In the belly of a city,
Where there are roads all over,
It's even more difficult,
To remember the goal.
– Binod Kumar in a Hindostani gazal
In the land of arguably some of the most argumentative people in the world, manufactured consent has edged out all contestations from the public sphere. Instead of debating the crises of food, water and energy; rampant ignorance and illiteracy; the unchecked rise of communalism; the accelerating marginalisation of the poor; continuing caste discrimination; the alarming democratic deficit or pitiful public squalor even in metropolitan cities – the Indian media is regularly full of celebratory stories of concern to a miniscule section of its middle class.
With apparent relish, the press offers the antics of Bombay cine actors, the exploits of cyber coolies of Bangalore, the shenanigans of cricket stars of Bengal, the outlandish ways of the entertainment tsars of Madras, the machinations of media moguls of New Delhi, and the mega-deals of Gujaratis and Marwaris propounded as achievements of an ascendant nation. Manmohan Singh once gloated, "There is no better way of assuring oneself that all is well with the world, than seeing your newspaper at your doorstep every morning." The tone of today's television reports must certainly make him feel that everything is indeed still getting better.
This leap year began with India leapfrogging into a bigger league. The initial public offer (IPO) of Reliance Power was subscribed to twice over within 58 seconds of its opening, attracting five million applicants and USD 190 billion before its closing. The Ambanis had started small a few decades ago, they started thinking big, doing bigger and delivering astounding numbers. The Tatas have been around for decades, but these days they seal gigantic deals abroad – Tetley Tea, Corus Steel and Jaguar Cars are not for desis. For the home market, it has now unveiled a motorcar with an ex-factory price-tag of a hundred-thousand rupees, the cheapest passenger car in the world.