The arrival of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister of India is a pressing topic of discussion both among the public and in academic circles. Much has been written about his personality, leadership and his acumen as a politician, as a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as well as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and also as Prime Minister of India. No other Indian leader has perhaps gone through such public scrutiny. Many see him as a great contemporary leader in the making while others sceptically see him as a politician of self-centred objectives. Some call his style of leadership ‘best for India’Footnote1 while others critique him as just a ‘leader of the party’.Footnote2
Not every Indian leader and his leadership have attracted the people’s attention, nor has he successfully gathered popularity in emerging as a ‘leader of the people’. Some invite attention for their personality and some others for their style of functioning. Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee have been some dignified leaders in India’s political history who have been people-centric, with their connections with the people at the grass-roots level. Narendra Modi’s popularity seems to have placed him on a similar level. What makes Modi popular? What is his leadership style, style of governance and personality? This special issue is an attempt to evaluate Modi and his government’s governance style. Its aim is not to undertake a political assignment of evaluating Modi’s approach to governance issues, but rather to discuss the virtues and fault lines of his governance panache.
This special issue is a modest attempt to debate Modi and his mode of governance on a range of issues, across the spectrum of politics, society, economics and foreign policy. Most of these articles point to a narration that Modi’s style of governance is closely attached to his personality and political acumen. One may not agree with the views expressed in the papers, but it is hard to deny that Modi’s style of governance is a matter of intense speculation. In order to comprehensively analyse his mode of thinking and style of functioning, this special issue brings out three separate spectrums to probe Modi’s governance policies. One prime aspect is to examine his political as well as social policies and their undertaking. A critical inquiry into his political and social undertakings offers an impression that Modi brings innovation and invention into his policy acumen. Four articles elucidate this aspect. Ronojoy Sen in ‘Narendra Modi’s Makeover and the Politics of Symbolism’ explains the remodelling in Modi’s approach, which involves a new mode of thinking and innovative notions into his political spectrum. The author sceptically points to the ‘politics of symbolism’ that Modi’s leadership brings and how it is linked with his core political growth, stoutness and survival. These symbolisms are debatable though, and the doubt remains whether these symbolisms have any political relevance, but there is no doubt that Modi has brought a great amount of pragmatism to his political rationale, which involves both innovative thinking and new inventive ideas.
On a similar account, one does notice a progressive tendency in Modi’s leadership vision and his governance panache. Amarjeet Singh in ‘Narendra Modi and Northeast India’ talks about Modi’s plan and policies in the spectrum of development, insurgency and illegal migration in the region. He argues that it is perhaps too early to speculate on and analyse Modi’s approach to northeast India, but there are indicators which point out that Modi’s approach to the region is a progressive one. Bikram Keshari Mishra in ‘Modi’s Social Welfare Policy: A Critical Enquiry’ argues that Modi seems to be encouraging in achieving his objectives as far as social issues are concerned. Often termed as ‘Vikash Purush’, Modi prompts a higher scale of optimism and eulogises his social policy within a spectrum of his political slogan of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas (collective efforts, inclusive growth). However, it has to be seen how Modi achieves his social objectives, which primarily seem to be rhetorical at the moment. Madhulika Sharma in ‘Narendra Modi and the New Education Policy: Retrospection, Reform and Reality’ argues that Modi’s vision on education is rooted through retrospection and aims to transform the existing system of education. She argues that Modi’s New Education Policy (NEP) is a timely feature of his developmental spectrum that he has introduced through innovative ideas and thinking.
