As the world leaves behind a parlous 2024 there is no end in sight yet of two major wars in Ukraine and around the Gaza Strip and civil wars are raging in Somalia, Haiti, Myanmar and many other countries, besides an uprising in Bangladesh, with no sign of the issues being resolved.
The eternal optimists can, however, hope that the chronological convenience of turning the Gregorian calendar to January 2025 will bring some sense to those involved that violence leads to nothing except that it only begets more violence.
Making 2024 such a tumultuous year beyond the wars and conflicts was the fact that two billion people, around a quarter of the world’s population, went to polling booths to register their choice. Their disenchantment with the status quo saw many ruling parties come tumbling down as in the UK and the United States and many other countries where the desire for change dominated.
Significantly, the BJP led-NDA alliance survived the global storm that felled political parties, but with reduced numbers and without a majority of its own for the BJP. That brought India back to a time of coalitions with a chastened Prime Minister having to bow to alliance dharma and make mellower his party’s stance on many issues.
The year post-polls, however, saw more political wrangling with harmony distinctly lacking as the Winter Session of Parliament was ruled by a stalemate between a protesting Opposition and a government that saw an opportunity in recalling the past with its own narratives on historical figures as the debate on the Constitution in its platinum jubilee year became an exception to the regular bedlam in the House.
In these contentious times in which polarisation has become the leading characteristic of democracies, harmony is an elusive concept, but one that must be sought at least by the government and the Opposition if a major reform to the electoral process like the “One Nation One Election” must stand any chance of triggering an open debate and a broad consensus.
Considering the rulers and the Opposition could not be together even at the funeral of a two-term Prime Minister of this millennium in Manmohan Singh, harmony seems a concept too far for a fractured polity in a pluralist society. Apart from the renowned economist who became an accidental PM, the country saw many a luminary of the arts like Shyam Benegal and a gem of a progressive titan of industry in Ratan Tata depart.
The world of sport remained extremely competitive and there too it was individuals like the chess champions D. Gukesh and Koneru Humpy, the Olympic twin bronze medallist Manu Bhaker and the peerless fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah who shone. As far as team games went, it wasn’t the best of years even if Team India did break a long ICC trophy drought by winning the T20 World Cup.
The ineffectual performances in team sports may be taken to represent Indians’ difficulties in staying together amicably. Togetherness has goodness in it, so goes the saying, and it might mean something as the world prepares for what could be a turbulent Trump year with his promised tariff wars adding another dimension to the suffering already wrought by economic downturns and climate change catastrophes.
Talking of the economy, there is much to do as the rulers could not have missed the signs of a dip in the last couple of quarters in the world’s fastest growing large economy. Even bickering Indians must see a need for growth for which consumption must rise too. All is not well is the message that 2024 conveyed. Hopefully, the New Year will be better for all.
