We always set higher goals to do better in life. There will not be any organization in India or outside which compares its performance on the basis of targets that existed 70 years ago.
Surprisingly the achievements of current Government are often compared with the Government that managed India 70 years ago. Many these days advertently or inadvertently highlight the achievements of the current Govt comparing it with Nehru ; How many IITs Nehru had set up and how many Modi Govt did and so on.
Its ridiculous and laughable. How can one think of comparing the performance of the two leaders?
Nehru in 1947 inherited a poor, deprived , impoversihed and largely illiterate India – almost 88 % were illiterate, which had hardly any industry ; two steel manufacturing companies, more than half of India was without electric power , barely 28 engineering and medical colleges, hardly any road network and public transport system, hardly any hospitals and on top of that millions of refugees and a society which had witnessed a genocide.
It is interesting to compare the two Indias under few Heads, that these leaders -Mr Nehru and Mr Modi inherited in 1947-50 and in 2014 respectively.
|
|
Nehru inherited in 1947/1950 |
Modi inherited in 2014 |
Remarks |
|
Roads |
3,99,000kms |
56 LAKH kms |
In 1950 India had mere 19000 km of National highways and in 2014 India had One lac kms of NATIONAL HIGWAY. |
|
Electricity |
1362MW |
3,83,000MW |
In 1950s only 9Lac homes could be provided power and in 2014 India became the Third largest producer of electric power. |
|
Engineering Colleges |
28 |
4500 |
India now has a largest pool of science graduates. |
|
Cement |
2 million tons capacity and 19 plants |
540 million tons capacity and 250 manufacturing plants |
|
|
Steel |
2 plants and only 1.1 million tonnes manufacturing capacity |
1150 plants. India the world’s second largest steel producer with a manufacturing capacity of 112 million tons. |
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|
Research Facilities |
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|
Pick up any research facility of India right from Space, engineering, medicine to nuclear to physics and metallurgy one would be amazed to see Nehru’s foot prints. |
|
Agriculture |
Only 50 million tonnes of food grains in 1947 |
251 million tonnes |
In the last great famine India experienced in 1943, two million people died in Bengal. However, in the 1965 famine of Bihar there were no starvation deaths. India has never experienced a famine of that magnitude again. |
|
Poverty |
80% population was poor at the time of independence |
Now it is 22% |
|
|
GDP |
Approx 21, 231 million $ |
$2,039,130 million |
The Indian economy when Mr Modi came to power was the fifth largest in the world measured by nominal GDP and the third largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). |
So, when we look at the Table above, we see that back in 1950s, India had scarce resources to meet the needs of its people. It had scarce cement, scarce steel, scarce funds and scarce trained Technical manpower to build dams, build rail network, build roads and provide electric power and build Factories. So it is not surprising that Gandhiji once remarked in 1930s ; “The foreign system under which India is governed to-day, has reduced India to pauperism.’”
It was this poor India that Nehru inherited in 1947, which had to import everything, even as much as a pin. So, it is from this brink that Nehru built India and gave future Leaders a strong and self reliant India to build on. Mr Modi, whereas, had inherited a much stronger platform to perform in 2014 than what Mr Nehru inherited in 1947.
It will not be wrong to state that Mr Nehru laid the foundations of the platform.
Mr Modi can now build a strong edifice on this massive Platform. Mr Modi does not have to face the scarcity of basic building blocks ; Cement, Steel, Funds, technical manpower, electricity, Research facilities/infrastructure. Had Nehru failed in 1950s Mr Modi would not have been able to inherit all that is given in the Table above. He will find it very difficult to answer about this inheritance.
