Eviction of Baba Ramdev
What happened in the wee hours of Sunday was an extreme reaction by the government. It not only highlighted the fear Congress had regarding Ramdev’s demands, but triggered a sharp reaction across the country regarding their attitude towards democracy. Attacking hapless people gathered for peaceful demonstrations with teargas is not what’s expected to be defended by senior leaders like Kapil Sibal and Digvijay Singh. Rather than explaining convincingly on this shameless attack, they were busy maligning the yog guru. It needs to be pointed out that many of his demands were what he had been preaching, and believed in, for nearly 10 years on live television. Congress have allegedly told Ramdev to concentrate only on teaching Yoga and not get involved in politics, but they have no right whatsoever to stop anyone from expressing themselves publically. The consequences of the governments’ egocentric attitude are still to be seen, but the absolute failure to address key issues like corruption and black money stashed abroad will become a major hindrance to UPA’s coming back to power in 2014 lok sabha elections.
Mamata makes history, storms Left bastion
A landslide victory often highlights the need for a change, and change is what Bengalis had demanded vociferously after 34 years of Left Front rule.
The former Railway minister now faces a huge responsibility of carrying the burden of expectations of her people. She needs to instigate a rebuilding process with a vision that will bring a social and economic reform the state of West Bengal badly needs. Industrialization, for which Ms. Banerjee has hitherto been defensive, needs to be encouraged if the state wants to overturn the slump it is in. Indeed if anyone can be the influential role model of West Bengal, it's her, the question lies in the fact if she could to do what’s right for the sake of her state.
Sex ratio, patriarchy, and ethics
With India’s literacy rate going up from last census, an optimist would have expected a similar trend in its girl child sex ratio. However, 927 females against 1,000 males in 2001 to 914 in 2011, has once again highlighted the ignominious fad for a boy child in India. The inbred belief of boys being better than girls has much to do with abortion of female fetuses. Along with the introduction of stringent laws to curb prenatal sex determination, the government needs to be vigilant to improve socio-economic conditions for women. If the need for an egalitarian society is observed now, by next census, India could well be a leader in the world order.
