New Year brings hope even at the worst of times. The past is behind us and this is time to look forward to a new future. The year that ended was, worldwide, a usual one. No earth-shaking event took place. There was neither a war of some significance, nor a confrontation beyond the normal. India too carried on through placid times other than for the Pulwama terror attack and the Balakot air strikes that followed, both shaking the sub-continent and beyond. The parliament polls saw a change of government to the effect Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to power. Political stability at the Centre, this past year did not lead to a similar smooth sailing for political parties in the states. The set of assembly polls after the Lok Sabha hustings came up with fractured verdicts. Post-poll alliances helped in the formation of governments in Maharashtra and Haryana, while a coalition of parties formed the government in Jharkhand too. In all the three polls, the BJP took a hit, though it emerged as the single largest party in Maharashtra and Haryana, and conceded a similar ground to the JMM in Jharkhand. India’s economy took a major hit this past year too; its impact being felt in all fields of human activity. Markets are taking the major hit. Cash was hard to come by and jobs were in short-supply. Overall, the year that ended was time for most denizens to tighten their belts. They could only grin and bear with the situation.
Major central government moves saw an end to the Triple Talaq system, followed by the abrogation of Article 370, ending the special status for Kashmir. The tough stand by the Centre helped. The Supreme Court won laurels among a section of citizens for the way it came up with a final verdict on the highly contentious Ayodhya dispute but left others dismayed. The passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act by Parliament raised the nation’s temperature. The year saw no major international developments, though changes were one too many. President Trump got impeached and still stood his ground. In UK, a new election gave the Conservatives a thumbs up and cleared the way for Brexit. Sri Lanka saw the return of the Rajapaksas to power, while it was Asraf Ghani’s turn to retain power in Afghanistan. India’s relations with China were on an even keel this year, with no flashpoints emerging. All these aside, a grim moment for India was when its ambitious Chandrayaan 2 mission failed in September. Contact with Vikram lunar lander was lost – a low point in the nation’s prestigious Space odyssey. This coming year is set to see the country faces major challenges even as the nation-wide protests against the CAA gain momentum. The NCR and NPR are both creating heartburns as it is believed that they are set to turn many into non-citizens or stateless citizens without any antecedents about the country of their origins. How the centre handles these hot issues will not only decide the future of the BJP but also the trajectory towards which the country is heading.
