The Modi Phenomenon

Year 2019 is surely assuming a milestone aura. How many predictions, blessings, hopes, expectations and curses have to come true, only time can say. But one thing is certain, the downfall for the Congress is not yet complete. The old and new regional alliances are poised to take those places left vacant by the Congress at the cost of Congress.

But they are still forced to extend support to the Congress only because the Congress has an All India imprint intact yet. BJP and 2019 are going to be historic in both ways. In case, BJP wins again, it might put a final curtain on the Congress and otherwise Congress might take its own time to get dissolved…..today, tomorrow or the next day. It is thus that 2019 Parliamentary elections assume such an importance politically, historically and even internationally.

   

On the eve of the auspicious occasion of the”festival of democracy” in India beginning almost close toBaisakhi/Pongal/Bihu/Ramadan, it is time to express gratitude to the foundingfathers of the Indian constitution who evolved a system that could give an opportunityto the downtrodden and the socially and economically backward young boys fromtwo different sober backgrounds to reach to the first two highest positions ofthe nation due to their merit, qualification, hard work and worth.

Some weeks back, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi madetwo important speeches in the run up to the Parliamentary elections. These twospeeches of the PM caught the imagination of the people and a trend wasunleashed #MainBhiChowkidar. The other popular trend that emerged on the socialmedia is #ModiOnceMore. Narendra Modi has emerged truly as a political anddiplomatic phenomenon who has attained international attention to his return topower.

Over the last one hundred years of history, thepolitical class in India threw up great leaders. All of them had theirgreatness that was also duly acknowledged by the people. But if one has toselect the Five Fabulous Leaders among them, in my opinion and analysis, theyare like this: Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Atal BihariVajpayee and Narendra Modi.

Gandhi, undoubtedly, was a great leader among all whohad tremendous contact and relationship with the people at large. But he wasnever connected with the issues of governance directly. Instead, he acceptedthe fact that he was a nationalist by an accident, Courtesy: the South Africaincident on a railway platform. His name and status was duly and unduly milkedby the politicians of virtually all the hues for the first five decades of theindependent India.

Nehru and Indira both got leadership on a platter but both were successful to rule India for more than three decades (put together). They had very special upbringing and background to enjoy as leaders of the masses. God had given great intellectual capacity to Nehru par excellence and Indira learnt lessons of politics right from her childhood.

Both took important good and bad decisions in the fields of politics, governance and international affairs. They had failures and successes due to their own approaches, attitudes and vision which they hardly compromised during their lifetime.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee had a humble background but belonged to a family where education was not an alien issue. He was given a special treatment by the then RSS leadership due to his qualities of mass leadership, Hindi oratory and political acumen.

Though he acquired a great experience of politics and international affairs yet he missed the very nerve centre of governance for a longer period of time in his life. However, he carried people along like Nehru and peddled soft on hard issues.

Narendra Modi belonged to a comparatively feeblebackground where a square meal was an all important issue. He learnt all arts,crafts and sciences because he was a good learner and a student of positive nature.God was kind to him to provide him opportunities, one after the other.

From daily Shakhas of RSS to the core organisationalaffairs, from small meetings in rooms to big audiences, from lower levelactivists to big national leaders, from Ramakrishna Mission Ashram to the SwamiNarayana Ashram, from banks of small streams to the shores of ocean, from Thardesert in the Kutch to the snowy Himalayan heights, from small agitations instates to the mass movements at national level, from BJP HQs to the Assembly ofGujarat, and also, from river front of Sabarmati to the sprawling lawns ofIndia Gate, he walked a long distance.

He virtually gained everything and anything out of hissheer experience (educational, political, organizational, spiritual, social andstrategic) and it included even his vocabulary, grammar, language, technicalknowhow, issues of governance, politics and international affairs. His beingthe Chief Minister of a state like Gujarat for a long period of 12 years gavehim an extra edge that the other four fabulous leaders missed wittingly orunwittingly. Modi earned a staggering experience of full five years PrimeMinistership, international summits, strategic and diplomatic conduct and thenitty-gritty’s of economic and internal affairs.

Modi translated his life experience into a realitysuccessfully which was visible in the Parliament on 7th February 2018 when hespoke on the Vote of No-confidence. It will go down in the Parliamentaryhistory of India as one of the great and important days and has the potentialto be a part of the curriculum for the students of law, politics, history,parliamentary affairs and governance. His address contained wit, argument,sarcasm, logic, facts, semantics, control on language and attitude and aboveall a nice connect to his job despite continued interruptions.

Modi has proved himself to be a good student, goodlearner, good orator, good teacher, good administrator and also a goodstrategist. The way he dealt issues like Triple Talaq, his achievements as thePrime Minister of a country having 130 Crore population, government schemes forthe poor and the downtrodden, welfare measures for ladies and in particular theemphasis on the Indian Ethos and cultural tradition with a continuous focus onjibes over the Congress and Congress alone gives a clear cut notion thatNarendra Modi is well in the saddle for a long time to come to guide India andthe world to better destinations.

His recent emphasis on the issues like socialsecurity, Ayshman Bharat, is a world record holder scheme; Swachta Abhiyan andJan Aoushadi are masterpieces of governance that have brought great shift inthe thinking of the people of the country. “Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas”has become a mass cry unlike the hollow slogan of “Garibi Hatao”. Thedetractors of Modi could not dent his image despite their sharp-edged weaponsthat they used on him. He instead used the pebbles thrown on him to build thestaircase for his next immediate destination. He emerged exactly like a phoenixafter his 2002 Gujarat experience.

The biggest feat of Narendra Modi in his internationalrelations has been his bonhomie with the Arabian world. His relationship withthe Arabs brought him to the podium of OIC through his External AffairsMinister Sushma Swaraj on the occasion of Golden jublee celebrations of OIC. Itwas deemed to be his personal charisma that out of the 56-nation strongassociation of Muslim countries, he has developed personal connections with mostof them with Pakistan as an exception. He is treated as a rock star incountries like UAE, Afghanistan, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

Modi has proudly exhibited his love for the culturalmoorings, social cohesion, spiritual connections and identity occurrence. Allthese things put together have made him emerge as an unprecedented phenomenonhimself which is going to play the crucial role in the ensuing biggestelectoral contest of the world. The global attention is definitely on theIndian Parliamentary elections of April-May 2019 but if it has attracted charm,charisma and fascination, it is duly due to the phenomenon of Narendra Modi.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

seventeen + seventeen =