Who has been the Best Prime Minister of India
Who has been the best Prime Minister of India ??
It just started as one of those light banters, when a dear friend in our school WhatsApp group, threw a question... an innocuous looking one... Who has been the best Prime Minister of India ?
Like any other good discussion in our WhatsApp group, several opinions started coming. Some serious, some not so serious, while some others purely comical; as it happens with our childhood friends.
On a Sunday afternoon, when I was just lazing around, it did set me thinking. Who has been our best PM ?
I have always been an avid student of Indian History, contemporary politics and national and international affairs. From the tales and tribulations of Pre Historic Times, the riches, magnificence and glories of Ancient India, rulers of all kind in the Medieval India , the period of colonization under the East India Company and the British Empire, and the post colonial times leading to our Amrit Kaal... they have all given us some very strong and deserving personalities at the helm of affairs in various eras at various times.
The extent of popularity (or unpopularity!!) enjoyed by those personalities is a factor of who are you asking the question to ... his or her religious affiliations, caste, political leanings, intellectual simulation, levels of awareness etc.
So can we discuss the relative greatness of the 14 personalities who have been our Prime Ministers in last 75 years. Sach debates assume even more significance close to the General Elections, among an electorate who are fed on the diet of algorithm generated social media content which relishes your likings and dislikings !!
India has got many strong and deserving PMs in these years. In less than a year's time, we may have another one in the office. So, Who’s been the best PM India has had, and who has done the most damage ?
India's population in 1947 was 34 Crores, today it stands at more than 140 Crores. The literacy rate was 12% in 1947; it stands at approx 77% today. Can we compare the two political and social environments. No.
Any analysis of the goods and bads of PMs of different eras will always be frought with personal biases. So let's be positive today and look only at some of the most notable positive developments under our Prime Ministers. It will be interesting to look at some of the major achievements of all our PMs...
Nehru : Much that is good about India today, including world-class institutes of higher learning; Post independence impetus on agriculture and industry; Our space programme and the widespread use of English that gives India a competitive advantage in a globalised world.
Shastri : Too short a tenure. It’s interesting to conjecture how India would have been affected if Shastri had not died when he did. His death certainly changed the course of India.
Indira : 1971 War, Pokharan Nuclear Tests; Holding India together during some of the most difficult times.
Rajiv : First to talk of taking India into the 21st century; Triggering the country’s IT and communications revolution; Belief in computers and economic liberalisation; Panchayati Raj.
Morarji - Charan - VP Singh - Chandrashekhar - HDD - Gujral : Pardon me for not discussing them
PVN Rao : Godfather of India’s much-needed economic reforms, First non-Gandhi to complete a five-year term is itself an achievement.
Vajpayee : Kargil; Pokharan-II; Balanced Economy. First non-Congress PM to complete at least one full tenure, which marked an important landmark in Indian politics.
Manmohan : Pushed through the nuclear deal with the US in the face of overwhelming political opposition.
Modi : Enhanced nationalism, Heightened International stature, Jan Dhan, Digital leaps, Ports and Roads
Against each name, a lot of other achievements can be added which contributed to India's growth. Similarly, being from different political beliefs and leanings, we can list a series of negatives too against each of the above, but let's not do that. That maintains the positivity of thoughts...
But a friend coaxed me to think of what is that one biggest negative that I can think of during all these years.
So I started thinking... and listing some of the major negatives which came in mind instantly.....
Misplaced idealism over Kashmir, personality cult and nepotism under Nehru... Criminalisation and the degradation of institutions, Emergency and Bhindrawale under Indira... Bofors, Shah Bano and Sri Lanka during Rajiv... Babri Demolition and Cash for Votes in Parliament during PVN Rao... Gujrat riots and Kandahar during Vajpayee... Multiple terror serial blasts, 26/11 and series of scams under Manmohan... Intense polarisation and privatisation bids under Modi... Again, depending on who you are talking to, you can add many more discredits against each name; but these are some which straightaway come to mind.
But, when it comes to that one biggest damage.... that one strongest negative.... my vote goes for VP Singh.
