If you have a pathological hatred for politicians, then the decision of the Modi government to confer the Padma Vibhushan on NCP leader Sharad Pawar would seem terribly out of place. But if you consider the 50-year role played by Pawar in electoral and legislative politics and factor in his tenure as Union defence minister, 10-year stint as agriculture minister and the fact that he was chief minister of Maharashtra four times, the award seems deserving. It would be difficult to deny the political service rendered by the NCP leader and those who choose to overlook it have no sense of political history or history in general. On the other hand, the decision has a certain ring that makes one sit up and think. During the 2014 poll, Modi had called the NCP the ‘national corruption party’, so what changed between then and now? Firstly, Pawar was one of the leaders who chose to part ways with the Gandhi family. Secondly, and more importantly, the BJP might just need Pawar’s help in getting a president and vice-president of its choice. The BJP is apparently hedging its bets on Pawar, just in case the Assembly results in UP do not go its way. It’s a shrewd strategy and, who knows, Pawar might just be willing to play his part.
Dealing with the dreaded “So, What Do You Do?”
Gauri Gharpure studied journalism at Columbia University, New York, on a Fulbright grant. She is the coordinator of the mass media department at Don Bosco College, Panaji and makes paper jewellery on the side. She tweets at @gaurigharpureA few months ago, I struck up a discussion where I was the only person who found nothing wrong with asking, "So, what do you do?" during a conversation. My new friends shook their heads in disapproval. How does it matter, they asked -…
