Srimad Bhagavad Gita says:
यत्र योगेश्वरः कृष्णो यत्र पार्थो धनुर्धरः।
तत्र श्रीर्विजयो भूतिर्ध्रुवा नीतिर्मतिर्मम।।18.78।
Wherever Sri Krishna and Arjuna with his bow go, victory is a certainty. Similarly, we find our Modi’s visiting to any corner of the globe and bringing laurels not only to himself but for our entire nation, Bharat and it was undreamt of earlier in history. Nearly for seven long decades even after independence, we never had had the proud feeling that we are ‘Bharatiya’, second none in the world; but instead, we were depicting ourselves as mild, milksop, milquetoast minions conforming the picture of our then passive, phlegmatic Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. Now, not only that we realise that we are ‘Vishva Guru’, but all other nations also readily acknowledge so 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 which 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 order of the day, undermining the very financial fabric of the nation. Inflation was alarmingly hovering around 10% since 2009. If such a dangerous trend had continued, we would have been another Yemen, Syrias, Sudan, Venezuela, Zimbabwe etc. For instance, economies of our neighbours Pakistan, Bangla Desh, Sri Lanka etc. in spite of possessing abundant natural wealth are depicting 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 more perilously encouraging terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
At that moment, a colossal quantum of eight lac crores of fake currency was planned to be smuggled into the nation. Something drastic, daring, dramatic has to be done; and immediately so. The most vital element should be surprise factor: absolute, leak-proof secrecy. Moreover, if it by chance, ends in a fiasco, consequences would be disastrous. Who will shoulder the blame?
Modi enters the scene. On the night of 8th November 2016, he declares demonetisation of Rs.500 and Rs.1000 currencies. The big bandicoots with vested interest were taken aback with surprise and shock whereas the common man welcomed the move and fully cooperated with its successful implementation. Corrupt politicians, celebrities, media barons for whom loads of hoarded currency got instantaneously transformed into useless waste paper, attempted to thwart the success of the move and indulged in variety of vicious tricks at their command but everything failed miserably, thanks to the unstinted support and understanding of the common man who had full faith in our Prime Minister. The inflation rate, as a consequence dramatically dropped to 3.33% in 2017 and it continues to hover around a healthy low level. Now, we are cozily enjoying a robust economy, comfortable living, affordable cost of living, faster business growth and overall development.
The crucial step of demonetisation, coupled with lot of other innovative, ingenious, path-breaking reforms taken by him 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 and grew at a rapid clip of 8.2 percent in FY23/24.
According to the World GDP Ranking 2024 list, India is the fifth largest economy in the world. Other prominent countries like the United States of America, China, Japan, Germany, etc., have a significant presence in this GDP Ranking list.
Having overtaken France and UK, with such a rapid pace of growth in an environment of subdued global growth, soon we will be beating Japan and Germany also 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 virus, Corona. Their nefarious plan was to execute world-wide genocide and destroy all nations physically and financially so that they will become the undisputed dictator for 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 solution. Our Modi did a strange act. He personally visited two units, Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad and Serum Institute of India at Pune. He discussed with the scientists as to how fast they can indigenously develop vaccines to combat the virus. He ensured that all the procedural hitches are completely eliminated, all the facilities are afforded to all those personnel and all are 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, 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. Th conditions imposed by Pfizer were so unbelievably unfair and unjust that no sane individual will accede to them. Pfizer engaged local anti-national toolkit who started barking in highest decibels that we should immediately purchase Pfizer vaccines. Lot of impediments were created. Negative propaganda was unleashed. There was threat to life of the personnel engaged in production of 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 it was distributed freely to the entire population. Not once, but twice. As a dutiful father, he meticulously monitored and ensured that 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 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 come to be regarded as the vaccine manufacturing hub of the world, contributing 60% to the global vaccine supply.
While every individual, every pharma corporate, every nation was looking at opportunities to make hay while 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 s 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. In both of them he exhibited one essential quality of political strategy: Foresight and Secrecy. We start wondering why he is embarking on an exercise and we are able to 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 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 perspicacity. We have not dealt with his many other contributions like, 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 are perceiving a complete metamorphosis in the entire nation.
While the first one, Demonetisation step guarantees to us a comfortable, happy living in a progressive society, the second one, vaccine production on a war footing is still more vital. It has gifted to all of us literally a rebirth. Now, thanks to Modi we are enjoying both. We are living in a salutary, salubrious atmosphere when juxtaposed with many other nations and still, in spite of all these, a few among us, having the temerity to mercilessly, mindlessly, maliciously pass on scathing comments on him! We shudder to imagine what would have been our plight if only he has 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 be having our own individual priorities which we expect to be attended to on a faster tempo. But, let us keep them all aside. Be honest and touch your heart and think over. Here is an extraordinary man who is working tirelessly for the welfare of the entire humanity. He is as pure, selfless, 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-bhakth 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 alongwith him and contribute our mite for a new Bharatvarsh to blossom.
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