Sixty years after Bapu , an attempt is being made from his janmabhoomi to create a mass movement for the development of India.
Sixty years after Bapu was martyred during his mission to liberate the nation from poverty and communalism, an attempt is being made from his janmabhoomi to create a mass movement for the development of India. Gujarat is aspiring to lead that movement.
Paradoxically, a movement to advance Mahatma Gandhi’s vision is the brainchild of someone who is perceived to be an uncompromising critic of Bapu’s ideology - the Bharatiya Janata
Party’s RSS-groomed iconic chief minister Narendra Modi.
After riding to successive poll victories on massive waves of
Hindutva and popularity which bypassed the tsunami of criticism caused by 2002 riots, Modi told DNA in an exclusive interview: “If we had made development a mass movement after Independence, which was Gandhiji’s vision, we would surely have been a developed country by now.” And he sees a great opportunity to galvanise the people for that movement through the Swarnim Gujarat celebrations which will mark 50 years of Gujarat’s statehood.
After the success of the Vibrant Gujarat-2009 summit, he has drawn adulation from corporate notables and leaders of many countries, all of whom see him as the ‘future leader of India’.
However, calling himself a ‘mazdoor aadmi’ working for an Indian state, and thus for India, he categorically shoves aside all talk of his emergence on the national scene. He says, “…but if it’s not my goal, why should I waste my energy? Why should I waste my time?”
Reacting to US President Barack Obama’s public apology for errors, Modi takes a dig at the media.
“I am of the opinion that if I have committed a ‘mistake’ intentionally, I should be punished and I should not be forgiven. My statement is one step ahead of what Obama has said. Secondly, about unintentional errors, I have said so many times that I am also a human being and even I can make mistakes. But I will never do anything with a mala fide intention. I have been repeating this statement right from 2002, but since I am not Obama, you don’t publish it!”
He emphatically states, “Criticism is always welcome, but allegations are not. To criticise, you need to do research. But most people don’t bother to do that, so they level allegations. This is the biggest enemy of democracy.” He quips, “If there is a perfect criticism, I immediately change my thinking.”
This assertion may be interpreted by many as a shift from the saffron agenda to a white (Gandhian) agenda, but he has a rather more contemporary ‘green agenda’ that is crying for attention - to fight climate change and global warming. He is also focused on improving the human development index and has been spinning new concepts like ‘Rurban’ development and the Chiranjeevi scheme for social welfare.
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