Legacy

“It's hard to say what I want my legacy to be when I'm long gone.”
Aaliyah (American Singer and Actress)

Mayawati builds a park featuring statues of herself and Kanshiram and elephants in Noida. As she puts it, it was the will of her people and Kanshiram. No those elephants are not party symbols of the BSP, you moron! Can't you see their tusks are pointed upwards unlike the symbol on the electoral voting machine which is visibly downwards!

Fact 1)
Public money has been misused and the Supreme court has intervened demanding an explanation albeit a year to the date construction on the park began. 6000 trees were cut for this exercise which misuses public revenue to the tune of a few 100 crores. This has everyone from righteous citizens to nature lovers questioning the preposterous waste of public money!!??? It is appalling to see a chief minister engage in such programs to promote her legacy. It is downright gut wrenching and well it makes me puke.

Fact 2)
This comes from a guy living in Mumbai with a fairly comfortable and well educated lifestyle (if you want to know I do belong to the so called upper caste by birth). NDTV conducted a poll on this issue: more than 50% of UP citizens polled considered this wrong. However more than 60% dalit citizens saw no harm in Mayawati BUILDING her legacy.

The word Legacy here brings so many contradictions in the lives of our ESTEEMED politicians:

The moment Mayawati is criticized it is always because she belongs to the lower caste and that the urbane, educated India resents her progress. The fact that she lost ground during the lok sabha elections; well that doesn't amount to anything. Why single her out when the Congress names every public work in memory of the ROYAL GANDHI family. This continued weakness in the Indian society of not pointing out the wrong of a citizen simple because he or she belongs to a minority group will erode the little progress we have achieved so far. No I am not forgiving the majority for their wrongs but the idea of a civil society is to treat everyone equal at least in front of the law irrespective of the burden of the past. Her legacy however will continue to remain that of someone who captured the imagination and vote of the DALITS/SC/BACKWARD CASTES only to indulge in the very same partisanship and victim-hood that still shackles them.

I am tired of everything being named after politicians. But I am very tired of everything being named after Rajiv and Indira Gandhi. I was not born till Rajiv Gandhi was elected as Prime minister and was four when he was assassinated.
This is what I think the legacy is of the Nehru-Gandhi family and I suspect here is what most people I know think of it as well:
"A family that is synonymous with the name of the Indian National Congress and may be nothing more of consequence."
To me Nehru will remain the gentleman, the aristocrat and the idealist who championed the idea of the INDIAN Nation. This is more because of the literature and other commentary available on him. Indira Gandhi was the symbol of autocracy because of the emergency and Rajiv Gandhi by all accounts was the idealist who was well intentioned but did not manage to do anything significant.

The quest for leaving behind a legacy has consumed the lives of our politicians and indeed a lot of people for far too long. It is one of the greatest follies of men that they breathe every breath and strive every moment and work all their lives to leave behind their name when they themselves will be nothing but dust. But for better or for worst we remember some and forget the rest.

Q)Who was the 6th Prime Minister of India?
ans) Don't blame you if you say it was a Gandhi but the answer is Charan Singh ( ya i Googled it myself). There were other PM's in office, the legacy that they left behind is for you to interpret and decide.