Srimad Bhagavad Gita says:
यत्र योगेश्वरः कृष्णो यत्र पार्थो धनुर्धरः।
तत्र श्रीर्विजयो भूतिर्ध्रुवा नीतिर्मतिर्मम।।18.78।
Wherever Sri Krishna and Arjuna, armed with his bow, go, victory is a certainty. Similarly, we find that wherever our PM Modi visits, there are not just laurels for himself, but also to our entire nation, Bharat, which was undreamt of earlier in history. Nearly seven long decades, even after independence, we never had had the proud feeling that we were ‘Bharatiya’, second none in the world; instead, we depicted ourselves as mild, milksop, milquetoast minions conforming to the picture of our then passive, phlegmatic Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. Now, not only do we realise that we are ‘Vishva Guru’, but all other nations also readily acknowledge and treat us with due reverence! Reason: MODI!
Emotional encomiums apart, here are just two specific areas showing his foresighted, astute action for which we should be ever grateful to him.
[For the sake of brevity, we are mentioning only two epochal instances that deserve a permanent place in our nation’s history. The entire list will warrant volumes of literature.]
1. DEMONETISATION
When he took the reins in 2014, the situation was pathetic. Corruption, nepotism, exploitation, economic crimes, frauds were at their peak.
Black money, underground transactions, money laundering – all such anti-national activities were the order of the day, undermining the very financial fabric of the nation. Inflation has alarmingly hovered around 10% since 2009. If such a dangerous trend had continued, we would have been another Yemen, Syria, Sudan, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, etc. For instance, the economies of our neighbours Pakistan, Bangla Desh, Sri Lanka, etc., despite possessing abundant natural wealth, depict pathetic pictures.
So, to curb black money, he brought in Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015. The act imposes taxes and penalties on undisclosed foreign income and assets. Still, currency in circulation surprisingly remained abnormal. The reason was shocking! Fake currency from Pakistan was freely flowing like an avalanche in lacs of crores of rupees thanks to the diabolical machinations of our former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who arranged for selling our currency printing machine to our enemy and also continued with the purchase of currency note paper from the same shady British manufacturer De La Rue, who supplied the same paper to Pakistan. The liberal influx of fake currency was not only damaging our economy but also perilously encouraging terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
At that moment, a colossal eight lac crores of fake currency was planned to be smuggled into the nation. Something drastic, daring, and dramatic had to be done, and immediately so. The most vital element should be the surprise factor: absolute, leak-proof secrecy. Moreover, if it by chance ends in a fiasco, the consequences would be disastrous. Who will shoulder the blame?
Modi enters the scene. On the night of 8th November 2016, he declared the demonetisation of Rs.500 and Rs.1000 currencies. The big bandicoots with vested interest were taken aback with surprise and shock, whereas the ordinary man welcomed the move and fully cooperated with its successful implementation.
Corrupt politicians, celebrities, and media barons for whom loads of hoarded currency got instantaneously transformed into useless waste paper attempted to thwart the move’s success and indulged in various vicious tricks at their command. Still, everything failed miserably, thanks to the unstinted support and understanding of the common man who had complete faith in our Prime Minister. As a consequence, the inflation rate dramatically dropped to 3.33% in 2017, and it continues to hover around a healthy low level. Now, we are enjoying a robust economy, comfortable living, affordable living, faster business growth, and overall development.
His crucial step of demonetisation, coupled with many other innovative, ingenious, path-breaking reforms, has fructified into spectacular results, with India emerging as the fastest-growing economy among G20 nations. Faster growth fosters more jobs, social security, and wealth creation.
The India Development Update (IDU) observes that India remained the fastest-growing major economy, growing rapidly at 8.2 per cent in FY23/24.
According to the World GDP Ranking 2024 list, India is the fifth largest economy in the world. Other prominent countries, such as the United States of America, China, Japan, Germany, etc., have a significant presence in this GDP Ranking list.
Having overtaken France and the UK with such a rapid pace of growth in an environment of subdued global growth, we will soon be beating Japan and Germany to emerge as the third largest economy in the world.
2. COVID VACCINE STRATEGY:
In December 2019, China, with cruel, crooked, criminal intentions, spread the deadly coronavirus. Their nefarious plan was to execute worldwide genocide and destroy all nations physically and financially so that they would become the undisputed dictator for the entire human race.
The world was taken by surprise and shock. The potential hazards of the virus were unbelievably immense and the consequences were fatal. Western countries, although supposed to have advanced in medical science, were groping in darkness for solutions. Our Modi did a strange act. He visited two units, Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad and Serum Institute of India in Pune. He discussed with the scientists how fast they can indigenously develop vaccines to combat the virus. He ensured that all the procedural hitches were eliminated, all the facilities were afforded to all those personnel, and all were motivated to act with war-like dedication and speed. He monitored each step in their progress, and they responded with exemplary dedication.
