Narendra Modi Speech

If nothing else, Narendra Modi's August 15th   speech, hailed widely, regenerated the enthusiasm among the common man that had begun to wane a bit of late.

It is not as if people were not going to give the new government time, but there were murmurs such as “he was sitting with no action”   and "Rupaye were 100 kg tomatoes, Mehngai just is not any work” . Others questioned why the new PM, so visible during the polls, had suddenly "disappeared" from the scene.

Agree or disagree with him, Modi's speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort evoked a sense of confidence that a leader was finally in charge. It reflected in the way he dressed, spoke, and in the manner he got rid of bullet cover and also in the way in which he mingled with children.

Views will differ on the scrapping of the Planning Commission and our "noisy democracy" will discuss whether MPs should do the work of a MP and create one model village a year. It will also debate whether Modi will be able to manage a 10-year moratorium on communal and cast violence.

The common man will also evaluate whether the PM should turn into a social reformer or flag off a toilet revolution and cleanliness drive from Red Fort. The most significant aspect of the address, however, is the connect PM Modi managed to make with the people. Congress leaders have pointed out that many of the issues Modi touched on—like women's safety, manufacturing, e-governance and poverty —were not new and had figured in the speeches of earlier PMs, including Dr Manmohan Singh. However, the difference lay in the detailed planning, oratory and charisma, and the effective use of media to create the Modi effect.

Most of all, the impact lay in the credibility the PM enjoys today. Modi, if he loses people's confidence, and repeats the same words, will not have the same effect. Modi has managed to arouse a hope today that possibly things can be different. The Red Fort also saw Modi the economic reformer come to the fore in a more...