First prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru inspired generations of Indians to strive for the best. His words, “The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity. The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That may be beyond us, but as long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over,” were not only pragmatic, but they reflected a true visionary and nationalist in him.

Not many in the current generation or even in politics can relate to the difficult times India got her Independence, and what it took to reach $3.75 trillion GDP in 2024 (7.75 per cent of global GDP) from Rs 2.7 lakh crore GDP (3 per cent of global GDP) in 1947. From Nehru to Manmohan Singh, each of our prime ministers put the people of the nation ahead of their glories.

Nehru set the roadmap of modern India with the implementation of the Constitution written by Dr BR Ambedkar. He brought in the Hindu Code, which liberated millions of women. He built world-class institutions and infrastructure including ISRO, PSUs, IITs, AIIMS, and dams which laid the foundation of a sovereign India. He not only shaped India's foreign policy but was instrumental in creating an alternate power equation through the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Nehru's five-year plan put the development of the primary sector in the spotlight, and India recorded a 3.6 per cent GDP growth. Although the Indo-China war dented Nehru's image, he took the blame for not being able to see the Chinese aggression even as he signed peace treaties.

Lal Bahadur Shastri, in his short tenure, left a large footprint by making India food-sufficient via the Green Revolution, and the White Revolution, and setting up the Food Corporation of India. "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan" became a national slogan that immortalized Lal Bahadur Shastri's policy of food and national security.

Indira Gandhi, India's first woman prime minister, furthered the agenda of making the wealth of the nation accessible to all with land reforms and the nationalisation of banks. India was made a nuclear power under her, and she also ensured the liberation of Bangladesh by winning the war against Pakistan. Even though the Emergency was a blot on democracy, Indira’s comeback was more popular than ever. She strengthened foreign policy, and food security, and displayed an iron hand against terrorism and insurgency.

After Indira’s assassination, her son Rajiv Gandhi was made the prime minister. He laid the foundation of technology-enabled India. He reduced the voting age of a person to 18 years. Computerisation, the National Education Policy, the telecom revolution, panchayat raj system put India on an aggressive growth path. He also established policies that enabled India to become a global leader in vaccination production.

PV Narasimha Rao, the Father of Economic Reforms, ended license raj and created jobs. He facilitated the nuclear programme that led to the second nuclear test during prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the first non-Congress prime minister to complete a full term. His Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan brought much-needed attention to education. Golden quadrilateral, highways, and village roads saw a giant transformation in road infrastructure during his tenure.

Manmohan Singh, probably the most unexpected of the prime ministers, as an economist, strengthened the economy and put it on the fast track. He insulated the economy from global recession. The right-based flagship programmes that include the Right to Education, Right to Information, MGNREGA, Aadhaar, DBT, and Civil Nuclear Agreement remain the most successful programmes.

However, even though under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership there has not been a major flagship programmeme, he has criticised 65 years of achievements of the nation on every possible occasion. He renamed most of the existing programmemes to claim ownership, but he has not shown any accountability over issues such as the de-monetisation decision, Covid deaths, Rafale scam, Manipur unrest, Pulwama terror attack, his friendship with Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, and over destabilising elected state governments.

When Modi took the oath he spoke about ‘minimum government, maximum governance’, but the opportunities to steer the nation on a progressive path were lost in slogans such as ‘Acche Din’, ‘Saab Ka Saat, Saab Ka Vikas’, ‘Shrestha Bharat’, ‘Swacch Bharat’, ‘Viksit Bharat’.

Abrogation of Article 370, Citizenship Bill (CAA), and Triple Talaq Bill continue to be showcased as achievements.

Under the regime issues such as lack of transparency in governance, authoritarianism, weakening of the federal structure, headline management, divide of South and North on power devolution, funds, language, unemployment and poverty, rising crime against women, Dalits and minorities, misuse of law enforcement agencies, muting the media, increasing in the wealth gap between rich and poor, vendetta politics, and blurring of the lines between politics and religion are threatening the Constitution.

India’s ‘cultural nationalism’ is being engulfed by BJP ‘religious nationalism’, and the fear of majoritarian politics is creating unrest in the minds of people who believe in the idea of India that the founding leaders had established. Are we moving far away from the essence of the ‘Tryst with Destiny speech’? Are we embracing fanaticism where policies and programmemes are being replaced by propaganda?

Kavitha Reddy is KPCC General Secretary and the author’s views are personal