Twelve years is a long time in politics, especially when anti-incumbency is a strong trend in many democracies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has completed 12 consecutive years in power. Prior to this, he served as the Chief Minister of Gujarat for 13 uninterrupted years. This makes it an appropriate moment to reflect on the ideological foundations of his approach to statecraft and governance.
Commentators have described Narendra Modi through multiple ideological lenses: nationalist, developmentalist, and civilisational, while critics have characterised his politics as majoritarian and populist. This article does not seek to engage in a comprehensive assessment of these competing formulations.
Rather, it argues that an important aspect of his political thought remains underexplored: how his approach to governance and statecraft can be understood alongside the European conservative tradition associated with the British political thinker and statesman Edmund Burke (1729-1797).
This does not suggest any direct intellectual influence or lineage. PM Modi comes from a distinctly Indic political and intellectual background, not the Anglo-European conservative tradition. Even so, a comparison can help highlight certain similarities in how both approach tradition, change and political authority.
This article examines some of the core ideas of Burke and sees whether PM Modi's model of statecraft and governance resonates with them:
- Tradition and inherited wisdom matter in politics
- Reform Without Revolution
- Change must be prudent, gradual, and empirically grounded
- The State as Trustee of Future Generations
- Pragmatism Over Ideological Purity
Burke's Philosophy of Conservatism
Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790) remains the foundational text of modern conservatism. Burke's central concern was not opposition to change itself but opposition to revolutionary, abrupt change detached from historical experience and inherited wisdom. He argued that societies are not artificial constructions that can be redesigned according to abstract theories. Rather, they are organic inheritances shaped by generations of accumulated experience.
Burke famously described society as a partnership extending beyond the living:
"A partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are dead, and those who are to be born."
This idea lies at the heart of Burkean conservatism. Political leaders are not and should not try to be architects creating society anew, but trustees responsible for preserving and improving an inherited civilisation. Consequently, Burke's standard of statesmanship combined two seemingly opposite ideas: "a disposition to preserve and an ability to improve."
This balance between preservation and reform provides a useful framework for understanding Narendra Modi's political project.
Vikas Bhi, Virasat Bhi
Perhaps the strongest Burkean element in PM Modi's worldview is his emphasis on civilisational continuity.
PM Modi presents India not merely as a modern nation-state established in 1947, but as a civilisation extending across millennia. He frequently invokes cultural memory, historical continuity and civilisational self-understanding. Through the promotion of India's ancient heritage, restoration of cultural sites and an emphasis on indigenous traditions, his political vision places inherited civilisation at the centre of national life.
For instance, bringing back the Piprahwa Buddha relics, along with hundreds of other artefacts from across the world, highlights this emphasis on cultural restoration. Similarly, the Government of India has launched the Gyan Bharatam National Manuscript Survey as an initiative to systematically map, document, and support the preservation and digitisation of manuscripts across the country. The large-scale redevelopment of sites such as the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in Varanasi and Kedarnath reflects the same underlying philosophy.
This perspective differs from Marxist approaches, which often view modernisation as requiring a rupture with tradition. In contrast, PM Modi tends to present progress as emerging from cultural continuity rather than cultural displacement.
The promotion of yoga, traditional medicine, local manufacturing initiatives, and cultural heritage projects reflects an attempt to integrate historical inheritance into modern national development.
Reform Without Revolution
A second feature of PM Modi's governance is his preference for reform through existing institutions rather than revolutionary transformation.
Burke rejected the French Revolution because he believed it sought to reconstruct society according to abstract principles while disregarding inherited institutions. Political stability, in his view, depended upon gradual adaptation rather than abrupt rupture.
PM Modi's major initiatives generally operate through the framework of the existing constitutional order. Despite introducing significant policy changes, from financial inclusion and welfare delivery reforms to digital governance and administrative modernisation, his project has not sought to replace India's constitutional architecture with an entirely new political order.
Indeed, one of the defining characteristics of the Modi era has been the attempt to make long-standing institutions function more effectively rather than abolishing them altogether. Programs such as Direct Benefit Transfers, Jan Dhan financial inclusion, Ujjwala Scheme, digital identity integration, and welfare rationalisation represent efforts to improve state capacity within the existing framework of governance.
He continued many schemes of previous governments and avoided change for change's sake.
Preserving The Core Ideas Of The Constitution
Constitutional amendments under this government have generally been used sparingly and only when considered necessary, rather than as a frequent instrument of governance, in contrast to earlier governments, where amendments were more regularly employed to advance policy and institutional changes.
During the Modi government, around seven Constitutional Amendment Acts have been passed, including the introduction of GST, the provision of 10 per cent reservation for Economically Weaker Sections, the granting of constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes, the restoration of states' power over OBC lists, extension of SC/ST reserved seats in legislatures and the introduction of 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures.
Overall, these changes reflect substantial policy and institutional reforms carried out within the framework of the Constitution's basic structure, rather than altering its foundational principles.
Article 356 (President's Rule) has not been newly invoked in any state in a politically significant way during this period, marking a rare phase of restraint in its use compared to earlier decades.
The State As Trustee Of Future Generations
Burke viewed political authority as a trust rather than a temporary possession. Because society represents a partnership between generations, governments must think beyond immediate electoral interests.
A similar intergenerational perspective appears in PM Modi's language of development. Initiatives related to infrastructure, sanitation, digital connectivity, manufacturing capacity, renewable energy, and long-term economic modernisation are frequently justified not simply in terms of present benefits but as investments in India's future. Viksit Bharat 2047 is the culmination of all such initiatives.
The idea that today's generation has obligations toward future generations parallels Burke's belief that statesmanship requires stewardship. Infrastructure projects, national development missions and institutional reforms are presented not merely as policy achievements but as contributions to a larger national inheritance.
Pragmatism Over Ideological Rigidity
Another hallmark of Burkean politics is pragmatism. Burke distrusted rigid ideological systems because he believed political reality was too complex to be governed by abstract doctrines alone. Burke believed political decisions should be guided by practical wisdom and experience rather than abstract theory or ideological purity.
PM Modi's governance has often displayed a similar pragmatism. While associated with a broad ideological vision of cultural nationalism, his administration has frequently adopted policies that draw from diverse intellectual traditions, including market-oriented reforms, welfare expansion, technological modernisation, and state-led development.
This willingness to combine seemingly contradictory approaches reflects a practical rather than doctrine style of governance.
(The author is a Senior Advisor at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. Views are personal.)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
