Passionate About India

Modi has completed a month! And there have been all kinds of things happening! And an analysis is most required since the hype and expectation around his becoming Prime Minister was exceptional; so every move, especially in the first few days, was being observed by the whole world with a lot of curiosity. So what has it been like? Well, one thing is sure, there has been nothing bad at all. Let us begin with the excellent! The most excellent thing about Modi has been his intent and his most excellent speeches post becoming the PM. The way he addressed the Parliament with calm poise, a subtle sense of humour and ubiquitous confidence, gave the nation the much needed sense of pride that had gone totally missing over the past decade. The truth is that Gujarat has not been the only success story. Tamil Nadu too has been one; and to his immense credit, Modi, like a great statesman, was so humble about learning from the TN model. The most excellent has been his "toilets before temples...

Five very important things happened in the month of May for India. They have actually made an impact on our destiny. I will write just in a while about what those events are and how they affected India. Two words seem to have become very popular in popular media: governance and leadership. From America to Greece to Venezuela to India, the big journalists that I know and the media that I read and watch seem to complain that the world faces a crisis of governance and leadership. Even during my recent trip to America, I sensed a public cry about great leadership. I think almost all of us will agree that there is indeed a crisis. People across continents are angry and the media is doing a wonderful job of highlighting that anger. Frankly, I am more concerned about India. In my last editorial, I wrote that the Indian media seems to have forgotten its purpose and mission as the fourth pillar of our democracy. In fact, I often call it a demonocracy! But perhaps, it is also time to remember le...