Besides the above, Mr Nehru had inherited an India which had lost its Political freedom almost 800 years ago and it took a colossal effort of almost two years to get each part of it united that too through lot of cajoling, coercing, Agreements and rewards. There were also many inherent divisive trends based on caste, religion, region, language, and ethnicity - Black flags were demonstrated in Tamil Nadu by the followers of Periyar on the eve of independence, The then Premier of Madras Presidency Omandur Ramaswamy Reddiar-originally sworn in as Prime Minister of Madras Presidency, he had his title changed so India didn’t have two Prime Ministers on Independence Day, Nagaland wanted to be independent, Kashmir wanted independence, In 1940, the first call for Khalistan was made in a pamphlet titled "Khalistan, as soon as India got freedom number of insurgent organisations, seeking the creation of an independent state in NE started, In 1955, the then Army Chief Rajendrasinghji Jadeja issued directions to the troops fighting insurgency in the north-east ;
“You must remember that all the people in which you are operating are fellow-Indians... and the very fact that they are different and yet part of India is a reflection of India’s greatness. Some of these people are misguided and have taken to arms against their own people, and are disrupting the peace in this area. You are to protect the mass of the people from these disruptive elements. You are not there to fight the people in the area, but to protect them. You are fighting only those who threaten the people and who are a danger to the lives and properties of the people. You must therefore, do everything possible to win their confidence and respect and to help them feel that they belong to India.”
It is this spirit of one ness , of unity, of wining hearts and minds of the people has kept us united despite all the inherent divisive tendencies. In last 70 years we have seen Pakistan breaking up, Mynmar most of the times under military rule, the mighty USSR disintegrating and numerous East European Countries ; Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia breaking up.
Even on Foreign Policy issues, there cannot be any comparison as India which was drained economically having experienced the Balance of Power game in the two great wars did not want to get involved in this power game which was already taking shape Post WWII and wanted to charter an independent course and got reasonable amount of success.
Thus, we have probably done better than all. Our founding fathers decided that in such a diverse country all aspirations needed to be heard and reconciled. Thus, in 1947 India chose to be a full democracy and a nation of equals, with all the implied pitfalls.
Yes we might have been slow, But what is better than being a united optimistic nation and progressing slowly but surely?
So, this comparison of performance with Nehru is absurd and silly. The duo have managed India in different circumstances.
Mr Modi, in 2014 had inherited a much better India and therefore his performance must be compared with either Manmohan Singh and if he really means business, his performance must be compared with other Heads of State like Indonesia, Thailand, Brazil, Argentina but comparing with Nehru is rather demeaning Modi and doubting his capabilities.
Mr Modi, is surely a fine administrator and therefore his team must set higher standards/ benchmarks for delivery rather than making comparisons with a leader who lived 50 years ago and had inherited a poor nation with numerous problems. Surely, like any other Leader, he has also to face many challenges, like Manmohan or Narsimharao or anyother PM had faced.
Mr Modi’s performance must therefore be evaluated in the following manner ;
- What was India’s Ranking in Human Development Index in 2014 and what is it now in 2020 ?.
- What was India’s Ranking in Ease to Do Business in 2014 and What is it now?
- What was the GDP per capita in 2014 and What is it now? How much is the growth in terms of percentage ?.
- What was the poverty rate in 2014 and what is it now?( Factoring in Pandemic)
- How many startups India had in 2014 and How many are now? What is the percentage of growth?
- How much Area was under irrigation in 2014 and how much is it now and How much is the growth in real percentage?
- How many Rail accidents took place from 2003-2014 and How many thereafter?
- How many terror attacks took place prior to 2008 and How many thereafter?
- Have the PSU banks reduced their Bad Debt? If Yes, How much?
- On the Foreign Policy front , Has India been able to stop Chinese intrusions and India’s encirclement ?
- India has had a trade deficit, Has this Govt been able to narrow the gap between the Exports and the imports? If No, then what measures have been taken to narrow this gap?
- Have the Farmers income been doubled as was assured?
- How many cases are being investigated by CBI and How many have been Convicted?
- Did the Power sector reforms brought by Central Govt reduced the transmission losses ?
And so on.
The answers to such questions will help everyone to analyze the performance of the PM objectively, instead of evaluating it based on Perception and comparing him with Mr Nehru who had inherited a poverty-stricken and impoverished India.