By chhotebhai

Kanpur, Feb 29, 2024: All of us have our moods, individually, and collectively as a nation. India Today, the nation’s leading weekly, has brought out an “Exclusive Mood of the Nation Poll” published in its issue dated February 19. I am not a number cruncher or a data analyst; but as a writer I like to read between the lines, so here goes.

The cover page has a picture of a warrior like Narendra Modi marching ahead of the Army and Naval Chiefs of Staff. The headline reads “Heading for a Hat-Trick” and the by-line is “His personal popularity still high, PM Narendra Modi and the BJP are set to return.”

Before some of us start brooding over this headline, let us read between the lines. Having done so I can confidently say, “Don’t judge the magazine by its cover”. It is a clever presentation of innuendo, where its own data is self-contradictory or hard to swallow.

Let’s begin with the cover. Why the choice of a military like stance? Are we a democracy or a military dictatorship? Such macho images are reinforced by the PM snorkelling in Lakshwadeep and more recently in Dwarka, Gujarat. Bollywood movies like Tejas and Fighter add to the imagery. Dangerous portents.

To assess the “mood” in its true perspective we need to first study its methodology. If the parameters are faulty then so will be the end result. I chanced upon a YouTube video of noted political commentator Yogendra Yadav on this poll. Its methodology is shown on page 25. Yadav makes a startling revelation.

This poll was not conducted face to face or door to door, but randomly over the phone. Tell me, if you receive a call from an unknown number asking sensitive political questions, will you answer truly, or in trepidation, not knowing who the caller is or its intent?

Secondly, this poll was conducted between December 23, 2023, and January 28, when the Ram Mandir inauguration was at its peak. Obviously then, this highly charged and hyped up event would have emotionally impacted the respondents. Hence this cannot be considered a reasonable or balanced poll.

Thirdly, there were just 36,000 respondents in a population of 1.4 billion. Was this then really the mood of the nation? I have my doubts and misgivings. This poll cannot be considered a barometer of the mood of the nation.

Now let’s examine some of the questions and answers. Respondents were asked who was India’s best PM? Not surprisingly 44% voted for Modi. What surprised me is that just 6% voted for Jawahar Lal Nehru. So obviously our people don’t know the country’s history, or they were in trepidation, just playing to the gallery.

Another question was “What is the single greatest achievement of the NDA government?” Hold your breath. 20% said it was the handling of the Covid pandemic. Next was the Ram temple at 17% followed by 14% for a corruption free government, 11% for removal of Article 370 and a mere 5% for infrastructure development! This, when the government keeps on harping on vikas (development).

As for Covid handling, did we not see thousands of bodies floating in rivers, and lakhs of poor people trudging wearily along the highways, with baggage and family in tow. How could this qualify as an “achievement”?

Freedom from corruption is a cruel joke. “Na khaunga na khane doonga” is mere hype. Can anybody get their pension or ration card (basic rights) without greasing palms? Ask those in business or industry. The going rates for getting one’s papers in order have gone through the roof.

What has the revocation of Article 370 achieved? Has terrorism been eliminated? Are the people of Kashmir happier? In Ladakh the BJP lost miserably in recent local body elections and the Ladakhis are out on the streets saying that they have got a raw deal. So, this too cannot be termed an “achievement”.

Ironically, on page 22 there is a question, “Has the Modi government brought down corruption?” to which a resounding 47% say No. Another question on the same page is “Do you think that the BJP government misuses central agencies such as the ED, CBI and IT departments more than previous governments?” Here again 46% say Yes. The answers to both these questions are a huge dent in the image building of the BJP.

Another question is “What will PM Modi be most remembered for?” Not surprisingly, 42% say for the construction of the Ram Temple, 19% say raising India’s global stature (Vishwaguru), 12% say Article 370, 6% say demonetisation, 6% Covid management and 5% the fight against corruption.

These figures are at considerable variance with a similar question asked earlier, adding substance to the belief that this survey is not worth the paper that it has been printed on.

Global stature (vishwaguru) is pure hype. Other than France which country has been cozying up to India? France’s intentions are obvious. Read Rafaele etc. The USA and Canada have strained relations over alleged killings/ attempts to murder by Indian agencies on their soil.

Let alone belligerent China and Pakistan, our relationships with our neighbours like Nepal, Bhutan. Sri Lanka. Maldives and Myanmar have all soured.

During the time of Nehru and the NAM India held its head high in the comity of nations. Not so today, as we support naked aggression by Russia and Israel, to the extent that we are now exporting manpower for their war effort. Recently an Indian victim of bombing in Russia was from – you guessed right – Gujarat! If India is shining then why are people from Punjab and Gujarat taking the illegal “donkey route” to the new land of milk and honey, the USA?

Demonetisation achieved nothing. It neither curbed black money nor fake currency. The hastily issued 2,000-rupee notes were even more hastily withdrawn. What’s more, a day after demonetisation was announced PayTM came out with full page ads. Were they hand in glove with the government? Now thanks to RBI strictures, PayTM is down in the dumps. If Modi is to be remembered for this catastrophe, then so be it.

The mood on the economic front is the biggest slap on the face of the government (pages 28&29). A whopping 62% say that their economic status is either unchanged or deteriorated after Modi took over. Another 54% say that unemployment is a major concern. And again 62% say that their household budget has gone for a toss.

After studying this data, the people should be in a vile mood. Modi’s singular achievement seems to be the inauguration of an as yet incomplete Ram Temple.

Mahatma Gandhi had once said that for a hungry man God comes in the form of bread. In Modi’s India bread (economics) has been pushed to the back burner while God (mandir and religion) takes precedence. If we Indians don’t mind going to bed hungry because we are satiated with a temple, then let us not crry later, clutching our bellies; for we have got what we deserve. Sociologists correctly state that a nation gets the leaders it deserves.

A parting shot at the survey. Why did it not ask uncomfortable questions like: Are the Minorities living in fear? How many Muslims have more than one wife, and are they the only ones? How many have been converted to Christianity by fraud, fear or inducement? (There hasn’t been a single conviction from the time such laws were introduced about 50 years ago). Why has the 2021 Census not been conducted?

Is the Agniveer scheme good for the country? How prudent is it to allow somebody like Adani to produce arms, ammunition and high tech weapons systems? Why should the government enter our kitchens and bedrooms seeking to know what we eat, what we wear, or who we marry? Why is Manipur still burning? When will elections be held in Kashmir? When will Governors stop interfering in the functioning of State governments? When will it stop political poaching and brazen horse trading?

Had India Today asked some of these questions it would have known the real mood of the nation. The magazine’s erroneous poll has only served the interests of the ruling party in its perception battle. But why blame the BJP or the magazine, if opposition parties keep squabbling among themselves and are unable to get their act together? And how long will the Congress hang on to the coat tails of the Gandhi family in whose time we have seen the greatest exodus , including former Union and Chief Ministers?

On my part I will be in a really bad mood if the incumbent PM returns with a bigger majority for a third consecutive term. I don’t want to see him flanked by Army generals or snorkelling in the sea. Under so much pressure, his bubble may just burst.

(The writer does not owe allegiance to any political party.)