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KALAM KO PHIR SALAM?
By M H AHSAN
It's official. Women love Abdul Kalam. We don't know whether Abdul Kalam loves women. That hardly matters. According to a recent survey, an overwhelming 75% of the ladies polled, voted in favour of a second term for our 76-year-old, very popular prezzie. He also topped the youth charts as the number one choice of the chewing gum generation. That's some feat and you don't need to be a rocket scientist to achieve it. Ooops... or, do you? The AK phenomenon is really not all that hard to crack. Since we live in the age of branding (every public person comes with his or her unique market positioning and accompanying price tag), it would be interesting to analyse Brand Abdul Kalam, and what it's worth. Especially with the race to the Rashtrapati Bhavan hotting up, and a strange bunch of contenders vying for the honour of occupying India's most magnificent residence. Whether or not AK gets a second term, the fact remains he enjoys overwhelming support from the people of this country. Kyon Kalam?
The best thing about Brand Kalam is that he is not a politician. No right-thinking Indian would want a neta, or even an ex-, as President. We have enough of that tribe floating around, ruining our happiness, as it is. Let there be at least that one non-polluted office without political strings attached.
Kalam possesses a quality that is in serious short supply — credibility. People believe: what you see is what you get. For a successful brand, credibility counts above everything else. Of course Kalam has done it again, upset the applecart by recommending a two-party system. But that's Kalam, someone who calls a spade, a spade. The common man loves and trusts him for that reason. He is also seen as a person who won't play ball with any political party, regardless of the consequences. This is a rare enough attribute in a system that actively supports and rewards blatant sycophancy. He's capable of telling anyone and everyone where exactly to get off, if the need so demands. The janata can't believe their good fortune that a few such Indians still exist and would naturally want such a person to continue. Why take a chance with wishy washy nominees, none of whom really matches up to his stature? And heaven help us, it's come to an awful stage when people are actively lobbying for the job! Can you imagine Rajendra Prasad or a Radhakrishnan stooping to such a low level in the past?
Brand Kalam has 'Humble' written all over it. This is a good thing in a nation that is sick of strutting mantrijis and pompous VVIP's, some of whom are criminals and human traffickers. Kalam is seen as a man of the masses. A self-made genius, who overcame tremendous odds to get to his present position. He is a seriously inspiring gentleman, especially to the young and restless of India, who desperately need to believe there is hope, even for those who are not Rahul\Priyanka Gandhi. If Kalam can do it, so can they.
More than anything else, people want to invest their faith in an individual who won't let them down by selling out. Which automatically means people will not accept any of the old players with nebulous political affiliations. No thank you, we don't want wily old foxes, with dubious agendas. Give us a man, better still, give us a woman, we can look up to. Someone who will unhesitatingly put India's interests ahead of his\her own. As of now, it's only Kalam whose name has high recall in this department. Even so,why should we stop with him? Kalam has definitely raised the bar, and created a worthy platform. But, in a country of over a billion people, there has to be another, equally worthwhile individual waiting to be anointed President. Why be lazy? Why not look harder? Why trot out the usual suspects most of them frail in body, mind and spirit? Why settle for Kalam again, wonderful as he is? I love Kalam. I love his hair style. I think he's a rock star but... i'm ready for a change. How about you?
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