Tryst with the new PM

There's so much celebration that good days have to be here, as if by compulsion, if not by fate

Now that we have a prime minister with a “56-inch” chest and a thumping majority, it can be safely presumed that good days (acche din) are already here. Come what may, the country is on the golden path. From the Rashtrapati Bhavan, a moment of awakening for the new Democratic Republic, which is not “pseudo” secular, has already flowed down on to Rajpath. Not surprisingly, a la Republic Day parade marked the swearing-in on May 26.

It had to be a memorable event, beating even the January 26 gathering of important people with eight heads of states or their representatives attending the ceremony. His office’s declaration that “nothing is more pleasing to Modi than being among ordinary people, sharing their joys and alleviating their sorrows”, though appeared a bit of an oxymoron with smiling corporates and Bollywood glitterati adding shine to the show.

In Hindu mythology, God has many avatars (incarnations), and this one has come with a bang that will reverse the economic down cycle, uplift the nation with a new model of development, fix the corrupt and bring smiles. No wonder, that for a good fortnight, the new age PM is not out of media headlines. Every columnist wants to write on him, his model of development or at least set out some point-wise agenda for him. Heads of government departments silenced into indecisiveness after an onslaught of corruption charges against the UPA government, are ready with their slide shows. There is so much celebration in the air that good days have to be here, as if by compulsion, if not by fate.

The inning preceded some melodrama when tears filled the famed Central Hall in the Parliament House, where once Jawaharlal Nehru said, “All of us, to whatever religion we may belong, are equally the children of India with equal rights, privileges and obligations. We cannot encourage communalism or narrow-mindedness, for no nation can be great whose people are narrow in thought or in action.”

Many years after Nehru’s tryst with destiny speech, this Prime Minister’s office, says a “dynamic, dedicated and determined Narendra Modi” arrives “as a ray of hope” in the lives of a billion Indians. “His laser focus on development and his proven ability to deliver results have made him one of India’s most popular leader.”

Though his profile claims that as chief minister of Gujarat, he lived his life by the principle of ‘Antyodaya’, of serving the last person in the queue, his first decision as prime minister was to serve the first man in his office through a change of law. He appointed a principal secretary--who without concern for the dignity of a regulator’s office accepted the offer—by adopting an ordinance that changed the TRAI Act, debated and discussed by Parliament.

Quite in tune with his claim of possessing a 56-inch chest for taking strong decisions, his office has declared him as “the man, an embodiment of courage, compassion and conviction, on whom the nation has bestowed its mandate, hoping that he will rejuvenate India and make it a bright beacon to the world”. No wonder, acche din for a former bureaucrat and many sangh members are already here. The remaining can move to Pakistan.