How India rediscovered itself to take its rightful place in the world

This was Swami Vivekananda's edict for an awakened and progressive nation, a vision that decades later was fuelled by none other than Narendra Damodardas Modi in the eight years he has led India since 2014.

While journalism is considered the first draft of history, history it is said is written and scripted by the might of victors. In the annals of independent India, during eight years of Modi's reign, his emotive appeal and connect with the common man has run so deep, he remains the supreme victor in that he won hearts by impacting the destiny of millions. Victors win through subjugation and wars. But Modi won through sublimation, by placing the socio-economic uplift of 1.38 billion Indians above all else, above the prejudice of race, caste, or religion.

Today, Brand Modi remains the most winnable and visible entity nationally, while his approval ratings have surged globally to a high of 70 per cent post-Covid, the highest rating accorded to any leader during the most dystopian times in history.

Modi's successive tenures have witnessed the most path-breaking reforms since 1991-92, addressing complex structural issues like transiting from a cash to a formal economy with political conviction, regardless of the possibility of negative electoral outcomes. The benefits accruing from such transformative reforms will be tangible for decades to come.

Just to abridge from the exhaustive and impactful list of Modi's reforms was: The universalisation of health, housing, rural electrification, toilets, gas, internet connectivity, and water supply; followed by widening the ambit of financial inclusion; and delivery of Direct Benefit Transfers of over 300 schemes implemented with speed, scale and precision.

Textbook 'Lessons in Excellence' and pursuing 'global best practices' are reflected in India's ability under Modi to have scaled up on EoDB 2.0, and scaled up on the Global Innovation Index where we are ranked 48; or how we became a top global FDI destination attracting over $80 billion in 2020-21… all these are higher peaks India has been scaling since 2014.

Coming to the psyche of the Indian polity in the age of Modi, the majority community since eight years of Modi's ascent centre-stage became brazen enough to wear his religion on his sleeve, fearlessly so, and within a diverse, pluralistic and secular democratic order. Hindus today demand the undoing of historic injustices with a new assertiveness in claiming back the sanctum sanctorum of Kashi and Mathura (Ayodhya apart), for which they believe the 'Places of Worship Act of 1991' should not be applicable.

In the age and times of Modi, the average Indian turned more global in outlook, yet more nationalist in his pride in his motherland. The poor and middle-class Indians acquired a higher standard of living, as 'absolute' poverty abated. The educated and skilled Indians became more risk-taking and entrepreneurial in business, as a facilitatory ecosystem was created for start-ups, making India the third-largest start-up capital in the world.

And, as regards citizens' rights to freedom of expression within a diverse, noisy and vibrant democracy such as ours, the argumentative Indian became more fearless and vocal in expressing dissent in the age of social media, with the prime minister promising to revisit the archaic sedition laws that the British and national governments of yore had used to weaponise their opponents with.

Viewed from a domestic-centric prism, the Modi government's innings in eight years as reflected in his governance scorecard has been nothing short of stellar, particularly in scaling up the Ease of Living; improving on the speed, cost and Ease of Doing Business 2.0; and in targeting 100 per cent saturation in delivering on social sector schemes by the end of his second term in 2024.

Raising the minimum income, fixing a universal basic income, introducing an urban job guarantee scheme on lines of MNREGA, and allocating greater expenditure towards social sector schemes in order to make the most vulnerable population insulated from sudden economic shocks remain a high priority on the government's radar.

Under Modi, India decisively transited from the socialist era planning model of five years to a free market global metric of envisioning futuristic planning for as long as a 25-year time horizon. Also, unlike in the socialist era, in a free market economy, wealth creation was not deemed a sin, corporate taxes were rationalised, and tax terrorism and retrospective taxation have been dispensed with to maintain a business-friendly approach to the industry. The government has in recent years reduced over 25,000 compliances, repealed 1,486 Union laws, and 29 labour laws have been subsumed with four Industrial Relations Labour Codes so as to create a favourable ecosystem for larger investments.

Viewing the prime minister's international scorecard, India under Modi is fast becoming the fulcrum of emerging world order. India matters as we transit from a unipolar to a multipolar global order, and as multilateralism is on the decline, it has presented Modi with the opportunity to pitch for a bigger role for India in global leadership and governance. In sharp contrast to the growing trust deficit of China and Russia's autarchs, the Indian worldview under Modi projects moderation, continuity, and a nuanced stance in foreign policy due to the stability in leadership.

Coming to electoral strategy, what makes the BJP the overarching national party is based on five foundational pillars Modi's winning formula rests. So, what we see now is a confluence of good governance with a distinct ideology of Hindu revivalism, combined with a powerful social narrative. To add to all this is a strong BJP and RSS-backed organisational cadre backed by abundant financial and manpower resources, with a focused thrust on vikas.

By 2022, Prime Minister Modi has perfected the 'Art of the Deal' in how he only played to win two successive elections by winning hearts, igniting minds, and remaining receptive to ideation. This is the formula that is likely to be in use during the 2024 national elections, by when it will be Modi@10.

Postscript: In recounting a panegyric on Modi's achievements of eight years, no post can do justice by compressing a leader's body of reforms into a condensed essay.

The author is a former chairperson for the NCFI, Niti Aayog. Views are personal.

(Courtesy: Firstpost)