India’s new strength: Feminisation of political power

Call it the feminisation of power: Mamata Banerjee & J Jayalalithaa join the ranks of Sonia Gandhi, Mayawati, Sheila Dikshit and President Pratibha Patil at India’s political apex. An exquisite pallu, a charming smile or an expensive handbag might be their visible concession to gender, but in the exercise of power, they let ruthless efficiency trump any expectation of genteel compassion.

Except for Ms Patil, they are all women who have been scorned in public life and the only restraint they have shown is in unleashing fury that even hell does not contain. May this steely will to power nurture governance, rather than merely crush political opponents! The voters have chosen Ms Banerjee & Ms Jayalalithaa on the rebound from their disenchantment with incumbents. It is up to them to deliver governance that would woo voters to embrace them for what they stand for on their own.