By D N Singh
The post of the President of India may have been often interpreted as a decorative but as the head of the country it symbolizes that, the occupant of this position always combined an aura of persona and wisdom.
Although the presidents do not enjoy the place in political discourses but, when there is a constitutional crisis, his or her intellect comes into test. So, perhaps, we choose people from the comity of mostly highly dignified and knowledge pools who possess the ability to give directions when required.
Names like Dr Rajendra Prasad or Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan have had their claim of gravity and persona.
There were ones like Mohammed Hidayutallah or APJ Abdul Kalam or Pranab Mukherjee who made remarkable impressions by their deliberations when required.
The post of President have always rested on political perception which otherwise can be described as political compulsions. And not on the singular yardstick of intellect.
Looking back to the litany of personalities those who occupied this august post, always there have been areas when political convenience also came into play. In contrast during the Presidentship of Gyani Zail Singh political convenience faltered.
President is not a post, as the people of this country are given to understand, which should not enjoy the esteems of people belonging to some community and if so, that should not be an occasion to claim the pride of being so, because such posts are products of political convenience again.
It’s not like the American presidential polls where debates play a role and that too in the open, before the people.
Erudition, background and intellectual soundings are additional factors those add to the gravity of the post but, without those also there would be no unease for one who is made the president.
