The people of the country should compulsorily have three photographs in their purse, pocket or pet gadget. No, not of revered ones like Sri Krishna, Shiva or Saibaba. Neither that of stars like Kamal, Katrina or Kohli. I suggest snaps of Sonia, Signor Rahul and MSingh. Here’s a snap shot on why.
We doubtless require enlightenment and entertainment. But the need of the hour is some elementary common sense based on immediate experience. Regular looks at the three chosen characters will evoke painful memories of a calamity that consumed the country since 2004 and came to an end finally in 2014. We will then realise the remarkable relief we enjoy at present.
Negative though the approach may seem, people must constantly remind themselves of their great escape. Of the sixty eight years since Independence, Cong ruled for fifty five; a hefty fifty of this was cornered by the Nehru clan. With his paltry five years, PVN, a Congman to boot, however, changed the nation for ever. Vajpayee’s six years would rank as a golden period alongside, for growth and for growing out of a nasty dynasty’s shadow. Earlier, six years were wasted on comic cameos by urine drinkers, Weepy Singhs, humble but sleepy farmers and sundry jesters. But the recent decade under the dubious duo of Sonia-Singh was the nadir.
For the first time in the nation’s history we have a non-Cong absolute majority government at the Centre. For decades, both Left and Right have been precisely prescribing this as the only panacea for people’s problems.With the Left rendered as leftovers into the political dustbin and the five-decade fraudsters forced to the fringes, Right is now might. And this has been achieved not through shady, shallow or shameful coalitions but by a legitimate, landslide mandate. Ache din is not a set, single day but the dawn of such an era and that has happened. Now look at those photos and ask yourself if this is not a sort of second freedom!
Now to the man at the helm. Again, for the first time, we have a Prime Minister who is at once (and really!) honest, honorable and hardworking. He is incorruptible and has no personal agendas; there’s nary a remote relative to claim his legacy. He himself is no legatee of any dicey political inheritance. Rather he has risen from the ranks in a wholly democratic party, unlike that nasty … forget it! And what, few world leaders would have faced the kind of troubles, travails and tarring that N Modi had to in his travel to the top. He has overcome resistance from all: within BJP, coalition partners, press and intelligentsia (?), political opposition and in the global arena too. None in his own party can match upto him. Of those in the photos, less said.
He is painted as authoritarian. If so, he derives his authority from people, performance and personal integrity and not from petty sycophants or powerful benefactors. A loner, they say. A loner in Lutyen’s Delhi is actually a lucky charm for the country as that means boot for the suit-clad brokers, wheelers and dealers who had capitalised on the Capital’s crony climes for far too long. Can he carry a team along? The party has already fallen in line and the rusted steel frame of bureaucracy, used to a different brand of grease, will take time to adjust to the new grind. And there is every reason to believe Modi will eventually prevail. Can we say the same of our photo gallery personalities who missed their chances and messed up the country completely?
Those foreign jaunts? The man who was rejected visa by the self-styled sole super power is now the toast of the world. India under him may seem hyped up, but it is certainly not being looked down. And he is in full public view, whichever part of the world he is in, unlike the sinister signors and signoras who disappear without a trace. Modi has restored respect for the PM’s post, which till recently was treated as a doormat, mocking at all Constitutional sanctions and sanctity. Modi leads firmly from the front while the earlier incumbent hid and could be easily bent. Can we afford a re-run of the puppet-puppeteer-prince-in-waiting charade of that torrid trio? Scan their visages.
It is not about an individual. Modi personifies a change from a deeply entrenched culture of patronage and pelf that has corrupted our core. A scam-starved, sensation hungry media, addicted to perennial pampering, too feels ignored. Hence the high decibels. But a comatose nation just stirring to life can’t afford such disturbances or distractions at this critical hour of recovery. Having placed our faith in a capable doctor, it is only fair we give him time to treat and heal. BJP for its part, like a good hospital, should keep its house clean, sanitised, sterile and insulated so that Modi can work in peace. And the people, if they still get anxious, can cast furtive or frequent glances at those three frames and then relax.
But why drag Rahul into the picture. Well, he is the Cong’s face of the future and we need a scarecrow, if he is not to become the fate of the nation, too. Also, in Tamil movies, villains usually come in packs of three!
e-mail the writer at [email protected]