Modi Has Won The Battle - But The War Has To Be Won !

Today my mother in law went to the bank here in Jaipur to exchange her old currency notes with the new ones .She –like the rest of us – is entitled to 2000 rupees per week .She was apprehensive ,but decided to take the risk .After all – some sections  of the Press ,political parties and some sections of society , have been raising the spectre of long queues causing immense hardships that could lead to violence .However she came back  gushing with praise .She recounted how orderly the queues  were  and how optimistic and willing the people were to sacrifice their comforts because they felt the PM had    “morally” made  the  right move ! From a AAP supporter ( she is a Delhi resident ), she was “Modified”!! And by the way ,my  mother in law is no greenhorn to  politics .She can teach a thing or two to economists and political scientists .She reads the newspapers on her smart phone and uses facebook and twitter.She is wise and a survivor of the Partition.She has seen it all –from Nehru to Modi .She is up there with a very informed  political opinion .1

Yes ,Modi  seems to have  won the demonetization game .The teething problems will continue for sometime.Everyone is prepared for that .One does not need to a rocket scientist to know that the Kejriwals and Mamtas  would whip up frenzy .One does not need to be expert in differential and integral calculus to predict that the “award wapasi” brigade and communist dominated university intellectuals ( all have  studied in American Universities and send their  kids there  too ),will try to intellectualize a simple idea and tie it into knots of abuse and negativism   . However the positives  of the idea has gone deep and far into the corners of India

I am not a Lutyens Delhi man and live in close proxity to rural areas .I interact with a huge army of  rural poor  with whom I work .I also interact with a huge class of educated citizenry  on a daily basis .Most feel that what the PM did was that he took  a calculated ,bold ,innovative decision .He took the risk because he feels for India .

It is a excellent move .Out  of the box  disruptive  thinking is required in a country like ours .The aspiration and the dream must always be beyond our means .When John Kennedy said in the early sixties that he dreamt of putting a man on the moon – we all laughed .When we saw movies in the 90s  of cars without drivers we all laughed .We laughed at a lot of things and we criticized a lot of things .That is becoz in our  mind  we never imagined the way some game changers do – the Einsteins ,the Zuckerbergs ,the Steve Jobs .A “disruptive” idea holds the key to progress in todays world .It has to be really disruptive to be effective – remember how the cell phone eased out the telephone , or how the transistor chip eased out the radio ,how a laptop eased out the PC , how cell phones are easing out lap tops , how emails killed the postal service ,or how digital cameras killed “roll cameras”? These ideas caught us unaware and we slowly adapted to a better lifestyle.We felt uncomfortable with cahnge initially .

I haven’t been able to understand the  argument  of those who are opposing the move – do  they want the black money to be eliminated ? If yes – then what is the best option to do that ? And if that option existed – then why has  it has not been exercised till now  7 decades since independence ?And if it has been exercised ,then why are there no result? And if better options are there – how many decades more will it take for them  to bear fruit ? Can India wait ? They need to make their stand very clear – they cant run with the hare and hunt with the hound .

The man from Gujarat exercised  the best option .He has thrown the dice .There is no point about complaining about its implementation .Any refinement of the implementation part before it was introduced , would have led to the leakage of the a measure that ,depended on secrecy The success of it would depend on  adhocism as the system ( people) responded once it was declared  The very fact that the government is responding on a near day to day basis proves that it is dynamic and responding and adapting  whenever  required

There is no doubt that the citizens are furious, but they will NOT  punish Modi for it .He has already gotten away with it, only the extent of his rewards is unclear.

Why ? Because there was a message which was loud and clear .It was a message that had nothing to do with your caste or your religion .It was a message that was based on the twin pillars REMOVAL OF CORRUPTION AND NATIONAL SECURITY. It was a message that what we leave behind for our successive generations must be worth it .We  cant  leave behind something  cancerous and moth eaten .

This may not be apparent at first glance, especially if you are not very fond of him.But there is observable evidence that the general public is with him.

It is our only chance to eradicate corruption .We must use his charm ,guts ,honesty and great orotorial skills to create a new India .He connects very well with the masses .He seizes every opportunity .Look at the way he seized the opportunity at the Coldplay concert yesterday to connect with the people  via a video  address, and quoted lines from Bob Dylan’s iconic song, “The times they are a-changin”.and said 

“You have been smart in asking me to only address the gathering and not sing, else I’m pretty sure your audience would be asking you for their money back, and that too in Rs 100 notes,”.!!! He rocked !!

Methinks - he has won the battle !!.But remember - the war has yet to be won .


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