surajmal Posted February 6, 2013 Posted February 6, 2013 In the eyes of many people, Narendra Modi is a man with a past. At the Shri Ram College of Commerce, the place Modi chose for his first choreographed appearance on the national stage in Delhi, we saw a man with the future in mind: His own future and the future of the nation. Both looked good in the hands of IndiaÃÔ most-talked-about leader who has mastered the art of marketing himself very well as Rahul Gandhi noted to his disadvantage during the Gujarat elections. The response of his audience notwithstanding the protesters outside the venue who were obsessed only with his past showed that for the youth of India, the future is more important than the past. They want to move on. Modi has offered himself for that role. For a nation sinking in despondency over crime, corruption, caste and communal conflict, Modi painted a broad-brush vision with development as the focus, not vote-bank politics. The contrast with all the ongoing hate-talk of the Togadias, Owaisis and caste-mullahs could not have been starker. ModiÃÔ appeal was to the aspiring classes, those who have no patience with conflicts of identity, non-governance, non-performance and excuses for failure. This was encapsulated in his core message of hope and youth achievement: Å©um kisise se kam nahin hain. Modi also enunciated his vision for government. "Government" he said, "had no business to be in business" This contrasts sharply with the Congress-fed belief in a mai-baap Sarkar. So what is the business of government? Modi's answer: Minimum government, maximum governance. As an example, he offered the case of how he built IndiaÃÔ largest convention centre in Gandhinagar, the state capital in 152 days. He also reminded Delhi-ites that the coaches of the Delhi Metro were built in Gujarat, by an entrepreneur he did not particularly vibe well with, and whose factory he was happy to inaugurate nevertheless. His underlying suggestion to his audience was: the state works, irrespective of my likes and dislikes. His speech, which was peppered with anecdotes and examples of what he has achieved in Gujarat, might have seemed like repeated pats on his own back, but he packaged it differently: what Gujarat could achieve by itself, if translated to the national level by an able leader, would help India take its appointed place in the global league. He managed to make talk about GujaratÃÔ farmers, his achievements in animal husbandry and milk production interesting and relevant to a student audience in Delhi that could not be further removed from such a constituency. For in every Gujarat achievement he embedded a promise for IndiaÃÔ tomorrow. When he talked about his biennial Vibrant Gujarat summits, he talked not about the investments coming to Gujarat, but the presence of people representing 20 percent of GDP in Gandhinagar. When he talked of animal husbandry, he said efforts to extend veterinary services had resulted in the near eradication of 120 animal diseases. Implicit in this achievement in animal health is the promise: if I can do this for animals, what can I not do for the nationÃÔ health? He also subtly played on the emotional card linking Gujarat to India: that the whole of India is fed by his stateÃÔ milk, and, more importantly, Gujarat ka namak. The implicit meaning of a nation partaking of GujaratÃÔ namak builds on the IndianÃÔ emotional belief something Bollywood never tires of airing that if you have tasted someoneÃÔ salt, you are bonded together like blood brothers. His anecdotes also spoke of his future connect. He talked of a trip to Taiwan before he became CM of Gujarat, where one of the people he met asked him if India still had snake-charmers. His reply: we have become mouse charmers. The mouse he was referring to was the computer mouse. And while he was on the subject of computers, he made a political point. He said that the computer revolution, widely claimed by Congress to be Rajiv GandhiÃÔ brainchild, was the achievement of IndiaÃÔ youth, and not any of its politicians. Given the current anti-politician mood of Indian youth, who are all out on the streets, the subtler point was this: Modi was positioning himself as an outsider to Delhi politics who can set things right. In every other sentence he uttered, he brought in youth and youth power. He said while other parties were talking of the new age voter, he would like to talk of their new age power. He did not fail to bring in Swami Vivekananda in the context of youth power. Vivekananda is ModiÃÔ passport both to secular politics and a Hindu icon who transcends geography. But in everything he said, ModiÃÔ vision was about IndiaÃÔ place in the world an aspiration every student could have identified with. Modi is one of the first political leaders to realise that IndiaÃÔ urban youth have sky-high aspirations, global dreams, and for this the world has to be their stage. He pandered to their dreams. While the Congress is bogged down with marketing poverty and delivering subsidies to the poor (Å¢apka paise, Aapka Haath?, ModiÃÔ appeal was to a different audience, an audience that does not want charity and official benevolence, but an enabling environment for conquering the world of success. To prove that his development model was not just about the rich, he managed to weave in a story about a Dalit who met Bill Clinton in Rajasthan during the latterÃÔ visit. The Dalit apparently impressed the Clintons with the progress made in India. But this was also a subliminal memo that his development model was also about the most backward of Indians. The audience vibed well when Modi talked about competing with China based on skill, scale and speed. His final point was simple: the world won't wait for us if we don't change. And Modi offered himself as the change India's youth, especially urban youth, wanted to see. If one were to contrast Modi's performance with that of Rahul Gandhi's at the Congress meet last month, it is a no-contest. Modi's performance establishes him as the potential mascot of urban India, young India the India that wants to leave its past of regrets and non-performance behind. Modi conquered his audience. http://www.firstpost.com/politics/how-modi-conquered-by-raising-the-level-of-the-game-616213.html
vayuu1 Posted February 6, 2013 Posted February 6, 2013 That's why congress looks so desperate and trying everything in their power to stop him.
