A demotion they said. Some even said 'I&B now a Smriti for Irani'. Everyone who wielded a mike, pen or keyboard went gung-ho about Smriti Irani being removed as information and broadcasting minister. They cited a few too many instances of gaffes and seemingly half-witted decisions to prove that she deserved what came on her way. She has even been bestowed the cliched sobriquet 'controversy's favourite child' every time she upsets the existing systems with her dramatic, nay, drastic decisions. But is Madam Irani guilty of anything other than being a visionary, a prophet who walked much ahead of her times, a revolutionary who wanted to change the course of history? Allow me to make a case.
The immediate cause for the alleged demotion is the controversy that broke out at the National Film Awards. Now, can anyone argue that the decision to step away from tradition of the president distributing awards to all winners wasn't nonconformist? Well then, should she be blamed for the awardees failing to understand her farsightedness, and calling it 'mismanagement' instead? Should Madam Irani be at the receiving end because she opted for a departure from a tradition that lasted 65 years, and took it up on herself the onerous task of giving away the awards (with a little help from minister of state Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore)? Ah, intellectuals and artistes these days!
Madam Irani dreamt of a leaner (and who knows, perhaps meaner) public broadcaster Prasar Bharati. And what better way to make the public broadcaster smarter than sacking a few. The Prasar Bharati Expert Committee, headed by Sam Pitroda, may have a few recommendations. But letting go a few employees is always better than taking the effort to go through the recommendations and implementing them, right?
Madam Irani wanted to punish erring reporters and news portals. And what better way to hammer home the point that if you don't write free and fair in a country that guarantees enough ink on writers, death threats to filmmakers and actors, and showers of abuses and trolls on scribes than a threat of withdrawal of PIB accreditation? Madam Irani does understand a thing or two about all things fake. After all, some 'degree' of fakeness may have caused her trouble a while ago. It was only natural then that she wants the news to devoid of all things fake. We can't blame her for such honourable intentions, can we?
A few months ago, under Madam Irani's watch, the information and broadcasting ministry asked TV channels not to air advertisements on condoms from 6am to 10pm. Now, anyone who is sanskari enough surely know that the children these days get all their information from TV and the best way to ensure that the children grow up to be responsible adults is to not let them know about the existence of rubber. Again, should she take the fall for trying to protect the children from knowing about 'protection'?
Sanskrit is a beautiful language. Imagine going up to a lass you like and offering to buy her a lassi and asking her about her horoscope in pure, unadulterated Sanskrit. Madam Irani wanted kids to have this privilege, and so, in 2014, she wanted Kendriya Vidyalaya students learning the alien language German to stop it midway and start learning the ancient language. But noble intentions don't always pay off the way you want them to be and the move was met with staunch opposition from people who failed to understand a visionary.
The illustrious days of Madam Irani in various ministries are laden with these and more. And in the days to come, the textile ministry, I am sure, will benefit from her visionary ways.