Dr C N Manjunath’s humane approach in Politics; The need of the Hour.

 Dr C N Manjunath’s sudden plunge into politics has come as a surprise to many, but it also raised eyebrows because of a few critics saying that he wouldn’t have a successful trajectory in his political life. But, after watching several interviews and statements that he has given post his name being announced from Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha constituency for the 2024 general elections, one can definitely understand his simple, humane and noble approach towards politics. Although his service as a cardiologist and the Director of Jayadeva Hospital, Bangalore, is well known to everyone, his entry into politics is bound to create a new wave of humanism in the public life of everyone who is directly or indirectly connected with politics.

Dr Manjunath, talks about the concept of ‘workplace wellness’ in one of his interviews, where he stresses on the welfare and wellbeing of especially the clerical and blue-collar staff. His firm belief is that without ensuring their happiness, no organization can progress in a fruitful direction. This is true not just in the medical and its allied fields but also in general. Forget doctors, not even common man is worried about the issues and challenges faced by the downtrodden. In our lives, we have become so self-centered that, other than our own progress followed by its monetary rewards, a humanistic approach has almost been erased from our collective consciousness. Inspirational personalities like Dr Manjunath provide us a bacon of hope that humanism has not yet disappeared from public life.

Dr Manjunath speaks about rulebook versus Humane book approach, wherein he describes how as a surgeon, he rose to the occasion to serve the hapless poor in obtaining a quality medical treatment. His firm belief is that the Humane book, must defy the rulebook at several occasions and instances where there would be a dire need of help, because a lending human hand who can instill hope and trust in the people about their social security is needed. When asked the question that which caste, party or ideology he supports, by several political commentators, his simple answer was, “I belong to the humanitarian community”. He follows a noble formula in life, where he indicates that “me is equal to arrogance, but we is equal to beauty, and I always embrace beauty”.

He is quite candid about the fact that politics is just an accident to him. For instance, he mentions that “I did not gravitate towards politics, instead politics has gravitated towards him”, and he goes on to say that “I might be new to politics, but not towards demonstrating benevolence to people”. When he was being mocked for being a white-collar entrant in politics by his critics, he says that “White collar indicates three qualities, which are kindness, commitment and hard work”. With this, he has clearly chalked out the value systems that he has imbibed in his life. All these decades he had been a testimony of these values himself, and now in his political avatar, he is bound to reflect the same.

In all his noble qualities, his non-confrontal approach in politics really stands out. When asked about his political opponent in the constituency, he said that “despite our political differences we must learn to have love and respect for everybody and develop a good personal relationship with everyone”. It has been ages when politicians would conduct themselves with such extent of civility and dignity. In his mindset and belief system he does not differentiate between politics and social service, and in his view both are synonymous. His entire focus is on delving deeply into the state and national issues. He has a vision to reform India’s healthcare and develop it into a world-class healthcare ecosystem. He says that rather than building new institutions and infrastructure, the existing systems and mechanisms need to be strengthened, which can cater to the needs of millions of people while ensuring a world class medical treatment.

Most importantly, he has a clear message towards the current state of politics in this country. He states that, “mind must control the tongue and not vice versa”. In his view, if a politician has a right mindset which is service oriented and if there is a commitment towards his service, he would certainly do an excellent job as a politician. Suvarna News Anchor Ajit Hanamakkanavar, said to Dr Manjunath when he was interviewing him that “You are too good to be in politics”, to which Dr Manjunath gave a benign smile. Such is the humility and down to earth quality that he has inculcated in his life. But as a civil society, we need to ask a simple question to ourselves, “Shouldn’t good, decent and noble human beings be in politics”.? At a time where politics is infested with real estate goons, opportunists, criminals, fraudsters, scamsters and anti-nationals sheerly to achieve their own sinister self-goals, noble achievers like Dr Manjunath are striving to ride against this nasty tide, purely to further the philosophy of humanism. If politics shouldn’t become the last refuge of the scoundrel, the society needs to ensure that people of the stature of Dr Manjunath succeed in politics. Dr C N Manjunath’s victory in politics, will be a victory for humanism.