Modi,
the Monarchical Paternalist
There will be a deluge of articles next
week on one year of Modi governance. It is an indication that Modi occupies the
mind and imagination of one and all to the extent that all others in the BJP
and NDA(that include Cabinet Ministers and Ministers of other ranks, Members of
Parliament, Margdarshis, party workers etc)do not figure anywhere in the
political screen today. Admirers and critics alike refer to the one man show
and not to the collective work of his cabinet. Unless ordered by the PM, the
ministers are hardly visible and heard. Even the PM rarely thunders as he did
before his coronation except when he puts on a rock star show to mesmerize the
NRIs on his frequent visits abroad-in particular to US, Canada, Australia and
Europe (France). As the PM of the whole nation, he knows that his pre-election
rhetoric will no longer be convincing in the absence of his promised achche din. He would have also
understood that it is easy to rule a small state of Gujarat(which is itself
prosperous) than the whole of India with its humungous population, diverse
problems, deep economic fissures between haves and have-nots, inter-state
quarrels, religious and caste divisions and all these further compounded by people’s high
expectations from him to lift them up to a higher and better life. Words of
promise are essential to boost the sagging morale of a nation and to win
elections, but if the words are not followed by action, then they lose the
flavour of “mann ki baat” (words from
one’s mind/heart) and turn to be “ban ki
baat”(to become a matter of words) . A feeling of listlessness, utter
weariness and general feeling of discontent have set in as people wait for achche din – the concept of which varies
according to the expectations of different groups. Modi’s one year rule has
neither set the Yamuna on fire(as he rules from Delhi) nor the Ganges on fire(
where he got elected from) nor the Narmada on fire( the state he rules by
proxy).
He cannot be blamed for what has not
happened. The only blame that sticks to him is his practice of realpolitik-a ruthlessly realistic and
opportunist approach to statesmanship, rather than
a moralistic one( as exemplified by Bismarc ), his pursuit of
politics based on practical
rather than moral
or ideological considerations. His first mission was Swachch Bharat about which he spoke even to the sanitized NRIs at
Madison Square Gardens and at Sydney’s Allphones Arena. Back home, he
spoke about it on Gandhiji’s birthday with a broom in hand to act the talk. Has
anything happened between Sept 30, 2014 and today? Air pollution, water
pollution, littering public spaces, piling of garbage, is on the increase causing
health and environmental hazard. The catch phrase Swachch Bharat spoken with the inimitable flourish of Modi -rhetoric
sounded heavenly at the beginning but having failed to inspire action among his
avid listeners it sounds hollow after eight months. Swachch Bharat at a metaphorical level has also failed to cleanse
the minds clogged with religious passion, personal hatred, vengeful sneer and
pompous vanity that has become a part of the mental make up of BJP( one may
qualify it with fringe elements of the BJP , though even some of the Ministers
and MPs of the ruling party suffer from this cancer of the mind). Who is to be
blamed? Not Modi- for he does not speak either in defence or in condemnation of
the diatribe unleashed by his party men against all those who do not subscribe
to the BJP ideology. The blame squarely rests on the crassness and hubris of
the newly elected party to power. But Modi, like Canute whose command failed to
hold back the tide, could do nothing (and done nothing) to rein in this cacophonous crowd hurling verbal
missiles at all those it considers as anti-hindutva, anti-hindi,
anti-tradition, pro-West, pro-modern and pro-English. This is his failure of
leadership, as Leadership in the
definition of Harold S.Geneen, (the American President and CEO of ITT-International
telephone and Telegraph Corporation), “ is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in
actions.”
