This time, they elected an opposition. They also elected a government to rule them, but to govern them.
First about the opposition. Paul Harrington said, "Democracy can be measured on the existence of an opposition," but India's democracy has been working without one for a decade. Indeed we had men and women in Parliament who carped, cried and quarrelled with the regime, but rarely held the regime to account. They were mere critics of the regime, and not a parliamentary opposition. Now the voters have elected a formidable opposition.
Now about the government. For ten years, Team Narendra Modi has been ruling India brooking no opposition, save once from the farmers who didn't like the laws that the rulers had made. Everything else from note ban of an eight-year-old November night to the rejig of the penal laws in the recent months-was implemented or legislated with complete disregard to criticism.
For ten years, India was being ruled. Now the people have spoken: stop ruling us, and start governing us.
Denne historien er fra June 16, 2024-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
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Denne historien er fra June 16, 2024-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
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Chase For The Mace
The next three years throw up a gamut of challenges for Indian cricket; winning the World Test Championship is the most important
Two-horse race
Can the NC-Congress alliance reshape the future of Jammu and Kashmir?
Man-eaters don't spare women
Critics say Narendra Modi’s decade-long rule has been one of jobless growth. Factories produced more, companies earned more, owners profited more, the government earned more; but fewer hands were hired, or those who were hired got work for fewer days. Putting the last two together, economists said the Indian economy generated fewer ‘man-days’.
Decolonising the mindset
The vision of a Viksit Bharat hinges on India T breaking from the shackles of a colonial mindset and embodying the freedom of being unapologetically Indian. The laws of any nation are the cornerstone of its growth. The legal system offers the stability and adaptability essential for a country to thrive. The laws must be simple to understand and specific in their consequence.
The making of India's Mr Difficult Words
When my publishers at Aleph invited me to put together a book on words and language, I hesitated for a brief moment.
Couture's creepy corridors
If one is spending a summer in New York, any summer in New York, an absolute must-do is to spend an afternoon at the city’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, on the edge of Central Park, just gawking in gobsmacked awe at the annual fashion exhibition the museum’s Costume Institute puts together.
Stree 2 has given us hope
The unprecedented success of Stree 2 is the best news we have had in the recent times and with an unabashedly feminist agenda, has comprehensively out-performed Sandeep Reddy Vanga's toxic masculine star-studded Animal at the box office is (to me, at least) kind of the cinematic equivalent of Awadhesh Prasad winning Ayodhya-it redeems my faith in the inherent decency of Indians.
BRANDS BEYOND RAMPS
Whether through carpets, fragrances or home interiors, Indian couturiers are defying their own limits
RESERVOIR OF WORRIES
India has a robust dam management systém on paper, but inadequate maintenance and climate change pose serious threats
INTER-STATE ISSUES HAVE NO EFFECT ON DAM SAFETY
INTERVIEW: KUSHVINDER VOHRA INTERVIEW Chairman, Central Water Commission
