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For an India that is largely ignorant of history, and perhaps not interested, and more in tune with mythology, Narendra Modi’s use of the phrase “aatma-nirbhar (self-sufficient) “will gain admiration and praise. They will not know that self-sufficiency was the Jawaharlal Nehru mantra and that he invoked it at a time when India was poor and struggling. Having emerged from colonial rule with its large-scale exploitation of resources From India, Nehru wanted to make sure that India would never be in a similar position again.Her five-year plans were designed for that purpose.
Nehru is a forgotten and much reviled figure today, and now Modi has appropriated the phrase, who is the only man who has done everything possible to undermine Nehru’s stature. For today’s Indians, therefore, Modi is the man who has not only coined the slogan but will lead India to greatness.
There has always been a conservative and protectionist streak in the Indian mind and the “foreigner” is generally viewed with suspicion, if not hostility.
Indians crave foreign products and foreign approval, and want to settle in foreign countries, but remain nervous about foreign influences on their deep-rooted beliefs, values, and most of all, on their “culture.” It is useless to tell you that much of what constitutes India today in food, clothing, and indeed culture, has come to us from our interaction with those of other countries, who came to this land as travelers, merchants, or invaders. We hold fast to the idea that it is India that, for millennia, has influenced the rest of the world, through religion, science, philosophy, art, morality and, most importantly, spirituality.
Narendra Modi understands this more than most. From talking about India’s pioneering role in plastic surgery (to a group of doctors!), To promoting yoga, and, as he did once again in his speech on Tuesday, he never fails to list the “contributions” of India to the world.
“Whether TB, malnutrition, polio, India’s campaigns have influenced the world. The International Solar Alliance is India’s gift against global warming. The International Yoga Day initiative is a gift from India to alleviate the stress. Indian medicines have given new life to people in different parts of the world. “
These messages are delivered in a simple and easy to understand way. His “address to the nation”, almost always at the same time, in a kind of Hindi designed to baffle large numbers of Indians but sounding scholarly, is designed to impress.
They play a chord with the general public that, in any case, is receptive and willing. The media quickly broadcast the key points in a flattering and admiring tone, and WhatsApp does the rest. What chance does the complex analysis have the next day, of cutting and cutting numbers or being outraged by what was not said, for people to change their minds?
The reference, in Modi’s speech, to Rs 20 lakh crore is another example. That’s a powerful figure, too big for anyone to understand. But it looks huge, and it has all the keywords like lakh and crore that will impress and make good headlines, like the “$ 5 trillion economy in five years” did. (The mnemonic of 20 with the year 2020 is not accidental either.)
Economists will have some serious questions about it, but they will be talking to their own kind: to the layman, it seems impressive and indicates that the government is doing somethingWhich is all that matters. You can still lose jobs, businesses will go down, people will lose lives, and migrants – well, who cares anyway.
Modi’s lack of any substantive (and sensitive) reference to migrant workers who have been walking home, unemployed and hungry, has received comments and outrage. But Modi knows what to say and what not say. He knows that spending time talking about the difficulties of tens of thousands or more can be a stumbling block for an audience who is looking for reassurance and does not want to look at warts and blemishes in this country.
Not everyone has been horrified or upset by the images of men, women, and children walking on the roads to reach their villages hundreds of kilometers away or run over by a train. Many of them have seen it as an irresponsible, even anti-national, act or conspiracy by rival political parties and have blamed migrants for demanding free food, transportation and tickets.
It is now up to states to determine the best way to contain the coronavirus. The finance minister will work out the essential details of the financial package. And every Indian will have to take care of himself. As for the Prime Minister, he is here to keep our morale high and comfort us, while gently massaging our egos. India is destined for greatness, and that is all we want to know.
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