Election!

Every now and then well meaning people of English origin will tell you that the British were “good colonisers” as opposed to the dull and brutal Dutch, the rascally French, the corrupt Belgians etc. The English, common wisdom goes, left behind some really good stuff. And the most important of course is the great English democratic tradition. To which one replies by pointing out the failed states (in the current parlance) they left behind. And adds the fact that India is unique in having taken on these good things and fashioning it to its own needs. In other words, the democratic tradition survives in the country, in whatever bastardised form, because we as a people have always understood it intellectually and are deeply invested in it. And each election in India only confirms this view. Usually I eschew the notion of taking pride in one’s nationality but in every election I can see the good common sense of the land of my birth. And also why its founding fathers are near iconic in so many developing nations. So for today, Vande Mataram! - yes, I know the term has a saffron tinge these days but I simply didn’t want to use a phrase in the language the rest of the post is in :-)