Bhai Narendra Modi has problems. He is an honest man and expects the same from everyone in his government. He does not suffer fools or incompetence. He also realizes that soft peddling does not work which gives him dictatorial look albeit incorrectly. He takes his position seriously and does not deflect responsibility, which gives the incorrect impression that he is managing some sort of a personality cult (a correct example of that would be Mamta Bannerjee or Jayalalitha or Mayawati). For these and other reasons he is hated by a lot of people.That the leftists and the pseudo seculars hate him would be an understatement. We have written volumes about the relentless campaign against the man but would still like to quote the following statement by Mr. Jaithmalani on the matter.
No politician in independent India has been demonised in such a relentless, Goebbelsian manner as Narendra Modi, and no politician has withstood it with as much resilience and courage as him, notwithstanding the entire Central government, influential sections of the media machinery and civil society arraigned against him.
The extreme factions in the Hindu population also hate him. The VHP hates him because he has not come to the aid of Hindus guilty of revenge killings in the aftermath of Godhra station massacre. Bhai Narendra has done the right thing by letting the courts do their work.
The RSS dislikes him because they think that Modi is becoming bigger than them. They are wrong at many levels. Modi is an ex RSS worker and in that he embodies the best of the RSS. However, he also has a responsibility to all the people of Gujarat and thus cannot toe the RSS line all the time. Moreover, Modi is not trying to establish his name cult because that would only be useful if he were trying to establish a family dynasty. His own brother stands opposed to him indicating the kind of impartial man he is. It is entirely possible that the RSS hatred for Modi is because Modi has redefined Hindutva. RSS brand of Hindutva is rooted in extreme nationalism and protectionism. It often seems to be an inward looking philosophy, which is no longer in sync with the modern day India. On the other hand Bhai Narendra Modi’s brand of Hindutva is nationalistic and yet is forward looking and all encompassing which appeals to Hindus and others.
The top tier leaders of the BJP hate him because he threatens their power. Most of the post Atalji leaders in the BJP are bereft of any real achievement and thus probably do not command as much respect in the party and with the aam aadmi as Modi does. This is why we see them trying to scuttle Modi at every step.
Despite of it all, Modi is the tallest leader in India. His achievements have caught the eye of the world and examples of his achievements are sighted all over. In fact in moments of weakness, Congress leaders have suffered lapsus linguae and praised Modi. This lends credence to the theory that the idea of Modi as the next PM has an aura of inevitability. Shashi Shekhar has written an excellent article on the topic.
Two aspects of this collective wisdom of the voters are relevant to this current debate.
The first is that the voters almost always have made a choice in favour of the option that is perceived to be relatively more credible. This 'perceived credibility differential' and not some abstract 'acceptability' is what we need to pay close attention to.
The second aspect is that the voters have almost always given thumbs down to any kind of ganging up by political parties in Parliament to make someone an untouchable.
It is this propensity of parties to once again practice untouchability in Parliament that we need to pay close attention to rather than some mythical 'unacceptability.'
Ultimately it will be these two factors -- the 'perceived credibility differential' and the 'propensity to practice untouchability in Parliament' that will determine the contours of the next government in Parliament, its longevity and the candidate likely to emerge as prime minister after its premature death.
Either way, the idea of Narendra Modi is inevitable. It is about time New Delhi's punditry and the thinking classes got used to it.
As big a fan of Modi as I am, I do not subscribe to that theory. Maybe I am too cynical. Winston Churchill said the following about Americans:
"Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing...after they have exhausted all other possibilities."
That seems to go doubly for the Indian voters. Our ability to take punishment is extraordinary. Look at the voters of Poschim Bongo. You will not find a more informed set of voters in the country save the voters of Kerala. After suffering at the hands of Communists for almost 35 years, they have voted for a rabble-rouser whose latest decision to arrest a Jadavpur Univ. professor betrays her authoritarian streak and an abject disrespect for freedom of speech. Voters of Kerala seem to have decided that they can still take some more punishment and are continuing with the same old demagogues. People of UP have voted out Mayawati and brought into power a group of ministers, the majority of whom have grave criminal cases against them. Only the voters of Bihar have shown the requisite level of electoral maturity. Of course we all know how the people of Bihar are thought of in the other parts of the country.
Our voters have not yet suffered enough. They can suffer a lot more and will continue to make bad electoral decisions. In almost all other countries, the voters would have carried a capable leader like Modi on their shoulders to the Capital. However for the Indian voter who has been brainwashed by the liberal establishment (read Congress), who often masks his or her intellectual and physical laziness with fatalism, who votes always votes against his interests and for casteism and regionalism, making a decision like voting for Modi will mean going against the tide (a tsunami of falsehoods perpetuated by the media and other sources of information including education). That is too tall a task.
The Jaithmalani article can be read at: http://www.sunday-guardian.com/analysis/the-rise-and-rise-of-tomorrows-prime-minister-narendra-modi
The Shashi Shekhar article can be read at: http://www.rediff.com/news/column/prime-minister-modi-the-idea-is-inevitable/20120411.htm
A related article can be read at: http://newsinsight.net/archivedebates/nat2.asp?recno=2281
A Muslim prespective on the topic can be read at: http://www.anindianmuslim.com/2011/09/can-narendra-modi-become-prime-minister.html
No comments:
Post a Comment