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Mr Modi and Utopia


Speaking during a function in Raigad yesterday, Prime Minister Modi threatened the nation with more “difficult decisions.” 

From today's Times of India
A couple of days back, Steve Forbes, Editor-in Chief of Forbes magazine condemned Mr Modi’s demonetisation as immoral and theft of people’s property. 
A few days back, Wall Street Journal wrote that “Instead of factory openings or large new investments, the images that tell India’s current economic story include snaking lines outside banks, distressed workers migrating back to their villages, and tax raids on jewelers and officials caught with hoards of allegedly illicit cash.”

Today is Christmas, a festival that marks the birth of a man in whose name a major religion came to be founded.  Christianity has always upheld suffering as a virtue.  It has relished imposing more and more rules and regulations, restrictions and penalties on its people.  Its priests and other leaders love to threaten the faithful with ominous consequences if the teachings of the religion are not abided by religiously.  Listening to Mr Modi’s speeches these days, I’m reminded of the Christian preachers. 

In a way, Mr Modi is more Christian than the evangelical preachers.  While the latter sell suffering here on earth so that the believers can receive their reward in heaven, Mr Modi is selling suffering in order to create a utopia here in our country itself.  The heavenly reward is more credible than the earthly utopia. 

Mr Modi is trying to eradicate evil from the country.  He thinks it is possible to eradicate black money, corruption, greed, envy and a lot of other things which are integral parts of human nature itself.  Mr Modi is trying to become a Messiah, a god incarnate, who will clean the human nature of all evils – at least in Bharat.

Earlier when his obsession was confined to physical filth and garbage (Swachch Bharat, Clean Ganga, etc), most people must have thought something was going to happen since they were practical objectives.  Nothing happened, however.  Bharat has remained as filthy as ever.  So has the Ganga. 

A man who couldn’t even achieve very simple, practical goals is now going to clean up the Indian hearts and souls. 

We are going to face a tough future, it seems.  Nothing good may come of all this since greed is incurable and people will always find ways and means of hoarding money, black as well as white.  

In the meanwhile, we can entertain ourselves by boasting about the gargantuan projects such as the 190 metre statue of Shivaji in the Arabian Sea and the Sardar Patel statue in Gujarat.  Each will cost the nation about Rs 3000 crore.  We shall continue to waste our time standing in queues before banks and ATMS trying to take out our own money.  What is that suffering compared to the glory that awaits our nation in the form of great monuments?  Suffering is a religious virtue which can create a utopia in India.  Let us embrace it even as Jesus embraced the cross.  And wait for the utopia to take shape.


Merry Christmas. 
Indian Bloggers


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Comments

  1. UnknownDecember 25, 2016 at 10:45 PM

    Very true and an interesting point. This entire exercise by the government shows how a great vision can be implemented so badly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalDecember 26, 2016 at 7:25 AM

      I'm wondering about the validity of the vision itself 😆

      Delete
  2. जितेन्द्र माथुरDecember 26, 2016 at 8:53 AM

    Perfect sarcasm Sir. And you are right in your comment that the validity of the vision itself bears a question mark. Perhaps all those who consider the Indian premier as a noble-hearted person pursuing some pious mission are mistaken. And he is not even pursuing RSS or BJP agenda. He is pursuing his own (hidden) agenda and not being dictated by any other organization or agency. He is a complex person and through his shrewedness and excellent marketing skills able to misguide a whole generation, a whole nation (or at least a sizable part of it).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalDecember 26, 2016 at 9:01 AM

      That's the right assessment of the man. Extremely ambitious, he has only been using the RSS as a stepping stone. Today the country is his stepping stone. To global heights!

      Delete
  3. Abhijit RayDecember 26, 2016 at 11:21 AM

    I think we are taking comments in Forbes magazine way too seriously. On an average, western press do not have much good to say about India. An over populated country, plagues by corruption, rampant maltreatment of women, unhygienic neighbourhood etc. You name it, it is here in India. Now what is new if they claim demonetisation is antipoor. So many years of poverty alleviation has brought us to a situation where one has to demonetise currency. Strangely, none of your sarcasm is directed towards rampant malpractices of the past. Is it your pet peeve that is showing? I wonder!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalDecember 26, 2016 at 11:43 AM

      Interpret it as you like, Abhijit. The simple truth is that i find Modi an amusing character study and I am a man of literature. Modi will be figuring soon in my novel as a character, a very brief appearance albeit.

      Delete
  4. Sneh AsnaniDecember 26, 2016 at 3:52 PM

    Completely agree !! Good post!!

    http://www.bootsandbutter.com

    ReplyDelete

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