It is often hard for full-time politicians to step out of the prison of image and perception that they have created for themselves. However, there are several issues and platforms where politics should be excluded. If there is one man today who understands this completely, it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The PM knows the limits of politics and refrains from it when needed. In fact, he has the ability to bridge gaps on issues concerning India. In my own experience, the topic of sanitation became important when PM Modi chose to highlight this challenge. Speaking from the Red Fort, he made it a theme of change, and worked to address the challenges faced.
Be it insufficient financial support or highlighting the importance of toilets, we saw the prime minister tackle both. He equally touched upon issues of general cleanliness in our cities and villages, striking a chord with the masses. On these issues PM Modi appealed to celebrities, opposition party members, the media and activists to raise their voice. He has acknowledged repeatedly the role of sanitation workers, an extremely disadvantaged class of society, and expressed gratitude for their invaluable contributions. Sanitation is not just a political issue belonging to one party or group, and the PM’s actions make this understanding clear.
When he addresses the nation through his radio address, the prime minister is often saying India’s Mann Ki Baat. It is not a campaigning tool; rather, it is used as a tool for inspiring social change. From toilets to tourism, a wide range of topics have been covered. One is yet to find any political messaging being delivered through Mann Ki Baat. Instead, there is a focus on shining the spotlight on common people working for positive change in society.
He understands the innate power of social change without the necessity of politics. It is evident in the response he gave in an episode when someone raised this question. The prime minister’s answer said it all—he had firmly decided that it would carry nothing political and there would be no praise for the government or Modi for that matter. The prime minister has demonstrated a refreshing ability to separate the two domains in speech and action whenever a need has been felt. Around election times, political attacks and counter-attacks keep happening.
However, after the elections, governance has to be the priority. This is a key necessity for social change and the PM has replied to this appropriately. This is an understanding visible in his actions. Just look at PM Modi’s interactions with the opposition-controlled governments of West Bengal and Odisha. There have been hard-fought elections, and yet when cyclones hit these states, Modi was immediately on the ground with the CMs, assessing the situation, ensuring flow of funds from the Centre and assuring support wherever needed.
A great example turned up when the general elections were taking place. Concerned people have raised their voices for years now on a critical issue—voting. This is where creativity in nudging people to vote can also be seen. PM Modi personally tagged people along with issuing an appeal to ask everyone eligible to vote. Sportspersons, start-up founders, film celebrities—all of them started to talk about the importance of voting. There can be no motive attached to this initiative at all; it is a social change we all seek. Making the eminent people talk about the issues of our democracy is also a step for social change. The response from across the wide range of people shows that the message reached the right place and created impact.
A transformation is taking place in society, and only the ignorant will miss it. Today, people from small towns in India are making the country proud and changing the rules of the game. As the leader of the nation, it is appropriate to acknowledge those changes and encourage them. What does Modi gain by writing letters to people in this day and age of emails for various occasions? Probably nothing. And yet, he is acting the way a leader should, by reaching out to those who are breaking the glass ceilings every day. This is truly another reason to say that the prime minister acknowledges the realities of social change and keeps politics away from it.
India is a country that is embracing social change at breakneck speed. One can align with it or step aside to become irrelevant to this reality. The prime minister, true to his role of being the country’s leader, has demonstrated that he is eager for social change, which is perhaps what gives him universal appeal. Embracing the need and ability to change differentiates him from the rest. Clearly, he understands what Heraclitus meant by saying that the only thing constant is change.
Bindeshwar Pathak
Sociologist and founder of Sulabh International