By H. Srikanth
While I was in Hyderabad during the semester break, I got a call from a former colleague working now in another central university in the northeast. He asked me to be the key speaker in a seminar organized by the university to discuss a little-known book titled, “Modi@20: Dreams Meet Delivery”. I told the gentleman to ask their organizing committee whether it is alright with them if I take a critical look at Modi’s achievements and failures. As expected, he did not call me again. Later, I came to know that Delhi has instructed all the central universities, including NEHU, to organize seminars to discuss the book and send the photos to Delhi as documentary proof.
What is so special about the book? The said book titled, “Modi@20: Dreams Meet Delivery” edited and compiled by one Bluekraft Digital Foundation, which is a publishing house of no academic repute. In the introduction, it declares that the book seems to unravel Modi phenomenon, account for legitimacy and popularity that he enjoys, and assesses the impact of his policies. The book includes contributions from persons from different fields of life. The contributors like Latha Mangeshkar, P.V. Sindhu, Shobhana Kamineneni, Amish Tripathy, Anupam Kher, Devi Shetty, Saduguru, etc., are no doubt known names in their respective fields, but it is not clear how capable they are to make an objective study of a leader like Modi. As far as other known personalities like Amit Shah, Arvind Panigrahi, Surjit Bhalla, Ajit Doval, S. Jayashankar, etc., are concerned, we all know that they are all associated with Modi’s government in one or the other way. Although the book is published only this year, it does not include a discussion on developments like the socio-economic impact of demonetization, handling of the Covid fiasco, abolition of Article 370, and controversial Acts such as CAA and Farm Laws. The book is more a propaganda piece, not any serious academic work.
This is not to say that Modi did nothing all these years. During his first tenure as the PM, Narendra Modi was indeed popular. Different sections of people had reposed faith in him and indeed looked forward to ‘Acche Din’ that he promised. Some of the programs such as Jan Dhan Yojana, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Ujjwala Yojana, and Beti Bachao, Beti Padao were appreciated by many. Modi was then popular at home and also abroad. The people viewed him as a national leader capable of ending corruption and terrorism at home, and teaching a lesson to India’s belligerent neighbors. They lent support to his demonetization drive and then to his idea of Surgical Strike, as they felt that Modi’s policies were targeted against India’s internal and external enemies. Initially he was emphasizing on development, on making India a global power and on strengthening the national security. There has been a rapid development of infrastructure such as roads, bridges, airports, telecommunications and digital technologies during Modi’s tenure as the PM. But alongside, Modi was also promoting the Hindutva agenda. He was eulogizing Mahatma Gandhi and Ambedkar in public platforms, simultaneously attacking, maligning and marginalizing the liberal, left and secular forces.
By marginalizing the Congress and the left in different states, the ruling BJP and its allies under Modi’s leadership appeared to have blunted the opposition parties. However, Modi’s first tenure as the PM faced stiff resistance, not from any political party but from the students and youth in different parts of the country, following the vilification of JNU and other politically active universities in the country. As the 2019 elections approached, Modi had to give up the development agenda and rely more on Hindutva plank to attract the Hindu voters. The Phulwama attack in February 2019 came as a blessing in disguise to Modi. He effectively used the terrorist attack to stir up nationalist sentiments across the nation and road his way to massive victory in the May 2019 General Elections.
BJP’s victory in 303 parliamentary seats in the 2019 elections emboldened the Modi regime to pursue its Hindutva agenda with much more vigour. By abolishing Article 370, Modi’s government pushed ahead its Kashmir agenda. The Supreme Court verdict facilitated its electoral promise of building Ram Temple at Ayodhya. Declaring that the government has no business in doing business, Modi’s government has speeded up the privatization of the PSUs. Taking advantage of its absolute majority, the government pushed ahead many bills during the initial months without proper discussion. However, the government got into muddy waters when it tried to impose the CAA and NRC. There was a massive protest from different quarters to the discriminatory policy of granting citizenship based on religious criteria. Under public pressure, Modi’s government had to retract on the NRC and postpone the implementation of the CAA. The hasty decision to impose lockdown without proper arrangements forced lakhs of migrant workers to walk miles to reach their homes. Absence of adequate medical infrastructure led to the death of several lakhs of Covid patients in the first and second phase of the Covid pandemic. Although the successful vaccination of crores of Indians needs appreciation, the scars of migrant tragedy and the memory of floating dead bodies in the River Ganga continue to haunt the people. Similarly, the hurriedly enacted pro-corporate Farm Laws led to a protracted agitation by the farmers for over a year, forcing Modi to announce the repeal of the controversial farm laws to placate the agitating farmers.
Unlike his first tenure as the PM, Modi’s second term began experiencing the effects of the global capitalist recession, compounded initially by the after effects of the Covid pandemic and more recently by the Russia-Ukraine War. The Modi government used the adverse situation to promote digital banking and online education. Its pro-corporate economic policies widened the economic inequalities in the country. According to the latest World Inequality Report, in 2021 the top 10% of the elites hold 57% of the national income, while the bottom 50% share just 13% of the national income. A study by Institute for Competitiveness shows that the top 1% earns more than the thrice of the bottom 10 percent. Between 2018 and 2022, the billionaires’ fortunes multiplied, and their total wealth is more than the annual budget of the nation. The Adanis, Ambanis and ten other Indians corporate made it to the Forbes List of the richest persons in the world.
The meteoric rise of the Adanis and Ambanis did not benefit the Indians. It becomes clear from the fact that the number of poor and unemployed also multiplied during the period. In the 2021 Global Hunger Index, India ranked 101st position out of the 116 countries. Further, the Human Development Index 2020 placed India at the 131st position, much below the neighboring Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2022 ranks India 135 out of 146 countries. Although the government has been talking about economic recovery, the recent World Bank report claimed that India’s growth rate for the year 2022-23 cannot be over 7.5 percent. During the Modi’s rule, the government has written off the NPA worth Rs. 10.7 crore in last seven years. The economic stagnation coupled with growing inflation, inadequate allocation for the social sector and increasing tax burden on the masses is making the lives of the poor and middle classes in India miserable. During this period, India’s democratic credentials are also coming under the global scanner. The Economist Intelligence Unit placed India at a 46th position in the 2021 Democracy Index ranking. India’s Human Rights Index is no better. India ranks 119th position out of 165 countries in the Human Rights Index and slotted the 142th position in Press Freedom Index 2020.
None of these dark spots of the Modi regime find any mention in the book, “Modi@20”. It is the responsibility of the intellectuals to interrogate and question the leaders and their policies. But unfortunately, most intellectuals in India have allowed themselves to be tamed. When they run after power and positions, there is a very little chance of any truth coming out in the orchestrated academic discussions organized in the emerging Modi-fied India.