Peeyush Uniyal. Don’t get me wrong, Modi is still the best Prime Minister India has ever witnessed. He has major achievements in nation’s growth, regaining nation’s self-confidence, enhancing national pride, increasing world influence, diplomatic successes, effectively dealing with border security. All these areas needed utmost attention and were severely neglected by his predecessors. What is commendable in this, is that these achievements happened despite a corrupt & inefficient bureaucracy, antagonist media, and lopsided judiciary.
However, it seems like Modi’s relentlessly fast-hitting, no-nonsense reputation has taken a beating lately and it appears to be overshadowed by an eclipse of some sort. Many feel that this started from the moment Modiji became interested in gaining “सबका विश्वास”, an unnatural mirage that even Raja Ram Chandra could not achieve in Satyug.
A simple mind thinks, what is wrong in sticking just to the meaningful act of “सबका साथ , सबका विकास ”? Why extra spicing-up with pseudo-secularism of “सबका विश्वास” ? This is turning out to be a situation where even Modi’s core base is getting confused and one can only hope that it does not lead to a situation where “दुविधा में दोनों गये, माया मिली न राम “. In such a situation, the net loser will be India.
This “सबका विश्वास ” business has given an opening to the other side whose main aim is their religious dominance & expansion. They perceive this confusion as a weakness on the part of the Government of India (GOI) and are using it to put GOI on the backfoot. These religious groups are openly exploited by the opposition.
The situation started getting worse during Modi’s second term following the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Although CAA in itself was a much-needed step in the right direction, the government’s handling of the situation created by a made-up protest in Shaheen Bagh, was unacceptable. The message that got out was, that this government is incapable of enforcing Law and Order in the face of blatant anarchy, a further confirmatory test was conducted in the form of Delhi Riots 2020 by the same actors of Shaheen Bagh protests.
Now the opposition had tested the blood by conducting the Proof Of Concept (POC) disruptions. This recipe has been used ever since with new experiments/disruptions being conducted now and then, examples being – Bangalore riots, so-called Farmers Protests, Republic Day rioting in Delhi, Maharashtra misgovernance & direct challenge to GOI, West Bengal atrocities & killings following the 2021 state elections, COVID mismanagement in Delhi and rest of India. For the benefit of GOI, it’s important to mention that even the judiciary played a negative role in handling the aforementioned cases, however, a strong, full majority GOI is expected to uphold rule of law barring any confusion.
The latest in this confusion series is the arrest & sanctions imposed on Ashwani Upadhyay’s freedom of expression (FOE) on the removal of Imported, British-created laws. Without going into nuances of who controls Delhi police, hippocratic ways of dealing with the cases etc., GOI’s handling of the situation is akin to – “गैरों पे करम, अपनों पे सितम”, especially when compared to likes of Rakesh Tiket, Yogendra Yadav, Ammanutulla Khan, or Akbaruddin Owaisi of ‘15 minute police removal’ fame.
Looks like the ruling BJP has decided to shoot itself in the foot. Or is it a MasterStroke of some sort that commoners are scratching their head to understand? It also feels like that this state of confusion is creating a vacuum that will get filled with an organization that is truly nationalistic while the ruling BJP morphs itself into the new Indian National Congress. The BJP, especially Modi – Shah are forgetting that it’s their opposition to pseudo-secularism and philosophy of nation first, brought them to power.
What is the reason behind this confusion? – a) International pressure, b) Dream of a Nobel prize or c) An attempt to avoid a civil war-like situation? Let’s take it one at a time; a) International pressure – BJP is strong internally because people support their policies, internal support is the one that brought them to power, no international body can take away that.
An internally strong body can easily fight international (external) viruses. b) Nobel prize dream – Just ask yourself, who controls the Nobel prize? Will they ever give it to a Prime Minister from a Hindu nationalistic party, allegedly involved in massacre of minorities in his state? c) Avoiding civil war-like situation – By indulging in the appeasement policies similar to pre & post-partition Congress, they are bringing the situation closer to the partition era turmoil. What happened to – Development of all, appeasement of none?
The Modi government is often found pointing proudly that there have been no communal riots in its 7 years of rule, barring few minor incidents. Have they ever analyzed why? Until now the riot initiators were dissuaded by the apparent no-nonsense approach of the Modi government. They felt there is nothing to be gained, this government would not indulge in appeasement politics. What happens when people realize that there is no difference between Congress and BJP as far as appeasement politics is concerned? Wouldn’t things go back to square one?
Another slogan Modi Government has been only half successful on so far – न खाउंगा , न खाने दूंगा. Modi has been successful in controlling corruption and scams at the top level of the government. However, what about the corrupt politicians, bureaucrats, industrialists who have already eaten and are in the process of digesting the looted wealth? When will this wealth come out? It is understood that Bureaucracy, politicians, and judiciary are playing the spoiler here but Modi must act with the confidence that people are with him.
I feel that I am showing Lamp to the SUN, but then, when the Sun is under eclipse the Lamp is what is needed.