Second part of Modi's Nine Years Journey (2020 to 2023....and beyond !!)

 2020 was Covid Year. It could not be worse. 

By July 2020, Rafale became a reality !! And it may not be too dramatic to claim that former Raksha Mantri, Defence Minister, Manohor Parrikar, as smiling from above !!  

(Blog July 31, 2020)

"Now that the Rafale is a reality for India Air Force personnel, it can be safely stated that the arrival of the fighter planes will boost the morale of the air force, which has been facing a shortage of fighter aircraft. In terms of jets, Indian Air Force has been flying the Mig-21, Mig-27, Mig-29, Hawk, Jaguar, Mirage 2000, Tejas and Su-30MKI.

The Rafale is now a multi-role aircraft, capable of carrying out long-range missions, including highly accurate sea and ground attacks.

The Indian Air Force pilots can significantly benefit from the helmet mounted sights and targeting systems and can shoot off the weapons. It is also said that the towed decoy system can thwart even the incoming missile attack. 

Thanks to the country's first Prime Minister Pt Jawaharlal Nehru and his fixation with the idea of 'Non Alignment', India's military diplomacy and defence cooperation too largely remained isolationist.

The Nehruvian idea of governance essentially was also 'distrustful' of armed forces and thus they were kept out of policy making strategies and the job was essentially left with bureaucracy.  

Blogger and Nehru 

Farmers' agitation left India worried and citizens were anguished. By April-May 2021, the Covid19 exposed the major faultline in India's health system. Shortage of oxygen was an unpardonable scenario. 

On Jan 27, 2021, I wrote for UCAN:

"It is 72 years since India promulgated its secular-democratic constitution. The nation observed the anniversary on Jan. 26 (as Republic), just as in previous years, with a military parade in New Delhi. But an uneasy disquiet continues across the country.

Over the years, the parade added cultural tableaux from its provinces. Uttar Pradesh state's cultural tableau this year displayed the model of the Ram temple being built in Ayodhya town at a spot where an ancient mosque stood until 1992 when Hindu radicals demolished it. The temple has political connotations for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has vowed to turn India into a nation of Hindu hegemony. 

The pro-Hindu party came to the national mainstream promising the temple in Ayodhya, their Hindu Lord Ram's birthplace.

On Diwali :

"Bursting of firecrackers would have been pleasant and a tasteful experience had not this become a symbol of showmanship. If firecrackers are bad for the environment, so is gambling and the so-called gift-exchange culture of Delhi for human behaviour. Here too, the problem is in overdoing things; not ordering a blanket ban as a presumed corrective strategy."

(My piece for IANS - went viral in several websites and newspapers in India)

A special collection: 2021 snap 

“Between 1947 and 1991, the economy was driven by corrupt bureaucrats. Their family picnics were more important than national economic growth. The 1991 liberalization of the economy ensured prosperity no doubt, but India also saw a rise in its economic disparity,” said Naushad Khan, a trader in East Delhi. - from my piece for UCA News....

When snap could make Political Headline 

On his personal rapport with PM Modi, the senior Naga politician S C Jamir said: "We had a very good relationship though I was there only for five months. We were good friends. When I became Governor of Gujarat in 2009, I told him, I am an ex-Chief Minister so I know the responsibility of a Chief Minister. So as Governor I will never interfere". 

(Jamir interview to me .... as reported for IANS...

published in 

Morung Express

2022

A good foundation is half the journey in politics !! BJP's confidence boosted in 2022 -- now eyeing new milestones

(In 2022, the BJP did well in state polls including UP and Goa. Droupadi Murmu's election process as President of India created a new national buzz. Giving recognition to a tribal and also to a woman on the 75th year of Independence was definitely a significant decision.)

It required hardly a few minutes for Margaret Alva to do her diagnosis of the malady in the anti-BJP camp. Immediately after losing out to NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar (for Vice President of India), Margaret Alva, a veteran Congress leader said -- “This election was an opportunity for the Opposition to work together, to leave the past behind and build trust amongst each other. Unfortunately, some Opposition parties chose to directly or indirectly support the BJP, in an attempt to derail the idea of a united Opposition".

In 2023, 

Aug 10, PM Modi regime defeats No Confidence Motion by voice vote as Opposition shied away to demand division.

PM counters 2023 'Manipur chaos' with Indira Gandhi's 1966 bombing in Mizoram... The episode strikes Congress party and their ecosystem hard !!

Editors even plan 'boycott' of Modi's two-hour-long speech

BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi says, "The Opposition didn't have trust in their no-confidence motion. Their statements were non-reliable and the nation didn't believe them. Most importantly, these people have betrayed the nation...The House which has a majority of 272 and 303 MPs sitting there belong to one party and they are bringing a no-confidence motion against that party..."  

Over to 2024 and state assembly elections in key states including Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.