EDITOR'S COLUMN

Friends,

This 15th Aug marked the 71st birthday of free India, when on the same day in 1947, Union Jack finally came down for the Indian tricolour to unfurl at the historic Red Fort. Yes, tiranga fluttered for all these past 70 years. This time round it was the newest President of India, RamNath Govind (Kovind) who spoke to the nation on the 14th night calling for a compassionate and an egalitarian India without any discrimination of gender or faith, with the well  being of the poor and underprivileged being of paramount    importance in the all round development of the country.
Addressing the nation from the rampart of Red Fort, Prime Minister Modi invoked the image of majestic India by 2022, by asking all Indians to march together with the dream of an India of grandeur and majesty by the 75th year of India’s independence. His 2014 speech was inspirational, followed by 2015 and 2016 which were more matter of fact. By 2017 he had probably realized that the promises he made were taking more time to be fulfilled. May be he thought, most Indians have not done what he expected. Hence this new vision of Majestic India, may spur Indians in the next 5 years to act. Prime Minister Modi is a word smith. Yes, he has tried many things, in this short span of 3 years. But then incubation takes time. By the latest call of Majestic India, some more productivity will surely be added. With the myriad problems country is facing Majestic India is a very long shot.
Month-in-Perspective has as usual took some of the issues of the month that went by. But there were quite a few remained that need to be mentioned all the same. Death of over 60 children in UP govt. hospital was one of the major happening of the month. As usual political blame games were unleashed. Making scapegoats of vulnerable persons is a time tested modus operendi. But it was clearly a poor reflection on the ability of Adityanath as Chief Minister to manage a huge state like UP with its hundreds of problems of all kinds. The judgement by Supreme Court on Triple Talaq is certainly path breaking for Muslim women. Hope the community wakes up to the reality by gracefully accepting the apex courts verdict. Sadly the CJI Khehar strangely took a questionable stand that being 1400 years old, the practice, although bad, should be allowed to carry on. It is unjust, so be it was his take. Another incendiary episode, involving the followers of cult leader Ram Rahim, who was convicted for rape, happened some 15 years ago. It was a clear case of government failure in Haryana, which did not act in time to stop the mayhem where close to 40 died. It was also, a poor reflection on the management skill of Chief Minister Khattar.
Yes, looking back over the 70th year of independent India, although we have not done badly in many parameters of development, there is still a vast section of Indians who have not experienced development. In Focus, we have tried to deal with the issues where lot needs to be done to alleviate the suffering of those in the margin. Independence Day meant nothing for them. Hope readers would find our account of the state of India serious enough to ponder. Kindly revert with your inputs. We do value them.   

J. Shriyan