Support Modi, Support India

For the first time in my life, on this independance day the feeling of pride and satisfaction surged through the heart with such intensity that Modi's address from the red fort today gave goosebumps all over the body. After all Modi is the first true leader that the nation has got since it came on its own. The first leader who having emerged from the ground has a ground connect and emotions, that in their wake encompass even the poorest of the power and the weakest of the weak, is indeed a sign of the good times to come.

His recent clarion call from the borders, laddakh to be exact – na khaaonga na khaane doonga had already set the tone for his address from the ramparts of the red fort and his impromptu speech, for the first time ever by a prime minister of the republic signaled changing times that most of us have been waiting for since the famous midnight tryst with destiny.

Major changes are turbulent and turbulence therefore is to be expected and accepted as an inescapable part of the process that would enable the nation to stand up and trot forward to occupy its rightful place in the comity of nations.

Abolition of the planning commission that had reduced planning to merely a bureaucratic farce and its replacement by a creative body that would search out of the box for innovative solutions to all that plagues the nation says it all about his intent and thought process. His call in support of the girl child speaks volumes about his concern for and genuine love for humanity.  And his clarion call to the populace to emerge out of concern for the self, rise above “mera kya, mujhe kya”  is indicative of his deep rooted desire for a national movement for a grand revival of the sleeping republic.

Modi spoke about cleanliness, his vision for a clean India and the beginning of a national movement on the next birth anniversary of the father of the nation, who throughout his life stressed that cleanliness is godliness. He spoke about ensuring that every ho se has a toilet and every citizen has a bank account. He exhorted the members of parliament to use their funds to lift villages out of the morass and convert them into model villages. All great thoughts yet simple, in tune with his vision of providing a simple yet effective governance. 

And therefore it is time that the entire army of a hundred and twenty crores steps forward in his support. Yet the only way the support would be worth its while would be when all of us adopt and practice his ideas to the hilt. Merely uttering the support word would not do. Our concern for the self has to be replaced by a burning desire to do something for the nation, irrespective of the price one will have to pay.

After all as history has shown time and again that nation building never comes cheap. And this address from the core of the heart of a true nationalist gives hope, plenty of it.

Jai Hind.