In these eight years even though many people The hope of ‘Acche Din’ may have been given up but the story, the plot and the protagonist are still at the place of admiration and reverence.…As far as the story is concerned, there are now 1.25 billion people telling the story along with Modi, the narrator. But Narendra Modi is no longer a storyteller. They have told their story. The legacy of Modi’s story is now in the hands of 1.25 billion people. The story is also of those who yearn for good days. Do you think good days are coming?
We are believers. And keep hoping for the faith to be right. In 2014, a new faith emerged in the name of Narendra Modi. In that belief, the country had made his story its own. He created a story of hope in a new perspective. It was a time when the atmosphere was filled with despair, helplessness, terrorism and hostility. Narendra Modi then promoted himself as a reformer, determined to restore traditional values in a modern, new India. As a result, Narendra Modi’s superstitious devotion in the country of worshippers soon made him the personification of 125 crore Indians who was about to bring ‘Acche Din’.
Like everyone else, I also liked the beauty and freshness of Modi’s story. So when I went to Gandhinagar with my father Shri Hari Shankar Vyas to interview Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in 2014 and saw Modi being interviewed at the Chief Minister’s residence, I was giddy, excited and mesmerized to hear the questions and answers. By the time of the interview, he seemed to be the preferred choice of the country. He was beginning to understand that people were seeing him as their hope, their Messiah. The pressure on him was tremendous, but as a candidate for the post of PM, he seemed unconcerned. They were aware of their potential, attractiveness and public sentiments being created.
When he was asked questions about his thinking in the current crisis of India, Narendra Modi replied in this way as if it was all a matter of jokes for him. I loved knowing his confidence, intention to weave old customs with modern India. Everything will become very easy and fun once you become the Prime Minister. Indeed, Narendra Modi became the story of the country and its symbol, which was needed for India to enter the new century. At that time, he had a combination of a strong narrative and sincere will. ‘Acche Din’ was definitely on the way.
On 16 May 2014, amidst much enthusiasm and fanfare, with the country’s 15th Prime Minister, India got a new story. Taking advantage of his humble beginnings and being an outsider in Delhi politics, Narendra Modi changed the whole atmosphere. He was full of enthusiasm at that time. He made his mark between old politics and disillusionment with the ways of politicians. Often used for vote bank politics, he shrugged off the sentiments of a larger group of Indians which includes youth, backward, rural and middle class people. He became his representative, his ‘Goliath’ in the story. The new story of India and its superhero Narendra Modi!
In a world that has the experience of hearing and hearing stories from Abraham Lincoln, Richard Nixon, Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Angela Merkel, Barack Obama, India too has found a new leader whose speeches are not only adorable, compelling , and were the instigators of emotions, but also their foreign listeners. The new story of India started being broadcast both at home and abroad. As if he was the first Prime Minister of India, not Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (who is much despised today), whose story is India. There was once the story of India from Nehru. After him, there has been a vacuum in India about storytellers and stories. India grew but its story did not. Modi’s predecessor was known as ‘Maun’, ‘Accidental Prime Minister’. His work, the economic progress of his time, was rejected, as Manmohan Singh was neither a storyteller nor a skilled story teller. And for an entire generation, especially those of us born in the last years of the last century, who had no role models in politics, there was no story, no narrative except the dirty politics of power and corruption.
All of that changed eight years ago. Everything suddenly changed. India was taking the jump of the ‘Bullet Train’ of Modi’s ‘New India’ straight from the train that was doing the chucking of Nehru’s era. Today Modi remembers Nehru while the public compares him with Nehru. The narrative of the Amrit Mahotsav of 75th year of independence is that once there was Nehru, today there is Modi!
Eight years have passed. Narendra Modi has taken over the post of Prime Minister with full grip, threat. And this question is noisily in everyone’s heart and mind, guessing, guessing and looking for answers, have we had a good eight years? The editorial is flooded with applause and criticism. With economic, social, cultural development, good decisions, bad decisions, development, downturns, arrows shoot in the dark, what is gained and what is lost? But I believe that Narendra Modi’s time as Prime Minister should be marked and classified not only on the policies he used to shape and transform India, but how long his story remained in the mind and conscience of the general public. It is necessary to understand how much it can be pushed. Because Narendra Modi is such a Prime Minister, who knows the skill of being directly connected with the people. To them, newspaper op-eds and praise songs or criticism are not important.
What matters is the opinion of the people, the equation by which their wires connect with the 125 crore countrymen. Amidst rhetoric like ‘New India’, Nehruvian India, most people feel that India is flourishing in security and prosperity under Modi’s leadership. Name in the world. I met 75-year-old Samta Prasad Chaudhary during the Uttar Pradesh elections at a tea stall in Dumariaganj, Gorakhpur. Russia attacked Ukraine then and there were headlines about our students trapped there. Samta Prasad didn’t know why the war was happening, but she told me that “Russia did not attack where India’s flag was” so that the students of India would leave first! He was proud of India’s status for his thoughts, and he had forgotten his problems and anger with the Yogi government, the rising cost of farming and the cows eating the crops. A farmer from a small village, who had no political inclination and who was also away from the hustle and bustle of social media, believed that Narendra Modi was the best thing for India.
Today BJP-directly, indirectly is ruling in 17 states. This is 44 percent of the country. Despite the mismanagement, brutal number of deaths during the COVID pandemic, Narendra Modi’s approval rating stands at a high of 70 per cent globally, the highest rating for any leader during the most wretched times in history. Despite the economic plight, smoldering distances between communities, China’s entry into Indian territory, Prime Minister Modi has not let his intentions, campaigns down. His appreciation, support and everything in his favor and defense is heard like never before. He is an inspiration to a generation of Indians who are trying to become a ‘New India’.
Undeniably, Prime Minister Modi has left a deep mark, becoming a statesman who has expanded his party’s reach, while also meeting the psychological needs of the audience and the role of their political guide. He is seen as a maximalist leader, a micro-manager looking at work as an intoxicant, working to transform the country into an economic, political and cultural laboratory for the people, the world and all commentators. Both interesting and intimidating.
In these eight years, many people may have given up hope of ‘Acche Din’ but the story, plot and the protagonist are still at the place of admiration and reverence. There is cheer, there is a roar and people go on rejoicing and celebrating. What is written on the walls is that people are still full of hope and faith. For them they are honest leaders, who care for them and who will protect them from dangers and who will make India strong.
As far as the story is concerned, his story is still the story of India, the story of ‘New India’. New plots are being added every day by the Prime Minister in Idea of India. With him, eight years later, friendly fans are also adding their share. But Narendra Modi is no longer a storyteller. Now the legacy of Modi’s story is in the hands of 1.25 billion people. The story is also of those who yearn for good days. Do you think good days are coming?
(Credits- theprint.in, translated from- Original English article link- https://theprint.in/opinion/8-years-on-modi-the-storyteller-is-gone-but-the-story-of-hope- endures/976177/)
