Modified India: Third decade begins for Narendra Modi in service of the nation

On the first day of the auspicious Sharad Navaratras, 7 October 2021, Narendra Mod i began his third decade of national service while holding important constitutional positions. Starting on 7 October, 2001, he served as the chief minister of his native state, Gujarat, for four terms. Then, since May 2014, as the Prime Minister of India, being re-elected in 2019 for his second term. If there is one thing that is undeniable about Modi , it is this: He is a shakti-upasak. Not only in the sense of worshipping the Divine Mother, Jagadamba, in her various forms as Hindus do during this time of the year. But also as traditional Kshatriyas used to, by invoking and venerating the Divine Shakti or supreme power. Speaking of Navaratras , how can we forget Modi’s state visit to the United States as president Barack Obama’s official guest and India’s prime minister on 30 September, 2014? It was the first bilateral summit between the leaders of the world’s largest and greatest democracies. Modi was fasting during the lavish banquets thrown in his honour. When expensive champagne was raised to toast him, he responded with a glass of warm water. By abstaining from the hospitality of his hosts, Modi was also conveying that the unfair visa ban imposed on him by the same administration was an insult not only to him but to the people of India. He was atoning and purifying himself, as a befitting response to the ancient, spiritual civilisation that was Bharat. Speaking of the United States, let us also recall what the man he most admires, Swami Vivekananda, said in reply to the welcome address at Paramakudi near Ramnad, soon after he returned to India in January 1897. He had made an impressive debut in the World’s Parliament of Religions, Chicago, on 11 September, 1893. After over four years abroad, Vivekananda was coming back to his beloved motherland via Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Ramnad, Tamil Nadu, whose Raja had supported his trip. Vivekananda famously said, “Strength is goodness, weakness is sin.” More than any other Indian prime minister, it is Modi who has taken to heart this mantra of Vivekananda’s. Swamiji’s exhortation in Lahore on 12 November, 1897, towards the end of his triumphal march from Colombo to Almora, also rings true today: “Know that all sins and all evils can be summed up in that one word, weakness. It is weakness that is the motive power in all evil doing; it is weakness that is the source of all selfishness; it is weakness that makes men injure others; it is weakness that makes them manifest what they are not in reality.” To discard weakness, whether on the personal or national level—this seems to have been the driving force in Modi’s life. Is it any surprise that he was himself named after Vivekananda’s pre-monastic moniker, Narendranath? Ten years back, Modi was about to complete his first decade as Gujarat’s chief minister. I was then serving as the inaugural Chair in Indian Studies at the well-regarded flagship university of a small city-state, which prided itself on being the best run modern democracy in the region. I was with an international group of South Asia specialists at a fancy Indian restaurant in the famous island resort on the edge of the city. Now that Manmohan Singh and UPA’s second term were underway, the topic inevitably veered to, “What or who next?” as far as India was concerned. I said, with what now seems like uncanny prescience, “Narendra Modi.” There was a hush. The experts, forks raised, stopped mid-way to their mouths. Eyebrows were raised. There were frowns on the faces of the local and foreign professors, some of whom were from places as far apart as the United States and Australia. “Modi?” the latter said, his voice raising a decibel. “Have you forgotten the Gujarat riots?” Another quipped, “He can’t even get a visa to visit the US or UK. You can’t be serious!” Then the usual round of Modi and RSS-bashing followed. I was thinking to myself where and how these specialists were wrong. Just then, a Chinese professor gave a counter-view: “Modi is very dynamic as Gujarat’s Chief Minister. He has established direct relations with several foreign leaders, including Xi Jinping. Gujarat is good for business.” I got the opening I wanted. “Exactly. Modi is a visionary. He has transformed Gujarat. Do you know that the waters of Narmada have reached Gandhi’s ashram, merging with the dry and dirty Sabarmati? Even Saurashtra has water. The water canals have been covered with solar panels to prevent evaporation. The people of Gujarat will never forget this. But you are right in that the party leadership has, for now, confined him to his own state. He has no national presence. But all that might change closer to 2014, when the next general elections are scheduled.” My colleagues looked at me sceptically. They were not convinced that Modi would make the cut, let alone become India’s prime minister. But that is precisely what happened. Even the RSS lent their support to Modi over veteran LK Advani because it found the former more winnable. The rest, as they say, is history. So much has changed since then. But what hasn’t is that Modi remains a divisive figure among the literati, chatterati, and glitterati even as he is adored and applauded by the masses of India. That is why he has found a way to bypass this class in order to radically change India’s destiny. Modi is a man with a mission and with a single-minded determination to transform India. It remains to be seen what his third decade in office unfolds. Bharat during Modikaal is bound to see tremendous change and progress. In that sense, Bharat mein Modikaal will be as memorable as Modikaal mein Bharat. Let us pray for both of them, Modi and Bharat, so that the Divine Mother pours Her blessings on them during this period. After all, what we call Mother India is none other than Bhavani Bharati, whose progeny and devotees we all are. The writer is a Professor of English at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Views are personal.