The Charisma of Modi
Narendra Modi carries a halo around him. His achievements need to be evaluated against the background of India's progress during the seven decades before he acceded to power at the centre as Prime Minister of India. Earlier, it was the Indian National Congress (Congress) which ruled at the centre most of the time except for brief interregnums of coalition governments. Unfortunately, he carried with him the stigma of communal propensity during his reign as Chief Minister of Gujarat which had been thrust on him and publicized widely not only by the Congress Party but also by other parties banking on the Muslim vote bank.
At the outset, I would like to throw light on the developments of the Bhartiya Janta Party before Modi took over its command. The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) was born after the constituents of the Janta Government fell apart like a house of cards with the return of Indira Gandhi who had earlier lost power due to the imposition of Emergency. Its precursor, the Jana Sangh was an avowed Hindu party which since its inception stood for the rights of Hindus as opposed to other parties which stood for non-Hindu religions or pseudo-secularism. Since all the big leaders of opposition parties had been jailed during the emergency they decided to put up a common front against the Congress once the emergency was lifted. It must be noted that while all parties joined the Janta Party including the only Hindu party i.e. Jana Sangh, none of the Muslim parties joined the bandwagon and did not amalgamate with the Janta Party, thus keeping their identity intact. Consequently, the amalgamation of Jana Sangh was a betrayal of Hindus who had pinned all their hopes on it since its inception, especially in the background of what happened during partition and how the party along with RSS had helped them for resettlement and resurgence. It was obvious that right and left-wing parties could never pull together as their objectives were diametrically opposite. So, the Janata experiment failed and all parties reverted to their original names and banners. Jana Sangh, instead rechristened itself as Bhartiya Janta Party.
In the first election, the BJP fought on its own, it could only win two Lok Sabha seats in the entire country. Nevertheless, Vajpayee and Advani made special efforts to go back to the original agenda based on Hindutava and popularise their goals among old followers. Advani, in particular, took a rath-yatra across the length and breadth of the country and made Ram Mandir a pivotal issue. Then came the Babri Masjid demolition and a long legal battle for the Ram Mandir reconstruction at Lord Rama's birthplace. BJP slowly gained ground and was able to outwit other parties like Congress, Communists and the regional parties but had to seek support from some other like-minded parties. In this coalition politics, they had to experience some jolts during the rule of Vajpayee, a soft and accommodating Prime Minister. He could not, however, continue for long and was replaced by the Man Mohan Singh government for ten long years. Possibly the leaders of the BJP had lost steam and could not convince the public that theirs was a better alternative. Here the RSS and BJP consciously took a turn and changed the leadership. They handed over the reins of leadership to Narendra Damodardas Modi who had already proven his capabilities as a tough, unyielding and non-compromising leader during his tenure as CM of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014.
Upon taking charge as PM of India, Modi undertook a reorganisation of the party and infused new blood in the organisation while saying adieu to the old. Some were offered respectable posts while others insisted on remaining active in politics but got eliminated with time. Since 2014 Narendra Modi assisted by his man-friday Amit Shah has worked day and night to establish BJP as a national party. Modi achieved many goals though some important ones could not be achieved because the time for implementing them was not ripe and he feared backlash from a section of the people besides international reaction. The achievements of Narendra Modi are summed up hereunder:
- Leadership Qualities: Narendra Modi is charismatic and has adopted leading by example as his style of leadership. He continuously talks to the people through Man Ki Baat every Sunday on Akashvani besides talking to students before the examination season starts. He is seen everywhere encouraging soldiers, sportsmen, aerospace scientists, innovative entrepreneurs and hard-toiling farmers. During the recent coronavirus epidemic, he was personally able to monitor and control it in record time with minimum damages in the shape of loss of life. He would continuously cheer the poor public so that they would not feel helpless and forlorn. He mobilised support from the public during the period by regularly communicating with them and asking them to adhere to the required conduct individually and in public. It is well known that he is an enthusiast of Yoga which has now been accepted the world over and the 'Yoga Day' is now celebrated all over the world every year. Consequently, his own health is fit and he works 18 hours a day. He has shown immense energy in campaigning during elections besides successfully organising global events in India.
