As an Indian citizen awaiting the results of the parliamentary elections 2019, I must say I'm not hopeful. The two major national parties in India - the Indian National Congress aka INC and the Bharatiya Janata Party aka BJP are both useless. If INC stands for corruption, then the BJP stands for hate campaigns. Many of the politicians fielded by both parties are corrupt and have criminal records. Imagine a nation of over a billion people having to choose between hate and corruption. I wonder how we got here from a country that was torn into two by the British during independence but both India and Pakistan survived. Later India, Pakistan and Bangladesh survive. India prospered to a large extent but failed to make its presence felt in the world's stage politically despite being the second largest nation on earth as far as population is concerned.
Is Gujarat the problem ?
This despite the non-violent freedom struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi inspired many worldwide including Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr. Today the ruling BJP is fielding a candidate who praises Nathuram Godse as a patriot, the man who assassinated Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.The Indian media and politicians are not condemning it while the Indian people are silent. Everytime a leader emerges from Gujarat, the fate of Indians is ruined. Both Mahatma Gandhi aka Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Mohammed Ali Jinnah were from Gujarat. Both were Hindus and cast out of their caste namely Gandhi and Lohana because the former was forbidden from leaving the country and other was forbidden from trading in fish as they were vegetarians. Both didn't believe in caste. So they ended up making decisions that resulted in a genocide during partition, the scars of which have never completely healed but the hatred passed on to the next generations. Decades later, come another duo from Gujarat - Narendra Damodardas Modi along with his pal Amit Shah. Their divisive politics have only reawakened the hatred with their hate spewing speeches. To think the current PM once wanted to become a sanyasin is unimaginable. I think that would be unfair to blame it all on Gujaratis as there was Sardar Patel, Jamsetji Tata and many others who contributed to growth and unity of the country. Also it would be unfair to forget Nathuram Godse was from Maharashtra.
Under NDM
In 2014, I was stunned when the Hindi belt of India voted Modi to power despite his lack of accomplishments. Watching him speak, I realized he was the Obama of India, a person who could talk powerfully and deliver little. But since India is not a presidential democracy, I was not overtly worried as I lived in South India. But all Indians suffered under Modi as his politics and economics were horrid. We faced disaster after disaster - be it demonetization, anti-romeo squads, attack on women, farmer crisis, joblessness, the murder of institutions just so they could be replaced by private players who interestingly were almost certain to be Gujarati. If this was the Gujarat model, Indians didn't want it but unlike other politicians, he didn't seem to care. He was ready to put people through hell just so he could score a brownie point. The video of his 94 year old mother standing in a queue was horrid to watch but he claimed no one was spared. Over 100 people died waiting in queues to withdraw their own money from banks.Yes none were spared. Then banks set a limit as to how much of our own money we could withdraw each month. This was a new low as under the Congress, Indians knew the allies of the Congress were robbing the rich and corrupt while the poor and the middle class were not put through such horrors. Also, Hindi was forced down the throats of people who don't speak it which is over 60% of Indians.
Conclusion That India managed to get through the last five years is in itself a miracle. But India will disintegrate if it continues under BJP. They will be emboldened to unleash new horrors. And like others, I wait. hoping for a hung Parliament.
