Wool-gathering
What's better than ending the year with a blogpost? Starting the year with one!
The other day when I was going through Roxanne's Pinterest, I came across a board where there were new words with definitions. One of the words was 'wool-gathering' and I learnt it because I do so much wool-gathering. Wool-gathering basically means to day dream and I thought I should write about my favourite dream.
The past few years of the BJP government have been a nightmare. I remember when they came to power, basically by Modi's win in 2014, against Kejriwal, I was screaming in my hall in front of the TV. My mother came running out to calm me down and told me that everything will be alright. I knew it wouldn't. My mother passed away and she did not get to see half the monstrosity of the government- thank God. I was despairing- when they came back to power in May 2019, during the RTI amendment, Triple Talak Bill, Abrogation of article 370 in Kashmir, Babri Verdict and then CAB and CAA. I had lost hope. The Hyderabad incident and the Maharashtra horse trading angered me. I felt like the frustration was bottling up but I was the passive kinds who was waiting for a leader to start the fight and I would join but there was nothing of that sort in sight. When my friend Tejas was here in London, I told him that I had hope, and I was sure that 2024 would be different. He told me that the damage has been deep and I was too naive to expect change so soon. I continued to hope.
In early December, the protests started, the students at Jamia became the leaders that I was waiting for and slowly, we saw that protests erupted across the country and through the world. I knew I was living in a bubble where people supported the left, AAP, secularism and righteousness, but I didn't know how small my bubble was. In the past few weeks, through the protests, I saw that my bubble was not that small. It was not really big, but it was not that small either. My faith was restored and with continuing protests, I feel like something good might come out of this.
But I owe it to myself to dream a little bit. To see what kind of world I would like to live in and nothing can be more soothing than a collective moral imagination. So I thought I'll put down a dream sequence of sorts. A collective wool-gathering!
It is about mid 2022 and we have two years left for the central elections. India is emerging from protests where almost half the country came out to say no to CAA. The Supreme Court struck down the CAA as unconstitutional and because several states said the NPR would not be implemented, NPR was also abandoned. The entire world is feeling a lot more optimistic because Bernie Sanders has become President of the USA and his election can have a demonstration effect on all the right wing countries that left wing governments can be possible and effective. People are slowly gaining power all across the world and big money is losing. India is also feeling the same effects and Indians are now beginning to question the right wing government in India. In the past few assembly elections the BJP has been decimated. In UP, the BJP which was led by Ajay Bisht has taken a beating, which was something that was unthinkable for a while. However, the uproar against the UP police during the anti-CAA protests brought much shame to BJP and is contributing to the downfall of the government at the center. Modi has been identified as a genocidal maniac the world over and several world leaders have slammed him, led by President Bernie Sanders. Now as the country gears up for the LS elections, it is clear that Amit Shah cannot be the PM candidate as he is very tainted and the anger against him among Indians has been immense. Congress is gaining in popularity due to the leadership of D K Shivakumar and Rahul Gandhi has taken a back seat however he is contesting elections and is still active in politics. Because of the coalition with AAP, the Congress looks like it will win quite a few seats. Some of the other changes that have taken place is that EVMs have been replaced. Considerable pressure has been applied by the EC in restoring the faith in Indian elections and EVMs have been replaced by the paper ballot. The media has slowly begun to show spine which is mainly because of the anger of the people. They began to demand a more non-partisan media.
In 2024:
Congress- AAP has come to power in a coalition and Arvind Kejriwal is the Prime Minister. They have partnered with other parties. BJP has been decimated.
The RSS has been banned. The media has been turned to more neutral. Several education programmes are taking place to teach children the constitution and secularism. The economy is slowly rising back and Raghuram Rajan has become the finance minister but his neoliberal policies do not have a free hand because there is a strong left government at the center. Atishi is the HRD minister and Shehla Rashid is the Minister for Welfare of Women and Children. Raghav Chaddha is the CM of Delhi (which is now a full state) and AAP's impact is growing in other states. Kanhaiya Kumar is now an MP and Mahua Moitra is back for her second term. Manish Sisodia is the Home Minister. Smriti Irani has been wiped out and India is back on track. The abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir has been nullified and genuine efforts are being made to develop Kashmir (and other states like UP, Bihar and the rest of the cow belt) and the RSS workers who were part of various institutions are on the way out. Like I said, a massive education project is being undertaken to instill in people ideals of secularism and solidarity. Jobs are slowly being generated and India is in surplus financially. Medha Patkar is the Minister of Environment and she is ensuring the protection and regeneration of forests, and rivers. No corporation can bribe this government. Modi, Amit Shah and Yogi have gone underground and most likely will be caught like Saddam Hussein was. The India of our dreams is in our hands and we have a chance to keep it that way. No more appeasement of Muslims without them being given a real equal chance to move ahead in life. No more creating young men and women as rioters. The BJP IT cell is decimated and those who supported the previous government are humiliated beyond measure. This is a government of integrity and therefore lives are better for all. All people in India are busy rebuilding the nation.
BJP Free Bharat. BJP Murdabad. Modi-Shah Murdabad. Yogi Murdabad. Inquilab Zindabad. Jai Hind!
