With one President on the way out and another on the way in, this is a good time to ask: who has been India’s best-ever President? A good counter question is, does it matter when the President largely functions as the rubber stamp of the government of the day? But conceding that it does, when the Republic is ranged against forces intent on destroying democracy, how have our rashtrapatis done?
How does A.P.J. Abdul Kalam‘s populism compare with the scholarly gravitas of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan? Was K.R. Narayanan as good as many think he was? Was Zail Singh really as servile as he was made out to be considering that he actually refused to sign the postal bill that would have allowed governments to open our mail? Will all future presidents be measured against Kalam?
And then the big question, if she wins, how will India’s first woman prez Pratibha Patil fare against all the rest?
Women are God’s best creation.
Let them rule the world now. Men have done enough damage already.
Nobody comes close to Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. He was simply a great mind. (And — for a while he taught philosophy at Maharaja’s College, Mysore!)
Shanker Dayal Sharma was a fine scholar but too docile. A Congress worker out and out.
K.R. Narayanan was our most overrated president. Brilliant, but too political. Did little, but symbolized much.
Abdul Kalam has style and substance. Brings value, inspiration and integrity to Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The rest, with the exception of Neelam Sanjeev Reddy, are mere footnotes in our history. Reddy made news because of Emergency-related politics, not for any specific achievement.
I don’t know much about Pratibha Patil, but she seems to have had a calm political career with no great achievement or notoreity. She may be turn out to be another Zail Singh. India is at an important crossroads — we need a visible, inspiring president who knows politics, philosophy and science. I am somewhat circumspect about Pratibha Patil given her colorless track record. Instead of her, I wish the Left would support Dr. Karan Singh or Nirmala Deshpande.
Zail Singh servile? How could Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed escape that description?
In my short life though, I have to say APJ Abdul Kalam has been head, shoulders and hair above the rest. I remember watching Zail Singh on TV and being impressed by his girth. R Venkataraman was always smiling. There was also the story of his wife “purifying” the Rashtrapati Bhavan kitchen after they moved in following Zail Singh. SD Sharma was the famous “bAtukOLi” in Kannada media. KR Narayanan was forever the first Dalit President of India.
I hope BS Shekawat wins with a “little help from his friends.”
Prathibaji looks completely out of her depth and she looks as if she is ready to fall at Sonia Matha’s feet, a la Jayalalitha minister style:)
Kalam for all of his ‘phony’ erudition, ‘MIT’ credentials was at the end of the day a simple character from RK Narayan’s novels. Any head of state who lacks the moral balls to hang the likes of terrorist Afzal is unworthy of everything he has achieved. To me Thiru Kalam has been a lamentable failure!
Radhakrishnan
Kalam
Zakir hussain
Rajendraprasad
All others were chamacha’s of the ruling party.
Dear DB what makes u think BS Shekawat will be different if his frnds help him win- he may not fall at the feet of the RSS head honchos but then he too be out of depth when there is a true Constitutional crisis- and he does not have erudition ( phony as it might be) to boot. Wld he have gone ahead on the Afzal question disregarding the fence-sitting executive and ambivalent parliament?! Is this the only reason why you call APJ a failure ? I wonder what your parameters for a good Prez wld be- an ability to get floorcrossing friends to vote for you?:)
BTW why do u think APJ’s failure ( your impression ) is a lamentable one?
Gaby
Gaby by the way is a popular shorthand for Gabriella over here. Guys are called Gabe if they have a name like Gabriel.
Glad you asked the question!
Thiru Kalam (TK) was sneaky and without dhoti when he signed the order dismissing Bihar government (when he was on a trip to Russia); he allowed MMS to induct ministers with serious judicial cases; that sneaky puny looking shit may not even give the orders to Indian armes forces should there be a war situation!
TK was sneaky in many shenanigans played by ‘Kangress’; he tried the new ‘secular’ card lately to get reelected by sitting on Afzal’s execution order. That did not work–once again a classic Tamil trick:)
People-in-the-know are fully aware TK’s ‘scientific’ credentials. That man is a master climber and a humbug!
BKS may fall at the feet of RSS? Interesting thought…which he may well do when he wants to seek the counsel of the wise men of India. If you consider the ‘other’ wise men of India as Imam Bukhari and others…:)
make that ‘armed’ forces…
The prez of India is the symbol of India’s soveriegn status and in that position cant fall at the feet of any wise men – now that the RSS clowns and wisdom dont go together and I do realise you are being merely facetious in all of this talk.
Yes I should know about gabriella- father is a doc in Leicester via yadavgiri who nam3ed me after his fav tennis player ( even you must have heard of Sabatini) and to think mum wanted Meghana:) !
Gaby,
Great to know about your ‘Yadavgiri’ credentials! Yup I am familiar with a Ms G. Sabatini of Argentina and in the same vein, yours truly also came from Yadavgiri now resident in Uncle Sam’s territory. Amazing isn’t it? Surely you must have enjoyed ‘Goodness Gracious Me’ :) coming from Leicester and encountered a few ‘fixer’ uncles in your life.
Good now you saw through my ‘facetious’ talk–the point I was making–P Patil may end up anointing Sonia, who had no great love for India even when she was married to R Gandhi. Her dealings in the latest Bofors case suggests that she is not be trusted even with a few million rupees. Probity is very important for a PM and unfortunately ole Sonia is crooked as a crooked witch. Sonia has surrounded herself with duffers like Shivaraj Patil home minister–a total misfit and a moron of the first order and many like him. She has also been a mean minded Italian shit by not allowing PVN’s funeral rites in Delhi. How petty can you get?
So you see Gaby, secular doesn’t mean being honest in Sonia’s case. BKS although the man has RSS connections, at least he will act for India and Indians sake. That was my point.
trying to vote for the ‘best president’ is like trying choose who the best ‘twelfth man’ was. both are aaTakkunTu lekkakkilla. and if we absolutely have to rate them, i think kalam will figure right at the very bottom simply for his annoyance factor. the guy who couldnt make it to IISc as a lecturer became President more or less in ‘conjured on the fly’ Muslim quota and decided to spend his presidency lecturing his ‘bhoosa sahitya’ to all and sundry and irritating people wherever he went. bah!
DB
Yadavagiri was Alaska to me when our home is near VV Market ( I am in Europe now).
For me, any day the tall Professor Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, ex-Professor of Maharaja’s College of yore and ex-Professor of Eastern Philosophy Oxford University is the best, and other presidents are phyically and metaphorically pigmies. His address to the nation when China attacked India in 1960s was excellent and his observation on Winston Churchill when he died were superb philosophical gems.