The Battle for Sustaining Positivity

There has been a lot of debate in recent weeks on Modi vs Mahagathbandhan, Modi vs Rahul, BJP vs Opposition, etc. Whether it is going to be a triangular or a direct contest, etc before the Pulwama attack hit us in our face.

I began writing this article around second week of February 2019. And then Pulwama happened. So, I decided to hold this writing untill atmosphere calmed down a bit. I didn’t wish to talk politics when our nation was facing a serious crisis. There is no calm yet. The calm was shattered by the strong aggressive action of this government – going deep inside Pakistan to punish the perpetrators of terror attacks and then the anti-Modi opposition’s fulminations about ‘fake’ strike, etc. It only strengthened my belief that 2019 elections will be between the forces of positivity and the forces of negativity.

The 2019 electoral battle will define whether we shall rise from the ashes of Socialist Nehruvian society as a powerful nation and fulfil our destiny as the intellectual guide of the world (Vishwaguru) as foreseen by savants like Swami Vivekananda and Aurobindo; or we shall go back to being self-loathing, defeatist society that survives merely because there is no reason to die as yet. We are culturally too tough to give up so easily. This election will tell us whether Nehruvian Fabian idea of ‘mai-baap’ Sarkar will prevail or the aspirational new young idea will rise above this negative cacophony.

This battle of 2019 shall be a battle between the forces of Positivity and the forces of Negativity.

Forces of negativity have been wailing since 2014 as they lose ideological ground to the forces of national renaissance. Big losers—the dynasty politicians and their family owned private enterprises can’t believe even now that democracy has a space for other parties too. As a famed Congress leader said in Pakistan, “Modi is a usurper. We shall come back.” There have been routine warnings by Congress party to bureaucrats not to be too enthusiastic in pursuing corruption cases as they will return and teach them a lesson.

Their negativity is born out of thoughts frozen in time and history that India is a poor, wretched backward orthodox inhuman society, of course primarily because of its Hindu culture. It is born out of the belief of these forces that India was never a nation but a forced merger of 16 nations into one by British, so India cannot stay together without compromising on national issues. This is Communist-Nehruvian narrative. These forces have kept the Indian society poor and ignorant, therefore in wretched condition because they think these unwashed masses have no right to have aspirations, and they need to be happy to be allowed to survive with doles like in Communist countries.

This negativity since 2014 is projected through sustained negation of any good work done by the present government. I have been on TV debates and Social Media for some years now. I don’t remember even one act of the government that was appreciated, even if grudgingly, by the combined opposing forces of negativity. I find same panel comprising of Red, Pink, Green and Congress or their agents shouting angrily against each and every action of this government and abusing Shri Modi. Support to breaking India forces, support to violent Naxals, support to enemies of the nation are signs of negativity that these forces radiate.

Even an exemplary and shockingly candid acceptance of our poor sanitary standards and undignified way we do our daily chores and pushing for a bold solution is treated with derision. Senior Congress panellists and their fifth columnists ridicule Shri Modi’s Swachchhata Abhiyan and construction of toilets. They behave like an ostrich burying its head in the sands.

Communists, the self-crowned champions of poor and self-proclaimed Lohia followers have criticised and punched holes in biggest welfare measures that directly impact the poor. Why these inclusive reforms could not be implemented or thought of all these seven decades is something that has no answer. Even where schemes are reaching the poorest, whether it is Jan Dhan, pension and health schemes, Neem coated urea, soil health testing, etc, opponents find fault with them. It is like a mother remonstrating a rescuer asking where is the cap of the boy whom this man managed to save from drowning.

Sustained efforts to break the society on religious and caste lines in search of vote banks that seem to be crumbling as new aspirational society rises; renewed calls to hartals, morchas, violence are signs of the defeatist forces not allowing common citizens respite from this cynical politics.

India is a nation where everything was in short supply till 5 years back. There was talk of rationing LPG cylinders, where one had to bribe to get a gas cylinder. I remember debates about restricting gas cylinders to 6 or 12 in a year for a household. Urea used to be black marketed. We spent crores of rupees and thousands of person hours on ‘notarising’ documents. We had thousands of unmanned railway crossings even after 70 years of Independence that led to many accidents and loss of human lives as if it was normal. Digitisation of government services reduced the load on local offices of governments as also corruption. So many simple solutions to make life easier have been created.

I remember reading articles till 2013 why it is impossible to fill up the gap between demand and supply of power and how it will keep increasing. Now power has reached every nook and cranny of this vast nation. Power cut for hours was a norm to which we were made to reconcile as part of Indian life. We were also made to reconcile to the horrible road conditions where we had roads and adjust to rural roads that were not even worth being called roads.

This government honoured dignity of poor by providing basic necessities that were theirs right as citizens of this country, not a favour as many dynasts made them feel. Forces of positivity have made India the #5 economic power. They have made India one of the top 10 military power.

The horrific Pulwama attack, severe retaliation by India has changed the defeatist pacific attitude that was built on inferiority complex inflicted upon us by British and perpetuated by our Left intellectual opinion leaders. The non-believing forces of negativity are asking for proof of these strikes just as they asked for proofs of the first surgical strike of this government. They are so negative that they are speaking the language of Pakistan and being quoted by their media happily. Only agenda they have is to defeat this nationalist government, national interests be damned.

Bharat will have to decide in May 2019 whether it wishes to march into a future that is its rightful destiny with a clear headed sense of urgency or will it go back to wallowing in self pity and mediocre life, while poor live on doles in a nanny state rather than aspiring to lead a better dignified life. I think, the young India is not ready for any compromise in its aspiration for a rightful place in life and the world.