Author Amish.
Credit: DH Photo
New Delhi: Author and former diplomat Amish, who for the first time is openly supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha elections, said getting the right leadership is a must if India wants to benefit from the changing world order.
In an interview to PTI, Amish, currently basking in the glory of the success of his documentary Ram Janmabhoomi Temple: The Return of a Splendid Sun, said we are living in a critical age where a lot of things will be re-written and India should make the most of it.
"There is a lovely urdu couplet, 'Lamhon ne khata ki, sadiyon ne saza payi' (a mistake in a moment, punishment for centuries). If at this age of time we don't get that right leadership which can make sure that India benefits from the change in the world order we will suffer for it for decades."
"The world order will recalibrate within the next 5-10 years... at this stage having a leader who can play this international game for the good of India will benefit us," Amish told PTI.
The author, who is also the former director of the Nehru Centre and Minister for Culture and Education at the High Commission of India in London, applauded the current government for being 'strong enough' to stand up to the pressure from the Western powers.
To buttress his point, he gave the example of how India continued to import oil from Russia despite sanctions on Moscow amid military conflict with Ukraine.
"This is what in business terms is called 'level one' strategy which then cascades down into positivities everywhere. Why did Sri lanka go bankrupt? What happened to Pakistan? Of course, there were many other mistakes. But the thing that put them over the edge was actually oil. Because energy cascades into everything."
"But we were strong enough and clear enough to stand up... There were points in time in history where we weren't able to stand up to pressure and India suffered from it," he explained.
The 49-year-old even praised the Indian politicians across the spectrum for doing what he called one of the 'toughest jobs' across the world.
His argument: "While in the West, politicians get weekends off and go on vacations, the Indian politicians on the other hand are on job 24x7 and manage way more people than those in the Western countries."
"An Indian state chief minister manages more people than many European countries. The scale of India makes it so complicated to handle. Also, we Indians are a difficult bunch to manage. You put 10 of us in a room, you'll have 11 opinions. And a politician somehow needs to get some consensus to get something done," he added.
Talking about his documentary, 'Ram Janmabhoomi Temple', currently streaming on JioCinema, Amish said it sheds lights on Lord Ram's life and unveils the narrative around the temple's demolition in the 16th Century -- including the conflicts, landmark decisions, along with insightful anecdotes from the locals as well as from the prominent personalities from various fields.
Settling a fractious issue that went back more than a century, the Supreme Court had in a historic verdict in 2019 greenlit the construction of the Ram temple by a government trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya.
"This is not just the story of the Ramayana, this is the story of the Ramjanmabhoomi, the temple... When was the temple built? Who destroyed it? How was it rebuilt? When did it get destroyed again? What are the records of it?"
"So, it is actually the historical research of the temple itself. In fact, part of the documentary is presenting the evidence that was accepted in the court in an understandable manner," Amish, who is also the author of the bestselling 'Ram Chandra Series', said.
The 'pran pratishtha' ceremony of the Ram Mandir was held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22.