I am often asked as to why I write with a dozen paragraphs containing caveats, clarifications, disclaimers, only to finish the apparent "substance" of the article in much fewer paragraphs.
The answer is twofold.
1. In my arrogant spirit, I could say that this is MY style. However, I am NOT that arrogant, so let me tell you the real reasons.
2. It is actually my limitation. Firstly, I dislike obfuscating tactics practiced by many authors who focus on pretending to be "balanced", rather than writing/saying what they want to write/say. I prefer to express my views even if they appear to be harsh and extreme, and let the readers decide how and where to find their balance. In that sense, I am decentralizing this "balancing" mechanism.
3. Secondly, I am not a gifted writer. So I prefer to make the context clear by writing seemingly innumerable denials. For then, I find it easy to communicate what I want to.
So, for whatever it is worth, let us begin. While the title may seem quite self explanatory, let me clarify the context:
1. Modi-bhakts and Modi-tards are warned that if their love for Modi supersedes their love for Hindus, they may find this article very disturbing. So please read on at your own peril.
BJP-bhakts and BJP-tards, as well as their seniors, RSS-bhakts and RSS-tards are advised to read further with grave caution.
2. Since the previous warning could have the potential to cheer RaGa-backside-lickers, I would sincerely caution them and adjure them to resist their impulses towards premature orgasm given their leader's a-nearly-non-existent tool which is only compounded by his having empty balls (not to mention their mustard size. A strong reason to avoid pumpkin sized ego). Though, you may have something to cheer in the end.
3. In all my humility and arrogance, I also caution the "balanced intellects" who might be weighing pros and cons and wondering why "development" has not taken off.
4. This is also NOT a Modi-baiting article, even though I have nearly concluded that he seems turning out to be qualitatively as despicable as the rot that he seeks to replace, bettering them only on flimsy quantitative terms. So, while the article might tickle the genitals of Sardesais and Dutts, it is nowhere near the orgy that they may have been waiting for. Though they might get a much bigger one if things continue, and as they seem they will continue, the same way.
An early warding off of other likely misconceptions:
A. This article is NOT about BJP's electoral performances in the recent past, nor on the alleged "high-handedness" of Shri Amit Shah. In my opinion, AS has been doing a nearly wonderful job. The odds against him have been enormous, and yet he has conducted himself very gracefully, and much more so, diligently.
B. This article is also NOT about BJP's projected electoral performance in 2019. Rather, it is about a much larger issue like, if winning in 2014 didn't make much difference, what will winning (even if it happens) in 2019 do?
Since the strongest "defense" of Modi might come from the "development" enthusiasts, I feel that this is the RIGHT time to evaluate even that. Modi government has presented three budgets, and now only two remain to be presented. 2019 budget will be election-budget, most likely a vote-on-account budget.
When in the same blog, it was written that Modi was the least anti-hindu, and least-Marxist and thus had to be supported, I was readily with that. On that count, I insist that he still remains (among the available crass) the least-anti-H and least-M. When the twitter handle used to mention that Modi was the best we had but was still not good enough, I readily seconded that. Unfortunately, the same has become much truer. The margin by which he is best is fast declining, and the margin by which he is not god enough has reached very high proportions.
I have already mentioned in my last year's assessment that Modi has drifted far from his election "courage" into the timidity of "statesmanship". Last year, I had told a few friends that after Bihar election it would become clear whether Modi was going to be a mere Hajpeyi, or worse still Hajpeyi on steroids. Now I fear that something much worse is on the way.
Again, I am NOT going to talk about Jaitley and Irani. Modi is the PM and it is he who is responsible, unless Modi is seeking a Manmohan Singh kind of argument as a way out.
Since I have mentioned "fall", three times, may be I should enumerate the three falls:
Part-One
Modi's election campaign was "electric". Among other things he proclaimed things like:
On Nationalism and Security:
1. I am a nationalist. I am a hindu. So you can call me a Hindu-Nationalist.
2. Each and every Bangladeshi who is living (illegally) in India will be sent back.
On Foreign Relations:
Aankh jhukaana nahin hai, aankh dikhaana nahin hai, aankh se aankh mila ke baat karna hai.
