Lok Sabha Polls 2019: Can Narendra Modi truly be called a leader?
Remember the Mark Twain story where a prince and a pauper exchanged places to get a feel of the life the other person lives? It was fun in the beginning — but complications ensued because with a new life, comes new responsibilities.
Though not quite the same, yet in Indian politics, we have a 'naamdar' and a 'kaamdar' who seem to have exchanged their places.
How are they performing in their new lives?
A bit of leadership test is necessary to see who among them is truly qualified to lead the world's greatest democracy for the next five years. A long read, in two parts.
Part I
As the 2019 General Elections approach, various opinion polls are being released, many predicting a fall in the Bhartiya Janta Party's prospects. The number of seats the BJP is likely to win has fallen drastically, with some opinion columns stating, "BJP has lost all hope of returning to power without allies", and others saying, "chances of them coming to power is 50-50".
But no matter how unfavourable the polls are for the BJP, most media pundits believe Prime Minister Narendra Modi is still India's tallest leader.
Tavleen Singh, in her latest column, did a scathing criticism of Modi's five years — but she ended with, "As someone who has criticised him in this column for his mistakes, let me admit that when I compare him with those who seek to unseat him, he looks good... They make Modi look like a real leader."
One wonders, when they say Modi is a 'tall leader', do they refer to his height? Because otherwise, how is he a tall leader? I mean, how is he a leader?
He maybe a ruler, an icon — but a leader?
We have to give some thought to this.
Let us begin to understand who a leader even is. Quite literally, a leader is one who leads. One who leads a group of people or a community, to achieve a certain goal. Someone who leads peoples' movements, initiates campaigns, forms associations, rallies for their cause from the forefront. One who immediately rushes to a given place in order to be with people in their time of crisis. One who inspires her group members to achieve greater heights.
Above all, a leader is one who dares to walk alone when everybody around feels weak, vulnerable and hopeless. Rabindranath Tagore's immortal words would forever remain the ultimate mark of a true leader, "Jodi tor daak shune keu na ashe, tabe ekla chalo re." (If nobody answers your clarion call, you walk alone).
When a brave person starts walking alone against all odds, taking risks and doesn't stop until people are inspired to lay their trust in her, and follow her, it is then that a leader is born.
When has Narendra Modi done any of these?
What has he led? Which people's movement or campaign was he a part of?
Very little is known about Modi's political life before he became the Chief Minister of Gujarat. While he was not born in an illustrious family, he was nurtured by a powerful and influential organisation, the RSS, and later joined the BJP, rising through the ranks. It is claimed that during the Emergency, he carried out tasks like printing anti-government pamphlets, organising protests, ferrying BJP leaders to safe houses, etc., but there is no documented evidence to any of these, and nothing is recorded anywhere in history.
Most information about Modi's past is basically urban folklore which is not substantiated by facts. Some stories are outright refuted — for example, apparently there is no evidence that he sold tea.
For all his stories about not being born with privilege, it was Modi who was politically privileged enough to be mysteriously catapulted straight to the Chief Minister's seat, without a seeming day of kaam (work). In October 2001, when Modi was sworn in as Gujarat's CM, he had reportedly zero experience in governance and had not even contested an election. The story behind Modi's direct acquisition of the throne would put many a 'game of thrones' to shame.
In 2001, the BJP's performance in Gujarat was at its poorest. Then-Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel was facing allegations of corruption and administrative failures. His health too was on the decline, which became the perfect excuse for the BJP to replace him.
Modi was by then a significant member of the BJP, recognised and lauded for his successful election strategies. He was seen as a viable option who could turn around the BJP's fortunes in the forthcoming assembly elections in December 2002. But LK Advani was reportedly not very keen because Modi didn't have any experience in governance. So, he was first offered the role of a Deputy CM, but he apparently refused to accept it. He wanted either the Chief Minister's post or nothing at all.
In a way, to my mind, Modi snatched the throne away from the ailing Keshubhai.
On October 7, 2001, Modi was sworn in as the Chief Minister, apparently much to the displeasure of most of the party cadres. According to Frontline, around 30 MLAs extended their loyalty to Keshubhai as CM and refused to accept Modi — but they were soon silenced. Keshubhai Patel was apparently hurt and humiliated and he never recovered. In 2012, Patel had said, "Narendra Modi a demon who is responsible for the misery of common people of Gujarat."
Modi's story is far from the rhetoric of being a poor humble boy, working his way up the ladder. It is not a story of a people's leader who organised, mobilised or led the poor and downtrodden. It is a story of a highly ambitious individual in a ruthless pursuit of power. Indeed, Modi has no friends and family. People fear him, but how many love him? To all reports, he left his family to pursue his personal goals. From CM to PM, he has reportedly been living in luxury for decades but his old mother lives in poverty, only to be visited by him from time to time, apparently with an army of photographers for image-building.
In my view, Modi did not join politics for public service but for personal ambition.
He was rumouredly given the plum CM's chair not for the people's welfare but to benefit the party's electoral performance.
How Modi changed the BJP's performance in Gujarat is part of history. The horrific anti-Muslim Gujarat riots of March 2002, ensued within five months of Modi's arrival as CM. While nothing could be proved before the law, several fact-finding reports, autobiographies, non-fiction books and documentaries exist which suggest that the riot was an orchestrated one. His critics have always claimed Modi played a role, directly or indirectly. Most recently, retired Lieutenant General Zameer Uddin Shah, the vice chief of Army Staff who tackled the 2002 Gujarat riots, revealed in his autobiographical work that had it apparently not been for the state government's delay in sending transport, supplies and other logistical support, at least 300 lives could have been saved by the army.
The Gujarat riots shook the nation and world.
Modi was now known as the face of radical Hindutva — he was banned from traveling to the USA for ten long years.
We are still searching for a chapter in Modi's political life where he has either led or participated in any people's movement.
From 2001 to 2014, the twelve years that Modi remained chief minister of Gujarat, he reportedly lived like a king, rich, powerful, far from the masses, keeping the company of the influential, industrialists, film stars, sports stars, state leaders, waving at his fans from a distance or at most, taking selfies with them.
Always surrounded by cameras — but you would not find a photo of Modi hugging a poor person or eating a humble meal with a poor family.
So, whom did Narendra Modi lead and to what?
That remains a question, unless, of course, the Gujarat riot is the answer.
(To be continued)