The only ray of hope for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s supporters is the claim that the world is looking at India because of Modi. The moment allegations such as the collapse of India’s economy, increase in unemployment, and reduction in GDP growth rate are levelled, BJP leaders try to push things under the carpet by claiming that ‘even then, the world’s focus is on India.’ There is no doubt that China’s focus is on India. In the last two months when Chinese mounted attacks in Ladakh, BJP leaders stooped to the level of attributing the attacks to the jealousy triggered due to India’s development under the leadership of Modi! Already, a BJP leader has issued a statement that the developments works initiated in the Indian border have startled China.
In the recent days, the party is drawing up strategies to draw into its fold actors, political leaders, and the media. By delivering hate speeches, a leader can emerge in the country within a day. Similarly, we have seen how television channels retain viewers by spreading rumours and fake news throughout the day. Whatever the result, their only goal is to make sure that they get attention. It is true that a majority of the people were optimistic that Modi would do something new and develop India to such an extent that the world would be amazed at India’s development. His initial speeches and announcements that we will soon witness ‘acche din’ instilled confidence in the people of the country. But all expectations were dashed in the first five years of his administration.
It is not that the world is not looking at India. In fact, the world is looking at India wonder struck. It is looking at the country with anguish, sadness, and worried at where the country has reached! We were at least hopeful that Narendra Modi’s friend US President Donald Trump will have good words to say about India. But now, his friend ‘Doland Trump’ has called India as a ‘dirty country’ in his speech. Perhaps, Modi should have built higher walls on the streets of Gujarat during the ‘Namaste Trump’ programme. Maybe Trump saw Gujarat’s dirt and has now called India a ‘dirty country’. But we need to be clear whether Trump needs to be criticized for calling India a ‘dirty country’ or criticize Narendra Modi for converting the country into one. The country will not develop by getting praised by paid media nor will the world praise the country based on media reports. Similarly, it is not right to forcibly get praised by others. Before criticizing or making sarcastic remarks, we should first weigh the truth in Trump’s statement. Modi had already accepted Trump’s statement and therefore, when Trump arrived, he constructed walls overnight in the by-lanes of Ahmedabad. He has constantly tried to cover up the state of the nation not only by constructing walls but also with the help of the friendly media.
It is ironical that the embarrassment we feel when Trump calls us a ‘dirty country’ is not felt when the United Nations expresses anguish about the increasing human rights violations in the country. The United Nations has already warned that human rights is under tremendous strain in the world’s largest democracy that is India. At the same time, Europe’s Parliamentary Committee had also warned India about the increasing attacks on minorities. These are more humiliating than Trump calling India a ‘dirty country’ in his speech. Such official statements of anguish have not only affected India’s standing in the world but also impacted the country’s economy. Only if democracy has a strong foothold and peace and harmony prevails in a country will industrialists come forward to invest. No country will want to make investment in a country where crime, violence, and cruelty are on the rise. Also, India’s poor performance in the Global Hunger Index and the problem of tuberculosis assuming alarming proportions should be issues of humiliation for the country. We need to quickly find answers for who and what is responsible for India reaching this state. Otherwise, instead of becoming the world leader, India will become a pain to the world.
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New Delhi, Apr 13 (PTI): Kuldeep Yadav's artistry was well complemented by young leg-spinner Vipraj Nigam's happy knack of picking wickets before Tilak Varma's attractive half-century took Mumbai Indians to 205 for 5 in an IPL match here on Sunday.
Tilak (59 off 33 balls) was the only MI batter to capitalise on a good start, hitting six fours and three sixes and making amends for his poor scores in some of the earlier games. Naman Dheer (38 not out off 17 balls) then used the long handle to prop up the total.
On a track where stroke-making wasn't very difficult, the two wrist spinners from Uttar Pradesh snared four wickets between them while giving away 64 runs in their eight overs, which could be termed as brilliant considering the conditions.
The two spinners actually decreased the pace of their deliveries, allowing them to slightly grip off the surface and some of the MI batters perished while going for risky shots.
Rohit Sharma's (18 off 12 balls) wretched IPL form continued as young Vipraj (2/41 in 4 overs) found him plumb in-front with a googly that he missed while trying to go for a slog sweep over the cow-corner. He now has 56 runs from five innings.
For Vipraj, it is some kind of an achievement getting Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in back-to-back games.
Rohit's opening partner Ryan Rickleton (41 off 25 balls) did show spark but the seasoned Kuldeep (2/23 in 4 overs) seemed to have tied a thread to the white Kookaburra, controlling its length like a yo-yo.
Kuldeep flighted the deliveries, there was late dip and Rickleton perished while trying to play for the turn but it was a flipper that went straight.
In case of Suryakumar Yadav (40 off 27 balls), who had just started looking dangerous, Kuldeep decreased the pace and bowled the googly as the bat face turned for India's T20 skipper. The result was a simple catch in the deep.
Tilak and Naman then added 62 runs in 5.3 overs overs to take the team past 200-run mark.