With every speech on Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi further codifies this political ritual. From 2014, when his first address was a virtual endorsement of direct or indirect electoral promises, his speech on Tuesday was indicative of a leader aware that, in less than two years, he is to seek another mandate. This speech was devoid of the dramatic flair of earlier speeches.
Instead, it was interspersed with a litany of achievements, an approach first unveiled last year. Yet, by no yardstick did it fail to connect with people like such checklists usually do. The success of Modi’s oratory, once again, lay in the conviction with which he drew analogies and framed arguments in a politico-cultural context. By the end of his speech, the question left unanswered last year was no longer so. It can be now said with certainty that Modi is going to embark on his next campaign on the strength of his achievements — and another set of marketable concepts and notions. Besides his government’s accomplishments, the prime minister emphasised the idea of ‘new India’, first unveiled in the wake of BJP’s performance in Uttar Pradesh in March. By repeatedly mentioning ‘new India’, without fleshing out details as to what it holds, Modi indicated that the idea is likely to be harnessed as an electoral slogan. Like several previous catchwords, this too remains ambiguous.
Yet almost every Modi supporter will consider it an emotive concept. It is too early to determine if this slogan will be as central as ‘Achhe Din’ was in 2014. But it has the capacity to cast a similar spell, at least on those who, while not completely pleased with the government, still repose faith in Modi. This speech provides reasons for the marginally disgruntled to remain firmly with him. Modi has consistently pushed the idea of participative nation-building for quite some time. Postdemonetisation, he told people the ordeal was their contribution towards making India corruption free.
Modi repeatedly contended that corruption cannot be contained just by government action but people too would have to cooperate.
In his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio address last month, Modi stated the need to usher a culture of honesty at the mass level. On Tuesday, while listing the successes of demonetisation — including the significant rise in the number of income-tax payers — he claimed that steps taken by GoI had ushered in an ‘imandaari ka utsav’ (festival of honesty). The idea may be repetitive, but it is a necessary tactic when concepts become hard to instil. For long, not just Modi, but the entire Sangh Parivar had little claim over the heritage of any national movement. Initial allegations of RSS involvement in Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination were among other reasons for this. RSS was an ‘outsider’ in the ‘national project’, and remained so till as late as 2002, when the national flag was eventually hoisted after 1950, at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur.
Modi has hitched the Sangh Parivar pony to a ‘national movement’ with aplomb, as illustrated in the way he chose a midnight session in Parliament to usher in the goods and services tax (GST), echoing the original ‘tryst with destiny’. By referring to the impending 75th anniversary of India’s independence and drawing parallels between the five-year period till then with one between the Quit India movement and India’s independence, Modi is acquiring a pivotal position in this period of transformation. In the next parliamentary polls, this could well be one of his planks — vote for him to ensure continuity in programmes planned to unveil ‘new India’ when India turns 75.
There are contradictions between two significant pledges and the Sangh Parivar’s stated political belief. He said a settlement in Kashmir required embracing its people, hinting at reviving dialogue. Modi also juxtaposed ‘Bharat Choro’ (Quit India) with ‘Bharat Jodo’ (Knit India), pointing towards a path more inclusive than the one traversed so far. Pledges on Kashmir, and pursuing greater heterogeneity, are contradictory to the politics BJP has promoted since assuming power. Consequently, several in his political fraternity may question his policies because these are at odds with their core belief. Will Modi take up the challenge? If so, how? Or, will his plea to desist be disregarded like cow vigilante groups have paid scant attention to his assertions? Many will be sceptical about several items on the list of the PM’s achievements. Consequently, Modi’s challenge is to ensure that the ideal India, which he promises, is matched by reality. Also, how to make certain that reality, however deficient, is construed by the people as being ideal? In this, Modi has the advantage of being the prime minister of a country that’s inherently fatalistic.
Posted on :
Aug 16, 2017