Opinion ‘Bihar results teach us that the government you run today will determine the future of your political party… Left, Right or Centre’: Modi at Ramnath Goenka Lecture

Emerging model

You have seen how challenging the last four to five years have been for the entire world… When the situation slowly started stabilising after some time, upheavals began in our neighbouring countries. Amid all these crises, our economy achieved high growth rates. In 2022, global supply chains and energy markets were affected due to the European crisis. This had an impact on the whole world, yet even in 2022–23, the growth of our economy continued at a fast pace. In 2023, even when the situation deteriorated in West Asia, our growth rate remained strong. And this year too, when the world is facing instability, our growth rate is still around 7 per cent.

Today, when the world is afraid of disruption, Bharat is moving forward in the direction of a vibrant future. From this platform of The Indian Express, I can say that Bharat is not just an emerging market, Bharat is also an emerging model. Today, the world sees the Indian growth model as a model of hope.

A strong democracy has many criteria and one of the most important criteria is the participation of people in the democratic process… No one can ignore the increasing participation of people in democracy. This time, Bihar recorded the highest voter turnout in its history. Just think, women’s turnout was about 9 per cent higher than men’s turnout. This, too, is a victory of democracy.

The results of Bihar have once again shown how strong the aspirations of the people of Bharat are. The people of Bharat trust those political parties that sincerely work to fulfil those aspirations and give priority to development. And today, from the platform of The Indian Express, I would very humbly appeal to every state government in the country, be it Left, Right or Centre, and governments of all ideologies, that the results of Bihar give us this lesson that the kind of government you run today will determine the future of your political party in the coming years. The people of Bihar gave the RJD government 15 years. Lalu Yadav ji could have done a lot for the development of Bihar if he wanted but he chose the path of jungle raj. The people of Bihar can never forget this betrayal. Therefore, today, whether it is our government at the Centre or governments of different parties in the states, our highest priority should be just development, development and only development. And that is why, I say to every state government to compete to create a better investment environment in your state, compete to improve ease of doing business, compete to move ahead on development parameters and then see how the people place their trust in you.

After winning the Bihar election, some people, including some Modi admirers in the media, once again started saying that the BJP and Modi always remain in a 24×7 election mode. I believe that to win elections, being in election mode is not necessary; what is necessary is to remain in an emotional mode 24×7. When there is restlessness within the heart, then not even a single minute should be wasted and one must keep working to reduce the hardships of the poor, to provide employment to the poor, to give healthcare to the poor, to fulfil the aspirations of the middle class. One should work tirelessly. When this emotion and this feeling drive the government continuously, then the results become visible on the day of the elections. We have just seen this happen in Bihar as well.

Someone once mentioned another story connected to Ramnath ji. This was from the time when Ramnath ji got the Jana Sangh ticket from Vidisha. At that time, he and Nanaji Deshmukh were discussing whether the organisation is more important or the individual. Nanaji Deshmukh told Ramnath ji that he only needed to come for filing his nomination and then come back again to collect his victory certificate. Nanaji then fought the election on Ramnath ji’s behalf with the strength of party workers and ensured his victory. By mentioning this story, my intention is not to say that candidates should only show up for nomination. My purpose is to draw your attention to the dedication of the countless duty-bound workers of the BJP.

The work done on social security in the past 11 years has been extraordinary. Today, nearly 94 crore people in Bharat have come under the social security net. And do you know what the situation was 10 years ago? Only 25 crore people were under social security coverage. Today, it is 94 crore people… this is what true social justice is.

I will give you another example. Study our Aspirational Districts Programme. There were more than a hundred districts that previous governments had labelled as backward and then forgotten. It was believed that development in these regions would be very difficult and who would bother working hard in such districts? When an officer needed to be given punishment posting, they were sent to these backward districts and told to stay there. Do you know how many people lived in these backward districts? More than 25 crore.

If these backward districts had remained backward, Bharat would not be able to develop, even in the next 100 years. Therefore, our government began working with a new strategy. We brought state governments on board, studied which district lagged behind, on which development parameter and prepared a separate strategy for each district. We deployed the best officers in the country… and considered these districts not backward but aspirational. And today, you can see how these Aspirational Districts have started performing much better than other districts in their states on many development parameters. Take Bastar in Chhattisgarh, for example. It used to be a favourite subject for many of you journalists. At one time, when journalists had to visit there, they needed permits not just from the administration but from other organisations as well. But today, that same Bastar is progressing on the path of development. I don’t know how much coverage The Indian Express has given to the Bastar Olympics but today Ramnath ji would have been very happy to see how the youth of Bastar are organising events like the Bastar Olympics.

