gold. As one wise monkey warned a younger one in the group, ‘Moonlight does strange things, imparting a shining appearance even to dried excreta.’
The governments of the day appoint expert committees mostly including pliable sympathetic persons. This doesn’t mean their expert advice will be heeded. The reintroduction of the cheetah into India is the most recent example of the futility of such an exercise.
The writer of these lines takes great pride in swadeshi gayan-vigyan cultural heritage and traditional knowledge systems, but firmly believes that all claims encompassing ‘entire’ vast domains of knowledge should be assessed with healthy scepticism. This was the way of our ancestors—seers, scientists and seekers in ancient India.
Pushpesh Pant
Former professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University
pushpeshpant@gmail.com