THE BIRTH OF MODICRACY

Modi brought political stability to the country, made welfare delivery a personal mission, and shaped a bold, assertive India

- BY RAJ CHENGAPPA

IF a decade is a long time in politics, in India, it can feel like an era. For, between 2015 and 2025, Narendra Modi created an era of his own by reshaping the grammar of power, governance and political ambition.

He was able to sense the impatience of a rising society and the political hunger of a nation weary of the drift of the past decade that had been stymied by coalition arithmetic and consensus paralysis. Single-minded, austere, combative yet communicative, Modi did not present himself as a conciliator of interests but as an instrument of resolution. He rode to power on the image of personal incorruptibility, hyper-disciplined work ethic and a penchant for high-stakes decisions. On how he dealt with key issues, Modi in an interview to INDIA TODAY revealed, "Makkhan par lakir to sab khe-enchte hai. Karna hai to patthar par lakir kheencho. Kathin hai to kya hua, shuruaat to karo (Drawing a line on butter is easy, but if you must, draw one on stone. It might be difficult, but make a start). This is what I believe in, which gives me the conviction to take on difficult and uncomfortable tasks."

In doing so, Modi became the face of a new, assertive India. That assertiveness was evident across the gamut of political, social and economic activity. In his first term, he wrapped welfare in nationalism, making the JAM trinity of Jan Dhan accounts, Aadhaar identification and mobile connectivity as an act of people's empowerment. It became the backbone of a delivery-driven model that enabled cash transfers at an unprecedented scale. Swachh Bharat was a national quest to alter sanitation habits across rural India, something generations of governments had failed to do. His second term saw the Public Distribution System expand into the world's largest food security programme, feeding hundreds of millions during both normal times and extraordinary crises.