An excellent article on Modi by Shri MG Devasahayam, an eminent retired IAS officer of Haryana cadre, who has been inspired by the JP Movement and chronicled the defining moment in India's democratic history.
I thank Shri Devasahayam sincerely for the balanced analytical piece in times when psecularati main-stream-media has gone berserk.
I hope this article by this former Army Major will be read carefully by NaMo's election team (if one such team exists), the lessons of elections as warfare learnt and the needed course corrections applied as the cry gets louder: Simhasan khaali karo, ke janataa aati hai.
Kalyanaraman
Wish-List for the Wannabe Prime Minister!
When Narendra Modi was made BJP’s campaign committee chief, a leading newspaper column wrote this: “For the faithful, there is no truth bigger than Narendra Modi’s ‘destined’ future as Prime Minister. His critics protest that the elevation will not happen, worry that it might happen, and agonise over what will happen when that happens….The Gujarat Chief Minister is admittedly a challenge the like of which India has never seen before.” Soon thereafter the saffron party threw down the gauntlet by declaring him as the prime ministerial candidate. And he is running a full juggernaut around the country adopting a ‘Messiah’ mode of campaigning!
Modi is the longest-serving chief minister of Gujarat. He is known for his astute administrative skills and has a record for being incorruptible. He is credited with turning around Gujarat's economy and making it an attractive investment destination for industrialists. Modi is a compelling orator who, as one corporate executive after another has said, offers the best model of governance in a country rife with corruption and red tape.
Across the nation there is a palpable sense of elation at the prospect of Modi becoming the Prime Minister. According to his admirers NaMo has arrived in style, notwithstanding the stiff resistance from many quarters. For them Delhi is finally on NaMo’s radar and his devotees can see the domes of South Block, which he will hopefully occupy not in the distant future.
Fortifying this, Narendra Modi is claiming the legacy of the ‘Iron Man of India’ Sardar Vallabbhai Patel by reiterating the comment that has been in the minds of many people: “Had Sardar been the first prime minister of India, the country’s destiny would have been different.” Another association NaMo claims is that of Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) whom his chronicler Sunanda K. Datta-Ray considers “as the best Prime Minister India never had.” Those who knew JP would agree wholeheartedly. Narendra Modi’s involvement in the Navnirman Movement of the turbulent 1970s was deeply inspired by none other than JP who remained a powerful guiding force for him.
I have known JP closely and had the privilege of having indirectly assisted him in achieving India’s second freedom. I have read a lot about the Sardar and what he had done to shape India as a unified nation and position the instruments to sustain it. I entirely agree that had these true patriots and passionate leaders guided the destiny of independent India in the initial years we would today be a true and functional democracy and not the false and dysfunctional ‘dynacracy’ that we are! Nevertheless, for Modi to convincingly invoke the names of these towering titans, his agenda needs considerable depth and width.
There are several positive things going for Modi though. He spoke for entire South India when he declared at a Chennai meeting that ‘India is not just New Delhi’. He draws massive crowds wherever he goes and the vibrancy at his rallies are reminiscent of the post-Emergency scenario when people of the Indo-Gangetic belt, responding to the battle-cry of JP, threw out Indira Gandhi’s government in the 1977 election lock, stock and barrel. I have been witness to this. What has also impressed the public was his composure and demeanour while addressing a massive crowd, even as low intensity bombs were going off at his Hunkar rally in Patna. This is clear demonstration of his courage in the face of mortal danger, his presence of mind, his leadership qualities and forbearance.
Of late, in his own inimitable style ‘the tea-seller’ is projecting a vision in which bare necessities like electricity and clean water will be basic rights and not favours from government and creating an economy that generates real jobs is as important as formulation of economic policies for a rich and prosperous India. These are not easy ideas to convey to people but there are signs that Modi is getting his message through.
Be that as it may, Modi has a long way to go and many hurdles to cross before he occupies the high office of prime minister through democratic means unlike the present un-elected surrogate of the dynastic clan! The most formidable hurdle is Godhra-killings (2002) and the wide perception that he is non-secular. N. Ram of ‘The Hindu’ puts it bluntly: “It is this unbreakable genetic connection between 2002 and the present that makes it clear that a Modi prime ministership would be disastrous for democratic and secular India.” BJP does deny this vociferously as being contrary to truth. But in the public domain ‘truth’ is not the ‘truth’, perception is the ‘truth’!