The second prime aspect that elucidates Modi’s governance thoughts are his economic policies and socio-economic undertakings. Two articles point out to this narration. Jivanta Schottli and Markus Pauli in ‘Modi-nomics and the Politics of Institutional Change in the Indian Economy’ argue how Modi prompts a notion of ‘Modi-nomics’ as a governance mode to bring the Indian economy to order. They argue that Modi brings an ‘internationalist orientation’ to his economic policies, which is primarily a reflection of his mainstream economic thinking and economic governance outlook, which is a blend of domestic policies as well as external economic appeal. T.G. Suresh in ‘Withering Regulation? An Interim Review of the Modi Government’s Labour Reforms’ offers an impression of how Modi’s labour reform is a course of bringing the domestic reforms in order as well as into his own account since it is politically linked to his future course. He argues that the ‘labour question holds a vector to other larger goals of the present leadership’; that this one aspect aptly explains the jurisprudence of Modi’s governance ideas, which are cleverly blended with reforms as well as his political fortunes.
The third prime aspect is Modi’s foreign policy ideas and mainstream international thinking. On the global outlook, Modi stands out as a different and distinct leader. His foreign and international policies are neither going to be free of challenges nor are they going to address or solve most of India’s global dilemmas or foreign policy contradictions. But Modi’s international outlook and the boldness of engaging with neighbours are factors that have placed him in the driver’s seat. My article, titled ‘Modi’s China Policy: Between Pragmatism and Power Parity’, explains how Modi aims to promote India’s standing in the bilateral and regional context vis-à-vis China, which continues to remain the biggest challenge for the Indian leadership. The eloquent proposition to bring parity with China is a bold leadership thinking of Modi that makes him distinct and different. Chietigj Bajpaee in ‘Modi, India and the Emerging Global Economic Order’ portrays a picture of how Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign and proactive engagement with India’s extended neighbourhood are two indicators that explain Modi’s foreign policy outlook. He argues that while Modi’s ‘Make in India’ is a campaign to attract foreign investors to India, his engagement with the neighbourhood is aimed at strengthening India’s regional connectivity. The rationale behind these policies is to promote India’s standing regionally and globally.
This set of papers in this special issue may not encompass a comprehensive impression on Modi’s core governance ideas. However, what they collectively point out is a delicate balance of Modi’s thinking, innovation as well as style of governing with openness and newness. Modi’s elegance of governance may be debatable, but he has put most of India’s subjects of governance into the spotlight. Hence, this special issue is an expedient exercise for academic reference. A lot is expected from his governance, and India’s fortunes would also be hugely dependent on Modi’s political acumen and his spectrum of governance. The future of his political course as Prime Minister would perhaps be heavily contingent on how his core ideas on most of the governance issues proceed and get delivered. The coming times will see a lot of debate and discussion surrounding these aspects.
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Jagannath P. Panda
Dr. Jagannath P. Panda is a Research Fellow and currently heading the East Asia Centre as Coordinator at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi. Dr. Panda is working on different aspects of China-India relations and his core research areas are: China-India Relations, East Asia, China and Asia-Pacific Dynamics, and Multilateral Institutions in Asia and beyond. Dr. Panda has published extensively in leading peer-reviewed journals like Strategic Analyses (Routledge), China Report (Sage), Journal of Contemporary China (Routledge), Asian Perspective (Lynne Reiner), Georgetown Journal of Asian Affairs, Portuguese Journal of International Affairs, Journal of Asian and African Studies (Sage), Indian Journal of Foreign Affairs etc. He has authored a book titled China’s Path to Power: Party, Military and the Politics of State Transition (Pentagon Press: 2010). He is also the author of Monograph titled BRICS and the China-India Construct: Making of a New World Order? (2013). He is the author of the forthcoming book titled India-China Relations: Politics of Resources, Identity and Authority in a Multipolar World Order (Routledge, 2016).
Notes
1. Namrata Singh, ‘Modi’s leadership style best for India’, Times of India, 2 June 2014, at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Modis-leadership-style-best-for-India/articleshow/35920196.cms (accessed on 7 February 2016).
2. Tunku Varadarajan, ‘Reverse Swing: Modi’s governance is a lost opportunity’, The Indian Express, 8 November 2015, at http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/reverse-swing-narendra-modis-governance-is-a-lost-opportunity/ (accessed on 7 February 2016).