These titles are not ones whose point of reference is the power of the state, or the glory of office, or the mark of high status, such as Dame or Lord or Baroness or Marquis or Viscount, or for that matter Knight of the Garter, but they draw their legitimacy from the love of the people. Thinking about this difference between ‘our titles’ and ‘their titles’, and what it means in terms of a political culture, I am reminded of W.H. Morris-Jones’ long forgotten essay on the three idioms of politics in India. I wonder whether this act of giving titles, their ready acceptance by the public imagination and their being owned by the people, belongs to what Morris-Jones referred to as the saintly idiom of politics.

Take the greatest of titles, ‘Mahatma’, which Tagore bestowed on Gandhi and which, in the several decades since it was given, has become an integral part of the global vocabulary of politics. The world knows only one Mahatma, and can know only one. To those who know what it means, and who have reflected on this meaning, the reference to ‘maha atma’ or ‘great soul’, produces a feeling of reverence that borders on the spiritual. Einstein quite rightly spoke for all of us when he said that generations yet unborn would marvel that a man such as this walked upon the earth. Mahatma was the only title that could be given a man who espoused a politics of non-violence and truth, who tirelessly and uncompromisingly lived a life embodying these values, and who steadfastly held that ‘means’ are as important as ‘ends’. The Mahatma showed us a part that we did not follow, and that we foolishly called utopian, but today, when we are faced by senseless violence and grim ecological crises we suddenly see him as relevant, even perhaps prophetic. But what the Mahatma could see, unfortunately, ordinary atmas cannot.

Take the other equally attractive title that Mahatma gave Tagore, ‘Gurudev’. More than being the first Asian Nobel Laureate, more than leading a new education movement, more than being an artist, poet, or philosopher, here was a man who spoke of a higher unity that he wanted for the world which he prayed should not be ‘broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls’. Can such a sage be called anything else but ‘guru dev’ or ‘divine mentor’?

Gandhiji had a special gift of giving titles. He called C.F. Andrews, a British missionary who came to teach at St Stephen’s and who was supportive of the freedom movement, ‘Deenbandhu’ or ‘friend of the poor’. Gandhiji also gave the title ‘Deshbandhu’ or ‘friend of the nation’ to C.R. Das who in spite of being one of the foremost members of the bar in India gave up his practice to participate in the freedom struggle. And of course it was Gandhi who gave Vallabhbhai Patel the title of ‘Sardar’ or ‘chief’ in recognition of his efforts in organising the farmers of Bardoli to refuse to pay the increase in the tax on land that the government had unjustly imposed. Patel, following the principles of satyagraha, led a campaign that went on for many months and that finally resulted in a climbdown by the colonial regime. The Sardar was to play a Sardar’s role in the crucial months following Partition and in the building of the institutions of modern India.

There are other titles that were given and that also speak of the love people had for these leaders. While ‘Pandit’ or scholar was a title given to many leaders such as M.M. Malaviya and G.B. Pant, it was on that gentle colossus, Jawaharlal Nehru, that it seemed the most apt. Whereas the modernising Fabian socialist and lonely statesman, dressed in his starched sherwani with a fresh rose in his lapel, is to Indian officialdom Pandit Nehru, to schoolchildren he is simply ‘Chacha’ Nehru. To millions, Dr Babasaheb B.R. Ambedkar, the relentless campaigner for justice who is the recipient of unbounded devotion, always carries two titles: ‘Dr’ to mark his scholarship achieved against tremendous odds, and ‘Babasaheb’ to refer to the special relationship with a ‘father’ or ‘baba’. Babasaheb stands for a society based on human dignity and that is why his statues have a sacred presence in many towns of India. And then again we must not forget ‘Badshah’ Khan who earned the title ‘Badshah’ or ‘Chief of Chiefs’ in honour of his tireless attempts to mobilise the Pashtuns. A frontier Gandhi in the land of the Pashtuns!

This is just a brief list of the titles we have given our leaders. We have called them Lokmanya, Loknayak, Periyar, Veer, Netaji, Rajaji and Sister. Each title mostly belongs to only one person and is typical of that person. It marks a special relationship and speaks of a special appreciation. This is what makes India so magical and what sets ‘us’ apart from ‘them’. The new titles — Padma Vibhushan and Padma Shri — somehow do not have this magic.

The writer is senior fellow, CSDS, Delhi