{"id":1055,"date":"2012-10-19T15:15:56","date_gmt":"2012-10-19T09:45:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/teekhapan.wordpress.com\/?p=1055"},"modified":"2012-10-19T15:15:56","modified_gmt":"2012-10-19T09:45:56","slug":"1055","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vivekkaul.com\/2012\/10\/19\/1055\/","title":{"rendered":"Rahul: Reluctant politician who was once afraid of the dark"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>When Rahul Gandhi was young he was afraid of the dark. He felt that darkness held ghosts and bad things. His grandmother Indira Gandhi helped him overcome that fear. As Aarthi Ramachandran writes in Decoding Rahul Gandhi <\/i>\u201cSpeaking to young children at the opening of a science fair at a Delhi school in November 201 he(i.e. Rahul) told them how he was scared of darkness when he was young as he felt it held \u201cghosts\u201d and \u201cbad things\u201d. Then, he said, one day his grandmother had asked him why he didn\u2019t go and see himself what was inside the darkness. So, he had walked into the garden in the dark and he had kept walking and then realised suddenly that \u2018there was nothing there in the darkness to be scared of\u2019.\u201d And thus Rahul overcame the fear of darkness and ghosts.
\nThe life of Rahul Gandhi has largely been a mystery for India and Indians. Where was he educated? Where did he work before joining politic full time? What are his views on various things? What does he think about the current state of the Indian economy? What does he think of the government which his mother Sonia runs through the remote control? Does he have a girl friend? When does he plan to marry? Why hasn\u2019t he given any interviews to the media since 2005?
\nThese are questions both personal and professional that Indians would love to have answers for. Aarthi Ramachandran answers some of these questions in her new book Decoding Rahul Gandhi. <\/i>
\nAfter the assassination of Indira Gandhi, both Rahul and his sister Priyanka were largely taught at home. Ramachandran quotes out of Sonia Gandhi\u2019s book Rajiv<\/i>: \u201c\u201cThe day of my mother-in-law\u2019s assassination was the last day Rahul and Priyanka ever attended school\u2026For the next five years the children remained at home, studying with tutors, virtually imprisoned. The only space outside our four walls where they could step without cordon of security was our garden,\u201d Sonia wrote.\u201d
\nRahul is a year and a half older to his sister Priyanka and was a student of the St Columba\u2019s school before the assassination of his grandmother. But both Rahul and Priyanka ended up in the same class despite their age difference. \u201cRahul\u2019s education was disrupted due to that incident (Indira Gandhi\u2019s assassination) and he dropped a year of school, possibly the same year that Indira died. Rajiv was asked how both Rahul and Priyanka were in the same class during an interview in 1988. \u201cOnly one year separates them. And with all the shifting, they came to be in the same class. But that has one advantage: they can be taught each subject by the same tutor. Now, we can\u2019t possibly keep separate tutors for each of them, that would be too expensive,\u201d he quipped \u2013 both children were being home tutored,\u201d writes Ramachandran.
\nRahul joined Delhi\u2019s St Stephens College in 1989 to study history. He got admission under the sports quota. And there was a lot of controversy surrounding his admission. As Ramachandran points out \u201cWhen Rahul entered Delhi\u2019s prestigious St. Stephen\u2019s College in 1989 after finishing his schooling, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed his admission, under the sports quota for his skills in rifle shooting, was invalid. \u00a0The allegation appeared to be that with 61 per cent marks in his school-leaving examinations, Rahul was not academically bright enough to enter the college. The BJP\u2019s Delhi chief at that time, Madam Lal Khurana, claimed that Rahul\u2019s certificates in shooting were fake.\u201d The National Rifle Association came to Rahul\u2019s rescue issuing a statement in his favour about his ability as a rifle shooter. \u00a0During Rahul\u2019s time at Stephens 20-25 special protection group (SPG) guards would be all over the college with sling bags which supposedly had guns.
\nAfter a year at Stephens, Rahul left for Harvard. There is very little clarity on the period he was at Harvard or the subjects he studied there. \u201cIt has been widely reported in the Indian media and some foreign publications that Rahul took courses in economics at Harvard,\u201d writes Ramachandran. \u201cNeither Rahul nor Harvard officials have confirmed this. Rahul did not respond to questions about this course of study and the time period he was at Harvard\u2026.Harvard too said it could not disclose details about Rahul Gandhi\u2019s time at Harvard.\u201d
\nThough Harvard did confirm that Rahul was a student without getting into the specifics of the time period or the courses he attended. In May 1991 Rahul\u2019s father, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. This compelled him to take a transfer to Rollins College in Florida and from here graduated with a BA in 1994. The website of the college lists him as alumnus who graduated in International Relations.
\nAfter this, Rahul went to get an MPhil in developmental studies from the Cambridge University, in the United Kingdom. There has been some controversy surrounding this as well. \u201cIn the run up to the 2009 general elections\u2026The New Indian Express<\/i> alleged that Rahul had not only got the name of his course wrong but also the year. The paper said he had attended the course only in 2004-05. It produced a certificate from the university as evidence of its claim. Rahul\u2026sent a notice to the newspaper\u2026.With the notice was a letter issued by Cambridge University…in which its vice chancellor\u2026clarified that Rahul was a student at Trinity College from October 1994 to July 1995. She also said that he was awarded MPhil in developmental studies in 1995,\u201d\u00a0 writes Ramachandran.
