Prime Minister Modi is winning for sure. And with

Prime Minister Modi is winning for sure. And with him all of us who are battling against COVID19, in our own little ways, are marching ahead with the confidence and advice he gives us everytime he speaks to us. Day is not far ,and all of us are waiting for it with bated breath, when Coronavirus will bid us farewell. We are all looking forward to the time when we would look at it as a thing of the past , but one thing , I am sure of, that life would not be the same again. Each one of us has gained internally through this suffering in some way or the other. I am a student of History and had the opportunity of handling administrative matters for more than two decades. For me , the entire handling of this crisis by the Prime Minister and his team has offered unparalleled lessons in leadership and management. The journey from ' Jaan hai toh Jahan hai ' to ' Jaan bhi, Jahan bhi ' , has exhibited tremendous deftness, resilience, maturity, clarity and deep sense of conviction . Every project in Government or elsewhere is defined by four elements- statement of objective , need assessment , gap filling methodology and monitoring. But this project( battle) has certainly a different hue altogether.The most significant feature has been an amazing communication strategy in place which has conveyed to the last person in the line what is expected of her in this battle. One is reminded of two historical episodes- one very far and the other, not so far. First, it is said that Emperor Shah Jahan was in the habit of overseeing the progress of construction work of Taj Mahal from time to time. Disguising himself as an old man, he would go to the construction site . One day , with his old, haggard look , he went to the construction site and asked one of the stone cutters, ' What are you doing? ' The stone cutter was too busy to answer . He said nonchalantly, Don't disturb me. I am earning my daily bread. I have to cut these stones ,take my day's due and go home. That's it. " The Emperor was quite impressed with his sincerity. He went to the next stonecutter. The second one hated being disturbed since he was proud of his skill at chiseling and the old man talking to him was an interruption. The Emperor again was glad to meet this stonecutter who was utilising his skill to the optimum.The third stonecutter was busy,à but looked happy. He didn't want to be disturbed either and said, "Old man, don't disturb me. Don't you see, I am creating the most beautiful monument of the universe." No wonder, the Emperor was most impressed by the third stone cutter, simply because he was the only one who shared the vision of the Emperor.The communication strategy of the top leadership ought to be such that each one till the last person in the line is on the same page. The second historical incident PM's communication strategy draws strong resemblance from was the famous Salt Satyagraha- the Dandi March of Mahatma Gandhi of 1930 ; the campaign, as we know, achieved the single largest mobilization of masses and around 90000 persons went to Jail. Salt became a unifying factor, an idea, a symbol .The entire nation, through this march of Gandhi, was bound by one thread . And in many publications Gandhi's march has been likened to Moses leading his people to the promised land and Jesus leading his followers to Jerusalem. Such is the power of an effective leader and communicator. Since March 19th when PM Modi spoke to us about Janata Curfew and the kind of universal response it evoked all across the nation, we knew what a communication strategy should be. The entire nation came to a screeching halt for a day with just an emotive call from the PM, " Hum Swasth toh Jag Swastha". The very usage of the expression 'Janata Curfew" was heartwarming. Enough to strike the cord within .Again, thanks to the appropriate communication , PM Modi's Taali Thali Naad and lighting of the lamps gave every Indian the hope that we all could together put up a brave fight and also conveyed gratefulness of the entire nation to the frontline warriors in a literally deafening manner. Also, the Janata owned up the responsibility of keeping themselves safe and this 'owning up' was the best output of PM's talking. Amazing communicator PM Modi is! No surprise and rightly so, he does all the messaging of the Government by himself. He has a gift none of his eight predecessors had: being able to speak directly and convincingly to the masses who will take his word for gospel and his order like a papal bull. From Swachh Bharat to withdrawal of LPG subsidy to the better off , to demonetization and now COVID19, he has invariably asked people to do something and people immediately feel wanted and responsible. And people echo his voice just because they trust his words. Two complete lockdowns of a nation of this size , nature and population density with 1.3 billion people for around 40 days is not a small happening after all! This is unprecedented and incredible. To get all categories on board and make them speak the same language is not an easy task.PM has been interacting with over 200 people on daily basis which includes phone calls to get a first hand feedback on India's fight against the menace. He has been speaking to various doctors, nurses, health workers and sanitation staff working in various corners of the country in order to encourage them and to pay gratitude to them for their yeoman's service to the nation.On 24th March he interacted with the heads of various Print Media Groups and on 27th March , he held a video conference with various Radio jockeys and announcers of All India Radio. In his interaction the Prime Minister said," Your optimism has instilled greater confidence in me that the nation will emerge triumphant ". Not one segment of the vast population seems to have been left untouched. And , no wonder, even in far off villages in Odisha, when we call to ascertain the welfare of people , they seem to be fully aware of the precautions to be taken but ,interestingly, an old woman said" Modi ji ne kaha hai- ghar mein raho; isliye ghar ke bandar hoon". Such is the respect and regard for the words of this popular PM of ours ,who has been very ably struck a chord with all in these difficult times. Another significant feature of this 'battle' has been the much aspired for 'cooperative federalism'. It is certainly at its best. There has been a series of consultations with State Chief Ministers and Governors on issues like how to handle, how long to extend the lockdown and the exit strategy. Besides, the Central Government has been trying to handhold the states in relief operations too.The launch of PM Garib Kalyan Yojana and Rs 1.70 lakh crore package alongwith making testing kits, PPE , masks and medicines available to all states speak volumes about the approach of the Centre. Of late, RBI has unleashed interest rate cuts and liquidity enhancing steps. All are on board and PM has been able to give a feeling that all are walking together, no one ahead of the other in this 'battle' march . No wonder, timely and appropriate interventions of Central Government in partnership with all stake holders, alongwith an unparalleled communication strategy of recent times has earned our country appreciation by World Health Organization and in the Oxford Covid-19 Government Response Tracker. Hopefully, this battle will end and we will emerge victorious. Post COVID 19 is the challenge. The lessons of leadership, management and cooperative federalism need to stay on with us to help us create a desired governance model.