As mentioned in the topic, we are here to assess how far we have come in the last seven years under the leadership of Mr. Narendra Modi and his uncertain legacy that can be made to streamline our nation’s growth. Trust me, we aren’t here to criticize our leaders for their inept efforts towards the development of our nation.
Our goal is to evaluate the results after two terms of Narendra Modi’s service as the Prime Minister of India and the changes or his uncertain legacy that our country needs to help him leave a compelling legacy.
If you are looking for an informed and holistic discussion that helps you understand our current needs as a nation and ways we can achieve them, you are at the right place. We encourage you to share your opinions to foster a healthy environment that serves as a safe space enabling free speech.
India has been home to mighty leaders who have served as the prime minister of this developing nation. Most of these prime ministers have accolades and accomplishments attached to their names.
From Rajiv Gandhi’s pivotal role in the computerization of our nation to Narasimha Rao’s economic reforms and Atal Vajpayee’s road-building or Manmohan Singh’s value addition in the form of high growth rate, we have had the chance to witness some genuinely transformational events carried out by these stalwart leaders.
So, What Are Modi’s Achievements?
The undeniable development in the sanitation sector is accredited to Narendra Modi. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan drove Modi’s campaign and helped him secure another term at the PMO.
While the general Indian population remains divided on whether they are satisfied with the strides made by their government, those who support the right-wing party remain certain of Narendra Modi’s re-election.
The governance of Narendra Modi might appear lackluster to many as the expectations were at an all-time high when he came in power. Unfortunately, the world was brought down to its knee by the coronavirus pandemic during his leadership.
The Political Ill-Effects Of Coronavirus
The coronavirus resulted in unimaginable destruction and presented an unprecedented situation at a global level. The pandemic also ended up exposing everyone’s weaknesses, be it a third-world country like India or a First world country such as the USA.
India was already facing backlash over the CAA/ NRC bill, which exposed the bureaucratic mess that we are in. Coronavirus pandemic opened our eyes to our below-average medical infrastructure and our healthcare needs.
Combine the pandemic with infuriated farmers due to authoritarian capitalism rules, and you have a recipe for disaster. Narendra Modi has three more years left in his second term. That is enough time to resolve ONE of the million issues that relieve the general public’s ailments.
Solving even one of these issues would help him leave a mark as a competent Prime Minister, increasing his chances to be re-elected for a third term. While Modi can not be blamed for the poverty that has been ruling our nation for decades, his expectations regarding generating more employment or improvements in the healthcare industry were realistic and are yet to be met.
The Role of Indian Administration
The Indian Administrative Services seems to lack the motivation to bring in the changes that India needs today. Most IAS aspirants are seen cramming historical data instead of focusing on what ails this country.
It isn’t a question of “what happened when,” but it has more to do with empowering them with the knowledge to handle complex issues like energy or healthcare crises such as the coronavirus. The real power of a ruling party lies in the hands of its Administration. The current state of our nation demands a reformation within the Indian Administration at a root level.
During his term as the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh had tried to bring in changes within the IAS system, but his efforts remained futile. Modi has more power and influence over the Indian population, which should bring in IAS/IFS officers that condone elite bureaucracy and focus on practical ways to bridge the gap between our expectations and reality.
Crony Capitalism
Crony capitalism has been around since ancient times, and crony capitalists prosper in every regime. However, there is a difference between a leader backed by the government and boasting that the government is in your pocket. If we look around, we will see various examples of crony capitalists that have gained success because they shifted to the international market or changed their products to expand their business model.
Most of the crony capitalists in India produce goods targeting the Indian population and fail to imbibe the business strategies that boost our economy.
Moving onto reformations required in campaign financing that facilitate weakening the hold of corrupt politicians and encourage honest candidates to stand for office remains to be seen. No, we don’t mean to say that India is a hub of a corrupt political or electoral system; the US also suffers from a corrupt electoral system.
However, we can follow leaders such as Germany since our political system is parliamentary and is similar to the German government. Germany has state-funded elections, eliminating the risk of corrupt politicians using their financial power to influence voters.
Collapsing Healthcare
It would not have been fair to talk about our country’s needs without mentioning the dire state of our medical infrastructure. With people losing their lives due to the unavailability of hospital beds and oxygen containers, covid left India grappling for air, literally.
Private hospitals increased their admission fee, and influential people used their connections to reserve hospital beds in advance as the general public was left counting their last breaths at the hospital doorstep.
According to Modi’s statement, where he promised 100 intelligent cities during his first term, which is nowhere to be seen, the real question remains unanswered. Why can’t he build 100 government hospitals that are well equipped to handle our country’s medical needs?
Narendra Modi has been proactive throughout in trying to mitigate the devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic. He was the first to acknowledge our medical infrastructure’s condition, which was more flawed than first-world countries such as America. This led him to impose a nationwide lockdown.
We got lucky with the first Covid wave, and our government returned to its complacent nature. We could have improved our medical infrastructure to prepare us for the second COVID wave, which was suspected to happen anytime.
Instead, we let the second wave of the novel coronavirus snatch away the sense of normalcy we were regaining post the first coronavirus wave. With new variants such as the delta and lambda variants spreading throughout the world, the next step the Modi Government decides to take remains to be seen.
If Narendra Modi wants to leave a lasting impression on the Indian population and pave the way for third term re-election, reforming IAS on a root level, encouraging crony capitalists to focus on increasing exports, government-funded elections, and building more government hospitals throughout the country would be an excellent place to start.