The second major hurdle is Modi’s own creation-the ‘development model’ that he has been ardently advocating. While admitting that Modi has the penchant for pursuing ‘development’ by fast-tracking industrial and other projects many experts and economists feel that his model is not inclusive. They are of the view that while cities and towns have ‘developed’ under Modi’s infrastructure /industrialization pursuit, villages have mostly been left in the lurch. His is not different from UPA’s FDI-driven ‘growth’ agenda, laden with predatory and market-mad economic policies that is polarising people into one-third ‘privileged’ class and two-third ‘laggards’ living on the crumbs that trickle down!Polarising politics and the society is the main charge against Modi. Polarising the economy in addition would be triple-whammy with adverse consequences. Seeking to impose this Gujarat ‘development model’ on the whole nation could result in backlash from the ‘laggards’.
These major hurdles apart, Modi’s campaign itself has serious flaws. As of now, apart from one-liners, punching jibes, personal anecdotes, stale platitudes, satirical flings and promised goals there is no worthwhile content in any of his speeches or discourses. This is despite the fact that never before in the history of independent India has there been such dire need for serious debate to address the gravest crises that confront the nation. India needs to know what should be done to set things right. These include near-total inaction by governments in the midst of humongous corruption; severe compromise of energy security by the mad pursuit of imported nuclear reactors; complete foreign-policy disaster resulting in neighbouring countries including tiny Sri Lanka humiliating us; the Telangana implosion and huge gaps in the working of our Constitution which have wrecked federalism, ruined governance and removed all accountability from our political system.
The form and substance of affirmative action to introduce social justice have left huge segments of population aggrieved and angry while creating bitter divisiveness between many castes and communities. The economy is sinking. Prices are soaring. Unemployment, particularly in rural India is mounting. Due to extractive land policies, agriculture is perishing and food insecurity is looming. Bereft of any ethos, urbanisation has descended into chaotic land-lust. The FDI-GDP mania has choked labour-intensive manufacturing sector, crippling skill-development and employment generation. With horrendous loot in defence procurement and mainstream armed forces nurturing a sense of alienation, military morale is low and national security is under threat. There have been concerted decimation of institutions and instruments of governance and those that are left stand diminished and devalued. Civil Services (IAS/IPS) are in total disarray.
None of these burning issues that are threatening the stability, safety and integrity of the nation has been meaningfully addressed by the Gujarat Chief Minister who could soon be ‘guiding the destiny of the nation!’ The man who wants to change the face of India and the way the Republic functions has not even talked of the ‘Idea of India’ and ‘Philosophy of the Republic’ as defined by its Founding Fathers.
‘Political idea’ of democracy is contained in the ‘Objectives Resolution’ moved by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1948 seeking a Republic “wherein all power and authority of the Sovereign Independent India, its constituent parts and organs of government, are derived from the people”. As early as 1922 Gandhiji had described ‘Swaraj’ as merely a “courteous ratification of the declared wish of the people of India”. Visions of these two Founding Fathers envisaged people-based governance with a bottom-up decision making process that would give everyone ‘a place in the sun’.
Structurally, India’s democracy was to rise storey by storey from the foundation comprising of self-governing, self-sufficient, agro-industrial, urbo-rural local communities-gram sabha, panchayat samiti and zilla parishad- that would form the foundation of vidhan sabhas and Lok Sabha. These politico-economic institutions will control and regulate the use of natural resources for the good of the community and the nation.
Built on such foundation is the ‘economic idea’ of equity envisaging Independent India as sui generis, a society unlike any other, in a class of its own that would not follow the Western pattern of mega industrialisation, urbanisation and individuation. India’s would be a people’s economy that would chart out a distinct course in economic growth, which would be need-based, human-scale, balanced development while conserving nature and livelihoods. In a self-respecting nation every citizen should get the strength, resource, opportunity and level-playing-field to stand on their feet and earn his/her livelihood with honour and dignity instead of endlessly depending on corporate trickle-downs and government charity.
Philosophy of the Republic is in the Preamble of the Constitution: "….to secure to all its citizens JUSTICE; social, economic and political, LIBERTY; of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; EQUALITY of status and of opportunity and to promote among all its citizens; FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation.”
These now lie in virtual ruins and needs to be rebuilt. On the ‘development’ side instead of blindly advocating a predatory agenda one should listen to what authors James A. Robinson and Daron Acemoglu say in their scintillating Book, ‘Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty’: “Inclusive economic institutions that enforce property rights, create a level playing field, and encourage investments in new technologies and skills are more conducive to economic growth than extractive economic institutions that are structured to extract resources from the many by the few….Inclusive economic institutions, are in turn supported by, and support, inclusive political institutions…”
Most of India’s ills are due to too much of ‘government’. This needs urgent remediation. One should recall Thomas Jefferson’s sane advice: "That government is best which governs least."
The task is cut out for “modi’fication” of Narendra Damodardas Modi, the man who could be PM!