2011 - A Year Lost in History

We are at the end of 2011 and in a week from now, this year will be part of history as we turn the page over to a new year.

As I look back on this year, I remember we started out with thick dark clouds on the horizon and in the midst of a crisis that seemed to overwhelm the government and an air of resignation amongst the people about our shared destiny of chaos, mess and failure. 

We saw the rise of a phenomenon called Anna Hazare, a doughty fighter from Maharashtra who raised the battle cry against corruption and the self-serving political class. The outpouring of anger was so real and so massive that it took everyone by surprise and pushed the political class on backfoot.

I had commented in my previous two posts on this fight against corruption.  Corruption - Will Leigislation Help? and Battle Against Corruption - A Tough Crusader that the political class ..."shall try everything in the book or otherwise to impede the Lokpal and weaken the whole institution by appointing "men of straw" to office."

We have seen exactly these things unfold in the six months since my last post.

Corruption is just one issue but if you see the year gone by, it seems some strange paralysis seems to have struck both the Government and the people of India. We have just gone to sleep and have let the year slip by without having done almost anything. Such waste of time is expensive and we may never know the cost. 

Another scourge that has ravaged us has been inflation. With food prices at all-time highs, many more Indians slept through 2011 on a hungry stomach. We had never eliminated hunger from our midst, we only succeeded in increasing the number of hungry people this year.

Our industry has lost its way and suddenly, we are talking of a slowdown and its negative impact. I am surprised how in India, when so much needs to be done, we talk of a slow-down. This is a result of lack of courage, self-confidence and using wisdom that is failing the wrold over to solve our problems. Wrong diagnosis and wrong medicine prescribed.

I hope, in 2012, we as a nation gather some confidence and act in self-interest, initiate a revival and set India on track to healthy growth and this prosperity percolates down to the lowest level. This year then could be a game changer in many respects.