• P. Chidambram, M.P

If an English teacher wished to explain to her class the word ‘hyperbole’ and give an illustration, she cannot do better than cite the following sentence from RBI’s Bulletin for September 2023: “In September 2023, the earth’s centre of gravity shifted to India as leaders of the most powerful nations, country groupings and international organisations converged to New Delhi.” According to the RBI, the earth’s centre of gravity shifted from Rome (2021) to Bali (2022) to New Delhi (2023) and will shift to Rio de Janeiro in 2024. Because the centre of gravity shifted to New Delhi, we felt the tremors: the Manipur fire started on May 3, 2023, and continues to burn; there are repeated terrorist attacks in Kashmir; landslides and floods have ravaged Himachal Pradesh and some other states; and the AIADMK unceremoniously jettisoned the BJP from its alliance in Tamil Nadu!

Jumla Parade

As a result of the shift in the centre of gravity, we can expect more announcements and events. One event occurred on September 20-21: the Women’s Reservation Jumla Bill was passed in Parliament. It may be implemented in the elections held after 2029. Other jumlas that are in the making are ‘One Nation, One Election’ and ‘Uniform Civil Code’. There is intense competition for ownership of the ONOE plan (Kovind Committee vs Law Commission) and the UCC draft (Uttarakhand vs Assam vs Madhya Pradesh). Meanwhile, Mr. Mohan Bhagwat, the sarsanghchalak (leader) of the RSS, has expressed concern over growing incidents of ‘conversion’ and ‘love jihad’ and asked RSS members to counter these “aggressively”. Therefore, brace yourself for attacks on churches, priests, missionaries and Christian prayer meetings. Young inter-faith couples should beware of moral-religious brigades swooping on them to protect the ‘honour’ of Hindu girls. (I wonder who will protect the ‘honour’ of Hindu boys who are found in the company of non-Hindu girls?).

Give evidence

I am shocked by these unsubstantiated charges of conversion and love jihad. Please ask the thousands of children who attend Christian-run schools and colleges (because they are among the best), how many of them have faced attempts to convert them to Christianity? Please ask yourself how many inter-faith marriages have taken place in the last year in your town or village? Mr. Narayana Murthy once famously said, “In God I trust; for everything else bring me data”. Will the RSS Chief give us data on conversions and love jihad? The Hon’ble Prime Minister has entered the battlefield. He has said that Sanatan Dharma is under attack. Mr. Bhagwat has taken ‘conversion’ and ‘love jihad’ from the RSS armoury. The Women’s Reservation Bill will be presented as a ‘gift’ from the Prime Minister (while, actually, it is a post-dated cheque on a failing bank). G20 videos and photographs will be liberally and mandatorily telecast on visual and social media platforms to buttress the claim that India is the ‘Vishwaguru’ to the world.

Unity & Agenda

On the opposite side, the partners of I.N.D.I.A. are preparing to take up issues they consider are relevant and affect the lives of the people. Among them are inflation, unemployment, ethnic and communal conflicts, hate speeches and hate crimes, curbing of freedoms including liberty and free speech, encroachment on states’ rights, erosion of federalism, assault on the Constitution, undermining the courts of justice, Chinese incursions, terrorist incidents, slowing economic growth, widening inequalities, crony capitalism, reduction of welfare measures, increase in national debt, misuse of intelligence and investigating agencies, belittling of parliamentary institutions and conventions, and growing centralism and the cult of personality. The BJP hopes to blunt the Opposition’s attacks through the power of money, muscle and the misuse of the law.

Let’s focus on the charges that the economy is showing signs of distress and is being mismanaged.

Unemployment: The unemployment rate in August 2023 was 8.1 per cent. Youth unemployment (15-24 years) in 2022 was 23.22 per cent. Among graduates, it is 42 per cent according to the State of Working India 2023 report. In August 2023, 1,91,60,000 families demanded work under MGNREGS.

Prices and inflation: According to the RBI’s bulletin, on August 23, CPI inflation was 6.8 per cent, fuel and light inflation 4.3 per cent and food inflation 9.2 per cent. Since February 2022, CPI inflation has been above the tolerance limit of 6 per cent.

Household finances: Household financial assets, as a percentage of GDP, declined from 15.4 per cent (in 2020-21) to 10.9 per cent (in 2022-23). During the same period, household financial liabilities increased from 3.9 per cent to 5.8 per cent. Net financial assets plummeted from 11.5 per cent to 5.1 per cent. The Modi government has miserably failed in the top three people-centered tests. Not since 1977 have the battle lines been so sharply drawn.

Courtesy: The Indian Express