- Hindu Awakening and Unity: The BJP prides itself on being a party which looks after the interests of the majority community i.e Hindus though it has a strong belief in Secularism which has been part and parcel of Indian ethos. Before partition, the Colonialists have been engaged in emphasising that Hindus are a socially stratified community and the upper castes have been exploiting the lower castes. This canard was not only exploited to rule the country by divide-and-rule policy but also to effect mass conversions of Hindus to their faith. After the partition, the Congress continued with the policy and kept drawing wedges between different castes. Reservations for lower classes, though a progressive step to mitigate the problems of the lower castes, have over the years become a hurdle in integrating the Hindus and making them forget about the caste differences. RSS and BJP took it upon themselves to ensure that the Hindu fabric does not get further disintegrated and the widening of the gap between castes is stopped henceforth. Their efforts have given them opportunities to establish themselves as self-respecting Hindus with a proper identity. On the contrary, the vested interests are all the time busy questioning the concept of Hindu, or Sanatan to be exact, and claiming that this is not acceptable. Yet BJP aided by RSS is all the time busy making known the concept of Sanatan Dharma to the Hindus in India and thwarting the efforts of dissenters abetted by other religious forces. Those who question the existence of the BJP as a Hindu party are however not able to explain why there exist parties representing other religions exclusively and how Congress has been taking support of a Muslim Party in Kerala that was responsible for the partition of the country and still carries the religious propaganda against Hindus. The BjP government understands that India is the only Hindu country in the world and therefore, must save Hindus all over the world if they are persecuted in any other country. In this connection, CAA and NRC were enacted and relief was given to the Hindus and Sikhs who had taken refuge in the country. This was a major step towards rescuing the Hindus of the world as they had no other country to look out for help.
- Reconstruction of Ram Mandir: The greatest achievement of the Modi government is the reconstruction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya Dham and the holding of the Pran Pratishta ceremony on 22 January 2024. This is one of the promises fulfilled at last by the BJP Government after having faced a lot of opposition from Opposition parties and after fighting many legal battles, besides the successful culmination of 500 years of struggle of the Hindu community to reclaim the birthplace of Shree Ram. It has also erased the feeling of betrayal nursed by Hindus earlier due to the amalgamation of Jana Sangh into the Janta Party losing its own identity. BJP has reiterated its commitment to rediscover the greatness of ancient Hindu civilization and culture. The wrongs done by the invaders have been corrected. It has also paved the way for the reclaiming of other sites which originally belonged to Hindus and were razed to the ground by the iconoclast invaders. Suffice it to say that thousands of temples were destroyed by the invaders in the name of iconoclasm which included the birthplaces of Lord Rama and Lord Krishna. A concerted effort is being made to rewrite the history of India which was distorted by left-leaning historians and the colonialists.
- Expansion of Party: The first and foremost goal of BJP was to establish itself as the largest party in India spread from North to South and East to West. Earlier it was confined to the Hindi belt mostly among upper castes and urban centres. In his first and second tenures, Modi concentrated on northern states where BJP was not popular. His focus was also on northeastern states which remained neglected by previous governments. In the north-east, there were no roads, no air connectivity, no infrastructure and no industries worth the name. The rapid strides in these states not only made the public responsive to the BJP but also halted the ongoing proselytising efforts of missionaries. All the seven sisters as also Sikkim were brought into the national fold. These developments influenced the neighbouring eastern states like West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa where BJP has been making appreciable inroads. Only WB has been resisting because the state was under the rule of Congress, Communists and Trinamool Congress all of whom banked on militant attitude, vote bank politics and appeasement and had indoctrinated the public since independence which had forced Rajiv Gandhi to call Kolkatta a "Dead City". Down south BJP has been able to only penetrate Karnataka where, however, due to internal bickerings within the party and caste politics, the opposition has bounced back. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra and Telangana are still out of bounds for the party though of late it is making all-out efforts to make inroads in these states with the personal efforts of Modi. Today the Party has the highest number of members across the country viz. 20 crores.
