Modi’s austerity call revives India’s forgotten culture of sacrifice and survival |
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Modi’s austerity call revives India’s forgotten culture of sacrifice and survival
Sometimes the nation asks not for grand heroism but for small acts of discipline, like postponing non-essential consumption.
This is an ancient mantra from our vedas: आपदर्थे धनं रक्षेद् दारान् रक्षेद् धनैरपि। आत्मानं सततं रक्षेद् दारैरपिधनैरपि॥ It is also known as aapaddamantra—a maxim for tough times, times of emergency, times when we need to tighten our belt and prepare for an unpleasant period.
Sometimes the nation asks not for grand heroism but for small acts of discipline. Postponing non-essential consumption and moderating consumption. Even our scriptures suggest saving and using these scarce resources to protect the family or the nation.
The meaning is simple. During times of Emergency, save your wealth; with your wealth, save the family. And in acute times of crisis, save yourself before wealth and family. This is a motto that they make you revise during those take-off safety instructions in aircraft, where it is suggested you save yourself before helping others. The logic behind this: if you yourself are incapacitated, you will be unable to help anyone else and, rather, will become a burden on others.
And this is exactly what is behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to action to Indian citizens. With a view to protecting and preserving our foreign exchange reserves, Modi has called for a slew of measures such as restricting the purchase of gold, curtailing non-essential foreign travel and being mindful of fuel conservation.
“The government,” Modi said, “over the past five to six years, has been working to overcome challenges arising from disruption of world supply chains.” India successfully navigated the crisis created by the Covid pandemic, and the disruption thus caused was tided over, with India emerging at the forefront of the global fight. Through schemes such as Vaccine Maitri and timely lockdown measures, India was able to mitigate the domestic crisis and emerged relatively unscathed from this ginormous disruption.
The current global crisis, originating from a war that belongs to nobody (read nobody’s war), is causing enormous strain on India’s fledgling ride as one of the world’s emerging large economies. As we approach the 90-day mark, the Hormuz Straight remains largely blocked, and Brent crude prices have shot through the roof.
West Asia is critical to the world’s energy security, and with India being literally in their backyard, any geopolitical tensions in the region are reflected immediately in India. Supply risk premiums have skyrocketed, and the uncertainty surrounding the resolution of the........