India @ 72

Happy Birthday India!

It’s time for my annual round up of the things India (2018 edition is here) 

Between birthdays India celebrated its biggest festival – the General Elections. The BJP government returned to power with an increased majority, while all others were reduced to an also-ran status. It has been three months since the election rout, the Opposition is still looking for a leader while the government struts around with a smug look on its face. Never a good sign for a democracy.

The country’s political map is set for another change with Jammu & Kashmir being downgraded from a state to a Union Territory while Ladakh has been carved out as a separate Union Territory in its own right. The repercussions of the action are yet to be seen and hopefully the transition is a peaceful one for the local communities – the real stakeholders. We do not know whats happening on ground and sources give their own version of the story!

We came close to war with Pakistan. There were attacks, and counter-strikes and lots of hot air. As usual, lives needlessly lost while the economy took a bit of a hit but “patriotic fervor” ran high, lots of political posturing was done and soon all was back to normal. Except for the immediate families of the martyred.

Meanwhile the economy is heading to doldrums and there is no immediate solution in sight. The aviation and auto sectors have been taking one hit after another and soon could be joined by others especially the financial sectors. Economics is far more important than politics in running the world. Fingers crossed on this front.

Our infrastructure is crumbling. The cities are imploding under their own weight aided by the corrupt local regimes and a bit of nature’s fury. Wonder how long before total disaster is reached.

On the sporting front, India lost in the semi-finals of the Men’s ODI World Cup which they should have won. And this is not an Olympic year, so none of the other sports count! So we can conclude that it was a year of underachievement on the sporting front as well.

But we still have hope. After all if we can reach for the moon what are these little troubles on land!

Wishing all a very Happy Independence Day!