Why Gujarat’s development model is becoming a pan India attraction

By Editorial @indiacom | April 12, 2014 1:41 PM

Photo: DNA RnA

By Amrit Hallan

Experts and commentators in the TV studios and newspaper columns often downplay Gujarat’s development model under Narendra Modi with the argument that the conditions in Gujarat are not the same as they are in the rest of the country. Another popular refrain is that Gujaratis in general are quite entrepreneurial and hard-working and hence the state is by default better equipped compared to other states.
To an extent this is quite true. The conditions in Gujarat are much more hostile compared to other regions of the country. Most of its areas are arid. The state has experienced a litany of draughts. There was a devastating earthquake in the beginning of the new millennium. Across the border there is a belligerent military always ready to exchange a few bullets and rockets. Post Gujarat 2002 riots, the CM of the state has been subjected to one of the most vicious attacks seen in independent India on a political personality, and he has been a pariah in the international political and intellectual arenas. The state has borne the brunt of the most hostile government at the center.

Yes, Gujaratis traditionally have been entrepreneurial and legend has it that when Vasco da Gama was clueless about how to find India, he was helped by a Gujarati’s merchant ship. This might not be very important, but what’s important is the merchant ship of the Gujarati trader was much bigger than the European warships of that time. Even the Roman Empire had pillars with engravings of merchandise coming from the Indian state of Gujarat. So historically, Gujarat has been a progressive state.

But how much does the average Indian on the road know about Gujarat, about its history and about the entrepreneurial spirit of its people? Why is the Gujarat growth story selling like hotcakes, if not among the experts and specialists who come equipped with statistics and data, then certainly among the masses? Randomly stop a rickshaw puller and he’s going to tell you that he’s going to vote for Modi. Randomly stop someone driving an Audi or Toyota and he or she is going to tell you that he or she is going to vote for Modi.
By the end of the day, in terms of political performance, what matters is what story you can sell to the masses. At this juncture, Modi seems to be able to give his Gujarat developments story a pan India makeover. How is he doing that?

He’s doing that by portraying himself as a leader people can count on, and as a leader who thinks big and encourages people to think big.

The problem in India so far has been that it’s been a welfare state to an extent of being bizarre. The founding fathers and subsequent leaders and intellectuals assumed that a certain section of the country perpetually needs handholding and state protection. We need to concentrate on the bare necessities, and corruption is a necessary evil to sustain development and empower the underprivileged. May be initially the intention was noble, but later on this policy of welfare and appeasement became a political gimmickry simply for electoral benefits. It’s always been division and fragmentation. You are first a Hindu or a Muslim or Yadav or a Kurmi, and then you are an Indian. There are castes, subcastes, classes and subclasses and regions and subregions. It’s been like a slugfest. Economically, these divisions have kept us tied down.

People cannot express themselves because they don’t have the sort of platforms privileged people have, but they all feel that our politicians in particular and intellectuals in general are constantly dividing the country into various fragments and preventing it from reaching its true potential. They might not know much about Gujarat, but they’re eager to believe its development story because it signifies the coming of an era they long for.

During his speeches when Modi gives examples of the various works he has done in Gujarat he doesn’t talk about how many roads he has made, how many villages have water and electricity and how farmers are now better equipped for coping with water shortage. Yes, he does talk about such achievements, but in a more specific manner, in a manner people can immediately apply to their own needs.

Take for instance creating better roads. He talks about how banana farmers approached him and told him that 20% of their bananas were being spoiled on their way to the markets because of bad roads. They requested roads that would cause less damage to their bananas and Modi helped them get such roads.
Similarly, when the water table was going down, he advised farmers to allocate 5% of their land to rainwater harvesting. The water table in Gujarat has come up as a result.

Then he talks about how English teachers from the north-eastern states are being invited to Gujarat and how Gujaratis are being encouraged to visit the states as tourists.

As you can see, instead of making fuzzy claims, he gives very specific examples with facts and figures that would be very difficult to just come up with. This is what makes people trust him. He doesn’t just talk about problems; he talks about solutions and in many instances, he talks about solutions that have already been implemented and seen success.

He is able to convey that even if the Gujarat model cannot be implemented across other regions in its entirety, the basic philosophy can be implemented. This philosophy manifests in political and bureaucratic accountability, regular assessments, innovation, hard work and above all, the coming together of the country.
What stops us from competing with the first world countries and then becoming one of them? We have a big population. We have a plethora of natural resources. Our middle class is many times the population of America. Our purchasing power surpasses any other countries in the world.

In fact the 2014 BJP manifesto that has a domineering shadow of Modi written all over it, puts lots of stress on making India a manufacturing hub. Poverty alleviation and such are simply consequential. When you aim for becoming a manufacturing hub, you need to concentrate on all the associated infrastructural as well as intellectual development needed to compete with the best markets in the world.

Small and medium-sized enterprises are another aspect that Modi is quite enamoured with.  He would like to do away with the 51 odd licenses one needs to get cleared before he or she can start a new business. There should be just one single window clearance and a person should be able to start a business within a couple of weeks if not a couple of days. This is something that is not confined to just Gujarat and it can be implemented everywhere.

In almost every speech Modi says that he has full confidence in the people of the country. He says that people don’t need doles and preferential treatment; people need opportunities and an efficient government. They don’t need free housing and minimum job guarantee. They need to develop an entrepreneurial spirit and create world-standard products and services so that we can compete with the rest of the world. Instead of giving money to the poor and the disadvantaged, he wants to create economic conditions that allow the disadvantaged to avail employment and career opportunities.  “Development for all” isn’t a slogan that only Gujaratis would find appealing   – every right-thinking individual of the country aspires for this.

Amrit Hallan is a professional content writer with strong political and social views that he likes to express on social media as well as through his writings. You can connect with him on Twitter at @amrithallan.

Source: http://www.india.com/election-2014/key-leaders/narendra-modi/why-gujarats-development-model-is-becoming-a-pan-india-attraction-38455/