Contentious appointment

India dramatically broke with a time-worn tradition to elect a woman as its 12th president. Whether Pratibha Patil will even seek to do more for her sorority is open to question. Clearly though by simply holding the highest office in the land she has become a beacon, an inspirational figure, a role model for millions of women who face deep-rooted gender discrimination and abuse at the hands of their countrymen.

The woman who generated the question "Pratibha Who?" has large shoes to fill. Her predecessor, the missile scientist A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, was a consensus candidate and much loved; his political instincts keen enough to send Congress President Sonia Gandhi back to the electorate after questions were raised over her holding an office of profit.

While Patil must actively seek to distance herself from the many scandals that have dogged her candidacy, and shed the mud thrown at her by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, she must also cast off her partisan political nature. It is vital she remember that despite her Congress antecedents she is the president of the entire nation. When push comes to shove as it will in the general elections in 2009, when Patil's role will be crucial and keenly watched.