But, the path was not smooth. Pharma giants like Pfizer and Moderna were greedily waiting like hungry vultures and rapacious wolves to prey upon our critical situation and plunder our entire fortune with savage force. Their pricing was astronomically high. Since our population is quite huge, they wanted to make the maximum profit from us. The conditions imposed by Pfizer were so unbelievably unfair and unjust that no sane individual would accede to them. Pfizer engaged a local anti-national toolkit that started barking in the highest decibels, and we should immediately purchase Pfizer vaccines. A lot of impediments were created. Negative propaganda was unleashed. There was a threat to the life of the personnel involved in producing the local vaccine. The rapscallions resorted to all sorts of treachery and tricks, stooped to abysmal levels to thwart the attempt. The film, ‘Vaccine War’, presents a vivid picture of all the events in an absorbing manner.
But our Modi proved, ‘Where there is a will, there is a way’. Against all odds and to the surprise of the entire world, our Bharat was able to successfully manufacture vaccines—that too, in record time. The more admirable part was that he saw to it that they were distributed freely to the entire population—not once but twice. As a dutiful father, he meticulously monitored and ensured all his people were covered. Kalidasa describes King Dileepa as under:
प्रजानां विनयाधानाद्रक्षणाद्भरणादपि।
स पिता पितरस्तासां केवलं जन्महेतवः।।
[Orienting his subjects in good conduct, protecting them from fears or dangers, according to succour with welfare facilities, King Dileepa became their ‘de facto’ father while their actual parents remained just parents ‘de jure’.]
With his untiring effort, our Bharatvarsh has become regarded as the world’s vaccine manufacturing hub, contributing 60% to the global vaccine supply.
Every individual, every pharma corporation, and every nation was looking at opportunities to make hay. At the same time, the sun shines, in tune with our motto of Sanatana Dharma, वसुधैव कुटुंबकम्’, he distributed freely, YES, FREELY vaccines to as many as more than hundred nations, demonstrating our commitment to global solidarity. He has offered medical supplies, equipment, and expertise to many countries. It is significant to note that the list includes even nations that are habitually inimical to us! The laudable logic is that mankind in those countries should not suffer due to faulty leadership.
The above are just two instances. He exhibited one essential quality of political strategy in both foresight and secrecy. We start wondering why he is embarking on an exercise, and we can infer the reason only after seeing the final result.
Here is a stanza, again from Raghuvamsam:
तस्य संवृतमन्त्रस्य गूढाकारेङ्गितस्य च।
फलानुमेयाः प्रारम्भाः संस्काराः प्राक्तना इव॥
[His tactical manoeuvres in kingcraft are inferable only by their fruition, just like the repercussions in this life are implied from a past life since his concepts, body language, or orientation are abstruse.]
Sri Rama advises Bharata the same statecraft:
कच्चिन् मन्त्रयसे न एकः कच्चिन् न बहुभिः सह |
कच्चित् ते मन्त्रितो मन्त्रो राष्ट्रम् न परिधावति || २-१००-१८||
[“I hope that you do not deliberate alone nor indeed with numerous men. I hope your decision arrived at by you through such deliberation does not flow to the public (even before it is carried out”.]
We can endlessly elaborate on his exemplary prudence and insight. We have not dealt with his many other contributions, such as the Digital India Scheme, Make in India initiative, Swatch Bharat Movement, Focus on Modernising Railways, Indigenous Defence production, Renewable Energy, Agriculture reforms, etc., to mention a few. Thanks to his untiring efforts, we perceive a complete metamorphosis in the nation.
While the first one, the Demonetisation step, guarantees us a comfortable, happy life in a progressive society, the second one, vaccine production on a war footing, is still more vital. It has gifted to all of us a rebirth. Now, thanks to Modi, we are enjoying both. We live in a healthy atmosphere when juxtaposed with many other nations. Still, despite all these, a few among us dare to mercilessly, mindlessly, maliciously pass on scathing comments about him! We shudder to imagine what would have been our plight if only he had not been there.
Forget for a moment your political leanings, prejudices and preferences based on caste and creed, religion and region, language and leanings. We may have our own priorities, which we expect to be attended to faster. But let us keep them all aside. Be honest, touch your heart, and think over it. Here is an extraordinary man who is working tirelessly for the welfare of the entire humanity. He is as pure, selfless, and transparent as alabaster. Never allows any of his kith and kin to seek or secure any benefit from him. He perfectly fits into the definition and description of Sri Rama in the first chapter of Valmiki Ramayana. And one need not be a blind Modi-bhakt to say that.
So, let us all cast aside all other considerations and participate wholeheartedly in his endeavour to achieve progress and prosperity. Let us put our shoulders to the wheel with him and contribute our mite for a new Bharatvarsh to blossom.
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