There is absolutely no doubt Modiji is very bold while it comes to take decision.
But just taking bold decision is the only yardstick to be used to judge the head of the nation ?
There was a Sultan in Delhi called Muhammad bin Tughlaq who took a very bold revolutionary decision to transfer his capital 600 miles away from Delhi to Devagiri or Daulatabad Delhi being close to india’s western border were frequently attacked from the north-west side facing wave after wave of foreign invasion. Technically it sounded to be a great idea to shift the capital to the middle of the country, away from easy enemy reach so that the capital city remains safe and the people of the city could live peacefully away from frequent war and atrocities. The intention seemed to be very noble and right. Tughluq said that it would help him to establish control over the fertile land of the Deccan plateau and to create a more accessible capital since his empire had grown more in the south.He also felt that it would make him safe from the Mongol invasions which were mainly aimed at Delhi and regions in north India. Possibly he also wanted to be immortal by taking this historic decision never ever taken by any ruler in the world. But he never thought the practical side of it.
In 1327, Tughluq passed an order to move his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad. All facilities were provided for those who were required to migrate to Daulatabad. A broad road was constructed for convenience. Shady trees were planted on both sides of the road; he set up halting stations at an interval of two miles. Provisions for food and water were also made available at the stations. Tughluq established a khanqah at each of the station where at least one sufi saint was stationed. A regular postal service was established between Delhi and Daulatabad. In 1329, his mother also went to Daulatabad, accompanied by the nobles. By around the same year, Tughluq summoned all the slaves, nobles, servants, ulema, sufis to the new capital. Muhammad bin Tughlaq ordered the inhabitants to quit Delhi. He ordered all people of Delhi to proceed to Daulatabad with their belongings. Ibn Batuta cites that the force was applied without any leniency. Ziauddin Barani observes: "Without consultation or weighting the pros and cons, he brought ruin on Delhi which for 170 to 180 years had grown in prosperity and rivaled Baghdad and Cairo.
Devgir/Daulatabad Fort
The new capital was divided into wards called mohalla with separate quarters for different people like soldiers, poets, judges, nobles. Grants were also given by Tughluq to the immigrants. Even though the citizens migrated, they showed dissent. In the process, many died on the road due to hunger and exhaustion. However, in 1334 there was a rebellion in Mabar. While on his way to suppress the rebellion, there was an outbreak of bubonic plague at Bidar due to which Tughluq himself became ill, and many of his soldiers died. While he retreated back to Daulatabad, Mabar and Dwarsamudra broke away from Tughluq control. This was followed by a revolt in Bengal. Fearing that the sultanate's northern borders were exposed to attacks, in 1335, he decided to shift the capital back to Delhi, allowing the citizens to return to their previous city
And the decision came out to be greatest catastrophic call taken in the history for ruining a prosperous city like Delhi which was comparable to the city of Baghdad by then and bringing untold miseries to the people. A bold decision taken possibly with all good intention and great planning failed miserably to bring any good result.
Why am I referring to this story ? It is said the history repeats. Modiji also took his bold decision of Demonetization possibly with all good intentions bringing back the black money making people face untold miseries. But he could gain success only to bring a performing economy to its knee. He took another bold decision next year to introduce GST. Here again economy took a downward trend rather than shooting up. The government agencies went hostile with wealth creators when the government failed to un-wreath any black money. Instead of cutting down supply of currency note, the circulation went up by around 19% the very next year.
“The notion is being disproved that this government is inclined to go through prosecution; we are more in favour of penalty than prosecution where possible; we have withdrawn 14,000 prosecutions under Companies Act: Nirmala Sitharaman. 76 steps taken to ensure wealth creators treated with respect, says Sitharaman -"We have taken 76 steps to remove 65 sections of criminalities in companies act.
Modi government fires 15 more senior income tax officers -“Some black sheep in the tax administration may have misused their powers and harassed taxpayers, either by targeting honest assesses or by taking excessive action for minor or procedural violations,” Prime Minister Modi had said from the Red Fort in his independence day speech this year. In a way proving that the tax payers or the wealth creators were harassed.
Counterfeit currency shoot up at its highest the very next year.Fake banknotes seized in India doubled after demonetization, Gujarat topped list: NCRB. No letting down in terrorist incident. Data from 10 months before the notes ban (January-November 2016) and the 10 months after shows a 38 per cent rise in the number of terrorist incidents in Jammu and Kashmir. The number of security personnel killed has risen by 2 per cent.
India’s national debt has almost double over last 6 years to USD 2.2 Trillion
But even today the government claims that demonetization was successful and required measures for the nation. And this is inspite of crash of the economy losing crores of employment.
Taking bold decision in itself is not a difficult task, if someone doesn’t have to bear the impact himself. Its the common people who has to bear the impact of these bold decisions.
No doubt Lock down is yet another bold step by Modiji. A step, well required measure to break the spread of corona.
However India’s Coronavirus Lockdown Leaves Vast Numbers Stranded and Hungry. Millions of migrant laborers in Indian cities live and eat where they work, and the sudden shutdown of businesses has upended their lives. Anger is rising. In one of the biggest migrations in India’s modern history, hundreds of thousands of migrant laborers have begun long journeys on foot to get home, having been rendered homeless and jobless. Here again the common men are sufferer.
A section of people keeps on praising bold decisions of the government, while its the common man who suffer and pay dearly for all such bold decisions not the King or the rulers. Does any of the rulers ever had to suffer for their bold decisions in India ?
Every time a bold decision is taken, its the common people who pays for it, not the ruler. I get very angry whenever there is effort to make political gain out of such bold step.
If a bold step is required to be taken in the interest of nation. Please do take but do not try to milk it.
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