Dear Subramanian Swamy, this isn't 1999 and Narendra Modi isn't Vajpayee

Fools rush in where angels fear to tread is an age-old saying - which essentially means that foolish people usually do not understand when a situation is dangerous. Subramanian Swamy fits into this maxim perfectly.

Thanks to his verbal sniper attacks, through the social media in particular, on men who make or help shape Indian financial policy almost daily, Swamy exudes bravery – even audacity. He gives you the impression that he fears none, that he can take on the whole world all alone and that he doesn’t care, come what may. He is an unguided missile, loose cannon. Has he always been like this?

Let’s go down the memory lane and recall some of his audacious deeds.

At the peak of Indira Gandhi’s haydays in early 1970s, Swamy had suggested to ‘the iron-lady’ that India’s Five Year Plans be scrapped. Indira not only dismissed the suggestion summarily but also described him as a ‘Santa Claus with unrealistic ideas’. Remember, those were the heady days when India under Indira was known for its pro-poor, socialistic leanings. Garibi Hatao used to be the war-cry of the Congress, which had re-emerged as an unbeatable political force once again. There was absolutely no room for neo-economic reformists such as Swamy.

But Swami persisted nonetheless. This infuriated Indira so much so that she got him sacked unceremoniously from professorship at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in December, 1972. The sacked professor could get back his position in the IIT in 1991 through a court order — long after Indira Gandhi had left the world for her heavenly abode.

Indeed, Swamy was in trouble. With a young wife, a new born daughter and no job, he thought of going back to the US. There was nothing he could do here. Then came a phone call from Nanaji Deshmukh of RSS asking him to be ready to represent Jan Sangh in Rajya Sabha. Swamy jumped at the offer and entered Parliament for the first time in 1974. Nanaji and Swamy jelled very well. They both hated Indira Gandhi. And they both joined forces with Jayaprakash Narayan along with all others who opposed the Congress. Rest is history.

There is little doubt that Indira had put fear of God into Swamy. Little wonder then that during Emergency in India, he had escaped to the cool comforts of the US, unlike his backers who had all been put behind bar back home. The “oppression” in India was perhaps too hot for him. It is significant that his bête noire, Arun Jaitely, was in jail those days!

Swami avoided arrest warrants for the entire 19-month-long period. However, the opposition hailed him as a hero because of just one startling incident: at the height of Emergency, he broke through the security cordons of the Parliament unnoticed and attended Upper House session on 10 August, 1976 at the height of Emergency. And after registering his attendance, he could manage to escape again defying the arrest warrant and look-out notice at the airports against his name. He had donned a turban and looked like a bearded sardar. He retreated into the cool climate of America via Chennai and Sri Lanka. He popped up on the Indian political scene only after the Emergency was lifted and elections announced in 1977.

Take a closer look at Swami’s career, and you can see that most of his heroics have taken place in the post-Indira era. The Times of India described him as muckraker-in-chief in a story published last month. The author of the story, Rajesh Ramchandran, wrote: “For someone who wrote about disenfranchising Muslims in a newspaper article, there is a strange kind of consistency about Swamy’s character. He is a muckraker par excellence. He can hurl abuses, he can talk through his hat, attack iconic national leaders and get away with it all. He had called Vajpayee a drunk, former CPI(M) general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet corrupt and Sonia Gandhi a smuggler”.

These abuses apart, Swamy also basks in the glory that he had cornered through his exposes of J Jayalalitha’s corruption, A Raja’s 2G spectrum scandal, Ram Krishna Hegde’s telephone-tapping saga, Hashimpura massacre and National Herald case. Incidentally, the Tamilian maverick is also known for his description of Sonia Gandhi, J Jayalaitha and Mayawati as Lakshmi, Saraswati and Durga. He had managed to bring the three ladies together under one umbrella to pull down the Vajpayee government in April 1999. He had tasted success once again.

But Swamy appears to be making a mistake this time. Narendra Modi is not Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In fact, Modi is more like Indira in strength and style.

You never know, the current prime minister’s patience might wear off sooner than later. Things are getting sickening. Already.