\nWhat comes across here is a reluctance on part of Rahul to be open about his educational qualifications. As the author explains \u201cRahul\u2019s unwillingness to be open about his educational background is similar to Gandhi family\u2019s secrecy over Sonia Gandhi\u2019s illness. Sonia and her family have been resolute in their silence on her medical condition despite speculation\u2026that she is suffering from some kind of cancer\u2026It can be argued that her health is a matter of public interest given that she is the de factor head of the Congress-led coalition government\u2026In the same way Rahul Gandhi\u2019s educational qualifications are of the importance to the public at large as he is perceived to be a future prime ministerial candidate of the Congress and is a Member of Parliament.\u201d
\nAfter Cambridge, Rahul Gandhi worked for three years with consulting firm Monitor in London. Strategy guru Michael Porter was one of the co-founders of the firm. Rahul was with Monitor from June 1996 to early March 1999. As Ramachandran writes \u201cAccording to sources, who have known Rahul from his time at Monitor, there were no problems with his performance at the firm. He worked there under an assumed name and his colleagues did not know of his real identity, said a Monitor employee who was at the firm around the same time as Rahul. \u2018His looks gave it away to those of us who knew who he could be,\u2019 the source said.\u201d But beyond this nothing is known about his key result areas or the sectors Rahul specialised in during his time at Monitor.
\nAfter quitting Monitor, Rahul came back to India to help his mother Sonia with the 1999 general election campaign. Once the elections were over Rahul disappeared from the political firmament. \u201cThere is no exact information about any other job Rahul might have taken up in the intervening years after he left Monitor in March 1999 and returned to India for good in late 2002,\u201d writes Ramachandran.
\nDuring the time Rahul spent at London the media also discovered his girl friend Veronique (though they kept calling her Juanita). He was spotted with her watching an India-England cricket match at Edgbaston and holidaying with her in the Andamans at the end of 1999, and again in Kerala and Lakshdweep in 2003, for a year end family vacation.
\nRahul finally cleared the mystery himself in an interview to Vrinda Gopinath of the The Indian Express <\/i>during the run up to the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. <\/i>As Ramachandran writes \u201c\u2019My girlfriend\u2019s name is Veronique not Juanita\u2026she is Spainish and not Venezuelan or Columbian. She is an architect not a waitress, thought I wouldn\u2019t have had a problem with that. She is also my best friend,\u2019 he told her\u2026After he won from Amethi, he held a rare informal interaction with journalists in his constituency. They asked about his girlfriend\u2019s nationality to which he replied she had been living in Venezuela for a long time although her parents were Spanish. He also said that he was not planning on getting married anytime soon.\u201d Nothing has been heard of Veronique since 2004.
\nHis years in consulting seem to have had a great impact on Rahul and since coming back to India in late 2002, Rahul has been trying to apply The Toyota Way<\/i> on the functioning of the Congress party. The Toyota way is a series of best practices used by the Toyota Motor Company of Japan. As Ramachandran explains \u201cThe Toyota Way <\/i>spoke of making decisions slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all options and then implementing decisions rapidly\u2026The consensus process, though time-consuming, helps broaden the search for solutions and once a decision is made, the stage is set for rapid implementation.\u201d
\nSuch strategic ideas are being used for the revamp and promotion of internal democracy within the Indian Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India. Processes are being built to ensure ending the role of family connections in appointments and promotions in the two organisations.
\nBut the big question on everybody\u2019s lips has been when will Rahul Gandhi join the government? In a controversial interview to the Tehalka <\/i>magazine in September 2005, Rahul Gandhi is reported to have said that he could have become the Prime Minister at twenty-five. Abhishek Manu Singhvi the then Congress spokesperson later specifically mentioned that Rahul wanted to state that he had not said \u2018I could have been prime minister at the age of twenty-five if I wanted to\u2019. Rahul hasn\u2019t given any interview since then.
\nOn another occasion Rahul said that \u201cPlease do not take it as any kind of arrogance, but having seen enough prime ministers in the family\u2026it is not such a big deal. In fact, I often wonder why should you need a post to serve the nation\u201d.
\nRumors of Rahul Gandhi joining the cabinet in the next reshuffle have been doing the rounds lately. But as and when that happens Rahul Gandhi will have to let go of what seems like an unwillingness to be open.
\nPeople will analyse what he says. He may still not give interviews but as a minister he will surely have to make speeches, address meetings etc. His decisions will be closely watched. And the files he signs on will be open to RTI filings. In short, the mystery surrounding him will come down.
\nThings as they are currently will have to change. As Ramachandran puts it \u201cIn situations where he is required to speak, whether it is the Parliament or his elections speeches, he is uncomfortable. He is only now beginning to find his public speaking voice. For the most part, however, he has tended to avoid speaking in the public or to the press on issues. He comes across as a politician who is reluctant to share his views on issues of national importance or worse as someone who does not have views at all.\u201d
\nThe article originally appeared on www.firstpost.com on Ocotber 19,2012.
\nhttp:\/\/www.firstpost.com\/india\/rahul-reluctant-politician-who-was-once-afraid-of-the-dark-495947.html<\/a>
\n(Vivek Kaul is a writer. He can be reached at vivek.kaul@gmail.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Rahul Gandhi was young he was afraid of the dark. He felt that darkness held ghosts and bad things. His grandmother Indira Gandhi helped him overcome that fear. As Aarthi Ramachandran writes in Decoding Rahul Gandhi \u201cSpeaking to young children at the opening of a science fair at a Delhi school in November 201 … <\/p>\n

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