EVEN as Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi spends his 75th birth-day working routinely with no fanfare from his side, overwhelmingly positive popular sentiment reminds the nation that he is the most important human focal point of New India. The fact is not missed in consideration that the people of India have refused even to entertain the idea that Mr. Narendra Modi would retire as he completes 75 years of the eventful life -- as some elements often insist upon. Of course, the idea of retirement at 75 was terribly twisted in political discourse of some segments. In the parlance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), however, that idea was nothing more than a personal opinion expressed by somebody at some point (with no reference to current time). So, as the nation greets the Prime Minister of his completion of 75 years of life, the general feeling that he is destined to continue for many more years -- thanks to his good personal health as well as immense popularity.

 

It must be mentioned solicitously that just a week earlier, RSS Sarsanghchalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat also completed his 75 years of life, and is going as strong as ever with no hint whatsoever about stepping aside. At 75 years of age, both these leaders are absolutely fit and fine to carry on with their respective heavy-duty assignments. No matter what his political followers and BJP cadres may have to say about him, it is beyond doubt that Mr. Narendra Damordas Modi is currently the most critical human focal point of India. He heads not just the Government of India as Prime Minister, but also occupies the topmost position in the average Indian mind from multiple angles. His political position apart, countless millions of Indians consider him as a person endowed with divine capabilities to lead the nation politically as well as culturally. Equal numbers also consider him to be a man of a new Indian epoch.

 

The purpose here is not to present an eulogy to Mr. Narendra Modi, but to make an assessment of the meaning of the Narendra-Modi metaphor. Despite the fact that India has had many great personages as Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi brought to the position an altogether different aura. His decisiveness, his firmness of idea and ideal, his far-sightedness and his great ability to look back to history for reference and context have proved to be Mr. Narendra Modi’s unique qualities. If his grip on the minutest details of governance is something to talk about, his ability to tackle with equanimity complex international and diplomatic situations with aplomb is a matter of legend. Very few leaders of global standing possess this wide-ranging treasure-trove of virtue.

 

Mr. Modi is in the cut-and-dried business of hard politics where mercy is only a word for public consumption as part of the larger optic. In Mr. Modi’s case, the rough and tumble of politics has not erased his emotional persona, but has strengthened it all the more -- which the common people realise every now and then watching the Prime Minister steeped in public affairs. Innovation, independence of thought, fine futuristic imagination and continuous introspection (self-examination) are some of the other attributes of Mr. Modi’s personality. In the game of politics, not every leader is bestowed with such attributes. As Prime Minister, Mr. Modi has presented a road-map for future -- to the point of the centenary of India’s Independence (and beyond). There is nothing political about that ideation. What is available to the nation is a grand vision of developed India as an undisputed leader in the comity of nations. As a person leading the nation from the front, Mr. Narendra Modi has given the common Indians a clear idea of what the India of tomorrow should be like and what each person should do to fulfill that vision. That is his greatest contribution.