10 reasons why Indians can still smile

Bad news is an infectious disease that spreads faster than rumours on social media. Sometimes it peters out like the bouts of swine flu that cause more panic than death and destruction. But often it spirals into a vicious cycle of prophecies that transform even the bad into the macabre. India seems to be on the verge of being swarmed and overwhelmed by a multitude of bad news epidemics. The economy is threatening to tank, the Prime Minister is now worse than a tragic figure, scams have become as commonplace as farmer suicides and gang-rapes, Muslims and Hindus seem to be heading for another round of mistrust, posturing and bloodletting. We are seeing sinister motives even when this thoroughly discredited regime announces “bold” policy initiatives!

Why, even the King of Good Times Vijay Mallya seemed to be staring at a bottomless pit till FDI in civil aviation and we are forced to realise that the immortal Sachin is not just mortal but also brittle, vulnerable and fallible. Has the promise of a glorious Indian century become a familiar nightmare of missed opportunities, dashed hopes and cruel jokes about the destiny of India being compelled to take three steps backward for every one taken forward?

In an ideal world, the media mirrors reality - the good, the bad and the ugly. So are the mirrors reflecting the petty ugliness of the dreams of Indians being destroyed like they have been for so many centuries past? It is difficult to swim against the tide when things look so bad.

But we think a sort of time out is required in this game of sado masochistic self-flagellation. A time out to pause and take a deep breathe and look at the bigger picture. Do that and you will realise we Indians actually have many reasons to smile and be optimistic about our future.

Yes, we all know that it looks as if India has sunk into a cesspool, a black hole of divisiveness and non-performance. But there is light and perhaps a lot of sunshine once we wade through this cesspool. Of course, unlike political pundits and media stars, we don't claim any monopoly over objectivity, analytical rigour and even clairvoyance.

We just think it is sometimes important to appear naive when pundits pulverise us with pungent and parochial profanities couched as profound polemics. Allow us to cite just ten reasons why. 

1- The Judiciary Delivers Justice : Sure, it will be eons before we approach even a semblance of a properly functional justice delivery system. Come to think of it, we may never. But when was the last that Indians saw the likes of Raja, Kalmadi, Manu Sharma, Amarmani Tripathi and many others behind bars? Were influential people behind communal riots ever convicted in the past? Ode, Naroda Patiya, Kandhamal and Bhagalpur have done that and sent an eloquent message: that you may be high and mighty, but you are in a heap if trouble if you are caught. The next logical step would be punishment delivered, and seen to be delivered to the more egregious fat cat corporate barons. Raju of Satyam was perhaps a beginning. A democracy works only when all citizens are convinced that the laws apply to all, at least most of the time. In India, the powerful always seemed to be above the law. That deeply embedded belief is now gradually changing. It is still a long haul.  But let us at least cheer the great beginning!  

2- Enough of Mai Baap Feudalism : Just about a week or so ago, a labourer in Jharkhand who had the audacity to demand his wages had his hands chopped off. Every time a neta or a VIP decides to travel somewhere by road, there is every chance of a serious patient dying in an ambulance because traffic cops will stop everything till the VIP cavalcade with screeching sirens passes by. An IAS officer, or even clerk, routinely thinks he is doing a favour to a citizen when he performs a task he is paid for. And of course, janata durbaars are still very popular. India is a feudal country and the mai baap culture is embedded in our psyche. But people are no longer willing to take this lying down. RTI, PIL, street protests and in its most extreme form Naxalism are the tools ordinary Indians are using to fight feudalism. You have got to admire people like Sampat Pal, an illiterate woman from Bundelkhand who has transformed her Gulabi Gang into a formidable force. There are many more such Indians who don't get as much media coverage. But they are showing open disgust at the prevalent mai baap culture. 

