Madam President

Ok, now we have our first woman president. This is a powerful statement on women empowerment, let's all applaud this defining moment of our post-independence history and please stop nitpicking about how this means squat for the common woman on the street.

But then I digress, coming back to the presidency, the elections for the president is more of a display of political maneuvering by the ruling party than any honest attempt at finding the best person for the job. So invariably, the person most amenable to the ruling party gets elected as in the case of our new president.

When it comes to power, the post of the president of India has limited upside but a pretty ugly downside which can lead to unmitigated disaster. This was amply demonstrated by Fakruddin Ahmed directly responsible for the shame that was the emergency.

So I care a lot less whether the new president has the abilities to bring value to her presidency than I do about her not making a mockery of the president's role.

So Ms.Patil, I congratulate you on your achievement and while it may be difficult for you to get into the list of great presidents, all of us will hope that you will exercise enough intellect to stay away from the list that has Giani Zail Singh and Fakruddin Ali Ahmed.

In the order of priority, the constitution of India stands way above any party affiliations. Hope you shall keep that in mind the next five years....

Enjoy your stay at the Rashtrapati Bhavan...