'Let's go to war against poverty': Why every Pakistani must listen to PM Modi's speech

Even PM Modi's harshest critic won't deny that he is a speaker of some skill. However, after becoming the PM of the country, his oratorical skills have been reserved for the campaign trail, NRI events or US Congressmen. Unlike his friend Barack, who addresses the nation whenever a tragedy strikes, PM Modi has often responded to national crises with tweets. His silence has flustered his supporters while delighting his critics who bestowed upon him the moniker ‘MaunModi’.

On Saturday, however, at the BJP National Meet, we saw a return of the pre-2014 leader, one who had all the markings of a great statesman. Because being a great leader doesn’t only mean being loved by your supporters, but also being respected by your peers and even opponents.

In a speech that drew praise from some of his harshest critics and beleaguered Twitter’s over-enthusiastic warmongers, Modi flayed the Pakistani establishment while reaching out to the Pakistani people. He pointed out that while all countries in Asia were working towards making the 21^st Century their own, one country didn’t want to part of the success and was instead exporting terror.

He said: “All countries in Asia is working forward to make sure that 21st century becomes Asia's 21st century except one country. There is one nation in Asia whose aim is this century does not become Asia's and is associated with terrorism. The question is not only about India, everywhere this is one country which is exporting terrorism everywhere.”

It was an interesting speech, in which he started off by admiring the sacrifices of the BJP cadre in Kerala and mentioned how far BJP had come in the space of fifty years. He also took a swipe-by-omission at Nehru when he said that the three thinkers who had shaped this country were – Mahatma Gandhi, Ram Manohar Lohia (pioneer of the Indian socialist movement) and Deen Dayal Upadhaya (founder of Bharatiya Jan Sangha). 

He also expanded upon the ‘Ivy League of Terrorism’ phrase that Eenam Gambhir used at the UNGA pointing out that:  "Whenever news about terrorism comes, news also comes that either the terrorist came from Pakistan or, like Osama Bin Laden, went there after the act.” The 'terrorist from Pakistan' remark is obviously a reference to Abdul Khan Rahami, the New York bomber who travelled to Pakistan four times between 2004 and 2015, even staying there for a year. 

Another interesting turn, which suggests that BJP won’t be joining the ‘ban Pakistani artists’ bandwagon, was when he clearly looked to differentiate between the people of Pakistan and its leaders. Throwing caution to the wind, he directly addressed his counterpart saying: “I want to talk to the leaders across the border in Pakistan who read speeches prepared by terrorists. The world has no expectations from them.”

And then came the pièce de résistance. It was quite an interesting remark, one that looked to borrow from his pre-2014 development plank as he urged the people of Pakistan to fight the evils that mattered – like poverty, illiteracy and other social evils. He said: “I want to tell Pakistani people; India is ready to fight you. If you have strength, come forward to fight against poverty. Let’s see who wins? Who is able to defeat poverty and illiteracy first, Pakistan or India?” 

And, in a bit that will be seen as fomenting mischief by our neighbours, he signed off saying: “A day will come when people of Pakistan will go against its own government to fight terrorism. India has been successful in isolating Pakistan and will intensify that so that you are completely isolated. People of Pakistan should ask their leaders. India and Pakistan got freedom in the same year but India exports software and your leaders export terrorists.”

Since he came to power, PM Modi has often surprised his detractors, critics and the so-called experts by doing something out of the blue. He did so when he invited Sharif to his oath ceremony and then dropped by in Pakistan on his birthday. When he realised that there’s no point extending the olive branch to our neighbours, he hit them by mentioning human rights violations in Balochistan.

Former US President Dwight Eisenhower, the last political novice to become the Republican nominee before Donald Trump came along, had famously said: “I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.”  And that is because, unlike Trump, he understood the consequences of war better. Modi’s speech on Saturday seems to suggest that he too understands the futility of going to war with Pakistan, a move that will frustrate the war-mongers on both sides of the border.