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Implosion: India’s Tryst with Reality
Aperceptive foreign writer on India has an advantage as well as a disadvantage: Advantage of observing oddities, which locals get used to and ignore, and disadvantage of writing for foreign readers something which can be irritatingly familiar for Indian readers. John Elliott, who used to cover India for Financial Times and write for The Independent and The Economist, tends to reinforce foreigners' belief that India is still "a functional anarchy". The book was written at a time when scams had eroded public faith in governments and politicians were named in corruption cases, growing rapes, price rise and unemployment drove youngsters on to the streets to protest, growth slowed down and UPA-II scared away foreign investors with inaction and retroactive tax amendments. The book focuses on scams and captures the prevalent mood of pessimism and anger but fails to appreciate the popular yearning for change and the rise of Narendra Modi. The distinguished journalist makes so much of the prevalent "chalta-hai" attitude in India, resort to "jugaad" or short-cuts to fix things, the so-called collapse of institutions and governance resulting in corruption and societal decay that he calls his book "Implosion" by which he means "inward collapse". India, according to Elliott, is a place "where many deals have an illicit price, and where politicians and bureaucrats link with businessmen to plunder the country's wealth, deprive the poor of sustenance and aid, steal natural resources that range from land and coal to wildlife, and secure future wealth through layers of political dynasties".
Narrating the Khobragade incident Elliott writes: "The sharp reaction — and media frenzy — in India flushed out a latent anti-America feeling born out of resentment of the way the US threw its weight around". After Modi's US visit, where is that "anti-America feeling"? The change in the national mood and the media approach towards the Aam Aadmi Party is all too clear, especially when the book concluded Arvind Kejriwal was the Chief Minister of Delhi and at the height of his popularity. AAP, according to the author, has "provided a platform to people to become a part of a movement that could be an alternative to self-serving and corrupt national and regional political parties". Not many may now see AAP as an alternative to any political party in any state other than Punjab and Delhi. Hasty conclusions about Indians — or people of any country for that matter — based on a small part of history can be risky. Yet journalists get carried away by unfolding events. John Elliott is right in his diagnosis of what is wrong with India but seems to believe that India is ungovernable. He is not very optimistic about solutions and improvements even though he recognises the collective efforts that ensured the success of the White Revolution, the holding of Kumbh Mela, the Golden Quadrilateral highway programme, the construction of Delhi Metro and the Aadhaar scheme.
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However, the book is
over by the time the clouds start dispersing, hope resurfaces and the
Narendra Modi government assumes office. Not much has changed on the
ground, yet foreign investors and observers are looking at India with
renewed interest. In the changed scenario, it may be hard to digest
the book's extreme remark that "India (is) becoming an
increasingly predictable, uncompetitive and even difficult place to
live and do development and business". Foreign fund managers may
not agree.