This is a question that has ravaged scores of debates.
The real question here is this:
the office of the Indian Prime Minister?
This question has come up to prominence due to the meteoric rise in power and stature of Sonia Gandhi, wife of late Rajiv Gandhi. Sonia Gandhi is the President of the INC and wields enormous power within the party cadre. She is also likely to become the first Indian Prime Minister of foreign origin.
In the past, I have been of the opinion that she has been able to pull this off only because of her family name. Since then I’ve thought about this a little and have to concede that there has to be something more to this than just a name. I have thus been guilty of pre-judging her capabilities. The prudent and wise thing to do will be to let her make the case for them herself.
Having said that, I do not support her becoming the Prime Minister of India and not because it is Sonia Gandhi we are talking about. I do not support any foreign born for holding the highest office of India, Indian citizen or not.
My reasons are simple.
The place of one’s birth, what Indians call motherland and some others, fatherland, is always a special place in one’s heart.
This is the reason you see people sticking together in cultural groups and helping the cause of other people that share their cultural roots. They do this because they feel something special in their heart for their mother/fatherland. This is not to be confused with racism. I’m not talking of discriminating against other ethnicities; but of going an extra step for issues that involve one’s own ethnicity.
In the above I do not imply that the PM under question will go out of their way to help their foreign ethnic interests. This probably will not happen in the daily business of the PM, however consider a scenario where India is forced, due to unchangeable circumstances to go to war with the country of the PM’s origin.
I now choose to use the example of Pakistan because most Indians will relate with it more easily than with ‘Britaly‘.
If the PM of India had grown up in Pakistan, studied there, has family there and now is forced to bomb/attack the place of their birth, where they might still have family, would their ethnic roots not add complexity to an already excrutiatingly difficult decision?
Having said this, I can already see hands waving and screaming, “Hey but a number of our politicians are old and were born across the border.” No my man, I am referring to someone born and brought up in a sovereign country and not a place that was a part of British ruled India.
Some others will flagrantly attack me for posing such questions that doubt the integrity of the individual in question. However, these are questions that I find perfectly logical and valid. When someone aspires to the highest political position possible in a country, they automatically open themselves up to such questions.
It is their prerogative to answer them, I have no obligation not to ask them!
The leader of any country must be above suspicion when it comes to a question of their loyalties towards another country. There is no place for doubt, and this is my biggest opposition to anyone of foreign origin holding the position of the Prime Minister of India.
Comments (10)
> India is forced, due to unchangeable circumstances to go to war with the country of the PM’s origin
Old age is catching up with you dude. Is this your best argument?
What if its an Indian-born and raised child of parents of XYZ nationality. She will definitely have the right to be the PM of India (born an Indian). Is she any more likely to attack this XYZ country at the time of a war?
This is an excellent point you mention and I must admit, I did not think of it.
It still does not take away from the fact that being born and brought up in any country comes with its share of loyalties to it.
Being born in India and brought up elsewhere is a much more complicated issue… needs more thought
So, according to your reasoning, even Mother Teresa, if she wanted to be the PM, shouldn’t be given the position of PM.
-SBR
If Mother Teresa showed any aspirations for becoming the Prime Minister of India, I would have the exact same questions for her as I have now.
There are plenty of people who have done exceptional humanitarian work, Mother Teresa high up on that list. This should in no way qualify them to become the PM of India.
So if Nelson Mandela or any Nobel Peace prize winner for that matter tommorrow decides to settle in India and begins serving the people with all his heart/devotion. I will still oppose it if they decide to aspire to the PM’s post.
My point being that of divided loyalties…
It’s not that I am support the policy of foreign-born holding the post of PM (I am still undecided), it’s just that I had another query. Would this law bar a foreign-born to hold any position in the Parliament or State Legislature, or the important positions of President, PM, Governor, and CM, or just the position of PM?
-SBR
My initial opinion is that I am against the Highest Post of the PM, President and probably the Chief Justice of India.
All of these either belong to the critical chain of command type of posts that become important in the scenario I tried to depict or are critical posts that could suffer from the divided loyalties argument.
What about the chief of Armed forces?
Hmm…
I would have to say that there are enough people above the Chief of the Armed Forces in the chain of command. However there is no-one above the PM.
Read Billion Brown Eununchs
Electoral victory of sonia gandhi has proved that hindu religion has been eradicated by process of marxist dialects of histor. Sonia was elected by opressed nationalities and expolited classes; she was supported by Communists, and socialists; muslims in India are followers of socialists so a new new soalist revolution has started.
I am a Pakistani journalist, i am Marxist. I want to write for Indian newspapers now. I am a supporter of Sonia Gandhi
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