‘You have to believe in yourself. You need to have audacity to be great’ ~ Rosie Perez
Chutzpah is a word adopted from Hebrew/Jewish vocabulary. In Hebrew, it has a negative connotation, but of late in English, especially used by Americans, it is something to do with audacity. Former US president Barack Obama wrote a book titled Audacity of Hope; it could well be titled Chutzpah of Hope.
The word audacity borders on arrogance and defiance. He had the “audacity to insult me” which means he had the guts or the gumption or the cheek to say this. Oprah Winfrey’s Chutzpah Awards, presented annually to women whose chutzpah—audacity, nerve, boldness, conviction—has taken them to the most amazing places.”
For instance, Narendra Modi made some tough decisions in his first six years in power, which many didn’t like. Demonetization was one, and the immediate lockdown of the country during the COVID-19 pandemic and the abrogation of Article 370 were all similar chutzpah moments.
The air strike on Balakot in Pakistan, Indian aircraft crossing the Line of Control (LOC), and going 80 km deep to bomb terrorist camps in Pakistan were very tricky and risky decisions. Anything could have gone wrong, but he did it. The executive order was given by him. An ordinary man will not be able to sleep with this kind of stress.
The Republic Summit 2023- A chutzpah event?
PM Narendra Modi and his select cabinet ministers spoke at the Republic Summit on the 25th and 26th of April 2023, the theme being transforming India- which gave me the idea of writing this piece.
He has the guts to take difficult decisions even putting his political existence at risk. With the opposition, foreign media, and several guys within the nation all watching like hawks and looking for one single major failure from him or his administration so that they can take him down. In such an environment, taking bold decisions is even more risky and requires tremendous courage of conviction.
Let me illustrate this with an example. Every safe flying trapeze rig in a circus has a large safety net underneath the ring. If an artist/gymnast misses a catch, or slips and falls off the bar, he lands on the net and is saved. In the case of PM Modi, the risks and stakes are higher than one could imagine, they have national and international ramifications and he is doing it without a safety net!
One thing which he mentioned in his stellar speech was that the entire opposition was asking him to go for importing Covid Vaccine and there was no point making our own. In any case, someone will come out with one and all we need to do was to pay and buy!
He said this was the easiest thing to do but he wanted ‘Atmanirbhar’ Bharat- self-reliant India, and went ahead with indigenous development and mass production of vaccines at home. He was candid enough to say that he had put his entire political capital at risk- but he did it.
In the case of Truman, it was millions of Japanese that would perish due to Atomic bombing but in the case of Modi, it was the lives of his own people at risk- and that is the major difference.
Almost all the members of his council of ministers who had spoken before him had said that the biggest strength of the Prime Minister was to take risks. This was one reason his team always stood by him.
The greatest art of leadership and acumen of a great leader is to produce and motivate more leaders. Republic Summit in more than one way demonstrated that Modi ji is a great leader who has nurtured a great team of leaders in his cabinet colleagues. You cannot run a 1.4 billion strong economy single-handedly, though he personally gets involved with ministers to give clear directions and sets an accountable road map.
‘The only safe ship in a storm is leadership’ ~ Faye Wattle ton
Each one of the participating ministers on the dais was fully charged up and spoke with passion and facts on the ground. It was like India firing on all cylinders at once.
Mr. Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways in India, told the nation that highways are the connectivity that would make the cost of logistics lower and make us a more competitive production hub for the entire world. It impacts our economy directly. He even quoted John F Kennedy that ‘American roads are not good because America is rich, but America is rich because American roads are good’. This is the focus and commitment at the national level in India. He gave several statistics which were mind-boggling. The work is going at breakneck speed on Tunnels, Highways, and bridges.
Ashwani Vaishnav, the railway minister who is a Post graduate in Engineering from an IIT and Management graduate from Wharton business school, presented his achievements brilliantly. Modi ji has picked up the right people for the right job- which is a great leadership skill.
If one looks at earlier Ministers, I don’t think anyone would be anywhere close to him in his experience and the relevance of his education to the job at hand. Arnab Goswami, the editor-in-chief of Republic, did mention that earlier ministers were happily doling out railway stations to their own constituency and state but today things are different. Today, the focus is on overall progress across the country.
The minister told the audience that most of the stuff was produced in India. Our train is doing 0 to 100 kmph in 52 seconds beating the Japanese bullet train by full 2 seconds. We are building and commissioning Vande Bharat trains at a breakneck speed. He told the audience that the PM didn’t believe in delta changes which means tiny changes but wanted quantum shifts in every field. Railway tracks, stations, and the quality of trains are totally different. Indians were given trains with technologies of 1940 or 1960 till now. Today we are giving world-class trains at par with the best in the world. He also mentioned that the kind of knowledge the PM has in advanced technologies like AI and quantum computing is unbelievable.
Hardeep Puri, the minister for energy and urban development, was setting a different benchmark. Importing crude from Russia was a big geopolitical decision and a shift in foreign policy. Today we are setting the world agenda through G20 and a robust foreign policy stance. He proudly announced that more than 2000 archaic laws which were created by the British and are no more relevant today have been scrapped. How our students from Ukraine were rescued and how India helped other nations during times of crisis was something to be proud of. Today every Indian going abroad is proud to be an Indian. This is something that does not seem to be tangible but in fact, is the most tangible of all achievements.
Jyotiraditya Scindia, minister for civil aviation, explained how the hub and spoke model was being implemented to take aviation to the last mile – by connecting the Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities, even reaching border areas. How airports are being modernized and new ones coming up at a rapid rate.
Piyush Goyal, who holds charge of multiple ministries like commerce, textiles, and public distribution also gave an idea of how the PM wants cities and states in the North East to be given a priority, understanding that they were neglected for decades. Roads, bridges, and Industrial development is taking place even in states where there is only one Lok Sabha seat! This means the government is focusing on the entire nation and not looking at political leveraging’.
Of course, the last one to speak at the summit was the PM himself. He did give an overall perspective on the transformation of the nation.
Today the world is looking at our digital India initiative. When at the press of a button by the PM, millions of beneficiaries get money directly into their accounts instantly, even amazing most of the countries in the West. The scale and speed often become unbelievable for the leaders in the West who now look up to PM Modi for his indulgence and guidance.
If this is not the Chutzpah of a nation and its leadership, then what is?
‘One day everything will be well, that is our hope. Everything is fine today is our illusion’ – Voltaire.
