Results that 'Modi'fied my thoughts...

This article was also published in The Ethiopian Herald, dated 25 May 2014

Respecting people's verdict: Dr. Manmohan Singh, outgoing PM (right)  greets new PM of India, Narendra Modi
(Photo obtained from the face book page of Mr. Binoy Job, Media Director, PM's Office)

As the largest polls and the longest wait for results are over, India gave a landslide mandate for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led alliance.  Out of the 543 parliamentary constituencies, 337 were won by the BJP and its National Democratic Alliance, wherein the BJP alone ows 283 seats. With this, the party has received a mandate to rule the nation as a single party, not bothering much on its pre-poll, post-poll alliances. The BJP’s leader, 63-year-old Narendra Modi, who is incumbent Chief Minister of Gujarat State, would be swearing in as the 14th Prime Minister of India on 21st of May. 

The Modi typhoon has literally uprooted the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) of the Indian National Congress (INC). The alliance had to satisfy with a meagre 59 seats out of which the INC’s share is 44. Compared to the elections of 2009, the NDA has marked an increase of 196 whereas the UPA has slid by 175. Majority of surveys predicted a clear victory of the NDA, but not a massive sweep of this sort. Out of the total votes polled, the NDA has procured 38.9 percent, the UPA 23.4 percent and the rest, who are not party to any alliances received 37.6 percent. 

The landslide victory of the NDA has led to an opposition without a leader. This is because no single party in the opposition, even not the INC, could manage to get the stipulated 10 percent of the total seats which is 54.

‘Modi’fication

The current election results have brought in a new turn in the Indian politics. At first, the whole nation has endorsed Narendra Modi’s leadership. Charismatic seniors are not scarce in the BJP; yet the Modi wave has eclipsed all. Modi’s tenure as the Chief Minister of Gujarat was both praised for the progress brought to the state; and criticized for his autocratic style. Modi‘s fondness towards the rightist faction of the BJP, namely the Sangh Pariwar, a consortium of Hindu nationalist organizations, is a concern both inside and outside his party; as well for the religious minorities. Yet, no criticism could tar him, but the victory has only made him brighter. During the election campaign, while requesting the Muslim voters to 'give one more chance for the BJP', Modi was tactfully painting his pro Hindu ideology with slight tones of secularism. While seeing this mammoth victory, we should assume that his tactics worked well. 

Now, the victory can also be reckoned as an overwhelming popularity accrued upon him for being a backward caste member whose life had a humble beginning as a tea vendor. Definitely common man in India must be seeing him as a counterpart, a source of hope that knows the ebbs and flows of a modest life. 

Another major impact of the election results is the historic downfall of the INC, the one that enjoys the credit of ruling India for the longest term. The party has recorded its slenderest win. Before, the party’s biggest decline was in the 1974 elections, when people reflected their ire against the autocratic imposition of emergency by Indira Gandhi. Even then, the party could gather 154 seats, which only furthers the shame of 2014.  

Major reason for such extermination should not be anything other than the anguish people have against unbridled corruption at all walks of governance during the past two terms (10 years) of UPA rule. When a ruling party approaches elections after two continuous tenures of rule, there should also be an influence of a natural degree of anti-incumbency sentiment. For majority of enlightened voters, it was also not a pleasant thing to accept the typical dynasty leadership of the INC. Altogether such facts played a detrimental game for the party.
  

Criticism upon Rahul Gandhi, the Prime Minister candidate of the INC was that he had no genuine political experience except the qualification that he is a dynasty’s link. A bit of his political maturity and composure was but visible while addressing the media immediately after the election downslide, when he, as the vice president of the party, readily owed full responsibility of the failure. 

404 to 44; 2 to 283

In the history of elections in India, the credit of winning largest number of seats is still owned by the INC.  In 1984 elections the party bagged 404 seats supported by sentimental erosion following the assassination of Indira Gandhi. At that time the BJP was thrashed to mere 2 seats! It’s quite ironical that after three decades, the INC is shrunken to 44 and the BJP, swollen with 283. A single party majority to rule India is also for the first time in 30 years.

