“New India is not a government scheme or a matter of politics. It manifests the strength of each and every Indian, who will together create a Bhavya Bharat” – Narendra Modi.
At the very outset, I want to make it clear that supporting Narendra Modi does not imply supporting the BJP too.
I have always believed that the greatest problem with politics in our country is not the inefficiency of government, but the lack of support from the people of the country. Over time, we have witnessed many governments fail to integrate people or gain their collective support. Therefore, it’s no surprise that people are divided along the lines of caste, religion, and class.
Moreover, nowadays, we have almost become immune to issues like lawlessness, oppression and poverty. We are full of jingoism and clearly lack nationalism in its true sense. I believe that we have, as of yet, failed to define nationalism appropriately for ourselves.
One of the biggest reasons why I put my trust in Narendra Modi is because this man has seemingly united the people of this country. He has also urged them to think about issues of major concern and importance. This is reflected in the fact that people from almost all sections of India’s demography are discussing and debating on such issues, nowadays.
The scenario was very different during the years of the UPA rule. The problem back then lay in the fact that we strove to imitate, instead of innovating for ourselves. This would explain why we insisted on outsourcing companies, rather than exploring our productivities. Besides, we also made a fuss of irrelevant things, while ignoring the important ones.
After all, what were the problems? Did we ever ask ourselves questions like why Indian students excelled abroad, but not at home? Did we ask ourselves why we would kill for religion, temples and mosques, but not take a stand on issues of health and sanitation?
These are questions Narendra Modi has tried to address, since the day he came into power. He has always tried to smash communalism and casteism. He has also frequently encouraged Indians to excel in their respective fields. In this respect, the Skill India campaign is one of the shining stars that we have seen in a while. In fact, Modi has shifted the focus of people from getting doles and subsidies to acquiring skills that would allow them to earn their own livelihoods.
Modi wants the system to provide justice to everybody, irrespective of social identity or status. This is often comprehended in a negative light, and has even led to hostilities. Cynicism runs so deep within us that we quickly jump the gun before even looking at the results of implementing such a move.
The same thing happened with demonetisation. There is no doubt demonetisation was an extremely high-risk strategy, aimed at eliminating the menace of black money. However, despite fierce criticism from all quarters, Modi stood his ground. This showed his firm sense of mission, and proved that demonetisation wasn’t a cosmetic exercise meant only to win state elections.
What I like most about Narendra Modi is that he has completely changed the narrative of the political discourse by not worrying too much about people’s perceptions. He talks about inclusive growth without bothering about your identity.
Non-supporters always tend to disregard the development in Gujarat during his rule by focussing more on the flaws of the government. However, the facts state otherwise. Today, Gujarat is quickly turning into one of the biggest producers of clean energy in India.
I believe that for educated individuals, data and statistics should prevail over word of mouth. In light of this, most criticisms of Modi by so-called pundits fall flat or are irrelevant. Keeping all this in mind, I would say that there is no doubt that Modi is trying to create a powerful and ethical India.