All of us remember the NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee with various feelings. Some of us appreciate that government, some of us like its decisions, some of us miss the quality of ministry it had, and I think most of us miss the sheer charisma of Atal Ji. But if “all is well that ends well” goes true, then most of us also remember NDA/BJP government with the curious slogan of “India Shining”. Some of us ridicule it (mostly because our media ridiculed it after NDA/BJP lost elections); some of us think it was a bad idea; some of us remember it as most massive PR campaign we ever had, and then some of us have also learnt a lot from it. One lesson that came out of it was, as per a popular view, that most Indians get a ‘nationalistic feeling’ only when either there is a war or there is a victory on Cricket grounds. Otherwise, our nationalism is a sleepy and stumpy creature. This explains why we got so very agitated when 26/11 happened, but soon after, we gave back power to the same guys who had created it. So much blood, tears, candles and TRP, went for nothing. Our public memory is so short that it takes only a cracker or a Saina Nehwal to forget all. This is why I suspect if we would still feel a need for a proper investigation of CWG corruption, after we witnessed such a grand inauguration and closing ceremony for the games.
Anyways, let me get back to the theme I started with. The NDA/BJP government had inherited a weak national economy. Our forex reserves were not good enough; our share markets were not hot. Loss making and bleeding public sector companies were a burden on the tax payers who were subsidizing them. Our private sector was craving for FDI and had a glass ceiling to break in the international space. Then came the NDA government which had the brightest non-political set of ministers India ever had in my opinion. These ministers had a lot to prove and a less incentive to care for their own political dynasties. The result was a complete turnaround. Our forex reserves touched new heights, share markets became hot-bed for investors, golden-quadrilateral roads were built, sick PSUs were divested with, and salaried class Indians had more money in their hands to spend. In those days, to whichever country our PM went, the Premiers broke protocols to welcome him warmly. Indian businesses became behemoths with less red-tape and NRIs started looking back to India because it had now prospects for them. In those times, somewhere around 2003, the government of A.B. Vajpayee also won the bid to organize Common Wealth Games after much effort. The Games were to showcase what we had achieved; the Games were to be a Gateway to the New Resurgent India! But as we realize some times now, such highly patriotic show-offs and our nationalistic feelings slip away even from the word go. So I guess we would just enjoy the opening/closing ceremonies of these games, would hail our sportsmen and would get back to our individual personal lives, completely forgetting that these games were also the most Shameful Games for India. Would we care to remember the mess that our corrupt government officials had thrown at us in terms of lousy preparations, the roads dug and covered, the shameful media reports which tore down our international image, the apathetic response of corrupt politicians at the helm of affairs and the crores of tax payers money which were siphoned off by corruption in the contracts and organization.
As a nation, we love entertainment. These Games have provided us with more entertainment than any other. Now I guess it’s time to go back to our collective numbness. Until, perhaps, the next time when we are again in similar mess. Then we would again curse the politicians, light some candles, watch TV news and then go back in our cozy couches. After all, this life is a game. But if we don’t play it, they will. If we don’t reject those corrupt ones in power, they will keep doing this again and again to us. Dozing, already?
