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 of mess has happened in the last several decades in India. But the biggest one was how the Bangladeshis were allowed to infiltrate into India, specifically Assam and change the demography. The locals were being edged out and no one cared.
Now, with the announcement of the final National Register of Citizens (NRC), 19,06,657 persons did not submit any claims for the citizenship and so have been left out of the register. They will be deported. This is actually very little too late because so many will be deemed as Indian citizens.
The whole exercise has been done under the aegis of Supreme Court of India.
In a statement NRC authorities stated the process of NRC Update was started in the state of Assam as per order of the Supreme Court of India in 2013. Since then, the Apex Court has been closely monitoring the entire process. The process of NRC update in Assam differs from the rest of the country and is governed by Rule 4A and the corresponding Schedule of the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.
But does it account for what has really happened here? Take a look at this tweet by Anand Ranganathan.
Assam's population: 31.2 million – 61% Hindu, 34% Muslim.
1991-2001: Hindus grew by 14.95%, Muslims by 29.30%
2001-2011: Hindus grew by 10.89%, Muslims by 29.59%.
In NO other state, countering even the TFR, are the Muslims growing three times faster than the Hindus.
So when the global media tries to villify the Modi government of doing something bad to the minorities, they show their ignorance of the processes. They forget that this was part of a democratic process, where:
The process of National Register of Citizens was ordered by the Supreme Court and was part of the Assam Accord where the Government of India promised to do this for the people of Assam
It was done in a very deliberative manner with full precautions and sensitivity
The problem with global media is that they still have the “White man’s burden” syndrome. That they know things better than others. And can dictate how the democracy in other countries should run.
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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