The Year of Modi

By Raj Chengappa, Editor-in-Chief

Modi! Modi! Modi! Rarely is an Indian Prime Minister accorded such a rapturous reception by audiences wherever he speaks, whether at the numerous political rallies or gatherings at Madison Square Garden in New York or the Allphones Arena in Sydney. Seldom does a single individual make such an impact that an entire year is defined by what he says, does or wants, as Narendra Modi did in 2014.

So if The Tribune has declared 2014 as the Year of Modi, it is not because of his oratorical skills (his opponents, in fact, accuse him of spending most of his time speechifying). Or for the rock-star persona that he has acquired in the past year. It is because Modi, with the bulldozing fury of an iconoclast, dramatically altered the Indian political landscape, flattening in the process the Grand Old Party and adding to our lexicon phrases such as Tsu-Namo and India Modi-fied. In doing so, he achieved Mission Impossible: Winning a clear majority for the BJP in the General Election and forming the first government in 25 years that doesn’t have to depend on coalition partners.
In a country as vast and vibrant as India, it may not be wise to take a monochromatic view of developments that shaped us in 2014. There was terror constantly lurking, both within and without, that dominated the discourse. In the past month, we were witness to three such dastardly acts: In Uri, suicide bombers stormed into an Army camp and mowed down 11 soldiers and policemen; in Peshawar, AK-47 toting Islamic militants barged into an Army School and let loose a murderous fusillade that killed 150 persons, mostly students; Sydney saw a lone wolf hold hostage customers at a café, killing two of them before being gunned down by the security forces. In Syria and Iraq, a new form of Islamic extremism took root with brutal consequences.
The year saw crime and culpability apart from shame and scandal. The nation was shocked and rocked again when in Delhi a young working woman was raped by a taxi driver whom she had hired to take her home at night. In the region, self-styled godmen made news for the wrong reasons. In Haryana, one of them defied court orders for his arrest, forcing the police to engage in a pitched battle with his supporters to nab him. Another, who was charged with castrating some of his followers, unabashedly acted in a film that portrayed him in a divine light. The followers of a guru in Punjab refused to cremate his body after his death claiming that he would soon ‘return’ from his astral journey.
The year had many bright spots too. Indian space scientists took a stellar leap when a craft they built and launched successfully orbited Mars, earning them the distinction of being the first to get it right the first time. In Jammu and Kashmir, voters preferred the ballot over the bullet by turning out in record numbers in the recent Assembly elections. Germany defeated Argentina 1-0 to lift the football World Cup. And Rohit Sharma smashed 264 runs in an ODI to notch up a record.
If there were cheers, there were tears too, in plenty. Srinagar was inundated with unprecedented floods that turned the tourist paradise into a watery hell. In Himachal, 24 engineering students from Hyderabad, on an educational tour, were drowned when the water levels rose while they were frolicking in the Beas. A fire aboard the submarine INS Sindhuratna resulted in the death of two Navy personnel and triggered the resignation of Admiral DK Joshi — the first such on moral grounds. Internationally, the tragic shooting down of a Malaysian Airlines flight by Ukrainian rebels saw 298 passengers perish.
Yet, for India, 2014 truly belonged to Modi, who chalked out a masterly election campaign, complete with 3-D effects, to wow audiences across the country with his development mantra. Fed up of the indecisive and effete Congress-led UPA II, voters put their faith in Modi to bring about a decisive government that would deliver on its promises. Modi began well by inviting the region’s leaders, including Pakistan’s Prime Minister, for his swearing-in ceremony and then announced a slew of programmes, including ‘Make in India’ and ‘Swachh Bharat’ that fired the imagination of the public and sent stock markets soaring. Luck helped too with world petroleum prices dropping, pushing down inflation in India to near zero and shoring up the flagging economy.
The Opposition though felt that Modi was just a showman with little to show and mocked that the “achche din” he promised had yet to materialise. It didn’t help Modi one bit when the saffron brigade shifted the focus to issues such as conversion and love jihad. Yet, by the year-end, Modi seemed to be on an extended honeymoon with voters in Haryana, Maharashtra and now Jharkhand endorsing his brand of politics. It put the BJP in the driver’s seat in these states, unlike in J&K where the party made impressive gains but fell far short of a majority. In 2014, the Modi juggernaut seemed unstoppable. The New Year beckons!