A New India Rises and Greets the World!

The 2014 election was in many ways a watershed election in the lives of Indians.Thanks to the constant battering by the Social Medium and instant updates on every aspect and turn of the political churn leading up to the result, we lived our lives in front of the TVs, mobile in hand and a finger on the mouse, tracking every new development. The debates were the high point on every channel-- a rotating cast of speakers spewing their carefully prepared viewpoints and shouting down the other panellists. From two or three persons, we suddenly had a dozen squeezed into tiny dovecotes while the anchor ruled.

That's when we realised that the voters were being had by all the actors concerned.Each moment we became angry, confused, elated and plain flummoxed. Quietly and resolutely, the worm turned and voted in the most surprising mandate ever in India's election history. With just 44 seats in the Lok Sabha, Congress could not even hope to have the leader of opposition given to them. They are still whining and grinding their teeth at the 'injustice' done to them.

The results mowed down several stalwarts and the centre stage certainly had new actors, new faces and an abrupt change of perspective. The new slogans came fast and thick-- Maximum Governance, Minimum Government, No freebies, Work to deadlines, New work culture, new accountability.

On 15th August 2014, we sat down to absorb another boring monotonous speech at Red Fort. But this time there was something refreshing, a PM who spoke with feeling, whose words resonated with the lay public and who actually infused enthusiasm in us.

Make in India, send to the world? A focus on quality-- zero defect--, and call to respect women.Here was another chacha laying down a vastly different work ethic.

Suddenly we are seeing a massive induction of modern weaponry into our moribund Navy. The army is getting its share after a looooong wait. In just 100 days, India has witnessed developments we never imagined. Examples are the new found belligerence against Pakistan, arms length distance to domestic criminal probes as the culprits are hauled in, clearing the cobwebs to fast track industrial growth. We will see more in the future months.

Let us look forward to resolution of other longstanding bottlenecks to development, the rejuvenation of education system, the overhaul of planning apparatus, the kickstarting of greenfield projects mired in procedural issues and the promise of a better quality of life.

This month end, we will see India's Space Programme touch Mars, albeit with the smallest budget ever in history. India's Mars Orbiter Mission ( MOM) or Mangalyaan is not just a technology demonstrator, but also an announcement that poor India, that is Bharat, can rise above expectations and deliver. It feels every Indian's heart with pride and opens the window to further and more ambitious ventures in every direction.

And why not?  






     

Return of the Prodigal

After three years and four months of idleness, procrastination, suppressed rage and hibernation, the Indian Cynic rises and steps into the tortuous quicksands of cyberspace.In the intervening period, I had the privilege of seeing a brand new social media phenomenon of Twitter, Whats App and countless others occupy the stage.

We have witnessed the meteoric rise of Arvind Kejriwal and his equally speedy downfall as Delhi CM; but most dramatically we saw the triumphant march of a resurgent BJP with Narendra Modi at the head. So many pillars of the Congress fell down at the wayside and the saffron wave rules our lives today.

Who had foreseen the whirlwind rise of ISIS and the Islamic State? Now, the world is nervously awaiting the next move of a multi-national army with medieval philosophy and enforcing it with America's most modern weapons. We see entire swathes of Muslim lands drown in the ketchup colour of blood and gore, spattered by headless bodies and heads held high by smiling children.

Achhe Din Aaye Hain? Hopefully, we look for the elusive tomatoes to return to our plates. Slowly and surely, the moribund wheels of our dead manufacturing sector, dry agricultural fields and sputtering economy and deadwood bureaucracy are turning forward, while a tiny bit of metal carries our aspirations ever so far towards the Red Planet of Mars.Our daily newspapers still display the fights and quarrels of politicians, the riots of religious fanatics and the ominous sounds of the shadowy enemies in and outside of our borders. The old jokers still peddle their tired tricks to thinning audiences while new ones straddle centre stage with their bloopers, sensational statements and animal antics.

Corruption is our lifeline, we cannot cut it, say Indians. Modi says, Make it in India, sell it to the world. How will the industrialists and corporations with the deep pockets come to an India where power is scarce, labour is militant, land is expensive and laws are retrospective? Yet we call them in hoping they will listen because India is the world's biggest new market, where 135 Mercedes Cars are sold by one dealer in a single day. People are no longer shy of displaying their wealth and contesting elections to become public representatives, there is more money to be made serving the people, tax free, than you can in industry or service sector!

So I am back and intend to write my feelings about corruption, about politics, economy, or anything that catches my fancy. Hopefully I have a new and bigger audience of fellow bloggers and followers even as I start following the stars of the Blogosphere.