We asked people nationwide to vote on a list of 100 public figures. The results may surprise you
By Ashok Mahadevan
Look up "trust" in the Concise Oxford Dictionary and you'll find no fewer than 22 definitions. They range from "a firm belief in the reliability or truth or strength, etc, of a person or thing" to "a confident expectation." Trust is clearly a multifaceted word.
But what does the term mean to Indians? Who are the people and professions you trust the most?
The Digital Edge, an online marketing research group, polled 761people from over 30 cities to find the answers to these questions. People rated from one to ten how much they trust 100 randomly chosen public personalities and 40 professions—with one meaning 'not at all' and ten meaning 'completely.' Using these results, we ranked the personalities in order of perceived trustworthiness.
Some caution in interpreting the results is necessary. Nearly two-thirds of our respondents are under 34, nearly all have at least a bachelor's degree, and three-quarters are male. All live in cities and know English. So though they don't mirror India as a whole, they are however representative of India's internet users, a group whose views are very significant.  | Role Model
Right on top of the list is 78-year-old Dr Abdul Kalam. A technocrat who ran India's missile program, the former president is a natural choice for tech-savvy young Indians. Several poll respondents likened Kalam to the Mahatma. "He [has] sacrificed his life for the nation," said a 34-year-old man. "He can be termed as the Gandhi of this generation." In a telling contrast, Kalam's successor Pratibha Patil ranked 67th.  | Surprising results
Of the 15 most trusted, five are businessmen, with Ratan Tata ranking just below Kalam. That there should be so many may come as a surprise, considering that Indians have traditionally been suspicious of businessmen with a few exceptions such as the Tatas. But four other corporates are different—because of their success and the way the public perceives them. Rama Bijapurkar, a Mumbai-based marketing consultant, points out, "We admire those who do well. But we believe that success is not enough—it has to be honestly achieved." That explains why A.R. Rahman, Viswanathan Anand, Sachin Tendulkar, R.K. Laxman and Amartya Sen also make it to the first 15.
 | The flip side is also evident in our results. Mukesh Ambani ranks 74th and nine of the bottom 15 are politicians. "Distrust of politicians is not confined to the upper classes," says social psychologist Ashis Nandy. "Other surveys have shown that the poor distrust them too."
There, is however, one politician in the top ranks, at number seven—probably because he's seen, in the words of a female respondent, "as a simple, non-political man in politics."
One somewhat disturbing finding was the relatively low scores of social workers and activists—only four were in the top 20. What could the reasons be?
 | "We don't have a widespread tradition of social work," says psychiatrist Dayal Mirchandani. "Most people are satisfied by giving money to temples or charities. And many NGOs supposedly doing good work are actually fronts for budding politicians and other vested interests." Trust is Maya
Last on our list is Mayawati, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh—three-quarters of the respondents rated her trustworthiness as low or very low. Mayawati, of course, is a controversial figure, especially since she began erecting statues of herself with public money. Is her rating affected by her being a Dalit? "I think so," says a prominent economist who didn't want to be named. "The Nehru-Gandhi family have had everything from airports to bridges to foundations named after them but nobody complains."
Ashis Nandy explains why Mayawati remains popular among Dalits: "Many condone the vulgar ways in which she promotes herself because her presence at the high table of politics gives them a sense of pride and security." Overall, says Rama Bijapurkar, there's good logic behind the ranking. "it's not a page 3 list. People have got their morals right." Note. To know more about which businessmen made it to the top, which politician outshone his peers by an astounding margin and how India's beloved filmstars, sportspersons and godmen fared, read RD's March issue—now on stands. |
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