Wit Wisdom and Whoop

This is a subject that can give birth to a hundred doctoral thesis, and still have enough and more left over, with no answers. The attempt here is not to give answers, but to give some perspectives so we understand the subject and the protagonists better. Also, this is not about the exceptions. Firstly, any of us, humans, as we grow and join any job (unless family has kept a cushion warm for us) want to grow, be more powerful, earn more money, enjoy all the good things of life, buy fancy cars/watches/ jewellery/ dresses, be recognised, appreciated, rewarded, go to star hotels, give children a better life/ education, have sex, drink, dance, make merry, travel, be promoted, get a bonus, get the best medical treatment, take vacations, become CEO’s or whatever – the list is endless. We also take risks, a leap of faith and expect to be rewarded many times over in the shortest time and the world applaud us. We also work 12 to 14 hrs a day, some even risk their lives.  If any of these d...

A popular notion the media loves to amplify is how Indian politics post 2014 has taken a turn for the worse in terms of its discourse, behaviour, tactics etc. When one has seen politics over decades, it would be a blunder to see this as a Modi/2014 event. It shows we have been blind to what had been going on around us for 20+ years. This is an analysis and not judging anything. There are clear periods when Indian politics changed - Pre/ Post Sonia and Post Modi. 2 different coins, but given the timelines seem like two sides of the same coin. The key to understanding current politics is to understand that India never had a Non-Congress govt till 2014. Pre Sonia: Governments carried the opposition with them unitedly on issues like National security, Defence, Foreign policy. A Rajiv Gandhi selected opposition leader AB Vajpayee to lead India in a world forum and parliament elected a true opposition leader as the Dy Speaker.  Every Government had risen above petty politics and co-o...