A few weeks ago, Baba Ramdev (henceforth referred to as Baba, given his dominant position in the Indian Baba industry) was a likeable man. His recent volatile moods apart, Baba is funny, articulate, teaches yoga, is a rooted Indian and immensely entertaining. I love his wonderful Hindi vocabulary. And yet, despite having the chance of a lifetime and coming awfully close, i am sorry to say that Baba blew it. This has life lessons for all of us on how not to blow it when you are almost home. To understand this, let us look at the Baba case study.
Baba may have had his heart in the right place when it comes to corruption. His journey is inspiring as well. Coming from nowhere, he became the biggest yoga teacher in the world. Using personal charisma and something taught for free in India’s neighbourhood parks, he created an empire worth thousands of crores and touched millions.
Baba’s mixed serving society and personal ambition, which isn’t a bad thing. Once at the zenith of the yoga game, and having the attention of millions, Baba started airing political views. Corruption became his cause but he also had a view on an India he wanted to see. Whether it was the kind of medicines we would have or the MNCs he wanted out, to views on sexuality.
Some of Baba’s plans were good. However, many were outlandish. For example, Baba feels homosexuality is a disease curable with yoga asanas. He also wants to ban 1,000 and 500-rupee notes to kill black money. What if people with black money start to hoard dollars or gold? What about the inconvenience it will bring to the people who don’t have black money?
Even at a policy level, Baba’s views are not clearly thought through. Baba wants non-tech MNCs out, but what exactly does that mean? Are banks non-tech? Should we kick out all the foreign banks and all the employment generating FDI with it? Baba’s recommendations were silly. Still, none of this mattered when Baba combined his charisma with saffron robes. Millions still followed him, for Indians rarely look at politics in a rational manner. It is all about the leader’s personal charm. Baba’s rise worried the central government. What the BJP could not do, Baba could do independently – curse the government and gather crowds at the same time. Baba could rise to be the communal-lite, a more palatable saffron dish for the masses. His big move was the June 4 fast. Many felt it wouldn’t work; after all, who wanted an Anna-me-too?
But Baba made it work. From the start, he had success. The PM cajoled him not to go on a fast. India’s senior politicians rushed to the airport to greet him. More ministers met him at the Claridges hotel. The RSS (which currently includes any Hindu against corruption as per government definition), the BJP and almost anybody anti-Congress backed Baba. Even Anna and company boosted him, hoping this single yogi would add pressure on the government for the Lokpal Bill. The fast had barely begun. However, Baba had arrived, and how.
Soon, the government panicked, fearing Baba’s becoming viral like Anna did. In a huge lapse of judgment, it used force to kick out the protesters. Baba hit the jackpot. He didn’t just have fame, he now had the most invaluable asset in Indian politics – public sympathy. The images of a helpless crowd being attacked by the police became Baba’s money shot. On the night of the police crackdown, Baba had become a legitimate, emerging star of Indian politics.
And that is when Baba blew it. Right when the nation was in shock at the attacks and silence would have worked wonders, Baba was back on TV. He screamed and whined on prime time about the wrong done to him. Sympathy in India comes to those who are seen to suffer in silent dignity. But Baba can’t remain silent or resist TV cameras. He could have retreated, laid low for a while, re-strategised and come back with another agitation. But Baba made it worse. The next day, his whining turned to anger. He made proclamations about raising an 11,000 strong personal army. He withdrew the statement later, but the damage was done. From a messiah, he came across as somewhat psycho.
It was frustratingly stupid to throw away so much political gain for the sake of false bravado. Baba aspires to be a national leader. However, his team seems to have no proper advisers on policy or politically correct conduct. Given his wealth, it would be easy to surround himself with the best experts in law, economics, policy, media relations and social welfare. Yet, he chooses to spend Rs 18 crore on tents but not a fraction of that on the right advisers. Perhaps sycophancy surrounds him, something i have seen with a lot of successful people, and nobody points out his flaws to him.
I am not a particular well-wisher of Baba. However, i am concerned because Baba’s missteps have cost the anti-corruption movement. All anti-corruption activists could be clubbed with Baba. Even Anna’s team got dragged down with it.
