TsuNaMo: The decoding of India's most powerful wave

Good, old commercial movies are built on the premise of a hero who battles against all odds and comes out trumps at the end. Commercial potboilers in India and the world over are solely dependent on the strengths of this 'hero' who is unconquerable though hundreds of obstacles are strewn all over his path. He is that iconic figure who the common man in the film's story looks up to for deliverance from all troubles. The maximum whistles and hoots have always been reserved for the 'hero' who turns up just at the most immaculate time to bash up the villains mercilessly and save the heroine or the other characters.

It's not that the other characters in a cinematic story are incapable of defending themselves, but they are so oblivious of their own strengths that they are always looking out for a saviour, a messiah who would do the needful and signal their victory. This has been the template right from mythology where the Gods descended on earth to protect the world from evil. The victory of good over evil has been the most successfull blueprint in all the landmark stories all over the world.

Against this backdrop, the whole nation was aghast when a terrorist committed the most deplorable, disgusting, shameful attack on CRPF soldiers in Pulwama. There was unanimous mourning all over the country for this heinous crime on Indian soil. Millions of Indians seeked retribution for the lost lives of their brothers in uniform. History suggested that such attacks had always been met with condemnations, harsh condemnations, strict condemnations and nothing else. The most the governments of the past had done was to ban Indo Pak cricket and their artists for sometime. In fact the next few days after the attack were the most depressing in the past few years.

The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised a stinging reaction. Days passed, nothing happened apart from imposing a ban on imports and exports. Just when the citizens were about to resign to their fate as in the past, one morning brought a stunning news. Indian aircrafts had flown deep inside Pakistan territory and dropped bombs on terrorist camps in Balakot. What's more? None of the aircrafts suffered any damage or loss and returned safely! Many on social media and in the mainstream media were not willing to even believe this for the first few hours. But, yes, India had struck. India, for the first time, had shown the gumption to cross over the border to the terror state and had managed to smash the camps of cowards. What followed was mass riot of celebrations all over the country.

After the pusillanimous response of the Mumbai terror attack, Indians had lost their own self belief and confidence on their governments. Despite losing hundreds of innocent lives, the then government had not even given the authority to the armed forces to even fire a bullet across the border. The response this time around in the form of aerial strikes literally stunned the world, especially the common folk of the country. This is straight out of any hardcore, commercial movie where the hero rises at the most opportune moment and delivers. India's hero had risen. It was Narendra Modi.

By ordering these strikes, Modi had rewritten the rules of the game. In one single stroke, he had lifted the spirits and the self confidence of a whole nation. From a country that had almost given up any hope of a strong and befitting response, here was a giant hope and a new confidence that this man would not let our heads hang in shame, despondency and helplessness. This arousal of a nationalistic fervour and collective confidence sowed the preliminary seeds of what is now famously described as TSUNAMO.

Right from the day of Narendra Modi assuming the role of Chief Minister of Gujarat, every single dart aimed and schemed for his downfall has failed. The media and intellectuals conducted a vicious withchunt right from 2002, they tried all tricks before the 2014 general election. The past five years since he became the PM has seen the rise of so much hatred against him that many forgot they had become India haters too in the process of blind, illogical hatred against Modi. Just glance through the past five years. Every sort of narrative was tried, no trick was left to crucify him, not a single day was spent without abusing him, every problem in the country was attributed to one man. 

Despite all this, the irony is that they never understood the man. In fact, nobody understands him completely even today. He wins election after election, yet remains unpredictable in his strategies or his plans. The media and opposition try the same old tricks every single time and end up with giant eggs on their faces. They create fake narratives, present half facts, most times utter plain lies, demonise him, abuse him, yet he remains unruffled and comes out unscathed.As hard as we try, we simply fail to keep up with his pace of thinking and delivering actions. He is that runner who would have finished ten laps by the time the opponent even enters the arena!

In a way, the aura of Modi becomes bigger each time after elections. This aura or the wave that he generates each time is not due to one particular reagent as the media would lie you to believe. Modi is someone who understands the pulse of the people and their aspirations. He rose from the same level as the last man on the social strata and has an extremely deep understanding of India that those sitting in A/C rooms do not simply comprehend. He knows the complexities, the diversity, the little nitty gritties of everything connected to all sections of the society. His extensive travels all over the country has made him get acquainted with the color and character of India and this is something that most other top leaders simply do not have in their arsenal.

