Modi’s Blog On Mahakumbh Presents Contrast To Idea Of India

The blog also does not mention crores of Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, and Jains, and yet boasts of national unity through the Mahakumbh. Should we not expect the Prime Minister to visualise an inclusive India? Modi does not seem to be prepared to give a clear answer

“The physical form of the Mahakumbh may have culminated successfully on Mahashivratri, but just like the eternal flow of the Ganga, the spiritual strength, national consciousness and unity that Mahakumbh has awakened will continue to inspire us for generations to come,” Prime Minister Modi writes in a blog after a 45-day-long celebration at the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati in Allahabad (now Prayagraj).

Apparently a part of a decade-old campaign, the blog only reiterates the fight of the BJP and the RSS against the idea of India—democracy, pluralism, and equality. However, the Prime Minister also continues his public relations exercise, which we all are familiar with. Close-ups of him taking a dip in the Sangam have been displayed prominently.

One can also hear his loud exclamations on the past and future of India. He unhesitatingly mentions how he had invoked the mother Ganga during his election campaign in Kashi and said that the sacred river had called her to the constituency. He, however, claims that it was more than an expression of emotion. It was a call of responsibility.

If we discard the applause concerning the claim of successfully managing the mega event and restrain ourselves from expressing anguish over stampede deaths, it is not difficult to see through the challenges the Prime Minister and the BJP put up before the nation. The PM’s claim of successful management, though, only reflects denial of facts.

The Prime Minister almost declares that he will continue with his agenda of Hindutva and go on organising similar events. He refers to the Pran Pratishtha (consecration) of Sri Ram Temple at Ayodhya on 22 January 2024.

“The way 140 crore Indians turned the Ekta Ka Mahakumbh into a global occasion is truly wonderful. Moved by the dedication, devotion, and efforts of our people, I will soon visit Shri Somnath, the first among the 12 Jyotirlingas, to offer the fruits of these collective national efforts to Him and to pray for every Indian,” says the blog.

People may wonder, with all verbose and loud assertions, how Prime Minister Modi wants us to carry forward the message of the Mahakumbh. What is his takeaway from the event he terms to be? Does he not decode what he has deduced from the event he is claiming to be “a dawn of a new era,” which will script the future of a new India?

“After 144 years, in this Mahakumbh, our saints have once again given us a new message for India's development journey. That message is Developed India—Viksit Bharat,” says the Prime Minister. Does it mean that the Viksit Bharat program is the message from saints who gathered at the Mahakumbh after one and a half centuries?

The Prime Minister further appeals to the people, “This was an embodiment of the vision of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat that filled confidence in crores of people. Now, we must come together in the same spirit for the mission of building a developed India.”

Modi’s war against the idea of a nation that has emerged through the freedom struggle finds expression in the following words of the blog:

“Earlier, the saints of the Bhakti movement had identified and encouraged the strength of our collective resolve across India. From Swami Vivekananda to Sri Aurobindo, every great thinker reminded us of the power of our collective resolve. Even Mahatma Gandhi experienced it during the freedom movement. Post-independence, if this collective strength had been correctly recognized and harnessed towards boosting the welfare of all, it would have become a great force for a newly independent nation. Unfortunately, it was not done earlier. But now, I am gladdened to witness how this collective strength of the people is coming together for a developed India.”

He talks about the strengthening of “national consciousness” by the gathering of saints and devotees at Prayagraj and laments that this collective resolve was not correctly recognised in post-independence India.

He is referring to Nehru’s India. Did Nehru fail to recognize the collective resolve of India? Does his iconic ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech at the dawn of freedom of India fail to spell it?

“The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity. The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That may be beyond us, but as long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over,” says Nehru.

Does Modi feel for the sufferings of the people the way Nehru feels? Though he says that service to the nation is service to the divine, he puts the agenda of going to Somnath. Is it not the reverse of what he says? In practice, he is saying that attending religious call-visiting temples and participating in Mahakumbh is service to the nation. This is the contrast Modi tries to hide but fails to do it. In this ‘Dawn of A New Era’ blog, Modi does not talk about the sufferings of the poor masses, crores of whom attended the Mahakumbh and energised the prime minister.

The blog also does not mention crores of Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, and Jains, and yet boasts of national unity through the Mahakumbh. Should we not expect the Prime Minister to visualise an inclusive India? Modi does not seem to be prepared to give a clear answer. We get the answer from the first prime minister of India.

“All of us, to whatever religion we may belong, are equally the children of India with equal rights, privileges, and obligations. We cannot encourage communalism or narrow-mindedness, for no nation can be great whose people are narrow in thought or in action,” says Nehru in his ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech.

Modi’s ‘Dawn of New Era’ blog only reiterates a contrasting agenda to the idea of India.

(The author is a senior journalist. He has experience of working with leading newspapers and electronic media including Deccan Herald, Sunday Guardian, Navbharat Times and Dainik Bhaskar. He writes on politics, society, environment and economy)