Ifit is not different, if it is not defiant, if it is not roaring, it is notNarendra Damodar Modi. What was supposed to be a routine, long followedexecution of the tradition started by the very first Prime Minister ofIndia—Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru—turned into a shockwave for most of the Indianpopulation as recent Prime Minister, powerhouse Narendra Damodar Modi shook thecountry with his lightening streaked words at the celebration of India’s 68thIndependence Day.
NarendraModi has never been a man to mince words. Ever since he took control of theIndian state of Gujarat as its Chief Minister, Modi worked with a tight reinand a focused mind.
He is one to speak his mind without fear, and lookauthority in its face. Perhaps that is the reason why people refer to him as alion, and why the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) made history in this year’selections by securing a majority in the Indian parliament after the nineteeneighties. Thus, no one knew what was to happen today, because one can neverexpect anything from Modi.
Asthe sun shone bright on India’s 68th birthday, marking its freedomfrom the British reign, Modi spoke out loud in his baritone voice from the daisat the Red Fort, where the Indian Prime Minister hoists the flag everyIndependence Day, and brought to apparent completion the term of the PlanningCommission of India.
India’sfirst Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, was impressed and affected bythe Russian Supreme Josef Stalin’s wish to bring about an industrial revolutionin the Soviet Union.
Therefore, he set up a Planning Commission to plan out theprogress and development in the country, especially pertaining to theagricultural economy, which was and still is a major source of income forIndia. While the Russian Planning Commission known as Gosplan collapsed, itsIndian friend persevered and saw the end of some of the worst phases of India’seconomy, thriving and carrying out its duty.
Modi,however, became the first attack on the wall when once, during his term asChief Minister of Gujarat, he made clear his opinions on the Commission byshowing up at the Parliament with a video that described in detail how arrogantand ignorant the commission was in executing its duties. The commission itselfhas been under the hammer for quite some time, facing fire for an incident in2012, when it had utilized more than $50,000 on repairs for two official washrooms.Later on, in another incident, it had sparked outrage among the people bysaying that anyone in India who earned more than twenty seven rupees daily (twoUS cents, that is) was not to be considered poor.
Today,however, Modi was clear on exactly what he and his subjects thought of thePlanning Commission, and declared that it would soon be done away with andreplaced with a body more in line with American train of planning and thoughts.Modi reiterated his personal slogan of “maximum governance, minimum government”and expressed his despair at the sad state of affairs in his country,emphasizing that it is in desperate need of a makeover.
Takinganother step towards his promises, Modi chose Independence Day to announce aspecial scheme for all Indian persons who do not have bank accounts to preventthem from being cheated out of their money. During the election campaign thisyear, Modi’s quasi-anti Congress agenda had contained issues like boosting thedowntrodden economy, creating jobs and infrastructural and industrialdevelopment.
Since assuming office, the BJP government has thrown bones to thepublic, but not produced any results. Critics say that it will be a hard roadfor Modi both ways: if he doesn’t deliver, his agenda and hype will suffer. However,delivering results in a country such as India is also difficult, as it is stillreeling from the wounds of the crashed economy and the numerous scams that theCongress left in its wake. It’s a tough road for Modi from here. Only hisefforts in time will tell the fate of this nation.
