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Hype is the byword for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s politics. If you thought the prime minister must show a sense of proportion no matter how enticing grandiloquence is, you haven’t understood the Modi phenomenon.

We were told Modi’s ascent to Delhi’s throne itself would end all the ills Indian polity was afflicted with, ushering in achchhe din for one and all. Demonetisation was supposed to bring down the curtains on black money, terror funding and counterfeit currency. Make-in-India was meant to trigger a manufacturing revolution. The installation of the “sacred Sengol” in the new parliament house was destined to unleash waves of wisdom and righteousness. The post-Kumbh “new consciousness” was expected to break the slavish mentality and lay the foundation for future centuries. The “holiest moment” of the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya was to take the country into a new era of “Divine Bharat”. Imagination ran wild, positioning Modi atop the world as “Vishwaguru”.

Modi is a magician of hyperbole. It is for the people to decide whether his captivating narratives have indeed stamped out despair from their lives. The hyperbole hailstorm was delivered on a platter yet again when Modi addressed the nation on the pious occasion of the hoisting of the “dharma dhwaj” on the Ram temple. “Aaj poora vishwa Ram-mai hai,” the Prime Minister declared, not realising perhaps that not all of India, or even Uttar Pradesh, was aware of the hurriedly organised event.

“Satya mein hi dharma sthapit hai,” he said, insisting that the ruling establishment would have to take inspiration from Lord Ram and internalise his ideals. Ram stands for justice and sacrifice. Should the nation expect the Modi machine to finally change its path and traverse the one shown by the Lord? There is no need to nurture doubts then that Modi would be guided by the........

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