Six events and counting – the developments in the Kashmir imbroglio, the tardy response to the Kosi disaster, the escalating communal riots in Orissa, the events in Singur, the acknowledged failure of the NREGS and the latest terrorist strikes in the heart of the capital - defined the past fortnight and put a question mark over India’s capability to develop a policy and governance framework that is both efficient and responsive to the complex and evolving needs of the nation.
On the positive side, the waiver obtained from the exclusive Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) was exceptional and as always, attributed to the tireless efforts of a few good men. The event did not go completely unopposed. Western editorials were quite scathing in their attack on India’s seemingly outrageous attempts to bypass the NPT regime stating that the ban on trade with countries that break the non-proliferation rules has been the chief underpinning of the NPT regime. However, the recognition by the current US government of the strategic alignment of common interests of the world’s oldest and largest democracies might still pave a bipartisan way for the 123 agreement through the US Congress.
The events in the global financial markets, specifically in the United States, has been unprecedented both in terms of the nature of the disaster and its magnitude. Lehman Brothers filed for bancruptcy, Merrill Lynch has agreed to be purchased by Bank of America, Bear Stearns has gone, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have been converted to retail commercial banks. With AIG and WaMu floundering and the bailout of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae by the Fed, the financial market as we knew it ceased to exist. Once the full extent of the crisis unravels through bouts of deleveraging, someone will have the time to write an obituary to the business model that governed Wall St for more than half a century.
Not exactly the brightest September by a long shot!
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