The previous government had been
roundly criticized and thrown out for its policy paralysis when nothing moved
for the last couple of years before its expiry date. But the Congress-mukht-
Bharat today is witnessing the same kind
of policy paralysis as nothing has substantially moved to alleviate people’s
problems in regard to price rise, employment
opportunities, pollution, criminal activities, atrocities against women-
to name a few. The News reports in the dailies and on the TV channels have their
daily headline stories on rape, murder and crime and they make the major part
of prime time news .As long as these reports do not discomfit the ruling party,
they are fine. Only if a member of the ruling party is criticized, all the PM’s
men and women throng the TV studios to censor the media and heckle the
opposition a la Cassius in Shakespeare’s Julius
Ceasar:
The fault, is not in our stars,…
But in ourselves, that we are
the inheritors of
A disastrous Nehru-Gandhi
legacy.
For the ruling party, now seated
comfortably in the corridors of power,
All things, dull and dark,
All happenings, great and small (such as the
earthquake in Nepal and
its effect in Uttarakhand)
the Congress made them all.
What can one man, Modi do? He has no option but to turn his failure
on to the Congress for all the evils he has inherited including RTI( whereby his wife Jashodaben asks for details
about her security cover), the prickly activities of the Jholawalas like Green Peace, Ford Foundation
etc., for the death of Netaji Bose and Lal Bahadur Shastri,( for Nehru to
remain in power and pass it onto his daughter),for the s(i)cular India, for the
poor relationship with fellow South
Asian community etc etc. Modi has tried his charming best to woo Pakistan,
China, Nepal etc but they have backfired. Even before the beautifully decorated
swing on which the PM of India and the President of China sat, stopped swinging,
Pakistan and China have embarked on strategic economic and military corridors
worth 46bn dollars. Nawaz sheriff hugs Modi even as Pakistan encourages Hafeez
Saeed and other terrorist organizations
to attack India. Srilanka strategically dallies
with the Dragon while its newly elected President handshakes with Modi. Modi’s
twitter that he was the first to inform the Nepal PM about the earthquake that
jolted Nepal and his subsequent directions to the army and Disaster Management
Personnel to go overboard with assistance to Nepal did not go well with the
people of the affected nation. Despite all these setbacks, the Modi brigade
claims that all backfiring in
international relationships including US’ strictures on religious intolerance
in India are not of his making but that of the Congress government’s policies
of six decades. One of the qualities of true
leadership according to Henry Ford is “Don’t find fault; find a remedy.” But
the one year rule of Modi has shown that he stops short with finding fault
and not finding a remedy.
The entire power today is vested with the PM and his PMO. One hardly
hears a squeal from any other quarter except the loud mouthed and uncultured
abuses of some of his party members against the Congress, the Christians, the
Gandhis,(mother, son and the son-in-law) and the Muslims. There is no attempt
at participatory discussions and all government’s decisions emanate from the
PMO secretariat. When things go wrong, the PM does not speak. He directs others
to stand up and defend debatable decisions.
It seems he believes in the divine power bestowed on the PM. The PM can
do no wrong. That is why he is keen that there are no multiple authorities that
create confusion. Too many voices spoil good governance and so he should be the
sole decision maker, decision articulator and decision implementer. In fact,
the Supreme Court has directed all government agencies not to use any photo in
their advertisements except that of the PM and as a condescension, that of the
President and the CJI (how enamoured the SC is on the divine status of the PM)!
Maybe this is a harkback to ancient monarchical rule where the monarch is the
only one to speak and act. This was what Kautilya wrote about the divine power
of the King, as seen in the power of good counsel, the majesty of the King
himself and the power to inspire. Kautilya advocated enlightened monarchical paternalism. Modi seems to believe in Kautilya’s concept of monarchical paternalism
and applies it to rule by democracy whereby
the King becomes the undisputed leader. But a true leader has an onerous responsibility.
Arnold Glasow says: A good leader takes a little more than his share of the
blame, a little less than his share of the credit. How does Modi stand up to
this responsibility? The question is
meant to be rhetorical and shall remain so.
All that I can say, more than I could is Modi rule is for Modi, of Modi and by Modi
as he is rightly or wrongly convinced of the divine right of leadership
bestowed on him.
No comments:
Post a Comment