Good night everyone! Don't forget to dream. We have that responsibility.
The other day when I was going through Roxanne's Pinterest, I came across a board where there were new words with definitions. One of the words was 'wool-gathering' and I learnt it because I do so much wool-gathering. Wool-gathering basically means to day dream and I thought I should write about my favourite dream.
The past few years of the BJP government have been a nightmare. I remember when they came to power, basically by Modi's win in 2014, against Kejriwal, I was screaming in my hall in front of the TV. My mother came running out to calm me down and told me that everything will be alright. I knew it wouldn't. My mother passed away and she did not get to see half the monstrosity of the government- thank God. I was despairing- when they came back to power in May 2019, during the RTI amendment, Triple Talak Bill, Abrogation of article 370 in Kashmir, Babri Verdict and then CAB and CAA. I had lost hope. The Hyderabad incident and the Maharashtra horse trading angered me. I felt like the frustration was bottling up but I was the passive kinds who was waiting for a leader to start the fight and I would join but there was nothing of that sort in sight. When my friend Tejas was here in London, I told him that I had hope, and I was sure that 2024 would be different. He told me that the damage has been deep and I was too naive to expect change so soon. I continued to hope.
In early December, the protests started, the students at Jamia became the leaders that I was waiting for and slowly, we saw that protests erupted across the country and through the world. I knew I was living in a bubble where people supported the left, AAP, secularism and righteousness, but I didn't know how small my bubble was. In the past few weeks, through the protests, I saw that my bubble was not that small. It was not really big, but it was not that small either. My faith was restored and with continuing protests, I feel like something good might come out of this.
But I owe it to myself to dream a little bit. To see what kind of world I would like to live in and nothing can be more soothing than a collective moral imagination. So I thought I'll put down a dream sequence of sorts. A collective wool-gathering!
It is about mid 2022 and we have two years left for the central elections. India is emerging from protests where almost half the country came out to say no to CAA. The Supreme Court struck down the CAA as unconstitutional and because several states said the NPR would not be implemented, NPR was also abandoned. The entire world is feeling a lot more optimistic because Bernie Sanders has become President of the USA and his election can have a demonstration effect on all the right wing countries that left wing governments can be possible and effective. People are slowly gaining power all across the world and big money is losing. India is also feeling the same effects and Indians are now beginning to question the right wing government in India. In the past few assembly elections the BJP has been decimated. In UP, the BJP which was led by Ajay Bisht has taken a beating, which was something that was unthinkable for a while. However, the uproar against the UP police during the anti-CAA protests brought much shame to BJP and is contributing to the downfall of the government at the center. Modi has been identified as a genocidal maniac the world over and several world leaders have slammed him, led by President Bernie Sanders. Now as the country gears up for the LS elections, it is clear that Amit Shah cannot be the PM candidate as he is very tainted and the anger against him among Indians has been immense. Congress is gaining in popularity due to the leadership of D K Shivakumar and Rahul Gandhi has taken a back seat however he is contesting elections and is still active in politics. Because of the coalition with AAP, the Congress looks like it will win quite a few seats. Some of the other changes that have taken place is that EVMs have been replaced. Considerable pressure has been applied by the EC in restoring the faith in Indian elections and EVMs have been replaced by the paper ballot. The media has slowly begun to show spine which is mainly because of the anger of the people. They began to demand a more non-partisan media.
In 2024:
Congress- AAP has come to power in a coalition and Arvind Kejriwal is the Prime Minister. They have partnered with other parties. BJP has been decimated.
The RSS has been banned. The media has been turned to more neutral. Several education programmes are taking place to teach children the constitution and secularism. The economy is slowly rising back and Raghuram Rajan has become the finance minister but his neoliberal policies do not have a free hand because there is a strong left government at the center. Atishi is the HRD minister and Shehla Rashid is the Minister for Welfare of Women and Children. Raghav Chaddha is the CM of Delhi (which is now a full state) and AAP's impact is growing in other states. Kanhaiya Kumar is now an MP and Mahua Moitra is back for her second term. Manish Sisodia is the Home Minister. Smriti Irani has been wiped out and India is back on track. The abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir has been nullified and genuine efforts are being made to develop Kashmir (and other states like UP, Bihar and the rest of the cow belt) and the RSS workers who were part of various institutions are on the way out. Like I said, a massive education project is being undertaken to instill in people ideals of secularism and solidarity. Jobs are slowly being generated and India is in surplus financially. Medha Patkar is the Minister of Environment and she is ensuring the protection and regeneration of forests, and rivers. No corporation can bribe this government. Modi, Amit Shah and Yogi have gone underground and most likely will be caught like Saddam Hussein was. The India of our dreams is in our hands and we have a chance to keep it that way. No more appeasement of Muslims without them being given a real equal chance to move ahead in life. No more creating young men and women as rioters. The BJP IT cell is decimated and those who supported the previous government are humiliated beyond measure. This is a government of integrity and therefore lives are better for all. All people in India are busy rebuilding the nation.
BJP Free Bharat. BJP Murdabad. Modi-Shah Murdabad. Yogi Murdabad. Inquilab Zindabad. Jai Hind!
Good night everyone! Don't forget to dream. We have that responsibility.
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