Of rectitude and Presidents

By John Cheeran
What exactly is rectitude? Moral uprightness is the toughest of business calls.
I was watching Rajiv Mehrotra’s interview with late former Indian President K.R. Narayanan on Doordarshan last Sunday.
There is no need to list Narayanan’s achievements here.
During the interview Mehrotra quite interestingly brought to Narayanan’s attention the citation of the Rajiv Gandhi International award committee which spoke about late President’s moral rectitude, great quality if you actually possess it.
The Rajiv Gandhi award committee’s reference was Narayanan’s intervention during the Gujarat riots in 2002.
But I always had doubts on the rectitude part. Was it rectitude or was it diplomacy or was it helplessness?
Let me quote former President from his interview on DD.
“People were watching the Gujarat events and were not intervening at all.” So that’s why President spoke to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on the riot management.
President’s helplessness comes through in these words. “Most of the times I had to keep my anguish to myself.”
Narayanan spoke to Mehrotra without rancour, without bitterness. “I told Prime Minister that military should be introduced. PM almost always agreed with me during the conversation. But agreements did not follow up with action.”
Context matters here. Gujarat was ruled by a BJP Chief Minister, the Centre had a BJP Prime Minister and President was former Congress MP.
I thought if you had praiseworthy rectitude, you would have gone beyond diplomacy. Narayanan could have resigned as President; but he chose otherwise.
There were not many, however, there were a few who said what they believed and took orders from their conscience during the Gujarat riots.
And as for rectitude, temptations of a possible second term at Rashtrapathi Bhavan took care of it all.
May his soul rest in peace.