It’s been three months since the nation voted Narendra Modi
as Prime Minister in a humungous display of faith and trust in a single man.
India believed that for the first time after Jawaharlal Nehru we had a “leader”
in the true sense of the word. But ever since his victory speech in Vadodara
after his record-breaking and record-making victory, the verbose Narendra Modi
fell silent. This was quite unnerving for all those who had become used to
hearing him almost 24 x 7 across all TV channels for close to six months (give
or take a few months to this number). It was Modi’s vision that India believed
in. It was Modi’s mission that the country had voted for. It was Modi’s clarity
and direction of development that the nation overwhelmingly supported.
It is the norm that the Prime Minister addresses the nation
on the Independence Day, August 15. People were waiting eagerly to hear him
again. What was expected was a litany of projects undertaken or executed in the
past three months.
On August 15, Narendra Modi gave an epic speech on from the
Red Fort to the country. His speech of impressive, invigorating and inspiring.
All those who were getting disappointed after three months of the election
results were filled with hope and belief once again. Modi belied expectations.
In an eighty-four minute speech (the second longest address by a Prime Minister
on Independence Day – the longest was Nehru’s speech), Modi spoke about safety,
women, gender ratios, e-governance and many other issues, including, and very
importantly, cleanliness. He appealed for a change in mindset from parents
towards the girl child and also enlisted parents in creating a safer
environment for women by keeping a check on the boys. He sent out an entreaty
for the end of violence. He officially announced the end of the dinosaur, The
Planning Commission.
It is not possible to capture everything he spoke about but
it is possible to capture the mood it gave going by all the posts on Facebook and
in other social media – people felt rejuvenated with hope – once again. The
effect has been electric.
This brings me to a moot point: Modi really needs to engage
with the country more often. To sustain the belief that has been reposed in
him, Narendra Modi must address the Nation at least once a month. In absence of
communication from him the mood dissipates rather quickly.
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