Manifesto

Win and loss are integral of elections. But what is counted would be the way the winner uses the opportunity to rule.  The UPA decade was noted for proliferation of corruption. Hence the BJP election manifesto had a prominent place for anti-corruption drive, furthering the common man’s hope.  Launching public awareness programmes, furthering technology-enabled e-governance etc are among the party’s anti-corruption strategies. A pertinent question still remains unanswered in their manifesto: Awareness at grassroots or a thorough cleaning at the apex, which is needed for eliminating corruption? Let us hope that the BJP's manifesto won't be thrown to blatant verbicide. 

Outwardly the BJP manifesto would differ from that of the INC, but not at the crux. This is more in the case of foreign policy. The BJP manifesto about its foreign relations begins with a very complex, long sentence. One should patiently read it many times to get at least a grip on its tail. Though the party would hint a drastic difference from the Nehruvian one, ultimately everything lands on the same terrain, as has been proved during its previous tenures.  Don’t make a wild conclusion that a BJP rule would strain the Indo-Pak or Indo-Bangladesh relations. The BJP rules in the past have only opened new avenues for fostering such relations. But these are something that a pro Hindu party cannot overtly state in its manifesto. 

Expatriates have something to be glad at the BJP government. A major breakthrough in furthering links between the homeland and Non Resident Indians (NRIs) and People of Indian Origins (PIOs) was during the tenure of previous BJP government when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister.  The annual celebration, Pravasi Bharatiya Dhin for the NRIs and PIOs on every January 9 was initiated by him. For the first time, many proactive initiatives for furthering the investments in the country from Indians abroad were also taken by his government. 

The BJP and its NDA alliance have got a handsome majority and ample five years in hand. Narendra Modi’s first tweet about the landslide victory was that ‘good days are coming for India’. Now people of India eagerly wait to see how much, and for whom ‘good’ the ‘Modi’ days would be. 

Money magic!

(This post was also published in The Ethiopian Herald, dated 10 05 2014)

Am I making money for a living or living for making money? For me, this is definitely an imbroglio, as puzzling as do I eat for living or live for eating! 

It was during a scintillating show by magician Muthukad that my naked eyes witnessed a truly whimsical way of making money. Muthukad roamed among the audience showing a clear empty metal container. The emptiness of the same was certified by audience members who checked all its sides with huge care and attention. But at each snap of the magician’s finger, money fell into the container. Clang, clang... and in no time, the vessel was full of coins – all freshly plucked from thin air!! That’s the way of making money for a magician. 

I have many times dreamed of a tree bearing not fruits and flowers but coins and currencies! But every time I wake up to that harsh reality: righteous and the easiest way of making money is not a magic, but hard, hard work. Hard work is the only switch to earn money for any human being of normal pursuit. By ‘normal pursuit’, I mean a pursuit that do not comprise smuggling or money laundering; or else selling violence or pledging dignity. 

Money month
In Ethiopia, I consider July and August as money months since these are the beginning months of fiscal year.  While in India, I used to perceive April as a money month. April marks the beginning of a fresh fiscal year. With more money in hand, your project can expect more allocations during April than in the magpie March. Every year, April also gift me two occasions of gaiety: Vishu or Bihu the Indian festival and Easter, a global one. 'Kaineettam' or 'Gift money' granted by elders to youngsters remains an integral attraction of Vishu celebration. During my childhood, once when I got a big one rupee coin as Vishu ‘kaineettam’, from one of my aunts, I gasped with huge wonder. For the first time, my aunt was expanding the value of ‘kaineettam’ for me – from usual fifty paise to big one rupee!! By granting that bonanza for me, my loving aunt truly stood with her name, ‘Vishaalam’ meaning broadminded. 

