The Indian people have given their resounding verdict and this heralds a new beginning in the history of a young nation whose recorded history spans over five thousand years. It is these very people, by voting in record numbers in world’s largest exercise of democracy in action, who have shown tremendous wisdom through their clear mandate to the positive politics of development and rejuvenation spearheaded by Narendra Modi. Nobody had an inkling of the scale of the support and while there was a constant talk of a Modi wave sweeping all across the country, those who lived in denial ignored this factor to their own peril. However, now as the dust settles after a pitched electoral battle, now is the time to focus on the times ahead and forge our will to shape up the future so that India of our dreams can see the light of day. Amidst all the celebration and victory jubilations, the true representatives of people know that the real test starts now and there is no looking back from now on, as on their shoulders lie the hopes and aspirations of a billion plus Indians. Teeming under the plutocracy of the UPA, especially in the last five years, people have suffered due to the unwarranted loot and corruption that became the hallmark of the UPA regime and ultimately its nemesis. In addition to the endorsement of the positive politics of development as propounded by Narendra Modi, this verdict is also a resounding no by the Indian people towards the dynastic politics that has hollowed out the Congress. Rejecting the notion that any person can have a divine right to rule India, wherein reins of the government can be handed over from one individual of the family to another on a platter, people have shown the door to the intellectual and moral bankruptcy of the Congress, a party that didn’t even have the courage to field a PM candidate against Narendra Modi head-on. The faceless politics of vote banks and cashing on the miseries of the poor and the downtrodden, and the practice of fear mongering by playing with the sentiments of a particular section of the population is something that people of India have rejected and is unlikely to be tolerated by them hereafter.

Looking back at our rich heritage and millennia old history, there is a lesson for the young nation state of India that is on the verge of releasing itself from the shackles of self negation and subjugation. The lesson is that in any form of government that India has had; only those administrations were successful in building truly great empires, which respected and nurtured the culture, way of life and the sentiments of the people it ruled. Be it the ancient empire of Ashoka, the zenith of classical India or the empire that Akbar build, all of these periods were marked with rulers who never let a wedge to be drawn in between them and the people whom they ruled. It is this basic connection between the government and the subjects, who took cognizance of the aspirations and way of life of its people, that empires were able to thrive and ultimately have their names itched in the annals of history in golden letters. However, in the dark ages of foreign subjugation that followed before the birth of the modern Indian nation state, the British, while inflicting enormous sufferings on the Indian people, also inadvertently gave its people the chance to come together for the first time in history under a democratic setup that ultimately led to the creation of the modern Indian state. Our people, realizing the fact that independence was won at a great cost, have done the right thing by entrusting their faith and vote to a leader whom they deem is fit to forge the edifice of another great empire, the foundations of which is the democracy and the unity in diversity of its people as one of its pillars of strength. However, the most important component of the young nation state of India is its soul, the indestructible identity of its people and their way of life, that remains flexible and yet molded in the basic framework created by our ancient forefathers who had ample wisdom and vision, the very fact that has contributed in preserving the Indian identity till date.

It is now up to us, the people of India, to strengthen the hands of our elected representatives, and help them to catapult India in its rightful place in the comity of nations, spearheading another renaissance that will make our country shine with the light of knowledge and hope the world over. The path towards reaching this goal is not going to be easy, and there still are lots of obstructions to surmount, lots of barriers to be broken and a number of problems to be overcome. However, once the problems and the obstructions towards attaining this goal have been fathomed by the people of India, it is a bold and a first courageous step towards the march that will culminate only when the goal of regaining the lost glory of India has been achieved. This is of course a time to celebrate and relish, however, we as a people have also to reinforce our efforts, our beliefs and our determination in acting as the torch bearers for the coming generations, in rebuilding our India and bring back the golden era of peace, prosperity and all round growth of all of its people. We should all pray and work to strengthen the hands of our new PM, who has initiated this herculean task.

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