08-16-2006, 08:19 PM
<!--emo&:cool--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/specool.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='specool.gif' /><!--endemo--> 'When I lost in '99, I had to apologise to her'
Rustam Roy
[ 12 Aug, 2006 1305hrs ISTINDIATIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
RSS Feeds| SMS NEWS to 8888 for latest updates
Q: What next?
Manvendra: I want to instill a certain sense of discipline. I think what we are essentially lacking is an integrity about politics and a certain discipline in the style of functioning.
I don't get into the game of comparing the growth of India with some other country because each society lives in a different situation and circumstances cannot be compared in either country. I don't think we must be like this or that, that's rubbish.
We can only keep ourselves down so I'm looking to improve ourselves. I believe in criticising ourselves because unless you don't practice internal criticism, you won't be able to grow as a nation.
Q: Do you think the pace of progress in India is so slow that the message is often lost?
Manvendra: Yes that is because we don't change our structure. The structure that was there in 1950 is still there in 2006 when society was completely different.
Q: How will you change it?
Manvendra: The society has to realise that it wants to change. I'm doing it for my constituency as that is my area of influence. The need for change is something that has to come from within society.
Politics is not the answer to all the problems, sometimes politics is part of the problem. It is for society to realize what it wants for itself. What I feel is not just limited to political patronage or political position, it is also to give a certain direction to the area that I influence and that is what I try to do.
Q: Am I speaking to the future Foreign Minister of India?
Manvendra : I hope not. (smiles)
Q: Why is that?
Manvendra: I don't want to be in a post I'm not cut out for!
Q: So which ministerial post is best suited for you?
Manvendra: Well, something with which I'm familiar and I'm intellectually comfortable with. I can contribute in that sense.
Q: And what would that be?
Manvendra: That is for the party to decide what my intellectual contribution is!
Q: You follow the Liverpool football team. Your favourite player?
Manvendra: Yes of course, you see the emblem hanging there (I look up and the slogan says: You will never walk alone). In the current team, the best player is Gerrard - he is the best mid-fielder in the world. I also wear a Liverpool armband. (He shows it to me proudly, a red armband)
Q: What did you think about the Zidane head-butt? Which team were you supporting in the World Cup final, France or Italy? Which is your favourite team?
Manvendra: I was supporting any team which had Liverpool players. Obviously, Zidane was provoked -- the Italians have a way of provoking people.
Q: India went completely berserk with the month-long World Cup. What is your take?
Manvendra: I think it was a television event. I think anything which is determined by television is not a long-lasting phenomenon. It has to stay longer in our minds for it to have an impact on society. That is why I want to set up a football academy.
My constituents love the idea because at one time there were several players from Rajasthan in the Indian team.
Like I said earlier, my idea is to start from the grassroots and not urban areas. The pyramid has to be made from the bottom and not from the top. I have a 15 -20 year vision for my academy.
Q: What is Mr.Manvendra Singh's message to the nation?
Manvendra: Participate. Don't be cynical, be optimistic and have a blast.
< Previous|1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|
I want to instill discipline: Manvendra
Rustam Roy
[ 12 Aug, 2006 1305hrs ISTINDIATIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
RSS Feeds| SMS NEWS to 8888 for latest updates
Q: What next?
Manvendra: I want to instill a certain sense of discipline. I think what we are essentially lacking is an integrity about politics and a certain discipline in the style of functioning.
I don't get into the game of comparing the growth of India with some other country because each society lives in a different situation and circumstances cannot be compared in either country. I don't think we must be like this or that, that's rubbish.
We can only keep ourselves down so I'm looking to improve ourselves. I believe in criticising ourselves because unless you don't practice internal criticism, you won't be able to grow as a nation.
Q: Do you think the pace of progress in India is so slow that the message is often lost?
Manvendra: Yes that is because we don't change our structure. The structure that was there in 1950 is still there in 2006 when society was completely different.
Q: How will you change it?
Manvendra: The society has to realise that it wants to change. I'm doing it for my constituency as that is my area of influence. The need for change is something that has to come from within society.
Politics is not the answer to all the problems, sometimes politics is part of the problem. It is for society to realize what it wants for itself. What I feel is not just limited to political patronage or political position, it is also to give a certain direction to the area that I influence and that is what I try to do.
Q: Am I speaking to the future Foreign Minister of India?
Manvendra : I hope not. (smiles)
Q: Why is that?
Manvendra: I don't want to be in a post I'm not cut out for!
Q: So which ministerial post is best suited for you?
Manvendra: Well, something with which I'm familiar and I'm intellectually comfortable with. I can contribute in that sense.
Q: And what would that be?
Manvendra: That is for the party to decide what my intellectual contribution is!
Q: You follow the Liverpool football team. Your favourite player?
Manvendra: Yes of course, you see the emblem hanging there (I look up and the slogan says: You will never walk alone). In the current team, the best player is Gerrard - he is the best mid-fielder in the world. I also wear a Liverpool armband. (He shows it to me proudly, a red armband)
Q: What did you think about the Zidane head-butt? Which team were you supporting in the World Cup final, France or Italy? Which is your favourite team?
Manvendra: I was supporting any team which had Liverpool players. Obviously, Zidane was provoked -- the Italians have a way of provoking people.
Q: India went completely berserk with the month-long World Cup. What is your take?
Manvendra: I think it was a television event. I think anything which is determined by television is not a long-lasting phenomenon. It has to stay longer in our minds for it to have an impact on society. That is why I want to set up a football academy.
My constituents love the idea because at one time there were several players from Rajasthan in the Indian team.
Like I said earlier, my idea is to start from the grassroots and not urban areas. The pyramid has to be made from the bottom and not from the top. I have a 15 -20 year vision for my academy.
Q: What is Mr.Manvendra Singh's message to the nation?
Manvendra: Participate. Don't be cynical, be optimistic and have a blast.
< Previous|1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|
I want to instill discipline: Manvendra