Vishal Ghosh*
Swami Vivekananda in his book ‘Amar Bharat, Amor Bharat ‘(My Eternal India) pens down “Ebar Kendra Bharatvarsha” which means now the powerhouse is Bharat. The statement then made by Swamiji was justified aptly after nearly 800 years of bondage and 75 years of Independence from the shackles of British colonialism when we are witnessing a new dawn of Bharat with the vision and mission of our Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and with the blessings of our great ancestors. Bharat has been regaining her civilizational glory and prestige and reestablishing herself to reach the pinnacle of being the Vishwaguru in the New World Order.
The development of Bharat has upsurged by leaps and bounds in the last decade with the proactive and people-centric policymaking and decisive leadership of Modiji. The vision of New India was not only a saying but a challenge to prove it right with 140 cr Bharatiyas. New India has one vision of ‘Sankalp Se Siddhi ‘resulting in drastic transformations both with respect to the governance mechanism and system of delivery. The Modi Government has been standing tall and vocal against corruption and malpractices since the day they took over from the Congress in 2014 and the result was eventually reflected in the 2019 elections when the Janta Janardan blessed Modiji and his party to win elections by a record margin. If we look into the development model in the last 9 years, it has been an indo-centric rather than Eurocentric point of view reflecting on the mantra of ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas’ which indicates the vision of inclusivity and Janbhagidari.
The transformation of the planning commission to the NITI Aayog in 2015 was a major reform in the sector of governance and policymaking fostering a boost in the country’s economic growth One of the major highlights of the Modi style of working is they have adopted a mixed method approach rather than going by a top-down approach in which people experience and people’s participation is not ensured. The welfare schemes designed by the policymakers were evidently based on data data-driven approach keeping in mind the background of the SDG 2030 agenda to which Bharat is contributing responsibly as a member state. For example, The PM-Ujjwala Yojana has been one of the most successful flagship schemes of the government which strives to bring a smile on the faces of the mothers and sisters by making the provision of subsidized LPG Gas connections. Till now from 2016 nearly a crore connections have been released. Another scheme which has made a great impact is Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana which aimed to increase financial inclusion in the country by providing banking facilities to all households in the country and it has turned out to be one of the biggest financial inclusion initiatives in the country with 50 crores account. This in turn helped the government to generate the DBTs directly to the account of the ‘Gao, Garib, Kisan’ in the form of various welfare schemes. The Swachh Bharat mission has been a dream project of Modiji as it has been rightfully awarded by the United Nations by looking at its transformative action. Initiatives like Skill India, and Stand-Up India have impacted PM Modi’s initiative of Atmanirbhar Bharat where he laid stress on Swadeshi Products bearing the symbol of ‘Made In India’. It is for this initiative that the youth of Bharat in Amritkal will be job givers rather than job-seekers.
It is not only the welfare schemes but also reforms which are intended socially, politically, economically and culturally that have led India to be a global figure in just 10 years. One of the major reforms was the GST which eased out the burden of unnecessary taxation causing stagnation in the system. The removal of Article 370 was a historic move by the government reflecting on the thought that the integrity of Bharat is the Modi government’s priority. The mantra of sabka vikas got empowered when the Teen Talaq was removed via constitutional actions answering to the demands of the Muslim mothers and sisters and it is because of the visionary leadership of Modiji that the faith of the millions of ram bhaktas was respected and a grandeur Ram Mandir is being built on the Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya. For any civilization to regain its ancient glory and heritage, it is very important to uphold the Dharma and perform the Karma and this has been the inherent quality of statesman Modi who holds the record of 20 years of service to the public life, 24*7 and 365 days and 18 hours a day. When the Pradhan Sevak leads the way the Nation is bound to rise tall and firm.
Another important aspect of New India is her foreign policy driven by the national interest of India First, Realistic diplomacy, growing economic ties, the balance of powers and a multi-aligned approach which has raised Bharat to the higher pedestal of the new world order, especially after Covid-19. The year 2023 was extremely fruitful for Bharat as she successfully hosted the most productive G20 summit till date at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi which resulted in a hundred percent consensus on the G20 Summit Declaration. Given the present geopolitical situation getting the great powers at the same table for a consensus was dedicatedly led by Modi and his team giving a new aspiration and hope to all the 140 crore Bharatiyas. As we usher into the Amritkal with the target of Viksit Bharat in 2047 when we have the centenary celebrations of the Independence of Bharat let us resolve and commit with the maxim of panch-pran of Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and unitedly work for making Bharat Vishwaguru once again in the coming years.
*Centre for Bharat Studies, Kolkata
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