Narendra Modi’s
gathering in Hyderabad attracted a crowd of 1.50.000 people. This must be the
largest crowd for a paid rally (admission was at Rs. 5). Modi gave a rousing
speech which he ended with, “We can and we will.”
Flak followed. This was Obama’s slogan in his 2008 campaign.
That was his first attempt to become the President of the USA and this slogan
galvanised the nation. Flak. Flak. And more flak for Modi for using the same
slogan.
A whole day of television airwaves featured various Congress
party members deriding Modi. He was dismissed as a man without vision or ideas.
#Feku and #Pheku are the derogatory hashtags and handles that Modi-bashers have
created for him in the Twitter-world. These were gleefully circulated and
reinforced.
The anti-Modi celebratory party lasted for probably a day.
The raucous chatter was firmly silenced when the BJP released an old speech of
Modi’s.
Circa 2004 (note the year – 4 years before Obama’s campaign)
in the Vibrant Gujarat summit, Modi has spoken the exact same phrase: Gujaratis
can and they will. He said this in English and Gujarati.
Since Modi’s slogan came before Obama uttered those words,
did the US Presidential candidate of 2008 copy the Chief Minister of Gujarat?
This is not a very far-fetched notion since Obama has Indians amongst his
numerous speech writers. But as the winning candidate of the world’s leading
nation, he cannot be questioned.
Consider that Obama did knowingly speak the same phrase as
Modi, did the slogan lose its will and power? Would it then not have galvanised
Americans? No matter who in the world speaks Martin Luther King Junior’s words,
“I have a dream...”, they still resonate.
If Obama’s slogan had not been as widely publicised as it
was, would Modi receive flak for using his own slogan? If it was, let’s say,
the Presidential candidate of Papua New Guinea who had used this slogan, would
we even know that it had been used somewhere in the world? Would India then
have spent crores on television airwaves and in terms of man hours to debate
the slogan?
For the record, the motto of Birla Public School (erstwhile
Gopi Birla School) in Mumbai has been “I can and I will”. It is said that this
phrase was also used by Swami Vivekanada.
“We can and we will” talks about development of the nation. It
shows a path and a mission. We have high inflation, the rupee is steadily
falling, businesses aren’t doing well, corruption is commonplace, safety is abysmal
– we can rise out of this mire and we will. It is hope. It is determination. It has a
sense of purpose. Instead of debating
over the usage, it would be better if everyone made this a personal slogan and
moved ahead with fortitude and resolve.