Prof M K Bhat
The election 2014 charted out the way for high aspirations of people and practical deliverance by the Government. It is the electorates understanding of collation blackmailing by certain parties. This mature decision of Indian electorate can be viewed from two different angles firstly; it stands as a befitting answer to all those pseudo secularists who manipulated Muslim votes by creating threat perception in them. These so called sympathizers of Muslims have groomed them as vote bank without doing anything positive. They hardly worked for their social or economic upliftment in real terms rather alienated them from the mainstream by appeasing them. The plight of minorities in India at present is abysmally low and no one except the so called secular parties are responsible for it because they ruled the country for maximum period in the post independence era. Their present position is an outcome of perpetual neglect over the years. Muslims today are much below national averages in economic, social and political sphere.
After the victory of Mr. Narendra Modi the big question raised by these sympathizers is how he will treat minorities especially Muslims? This herd had not posed the same question to congress after Sikh riots in 1984 besides 2002 is not the only riot which has taken place in India. This talks of their double standard but I would not blame them because they have cultivated the habit of certifying others as communalists and terming themselves as pure secularists without doing anything to change the fate of minorities in India.
The ill treatment bore by Muslims at the hands of pseudo secularists has got exposed when they saw the development of their brethren in Gujarat in last 14 years. They understood that appeasement of a few at the cost of millions is making them only sore in the eyes of others. Muslims becoming victims of this sync ideology is embedded in history when the elite among the community left for Pakistan during partition and the illiterate masses became the prey of clergy who at the behest of certain political parties exploited them for their own interests. The self interest of these clergy disintegrated them from the mainstream and at times made them a scapegoat of public ire.
It will be prudent for the new Government to develop confidence among them and involve them in nation building as equal partners rather than using them as fodder for vote bank politics which has been their fate under so called secularists. True secularism will be there when minorities will feel themselves an integral part of nation building without any special incentive. Communal harmony and nation first shall get reflected in every decision of the Government .Appeasement develops only mistrust and segregates them from the mainstream .It also develops bad blood against them. It is time to see India delivers justice to all and appeasement to none. The Government may have to be cautious for the sync will keep his neck out to misinterpret any opportunity that may come in his way.
Secondly, The verdict 2014 has sealed all the exit points for Modi. He cannot take refuge in terms like coalition compulsion, lack of required numbers in the parliament etc. He may have to either perform or face more heat after the completion of five years. It is no doubt that Mr. Modi will inherit on economic front an economic slowdown with a growth rate of less than 5%, exorbitant inflation ,negative industrial output, low investment ,fiscal deficit, indecisiveness and the lack of will to perform on the part of Government workers, low rating by rating agencies, corruption ridden system, least investment friendly environment etc. On political front he may get Naxalism ,Terrorism, pseudo secularism and innumerable freebies given to castes /sects for getting their votes (without proper resources for these doles) and a big opposition from those who have harvested a good fruit over the years by being pseudo saviors of minorities, castes and other sections. It may be quite difficult for some to see that India can do well without dividing people on various pretexts.
On social front he is getting a baggage of reservations for political purposes. It may not be out of context that more people have been put in the reserved category than general without jobs for any one, exploitation of minorities for votes without taking any care of their plight, the same applies to scheduled caste and scheduled tribes.
In the political front there will be almost negligible resistance to his decisions but it would be quite important to see how he carries his opponents along not only inside the parliament but outside it too. He may have to come out with an amicable solution to Ram Mandir issue acceptable to all the concerned parties. People aspire to see a proper solution to kashmir imbroglio and whatever is good in the interest of the country and people of J& K needs to be done in the statesmanship manner. The feeling of alienation in north east states and the settlement of differences between Telengana and Seemaandhara may haunt him quite soon.
The clear verdict by the voters conveys their understanding about the earlier regimes incompetence to deliver on these grounds. They expect from Narrendra Modi to replicate the growth story of Gujarat across the country. This definitely will involve bold decisions. The best shall get reflected with the improvement in the conditions of an average Indian rather than in the economic surveys.
The first priority should go to good governance as people from both business and household have got fed up with the bad governance. This may involve rejuvenation of zeal among bureaucracy at different levels .The bureaucracy needs to be instilled with confidence to perform .A direct assault on corrupt elements should be carried out with zero tolerance. Once governance will be rectified half the work will automatically get its solution.
Inflation needs to be curbed. It is curtailing the domestic demand and hence investment .It has impaired exports and encouraged imports, thereby gives rise to fiscal deficit. The investment environment of the country is at its lowest, more than 1 lakh crore are held up due to the indecisiveness of the Government. The freebies need to be controlled for better economic working. The supply side needs to be improved. Small Scale and Cottage industries need to be developed. There is a need for the mechanization of agriculture as nearly 60% of total population depends on agriculture and its contribution to GDP of the country is less than 15%.
The growing inequality needs to be addressed. It is no doubt that the number of billionaires is increasing in the country but more than 800 million people live on less than Rs.21 a day. There is a need to generate more employment rather than providing subsidy which only degenerates the economic health of the country and develops the habit of demanding rather than doing work. The good days will definitely start with good intensions and herein lies the confidence of people.
(The author is Deputy Director, MAIMS, Gurugobind Singh Indiraprastha University Delhi)
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