I am not trying to evaluate the performance of the Prime Minister through this blog. I am just trying to bring out some of the aspects of his leadership which stand out. He brought in a lot of energy to the job along with style and strategy.
It may not be an exaggeration if I say that the country was governed by the Congress for the past 60 years. This is the first time people are seeing a different style from the Prime Minister of the country. The perception of energy the PMs brought to the job ranged from negative in Manmohan Singh to neutral in Narasimha Rao to Positive in Indira Gandhi.The interaction with the leaders was only limited to the pre-election rallies
Narendra Modi did some new things which surprised the people and the politicians. He created a flutter when he invited all SAARC leaders including Nawaz Sherif. Was he trying to improve the diplomatic relationship with these countries? No. He was just announcing his arrival, Did he achieve it? Absolutely.
He went on to visit many countries which were ignored by his predecessors. His critics were quick to point out that he was spending too much money without getting anything in return! Modi did not respond and quietly went on building Brand Modi. Without getting too much into his foreign trips, I would like to talk about somethings which he did which were frowned upon by his opponents.
He interacted with the children of the country directly on Teachers day. His critics were quick to say "What is the big deal?"and dissect his words and allude to"Sangh Parivar Agenda"in what he said. They alleged that the whole show was choreographed. Modi was quietly building a connection with the next generation voters and building an image of a strong and caring Prime Minister in the minds of the children most of whom will be voters in the next elections.
He started speaking directly to his people through "Mann Ki Baat"using common man's medium Radio. He established a one to one connection with his people. His rivals were again saying what is new and anybody could do it. In Malayalam, there is a saying "പുത്തനച്ചി പുരപ്പുറം തൂക്കും" (The new bride will sweep the roof). Most of the people thought that all these initiatives will die down with time in line with this saying. But to his critics'dismay, Modi continued with his new initiatives.
Recently, Modi visited UAE which is currently the largest trading partner of India and became the first PM to do so in 34 years!! He made it a point to visit a labor camp which represents the majority of Indians in UAE. His rivals could not find a reason to criticize the visit, but they said PM could not do anything to solve the problems of the people in UAE!. This visit was heavily criticized in Kerala which is ironic as there are more than 1 million Keralites in UAE. This visit was well received by the rulers of UAE and they reciprocated with concrete measures.
You must be wondering by now what all this has to do with Columbus. I am coming to that. Christopher Columbus was given Lordship after he discovered America. The Spanish Lords were quite unhappy that a common man was accorded Lordship.
Columbus was dining
with many Spanish nobles when one of them said: 'Sir Christopher,
even if your lordship had not discovered the Indies, there would have been,
here in Spain, which is a country abundant with great men knowledgeable in
cosmography and literature, one who would have started a similar adventure with
the same result.' Columbus did not respond to these words but asked for a whole
egg to be brought to him. He placed it on the table and said: 'My lords, I will
lay a wager (bet) with any of you that you are unable to make this egg stand on its
end like I will do without any kind of help or aid.' They all tried without
success and when the egg returned to Columbus, he tapped it gently on the table
breaking it slightly and, with this, the egg stood on its end. All those
present were confounded and understood what he meant: that once the feat has
been done, anyone knows how to do it.
Narendra Modi's opponents like the Lords keep asking the question"What is new"and Modi keeps quietly executing his strategy. I hope the Prime Minister is aware that style and strategy is only one part of the whole and he has promises to deliver. Only time will tell whether Modi is able to keep this diverse country together and goes on to become a successful Prime Minister while delivering his promises. Putting a country with more than one billion people on the track of progress and prosperity is not an overnight task, but he has a billion impatient Indians waiting for the change.
