Slugfest India - 2014

A former British prime minister once said: “Public opinion is a compound of folly, weakness, prejudice, wrong feeling, right feeling, obstinacy — and newspaper paragraphs.”

While the politicians of all hues packed all kind of punches in an effort to capitalise this human abberation, a hardened Administrator and an astute campaigner from Gujarat, Narendra Modi, mesmerised the masses with his agenda of development and won the hearts and minds of young India.

As the nation celebrates and gloats over the unprecedented triumph of the NDA/BJP led by NaMo, I too feel vindicated and proud that my prediction was somewhat true. In my last blog posted on 11 May, I had indicated that they would get 308 to 318 seats. That they outwitted me by another 20 is indeed a miracle. One needn't be an astrologer or a psephologist to sense the mood of the nation. It's a piece of cake if you trust the fundamental decency, civility and good sense of the people.

However, the moot question is  what was this election all about?

As the common man understood, it was about development, anti corruption and good governance. But from the day the BJP anointed NaMo, the epitome of all three, as their PM candidate, the Congress and their poodles like Pawar, Mulayam, Lalu and Mayawati changed tack to the oft beaten track of pseudo secularism. All their efforts to demonise NaMo as a divisive figure with the fading brush of Godhra came a cropper.

In addition the Congress had a larger agenda, to promote an undeserving delinquent, Rahul Gandhi, bereft of any ideas or accomplishments, as the future PM of India, forgetting that what counts is the grey matter enriched by education and experience and not by inheritance or entitlement. In the bargain they ruined the unblemished credentials of a saint, Manmohan Singh, and turned the 185 year old Congress into an "anachronistic", "sclerotic" and "myopic" Party whose leaders and spokespersons rattled homilies and spewed venom against NaMo to defend the indefensible. Much that I am tempted to compare the two, NaMo and RaGa, the vacuity displayed by RaGa precludes a sane comparison.

Experience of the last five years proves that UPA 2 was nothing but a fractious and dysfunctional cocktail of corrupt egomaniacs that hung petty thieves (Babus) and retained the greater ones in public office. Their rule weakened the country’s capacity and resolves to cope with complex challenges, so much so that the country has almost disappeared as a serious player in the region and the world.

That’s where NaMo filled the chasm by sticking to his agenda of inclusive development, "sab ka vikas, sab ke sath". On the other hand, most unfortunately yet quite predictably, RaGas needle was stuck on alluding to dysfunctional Rights, the NREGA, MNREGA, RTI, Food Security etc conveniently forgetting that in civil society there is a network of implicit, unwritten rules, which sustain the entire social edifice, which, regrettably disintegrated under the UPA regime.

Well, the results are there for all to see and certainly dispel the myth and gloom spread by the opposition to demonise NaMo as the satan. Devlopment in Gujrat during the last 12 years of his rule certainly gives hope and reinforces Modi's claim of "Achhe din aane waale hain".Though I am not young but for the youth of India I quote these lines from Wordsworth at the start of the French Revolution: “Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, but to be young was very heaven”.

The Indian Carnival (elections) its Outcome and Post Script

Kudos to NaMo. The BJP under his able leadership and astute campaigning will win 308 to 318 seats.

However, the battle has just begun as they inherit a humongous responsibility to fulfill the aspirations of 1.2 billion Indians and deliver them from ignorance, corruption, oppression, poverty and exploitation. Misgovernance, malfeasance and pseudo secularism of various Congress led / supported governments has denuded the nation of all that was good, and destroyed the national fabric.

It is a recorded fact that all ills of a poor nation afflict India. But what is most alarming and ominous is that today Indians live in a moral vacuum without a national identity. Parochial loyalties and communal fanaticism, encouraged by self serving politicians, are the order of the day. We are all individuals and not the citizens of a cohesive society. 

Perhaps, India was waiting for a leader like NaMo, who will make it relearn the moral values and inculcate in the people a sense of responsibilities that fall on every citizen of a free society.
Therefore, to begin the recovery and reconstruction the first and foremost task for NaMo is to build a national identity, pride in nationhood - Indianness, amongst all citizens. Investment in human resources, not the self consuming MNREGA and NREGA schemes, but meaningful education to enable everyone to be a good responsible citizen to realize their true potential should be the first priority. Easily doable by inculcating a sense of pride in the "Teacher" and minor tinkering with the current curriculum in School and Colleges where every child is taught to tell the truth, to stand erect and never to stoop, to stand in line and never to push or pull, to share, to read with care, to give thanks, to hold hands, to smile and to respect their Teachers and senior citizens. A sure recipe to create bonhomie, pride, sense of belonging and self discipline, the essential prerequisites for growth.

The second critical issue, which has been conveniently ignored in the recent past, is population control. A must for India, the second most populous country with millions impoverished, condemned to living in penury and deprivation. Our numbers overwhelm every system and utility and the burgeoning population severely dilutes any economic growth. Though any such proposal will face serious objections from vested groups, it is an inescapable need of the hour. 

Regrettably, everything related to nation building especially noble human endeavour has taken a huge tumble in the last decade. We are well aware of the endless list of maladies that face us and need no repitition.

Many, especially the opposition who fail to see their own inadequacies see the rise of NaMo as ominous and Orwellian. My view, he has the ability to impart confidence, inspire and push people to do things they hadn't thought possible. I am sanguine that through his prudence, foresight, fortitude, temperance, sense of justice and high octane passion for perfection he will provide good governance to steer the nation to glory.