First a confession: I had lived in Delhi for almost a quarter of a century but had never travelled to the Red Fort to witness a Prime Minister address the nation on Independence Day. Rather than get up early, battle roadblocks and stringent security checks, I had preferred to watch the spectacle ‘live’ on television.
On television you had great close-ups of the Prime Minister, saw who were the VIPs that attended and had a magnificent overview of the venue, including children wearing clothes of specific colours and seated to form patriotic images. You could munch on breakfast while watching and if the speech bored you, as often it did, you could switch channels to something more entertaining.
With Narendra Modi delivering his first Independence Day address to the nation as Prime Minister, I had decided that I would make the effort to go to the Red Fort. Apart from being an eloquent speaker, the buzz was that Modi would spell out his agenda for the nation that would have a few surprises. The interest grew, because barring a couple of speeches in Parliament and at public events Modi has been strangely inarticulate about his experiences of occupying the nation’s top job, resorting to only occasional tweets.
So on Independence Day I was seated by 6.30 am, as directed by the invitation card, in the press enclosure below the ramparts of the Red Fort. The weather gods were kind and the hazy sky helped tame the sun’s heat. While we waited for Modi to arrive, patriotic songs were played interspersed by running commentary on loudspeakers. There were sniggers when the commentator mentioned Modi’s campaign promise of “achhe din” ahead.
At 7.20 am Modi arrived sporting a flowing orange-to-green turban that along with his cream and white ‘bandhgala’ and ‘churidar’ outfit matched the Tricolour. The Prime Minister smartly took the salute from the guard of honour as the band played a foot-tapping score. The dazzle and colour may have been reminiscent of the Raj but watching it live gave you a sense of the importance of the celebration.
As Modi ascended the ramparts and hoisted the National Flag, the National Anthem played. Deafening cannons fired with regularity in the background, the deep boom reverberating across the fort walls. It was an awesome sound and visual experience — one that evoked immense pride in our nation apart from gratitude for those who had fought hard to give us Independence and the freedom that we now take for granted.
The best though was yet to come. Modi began his address a trifle hesitantly but then gathered momentum, gesticulating animatedly as he spoke extempore. He shunned the usual programme-and-statistical-outline style that his immediate predecessor had favoured and spoke straight from the heart. Modi chose to keep his analogies simple, exhorting foreign companies to “Come, make in India.”
The Prime Minister revelled in rhyming slogans. He told young Indian entrepreneurs to take up the challenge of self-reliance while ensuring there was “zero defect (in products they make) and zero effect (to the environment)”. Modi seemed comfortable in his skin and the audience was spellbound. It was truly a command performance and worth travelling miles to watch.
Perhaps more important was that Modi silenced his critics who had accused him of losing momentum. The Prime Minister set clear priorities that included safety for women, stopping open defecation by providing toilets, focusing on skill development for employment, ensuring transfer of technology while opening the doors to foreign manufacturers, giving bank accounts and insurance policies for the poor, ushering an effective e-governance and urging Parliamentarians and legislators to spend funds allotted to them to set up a model village each.
Modi also indicated that he was planning radical reforms in centre-state relations, particularly for funding and monitoring projects by dismantling the Planning Commission and setting up a more effective institution in its place. There may have been quibbles that the Prime Minister didn’t dwell long enough on foreign policy or finger-wag at Pakistan, that he didn’t set firm targets and was still in election campaign mode, and that while he mentioned Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel in his speech, he left out Jawaharlal Nehru’s contribution to the freedom struggle and nation-building. Also while Modi did call for a 10-year moratorium on communal and caste discords, he did not warn of stern action against those who fuelled hatred and conflict.
Yet there was little doubt that Modi had once again fired the imagination of the public by his oratory. In doing so the Prime Minister had added to the expectations of better days ahead that he has promised. As Gujarat Chief Minister, Modi had the reputation of not just being a good talker but a problem solver and doer. Now as Prime Minister of India he must show that he can deliver and do so speedily. And we should do our bit and help him in nation
building.
raj@tribuneindia.com
By his oratory Modi has only raised the expectations of better days ahead that he had promised. He has the reputation of not just being a good talker but also a problem solver. Now the Prime Minister must show that he can deliver.
