The selfie we’ll never see

Red Fort was not the venue of celebrations on August 15, 1947. Jawaharlal Nehru decided to address people from this symbolic citadel of power the next day. But 1948 onwards it became customary for Prime Ministers to address the nation from the ramparts. This may have been because of what Nehru said when he poured his heart out: that he unfurled the Indian tricolour at Red Fort because this had been Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s dream. As compulsions of realpolitik overtook them, not all Prime Ministers poured out their hearts like Nehru. Statements became calibrated and populist. For every speech delivered, there were several that weren’t. This year is an epochal Independence Day because the man who strides to the Red Fort seeks to erase the legacy of the man who first addressed the nation from there. Prime Minister Narendra Modi may well choose not to return to the Red Fort next year. But today I’d like to imagine Mr Modi pouring his heart out to the nation, and claim who he is.

Namaskar to all my Hindu brethren, Aadab to all Muslims, God Bless to all my Christian fellow citizens, Sat Sri Akal to all Sikh friends and greetings to all citizens of this blessed nation. Congratulations to all of you for joining me in celebrating India’s 68th Independence Day though I am not sure if all of you are actually represented here. But I hope that millions of people of all faiths are joining me live on television sets, computer screens, mobile devices and tablets. Technology has connected millions of Indians and I pledge to use it further to break barriers in society.
You will be surprised today because I have not addressed you as one single social group like in the past years. I never greeted Hindus distinctly from the Muslims and I did not name Sikhs or Christians as being worthy of mention first as representatives of their religion and then as Indians. But I am doing so today not because I do not have the ability, but because it is a matter of belief. As chief minister I took care of well being of all Gujaratis and during campaign our slogan was “Sabka saath, sabka vikas”. Secularism does not mean appeasement. If smaller religious groups are comfortable in cloistered outposts on fringes of society, it is their choice. My government does not guarantee integration but will ensure protection and development at par with others.
India that is Bharat did not get its name because it is a geographical territory. Our nationhood is defined culturally and not territorially. Religion is just a part of the culture that defines what we are as a nation, as a people. The majority of people of this country adhere to the dominant culture and though others are welcome to follow their faiths, they must accept this culture — the ideas and ideals, as their own.
Dear friends, let us stop discrimination on the basis of faith and accept that we have a single unifying culture. Once this belief binds us, nothing can divide. Riots happen in the country because we are not one, because we try to stay distinct from each other and retain separate identities. My detractors used riots to build votebanks and then used them against me and my party. They do not realise that the more they try to polarise society against us, the more it helps us because the people in the majority feel aggrieved that no one is promising special benefits to them. They ultimately support us because they think we will take up their cause.
Decades ago, when I first came to Delhi as a young political karyakarta, I never thought I would ever address you from here. The longest distance I thought I could go was the chief minister’s gaddi in Gandhinagar. But I have reached this place because of your love and because I remained true to the path that will be good for the country. But I am not very comfortable about speaking to you from this place because I look at history differently and these forts of medieval Mughal opulence are for me symbols of subjugation of the people of this country.
I faced a challenge less than five months after I took over as the chief minister of Gujarat. Though my government provided never before relief and gave an unprecedented rehabilitation package. But critics focused on non-issues and did not stop panning me and my government. But we did not get bogged down and converted every setback into an opportunity. The results are before you and I can see lakhs of people still jostling to get a better view of this stage.
My predecessors often announced new schemes during Independence Day speeches and I shall follow this tradition. But my promises will reach you by official means — through Twitter, Facebook, other social media sites and press releases in Hindi. I will use this opportunity for a dialogue with you. My critics say that I deliver only monologues, but then, tell me, how can I have a dialogue with so many of you. It would be better if I speak my mind and you give feedback through social media and the special website I have created for giving suggestions — mygov.in. Just long on and you will be connected with me. You can also send me an email from the pmindia website and I will know exactly what is going on in your mind.
People say that I am authoritarian, that I do not believe in democracy and run my party and government on autocratic lines. But did our party not elect a new party president by sarva sahmati? Did I not interview each MP and got to know them before forming my Cabinet? Do we not have meeting where I share my vision and ask ministers for inputs on how their ministries are to be run? We have been a messy democracy for too long and the results are in front of you. The world does not take us seriously and growth is at a standstill. To revive growth we have to be united and for this if an iron hand is needed, I am willing to employ it. Azaadi is good, but it must also be accompanied by samriddhi.

The writer is the author of Narendra Modi: The Man, the Times