What price the Nobel Peace Prize?

 A man can’t soar too high, when he flies with his own wings. William Blake.

Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose brand equity suffered an appreciable dent after the recent General Elections in the country, continues to hold the reins of power, albeit tenuously, at the Centre. If he were a fan of The Beatles, which I doubt very much, he would have recalled the title of one of their hit songs, With a little help from my friends. Those friends, fair weather or otherwise, being the Chief Ministers of Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. The threesome shook hands so firmly one got the impression they were loath to un-shake their paws, to coin a phrase, lest their house of cards should quiver at its foundations. The results of the forthcoming assembly elections will tellingly inform us if Mr. Modi’s popularity is waxing afresh or waning further. Some television channels, despite having egg on their face last time round, continue to stick their necks out to predict the likely outcome of these elections. Based on these studies Mr. Modi, unlike Usain Bolt, is not showing a clean pair of heels to his opponents. Typically, the PM remains unfazed. Nonchalantly scattering all that to the four winds, our PM shows he is clearly made of sterner stuff. He can take the rough with the smooth, like any seasoned politician. And they don’t come more seasoned than him. He is Teflon-coated and is firmly digging his heels in for the long haul. By which I mean the remainder of this, his third term.

While domestic issues of varying hues are doubtless exercising the men from the ministry, particularly with state elections looming, the PM is traversing the eastern bloc of the western globe with special focus right now on Russia and Ukraine. Not forgetting Poland. His stated objective being to talk to the heads of the two warring nations like a Dutch uncle and bring about a lasting peace. He has touched base earlier with Putin in Moscow, but meeting with Zelenskyy in Kyiv will be a first. Modi will be walking a tight rope attempting to beard these two antagonistic lions in their own dens. All the while, the bullets continue to be fired from both sides and the rest of the western powers shoving their collective oar in to ensure the Russians are held at bay. Under the circumstances one wonders what the Indian Prime Minister is likely to achieve, but he is pressing forward with his vaunted diplomatic skills. And hugging anyone within reach. He may have made efforts to reach out earlier to the battle-scarred adversaries with not much to show for it, but ‘once more unto the breach’ seems to be his watchword, if he is familiar with the Bard’s rousing battle cry in Henry V. Again, a moot point.

Those in India who are not PM Modi’s greatest fans, might be raising questions like why he should be so bothered about what is going on in Russia and Ukraine, or even Poland for that matter when Bharat Mata is currently having to deal with the crisis in Bangladesh which puts our ‘friendly’ neighbours like Pakistan and China in pole position to do some lasting mischief to our country while metaphorically shooting from Dacca’s shoulders. Even the United States appears to be cozying up to Bangladesh. For now, an uneasy calm prevails in the region. Which brings me to an interesting area of speculation.

There is a school of thought, though I have no means of confirming its veracity, that India’s PM extraordinaire is being widely considered a ripe candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. Those who admire Narendra Modi, and they are legion, are firmly of the conviction that he should be a shoo-in for the award. The cynics, and they too form a large part of the body politic, are convinced that the PM is traipsing around the globe when he ought to be addressing domestic issues, to draw attention to his burgeoning stature as a global leader and to bump up his southward trajectory at home. Hubris, they cry.

The PM’s tireless peregrinations could go a long way in favourably impressing the Nobel boffins at Stockholm. After all, when you think of some of the Nobel Laureates who have been awarded the Peace Prize in the past, Indians could seriously pin their hopes on our current PM, who is serving his third term, being decorated with the laurel wreath. Should he be so recognised, and eftsoons, it will be a feather (or a laurel) in his cap which he and his party will put to optimal use leading up to the next General Elections. Everything has to do with elections. Never one to miss a half-chance, our PM and his henchmen will grab the opportunity with both hands and make capital out of it. From the Nobel, should it eventuate, to the Bharat Ratna is but a foregone conclusion. In fact, the latter is a given, unless a new dispensation comes to power in New Delhi.

When you carefully look at some of the distinguished Nobel Peace Prize awardees from the years gone by, you must wonder what the Committee was thinking. Try these on for size, not in any particular order. Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Dag Hammarskjöld, Kofi Annan, Henry Kissinger, Lê Đức Thọ and Barak Obama. Hammarskjöld and Annan, as with other Secretaries General of the United Nations, were seen largely as acceptable decorative heads. The Security Council, with its powerful members clearly divided on almost all issues, call the shots. One veto is all that is required to put the kybosh on any resolution. The UN could never actually achieve peace anywhere in the world, though you can proffer a weak applause for trying. What’s the sound of one hand clapping? Henry Kissinger and Lê Đức Thọ of North Vietnam presided over years of bloody battles and enormous loss of young lives in Vietnam. The war ended finally out of sheer ennui. The palpable relief prompted the Nobel Committee to award the Prize to those two worthies. As for the others, their contributions were invariably described in a typically vacuous and anodyne fashion by the Nobel Committee. Something on the lines of ‘extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.’

If that is all it takes, it should surprise no one if Narendra Damodardas Modi throws his hat in the ring and lays legitimate claim to be given the Nobel Peace Prize. Not that the candidate himself puts his hand up, but there are wheels within wheels behind the scenes that work tirelessly to put forward the claims of their candidates. Lest I am misunderstood, let me hasten to add that many others, particularly those not from the political arena, have truly deserved the award. The Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa, to name just two from an impressive galaxy. While on the subject, why did world icon, apostle of peace, M.K. Gandhi miss out on the Nobel? Why was such an obvious choice not in the running, though he was nominated a number of times? Think on that.

If you ask me, politicians of all hues, worldwide, should not be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize. Given their record over centuries, their nominations must surely be an aberration. By definition, every political leader in the world has a hidden agenda. Serving the people is good as an election plank. Good intentions are expressed, but the road to hell is paved with them. The primary objective is to gain or retain power. At all costs. Gaining a Nobel Peace Prize is a bonus, an optional extra.