Promise of Reason

There is a high pitched debate going on among Indian bloggers whether India can produce an Obama or not. (here, here) By “producing an Obama” we mean the very rapid rise of a particular leader at the national level like Mr. Barak Obama in USA. We know that India always has tradition of old leaders, leaders in their 90s, 80s. We have Mr. Advani, age above 80, Mr. Karunanidhi, Buddhadev Bhattacharya, Devegauda as patriarchs of Indian politics. But we do not have any leader in his 40s or 50s, who has a national appeal (I do not consider Rahul Gandhi, Jyotiraditya Sindhiya as leaders), Though Mayawati, Narendra Modi, Prakash Karat have shown promise. Let us examine what are the factors responsible for average old age in Indian politics. Read the rest of this entry »