Anirban Choudhury
(The writer, an independent journalist based in Guwahati,
can be reached at eternalflame2000@gmail.com)
With Narendra Modi’s term now being virtually over, it won’t be an exaggeration to surmise that perhaps no other Prime Minister of India had to face as much public scrutiny – if not flak – of opposition parties, so-called secular intellectuals and a largely biased media. But to his credit, he managed to conduct himself reasonably well and weathered the storm with considerable ease. And in the process, he has left behind a decimated opposition, while creating a brand that seems invincible for the moment – Brand Modi.
Of course, perceptions can vary and everyone may not be on the same page on this. However, Modi’s biggest attribute in the past few years that led to creation of Brand Modi, and which can be ignored only at the peril of those trying to undermine him, has been his ability to build an image around himself as a doer, determined to follow up and do what he had promised. Demonetization is a prime example. No matter whatever the inconveniencies, countrymen ultimately bought the narrative created by him that it was meant to crack down hard on black money and was for the good of the nation.
Actually, Brand Modi has been assiduously created by carefully building on Modi Inc’s primary attributes – a strong leadership, corruption-free governance, transparency, social inclusiveness and nationalism. All these provided the right ammo to propel the brand. That the ensuing general election has boiled down to Modi versus others is in itself a testimony to the brand’s value.
He may have been saddled with all sorts of accusations, ranging from being “suit boot ka sarkar” to being “intolerant”, from “saffronisation” to facing award wapsi, from converting India into “lynchistan” to being “dictatorial”, etc. But, he managed to steer clear by not allowing himself to be bogged down by the allegations and focused on the tasks on hand. For instance, while the opposition parties flung suit boot ka sarkar allegation, he initiated Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. And with one stroke he took away the sails from the opposition. Similarly, he came up with several mega schemes aimed at social inclusion like Ayushman Bharat, Start-up India, Skill India, etc, besides some innovative programmes that set new benchmarks, if not becoming popular movements, like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Yojana, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Digital India, etc.
And a key factor aiding him in all his initiatives was his impeccably blemish-free and clean image. With grafts and scams having become synonymous with governance until recently, his remarkably graft and scam-free reign came like a waft of fresh air that endeared him to the masses. Never mind the accusations, nothing really stuck on him as he churned out new narratives to attract the masses, thereby leaving hardly any room for his opponents to out-manoeuvre him, other than making them sulk and cry sour grapes.
This is not to sing paeans to Modi or endorse him for everything that he had done, but to objectively analyse what has gone into the making of Brand Modi.
While effectively tackling critics and taming them to establish Brand Modi on a firm pedestal at home, Modi Inc simultaneously also engaged with world powers to announce the advent of a new, confident and resurgent India. It effectively blended India’s growing economic prowess with the country’s rich cultural heritage – adoption of International Yoga Day by the UN and initiation of construction of the first Hindu temple in Arab peninsula being two prime examples. Thus many things went into making Brand India.
Over the past five years, Modi courted leading world powers like the US, European Union, Japan, South Korea, ASEAN countries, Australia, Brazil and South Africa, besides the Arab world to hard sell India. He also stopped hyphenating certain key relationships, like deepening strategic ties with Israel without angering the Palestinians. Ably assisted by Sushma Swaraj, Modi launched a diplomatic blitzkrieg by wooing all major world powers and groups and making them align with India’s positions on several key issues. And this evidently bore fruits during the latest tiff with Pakistan.
Countries like the US, France, Australia and Japan openly endorsed New Delhi’s stand in targeting terror camps across the border and specifically asked Islamabad to rein in terror camps on its soil. And for once, no country condemned India for allegedly violating Pakistani air space. Even Pakistan’s closest allies China and Saudi Arabia called for restraint, without explicitly siding with either country.
Similarly, instead of India, this time it was France, the UK and the US that took the initiative of once again trying to designate Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist under the aegis of UN Security Council. That it didn’t happen is a different matter.
Further, in a historic development, New Delhi extracted its sweet revenge of being left out from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) when host United Arab Emirates (UAE) rolled out red carpet for Sushma Swaraj, overriding objections from Islamabad. This showed the kind of strategic depth India has achieved in recent times in its relations with key Arab countries. Of course, the OIC is yet to officially change its stance on Kashmir, but the ball has been set rolling even as Pakistan stands largely isolated even among its allies in the Islamic world. No wonder, Saudi Arabia and UAE prevailed upon Islamabad to deescalate tensions by releasing captured Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman within 60 hours of his capture.
In fact, the very act of carrying out air strikes, preceded by surgical strikes in Myanmar and Pakistan, was to convey to the world that India won’t take things lying down anymore, that she was ready to strike back where it hurts.
The chain of developments thus clearly proved the effectiveness of Modi’s diplomatic offensive to hard sell Brand India globally. It marks a new paradigm of India as an important global player.
Actually, Modi Inc ingeniously blended Brand Modi with Brand India, each complementing the other. This is something his predecessors hadn’t attempted before. And whether this pays political dividend will be known only when the electorate gives its verdict in a little over a month from now.