Development is not the priority in Modi 2.0 but the cultural aspects have become more prominent, said Lord Meghnad Desai while speaking at TNIE’s Dakshin Literary Festival 2020. Desai has just published his autobiography Rebellious Lord: An Autobiography and was in conversation with senior journalist Kaveree Bamzai and Edex’s Chief Reporter Daniel Thimmayya on his life, his lessons and obviously, politics.
Talking about Indian politics and the entrepreneurial drive or the lack thereof, Desai said that India can be considered a collection of nations much like Europe — and Gujarat has been the most capitalist and successful ‘country’ in it. “The culture of Gujarat is very economy-oriented. A moneymaker is respected there, which is not the case for the rest of India. Modi was in that culture. RSS wasn’t.
The notion that BJP is a traders’ party is an insult invented by the left. Now Article 370 and CAA is a priority. Sab ka vikas is not the priority (anymore). But he is still the only leader in India who can get something done, but he has to get his focus back on the economy. Arun Jaitley isn’t there anymore,” he added.
The BJP’s record win in 2014 has been the topic of many a debate and Desai agrees there was a gap that the BJP filled in. “Indians were hungry not just for economic progress but for politics and their identity. And I think that is where BJP very patiently dug away. Secularism is not a narrative. BJP has the Hindu narrative which, I think, is not good enough because India is not just a Hindu civilisation. Modern India does not really care about this, they want to be technologically advanced,” he added.
Talking about the farmers in India, he said, “No one from the RSS to CPM likes private business. They think all businessmen are cheats and all profits come from cheating and the first thing to do is to stop them from prospering. And if you say sentimental things like ‘I am a kisan’, you have your debt forgiven. The kisan is a businessman. The largest private sector is agriculture.”
“I am always puzzled by the fact that the RSS’s ambition is to be jagatguru — not that they want a country where there is no poverty or where everybody is healthy. You don’t have one first-rate university. Apart from yoga, where is the need for the world to come to India?” Desai queried.