Washed clean!

By: V Sundaram
March 24, 2006
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Pontius Pilate was the Roman Governor of Judaea from 26 CE to 36 CE. In this capacity, he was responsible for the execution of Jesus of Nazareth. According to established traditions, during the course of the sham trial, the persecutors of Jesus shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!" Pilate responded by asking "Shall I crucify your king?". The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar". When Pontius Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere and instead an uproar was starting, Pilate handed Jesus over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. (John 19: 1-16). Pontius Pilate then took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility"! (Mat 27:24).

Pontius Pilate did not realize the kind of severe test that awaited him that Friday when he gave his vicious verdict. His examination placed him in the seat of judgment over the Judge of the Universe who must die to pay for Pilate"s sin, and that of the whole world. Boundaries are important elements in the field of identifying and defending the truth, and can sometimes be the vital differences between life and death. These thoughts came to my mind against the background of the crumbling political situation in New Delhi.

Two days ago I was reading a poem by the great German poet Erich Fried which I thought is very relevant to Sonia Gandhi and the unenviable situation in which Congress party finds itself today. This poem is entitled "Washed Clean":

I knew a man
Whom I would have liked to forgive
That his hands
Were not clean
But he insisted
On washing himself publicly
From head to foot
And then
With finger scrubbed carefully pink
Pointing
At others
Then all
I could see on him
Were those places
That had grown chapped and rough
From so much scrubbing!

Sonia Gandhi took a high moral ground and stated that she was giving up her seat in the Lok Sabha and also the post of Chairman of the National Advisory Council because she felt that was right. If we can take her at the face value, then the next question is what made her declare that all the other Members of Parliament from her party who were also holding offices of profit were under no obligation to "resign" their seats in the Lok Sabha. If this is not political somersault, then what is it?

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has paid the following tribute to Sonia Gandhi: "I consider her as the tallest leader in India today". This marvellous tribute made me imagine a situation where the following garland of tributes could have been paid by some of the following stalwarts of the UPA if they had the good fortune and privilege of having the same advantage as Dr Manmohan Singh:

HRD Minister Arjun Singh:

I consider Sonia Gandhi as an outstanding leader because of the three shining signals continuously being given by her to all of us, generosity in the design, humanity in the execution, and moderation and humility in success.

Power Minister Shinde:

She is the greatest woman I know who chooses the right with invincible resolution; who resists the sorest temptations from within and without; who bears the heaviest burdens cheerfully and who is most fearless under all kinds of menace and whose reliance on truth, on virtue, is most unfaltering and whose trust in me is total and Himalayan.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Das Munshi:

There never was any heart truly great and gracious, that was not also so tender and compassionate.

Shivaraj Patil:

Her greatness lies, not in being strong, but in the right using of strength; and strength is not used rightly when it serves only to carry a person above his fellows for his own solitary glory. This is not the rule with Sonia. I consider her as the greatest whose strength carries up all the hearts by the attraction of her own. She has forgotten her own greatness and always asked for the truth. No wonder God has always given her both.

Gulam Nabi Azad:

Our nation"s greatness lies not in her natural or material resources, but in Sonia"s will, faith, intelligence and moral forces.

M Karunanidhi:

Great leaders like Sonia are the commissioned guides of mankind, who rule their fellows because they are wiser and nobler.

The language of politics in India has been debased and debauched by all political parties in the last 35 years, and more so by the Congress party. Flattery, though a base coin, has become the necessary and unavoidable pocket money in Indian politics today. By custom and consent, it has obtained such a popular currency that it is no longer a fraudulent or counterfeit payment but a legal payment. The whole nation knows that Sonia loves flattery even though she sees through it and is not deceived by it, for it shows that she is of great global importance significant enough to be courted all the time.

Samuel Johnson wrote a hilarious essay on "Flatterers and rogues who love flattery". This is what he said: "To be flattered is grateful, even when we know that our praises are not believed by those who pronounce them; for they prove at least our power, and show that our favour is valued, since it is purchased by the sincere meanness of orchestrated falsehood".

V Sundaram

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