Prime Minister Modi’s call for Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) and Agenda 2030 has a Political Meaning too

By Onkareshwar Pandey

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led BJP Government in India is creating another history today. August 5 is the 217th day of the year (218th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. 148 days remain until the end of the year.

This day is very important. Not only because on the same date a year back in 2019, Modi Government had repealed Article -370 and converted Jammu & Kashmir in to three Union Territories namely - Jammu, Kashmir & Laddakh. Also because on the same date in AD 25 – Guangwu had claimed the throne as Chinese emperor, restoring the Han dynasty after the collapse of the short-lived Xin dynasty and also on this date only in 1100 – Henry-I was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey. But more than that, on this date in 1965 – The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 had begun as Pakistani soldiers had crossed the Line of Control dressed as locals.

The mood of the nation is upbeat. The Hindu nationalists across the world are jubilant. And the Scroll.in has rightly wrote –“Whichever way you look at it, August 5, 2020, will be a tremendously significant day in the history of the Indian republic.”

With the launch of ₹5 stamp ticket of the image of the Ram temple, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation of the Ram Temple only with five persons on the stage including Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat, Mahant Nrityagopal Das, head of the Trust, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel.

Neither Lal Krishna Advani, nor Murli Manohar Joshi or Uma Bharti – the faces of Babri demolition in 1992, will be seen there in Ayodhya on this historic occasion.

With this foundation laying ceremony for Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Prime Minister Narendra Das Modi will also emerge as a single tallest rock solid nationalist Hindu leader of independent India.

This could also be another big step towards making of a new India or BharatVarsha.

Two major steps had already been taken.

One - Scrapping of Article 370 from Jammu & Kashmir. This was on the BJP’s agenda, since the Jana Sangh days of the early 1950s.

Two –Triple Talaq, also known as Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019, which was passed by the Indian Parliament as a law on July 30, 2019, to make instant Triple Talaq a criminal offence.

Third – Ram Temple – For which the agitation was started only in the early 1980s.

What will be next?

Do you think the BJP’s politics will be over with the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya? Not at all. Many more things are there in the agenda. That includes the controversial NRC, Judicial Reforms, Constitutional Reforms, Integration of PoK with J&K, and finally making India a Saksham Bharat or an empowered nation.

This will certainly require another term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. So, who will take it further? None else, than the Modi could be considered or accepted leading the nation in front of his sky touching tall image.

What about the Opposition Parties?

The fact is there is no opposition at national level at present. And there is no possibility of emergence of any tall leader who can take over Modi in 2014 parliamentary elections.

But hang on. Elections are held in the normal situations? Let’s think hypothetically. What will happen, If India faces a war with neighbouring Pakistan or China at that time? Certainly the constitution will be suspended and an emergency will be declared.

And, if war lingers on for years, then certainly there will be no elections.

There are people in the right wings who also advocate for changing the whole constitutional system of governance and turning India it to a Presidential form of the Government on the lines of US, Russia and China.

Putin Will Rule Until 2036

Just last month on July 1, 2020, the Russian President Vladimir Putin won a  referendum "All-Russian vote" or ‘Obshcherossiyskoye Golosovaniye’ with over 79 percent votes which gave him sweeping powers to reform the Constitution of Russia  including allowing Putin to run again for two more six-year presidential terms.

This constitutional referendum gives the long-serving president the veneer of legitimacy needed to hold on to power through 2036. And he has many tasks to complete for his nation. The amendments include sweeping changes to the constitution, including enshrining social measures on pensions and welfare state as well as conservative ones such as constitutionally banning same-sex marriage, ensuring patriotic education in schools, explicitly mentioning faith in God, and placing the constitution above international law.

Are all these measures not required in India? Just think.

Xi Jinping is Lifelong President of China now

It all started from China. Only five years ago Beijing was being ruled by a collective leadership. But Mr Xi, who would have been due to step down in 2023, defied the tradition of presenting a potential successor during October's Communist Party Congress. Under ex-President Hu Jintao one could imagine differing views being expressed in the then nine-member Politburo Standing Committee.

But now from March 2018, the Chinese constitution has been altered to allow Xi Jinping to remain as president beyond two terms. The China had imposed a two-term limit on its president since the 1990s. However, in a vote which was widely regarded as a rubber-stamping exercise. Two delegates voted against the change and three abstained, out of 2,964 votes.

Interestingly, the U.S. President Donald Trump had praised Chinese President Xi Jinping after the ruling Communist party announced it was eliminating the two-term limit for the presidency, paving the way for Xi to serve indefinitely, according to Reuters.

All these developments have an impact on the right wing thinkers in India.

Only five days ago on July 30, 2020, Ram Madhav, the national general secretary, Bharatiya Janata Party, and director, India Foundation, wrote an article in Hindustan Times under the title “At the root of today’s crisis, an intellectual void” and raised a valid question that “With rising authoritarianism and a crisis of democracy, the world needs new ideas. Can India show the way?”

“… the dawn of the 21st century saw matters drifting fast. Democratic deficit and fatigue are setting in with alarming speed. Authoritarian regimes have bounced back with a vengeance. Terrorism, that acquired new dimensions and legitimacy towards the end of the last century, has led to the resurgence of the politics of violence. The first quarter of the 21st century witnessed the rise of “wolf warriors” and “lone wolfs”, Ram Madhav wrote.

Modi is not Nehru. Today, on August 5, Modi has clearly signaled the end of a hesitation that was built into the Nehruvian view of Indian politics. In 1951, when the Somnath Temple was rebuilt, the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had made clear his disapproval of President Rajendra Prasad’s involvement with the inauguration. Now the ruling establishment under Modi has put its permanent stamp on the event.

By the time, you will read this article, Prime Minister would have unveiled a plaque to mark the laying of Foundation Stone and also release Commemorative Postage Stamp on 'Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir'. So this is just good visually rich Television news for all of us.

Any progressive thinker on this occasion will think beyond Ayodhya.

The BJP Ideologue Ram Madhav has already hinted enough. And I quote him, “Regarded for long as the crown jewel of democratic liberalism, the United States (US) is yielding ground quickly and significantly, signalling the decisive decline of those values in the world. In the last three decades, at least two dozen countries have turned authoritarian. Authoritarian regimes such as China have emerged powerful during the same period. Authoritarianism does not affect the people of the respective countries alone. It puts a lot of pressure on others too. Democracies, by very nature, become vulnerable to the onslaught of authoritarianism. In the process, they too gradually turn to authoritarian measures to ward off the challenge of authoritarian regimes. The net result will be a world less liberal and less democratic.”

“The next 10 years will be crucial for the world. It has to not only build new leadership, but also come up with new ideas and agendas,” Madhav says.

“It is here that India has a golden opportunity. India’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis has revealed the brighter side of its leadership and society. The combined efforts of the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, extensive efforts by its ubiquitous bureaucracy, and the exemplary discipline and commitment of its 1.3 billion people have helped India manage the pandemic in a manner that has set an example to others. India has a decade to prepare itself to play a leading role in building such a world order. That is what the Prime Minister Modi calls Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) and Agenda 2030,” Ram Madhav concludes.

If Prime Minister Modi has given the call for Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) and Agenda 2030, how can it be achieved without his popular and effective leadership? Thus it has a clear political indication of his leading the nation till at least 2030. The nation needs such a leader, and there is no alternative so far.  

Image credit - Representational Image PM Modi from his FB Page and other pics from FB Page of UP Chief Minister Yogi Aditya Nath