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This has been a really vile year. Not only for India however for the entire world. Except maybe for our outdated foe China from whence got here the worst pandemic in additional than a century. As somebody who thinks of China as an evil nation, it galls me that it appears by some means to be doing simply wonderful. You learn this on the morning of Diwali and so we should hope that on this pageant that celebrates the victory of fine over evil, the gods hear our prayers and assist us to, on the very least, banish Chinese troopers from our territory in Ladakh. May the gods additionally punish China by doing as a lot hurt to its financial system as has been completed to ours and to the economies of among the richest international locations on the planet.
Having received my bile in opposition to China off my chest, I really feel good. And, since it’s Diwali, I’m going to strive in this week’s column to speak about issues that will assist us all get right into a festive temper. The most up-to-date good factor that occurred for my part was the election end in Bihar. Nitish Kumar might not have completed as a lot in his 15 years as Chief Minister as he may have, however he did much more than Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi did for this wretchedly poor state within the 15 years that they dominated.
When the Prime Minister described their son Tejashwi Yadav because the Yuvraj of Jungle Raj, it introduced again for me reminiscences of these years. I used to go typically to Bihar in these occasions and the reality is that ‘jungle raj’ is a light description of the whole breakdown of regulation and order that existed then. In Patna, I keep in mind folks dwelling in concern of the lawless gangs that dominated the town and couldn’t be stopped as a result of amongst them had been kinfolk of the chief minister. Tejashwi could also be a wonderful younger man however he carries some very unhealthy baggage.
The different factor that cheered me up in these lengthy months of lockdowns and isolation was the announcement of the New Education Policy. It might be an extended whereas earlier than tens of millions of Indian kids in authorities faculties get entry to an schooling and never simply literacy, however this coverage is a step in the fitting course. It is my fervent hope that it’s going to even be step one in the direction of decolonising a public schooling system that was created by our colonial masters to supply clerks for the British empire. It ought to have been decolonised years in the past and, if it occurs now, Narendra Modi might be remembered in historical past for this.
The different important software that individuals want to tug themselves out of poverty is first rate public healthcare. It is a disgrace that authorities hospitals and first well being centres stay in horrible form even in cities like Mumbai and Delhi, however it’s to the credit score of state governments that they by some means managed to forestall their shambolic hospitals from crumbling beneath the load of Covid-19. In Mumbai I do know individuals who have been handled and quarantined in Covid amenities they usually report that they had been effectively cared for.
On the political entrance, might I say, as I did as soon as earlier than just lately, that the abrogation of Article 370 was a very good step even when the aftermath was badly dealt with. At the danger of extra brickbats from retired officers and Kashmiri politicians, I’m going to repeat that Article 370 needed to go. It needed to go as a result of it served largely to encourage the typical Kashmiri to assume that it is just a matter of time earlier than he will get ‘azadi’ from India. The leaders of this former state know effectively that this isn’t going to occur. The leaders of Pakistan know effectively that this isn’t going to occur however, due to the particular standing that Article 370 supplied, continued to faux that Kashmir would someday be absorbed into the Islamic Republic.
To make this dream actual they inspired Islamism to unfold by the Valley as an alternative of Islam. For a long time violent jihadist teams have been extra necessary than elected politicians. If not even the large presence of Indian troops may forestall this from occurring, it ought to be clear proof of a failed political coverage. It is not any shock that the abrogation of Article 370 has such standard assist in India that the Prime Minister boasts about it in election speeches.
What else cheered me up in this terrible year? The Prime Minister’s inaugural of the Ram temple in Ayodhya with nice fanfare and melodrama? Personally, I believe it served largely to additional alienate our alienated Muslim neighborhood, however it additionally introduced closure to a motion that has brought on far too many individuals to die and much an excessive amount of hatred to unfold. This can’t be a foul factor.
Now it’s time for Modi to focus on the one factor that actually issues, which is reviving the financial system. His financial failures, that started with demonetisation, ought to scale back any satisfaction he will get from his political successes. I’m not going to say greater than this as a result of I promised that this week I might focus solely on good issues.
When I mild the diyas this night and ship up my atheistic prayers, I shall pray that we are going to not want masks this time subsequent year. Happy Diwali.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
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