On Economy:
1. It is not governments business to do business.
2. We are not obsequious to "foreign business", we want to promote Indian investment and entrepreneurship.
3. Black money in foreign lands will be brought back very soon.
I mean, I could go on and on and on.
Fall-One
The euphoria reached nearly a peak when Modi prostrated before the parliament (as if entering a temple). I hate to say this, but the downfall began from nearly that instant.
a. Modi cried, when Advani tried to be sarcastic, claiming that "jaise bhArat meri maa hai, vaise hi bhajapA bhi meri maa hai".
b. His frequent innuendos referring to himself as "chaiwala" and others as chaiwala haters.
c. His references to his mother's occupation when she brought up her children and tear-jerking statements. (The latest of them, if I remember right, was when he was with Facebook man Mark Zuckerberg. I suspect that when he was in USA with Sundar Pichai-google, and Satya Nadella-microsoft, etc. he had pulled a similar performance).
Being moved by emotions is only human, and I am not expecting Modi to be anything even remotely more than human. But if he is merely a "normal" human, let him rather be a voter, not a PM. Just as MSDhoni or so won't be playing for India if they were merely "normal" humans, ditto leading a nation. In fact MSD has won more accolades for being "cool" rather than for being "perceivably emotional".
So, either Modi betrayed himself too namby pamby and wishy washy to be a "leader", especially because he as a leader who took charge at a gravely critical juncture; or he was doing cheap histrionics to build image. The Q is whose image? I allege and suspect, to cast himself in Hajpeyi-image.
I despise Advani as he being Jinna-was-secular-lover, Sonia-appeaser, and D-4 manipulator); yet there is no gainsaying the fact that Advani was wronged. Hajpeyi got the better of him and then later dumped him. Modi has merely exacerbated the whole injustice. How? Modi has decided to cast himself in the mold of Hajpeyi.
Be that as it may. Modi continued his honeymoon with "masses" over his visits abroad, earning "rock-star" epithets by admirers. Some of his few decisions did elicit initial confidence, such as when he disbanded planning-commission etc. However, the man was exhaling too much gas.
He got his first kick in early-2015. O ye undiscerning, I am not referring to the Delhi election results, I will return to that much later. The first kick was delivered by none other than BHObama, and that too in style. Modi just played like a child in a boxing ring with an experienced opponent.
That kick should have awakened Modi, but I suspect he preferred sleep to wakefulness. I don't grudge him that. On any other day (in any other times) he would be beating his Jawahar/Rajiv like opponents hands down. But o man, this is the period when our country barely managed to reach ICU in May 2014. Critical care, by competent team had to ensue. And Modi, notwithstanding his whatever, seems to have thoroughly failed at handling that.
Part-Two
In the mean time, another Congress-like thing happened. sycophants converged onto all "creamy-posts" and un-"connected" sympathisers, "volunteers" were dumped. It is not that the unconnected sympathizers were expecting plush-posts. NO. Modi completely ignored the fact that, his campaign had drawn people from hitherto unknown sections into working for him. They did not come in droves to seek pots of honey (Though, even if they did, I do not consider it any inferior thing). Rather they came because wanted to work for their mother land. Modi was a place-holder. He still IS only a place-holder. But a place-holder who forgets that he is a place-holder often wakes up to extremely rude realities. Modi, instead of figuring out how to harness that support and enthusiasm, in the name of "systematizing" things, merely bureaucratized them with critical positions occupied by suitably "connected" individuals. Whether MyGov, whether Media, whether IT, whether dash-dash-dash, they all seem that way.
Fall-Two
Being a politician Modi knows that politics involves ups and downs. He knows he was demonized during his Gujarat days. He knows that he won against all odds. Then why is a hedging against "downs"?
I suspect his awarding Hajpeyi a bhArat ratna was a signal to Sonia Gandhi. Assume for a moment that Sonia has compromising evidence against Hajpeyi. what would happen to Modi's image if that evidence were to come in public? Thus Modi gave a rope to Sonia.
