With parliament elections round the corner, it’s naturally time for the BJP to hail the two consecutive terms of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government. The hyperbole that marked a claim at the party’s National Council Meeting – that PM Modi ushered in Ram Rajya during his 10-year-rule – may thus be excused. Fact is that Modi managed the affairs of the nation in his own ways, changed things for the better in various sectors as is only to be expected of any functional government. Fact is also that he rounded off his 10-year-rule with the consecration of a new, well-crafted Ram Temple in Ayodhya, which is perceived to be the birthplace of Lord Ram.
Ram Rajya, a vision of governance popularized by Mahatma Gandhi, has its origin in Valmiki’s Ramayana and Tulsidas’s Ramacharitha Manas, both literary masterpieces of epic proportions. In sum, it stands for good governance. It upholds truth and ensures equality, justice, wellbeing of the people and prosperity to the nation. Set against this, between 2014 and 2024, there has been no perceptible change to the nation’s governance systems. The administrative mechanism rather turned more chaotic and unjust in several respects due also to wear and tear. Today, this is the land of influence-peddlers and political crooks. Injection of new energy in governance on a regular basis is a pre-requisite. But what we see is a hugely corrupt governance system. Greasing the palms of the bureaucracy is essential to get things done. The judiciary is steadily losing the high aura that it once held due to perceived manipulations on its own and at the behest of the powers that be. The poor and ordinary people are at the receiving end of such uncouth indulgences.
Justice is delayed or often subverted. The law and order machinery is steeped in corruption and nepotism. Modi’s central investigation mechanisms were largely ineffective or used to intimidate rivals. Investigations into several high-profile cases reached nowhere, and the sharks who looted the public exchequer are given a long rope or granted escape routes. The police force is swarmed with corrupt elements and political manipulations subvert the course of investigations. Modi’s efforts, if any, to reverse such trends rarely met with positive results. This is the antithesis of the vision projected by the Ram Rajya concept. The overall situation in this country when it comes to law and order is close to anarchy. The British Raj had left behind a sound governance system. Jawaharlal Nehru as first prime minister sought to build on it. After his demise, successive prime ministers who led the nation have not shown the grit and determination to change things for the better. They made casual, half-hearted, failed attempts like the farm reforms, demonetization etc., which met with limited success. In all, there is a weak-kneed attempt to actually change the system for the better. Rather the Modi era is marked by bombast and showmanship. Good governance was given short shrift.
