He has every right as a private citizen to do so, but the question warrants itself because he is doing it as a public person; as an office-bearer of India's oldest political party and in full media glare. The caravan of his party's senior leaders is moving with him as he does it. It is not a quiet, solitary and reflective journey that he is making.
When Mohandas Gandhi travelled the length and breath of India after his return from South Africa or when Rahul's great grandfather, Pandit Nehru, undertook that mental journey to writeDiscovery of India, there was a tell-tale nationalistic purpose and there was a clear historical setting. Indira Gandhi discovered India withthe need, necessity and authority of a prime minister. But now it is unclear as to why a common man should feel enthused, or rejoiced at the fact that Rahul is discovering India.
The Congress has not explicitly said that he will take over the reigns of India and this is a familiarisation tour before the anointment. It has not said that he is seeking votes in guise. It is notclear if the party has sent him to arrest the slide of its vote base from among tribals or Lingayats of North Karnataka or wrest coastal Karnataka back from the BJP's control or convert the 'apolitical' techie, who by default is believed to be on the political right. If they had said any of thesethings, the purpose would have been clear. Even when BJP leaders go on their yatras, they clearly state their purpose--to build a Ram temple,or whatever else. I wonder if realpolitik is amenable to such an abstract formulation as'discovering India'. This naive formulation shouldn't become a euphemismfor saying 'I am ridding my ignorance'. Politics demands that he beseen to be on a mission. He could easily, for example, have takeninspiration from someone like Abdul Kalam and stated something that at leastshowed some higher purpose: 'I will travel across India and extract the commitment of one million people to join politics or my party.'
But in the absence of any statement, the purpose of Rahul Gandhi's visit toKarnataka--indeed, of all such peregrinations-- will remain unclear. All that hedoes, however genuine, has the danger of remaining a spectacle and giving riseto predictable suspicion, speculation and spin. It was in evidence after the March 28 meeting with techies at the IISc auditorium, which was closed to the media. Some techies who came outof the meeting said that he had a 'Congress agenda' and had urged them to join his party. Rahul had to clarifythe next day that he had said nothing like that.