Simple, sharp, IIT-grad, man of many parts

Vibha Sharma

Advertisement

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 17

Manohar Parrikar’s passing away is a void the saffron party will find it difficult to fill. Simple in demeanour, Parrikar was sharp, in control and meticulous with details.

Parrikar loved Goa and Goa loved him back, making him almost indispensible for the party, which sent him back from the Centre in 2017 to keep the state.

As the top leadership expressed shock and deep sadness, many leaders talked about how the IIT graduate was “Prime Minister material” but never aspired for the post. He was happy being in Goa. Like all Goans, he loved fish curry, king prawns and Goa.

He was among the few PM Modi could confide in. As the Defence Minister, Parrikar was the first among equals. Interestingly, Parrikar had pitched for Modi as PM — the first among senior BJP leaders to do so.  However, that did not stop him from speaking his mind, even on the Gujarat riots. Once he said in an interview that he would have handled the 2002 riots better.

Parrikar had also once compared LK Advani to "rancid pickle", ignoring the possibility that the veteran could be the PM.

Simple to the core, the first time he flew home as Defence Minister, it was on an economy ticket in a regular flight. His lack of interest in privileges that come with the post made him a refreshing change for officials working with him.

Many saw similarities between his rumpled, bush-shirted look and the 'common man' played by Amol Palekar in the Seventies and Eighties.

Coming from a family of Goud Saraswat Brahmins (the powerful minority that decided the fate of modern Goa, politically and economically), he had strong roots in the Sangh. After he lost his wife Medha to cancer in 1999, he dedicated himself completely to work and bringing up their two sons. He leaves behind a turbulent party in Goa, and it remains to be seen how well the BJP handles it henceforth.