Modi Govt end of term view 2019 - Part 4 End

Risks of Digitisation:

A Congress and allies government “used” Aadhar to create vote banks by giving illegal immigrants the opportunity to become voters leveraging this proof of identity – famously termed as a non-identity document. Case in point are West Bengal and Jammu Kashmir.  The Modi Govt leveraged this same system to improve the delivery of cash to citizens and then by linking this to PAN and other transactions brought in an ocean of data to be analysed. Over time this has only sharpened and like all decisions of (any) Govt, there are those who have been affected and others benefitted. If the number of beneficiaries are far higher than those affected, the criticism of the affected gets blunted.

In the case of digitisation, recall what happened in Canada recently, where a supposedly liberal and democratic leader used digital technology to silence not just the truckers who were protesting for very genuine reasons but even common citizens who dared to support the truckers. The bank accounts and other online services were frozen/ seized and within hours – literally – the people made to surrender. In a democracy like United Kingdom where anybody can protest about anything globally, what happened to a senior politician like Nigel Farage for his views? The banks decided to close his accounts unilaterally, news also is that various online service apps, be it for a taxi or food delivery commonly used for daily life were blocked. Given his stature he could fight back but common citizens have suffered for their opinions badly.

Covid was a case in point where ample evidence has now been provided showing how any questions that the “system” did not want asked, were erased digitally, sometimes in minutes. Those who experienced this, it was scary as hell. Here, it was not some government, but private organisations with no accountability for their decisions. Questions as logical as asking about the safety of the vaccines or efficacy of a treatment were simply erased just because someone decided to do so.

What the above tip of the iceberg examples demonstrates is that the most democratic and supposedly liberal governments and even large private organisations on whom millions of citizens depend upon for daily life can go so rogue, as to “cancel” the lives of the common citizens just because they disagree on a view. We are not even talking about terrorists, enemies of the state, just ordinary middle-class families with an opinion. A government hand in glove with private organisations like banks, food delivery, taxi hiring, travel booking, auto manufacturers and other daily activity service providers can simply carry out a digital “genocide” of citizens they dislike. This based on anecdotal experience is a real and present danger and not a conspiracy theory. 

Imagine a situation where a common citizen who has dared to ask the government of the day or a large private organisation an inconvenient question is driving in a remote area, in bad weather. With automobiles fitted with computers and having a kill switch, he can be stranded in a dangerous location  and his mobile blocked. The citizen could easily die and the whole thing passed off as an accident, though in reality, it would be a state sponsored murder. Or a citizen and his friends get their bank accounts blocked. With no money, food, the surrender would be swift. Technically a rogue government – but hailed as democratic, liberal and feted globally – can easily create the 21^st century version of the physical slaves of the 18^th century.

The answer is not about opposing digitisation which has immensely helped common citizens but to create foolproof laws with stringent and swift punishment to anyone misusing the technology. The target of such laws are not the criminals but legally, democratically elected governments, politicians and large powerful business entities. The system of checks and balances should not just be herculean to cross, but also require a wide cross section of people to be involved so that deterrence is high. This is a real and present danger and the next Govt in 2024 must address this with a sense of urgency. 

Disappointments:

The biggest failure of the Modi 2.0 Govt was the inability to implement the Farm Laws. Lessons seem to have been learnt from that episode and hopefully being factored into policy making. An excellent set of laws, the only losers are the Farmers and whether they have learnt their lesson, is anybody’s guess. Traders and brokers are of course delighted.

In the face of any protest, violence, and such which is politically motivated, there has been a tendency to let the situation play out. The assumption being that the face behind the incident gets exposed and thus discredited in the eyes of the people. This cannot be a blanket strategy and where there is a significant groundswell of sympathy for the issue, it can get dragged, far beyond practical timelines. It also attracts avoidable media attention globally.

Even as the Govt claims and has given a leg up to the salaried class of the Indian economy, the fact remains that the nation rides on their income tax. While tax breaks are an attractive demand, there needs to be active support for this class in matters related to healthcare, education which are the cornerstones of not just the salaried class but also the growing lower class. This is urgent and needs focussed attention.  

Healthcare is a nightmare, especially where hospitalisation treatments are essential. Most health insurance policies leave you with a feeling they are scams. The premiums have increased exponentially over the last few years. It is time that the insurance sector is reformed not from an investor standpoint but from a user/customer perspective. It is impossible to accept that the health insurance business in USA is profitable with just over 300 million customers, but in India, is loss making with over 514 million customers. There is something seriously wrong and being missed. The Modi Govt even after the Jan Aushadi scheme, has missed on citizen support in this sector and this needs to change. To give a suggestion, health insurance premiums can get high tax deductions and Education expenses can get a tax break upto 2 children.

