Narasimha Rao’s legacy
The memorial to PV Narasimha Rao should have come up a decade ago, but, unfortunately, the former Prime Minister's legacy had been hijacked by petty parochial interests. A lifelong member of the Congress, Rao had served his party well, but because he had dared to serve his country better better than the dynasty’s members, he was effectively banished from public memory.
The Congress has led the world's largest democracy for most of these past six-and-a-half decades, but ironically, the party still functions like a monarchy, where there is no place for those who challenge the legitimacy of the first family. This is precisely what Rao had done — not only had he made it to the helm, he had refused to be the family's puppet on the throne. Instead, he discarded its rotten old system and laid the foundation for a prosperous tomorrow.
When Rao took over as Prime Minister, the country was a mess. The treasury was empty and India had to pawn its gold to avoid bankruptcy. Separatist movements were raging within the country, and outside, the world was going through tectonic changes — the collapse of the Soviet Union, the same year that Rao was sworn in as Prime Minister, had a debilitating impact on India. Yet, by the end of his five-year term, Rao had put India on the path to economic growth, snuffed out the Khalistan movement, strengthened the military and improved our defence systems, and re-written India's foreign policy doctrine by improving relations with the US and Europe and establishing diplomatic ties with Israel — one of the country’s most reliable partners today. He had also kickstarted India’s nuclear programme.
But Rao failed to secure the people's mandate for a second term, which gave the Congress just the opportunity it needed to kick him out of the system. He was bowing out anyway, given his advancing age. Still, the most painful hit came after Rao's death, when the Congress refused to let his body be honoured at the party headquarters or be cremated in the national capital — forget building him a memorial in Delhi. The opprobrium heaped on Rao cannot be undone, but the BJP-led NDA Government has helped correct some of the historical wrongs.
That it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi who initiated this project is apt — and not just because the Congress and the BJP are rival parties. Mr Modi's vision of a modern and prosperous India stands on the foundation that was laid by Rao two decades ago. It was Rao who liberalised the Indian economy, which in turn lifted millions out of poverty and restored the country's status in the comity of nations. But that's not all. Apart from the promises of good governance and the lure of Gujarat-style rapid economic development, Mr Modi's mass appeal also stems from his inherent ‘Indian connect'. This is something that Rao had as well. As former Union Minister Natwar Singh noted, Rao was rooted to India's “spiritual soil” and didn't have to “discover India”.