The Indian budget every year has always been an eagerly awaited event. For many decades, the best minds in economics, finance, tax, business and industry throng the media house to analyze the provisions shared by the Financial Minister.
Sometimes major events completely disconnected may be data points for the plans of the different powers around the world. The challenge is to discern what purpose they serve? More critically, what are we moving towards?
When the US Ambassador threatened India's "Strategic Autonomy" policy over India's friendship with Russia - much more than meets the eye was at stake. Let us unpack how the Ukraine war has fundamentally changed the US and the world. And why are we here anyway?
A lot is written against the BJP and RSS and they are portrayed as some ‘higher caste Hindu’ party with no representation or base amongst Dalits. The reality cannot be farther from that.
Let us use the figures and see how all the cabinets since the first formed by Jawaharlal Nehru have fared.
One thing is clear – Narendra Modi’s government has had the highest representation of Dalits – the SC and STs – in government, EVER!
Congress under Nehru, Indira and Rajiv had the worst record!
In fact, Modi’s 2014 cabinet had MORE percent representation of Dalits than FIVE cabinets of Jawaharlal Nehru put together!
And, 10 cabinets of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi put together had less percent Dalit percentage representatives than just 3 cabinets of BJP governments (one of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999 and two of Modi in 2014 and 2019). Incredible isn’t it?
That is how much Congress has been behind in terms of empowering the Dalits to make decisions for the country.
Since the Dalits come from the weakest and poorest of sections of Indian society, this marked difference also shows something even more important – the vibrant democracy within the parties. That so few Dalits could make the cut in Congress governments for the cabinet berths also means that money and power rules those choices and not merit. In BJP, since merit and hard work is the ticket to the top – as Modi’s ascension showed, Dalits get a far higher representation in the cabinet versus in the ministries of Congress Governments.
Even within the Congress, the worst record is of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. The increase in total percent for Congress only happened during PV Narasimha Rao’s time. Which should shut the Gandhi family and their sycophants up when it comes to the Dalit empowerment discussion.
Conclusion
What India needs is a fact-based set of conversations. Unfortunately, most of the discussions and narratives are just not based on facts or reality. Access to certain media and promotion of that media seems to be the way that Congress has controlled the psyche of the nation all these years.
The less they did for every group in the society, the louder their voice in their favor. All to hide the lack of any work and to get the votes. And, no one cared as to how can Congress ever be a champion of the very people they had marginalized for decades in every administration!
Dalit representation in government is an important indicator of how serious the administration is to further equality – and BJP administrations in general and Modi administration, in particular, stand tall in that area!
The Indian budget every year has always been an eagerly awaited event. For many decades, the best minds in economics, finance, tax, business and industry throng the media house to analyze the provisions shared by the Financial Minister.
When the US Ambassador threatened India's "Strategic Autonomy" policy over India's friendship with Russia - much more than meets the eye was at stake. Let us unpack how the Ukraine war has fundamentally changed the US and the world. And why are we here anyway?
This visit of India left me with many questions. Many observations and inputs from different people and sections. Food for thought that I have tried to contemplate on and make sense of. Sharing all that with you.
When you analyze the last 60 years of the economic miracles of Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia versus the continued impoverished Indian economy, you get very interesting lessons. Can Indians have the wherewithal in them to do in one generation so that the coming generations may rise?
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