India Banao!

The Indian people are sophisticated and mature voters. They have rewarded good candidates and formed a durable coalition government. Regional parties based on caste, celebrity, communalism, and cash have been shown the door. The Left, reliant on class warfare and stuck in the past, has been decimated. National parties have won. We have a stable left-of-center government and a responsible right-of-center opposition. This is great for our democracy and terrific for India

The right-of-center vision for India needs to be articulated better to win the hearts and minds of all our people. We believe in comprehensive national strength that includes all aspects of national well-being and brings enduring peace and inclusive development. India must be a dignified great power, a beacon of hope and peace for the world, and a powerful global economy. We must have a strong safety net that efficiently provides adequate food, shelter, health care, and education to all our citizens. Farmers should make a good living and have access to all necessary inputs including water, electricity, seeds, and fertilizer. Our children should be well-fed, go to good schools, and be able to pursue higher education. Young people must be able to obtain good jobs, a nice place to live, and have the resources to look after their families. In old age, our people must have adequate pensions and access to good health care.

Enduring peace comes first. We live in a dangerous neighborhood. Our neighbors are grappling with terrorism, civil war, weak governments, and climate change disaster. Internally, we are dealing with a Naxalite movement that has only become more dangerous in the last five years. Terrorists strike our cities and bomb our holy places with impunity. Women do not feel secure traveling in our cities, criminals are robbing old people, and dacoits prowl rural areas.

We can only have inclusive development if our economy is open and competitive. Our economic policies should be designed to stimulate competition and attract sufficient investment. We must reform important sectors such as infrastructure, financial services, real estate, and energy. Strong and effective regulation is also necessary to prevent capitalism’s excesses. Above all, policies must be designed to reduce corruption and capture of public wealth. The Congress has been exceptionally guilty in this respect, as shown by the SEZ, telecom, Satyam, and mining scams.

Good governance is necessary to deliver enduring peace and inclusive development. If government is corrupt and unable to deliver basic services, if civil servants are interested only in stealing money, and if serving the national interest is not paramount for politicians; then how can citizens prosper? We must be committed to serving the national interest. Political parties must be made up of individuals that are willing to work selflessly for national development. Our democratic institutions must be continuously strengthened to build checks and balances against the abuse of power and influence.

We all want a strong, prosperous, secular India. But the Congress, a corrupt and dynastic left-of-center party, simply cannot get you there. We are driven by eternal Indian values and public service; they are driven by money and institutionalized corruption. We trust the entrepreneurial energies of our people, they trust massive bureaucracies. We are realistic about the threats facing India, they wish them away. We build democratic institutions, they destroy them. We believe in a meritocracy, they want an aristocracy. We treat all citizens equally, they pursue divisive votebank policies. How can they build a great nation?

India’s interests must always come first so that we can build a great nation. It is not self-interest, not caste or community interest, not religious interest, not dynastic interest, but the

national interest which must always come first

. Over the centuries, India has achieved greatness often. These glorious periods have happened when India has been pluralistic, inclusive, and open to all. These are India’s eternal values; our shared cultural heritage.

We must be true to India’s eternal values because they are the bedrock of our nation. These eternal values are deeply embedded in our shared heritage and knit us together. Over thousands of years, our great civilization developed a heritage that blends together peoples, religions, and cultures. Think Buddha, Guru Nanak, Kabir, Akbar, Gandhiji, and AR Rahman. India’s cultural heritage and soft power is acknowledged around the world. As AR Rahman said at the Oscars: “All my life I have had a choice between hate and love, and I have chosen love.”

The British and other invaders have always sought to destroy this pluralistic heritage so that they could keep power through their divide and rule policies. Most political parties, pursuing votebank politics, are similarly destroying this inclusive heritage. These parties are placing the interests of their communities and religions before the national interest.

The way forward is clear. The Indian people want enduring peace and inclusive development delivered through good governance. Despite living in poverty, beset by violence and strife, they have shown that they cannot be manipulated. They will elect good candidates and/or a stable government. They do not want quick fixes or empty glamour or easy money. They want better lives for themselves and their families and they will bend the political system to their will. Our democracy is working; our march to greatness is beginning. The best lies ahead.

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