What Narendra Modi needs to know?

As the great Indian masses wind themselves up for yet another general elections, most people feel that the BJP’s Narendra Modi will be India’s next Prime Minister. Modi will take over from a beleaguered though likeable Dr.Manmohan Singh. India has this habit of selecting the strangest men to lead her, from Deve Gowda to Manmohan Singh and now probably Modi. Narendra Modi hails from India’s western state of Gujarat, known for its great entrepreneurial skills and not necessarily its leadership though both Gandhi and Jinnah hail from Gujarat. Narendra Modi has been the darling of the masses, in times of great economic uncertainty simply because he promises the average Indian a better deal in life over the next five years. The country is at the end of its rather long tether with the dithering and over cautious approach that typifies the incumbent Congress leadership. Narendra Modi comes with a track record of vision and transformation where he has put Gujarat on a road of economic prosperity and this has struck a resounding chord with the rest of India. His oratory skills are brilliant and his followers look up to him as a definite game changer in what I repeat are difficult economic time for an aspiring Indian. In short Modi is telling us that this, again, is India’s moment in the sun and that the Congress is wasting time in seizing the moment. However is there disquiet? A few days ago I asked a Muslim acquaintance on his thoughts of Modi being our next Prime Minister, considering the fact that most Muslim’s either fear or loath or have both feelings for the man after his alleged supervision of brutal riots in his own state under his watch. While this has been negated by successive courts in India, the Muslim’s or Modi’s opponents are not buying the story. There was long pause as my acquaintance mulled over his answer, saying hesitatingly that he does not mind Modi, if he was inclusive…….. So will Modi if elected lead a divided India? If we are able to resurrect Sigmund Freud and should Freud have had a shot at psychoanalyzing Modi, Freud would have told us that Modi is a narcissist as a personality type and a leader lead by personal vanity. Now before you shudder and recoil, let me remind you that some of the greatest leaders of this century have all been Narcissist’s. Good examples are Napoleon, Winston Churchill, Charles De Gaulle, Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison and Bill Gates. You might have guessed right, all these men were/are great visionaries who thrived in the most turbulent time and came up trumps. Narcissistic leaders are strangely some of the most successful ones, but then why are they disliked? This personality type can be ruthless, exploitative and vain glorious while being men of great vision, action, risk takers and wonderful orators who can have people eating out of their hands. Narcissists need side-kicks who can temper their own sense of infallibility with some caution and sanity. The side – kick needs to also figure out how he/she is going to survive the rather tricky role of giving advice to a narcissist. Freud pointed out that Narcissists, are emotionally isolated and highly distrustful. Perceived threats can trigger rage. Achievements can feed feelings of grandiosity. Consider how an executive at Oracle described his narcissistic CEO Larry Ellison: “The difference between God and Larry is that God does not believe he is Larry.” Having said that do we need Modi? As a country I think we do, with Modi down playing his Hindutva side and being more inclusive, less autocratic and surrounding himself with sane advice with a strong dose of genuine empathy for the minorities. To paraphrase George Bernard Shaw, some people see things as they are and ask why; narcissists see things that never were and ask why not. India needs a person who can lead her into a future that is free of poverty and hunger and I think a narcissist is best suited to the job!