The Vajpayee vision

Inaugural speeches are meant to be lofty, reasonably poetic and socially ambitious. Less partisan, more consensual, they are also suppose...

Inaugural speeches are meant to be lofty, reasonably poetic and socially ambitious. Less partisan, more consensual, they are also supposed to be manifestos of change, of freedom. Divided we fought, united we redeem 8212; goes the historically familiar script. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee8217;s address to the nation, too, is resonant with noblesse oblige. There is not that grandiloquence of the one who plays to history, but there is that chronology of the lofty ideals meant to redeem the Republic. 8220;We are all guided by the lofty principles of secularism, social justice, social harmony and women8217;s empowerment. Ours is a government wedded to a common ideal: to create a kinder, gentler and more tolerant society, free from all discrimination, fear and insecurity.8221; Well, India certainly needs that kinder, gentler tolerant touch, and Vajpayee is immensely qualified to be the ruler of gentle gestures. For, the fin-de-millennium India is a bit more 8212; or less 8212; than what the Prime Minister says: 8220;India standstaller in the eyes of all democracy-loving people of the world.8221; Subrural hate, politically volatile paranoia and fear still characterise many parts of India where social justice, tolerance and, yes, empowerment8217; are defined not in the language of a modern democratic nation. When Vajpayee reaches out to the insecure and promises security it carries conviction only because India8217;s most popular politician is gentler than the parivar he represents. He still has credibility.

But it will take more than the credibility of Vajpayee to translate lofty ideals into reality. The world is rushing ahead, he says. And India is lagging behind. After all, Nuclear India is one of the poorest nations as well 8212; the legacy of fifty years of mismanagement. Poverty, drinking water, primary health and education, rural roads, the homeless 8212; it is quite a national irony that these eternal words continue to dominate the Indian vocabulary of salvation. Every politician is obliged to mention these areas of deprivations whenever heis talking the new dawn. Vajpayee is not an exception here. His 8220;new India in the new century8221; is unlikely to make these ancient words redundant. So forget that water-for-all kosher. But it is worth remembering what he says about the economy: reform, infrastructure development, fiscal rectitude 8230; For, 8220;the new century demands a new mindset8221;. Hopefully, Vajpayee8217;s mindset will be emulated by his national democratic allies.

So this must be Vajpayee8217;s bridge to the next century, and no sensible Indian can find fault with this modest ambition of this kinder, gentler, tolerant prime minister. He expects the opposition to be with him in the realisation of his non-partisan agenda. That is why the grammar of the Vajpayee doctrine is consensus. The Congress has paid a heavy electoral prize for its negativist positions on every issue of governance. Constructive opposition or creative dissent does not rule out consensus on national interest. The Congress, please note. The nationalist prime minister8217;s address tothe nation is not nationalistically narrow. His wisdom in today8217;s India is so obvious that you don8217;t have to quote the Gita for emphasis.