PRIME MINISTER MODI: A Strategic Marvel Or An Economic Novice?

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) came hurling back into incumbency with a sweeping victory. Modi 2.0’s government would herald a new beginning for India and her people. It must not be allowed to cultivate the habits of its predecessor It must not be allowed to rest its head on the cushion of nepotism, fawning, servitude and social Darwinism. It must be taken to task when it falls on its promises.

Doubtless, Modi has delivered on multiple 2014 promises, and that is the reason why he has won. He has also, creditably, lived up to his vision of creating what he intriguingly called the ‘Nano Class’. A slew of benefits – Ujjwala, toilets, electricity, Ayushman, Jan Dhan, and housing – have shaped his vision into reality. Forty-four Indians are coming out of extreme poverty every minute; as compared to 39 in the decade before Modi took over the reins. There is indeed an embryonic Nano Class pushing and elbowing a burgeoning Middle Class. The pyramid is tightening from its base to transform slowly into a tower, albeit one that is leaning precariously.

But aspirations, like requirements, need money. And there is no magic wand to help obtain it. The Modi Sarkar has been a socialist government. Modi himself is no Reagan or Thatcher but, rather, a creation of Frankenstein shaped out of Lohiaite and Nehruvian body-parts. State control has increased, not decreased. Not a single government-owned company has been privatized; not a single government-owned company has been disinvested in, away from persisting government control. Though India is still a growth-story, the fiscal deficit is widening and exports are shrinking. Non-performing assets (NPAs) of public banks now stand at $131 billion. Agricultural subsidies are at an all-time high, largely to do with placating those involved in a sector that contributes only 14% of India's gross domestic product (GDP). A fifth of the yearly government budget allocation – a paltry $380 billion for taking care of 1.2 billion people – goes to paying government salaries and propping up public sector undertakings (PSUs), most of which are sick and corrupt. Ashoka's Hotel and not his Lion Capital remains the de facto symbol of the regime. Air India continues as the hunch-backed maharaja with a privy purse. Loan waivers are the chosen currency; the North Block the chosen mint. The path to India's salvation is ridden with ruts and they have sunk deep and they continue to carry the jalopies of socialism.

The successes of Uri and Balakot, coupled with the mood of the nation on how to deal with Kashmir have emboldened Modi. The removal of 35A and 370 as well as the rehabilitation of the Kashmiri Pandits, promised already in the 2019 BJP manifesto, were taken up as a priority. The ensuing repercussions would dictate the narrative in the coming years. There would be trouble ahead but Modi knows he has India's backing.

We are constantly told that Modi is a master of messaging and 303 seats in Parliament is absolute proof that the man knows how to package his decisions. Yet, we find that this messaging only appeals to the lowest common denominator.

Consider this: the 2002 post-Godhra riots that happened during Modi’s chief ministership in Gujarat had two levels of messaging. For the foreign and domestic press, it was of state complicity in riots. For those who did not consider the press credible, the narrative was of a man hounded and wronged by a clueless and detached press. This split narrative served Modi well and ultimately, led him to become the prime minister. This was repeated again with the 2020 northeast Delhi riots.

Despite the reputation setbacks, India, Gujarat, and he himself suffered due to the Gujarat riots, nothing changed in Modi’s handling of the Delhi riots. The same delayed use of force, the same case of the police openly picking and the same pogrom allegations.

Either Modi doesn’t listen, or he doesn’t care, or the more disturbing conclusion: he wants it. The fact we still don’t have a clear government narrative of what happened in Delhi also seems to indicate he’s quite happy for the pogrom narratives (which it clearly was not) to continue — he may very well reap the benefits from a political perspective, but India bears the liability.

Perhaps the Modi government’s biggest failure to his loyal electorate is not freeing Hindu temples from government control, a campaign promise from 2014.

The Indian government would not be any different than the British or the Mughals if Hindus cannot manage their own temples while other religious groups are free to do so.

Here are some key observations –

One, it is only for Hindu temples that the government wishes to ensure proper administration and its income diverted for ‘correct’ purposes.

Two, contributions made to Hindu temples are used by commissioners to fund various government programs.

Three, temple collections are not used to set up ved pathshalas and educational institutions for teaching Indian philosophy and tradition.

Four, Subramaniam Swamy wrote, “The Srirangam Ranganathan Temple paid the government a fee of Rs 18.56 crore (2010-11) for ‘administering the temple’, for employees rendering religious services like reciting Vedas, Pasurams during the deity processions, no salary is paid. They get offerings made by devotees and share in the sale of archana tickets”.

Five, temple property has de-facto become pseudo-government property. According to T.R. Ramesh, President, Temple Worshippers Society Chennai – “Between 1986 and 2005 Tamil Nadu temples simply ‘lost’ 47,000 acres of land and currently more than 10 million square feet of valuable sites belonging to Hindu Temples in Tamil Nadu are under encroachment.”

He adds, “In Tamil Nadu temples have over 478,000 plus acres of land, 2.44 cr sq feet of property for which the TN HR & CE department gets only Rs 58 crs p.a. In reality income from all temples, mutts would, on a conservative basis generate Rs 6,000 cr p.a.”

Six, idols from ancient temples, part of India’s heritage, go missing. In any well-managed organization, those responsible would be held accountable and punished, but not in the government.

Seven, when the government controls any institution, political interference, patronage, and corruption invariably seep in.

Let us look at Kerala. According to Rahul Easwar, President of Ayappa Dharma Sena, “Kerala has four Devaswom boards namely, Guruvayur, Malabar, Travancore, and Cochin. Every board has nominees appointed by the government. When the Communists are in power, they appoint members from their own parties and one member from the coalition partner. When the Congress comes to power, they balance it between Nairs, Ezhavas, and a third community based on the vote bank.” So technically, the government has no say in the management of temples, but in effect, they control the temples through their nominees. He adds that “Hundi collections are not spent promoting Sanatana Dharma, or for the benefit of poor Hindus, or on opening hospitals and orphanages. Instead, the money is spent on what is mysteriously called ‘development and construction.”

In conclusion, PM Modi is a larger than life figure who more often than not just misses the mark with his policies as it’s created with the mindset of making a big initial wave but has no foresight in the second and third-order effects which leave the urban non-left stuck to their keyboards defending these policies on twitter and other platforms. The time has come for an alternative non-left party to emerge and break the nexus that is the BJP as it has equated itself as a torchbearer of Hindutva which is grossly false. Hindutva and the BJP are two separate entities and do not depend on each other as one has stood the test of time while the other thinks it will. This government’s overwhelming reliance of our inefficient and severely out of touch mammoth bureaucracy goes fundamentally against PM Modi’s promise of “more governance and less government,” but along with “ache din” these promises too shall die in vain and leave the non-left high and dry, a recurring theme with this government’s economic fallacies.

Forefront Media

By: Shreyank Reddy