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Tuesday, March 14, 2017



Readers and our editor may feel anything written on the above as pure politics of right wing as labeled by the left and the so called elite of our country, LIC pensioners not excluded. In this context, I recall exhortation by the TU bigwigs in LIC, not in distant past, to the members to not merely confine to their wages, bonus and other fringe benefits but participate in the politics for bettering the lives of less fortunate unorganized masses without whose support, even a militant TU movement also can't achieve the most justifiable demands for its workers. They went on to incite their members to take to political movement initially in activists meeting subsequently have not hesitated to  publicly egging on members by saying politics was not untouchable and on the other hand, DA, BASIC, HRA, ALLOWANCES and FRINGE BENEFITS are got or lost only by politics whether liked by members or not. Today's situation is not different that even for pensioners, that whether they like or not the political decisions taken by GOVT. to demonetize or relax Income Tax rules affect the community. And I recently came across a mention in the chat column that militant struggle by employees of LIC, in service, for realizing upgraded pensions if the legal battle still drags, as the remedy. It is increasingly becoming difficult to mobilize employees into struggles by TUs across India for realization of their own domestic demands. I feel it is just impossible to even propose the same to the employees, forget, roping them into any struggle of pensioners. On the contrary our pensioners out of old loyalties continue to participate in their struggles.

Be that as it may, coming to the magic of MODI, I am, as an astute follower of Indian politics in some detail for quite some time, simply overawed by Modi.  I believe so do many millions across the planet earth. Modi is several years younger than most of our pensioners, less educated in terms of academics, less richer than perhaps all of us before he was spotted and catapulted to become CM of Gujarat by another charismatic leader of India, Sri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, now acclaimed as one of the best world leaders of current times. Amazing, is the advancement by a person drawn from such modest/poor background with in a very short span of 15 years from 2002. Everyone wonders at this rapid growth of a person in any field much less in cutthroat politics.

What, many of us fail to connect Modi with, is that India is a country of spirituality and renunciation is the highest peak in the path, to which belongs Modi, the indefatigable. His energy levels both physically and emotionally are beyond the comprehension of onlookers to undertake such huge ground covering in elections and globe tottering afterwards. The entire opposition in India, though not united always on all issues or in all elections but is one hundred per cent united to criticize or personally abuse mostly uncharitable and unmindful of the minimum culture expected of them to at least respect the post of Prime Minister of India. Modi singlehandedly takes on the venomous and vicious propaganda against him and against his party. Hounded by brand Modi as mouth ka saudagar and butcher by almost all political outfits in the country, to steadily replaced it with his political style, a pro poor Brand Modi, is incredible and beyond description. To rewrite a new record of performance in UP and yet advise cadre to shed any arrogance and own all people who voted, not voted and opposed him or his party is only possible only with a statesman. But his gait belies outwardly the statesmanship and we do not know what his inner being is? 

To come to grips with the complex problems of multi lingual, multi cultured and divided millions of people on cast creed and religion, of India and to actually deliver or convince about impending deliverance and win their confidence to galvanize vote for his party, without  his direct role play in the set up, in such mammoth size, is not only mind boggling but an effort of superhuman proportions and unprecedented. He finally said in the victory address that he or his party may do wrong out of ignorance but never with wrong intentions, a plain talk that endears every citizen to him. If intentions of the leader are good wellbeing to people follows automatically. Going by the trend of the elections in our country, MODI looks unstoppable for some time to come, which is why he is talking about 75 years of independence of India in 2022 already, leaving or taking for granted electoral battle in 2019.

 With greetings,

G K VISWANATHAM