Even a dumb-fuck will know that India's total system has been thoroughly infiltrated and corrupted by corrupt appointements, not only in high places, but all over. So what should be a remedy? The remedy should be a quick and comprehensive dismantling of it, and erection of a newer (preferably no) system. What is being attempted? A servile respect of "Nehruvian Bureaucracy". Not just that, as I mentioned, even in his personal domain of influence, Modi has bureaucratized his "system". [MyGov, Media, IT, etc. among many others]
Despite tall-talks like minimum-government maximum-governance, the focus is on enlarging government revenues and expenditures, a typical Jawaharian exercise. Modi, if you are foolish enough not to realize that all the money that you are filling in government coffers will be misused by later governments, you can never be intellectually redeemed. I suspect that you are merely paving way for an even more corrupt RahulGa government which can swindle all the money that you collect as revenue. (Sardesais and Dutts, you can hang on this straw of hope).
Your Aadhar stupidity is stupendous. Never merely imagine what good a good government can do with "money and powers". Always be cautious about what a bad government might do with the "money and powers" accorded to it by "good governments". If you can't understand this, you are too foolish to be a PM. If you understand this but do not act, you are a traitor, just as your predecessors have been.
Part-Three
A typical pole-vaulting "hindu"-politician uses the hindu-pole only to discard it at the right time, and crosses over and jumps onto the "secular"-mattress lying on the other side. Modi is expected to demonstrate himself to be an exception. But let us see what he has been doing, or rather not doing.
Now watch the contrast:
Pre-election:
I am here to serve ALL 125 crore Indians. Not some over others.
Post-election:
Meri sarkaar gareebon ke liye samarpit hai.
Are all 125 crore people "gareeb"?
Pre-election:
Ham kisi ki topi nahin pehnenge, par kisi ki topi uchhalane bhi nahin denge.
Post-election:
While hindus are being massacred by muslims in West Bengal, what does Modi do? He maintains a few minutes silence during his election speech while the ajaan (a call to kill kuffars) is being broadcast in loudspeakers to "respect" the feeling of muslims.
So let us try to get things a bit clear. Most politicians work to WIN elections and not to serve people. Anyone who wants to sell himself, as someone somewhat better, needs to do 3 things.
1. Promise ambiguously, so that people salivate about much, but try to deliver more than something that will dissatisfy the people. Mind you, here the people must also include "your core support group".
2. You may not do what you claimed, but AVOID doing contrary to what you claimed.
3. Delivering takes time, but BEGIN early.
Fall-Three
While all kinds of people voted for Modi, and while ALL deserve good governance. But there were two large (largely intersecting as well) groups. Hindus and Middle-Class which was chagrined by a decade of Congress rule. Now let us evaluate Modi:
1. Made Hindus and Middle Class salivate, and yet has until now done precious LITTLE.
2. Tens of Hindus have been killed (by muslims), and Modi is still undecided whether he is a Hindu or a Nationalist.
Worse, instead of keeping quiet, he is giving clean-chits to "Islam" from pulpits in Saudi Arabia. Huh.
3. Nobody can deliver something before beginning to work on it. Modi seems to imagine himself to be "nobody".
The worst part is, that not only has he not begun, he shows NO SIGNS of making a beginning in any foreseeable future. If all this does not establish that Modi now is Hajpeyi-on-steroids and is betraying himself as Naeemuddinbhai Damn-Another-Ass Muhammadi, what else will? And don't irritate Hindus by blatant lies like "Terror has no religion" and "Yoga is not associated to any religion", in 2016 we must be way past such nonsense.
So let me summarize the three falls.
First began immediately after May-2014. Second happened as time progressed. Third is becoming evident, much more blatantly by the middle of the term.
I need to comment a little about election debacles. We must remain clear that Congress ruled for so long because either there was no opposition (it takes time to start an opposition, so till about 1970 none existed), or the opposition (votes were) was divided.
BJP has a different problem. Anti-BJP are easily united. The only way to break the back of this problem is, to not get bogged down by small successes of anti-BJP unity. For power-hunger will fail them. I adjure Amit Shah to plan a strategy in which the pressures/fissures among anti-BJP unifiers become exacerbated. And the main thrust should be Hindu-Unity. What BJP-RSS need to do is to leeave Hindu-reform to Hindus. They should focus on Hindu-Unity (whether reformed or unreformed). RSS-BJP often throw shit at fan by trying to do the reforms themselves. We need Hindu political and military unity. Focus on that. A carefully crafted strategy that honors truth can be made. Abler minds than those at present at the disposal of Amit Shah might need to work on them. Remember that it is fundamentally a "philosophical" fight too. Don't borrow opponent's philosophy.