VP Singh wrecked efforts made over decades to turn caste into an irrelevant relic of medieval times, and brought it to the front and centre of Indian politics. Call me naive, but I grew up through my school years without ever knowing - or caring - what my caste was. It was enough for me to be an Indian. I’d like to believe it was the same way for many other young Indians. Caste based persecutions were a reality in many parts India; but idealistically, we believed that caste was an evil that had been made redundant in major Indian cities, and would one day be banished from small towns and villages too.
VP’s cynical use of the Mandal Commission Report to try and counter the rise of the BJP shattered that hope forever. Worse, it led to the rise of many small regional parties based purely on identity politics, which have no vision for India beyond their narrow vested interests. Today, sub-castes actually agitate to be declared backward. India has, thankfully, managed to avoid full-blown caste conflict but that’s no thanks to VP. Rarely could a person who spent so little time in office have done so much damage to a country.
I believe that one of the foremost duties of government - Centre and States alike - is to ensure affordable (if not free), high-quality education to all citizens, regardless of caste or community. Thereafter, there should be free and fair competition for jobs, based on Equality of Opportunity. Having failed to achieve this basic goal, politicians have resorted to lazy, and ultimately deeply divisive tactics like reservations. It’s a shame we haven’t managed to see through their ploys.
Today, we have an opposition which appears to be galvanised by the Bharat Jodo Yatra and the I.N.D.I.A. alliance. And a galvanised opposition is essential for any vibrant democracy. Unlike many other colonised countries that got freedom at the same time as India and promptly became tinpot dictatorships, India is still a vibrant democracy – and that is surely the biggest combined achievement of all our leaders put together.
So to think as to who has been the best Prime Minister in our march towards Amrit Kaal, it is like trying to find out as to which brick is the strongest in the foundation of a tall building.
Let's desist from it.
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Good Landscape set Pushkar !!! The best part I liked about your thoughts above is that you maintained the positive outlook towards sharing your views.. I'll make an attempt to share my take on criteria I would keep for my judgement.. And as you rightly said, it is very individualistic opinion based on our beliefs, perceptions and preferences
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, in order to judge someone, we need to look at following aspects
1. Situation
2. Intent
3. Potential
4. Actions
Adverse the situation, greater the figure rises to fame above people's imagination if rest of the 3 had any positives during the tenure.
Arguably the situation in which Pt Nehru became PM was, probably, the toughest for anyone to become the PM with the advantage of people perceiving great Potential to do something as well. It was not just a single front on which he had to look at improving the matrices but across all with a country filled with work force that had started enjoying the relics of colonial administration. Vision and execution with the resources on hand would have been some challenge he had to take up with his intent. Often blamed for nepotism, I think we should rest this argument to peace after what happened with Rahul Gandhi or for that matter Abhishek Bachchan. No Potential has been enough to bring the down. So, those who could continue to capture public imagination didn't just go through because of nepotism.
Those who followed him from same party had much simpler situations to take care of which makes most of their heroics not as great as their actions.
A system that had become so aligned with a particular party would have made situation once again very very difficult for Vajpayee to manage. Despite that his intent, potential and achievements have made him what he is and respected by all sides. Unfortunately his age was against him and his charm couldn't keep him in control of the position for long else we would have certainly gone into a different orbit as a nation.
Relatively easier but not yet completely aligned were the situations when Modi took over. His situation is interestingly different from all others as the nation had amazing belief in someone's potential while the lack of control over government administrative bodies would not have been easy to convert the perceived intent. It has been his experience with state governance that helped him gain control over the government machinery at an extremely fast pace that made situation favourable for all the decision that he could take. Not to mention the pathetic state in which the opposition had reached making the situation further favourable to be seen as one of the greats. For me, his greatest achievement has been the connect at emotional level that he has struck with masses and captured their imagination (irrespective of the means used..) The sense of pride that people have in our country is something that building of any great nation needed and he has brought that in most of us. It will be great to see him take real actions on the ground that touch day to day lives of citizens and brings back their trust in the government bodies as well which we want to avoid interacting with as much as possible
Popularity, in the end, for me is the key to being a loved leader. Nehru and Modi seems to have had that amongst the masses for more good reasons than bad. Probably the reason why one has the opportunity and urge to push itself above the other to become the GOAT
Glad to read your views Anurag
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