Above all, Baba’s escapades have learnings for all of us. Being angry isn’t yogi-like at all. Loony solutions do not work, good economic and legal frameworks do. Passion, restraint and the right judgment in choosing between the two are the hallmarks of a leader. Baba may not realise this, but teacher that he is, he has ended up giving all of us an unintentional lesson.
Baba may have had his heart in the right place when it comes to corruption. His journey is inspiring as well. Coming from nowhere, he became the biggest yoga teacher in the world. Using personal charisma and something taught for free in India’s neighbourhood parks, he created an empire worth thousands of crores and touched millions.
Baba’s mixed serving society and personal ambition, which isn’t a bad thing. Once at the zenith of the yoga game, and having the attention of millions, Baba started airing political views. Corruption became his cause but he also had a view on an India he wanted to see. Whether it was the kind of medicines we would have or the MNCs he wanted out, to views on sexuality.
Some of Baba’s plans were good. However, many were outlandish. For example, Baba feels homosexuality is a disease curable with yoga asanas. He also wants to ban 1,000 and 500-rupee notes to kill black money. What if people with black money start to hoard dollars or gold? What about the inconvenience it will bring to the people who don’t have black money?
Even at a policy level, Baba’s views are not clearly thought through. Baba wants non-tech MNCs out, but what exactly does that mean? Are banks non-tech? Should we kick out all the foreign banks and all the employment generating FDI with it? Baba’s recommendations were silly. Still, none of this mattered when Baba combined his charisma with saffron robes. Millions still followed him, for Indians rarely look at politics in a rational manner. It is all about the leader’s personal charm. Baba’s rise worried the central government. What the BJP could not do, Baba could do independently – curse the government and gather crowds at the same time. Baba could rise to be the communal-lite, a more palatable saffron dish for the masses. His big move was the June 4 fast. Many felt it wouldn’t work; after all, who wanted an Anna-me-too?
But Baba made it work. From the start, he had success. The PM cajoled him not to go on a fast. India’s senior politicians rushed to the airport to greet him. More ministers met him at the Claridges hotel. The RSS (which currently includes any Hindu against corruption as per government definition), the BJP and almost anybody anti-Congress backed Baba. Even Anna and company boosted him, hoping this single yogi would add pressure on the government for the Lokpal Bill. The fast had barely begun. However, Baba had arrived, and how.
Soon, the government panicked, fearing Baba’s becoming viral like Anna did. In a huge lapse of judgment, it used force to kick out the protesters. Baba hit the jackpot. He didn’t just have fame, he now had the most invaluable asset in Indian politics – public sympathy. The images of a helpless crowd being attacked by the police became Baba’s money shot. On the night of the police crackdown, Baba had become a legitimate, emerging star of Indian politics.
And that is when Baba blew it. Right when the nation was in shock at the attacks and silence would have worked wonders, Baba was back on TV. He screamed and whined on prime time about the wrong done to him. Sympathy in India comes to those who are seen to suffer in silent dignity. But Baba can’t remain silent or resist TV cameras. He could have retreated, laid low for a while, re-strategised and come back with another agitation. But Baba made it worse. The next day, his whining turned to anger. He made proclamations about raising an 11,000 strong personal army. He withdrew the statement later, but the damage was done. From a messiah, he came across as somewhat psycho.
It was frustratingly stupid to throw away so much political gain for the sake of false bravado. Baba aspires to be a national leader. However, his team seems to have no proper advisers on policy or politically correct conduct. Given his wealth, it would be easy to surround himself with the best experts in law, economics, policy, media relations and social welfare. Yet, he chooses to spend Rs 18 crore on tents but not a fraction of that on the right advisers. Perhaps sycophancy surrounds him, something i have seen with a lot of successful people, and nobody points out his flaws to him.
I am not a particular well-wisher of Baba. However, i am concerned because Baba’s missteps have cost the anti-corruption movement. All anti-corruption activists could be clubbed with Baba. Even Anna’s team got dragged down with it.
Above all, Baba’s escapades have learnings for all of us. Being angry isn’t yogi-like at all. Loony solutions do not work, good economic and legal frameworks do. Passion, restraint and the right judgment in choosing between the two are the hallmarks of a leader. Baba may not realise this, but teacher that he is, he has ended up giving all of us an unintentional lesson.