The journey of the Modi Govts 1.0 and 2.0 has been slow and steady. Over the last 10 years have often said that some “item number” kind of economic policy announcement is needed to create excitement and fire in the belly. It can be for the salaried class and the small and medium enterprise businesses, but in short for a large pool of Indians, so that there is a greater momentum by way of mass. Even if the criticism is economically incorrect, the opposition harping on the big benefitting more has a ring of truth. The trickle-down effect takes time to work. Economic policy has largely been supply side and however prudent that can be, demand side policies also need a look in.

The nation has seen demonetisation which is perceived as a failure, has heard of the poisoned well economy left behind in 2014, has read enough and more about a compromised security policy, the negligent security in Kashmir/ Pakistan etc. The Modi Govt ought to have published a white paper on these issues and exposed the murkiness that existed. The people have a right to know since their trust in the Modi Govt is high and that trust must be reinforced with such information.    

Muslims and Christian communities have received the benefits of various schemes and even diehard critics of Modi in private acknowledge that there has been no discrimination. Their view is that the rhetoric is high but contrary to the facts on the ground. This again is about perception which needs better handling.

There is a popular perception that the polarisation is high in India. I term it perception because this divide has been there for centuries. If this divide were not there, then someone needs to tell why the nation was partitioned into India and Pakistan in 1947 under the gods of secularism Nehru and Gandhi. That this divide is post 2014 is a myth. The only thing that changed post 2014 is that the old eco system – including amongst the common citizens – suddenly found resistance.

Many, especially amongst the well-educated, globally travelled, had little or no knowledge of the politics and happenings in the nation –

• even after a terrorist attack, said Tch Tch and moved on.
• watched and analysed the Mumbai Terror attacks munching popcorn thinking it was a Bruce Willis Die Hard film,
• turned a deaf ear when others pointed out serious criticism against the then Govt.
• were so woefully ignorant of current affairs of even what a PM did or said. Case in point was a PM soon after the Mumbai terror attacks in less than one year, not only shaking hands with Pakistan but even offering to “vacate” Siachen that under Indira Gandhi had been proudly conquered.
• didn’t even know whether the prices of tomatoes, onions, petrol, diesel etc went up or down.

MMS Govt wanting to demilitarise Siachen

MMS Blunder on Balochistan

It was as if they lived in a parallel universe. They wouldn’t be able to tell you the headline of the day. These same folks post 2014 are now so knowledgeable and involved politically that they will tell you what colour of dress the PM wore and how many times he changed his dress in a day, how many children an Adani, Ambani, Smriti have and their names. From a state of blissful ignorance, they are now overloaded with information. Outrages are by the dozen and the attention and memory span of each outrage is no more than the last reel they see on Instagram.

Given the Tsunami of information and chatter, if we did not have polarisation, we would be called zombies. I call this polarisation the best thing to have happened to this nation. This is a phase of growth and maturity. Over time the maturity will come, attention spans will be more than a reel, and over time when people make political choices, they will be with knowledge, information and analysis. Call this period as the teenage rebellion age of the nation, not polarisation.

Conclusion:

The key take away's from this Modi Govt are the following traits.

1. Sincerity of approach
2. Dedication to the end goal
3. Execution of the objective
4. Unrelenting focus on the last mile delivery
5. Motivating and making People get involved and feel like stakeholders in the development and progress of the nation.
6. Creating Aspiration within the people as a desirable goal
7. Creating confidence within people about who they are culturally, linguistically, and not feel ashamed in comparison to the English speaking, western world.
8. A leader even in the direst situations having a calming effect.
9. An immense pride and confidence about India.

While reams can be written about the transformation in India over the last 10 years, and the chattering crowd can have their own opinions about each event. This is not to claim that everything is hunky dory and perfect. This is to say that India has changed, has changed in ways that are unimaginable for those who have followed politics for over 45 years. Good, Bad, Ugly are adjectives that each can use and there is no one or right answer and any discussion will lead to argument and polarisation. Like someone said – we need to know the political view of the boy/girl before we can decide if we are compatible enough to get wedded. So, let’s keep the chatter and arguments flowing – the only ones who will benefit are us.

Right now, India is a work in progress and a coming-of-age point in its life.