Aakar Patel is a writer and columnist. You can e-mail the author at aakar.patel@gmail.com
India is attempting to soft-land a rover on the moon and will attempt, at some point next year hopefully, sending humans into orbit. All of this makes an exciting time for space around the world, notes Aakar Patel.
NITI Aayog has not said what the reasons were for having achieved or not having achieved what was sought to be achieved, or what lessons can be learned for the future, points out Aakar Patel.
Bhima Koregaon represents what the government can do in India against well meaning people who speak up against atrocities, who stand up for the weak and the dispossessed and for this reason alone as seen as enemies of the State and kept in prison for as long as the government can manage. So long as the rest of us do not speak up against this misbehaviour by the State, so long as we forget about those who have been made its victims, this behaviour will continue, asserts Aakar Patel.
In constitutional democracies the Opposition is legitimate and part of the legislature. To see it as the enemy and to try and get rid of it through convictions and expulsions is not democratic, asserts Aakar Patel.
Our focus is not on substance, but communicating how we did not shake hands and how we made angry faces. This is what India's foreign policy has become, notes Aakar Patel.
Given that the BJP made all these moves and that these moves were presumably approved by Modi if not directed by him, who should accept the responsibility for the party's rout? asks Aakar Patel.
Happily, it does not require the world to hold a mirror up for us. We can look at ourselves and understand easily if we choose to be honest about where we find ourselves three quarters of a century after Independence, asserts Aakar Patel.
Particularly the small and independent Web sites that have developed a following in the recent past because the mainstream is seen as totally aligned with the government, points out Aakar Patel.
It is a question that his supporters must ask of the prime minister. It may be enjoyable for them to pass through this phase of going after other Indians. But once this has been achieved to satisfaction, then what?, questions Aakar Patel.
Overall, the record of the second term reveals a contradiction between the image and the reality. The image, especially on media and social media, is one of the man at the height of his power, and unstoppable. The reality on governance is someone who has found it difficult to get things implemented and unsure of what to do next, points out Aakar Patel.
The rhetoric that we are fed daily needs to be measured against performance and the facts. That is not happening, points out Aakar Patel.
In our mystery the watchdog agencies are silent, but it is the market that has barked and has not stopped barking. Till such time as it continues to do so, this headache will not go away, notes Aakar Patel.
Not many modern democracies have gone down this path before, setting it upon themselves to use the law and media to target citizens, points out Aakar Patel.
If we wonder why the government is not being held to account for what it promises and does not deliver we must not blame the government. It has no idea how to fix India's difficult problems, argues Aakar Patel.
So far the government has been silent on the charges being levelled, even after the stock price rout. Perhaps it is hoping for the share price to settle so that the matter goes away, predicts Aakar Patel.
When was the last time we heard this government speaking of the disaster in primary education, rather than Ganga cruises and cheetahs? Less money -- Rs 88,000 crore -- was spent by the Union government on education in its last Budget than has been allocated to the Bullet train, notes Aakar Patel.
There is no sign of it losing popularity with a significant section of the voting population, which appears to be attracted to the party for identity reasons, observes Aakar Patel.
India's national security focus has shifted from the western border to the eastern one. But our trade with China keeps rising. This trade is against our interest, because most of it comprises of Chinese imports, argues Aakar Patel.
There seems to be a desire for opacity when it comes to confronting China, points out Aakar Patel.
I think the 'What-if-it-had-been-Patel?' sentiment represents a yearning for more of what we are already seeing around us in India today, observes Aakar Patel.
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