3- Activists are Active : Back in the bad old days, two harrowing incidents shook many Indians. A labour activist called Shankar Guha Niyogi, a headache for businessmen and industrialists in the resource rich areas of Madhya Pradesh that is now Chattisgarh, was murdered in cold blood. Another activist Safdar Hashmi was murdered in the most vile manner. It is India's shame that the people responsible for the two murders were never brought to justice. Even today, RTI, human rights, environmental and anti-corruption activists face a vicious response from vested interests. Binayak Sen was in jail for almost two years. RTI activists are routinely killed across India. Anti-corruption activists suddenly find a slew of cases against them. But despite these threats, activism is probably the fastest growing activity in India! Many are disappointed at the way the Anna crusade descended into an absurd theatre. Many activists are actually profiteers, on hire fifth columnists and worse who masquerade as do-gooders. But not even an imbecile will deny that activism has been playing a huge role in recent years and defining agendas and forcing a nation to awaken its conscience. May a million mutinies and activists bloom!   

4- Institutions are Saying Take a Hike : Once upon a time, elections were a golden opportunity for thugs, criminals and feudal overlords to earn a lot of money by capturing booths and stuffing ballot papers. Once upon a time, most Indians were clueless about what the CAG was. Once upon a time, it was rare even for the Supreme Court to take on the government unless there was a serious constitutional violation. Then TN Chaturvedi came along and made the CAG famous by submitting an audit of the HDW submarine deal. He was followed by TN Seshan who drove everybody up the wall. But boy, did he put steel and power into a somnolent Election Commission! Of late, the SC has been asserting itself even more aggressively, frequently rapping ministers, bureaucrats and governments for perceived misdeeds. And of course, 2G and coalgate have made Vinod Rai a hated figure for the establishment. The message from the constituional bodies is loud and clear: we are independent and don't mess with us.  

5- The Media is Now a Multitude of Panchayats : You can always accuse the Indian fourth estate of excessive zeal and frequent bouts of immaturity. But just about everybody now agrees that this is one beast that simply cannot be tamed. And we are not talking just of the so-called establishment media of Delhi. In every nook and corner of India, intrepid journalists, often by risking their lives, have been exposing the ugly wounds of India. It is a cacophony, it appears anarchic like India does, but it is working very well. Look at the more obvious cases: but for a mix of aggressive media, aggressive judiciary and aggressive activism, folks like D Raja, Suresh Kalmadi, Manu Sharma and dozens of others would not be behind bars. Conversely, the world would not have known of 'state' victims like Binayak Sen and Aseem Trivedi. But of course, like everything else in India, there are deep fault lines even in the media. The establishment always tries to co-opt the media. But that doesn't help. The much-abused social media jumps into the fray. In fact, it is the social media that seems to have taken over the watchdog role from the mainstream media, despite its many excesses!.

6- Sports Now Has a Sporting Chance : In 1976, it looked as if the last hope of India to win an Olympic medal was shattered when the hockey team was humiliated by emerging powers. A hockey gold medal in the 1980 Moscow Olympics was small consolation since most major nations boycotted the event. Since then, it is cricket all the way when it comes to India's sporting aspirations. Sure, there was that heart-breaking moment in 1984 when PT Usha lost a bronze medal in the Los Angeles Olympics by a whisker. Sure, there have been guys like Prakash Padukone, Geet Sethi, Leander Paes, Vishwanathan Anand.... But it has largely been a desolate landscape. India's ranking in football is eerily similar to its ranking in the Human Development Index – about 130 or so. Unless the Indian cricket team won something big, there was simply nothing for Indian sports fans to cheer. This was even more galling as countries like South Korea and China emerged as world beating sporting powerhouses. But all that is finally changing. Of course, it will be ages before India can match China in sports, or in anything for that matter! But new champs are emerging by the day in badminton, shooting, wrestling and much more. Parents are realising that sports could actually be a future for their kids if they have the talent. And still slowly, but corporate sponsors to nurture young talent are definitely emerging.

