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| RAIS ALI - Editor |
President Ram Nath Kovind’s address to the joint sitting of Parliament set out the
philosophy and priorities of the Narendra Modi government that has been reelected. It outlined the rupture that has come to characterise Mr. Modi’s politics,
marked by his 2014 victory, and pointedly ignored the progress India had made
during earlier years. The President said his government was “committed to that
very idea of nation-building, the foundation for which was laid in 2014.” Harnessing
the thoughts of social reformer Sree Narayana Guru and Rabindranath Tagore to
emphasise brotherhood among all sections and the celebration of the human spirit
would have been uplifting if only the rest of the speech dwelt on those ideas in
some detail and with force. In the absence of elaboration, such grand intent in the
initial paragraphs was not reassuring. The Prime Minister’s newly added objective
of winning the trust of all governed, Sabka vishwas, was not fleshed out
meaningfully. Sardar Patel, Babasaheb Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi found
mention, but not Jawaharlal Nehru, the founding Prime Minister whose vision and
unfailing commitment to secularism, pluralism and progress set the Republic on a
sustainable course.
The ‘New India’ that the President mentioned is a departure from that founding
vision, and there was no ambiguity on that aspect. He struck a chord with the
constituency of the government, but not with all. The notion that there is a nonsectarian development agenda that is impervious to identity politics is good to
have, and the Prime Minister’s evangelical fervour in driving its schemes is
laudable. But triumphalism around many schemes such as the Swachh Bharat
Mission has deflected public attention from the serious tasks ahead and an honest
discussion on achievements. New focus on water conservation and management
and the rural economy is not a moment too early. These are critical areas. Mr.
Kovind also spoke of the government’s intent to expand scientific research and
higher education. A speech by the President is significant not for the technical
details it offers, but for the vision. The cultural nationalist agenda of the ruling
dispensation that has made intellectual curiosity and academic integrity
dangerous in India is not the route to any of these goals. The restrictions on cattle
trade and violence against those employed in it — mostly Muslims and Dalits —
have not merely become a protracted communal conflict but are also among the
factors that have pushed the rural economy off the rails. Announcing yet another
scheme for cattle, as the President did, is not confronting the real, self-inflicted
problem. What differentiates one dispensation from another is not the material
ambitions but the social purpose and direction of such pursuits. The clarity on that
aspect in the address may be stimulating for many, but certainly not good for India.
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