(Dr RK Chadha)
The two-part BBC documentary on India: The Modi Question that claims to have investigated certain aspects of the 2002 Godhra incident is yet another attempt to defame the most popular Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi. It reflects the frustration of the western world and the stink of burning is in the air. The Ministry of External Affairs rightly trashed the documentary as a propaganda piece that lacked objectivity and reflected a colonial mindset. When India was fighting for its independence from the Imperialist Raj, Winston Churchill said, “If Independence is granted to India, power will go to the hands of rascals, rogues, freebooters; all Indian leaders will be of low caliber and men of straw… (sic)”. Recently, after India overtook Britain to be the fifth largest economy under the leadership of Narendra Modi, an attempt to tarnish his image was expected from the sick Imperialist mentality that reflected the filthy mindset of their war hero Churchill who was a party to irradiating tens of thousands of innocent Japanese people to death during World War II. As the 2024 elections in India are fast approaching there is an all-round exasperation amongst media, intellectuals, and opinion makers, both at national and international levels to pin down one man.
They feel helpless with a disoriented opposition that is confused and is at sea on issues on which elections are to be fought. Therefore, the entire opposition is latching on to the BBC issue in unison as the government has blocked its screening in India. They are hell-bent to gain whatever little political mileage they can knowing fully well that the Supreme Court has given a clean chit to Shri Narendra Modi in the 2002 Godhra incident when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat,
The frustration amongst the opposition is also because anti-incumbency at the Centre is not working in their favor as the Modi juggernaut marches on confidently fulfilling most of the promises made during the last two elections. There are exemplary developments in the Infrastructure sector from roads, railways, air connectivity, and electrification. The progress has been phenomenal in the implementation of both the Bharatmala and Sagarmala projects. More than 30,000+ km of new highways have been added. The Railways have added second, third, and fourth lines on busy routes to enhance network capacity to an additional about 10,000 km and bring northeast India connectivity through broad-gauge conversion. Under a novel project, UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) more than 73 cities are connected doubling India’s air connectivity. Inland waterways are being developed as an alternative to road transportation that is likely to employ two lakh people. Already, more than 100 important waterways are declared as National Waterways. India achieved complete electrification and more than 6,00,000 villages are receiving electricity at a subsidized rate. Under the urban sanitation program, more than 10 crores of toilets have been constructed and 28 states including union territories have become open-defecation-free.
In healthcare more than 10 AIIMS are functioning in the country today with another 8 will become operational before 2024. More than 157 medical colleges are in various stages of completion. This has increased a better doctor-patient ratio. Female literacy under various schemes like Balika Samriddhi Yojana has increased. In the energy sector, India has succeeded in increasing the installed capacity of non-renewable energy sources like solar, wind, hydro, and biogas to 173 GW during the last 7 years. A remarkable achievement measured by any standard.
The list is long with the abrogation of Article 370, CAA, Triple Talak, GST, Covid 19 vaccination to Indian people and extending help to African and other Asian countries, rescuing students from the Ukraine war zone, Aadhar linking, and digital transactions. A very interesting sight is that the country witnessed queuing of almost all tall leaders of opposition parties before Hindu temples in all kinds of traditional attire!There is euphoria in the country as India emerges as a strong nation that gave a red eye to China during the Galwan clashes and Doklam border issues. Today, Pakistan is begging India for talks as their economy is in shambles, thanks to the efforts of Modi-Shanker diplomacy that made them a pariah in the world. The demonetization has ended the counterfeiting of Indian currency and had broken the back of terror funding that coincides with the economic woes of Pakistan that may ultimately lead to its Balkanization shortly. World leaders are looking to Prime Minister Modi to mediate and end the Ukraine-Russia war. He made headlines during COP26 in Glasgow when he declared that India will increase its installed capacity of non-fossil fuels to 500 GW and will reduce the projected carbon emission by one billion tons by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2070. India holds the Presidency of the G20 from December 1, 2022, to November 30, 2023, and 43 Heads of Delegations- the largest ever in G20-are likely to participate in the final New Delhi Summit in September this year.Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the most popular leader in the world with an approval rating of 77% as per the US-based consulting firm Morning Consult. On a sheepish and conciliatory note a British Parliamentarian on January 19, 2023, referred to him as“one of the most powerful persons on the planet”, while underscoring the importance of the UK’s ties with the fastest-growing major economy in the world.
Mr. Modi has been successful in projecting India as a Macho Nation and ready to lead the world in the coming decades and shift the balance of power in favor of Asia. He has demonstrated that you don’t have to walk for “Bharat Jodo”; your work is enough to unite the country. It is but natural that with such an impressive bio-data and performance indicators in his favor, he is the focus of the world, and the regressive anti-Indian forces conniving 24×7 against him with support from their strange bedfellows in India who are clueless against a phenomenon called NAMO. Try, what may, the country stands solidly behind him and the results of 2024 will be no different than the last two BJP will be heading towards a hat-trick, maybe with an improved performance.
(The author is former Chief Scientist at NGRI)
