Political leaders who are illiterate in history are not only a shame to the society but also a danger – Parameswarji

Political leaders who are illiterate in history are not only a shame to the society but also a danger. CPM State Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan reportedly said that even a remote comparison between Pandit Nehru and Atal Behari Vajpayee is a ‘challenge to the secular foundation of the country.’ In fact many political commentators and statesmen have commented that there was much in common between Nehru and Vajpayee as liberal politicians and strong defenders of parliamentary democracy. Both had spared no efforts to maintain the dignity and decorum in parliamentary debates. Some had even gone to the extent of saying that “Vajpayee was right person in the wrong place.” Even comrade A K Gopalan and Hiren Mukherjee were great admirers of Sri Vajpayee. A Marxist leader of the stature of Pinarayi Vijayan should have some primary lesson in the basics of Indian politics.

Another CPM leader who generally sticks to certain ethical standards in politics, Mr M Vijayakumar, has sunk down to unimaginable depth when he called Sri O Rajagopal blood thirsty. Kerala has not seen a more gentlemanly and peace loving politician like Sri O Rajagopal. Even his worst political opponents would not attribute violence of blood shed to him. If Mr Vijayakumar is indirectly referring to the Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, the CPM leader should have remembered that the most blood thirsty leader the world had even seen is Stalin. Everyone knows that Modi has not been found guilty in any court of law while Stalin stands accused before the bar of history. The boot is clearly on the other foot.

Before making such blatantly false statements, high profile politicians should take some lesson in history. It is a well known axiom that “history is the root of politics and the politics is the fruit of history.”

P Parameswaran
Director
Bharatheeya Vicharakendram