Since Bastar has been mentioned, I will also discuss Naxalism, that is, Maoist terrorism, from this platform. The scope of Naxalism and Maoist violence has been shrinking rapidly across the country but it has been growing equally active within the Congress. You all know that for the past five decades, almost every major state in the country was affected by Maoist violence. But it was the misfortune of the country that the Congress nurtured and supported Maoist terrorism, which rejects the Indian Constitution. And not just in remote forest areas, the Congress also nourished the roots of Naxalism in cities. The Congress established urban Naxal sympathisers in many big institutions.

Muslim League-Maoist

The urban Naxals and Maoist forces that infiltrated the Congress 10-15 years ago have now turned the Congress into the Muslim League-Maoist Congress. And today, I say this with full responsibility that this Muslim League-Maoist Congress has abandoned national interest for its own selfish motives… (and) is becoming a major threat to the unity of the country.

Today, as Bharat embarks on a new journey to become a developed nation, the legacy of Ramnath Goenka ji becomes even more relevant. Ramnath ji took a firm stand against British tyranny. In one of his editorials, he wrote that he would prefer to shut down his newspaper rather than follow British orders. Similarly, when an attempt was made to enslave the country again in the form of the Emergency, Ramnath ji stood strong. And this year marks 50 years since the Emergency was imposed. Fifty years ago, The Indian Express showed that even blank editorials can challenge the mentality that seeks to enslave the people.

Today, I will also speak in detail about the subject of freeing ourselves from the mindset of slavery from this esteemed platform. But for that, we will have to go back 190 years… In 1835, British parliamentarian Thomas Babington Macaulay launched a massive campaign to uproot Bharat from its own foundation. He declared that he would create such Indians who would be Indian in appearance but English in their minds. And to achieve this, Macaulay did not merely change the Indian education system, he destroyed it from the roots. Mahatma Gandhi himself had said that Bharat’s ancient education system was like a beautiful tree that was uprooted and destroyed.

Our education system taught us to take pride in our culture. Bharat’s education system, along with studies, puts equal emphasis on skills as well. That is why Macaulay decided to break the backbone of Bharat’s education system and he succeeded… and Bharat paid the price for this for centuries.

Macaulay’s seeds

Macaulay shattered our self-confidence. He infused a sense of inferiority within us. With one stroke, Macaulay threw thousands of years of our knowledge and science, our art and culture and our entire way of life into the dustbin. It was at that moment that the seed was sown that if Indians wanted to progress, if they wanted to achieve something big, they would have to do so through foreign methods. And this feeling only grew stronger even after Independence. The feeling of pride in what was ours gradually diminished. We started looking toward foreign countries for innovation. This mentality led to a trend in society where imported ideas, imported goods and imported services were considered superior.

When you do not respect your own country, you reject the indigenous ecosystem. You reject the Made in India manufacturing ecosystem. Let me give you another example of tourism. You will see that in every country where tourism has flourished, the people of that country take pride in their historical heritage. In our case, the opposite happened. After Independence, efforts were made to neglect our heritage. When there is no pride in one’s heritage, there is no effort to preserve it. When there is no preservation, we end up treating it like mere brick-and-stone ruins and that is exactly what happened. Being proud of one’s heritage is a necessary condition for the development of tourism.

The same is true for local languages. In which country are local languages looked down upon? Countries like Japan, China and Korea adopted many Western practices but they kept their languages intact, they never compromised on their language. That is why we have placed special emphasis on education in local languages in the new National Education Policy. And let me say this very clearly: we are not against the English language. We are in support of Indian languages.

The crime was committed by Macaulay in 1835. And in 2035, after 10 years, it will be 200 years since this crime happened. And that is why, today, I want to make an appeal to the entire nation through you that we must take a pledge that we will free ourselves from Macaulay’s mentality of slavery in the next 10 years. These next 10 years are extremely important for us.

The Indian Express Group has been a witness to every major transformation and every growth story of our nation. And today, as Bharat moves forward with the goal of becoming a ‘Viksit Bharat’, it is once again a part of this journey. I congratulate you for your sincere efforts to preserve the thoughts and ideals of Ramnath ji with full dedication.