Poonam I Kaushish
How does one begin an epitaph of 2024? Uncork champagne by welcoming 2025 on the wings of new hopes and promises? Or twelve months of steady downhill with no barrier to stop the slide? Clearly, 2024 will go down in history as une année charnière a tumultuous year, a mixed bag.
Politically, 2024 ended on an ugly and new low. A tutorial in petty ugly histrionics between BJP-led NDA and Congress over late Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s funeral and memorial. Rahul accused Government of insulting the ex-Prime Minister by holding his last rites at a public crematorium instead of Raj Ghat and not granting land for his memorial. BJP responded by accusing its bête noire of exploiting a moment of grief by false narrative for political gain.
Forgetting, its own abominable behavior of not giving his predecessor Narismha Rao the funeral and memorial he rightly deserved. Not only was his cortege disallowed in AICC headquarters but Rao’s family was told to hold his funeral in Hyderabad, forget a memorial. It was Modi who erected a memorial at Rashtra Ekta Sthal.
Alongside, the year was dotted with vicious below-the-belt tu-tu-mein-mein between Government-Opposition starkly visible in Parliament’s winter session which was a wash out with communication channels between both drying up underscoring nothing has changed: Its politics as usual, bitter deep divide and trust deficit between Modi Sarkar and Opposition showcasing how dysfunctional Parliament has become..
First it was Congress displaying lung power over billionaire Adani against the backdrop of US indictment of him, countered by BJP linking Congress First Family Sonia-Rahul to US billionaire investor George Soros and “colluding” with him in his anti-India agenda to “destabilise” the country. Even as SP and TMC de-linked themselves from Congress.
Next, a battle royale over my Ambedkar vs yours. Basically this bloated rhetoric about Ambedkar bandied by all is essentially an intra-Party affair, all wanting to cement a winning bond with the Dalit icon and capitalize on it as the community accounts for 20% vote bank. While BJP accused Congress of hypocrisy and historical negligence toward him, retaliated Congress, “BJP has ‘hatred’ for Ambedkar.” Amidst the continuing logjam the onus is on Government-Opposition to ensure smooth running of both Houses.
Electorally, Modi suffered a loss of face in Election 2024 resulting in a new power paradigm of Modi’s 3.0 which serenades ‘Es baar coalition Sarkar’ instead of ‘Es baar 400 par’. Certainly BJP secured numbers as single largest Party 240 but the mandate to govern totaled 293 with allies. Yet his third term has Modi’s trademark on it, on his terms. With the winner taking it all!
And it did and how! The BJP managed a successful course correction in Maharashtra by winning a massive landslide victory with allies Shiv Sena-NCP along-with Haryana after its drastic slide in Lok Sabha polls. It was also Congress’s worst-ever showing in its one-time bastion whereby it was reduced to 16 of 288 Assembly seats.
Alas, Congress continues to ostrich like bury its head in the sand, despite realizing it needs a leg-up from allies. It remains to be seen how and whether it can resurrect itself from its present morass as the India bloc with AAP’s Kejriwal like TMC’s Mamata scripting an independent course. Street fighter Mamata has also made plain her intentions of being ring-leader of the dithering bloc.
Besides, in an era of political polarisation and contest, multiplicity and overlapping of identities, increasingly, we are getting more casteist and communal whereby a distraught India is searching for her soul under an increasing onslaught of intolerance and criminalization. Moreso, in the Kafkaesque world where caste identity is sticky baggage, difficult to dislodge in social settings and where caste vs caste fight and decide one’s fate, no Party wants to jeopordise its caste vote-banks.
Amidst this political aakrosh, the common man continues to struggle for roti, kapada aur makaan with an increasingly angry and restive janata demanding answers and yearning for change in the New Year. Sick of the crippling morass of our neo-Maharajas with their power trappings and suffering from Acute Orwellian syndrome of “some are more equal than others” and Oliver’s disorder, “always asking for more”.
On the social front things are depressing. Seventy years post Independence, after spending trillions on education, health and food, 70% people continue to be hungry, illiterate, unskilled and bereft of basic medical care. A life-style of Nano Yuppiesim which showcases neglect of rural poverty, unsanitary environments and collapsing sewage and drainage system.
Tragically, nobody has time for the aam aadmi’s growing disillusionment with the system which explodes in rage. Turn to any mohalla, district or State, the story is mournfully identical. Resulting in people taking law into their own hands with violence becoming rhetoric of the times: rioting and looting. Capital Delhi is replete with gory tales of murders. Sporadically converting the country into andher nagri.
Beastly tales of Her Story tumble out of sexual harassment, molestation and assault by sexual predators. Sic. Clearly, in a society which lives with a regressive mindset that freedom and equality for women tantamount to promiscuity, we show utter disregard and disrespect for ‘her’ whereby she continues to rot at the hands of lecherous, predatory or pedophile men despite talk of women empowerment. Seven rapes occur every minute. From Nirbhaya to Hathras etc nothing has changed. When will we break new ground and unshackle women?
On the external front India relations with China is like playing poker. Show no emotions even as one plans strategy, play is multi-causal, defiantly standing one’s ground and gambling on a winning hand. Modi won the ‘out-stare’ Xi Jinping by getting Beijing to relent and restore peace and stability in Eastern Ladakh, Despang Plains and Galwan Valley after its surprise aggression across the LoAC in June 2020.
Modi realizes only too well that in today’s geo-strategic political reality pragmatism dictate real politic. Even as Beijing wants to create a ‘new normal’ New Delhi needs wisdom, maturity, restraint and an all-encompassing and multi-pronged strategy to deal with it to remain in control of the Indo-China script.
As India enters 2025 our netagan need to stop getting their shorts in knots over excessive trivia, get their act together, take responsibility, amend their ways and address real serious issues of governance. Unemployment, rising prices, plugging learning gaps in education and health. They must realize India’s democratic prowess owes its resilience to the aam aadmi. Our policy makers need to redouble their efforts on the ease of living.
Besides, both Government and Opposition need to get its act together with leaders with grit and determination who can and are ready to build a Viksit Bharat as there are shared stakes in a life together built by a multi-plural society of diverse people and communities which constitute the life of a nation.
Ultimately, when the battle of ideas and ideologies skid and careen noisily our rulers need to focus on what they are going to do to make 2025 a good year. Time to get back to basics and reignite the magic of simplicity and minimalism, become more humane and see the world through new lens of hope whereby, the principles of ‘Jus Ad Bellum’: right authority, right intention and reasonable hope dictate our responses. What gives? (INFA)
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