- Economic Development: The Narendra Modi Government has concentrated on the economic development of the country and has attained fifth place in the world's best economies. Known for its right-wing approach it has abstained from appeasement politics and so-called socialist sloganeering. The focus has been on increasing supply against existing and future demand and consequently alleviating poverty through rapid industrialisation, infrastructural development and making India self-reliant or Atmnirbhar. Emphasis is laid on skill development so that self-employment is generated and white-collar unemployment is reduced to the minimum. Industrial production has increased by leaps and bounds and the entire country has embraced digitalisation and is attracting foreign investments. Even defence production has increased beyond imagination as much as the country that used to import defence equipment and armaments is now exporting it. Missiles have recently been exported and a defence equipment deal has been done with Russia worth $4 billion. The network of roads, metro railways and airports has increased multifold. The number of IITs, hospitals, medical, engineering and other professional colleges have also increased. The Congress had built one AIIMS during their six decades of rule while 4 more were constructed during Vajpayee's time. The number has now increased to 26. The goal of the present government is set to be one medical college per district.
- Scientific Development: With the resurgence of ancient culture and religious thought the country has not abandoned scientific thinking and development. Our progress has been substantial in the field of different scientific fields and the country has supplied scientific and technological manpower to developed countries. In the area of space exploration, we have recently been successful in landing on the Moon by Chandrayan. Further exploration of other planets and the Sun is on the anvil.
- Welfare Schemes: Irrespective of caste creed or region, Modi has announced several welfare schemes for the uplift of the downtrodden especially peasants, women and tribals. To ensure that the money reaches the beneficiary, the transfer of money is done through banks only and middlemen have been eliminated. More than 50 crore Indians have opened bank accounts under Jan Dhan Yojna 2014. Schemes like Swachh Bharat, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Kissan Samman Yojana, Ujala Yojana, Jeevan Jyoti Beema Yojana, Suraksha Bima Yojana, Atal Pension Yojana, Vishwa Karma Yojana for artisans and craftsmen and Ujwala Plan are just a few schemes mentioned. Besides these Skill India Mission, Make in India, Smart City and Start Up India yojanas have worked wonders. In addition, Jan Arogya Yojana, Health and Wellness Centres, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission and Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure aim at better health of Indians across the country. A special mention needs to be made here that the present government came to the rescue of the poor persecuted Muslim women who were treated badly after marriages. The Muslim Women(Protection of Rights on Marriage)Act 2019 known as the Triple Talaq Act in common parlance has been enacted in the country to ensure that nobody resorts to such practices and in case of divorce takes proper permission from the court and abides by its directions regarding maintenance and alimony.
- Integration of the Country: Since independence, we have witnessed the growth of disintegrating forces in several parts of the country, some of them agitating peacefully while most of them taking up arms against the State. Their designs were further facilitated by the Central and State governments lacking willpower or unable to control them due to coalition politics. Such forces raised their ugly heads in Tamil Nadu, Assam, North Eastern States, Punjab and Kashmir. Terrorism in these states has caused much damage to the country. In Punjab and later Kashmir, Pakistan got directly involved in abetting terrorism and infiltrating trained terrorists and arms and ammunition. While the Khalistan movement died after Operation Blue Star, many vested interests including a few anarchist political parties have been trying to revive it. Canada in particular has become a hotbed of Khalistani activity but the Indian government has given the Government of Canada a rebuff on this account. As regards Jammu and Kashmir State, the Modi Government took a drastic step to marginalise the extremists and their political well-wishers by bifurcating the State into two Union Territories i.e J&K and Ladakh besides abrogating Article 370. Abrogation of Article 370 was on the agenda of Jana Sangh and later BJP since independence as they never accepted the concept of One Nation, Two Constitutions and Flags. Thus it has become a great step towards integration of the country.
- Internation Relations: The Modi government, while following the national policy of maintaining good relations with all the countries in the world has deviated in approach by not being a passive member of the United Nations. India now calls a spade a spade and does not come under pressure from any country howsoever mighty it might be. We have very good relations with US and European countries besides Russia and Iran. India imported oil from Russia recently despite sanctions by the USA. Our relations with the Middle Eastern countries have reached a zenith so much so that a Hindu temple was allowed to be constructed in Abu Dhabi recently. However, friendly ties with Pakistan and China could not be established despite efforts by Narendra Modi initially. Pakistani Governments continued to support Terrorism against India while China made efforts to occupy our land in Leh and Arunachal which was thwarted by our brave soldiers. The establishment of good relations with other countries has not only helped in boosting trade with such countries but also favourable balance of trade with them. Our foreign exchange reserves have increased multifold and Rupee has been introduced for bilateral trade with many countries.
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