If there were two men, who would be called the face of Current Affairs and/or World News…then it would have to be: the President-elect of the United States of America, Donald Trump and the Indian Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi. And of course, as soon as news of his winning the election hit the mainstream news, it was mayhem! While in the USA, thousands marched in protest across the country, shouting slogans – “Not My President”; in our very own country, the Indian media and intelligensia was busy drawing a comparison chart, enumerating how Narendra Modi and Donald Trump were basically two sides of the same coin.
Though, some media houses brought out their similarities in a more positive light, there were others who were not so generous in their appraisals…and then there were those media houses who were busy rebutting the earlier media house reports, highlighting how DIFFERENT they both indeed were!
Truth be told, I really don’t believe that Narendra Modi is the Indian version of Donald Trump…nor do I think Donald Trump is USA’s Narendra Modi! To support my assertion, I only have a sole point to make…one that I actually highlighted in the opening paragraph itself, which honestly makes any kind of comparison — null and void — that is — PUBLIC RESPONSE!
The one thing that sets apart the two men is the response of the public. When Narendra Modi rode the public support to power, BJP had created history. Modi had the backing of an entire nation that believed that he would be the one to undo what years of Congress’ leaders had done [to this nation]. Trump’s win, on the other hand, was met with a public outcry, which honestly I had never witnessed in all my time on this planet. [Note to readers: Think about it, do you remember any such protest march against any other leader in any other democratic nation?]
Honestly, if there was a comparison being drawn — simply on the basis of what people want (which is what a democracy stands for, that is “majority’s rule”) — the only person Narendra Modi could be compared to would be Hillary Clinton, who won the popular vote. Although, truth be told…even that would be a comparison, just for the sake of comparison…for the simple reason that only history can truthfully reveal — and that too only when it looks back into time — as to how similar/dissimilar any two individuals really were. Unfortunately, while we mere mortals would like to believe that we can foretell and forecast the future, the reality simply is that we cannot! Only and only time has the power to answer those questions for us…and settle this debate…once and for all!
Of course, as we watch with bated breath as hordes of Americans descend on the national capital (probably to repeat the once-upon-a-time famous Donald Trump’s catch phrase from the hit game show, ‘The Apprentice’ — “YOU’RE FIRED!”)…we for now, only know one thing for a fact: ‘Donald Trump is NOT…and CANNOT BE…Narendra Modi’!
