His 'Tryst with Destiny' moment

On August 15 2013 Narendra Modi made a speech at Lalan College in Bhuj drawing derision from his opponents especially the Congress party The speech followed the prime ministerrsquos address to the nation from the Red Fort and was covered extensively by the media Modi termed Prime Minister Manmohan Singhrsquos speech as lacklustre No one could find fault with that Not even Sonia Gandhi will say that the former prime minister was a stirring orator Not one of Dr Singhrsquos ten consecutive speeches from the Red Fort was inspiringPrime Minister Narendra Modi pretty much bears the entire burden of expectations on his shoulders alone He derives his power from the people who voted for him But when he speaks from the Red Fort four days from today this man of humble origins will be speaking to 12 billion Indians PicPTIMuch hard work goes into collating data for a prime ministerrsquos Independence Day speech Hundreds of government officials work long hours in different ministries listing achievements suggesting goals and programmes that the prime minister can put forth in his speech The prime ministerrsquos team then works out parameters for the speech It is a tradition that has come down from the first speech made by Jawaharlal Nehru after unfurling the national flag at the Red Fort on August 16 1947 It is scarcely known that Nehru unfurled the flag on August 15 1947 at Princes Park near India Gate not at the Red Fort On August 16 Nehru unfurled the flag at Red Fort and he was to do it 17 times in his lifetime However it was on August 14 just before midnight that Nehru made the famous ldquotryst with destinyrdquo speech to the Constituent Assembly which rated as one of the finest speeches made at the birth of a nationWhen Narendra Modi makes his speech four days from today he will speak to the nation from the historic Red Fort laying out his vision for the future He challenged the Congress leadership just a year ago and has provided strong leadership to a party that defeated the oldest political party in the countryModirsquos Red Fort speech will be grandiose despite the fact he has erred on the side of caution in his almost 100 days in office There have hardly been any big bang schemes to bring out instant lsquoachche dinrsquo like cuponoodles Many economists have frowned on his budgets mdash no big bang reforms they say The bureaucracy is recalibrating unaccustomed to being responsive on call all the time and accountable to the prime minister himself The media is smarting at doors shut no leaks no twoway communication disappointed that the hypercommunicative PM candidate has become the silent workhorse who will not speak blog or tweet on their demandEyes and ears are thus open to what the PM will say on August 15 He will lay out the road map for the year how he plans to and has started creating jobs curb price rise work on roads rail and ports and to grease the wheels of the Indian economy There will be rhetoric a lot of it There will be drama alliteration and allegory Mr Modi is a master at public speaking But there will be many looking out for substance too He must be aware that even his most ardent supporters are impatient The massive mandate is also a huge responsibility The techsavvy Internet generation is mercurial An example is the way supporters swung away from AAP which was touted as the lsquonext big thingrsquo All it took was a series of wrong moves by the party leadership in a few months and their support base crumbled It is very difficult to win back the confidence of people who feel let down even cheatedMr Modi pretty much bears the entire burden of expectations on his shoulders alone He derives his power from the people who voted for him But when he speaks from the Red Fort this man of humble origins will be speaking to 12 billion IndiansThe mantra of skill speed and scale is what he refers to often while speaking of India of the future Not too distant future He is focussed on deliverables and execution of projects not mere ideation The speech will go beyond the alloted 20 minutes as almost all prime ministers have exceeded that limit There wonrsquot be abstruse macroeconomics jargon in the speech it will be about getting things done The Ganga CleanUp plan skill development and job creation programmes trade pacts with neighbouring countries agriculturebased targets propoor schemes food and healthcare and growthHe will mix humility and ambition in his speechhellip a man genuinely happy to be the prime minister There will be no awkwardness here like his predecessor who always seemed uncomfortable at the spotlight Mr Modi loves it He basks in it It is going to be a speech to watch and hearSmita Prakash is Editor News at Asian News International You can follow her on twitter smitaprakash