Ordinary Indians know that in demonetization and what follows it, they have a once in a life time opportunity to leave a better India for their children.

Well below the radars of the media and the political parties, India has been changing silently. The change gathered pace under the technology savvy leadership of the indefatigable PM Modi. 

Some time back, I wrote about India's technology powered silent revolution-

"A silent revolution is going on in India's noisy democracy. So silent that it easy to miss it amid our politics of protests. India's capacity to transform itself is getting better.

India is leapfrogging ahead of advanced economies through pervasive use of technology in governance and public services. Indians are switching from being beggars of State to being participative and being demanding citizens."

 (Read https://www.myind.net/silent-revolution-going-indias-noisy-democracy )

Press headlines, TV news tickers, pundits and economists and political parties miss the above technology enabled revolution of Digital India. 

But what they are now missing is much bigger.

There have been straws in the wind.  PM Modi's campaign made over a crore people give up LPG subsidy. This was unprecedented. Compare this gesture of goodwill by a large and vocal section of population with that of all pervasive cynicism of decades of Sonia and Congress raj.

Modi-led BJP and NDA swept the polls due to anger towards Congress misrule and due to his promise of development. Many thought, the pundits were sure, and the opposition hoped that BJP and NDA’s victory was just a wave or a tide and that it would subside or turn soon. The Delhi and Bihar elections seemed to confirm this.

Then the surgical strikes against Pakistan happened.  It won every Indian's approval. As opposition was trying to pick non-existent holes and question whether surgical strikes really happened or not using Pakistani sources, PM Modi announced the big bang demonetization.

Economists may give out sophisticated predictions about this that and the GDP,  but even the illiterate person knows that 'notes' are necessary for all the above crimes because he had been made to hand them under the table or he had to do with less 'notes; because the middleman would keep the rest. They know implicitly that if notes are crucial to run their lives, they are even more crucial to turn the wheels of crime silently and secretly. Women, who by habit squirrel away tiny bundles of notes to tide over emergencies, get this even better. They know that they have nothing to hide but the criminals need the secrecy of notes.

But they had become accustomed to see politicians protecting those of their ilk. No one had imagined that a Modi would come and break the back of the corrupt and make the criminals run for cover.

They now know that the PM is on their side and that he is taking on the entire establishment. He truly is their PM.

The demonetization brought them a once in a life time opportunity to do something for their country as a part of their day to day work. Their PM is asking them to suffer the queues (which they are used to), to help each other (which they do often), to learn about cards and wallets and go cashless (didn't they learn cellphones and WhatsApp?). For their efforts they would get a cleaner and more peaceful society. And they all rose to accept the challenge.

When PM Modi recently asked us to participate in maha yagya to defeat black money, corruption, crime, and terror he spoke a language alien to economists and those who have not gone beyond the western education. He spoke a language not known to the corrupt and criminals. But he spoke the language that Hindus and Muslims and Christians and everyone of India can understand. He spoke the language which even the illiterate connect with.

Yagya means worship and devotion through offerings (aahuti) to the sacred fire.

When one looks at the near universal support for demonetization among common people, when one can identify with their sense of purpose in willingly endure the inconveniences and unfortunate suffering in some cases, it is clear that the fight against corruption, crime, black money, and Jehadi terror has become a maha yagya. In PM Modi's words:

"मुझे विश्वास है भाईयों, जिस देश में सवा सौ करोड़ देशवासियों के आशीर्वाद हों वहां पर काला धन का खात्मा संभव है, भ्रष्टाचार का खात्मा संभव है, भाईयों-बहनों देश अच्छी दिशा में जाने के लिए तैयार बैठा है और मुझे विश्वास है ये देश इस महायज्ञ में, ईमानदारी के महायज्ञ में, देशवासियों को कष्ट झेलकर केभी आहूति देते मैं देख रहा”

People now wait expectantly for Modiji's every move against the ills that plague their country. They are willing to participate and do their bit for the country. They know this is their once in a life time opportunity to leave behind a better future for their children.

Indians are getting the big picture that the big are missing.