There are some who will always disdain the rich. It can get very self-destructive to a nation if it goes, too far. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi Way appears strongly to strike a balance of ensuring keeping important investment and top managerial people sufficiently satisfied who have important contributions to make with their wealth and know-how to the nation’s, general good. This is not a product of the PM laying down in bowing to them, but as a result of the benefits relating from sound government policies promoting growth and stability for all.
Indians are also largely well aware of the important fight for justice against those who overly dominate. Why else would Mahatma Gandhi, a figure who made such sacrifices with few clothes clinging to him and totally without receiving bribes fought so unselfishly for India’s Independence from oppressive colonialism, be one of today’s most venerated leaders in the nation’s history? Through his sacrifices and demonstrations of decency and justice, Indians realize with good heart and soul, the most malicious or uncaring of people can be fought against with the real India winning.
Thus, dynastic politics by the rule of one, be it from an imperial country or by others, are not at all attractive to Indians as a whole. Dynastic politics leading in, or getting too much a grip on parliament can be argued, as generally best excluded. After all, the institution should represent the people who know of the people and preferably are of the people. In these cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi scores very high.
Faux representatives of this, who think by political and wealth inheritance, mostly combined with colonial mindset characteristics and/or, with a neo-colonial orientation, or with big money supporters make them an ideal candidate, or top person behind the throne can be described as deluded and arrogant, even. And there is another word for describing certain Opposition politics – as of plain old corruption thinking -:including mindless and unsubstantiated defamation. Indians are fed up of such so is the government.
Now, let us look at the possible successes of pro-people power that have also been inspiring beyond the Modi way. Ones that underscore that politics can be for good economics inclusiveness and not be too head strong against all of the well-off. But show how bad, India could face giving over the government to certain special interests.
Two examples come from those of US presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR). During a time of great disparity in incomes between the regular people and a class of business owners so rich they were called the “Robber Barons’, he put forward the idea of a “Square Deal”.
“A progressive Republican, Roosevelt believed in government action to mitigate social evils, and as president he in 1908 denounced ‘the representatives of predatory wealth’ as guilty of ‘all forms of iniquity from the oppression of wage workers to unfair and unwholesome methods of crushing competition, and to defrauding the public by stock-jobbing and the manipulation of securities.’ “ (Wikipedia)
This Roosevelt, in fact stood up to people like J.P. Morgan who controlled the vast majority of the main US stock market – and won in court, judgements by getting more completion that also was a benefit to the economy. He was not against all of the rich, just those who tried to overly dominate the economy and even certain public institutions in a negative way.
Turning to the Great Depression of the 1930s, FDR stood up to those of the rich who still wanted to employ brutal economics that would have had many more poor without work and going without enough food. Roosevelt’s special “New Deal’ programmes helped to alleviate such grinding poverty that included levels of unemployment at 25 percent. FDR was not against all of the rich, just those who were highly insensitive to the poor and his policies to uplift the needy. Some of these millionaires were so unhappy with him, that he got the monitor, “Traitor to his Class’” because he had come from the same roots and schooling. I empathize with his having to bear such a distinction.
India, so far, at least under the current government has never got so bad that a few oligarchs so thoroughly control the government. And the Modi government by its creed and following the example of the true great Gandhi has no intention of facing what the Roosevelt’s had to.
Yet, others if in charge might even give India away to the big money interests including foreign ones and lead to what these two US presidents had to face – economic depression and mass polarization.
The Modi way, though looks to cooperation with the West and others. But is more clearly wise to their challenges which the PM and his team do not want to facilitate their over importation of while keeping friendly relations with the West, including those in western finance that have a helpful view. This excludes the big money with ideas of excessive electoral interference and government domination.
These are not imaginary players as billionaire George Soros and his Open Society’s liking to close down the Modi government with an imposition of neo-liberal values and putting in place in New Delhi people who will comply with these outsider forces who think they know what is best for India. That is a democracy for the Soros types, by the Soros types – in other words, no democracy. The Modi government has and will strongly deny India as their prize. But what about others in the Opposition who hobnob internationally with these globalists on the “cocktail circuit”?
India is done with all forms of colonialism and if the major Opposition cannot sufficiently understand this, then losing will not be enough. But a crushing political blow will be at election time. One that says the country is not for sale or for an automatic inheritance to a self-absorbed elite. And that India will not turn into a subjugated country with too many dysfunctional and corrupted spiritual ways.
In the next election, it is this clear. Indians should tell such people and their “chosen ones” to take a hike. Such Opposition, however it wraps itself in the Indian Tricolor are what they are: India mostly last and first for themselves and questionable sponsors. Indians can see through whatever fabric and slogans of goodness these people try to hide their true questionable colors.
Peter Dash is an educator and humanitarian affairs writer. He is a graduate of Lower Canada college of class of 74, which he attended with many well-off, some of whom remain as friends.