Dumbbells Posted February 6, 2013 Posted February 6, 2013 One of the great orators, but an extremely divisive figure in India.
surajmal Posted February 6, 2013 Author Posted February 6, 2013 Has any other politician put the idea of wealth creation in simpler terms? Hell, has any other politician in the history of India (other than Nehru for a little time after 47) tried to paint a picture of the future? I mean actually try to be proactive instead of reactive? I'm sure if he (and I don't trust any other in BJP) gets 2 terms as PM, he'll do enough so that citizens of India won't have to look towards politicians to fix their problems for a long time.
Nova Posted February 6, 2013 Posted February 6, 2013 Has any other politician put the idea of wealth creation in simpler terms? Hell' date=' has any other politician in the history of India (other than Nehru for a little time after 47) tried to paint a picture of the future? I mean actually try to be proactive instead of reactive? I'm sure if he (and I don't trust any other in BJP) gets 2 terms as PM, he'll do enough so that citizens of India won't have to look towards politicians to fix their problems for a long time.[/quote'] His speech was good. It pumped me up. The important thing is that he is not all talk. He can back up his rhetoric with achievements. I want my fellow Indians to give him a chance. Mitron aur mere bhaiyon beheno... desh ka neta kaisa ho? Narendra Modi jaisa ho... Taaliyan... :bow:
Crookbond Posted February 7, 2013 Posted February 7, 2013 Despite my reservations against Modi, I wouldn't mind him being given a chance for a PM candidate. He seems to have put the past behind his back but the problem with Modi still remains his party rather than himself. He isn't all talk (some of it is still talk not all though). However, I would like to point out that Narendra Modi is not a silver bullet to all problems in our society.
surajmal Posted February 7, 2013 Author Posted February 7, 2013 Despite my reservations against Modi' date=' I wouldn't mind him being given a chance for a PM candidate. He seems to have put the past behind his back but the problem with Modi still remains his party rather than himself. He isn't all talk (some of it is still talk not all though). [b']However, I would like to point out that Narendra Modi is not a silver bullet to all problems in our society. No one is asking for a silver bullet. Rather a change in direction after 65 years of failure of a "mai baap sarkar" system. Edit: Besides, the central government can only provide a roadmap. Since the real rot (or the more important one if India heads towards federalism that it will eventually will) lies is in the state legislatures, it is a long fight ahead.
Crookbond Posted February 7, 2013 Posted February 7, 2013 No one is asking for a silver bullet. Rather a change in direction after 65 years of failure of a "mai baap sarkar" system. Edit: Besides, the central government can only provide a roadmap. Since the real rot (or the more important one if India heads towards federalism that it will eventually will) lies is in the state legislatures, it is a long fight ahead. One can only speak for himself - there are many people who are looking for a panacea thanks to the overall rot. The point I was trying to make is that an import aspect of any renaissance is resonance or synchronization. The lack (of non existence) of synchronization may lead to no effect of a state or centre renaissance - both should go in tandem. If not, we will just blow hot & cold across decades and keep patting ourself on the back for the 'fight' without tangible change.
Ram Posted February 7, 2013 Posted February 7, 2013 So what is the business of government? Modi's answer: Minimum government, maximum governance. You know he truly believes in that. After all, when murderous mobs tore through the streets of Gujrat during the riots of 2002 killing 1000s of innocent people, clearly he said to himself 'Never mind the police and the army, lets the killing spree continue. Minimum govt mahaan!'
surajmal Posted February 7, 2013 Author Posted February 7, 2013 One can only speak for himself - there are many people who are looking for a panacea thanks to the overall rot. The point I was trying to make is that an import aspect of any renaissance is resonance or synchronization. The lack (of non existence) of synchronization may lead to no effect of a state or centre renaissance - both should go in tandem. If not' date=' we will just blow hot & cold across decades and keep patting ourself on the back for the 'fight' without tangible change.[/quote'] I was having a discussion with a relative regarding the synonymity of bhakti tradition with contemporary hinduism. How if you are going to be a "bhakt" of someone/something i.e. total surrender, then you may as well become a muslim or a christian. Because the hallmark of dharmic traditions was the "do it yourself" approach - look inwards etc. He raised an interesting point that being a bhakt requires the least amount of input from an individual. That it would be foolish to expect an average Indian to devote the kind of time and energy that the seers of yore committed. That is an important point because majority of Indians are struggling to deal with "artha" (of material prosperity). Dharma, Kama and Moksha don't even enter into the discussion. So expecting a "renaissance" of sorts would be foolish, since Indians are still stuck at the first step. And since free market capitalism is the most effective/fastest route to remedy that, Modi is an obvious choice. Discussions on wholesale societal changes can occur only after.
ravishingravi Posted February 7, 2013 Posted February 7, 2013 Modi is probably one of the greatest administrators I have seen in India. But in a pan India context the Gujarat model has to be revised. An ideological position is not the way.
gs Posted February 7, 2013 Posted February 7, 2013 I'm under no illusion that Modi is a saint, but to choose between "baba" and him is a no brainer. If he can replicate a even part of his success in Gujarat over entire India, it would be a huge step forward for India.
AGHORI Posted February 7, 2013 Posted February 7, 2013 Few YOYO kids in SRCC got inspiration from Modi's speech.I don't think these kids have any idea about other inspirational personalities in india.
cowboysfan Posted February 7, 2013 Posted February 7, 2013 Modi should not be the BJP candidate,they will lose credibility forever and that is hanging by a thread as it is.
CSK Fan Posted February 7, 2013 Posted February 7, 2013 Meanwhile BJP raises Ram Mandir issue again http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/At-Kumbh-Rajnath-says-Ram-temple-if-BJP-gets-own-majority/articleshow/18375098.cms Can Modi focus on development politics or will he tow the party line of divisive politics?
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