With a new feather on his cap, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is at the height of his political career. Having emerged as the longest-serving Prime Minister without interruption, he has carried on for 12 years through three consecutive terms. He will carry on for three more years for as of now a break-up of the BJP is unthinkable because of the RSS glue that binds its rank and file. Besides, Modi is keeping the alliance partners in good humour – by giving them more than what they ask for. Crossing the record of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister, in terms of duration of term is in itself a creditworthy gain. Yet, Indira Gandhi as prime minister functioned for 16 years with an interruption in 1977 – which remains as a record. Independent India grew steadily through the able leadership of successive prime ministers. Several of them did well. Modi, however, is uniquely lucky to have carried on without facing any social or political upheaval against his governance, thereby providing a rare period of stability to the nation.
As prime minister, Nehru towers over others – a line-up of 15 so far. His eminent Western education and his exposure to public life steeled by the heat of the Independence movement provided him with a clear vision about a future India. Nehru, at the outset as first prime minister, worked systematically to shape the destiny of the nation by re-energising a complacent nation at multiple levels. He set up huge dams to boost agricultural output; steel plants to push the growth of the industrial sector. Nehru took India straight to the Space Age and encouraged the fields of science and technology. To boost defence, he set up giant production units in Jabalpur and Avadi. He kept the world by his side, mostly, with an eminent leadership of the Non-Aligned movement that eventually claimed a membership of around 120 nations. Nehru’s undoing was his commitment to peace, which a scheming China took advantage of, resulting in an invasion in which India lost heavily. Nehru’s Socialist pursuits had their good sides but, like Communism, it did not allow a fast-paced economic growth for the nation.
Narendra Modi’s 12 years in office saw India keeping up the progress on multiple fronts – as is also the case with most prime ministers who preceded him. The Narasimha Rao-Manmohan era in the 1990s was a major turning point in economic growth. They joined India in the global push for Liberalization and Globalization, raising the GDP growth to an unprecedented 9.5 per cent. Atal Behari Vajpayee as PM launched the national highway modernization process. Indira Gandhi stabilized Arunachal Pradesh and militarily helped in the formation of Bangladesh through a historic break-up of Pakistan. Modi boldly abolished Article 370 and ended the special privilege for Kashmir. He implemented market reforms through GST, which was conceived by the UPA government. The Modi government took highway development forward. A combination of advantageous situations including the steep fall of crude oil prices since 2014 end, kept the economy in growth mode. Modi’s foreign policy initiatives were moderately successful.