The biggest USP for Modi is his chameleon like character where he seems equally at ease with world leaders on global forums and also with a sweeper whose feet he does not hesitate to wash. In fact, he does not seem uncomfortable on any stage and with anyone. He shattered many myths that we had about leaders. His story is one that our countrymen identify with. They see themselves in the Modi story and this deep connection is what makes him probably the most affable pan India leader the nation has seen in half a century. In fact, this election campaign was marked by thousands of common people campaigning for Modi directly or indirectly. This, at a time, when the trust on politicians is at an all time low! How do you explain this emotional connect with a man who stays far away in Delhi, but drives such passion in nooks and corners of the country?

Attributing his massive victory in 2019 to just Balakot would be the greatest disservice we could do to the performance of Narendra Modi as the PM. His cleanliness drive, roads, housing schemes, electrification schemes, LPG scheme, Ayushman Bharat, direct benefit transfers, sanitation drive et al contributed massively for this victory. PM Kisan Samman Nidhi was announced in February 2019 and by the time elections were announced, eligible farmers had already received two installments of 6000 rupees. No middlemen, no hassles, no standing in queues, no questions asked. The amount was directly credited to the bank accounts opened through Jan Dhan Yojana. This is the sort of efficiency and delivery that India had not seen before. Crores of beneficiaries of these schemes stood rock solid in support of this man who was giving them the most basic things that had been deprived of them for decades. 

This Modi wave that swept across the country sweeping away the entire opposition and many doubters has no explanation according to many. But think deep, and it occurs to anyone that this wave is the culmination of decades of hard work, sincerity, single minded purpose and a dedication hitherto seen in the history of Independent India. Modi has no family to look after, no other dubious interests. His is a life that has been totally dedicated to the service of the country and he has done that with utmost zeal. Even in this election, he travelled non stop all over the country and delivered one knockout speech after another leaving nothing to chance. That intense hunger to win and utilising every ounce of energy and time to deliver results is what sets him apart from all contenders. His meteoric rise is a result of performance rather than any other parameters. Some give it a marketing colour, but, sorry, no man or product can survive and keep rising by marketing alone. Marketing is the final embellishment built on a solid foundation of hard work, integrity, performance and vision. 

Calling him a 'chor' was a monumental blunder by the clown prince of the dynasty for the people had seen the honesty and impeccable integrity of their prime minister. By repeatedly abusing him with hundreds of names, the media and the opposition parties made the masses rally behind the leader who had delivered. If the 2014 election was about hope, then 2019 elections have reaffirmed that hope, a hope that if Modi is there, anything is possible. The voter weighed in all the options and decided that if his future has to be safe and secure, there is no other leader apart from Modi who has the highest probablility of delivering that.

It is a direct display of utmost faith shown on one man that has resulted in people voting directly for Modi ignoring all the problems they had with the candidates. This election, there was no other issue. Either, you were voting for Modi or against Modi and the TsuNaMo verdict has settled the debate for the next five years. Modi has also demonstrated to all the elected representatives all across the country about how a development agenda and touching a common man's life can impact your electoral prospects and it would do good for the country if everyone takes home this message.

If you kept your eyes and ears on the ground in the election season, you could easily gauge the groundswell of support for Modi. Despite all that, a few sat in their echo chambers and shouted there is no wave only to cut a sorry figure in the end. Modi is a mass icon who whips up hysteria and unless you become one with the masses, you can never understand this Modi phenomenon that pulverises opponents. I was lucky to witness a rally of him in Bengaluru in 2018 where the entire National College grounds stood up unanimously with a deafening applause and when I saw the faces of a few, there was only admiration, respect and tears. He was given a rockstar like welcome, the crowds went berserk when he just lifted his hands and waved at them. The WAVE was there to see in its full glory on that day, and I just scoffed inwards at those who said he is a goner this time.

For those of you who derive joy in abusing, it should have come to your notice about how hatred and abuses have made Modi a gigantic leader. Opposing him is not wrong, but once it takes the form of extreme bias, hypocrisy and contempt, it is then that it enters to the wrong zone.  He once famously remarked that he derives energy from the abuses, hope the haters know the secret of Modi's energy at least now!

As Narendra Modi takes strike once again, let us hope that he is able to generate a TsuNaMo of development in his second term. There will be numerous obstacles all the way, but Modi has been the best man to jump over all the hurdles. Despite the huge win, let us be true 'chowkidars' of our nation in spirit and be vigilant about the government too. Let us applaud the government for its good achievements, and caution it when it is erring. That's the beauty of a true democracy. The days ahead are challenging, who better to take them on than the renaissance man himself. By the time we make sense of the wave, he would have made a plan for the next hundred days already. That's the MODI PHENOMENON.