Extract: The paradox that is Modi

An extract from two
chapters, A Paradox and
The Future, of S. Nihal Singh’s book, The Modi Myth

There is little doubt that Narendra Modi wants to leave his imprint on India’s history. He has the stamina, the will power and administrative and political skills to benefit the country in its development and modernisation. Equally, he has immense problems and challenges to confront and, above all, the sum total of his own beliefs which take him to a world of fantasy he has been nurtured on. Modi is a paradox in many ways. By all accounts, he believes in the magic of ancient India, not merely in the wisdom the sages left us in the form of the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata but also in the celestial words of the Gita. His world encompasses an ancient world of many modern miracles.

Admittedly, these myths were part of his upbringing from a young age in the lap of the world of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The organisation, in the Indian idiom, was both mother and father to him. And yet this diligent impressionable young man, who left his wife and family to follow the RSS command, not only learned the finer points of the political game but also acquired an obsessive interest in communication technology and used it to telling effect in his political career in campaigning and directly communicating with the people.

This paradox raises a host of questions. It came as something of a shock that Modi was willing to sacrifice the entire field of education from the primary level to the highest institutes to please the RSS and appoint as its head a school leaver to show his contempt for the entire intellectual community. The kind of absurdities that have been introduced in Gujarat schools is beyond belief. Yet Modi does not spare a thought for the consequences. And reputed institutes of technology and administration are now sought to be smothered in the government’s embrace.

The symbolism of Baba Ramdev dispensing his wisdom at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi says it all. And RSS voices are being raised to paint IITs as elitist and in need of repair by imparting doses of Hindutva. The RSS weekly, Organiser, has thought it fit to denigrate the IITs, taken by many as the first shot across its bow.

Modi likes to consider himself a moderniser and yet he tries to connect to it with the help of myths... Modi’s Hindu view of India and the world presents problems in the 21st century. It vitiates the inter-communal atmosphere stoked nearly every day by his Parivar followers in the unfortunate legacy of the subcontinent’s bloody Partition that has led to three major wars between India and Pakistan. And majoritarianism is not the way to seek communal harmony in the country...

Modi’s accession to power was broadly welcomed because the Congress-led coalition had had its day. It was tired and afflicted with the handicap of having a Prime Minister beholden to his party president for gifting him the office. Here was a new Prime Minister who seemed his own boss, was decisive and had the will power to enforce decisions. Soon it came to pass that Modi had a big ego and was limited in his ken by his own upbringing in the RSS and although he could, on occasion set aside his prejudices to innovate and communicate with the people, his minders in the mentor organisation had left him little room for sensible educational reforms and a clear-headed view of history.

The larger question on the horizon is becoming more compelling. Is the Hindutva concept viable? ...Modi’s dilemma is that he has an overall majority in the Lok Sabha and is a very different person from Vajpayee. He has therefore to face the stark choice of a deeply convinced RSS man holding the highest executive office in the land called upon by his mentors to deliver on his promises. And he has a Hindu-majority country with more than 172 million Muslims, in addition to other important minorities, in which to establish his Hindutva credentials.

For more than a few of Sangh Parivar followers, it has been a field day for pronouncing their edicts steeped in clothes of anti-Muslim and anti-Christian hues. On occasion, Modi is forced to pronounce Olympian-sounding edicts on citizen rights and equality but is powerless to act against offenders, be they, members of Parliament or mere party members.

The central paradox is obvious. India cannot be run as the obverse side of the Islamic State or caliphate. What direction will Modi take to translate the RSS concept of the Golden Age into practice? He still has the excuse of being a minority in the Rajya Sabha in order to prevaricate. The choice is stark. Is he willing to give up his own and the Parivar’s sacred beliefs to govern the country effectively, even after packing research and historical organisations with RSS men? Will Modi’s concept of Hindu India fly?...

As one would expect from a showman of his abilities, a hagiography is quickly building up in the number of books on him rolling off the presses. Some are totally partisan while others try to observe a measure of balance, but all of them deal with the fateful events of 2002 in Gujarat shortly after he assumed the office of chief minister......Modi made a coup with the British author Andy Marino who was given royal treatment in Gujarat and could boast of his frank conversations with the chief minister beyond any granted to a journalist or author.

As a long-time foreign correspondent around the world, I am familiar with a technique employed by leaders in difficulty because a foreigner, however diligent, can never be as knowledgeable as a native and can be influenced by access to the top and ostensible shared confidences.