Learn To Talk

By M H Ahssan

Politicians must be trained to handle mass media sideshow could well have been avoided. A few politicians have whipped up public anger by making insensitive remarks in the context of the carnage in Mumbai. Worse, it has come at a time when their capabilities to govern are under scrutiny. The latest to be afflicted with the foot-in-the-mouth disease is Kerala chief minister V S Achuthanandan, who has said ‘‘not even a dog’’ would visit the home of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan — the NSG commando who died fighting terrorists in Mumbai — if not for the latter’s martyrdom. VS has half-heartedly apologised for his insensitive remarks since but only after facing censure from his party chief, CPM general secretary Prakash Karat, and a barrage of criticism from many quarters including the Left fraternity.

VS’s remarks came a day after BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi took umbrage to ‘‘women wearing lipstick and powder’’ criticising politicians. Naqvi’s party disowned his remarks, but the RSS has come to his support. What do these men want? Women should keep off lipstick and powder? Or, that they should not raise their voices in public? Do Naqvi and the RSS fancy themselves as some sort of an Indian Taliban? Strange it may seem, these leaders are alarmed that the aam aadmi is raising questions about their conduct. They ought to get used to the idea that ours is a democratic society. And they should learn to conduct themselves as well-spoken public servants.

Leaders like VS complain that the media twists colloquial usages to whip up a controversy. Sure, there are reasons why people talk the way they do. The point is public officials have to speak in a language that does not offend public sensitivities. In this age of 24/7 mass media, politicians should know how to conduct themselves in public. Their vocabulary and manner of speaking should fit the positions they hold. These leaders — VS, Naqvi, Maharashtra CM Vilasrao Deshmukh or former deputy chief minister R R Patil — should recognise that insensitive remarks hurt people as much as the acts of politicians like Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, who tried to draw political mileage from the bloodshed in Mumbai.

It’s time our politicians took lessons in public speaking. Television is the dominant media platform today. Public officials in India should understand the pressures of this medium and, if necessary, get training to use it. Politicians elsewhere train to handle the media and successful ones are those who master the art. The suggestion is not to have politicians who can charm the public through the media but to have leaders who appear convincing and calm people in times of crises. A prime minister with some schooling in mass communication, for instance, would not have waited 18 hours to address the nation after the Mumbai happening.