Sky High Expectations From Modi

TIR: Call it a reflection of the inefficiency or utter failure of the UPA government or the limitless hype surrounding Narendra Modi, people have such sky high expectations from him that it borders on being scary. Social media posts and whatsapp messages doing the round would make you feel that India has handed over its immediate destiny to a person who has Alladin’s lamp and would rub it to command the jinn to do all his countrymen’s bidding.

Let me narrate some samples:

Dear Namo, you asked for 300 lotuses, we have given you 335. You said that the mother-son government had destroyed the nation, we have destroyed them. You said we gave the Congress 60 years and asked for 60 months, we have given you that. Now it’s your turn. We have made the Modisarkaar. Now we await the acche din.

Dear Prime Minister, We citizens of India voted for you for the good and bright future of our country and have many expectations from you as under: Uninterrupted 24 hours and 365 days electricity @ Rs 3 for domestic and Rs 5 for commercial.

Pure drinking water even in hot summer days. Pakki sadak which connects each and every village of India. Speed trains and best railway system in the world. Single tax system without books. Free education and free hospitals for everyone. Home loan @ 6%. Business loan @ 8%. No FDI in retail.

Equal rights and benefits based on earning and not on caste.

Politics in India will be recognized in two terms – Before Modi and After Modi.

The talk at tea stalls, railway and bus stations and at other addas, is all about how Modi will transform the country and bring about acche din immediately. It is good to have such faith in the one you have elected, but to expect instant remedies is scary. Turning around a faltering economy is a time consuming job. Changing age old attitudes in government departments is an even tedious job. The people have to realize that Modi is up against a status quo where entrenched interests are very difficult to dislodge.There might even be some members in BJP itself who will protest, because believing in the status quo and being corrupt are not exclusive preserves of Congressmen. It is not like a bamboo pole in a field which you just go and uproot. We are talking of systems, processes and people who are used to work in a defined manner. We are talking of laws that are not transparent and are enmeshed in miles of red tape. We are talking of babus who treat the common people as scums. However, the same babu will treat you as his son-in-law if you show him the greenbacks. Hence, we are talking about grassroots corruption in which the citizens themselves work as aiders and abettors. We are talking about a system that has entered the last stage of a non-curable disease. To catch it by the scruff of the neck and bring it back to the point where it starts working for the country instead of a chosen few is a herculean task. There is no doubt that the new government under Narendra Modi is capable of doing it, but it cannot be done instantly.

As Narendra Modi ran a campaign that worked on inputs from the ground, he must be more than aware of these expectations. He must also be aware that the people will want him to reduce their daily burden by going after inflation first. If prices of necessities were to move southward and regain levels that were prevailing even a year back, a lot of anger will subside. For, in the face of a faltering economy, making ends meet is getting tougher for the housewife. If she remains disturbed, the goodwill will evaporate faster than spirit in bright sunshine.Since the RBI has already kept a tight money policy to keep inflation in check and it has worked in the sense that the risk of stagflation has been arrested, the government will now have to work out a supply side mechanism that takes care of prices. The games wholesellers play in the market and the nefarious designs of hoarders will have to be checked and uprooted. They are the ones who create an artificial imbalance in demand and supply and ensure that the farmer gets a low price while the consumer pays a high price. Produce should be delivered from the fields to the plates, giving both farmers and consumers a fair price. There is no other option if the housewife is to be won over.

Bottlenecks and grassroots corruption can be done away with if the ordinary citizen takes a pledge of not jumping the queue by bribing babus and reporting instances where bribes are demanded. We are all very concerned about corruption but we are the ones who encourage it every day in our daily lives. A traffic sergeant is bribed to keep our driving license intact, tickets for the IPL are bought in the black market and the municipal inspector is bribed to keep our trade license from showing a bigger office. These are just examples. There are hundreds of other ways where the ordinary citizen is helping babus maintain the status quo. Unless this changes, the status quo cannot be smashed. Unless this changes, having sky high expectations from your government will remain just expectations. It will be proper to quote John F Kennedy here: “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”