Response to Shiv Vishwanathan, “Why some people like Narendra Modi”

Dear Shri Shiv Vishwanathan,

This is in response to your op-ed “"http://www.asianage.com/columnists/why-some-people-narendra-modi-192"” for your readers and followers and not surprised that you find it hard to like him, like many others. 

The factors for disliking Modi by your ilk range from the way he looks, talks, “boasts”, the malnutrition in Gujarat and everything under the sun that can be used as a stick to beat Modi with.

I am an ordinary person with no claim to “intellectualism”; However have grown to experience a world from liberal center-left ideology to being moderate center-right. India’s political discourse has not given too much space for a center-right discussion barring few luminaries who did start but could never successfully overcome the well-oiled behemoth of Nehruvian socialism and leftist thought that has occupied every possible high chair that matters since independence.

Somehow it is surprising that despite being branded as “intellectuals” the so called intellectual discourse never graduated beyond “left” cursing a near non-existent “right” all this while; let alone dissent that you espouse for it to thrive, you don't need to go too far looking for examples.

The intellectualism that the current theater of left-liberal player’s represents is lazy, old and downright boring with no space for creation, new thought or anything that represents growth or ever talks of future. It is a little more of the old, rhetoric’s of the dreamy idea of India which I don’t think even the “intellectuals” can convey in a language that can be understood and acted upon. It is at best armchair philosophy with no interest in serving the needs of a young nation.

It is in this context that I would like to respond.

I will state directly from the op-ed you wrote, if however I still miss something or “quote out-of-context”, do let me know, I would be more then glad to correct myself.

While I agree that you acknowledge and not impose your own thought on your students. I would like to counter your observations in the last 2 or 3 paragraphs of your article.

Your observations of “Their” aspirations, preference for men of action, need for security, preference for law and order to dissent and that Modi represents this world; Conveniently alienates “them”, the ordinary middle class, aspiring youth and the reality that the left liberal thought is so distant with. It loves to have its feet stuck in days of yore when everything was provided for.

You almost make it criminal to want or break free of the generations of poverty “they” lived in. And yet the left-liberals claim to fight and support for “the poor”.Left-liberal thought survives on poverty and makes every attempt for poverty to thrive; Each of the policies is steeped in the culture of entitlement, much like the intelligentsia itself.

Modi challenges, that idea and talks about self-esteem and self-belief; and it scares everyone who bothers for his/her own growth, by keeping the electorate ignorant and poor.

The concerns that you raise further about violence, values and democracy seem to be grounded in the intellectualism that for long kept people poor and hungry and India backward. I humbly believe that fewer are choosing to be beggars and fewer still to be at the beck and call.

You talk of Values,The party you claim upholds values, stays in power not because of values but because each of those values has been traded for by it.

You claim, Modi has the right values and that values are no longer civilizational and that they are mere attitudes that help development (any kind of development). Civilizations thrive as much on development as on values; effort to divorce the two does not help your cause to dislike him further; it is counterproductive, no civilization thrived only on values without development.

About violence you almost say that Modi has a patent to it, as a tool to drive his agenda ; Whereas the truth is, the very party you claim upheld the civilizational values has used it much more ruthlessly than Modi is accused of, and got away scot-free.

You rightly mention, values you care for, don’t make full sense. Because those very people who were supposed to articulate it, chose to abuse them. Corruption is a direct and most visible consequence, insensitivity, pathetic attitudes in public life being others.

The party, you claim, that upholds the values dear to you is long gone; The last luminary that represented those ideals in my humble opinion was Lal Bahadur Shastri.

After him, every institution that was created to uphold the idea of India has been systematically hacked and destroyed. The destruction began at the very top by those very people who were supposed to uphold the values you espouse and that happened because they chose to compromise on the values that India lived and breathed;

Your article and your beliefs are an example of that malaise; Where it is convenient for you to dump the observations of a Special Investigative team set-up by the highest court of law, just because, it does not suit your point of view and You talk about values and democracy.

It is not about individuals but about institutions, somehow the dream for you, still does not seem to be over or perhaps you missed that generations took longer to change back then and the age of technology changed things faster than what that older generation can comprehend.

You talk about democracy, but forget that democracy worked in Gujarat too. You miss details about representation, about equality, after claiming that you studied Gujarat for 10 years. The elections in Gujarat were held in the most adverse circumstances in the history of assembly elections in India, with close to 3 months limit for model code of conduct for poll and the man still won.

That is democracy.

Your claim, to your way of life, as the only way, represents the very arrogance that disconnects India from its rulers; that arrogance has become obscene. 

Modi for many may not be the perfect answer but he has with his hard work, charisma and intelligence and steadfastness, delivered results second to none; He has, filled the gap that existed and for now is doing a good job.

There were time, resources, men and women of fine intellect and finer vision; they were all sacrificed on the altar of family with an axe of sycophancy.

Blaming Modi then, for their own faults is downright lazy and for you to second that well..

Yes Mr. Shiv Vishwanathan, you must work hard to uphold the civilizational values and your way of life, just choose the right building to rest the ladder on, rather than a collective obsession of your ilk with one man, would humbly request your ilk to have powers that be, reflect on why in the first place are we debating one man and not civilizational values, why are we discussing violence and not India’s growth and why is democracy held ransom to some courtiers. 

Questioning Modi, before existing power structures answer for their miserable failures speaks volumes about the hollowness of that liberal thought.