For the first time also, we appear to have a government that is cut in an ideological frame that is being pushed in the belief that India’s time has come, that businesses will lead, that prosperity will reign and government can take a backseat as the private sector, fired by animal instincts and growth hormones like the concessions and sops on offer, takes us to a GDP-led nirvana.That is one underlying narrative of a wild ride that India is now being taken on. In its support is an army of propagandists, who seek to drown dissent and paint a diverse, multifaced nation with one hue of saffron politics. It diminishes the rich legacy of Indian traditions. It builds anger and hate among the depressed and the downtrodden.The ideological trap takes it as given that socialism was bad, Nehru got it wrong, Gandhi was not particularly noble and our private sector players (or a few of them) are waiting to unleash their innate potential and drive India into a high orbit. This blind belief is disdainful of history, devoid of context and fired by a toxic mix of ignorance and malice.It drives actions that breeds callousness and dishonesty that wear the false halo of a national cause and a higher national ambition. Any criticism now comes under fire; any action gets justified.In the end, only balance and wisdom can govern a vast cacophonous democracy like India. The overriding of legitimate claims and demands signals not progress but regress. We are headed down and the hunger index report is just one more sign of this.(The writer is a journalist and a faculty member at SPJIMR. Views are personal) (Syndicate: The Billion Press)
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