A clarion call by PM Modi

In democracies worldwide, a nation chooses its leader with clear aspirations. In the historic timeline of any nation, the performance of elected leaders is registered not by mere words they speak while in the highest office, but by the quantifiable impact of the decisions they make.

History is a clear testament to the fact that many elected national leaders have lost track of the promised agenda to their voters, tried and missed, been affected by geo-political, economic instability. A few just didn't care. A few totally destroyed their nation's future, and there are a few who have clearly led their nation to greatness with complete understanding of not just the aspirations but also the needs of those who chose them as leaders of their nations.

I strongly believe, not because I am a member of the party he leads, but also as a voter who chose him as my Prime Minister, that PM Modi clearly understands the aspirations of those who chose him and also of those who didn't. He vividly understands what the people of India want from him and also what they really need. He is at it from day one after taking up the top job, to ensure that he leads the nation in the direction which meets the needs of millions of poor and the needy.

If one has to take an honest shot at analysing the state of affairs in India in the last 70 years and not just flow with the projected image of it through the prism of false nationalism, India truly is a broken nation. It’s a nation of multiple and strange paradoxes. It’s broken by design with over six decades of misgovernance culturally, religiously, economically, socially, administratively, psychologically, ethically and morally at every level.

To start with, what do you call a nation which cannot define its core values? What do you call a nation which is synonymous with ad hocism in every aspect of its everyday life? A nation, where corruption is all pervasive, with no exception. A nation, where more than 75% of the population doesn't have basic standards of healthy life, but it’s the fastest growing economic power. A nation, where the rich and poor divide is the highest on this planet.

A nation, where literacy and basic education are luxuries for the middle class. A nation, where every state, city, district and village are divided not just along religious lines, but also along thousands of castes and sub-castes.

A nation, where an average of eight thousand farmers commit suicide annually with crop failure.

A nation, where thousands of infants die due to lack of nutrition. A nation, where there is still no basic sense of traffic, hygiene or consideration for fellow human being's rights, from villages to mega cities. A nation, where hundreds die everyday on roads for lack of standards, systems and enforcement.

A nation, which doesn't still provide for drinking water, public transport, public schooling, public health, public safety, public justice, public hygiene to all its citizens. A nation, where honest, ethical, accountable, law-abiding citizens can't grow with equal opportunity. A nation, which actively promotes mediocrity and not excellence. A nation, where lies, dishonesty, manipulation, illegality and lack of integrity are openly rewarded.

I am not sure what anyone would call a nation like this; I call it a broken nation.Every Indian knows it. They also know who's responsible for this state of affairs in this nation. However, they all pretend as if 'all is well.'

There are thousand more questions and answers which can establish my conclusion. However, the above few are good enough to know that India today is in a deep mess. But, not many are rattled by the present situation. There exists almost a hypnotic social conditioning to live in a state of denial and get along with self-defeatist feeling of 'This is how India is' and 'This is how it will be.' In fact, this formula is even formally promoted across the nation. 'All is well.'

India has been pushed into an abyss and a vicious cycle of corruption, duplicity, false nationalism and hypocrisy which feeds itself to eternity, with no one to break it. It has reached a pinnacle, where, if anyone were to highlight this systemic malice or try changing this decades-long deterioration, they will be attacked as the one who is dismantling and unsettling 'a great functional system.’

The status quo mindset and the comfort zone of every class of population from top to bottom has come to terms with the prevailing situation and this nation keeps moving with a shocking normalcy, accepting and validating everything around as 'quite normal.' The socio-psychological hypnosis and conditioning has been at work for decades.

Indians for no fault of their own have become used to this broken nation and a broken system, and seem to feel 'the known devil is better than the unknown,' most not having even dreamt of a better nation in their entire life time.

Disempowered population can't have too much of self-efficacy to protect their identity and no wonder there's nothing left to call 'Indian' in India already. That's how broken is India's cultural and national identity.

This mega context requires mega reforms to correct the colossal damage to India in the last 70 years. It had to start somehow and somewhere. PM Narendra Modi took upon himself to initiate this 'mega reform & course correction' process. Demonetisation is just one single step in that direction.

Fortunately, for the first time in Indian history, most of the common people have supported the initiative. Those who drive these wedges in the system for selfish outcomes, those who directly benefit from the broken system, those who managed to stay in power for decades abusing the system, and those who have loved the status quo, are rattled to the core.

The distracters have unleashed a war against PM Modi and are coming at him, his government and his party with everything they have got. It does not come as a great surprise, as their sheer survival is at stake for the first time in Indian history. They are also shocked at common people's support to this disruptive reform initiated by PM Modi, to break the vicious cycle of corruption & transform India for good.

At last in the history of independent India, a democratically elected national leader is doing his job to fix this broken nation. In the journey of a thousand miles, this is the first step. Desh Jodo is a clarion call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He must lead it from the front. There's a long and painful walk ahead, if this nation can be called a 'healed and transformed nation'.