However, blaming BJP-defeats on Amit-Shah's "style" is a sign of intellectual bankruptcy. These are political wars and wars need generals. If you have even an iota of doubt, investigate how "democratic commies" operate. Commies push for "democracy" in rival parties, only to weaken them.
Where Do We Go From Here?
So the Q that might be asked is this: Can Modi rise? What should Amit Shah do? Before I answer this, I want to ask a rhetorical question. What will Modi achieve by rising again? If Modi can not utilize present moment, why and how will he utilize future? A person who is afraid of beginning will never reach anywhere. Except may be win a few elections.
So Mr Modi, listen carefully, you must demontsrate by making a beginning, to communicate that you are willing. Only if you are willing, what I say later will make some difference.
And what I say, is nothing new! Politicians win elections. Winning elections puts you in a "position". It does not necessarily bestow "wisdom". So it is important for the elected to draw upon wisdom of others, especially well wishers and enthusiasts. And for that you must have a simple mechanism. What is that? You can have all think tanks, Vivekananda Foundations, MyGovs, etc etc. But you need (and members of your cabinet need) personal think-tanks. Ok, think-tank is an over abused term. Basically you need people who meet, discuss, and provide you with "action plans" including "philosophy". If you get mere "crisis management" you are running a modified Congress government.
Such people, do not need money or position. They DID work for you pre-2014? Did you PAY them? NO. Are they feeling cheated because you did not pay them? NO. Then what is it that is making them feel cheated? Before you answer that question, wonder how they worked with you pre-2014? You "listened" to them with "respect". Whether you did what they asked you to do was immaterial, for that was (and IS) for YOU (one, members of your cabinet) to decide. What such "volunteers" need is the "respect" that you "listen". Irrespective of what horrible things they have to say, and then act appropriately. The first and last cut-off happens when politicians cut such channels off by appointing sycophants as "information routers". The problem Mr Modi, is that like Advani had D-4, you have (even if unknowingly) M-10. The problem is not even 4, or 10. It is that such form a cartel, especially if there is "money" and "power" to throw around. What are your M-10 doing? Bossing around just as the Advani's D-4 did.
And Mr Modi and Mr Shah, there is NO derth of people who will criticize you to make you more saleable and more secular and socialist. Have a few hundreds who tell you Hindu (and middle class) point of view. Get that? Your diabetic advisors are asking already exhausted and starving hindu, middle classes to practice "low glycemic diet". Fie upon such advisors; Horse shit be in their mouths.
So Mr Modi, do you think I am giving you NO points for Make-in-India, Start-Up-India, Stand-Up-India, Mudra, Swachh Bharat, etc? Mr Modi, remember, and you know this, for you are, err were, a proud "chaiwala". No eatery succeeds merely by the items it mentions in the menu. If the cooks, the kitchen, the raw-material, the service, is all below-par, mere menu can not redeem it. For whatever it is worth, you have printed your "menu". It should have been, it could have been, much much better. However, let that be. It could possibly be modified as time goes by. But you cannot have "good delivery" if your cooks, waiters, etc are compromised. Don't figure that out the hard way. Take may word for it.
I will give an example in passing. With your PMJanDhanYojana, you helped crores of people open new accounts. The collateral damage? Has the bank staff been increased? NO. So what happens? All customers need to suffer for hours for things that used to take minutes. Whose planning was it? I could go on and on, but you have paid minions to do this job, make them move their fundaments. Huh.
Mr Modi, I hope you remember this, otherwise let me remind you, that your work did not end in May-2014. In fact, it began, rather it should have begun in May-2014. And you should soon wake up and realize that you have not begun yet. Nay, you have not even begun to begin. That is much below par performance by you.
Get back to your "volunteers". Unpaid, but respected, hard-bitter-critics but listened to, volunteers. If you like the sweet and suave voices of sycophants, you are betraying Hindus. And you are not merely betraying their votes, their votes have been betrayed by all until now. You are betraying their hope. That is the problem.
And since you love "phoren wisdom", listen to the song "Time" by Pink Floyd, (A friend recently recommended it to me as apt for you) and don't miss the lines "...And then some day you find, ten years have got behind you, no one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun...". Even if you manage to win 2019, in 2024 the lyrics will haunt you.