Delhi Diary

A Soft Touch for Modi

Recently, Mr Mukesh Ambani joined a long list of corporate big boys who praised Narendra Modi, and even the US Congress, whatever the caveats, acknowledges the good work he has done. Yet, what is it about the Gujarat chief minister that puts off even those who admire and applaud his record as chief minister? Whether he apologises for the 2002 massacre is not the issue here. It is the complex, jarring personality of Modi which alienates, if not terrifies, not only his opponents but also his party colleagues. His air of inflexibility and stubbornness combined with a sense of invincibility is the problem.

Self-confidence in a politician is a positive; it suggests purposefulness and commitment. An excess of self-confidence can, alas, end up as hubris. The belittling, cutting sarcasm in Modi’s public oratory does not help. It is initially effective but then becomes tiresome and crude. Leisurely pronouncing James Michael Lyngdoh once to stress the individual’s religion may make a point; repeatedly stressing the same sentiment borders on the vulgar.

No one does public spectacle and political theatre better than Mr Modi. His masterly mask gimmick is now copied by parties opposed to him and the BJP. However, I feel he badly needs the advice of a spin doctor who can soften his image so that he can make the transition to the national stage. For the moment, he is an awesome loner, a one-man demolition squad confronting all who stand against him. He now needs to present himself as a team player.

If the Gujarat CM hopes to achieve his prime ministerial ambition, he has to demonstrate he can smoothly run a cabinet of equally smart, capable people. Imagine, if Mr Modi was PM, Sushma Swaraj home minister, Arun Jaitley finance minister, Nitin Gadkari defence minister, Rajnath Singh agriculture minister.... Given Modi’s working style, this cabinet would disintegrate swiftly.

The Evans Test

Hardly a day passes without some editor or anchor stridently justifying his/her scoop or ‘trial by media’ as journalism in the public interest. I have no quarrel with the justification. However, it is vital to keep in mind a crucial difference: what interests the public is not necessarily in the public interest. The great media sage, Harold Evans, puts it in perspective. “The most agile argument I’ve heard to justify intrusions is that sex gossip helps keep the red tops (tabloids) in business. The economic viability of the tabloids, it is said, is in the public interest since along with sleaze that produces circulation and revenues, they quite often expose wrongdoing.” Mr Evans then explains the difficulty. “It is, of course, easier to say what is not in the public interest than what is. My test was: Is this information on balance likely to advance human well-being?”

Recently, we had some titillating gupshup of the break-up of Omar Abdullah’s marriage. Would printing details of the break-up have been in the public interest, or would it be a case of the public just being interested in the details? The irrepressible Subramanian Swamy, in a letter to the prime minster, has made below-the-belt allegations against a minister in the cabinet. While the revelations were unsubstantiated, they made compelling reading. Would printing the allegations pass the Evans test? Tricky questions.

Tiger’s Late Regret?

Without Tiger Pataudi’s kindness, I would probably have been a failed editor. The year is 1974. I have crashed my way into Debonair. No one is prepared to give me the time of day. Desperate for a Playboy-type interview which would make the centrepiece of the magazine (besides the ugly naked women), I knocked on many eminent doors. None opened. As press day loomed, I called up Tiger. His minions would not put me through. I wrote him a begging letter, telling him I had seen him score a century in both innings against Yorkshire and being particularly severe on a certain Fred Trueman. He immediately rang back and invited me to his Mumbai flat on Altamount Road.

Besides Sharmila and the square cut, Tiger had a weakness for 555 cigarettes. I carried a tin. The interview and the photo-shoot were a success. Because Tiger had given a full-length interview in my launch issue, I had much less difficulty persuading the great and the good to cooperate. When I met him last a year ago, I reminded him of our first encounter. Characteristically, he had no memory of it, except, “You mean I appeared in Debonair?”

Plug-in Required

Friends and enemies keep accusing me of misusing this column to plug my dog and my book. My response is: If I don’t misuse this column, whose column should I misuse? And if I don’t plug my dog and my book, whose dog and whose book should I plug? By the way, the dog is called Editor and the book Lucknow Boy (Penguin, Rs 499, out in mid-November). Be sure to buy a copy since I have an Editor with expensive tastes and Blue Label to support!