Prof A N Sadhu
2023 has passed into history. Many a turns and twists were witnessed during the year; may be it was so in the earlier years as well, but the memory is short-lived. 2023 is fresh in the memory and being the preceding year of 2024, which is going to be striking, in many ways, it will leave an impact on the public responses. Apart from international scenario which witnessed a fierce conflict between Russia and Ukraine as also between Israel and Hamas, the country was fortunate to witness the successful completion of G-20 events as also the elections to five state Assemblies. There have been exciting moments in sports and culture as well. Besides a Supreme Court verdict upholding the abrogation of Article 370 by the Govt. has been received with mixed reactions towards the end of the year. The country woke up in the first morning of 2024, with excitement and optimism but not without apprehensions . The successful completion of G-20, enhanced the country’s prestige at the global level, the smooth and successful conduct of the 5 state Assembly elections, enhanced our faith in the maturing of democratic polity in the country. However every excitement is accompanied by anxieties as well; and we entered 2024, with this mixed baggage.
Polity, economy and society; all three come in mind, when the assessment of the past and expectation of the future are viewed. One can’t undermine the achievements nor can failures be ignored.
2024 has started with a feverish environment owing to impending parliamentary elections due in April-May,24 The party in power as also the opposition parties are busy in working out their election strategies. Inspite of claims and counter claims, the picture is absolutely not clear. The electorate is faced with a conundrum and will take time to make a definite choice before going to the poling both. The shape of events and the resulting excitement may not be making any significant impact because the voter has to weigh several considerations, of which he is now fully capable and cannot be taken for a ride.
The country should recognize, the hard work done by the present government in the field of cultural renaissance, highlighting the inherent richness of Hindu philosophy and religion as also the ancient culture of India, addressing the essential needs of marginal sections of the society, image building in the global arena, space research and defence production. India has successfully created a niche for her in the world comity by arousing the required awareness of curbing the terrorism effectively and addressing the environmental concerns. India has also convincingly sensitized the world about the imperative of peace and development.
The year has begun with the completion of Shri Ram Temple, in Ayodhya, an event that Indians have been waiting for a long time. History is replete with numerous instances where alien rulers were found to have destroyed the cultural and religious monuments, in India and, it is natural for Indians to rejoice when these monoments are reconstructed in the country. Undoubtedly, India has had a glorious past in all respects, be it civilizational field, scientific field or cultural field. The history of the country has evolved from a large geographical coverage, a diverse composition of its population language and cultural moorings but a uniform strict adherence to sound human values respecting all religions and regions under the oft repeated expression ‘Vasudeva KutumbKum”. Recognising the importance of human dignity and its lasting impact universally,It is essential to correct the historical distortions to promote better understanding across the globe. However, history never remains stagnant and witnesses changes, good or bad, along its never-ending time path. Creating a new order or probably, a rational order is a difficult task but not impossible if an open minded approach is followed.
There do occur, transformative phases, in the history of nations and these should be recognized, evaluated and managed with least resistance. Inspiration is a better tool than a commandment to involve people, across board, in these transformative initiatives, to achieve the desired results understandably. The last ten years need be assessed carefully and objectively. One should not overlook the achievements of previous years enhancing the international prestige of the country, on the one hand and safeguarding the onward march of the economy to claim the third place in the world economies in the immediate future. While show casing these achievements, one cannot lose the sight of the problems that remain unaddressed. The rehtoric that previous regimes have failed on all fronts should not be overstated nor should the credit of laying sound foundations for accelerated growth in the last decades be denied to the previous regimes.
Is the present socio-political scenario, in tune with the country’s objective of joining the developed group of nations in next twenty three years, when the nation will be celebrating its 100 years of independence?.This is a very pertinent question being debated in different intellectual groups belonging to all hues. Development is a multidimensional concept. The suspension of about 150 Parliamentary members in one go has not added to the grace of the Parliament, the highest temple of democracy. Differences do occur, tempers do run high, but statesmanship demands diffusion of such situations rather than disqualifications on such a large scale. Such a tendency warrants different interpretations, which should not go un-noticed or ignored, if the largest democracy of the world has to set the highest standard of state-craft in the world. In the pursuit of unity in diversity, the systems need to be more tolerant, people need to be rational and cooperative.
2024 will be an epoch making year, on several fronts. Venturing into predictions will be dangerous but not taking the cognizance of challenges and apprehensions, shall also not be wise. Stability and social justice should go together. India is a country of wide diversity and harmony has to be weaved among these diversities. Quite a few things being spoken and communicated through media network put the country men thinking about the future fall out of the present confusions. It is a vast country, geographically and demographically and warrants a careful balance between regions and religions. It is also a country of different communities and ethnic groups and above all a nation of composite culture and pluralism. What happened in the nineties of the last century in the erstwhile J&K state, virtually stands un-addressed so far. Why should the mass exodus of an aborigine community happen and should it take such a long time to address it and institute an enquiry to find the truth and deliver justice? Has the harvesting of demographic dividend taken place?.Have the prices been controlled? Have the inequalities of income and wealth reduced? These are the questions, across the line, which are haunting the citizens. The country men have an opportunity to vent their feelings, the politicians have also an opportunity to do the stock-taking and promise a better governance, which will be just and efficient.
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