Money and its religion
Karl Marx and Max Weber had made exciting observations on religion and money. To Marx, religion never brings a solution, but gives a hallucination that today’s agonies are for tomorrow’s wellbeing! To him, religion is akin to opium that never heals a wound, but just suppresses the pain. Marxism hence demands a thorough dismantling of the Capitalist system, where a minority amasses capital and wealth and a majority sells their labour for meagre wages. Marx has observed that though outward propaganda of all religions are for salvaging the deprived classes, no religion could put an end to the unbriddled flow of captalism. 

Karl Marx and Max Weber

Asian stories
Max Weber, one of Marx’s next generation German counterparts, studied the relation between different religious faiths and thier inspiration for earning wealth. Hinduism which is considered as a religion as well as an ideology stipulates four 'Purusharths' or 'ultimate reality of one's life'. 'Dharm' (obeyance to social rules), 'Arth' (earning for one's living), 'Kam' (sex for making progenies) and 'Moksh' (eternal liberation) are the four 'Purusharths'. These are of course enough for triggering capitalist growth. Still, Weber found that during its ancient times, Hinduism lacked an ethical encouragement toward capitalism. Major limit was its caste system that glued people to certain occupational levels. It became ethically impossible to break it and earn as per one’s own ambition. 'Karma' philosophy underlined that today’s life is the result of past ‘karmas’ or actions. Hindus at large were hence turned passive towards earning wealth beyond one's need.

Traditional concept of ‘sib’ or community in China kept the land strongly attached to community. Private possessions and rational development of individuals became not a priority. Chinese religion Confucianism regarded social order as akin to an eternal and inevitable cosmic order, where individual attempts to capital amassment got little place.

European saga
‘The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism’ by Weber explains why commercial activities in many western European countries expanded along with the growth of Protestantism. 

Calvinism, a major Protestant type demands its followers to devote their life for worldly asceticism, instead of spiritual deeds. Hence its followers started devoting for worldly work leading to worldly wealth. But their creed prohibited using the profit for any worldly pleasure; instead the individual should reinvest it for another worldly pursuit. Hence work and capital amassment became a pastime for them, leading to commercial boom in Europe, Weber explains. 

But, Weber found that the Catholic doctrines refer ‘Calling’ as a divine dictate to devote one’s life for spiritual service for God. Hence in Catholicism, there is little priority for worldly means and amassment of wealth. 

Ancient Judaism had a peculiar ethical dualism that on one hand favoured Western culture, but on the other, discouraged a rational economic conduct. Islam demands its followers sharing profit for the poor and never gathering interest proceeds. 

Kali Ghat and Tirupati temples of India; Lalibela, Ethiopia

Man, money and God
Today, as man scales pinnacles of achievement, not only Gods are offered money, but also money creates more Gods. As surplus money mounts, human Gods and spiritual mediators arise forming many new religious cults.  When Kali Ghat or Tirupati of India find middlemen mincing money from devotees for obtaining a 'darshan' (holy view),   visitors at Lalibela in Ethiopia would pray if the entry fee was bit lesser. 

Fruits of corruption
There is no scarcity for crusades against the evil of corruption. While first visiting Ambo University in Ethiopia, among the sights that caught my attention, was an impressive poster against corruption. A recent massive anti-corruption campaign by Anna Hazare in India proved a turning point in Indian politics. The ruling Congress lost its hold in the capital city of Delhi to a newly emerged political party named, 'Aam Aadmi Party'.

In India, there is a deluge of awareness campaigns, propaganda and news against this social cancer.  Still, 'ministers, honourable' eat as much corruption fruits to become 'ministers vulnerable', with a few of them going behind the bars. May it be an impoverished country of Asia or Africa, or else an impressive one among the First World, corruption seems omnipotent. Or else, like death, corruption seems a social leveler. On the other side, places of worship shines with added brilliance of money. 

- K.P. Sivakumar