The Big Story: Reformation nation
This year started on a bad note. Whales beaching themselves, an absent winter, a terror attack in Pathankot (and Baghdad, and Libya, and Turkey). Oh and David Bowie died. It hasn't gotten much better since. There have been more devastating terror attacks abroad and plenty of terrifying ones in India. Amidst all this, the government thought it wise in February to arrest students simply because of the words coming out of their mouths, while allowing goons actually committing violence to go scot-free. Oh, and Mohammad Ali died. And Prince. And Alan Rickman.
July 1 also marks another important landmark. It is 25 years since India set forth on a path to liberalising its economy, under the watchful eyes of former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao and then-finance minister Manmohan Singh. The licence raj was taken apart, the rupee was made convertible, the trade policy was overhauled and India was ineluctably altered – all because a minority government found itself in a crisis.
The first six months of 1991 didn't go terribly well either, but the measures that followed ended up fundamentally altering India for the better. The nation doesn't quite stand on as steep a precipice halfway through 2016. After two drought years, the promise of a good monsoon could meant that the agrarian crisis will get some relief. The economy appears to be growing and seems to have worked its way out of doldrums. There is even hope that the government could pass some long-awaited reforms in the upcoming Parliamentary session.
All of this could easily go off the rails though. India failed to make headway with Pakistan through the year and now finds itself in an even worse position with China. The economic numbers may look good, but no one seems to quite believe them and the Reserve Bank of India Governor who was helping shepherd the economy has been shunted out after a nasty public campaign. The fact that we are still so reliant on the monsoon 25 years after liberalisation should be a major cause for concern. And the communal, jingoistic forces unleashed over the last few years are all congregating in the state of Uttar Pradesh, the biggest electoral prize between Lok Sabha elections.
In a rare interview, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lamented the fact that India only acts constructively in a crisis, while the rest of the time status quo takes over. Yet the story of the last few years has been a series of little crisis and plenty of "constructive" action, without much appropriate scrutiny. From mining policy changes to educational overhauls and the approach to the environment, India certainly isn't sticking to the status quo.
If Prime Minister Narendra Modi manages to pass the Goods and Services Tax law – an effort to turn India into something of a common market – this year, it will be one of the most significant reforms in years. But, coupled with all of the other worrisome choices this government seems to be making, what are the chances we will be looking back at 2016 with the same sort of fondness (or at least appreciation) that we devote to 1991?
The Big Scroll
India before 1991: Has liberalisation really improved life for every Indian? Go away already, 2016.
Political Picks
1. Look where the money for India's solar power plans is coming from: The World Bank, which just gave India a whopping $1 billion in loans towards its solar energy efforts.
2. The Telegraph hilariously went and asked British canine specialists whether Subramanian Swamy's claim that the phrase "unelectable dog" (believed to be a reference to a certain Cabinet minister), is commonly used in the United Kingdom. It's not.
3. Expect more talk of a Cabinet reshuffle after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held a ministerial review.
4. Jawaharlal Nehru University will this month host a national convention of students and youth on campus on July 15 and 16, with the aim of bringing together the various student campaigns and also working towards the drafting of a Rohith Act.
5. Another senior Bahujan Samaj Party leader, founder member RK Chaudhary, has left the party, again citing chief Mayawati's alleged auctioning of party tickets.
Giggle
Punditry
1. Shaji Vikraman in the Indian Express gets a rare interview with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on the 25th anniversary of the liberalisation of India's economy.
2. A leader in Mint also looks back at the impact of the most dramatic month in Indian economic history.
3. Chaitanya Kalbag, at the Nikkei Asian Review, also speaks to Manmohan Singh about the legacy of the 1991 reforms.
Don't Miss
Dhirendra Jha writes about the shadowy group accused of planning the 2008 Malegaon blasts, which has deep roots in the Sangh.
"Ever since the Malegaon blast of 2008, investigative agencies have been furiously working to learn more about the origin of the extremist Hindutva outfit Abhinav Bharat, whose members are accused of being behind this act of terror. But despite the investigations, there’s still little we know about this shadowy organisation.
There’s considerable confusion regarding how the organisation was formed and who actually formed it. While one version says Sameer Kulkarni, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast, started it, another version says that its founder was Lt Col Shrikant Purohit, another key accused in the same blast case."
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