Nine years of the Modi government has rid India of its colonial insecurities and finally given us Purna Swaraj (complete independence). It’s no coincidence that Modi’s India is often referred to as ‘Naya Bharat’ i.e. New India. It is only over the last nine years that we, as a country, have been able to shed the remnants of our colonial past. Though India gained dominion status at the behest of our freedom fighters on the brink of August 15, 1947, for a long, long time, the remnants of colonisation stayed put in our policies, our minds, our confidence and in the soul of our nation.
When we begin to think about why, we begin to understand that it is the predominant leadership which governed India — the new Congress party — split multiple times from its pre-independence self and its ‘owners’ — the Nehru family — which kept independent India separated from its flaming and living civilisational roots. It is no secret that the Nehrus, past and present, are a clan of anglophiles. This has been documented several times in primary resources from folks who were closely related to them. They never believed in the idea of a glorious India of the pre-colonised era. Instead, they chose to take India on a path which closely mimicked the British one. Here lies the fundamental problem — they are a sect which chose to equate modernism to Western influences when instead, it is the ancient Indian civilisation which was truly the most evolved and advanced in the world — a golden spot which was repeatedly conquered by several external forces for the advancement of their own lands. And yet, the post-independence Congress resented the idea of reuniting the pre-colonised Indian civilisation with post-independent India.
Out of the 75 years of independence, the Nehru family has directly or indirectly ruled the country for over 55 years. Either they have been in power directly or have placed officers at senior levels in all institutions such that even during the odd years before 2014, when the Congress was not directly in power, institutions would work at their behest. Most policies prescribed during the consecutive reign of the Nehru family and their coterie have had an essence of a lingering colonial hangover. Let’s take for instance the licence-permit raj which they ran under the name of ‘socialism’. In the truest sense, it was nothing but an instrument to keep businesses and industries servile and extort money from them in exchange for licences and permits which they would dispense as per their wishes. If enough suitcases of cash made it to the Nehru family’s or their party’s treasure chest, businesses and industries would be spared from strangulating over-regulation.
The Nehru family believed, certainly until 2014, and perhaps even today, that they are the rightful rulers of India — that the right to rule over the country is theirs and theirs alone. And, by that right, they are free to siphon off as much wealth from India into their coffers in other countries as they please to. Due to this mentality, they haven’t really gotten around to really forming policies which truly put India on an accelerated path of growth. The idea of maintaining democratic values is foreign to them. Why else would one of their own not only ban the press but also elect a chief justice of their liking, going over the heads of those in line; extend her government’s term by force, in the hope of never being thrown out of power. If the family truly believed in democratic values, they would first demonstrate them within party institutions — all of which are controlled directly and indirectly by the Nehru clan.
It is only after 2014 that India truly saw what it was to be led by an individual who has been loyal to the land and proud. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ignited a flame of self-assurance and confidence, which the country simply didn’t have, owing to the constant debilitating rule by the Nehru family. For six decades we were made to feel that we were simply not ‘good enough’ or ‘wealthy enough’ to make rapid progress. It is now that we see that it is the political will which was lacking, for advancing us and giving us the rightful place on the world stage. Just over the last nine years, we have gone from 11th ranking economy to becoming the 6th largest, soon projected to become the 3rd largest over the next five years.
Several noted intellectuals have often said that it is with wealth that social indicators such as healthcare and education are markedly improved. Until 2014, we were made to believe that we are ‘poor’ because we are not educated enough, or that our healthcare spend pushes us into poverty. It is now, that we see, that with the rising status of the country, our children have an equal opportunity in education and we have an equal opportunity in availing good healthcare. With wealth creation and stable, sound policies over the last nine years, there has been an influx of businesses and foreign investment in India. In addition to our domestic companies witnessing unprecedented growth, these offer a platter of note-worthy employment opportunities for young Indians.
It is only after nine years of the Modi government, that it is now commonplace to see a ‘reverse brain-drain phenomenon’, a homecoming of sorts, of the best Indian minds who had left the country for better opportunities abroad. It is only after nine years that an increasing number of global manufacturers want to ‘Make-In-India’ and an even larger number want to ‘Invest in India.’ India is truly the bright spot in today’s world, as per the International Monetary Fund, and all credit goes to the nine years of the Modi government. We can confidently say that we have broken the shackles of intellectual insecurities, freed ourselves from the colonial hangover and now are well on our way to Purna Swaraj.
The writer is a policy and communications strategist. A Nation to Protect: Leading India Through the Covid Crisis is her third book. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
Comments
0 comment