7- The Economy Will Survive and Thrive : This is one aspect where the sins of omission and commission of the UPA regime have been the most glaring, and most unforgivable. The Indian economy performed quite well even in the immediate aftermath of the global economic meltdown of 2008. Even pessimistic analysts reckoned that GDP growth rate would average about 7.5 to 8 per cent per year. Nobody had bargained that growth rate will plummet to just about 5 per cent; that industrial production would display virtually zero growth and that exports would actually start declining. All that and worse has happened. And the so called big bang reforms like FDI in multi brand retail and civil aviation will not change anything dramatically in a hurry. Yet, the Indian economy is fundamentally strong and it is bound to bounce back despite poor governance. There have been many instances in the past when poor governance have led to similarly dire situations. But the economy has always bounced back. Of course, good governance would ensure that GDP growth rate could become and remain 10 per cent a year. But then India never was India, and an average growth rate of 7 per cent is nothing to sneeze at.  

8- Bollywood is a Bewildering Bedlam : There was a phase in the 1970s when a parallel cinema movement electrified the cognoscenti. Mrinal Sen, Govind Nihalani and Sai Paranjpye, to name just three, were the superstars of that universe. Of course, a majority of Indians gave a wide berth to such Marx-inspired masterpieces as cinema for them was an escapist mode of entertainment. By the 1980s, most of this parallel cinema withered away and Amrish Puri became Mogambo while Naseeruddin Shah wooed starlets in potboilers. And then came the 1990s when Bollywood appeared to mirror Indian politics. Dynasties became the rule. And the movies were so similar that you could predict the next scene, scene after scene. But something magical has been happening in recent times. The movie buff now has an enthralling variety to choose from. You can watch a heart-warming Do Dooni Chaar or laugh your guts out watching the puerile Buddha Mar Gaya. And of course, both smile, laugh and think while watching Vicky Donor. 

9- Entrepreneurs are Still Enterprising : Even after the floodgates were opened in 1991, India, in many ways, remained a country that was transiting from crony socialism to crony capitalism. And yet, the last two decades have witnessed a dazzling display of the unleashing of animal spirits. Unheard of names that have emerged as successful entrepreneurs and icons for the new generation youth. Unfortunately, crony capitalism became so rampant during UPA-2 that it looked as if genuine entrepreneurs would again be overshadowed by a state doling out natural resources to favoured cronies and billionaires. The 2G scam and coalgate are classic examples of the same. Entrepreneurs thrive when rules are clearly defined and there is a level playing field. This regime has been busy levelling the field. And yet, the animal spirits have refused to be cowed down. From management graduates launching vegetable kiosk chains to chefs launching restaurant chains to unknowns launching nationwide rail taxi services to some intrepid souls making online ventures like makemytrip.com and flipkart.com into global names, new entrepreneurs are still emerging by the day in India, creating jobs and wealth. It is these souls and their dreams and passion that has ensured that the India growth story has not completely collapsed, just as activism has ensured that the idea of India is not destroyed. More power to them!    

10- Secularism Is Safe Beyond Slogans : A cursory look could frighten even the optimistic. Kashmir valley is no longer a simple expression of revolt and a desire for azaadi. It is being gradually taken over by hardline Islamists who would prefer Wahhabi fundamentalism to rule over a once Sufism-inspired paradise. Assam is in flames. Communal riots have become a ritual ever since Samajwadi Party stormed to power in UP. Hindutva hardliners are hardening their prejudices. Islamic hardliners think nothing of attacking mediapersons for imagined insults to Islam. But only the most cynical would say that secularism is fading in India. It simply cannot; it is ingrained in the civilisational ethos of this nation. As many Muslims admit, they were horrified by the Gujarat riots but also felt reassured when it was mostly Hindus who fought for justice to be delivered to the victims. This is a nation where a Hindu converts to Islam and becomes a global icon. We are talking about AR Rehman. After partition, Yusuf Khan had to become Dilip Kumar in order to become a superstar. No such problems with the current!