It does not require much to say that there is a marked difference in the sentiment between 2014 and 2021, inspite of the severe corona attack which has left the entire world debilitated.

If this corona had attacked us in 2014 we would have become a poor nation with social unrest, but why is it that we have not only not avoided any social unrest but become much stronger?

The reasons can be summarised as follows:

1.) The present PM is not a mere file pusher but a CEO who manages the country. We find a leader who directly speaks to the masses and the masses look upon him as a true representative of them. They see a humble man selling tea having risen to the top most position in Bharat. The confidence that he displays while speaking or walking is now being reflected in the attitude that Bharatiyas have taken worldwide.

2.) Even after 7 years and several politicians keeping a hawk eye, not a single case of corruption can be pointed out to the man. So much so, the people of Bharat simply know that when he speaks on some issue, there is no lack of sincerity. I have not seen any other Prime Minister in the past having this kind of a reach.

3.) The ganging up of several opposition leaders to spite him – what the media forgets is that the more you spite him, the stronger he becomes because the people are out to defend him. He must be smiling quietly.

4.) Politically, Bharat has achieved a marked progress and is seen as a strong defence to Chinese tactics. Earlier China could walk in and out of Bharat’s borders without any resistance, but that is now becoming difficult. No doubt, we have lost soldiers and Chinese army is much stronger, but a sustained resistance has started for the first time in Bharatiya history. We still have an unofficial border, but that is better than not having any border at all.

5.) Economically, we saw the government revenues being used for funding large scale transfers to the accounts of the poor to wade off any social unrest during corona. While even the so called advanced countries suffered unrest, you did not see it in Bharat. The credit should go to the people of Bharat and the way the government has handled the pandemic. 100 crore vaccinations were achieved only when the Union took over from the dithering States who were trying their best to introduce corruption in various forms to vaccinate their own people.

6.) The economy is now going to grow at the fastest rate, thanks to the balanced economic view being taken by the government. We do not have just Phds or top lawyers, but we have some sane politicians and economists who have deftly taken the economy out of its slumber or even recession in the making.

7.) Railways, roads and power are sectors which have shined in the past 7 years thanks to some brilliant administration and sheer hard work. The country is building roads at a frenzied pace, railways are much cleaner as compared to yesteryears and we do not have any great power shortage.

8.) We have a prime minister who reminded the country that we need to have toilets and also have gas cylinders instead of burning wood. Only a man who has seen poverty up close could have come out with such sensible schemes.  

9.) The historic farm bills have not met with any resistance anywhere except Punjab and Haryana. The rest of the country is not seeing any traction of the so-called protests. Everyone knows that there is nothing in the farm bills which is so alarming that it cannot be sorted out. Secondly, the electricity reforms bills which are being introduced will ensure that there is competition at the distribution end to the customers, making way for efficiency in distribution.

10.) The sale of Air India is by far the most important decision for disinvestment and shows that the tax payers money will not be bled any further.

11.) Irrespective of what others would say, a proportionate balance is being reached in religious issues. The very reason for arrival of Mr. Modi was large-scale corruption and deep-rooted insecurity of the majority. On both the counts, there is a restoration of balance. The announcement of Ram temple in Ayodhya and installation of great Guru Adi Shankaracharya statue in Kedarnath are milestones which every Bharatiya should be proud of. We urgently need the state governments to stop looting Bharat’s temples and some important voices like Sadhguru have already started speaking regularly on this.

12.) The government not being in business, but facilitating business is another big achievement of this dispensation and the results of this would be seen in the next few years. GST as a tax measure is a milestone whose benefits are already being felt and seen. For the first time, I am seeing refunds being granted in income tax without any interface with the officials.

I can go on but what does this have to do with the title? Well, the Prime Minister has injected into the citizens of Bharat one thing above all else – confidence.

There is a famous saying in South – of the 8 forms of Goddess Lakshmi if we have one – Dhairya Lakshmi (one who denotes confidence and bravery), the other 7 would follow.

I only hope that the reforms at the Centre percolate to the States fully and when that happens, the man would have achieved his mission fully.

-By V. Raghuraman