The world comprises of nations. And nations comprise of its people and their leaders. Many times the leaders define the destiny of a nation. For example, if Mahatma Gandhi would have been born 20 years later, the destiny of India would have been entirely different. It would have been different also, if he was born in any other country, say Japan.
With globalization, the interdependency of nations on one another has increased manifolds than in the past. In the current circumstances, cold winds blowing on NASDAQ can give cough and sneezes to the Indian stock Markets. The bulls and bears across the stock markets are dictated more by the political and economical events in other countries than the fundamental strength or weakness of their own scrips.
And that is why, today, an important event in any one country could have far reaching effects on the entire world. We list here the 7 most important events / occurrences / phenomenon which went on to shape the world during last decade. Some of these are one time occurrences while some are ongoing. Some happened at beginning of the century while some early this year. The results of some are already seen, while the results of some others are continuing to evolve…
Election of Barack Hussain Obama as US President
Who would have believed 10 years back that a Non-American (by birth) would be leading America? Anyone who would have predicted then that a person born in Kenya who spent his early childhood in Indonesia would become President of America would have been laughed at and sent to mental asylum for a checkup. This is a huge change in the mindset of Americans. To vote and elect a non-white (apologies for making a racist statement, but that delivers the message aptly) into the white house is a big step forward for Americans to have shown signs of maturity and broad mindedness.
When Obama was elected, there were tones of millions of print written world over on how a person with dreams in his eyes, sincerity in his approach and excellent oratory skills could do miracles. But much less was written about the people of America who gave him that opportunity. This would not have been possible, unless majority of Americans voted for a change from the traditional mindset. So, it is equally a victory for an ‘Aam American’ to have thought out-of-the box for the first time in history to do something which was unthinkable just a few years ago.
This change heralds a new outlook for the world which is forward looking, less arrogant, more open minded, more optimistic and more positive about the future. This change has also changed the rules of the game in political arena of USA. It may not be a surprise if an Indian-born like Bobby Jindal, who is already making news in US administration, becomes US President in future.
Increasing Natural calamities around the world
The number of people who died in natural calamities during the last decade is much more than those who died in the terrorist attacks all over the world since Second World War. Is this not a disturbing fact? The entire world is actively engaged in fighting a war against terrorism. Who will protect the humanity from natural calamities? No matter how powerful a person is, his strength and capabilities are grossly inadequate to safeguard him from the vagaries of the hostile nature.
The tsunami of 2004 had killed around 200,000 people in few minutes. The earthquakes in different parts around the world are regularly killing hundreds of people. Floods are inundating scores of villages and making people homeless, while moving the complete villages in one go to new places. Wild fires of America are resulting in massive deforestation thereby tremendously increasing the Carbon dioxide content in atmosphere and accelerated global warming. The hurricanes in US are coming more frequently now than ever before. The ice in Antarctica is melting at an unprecedented pace giving fears of rising sea levels which will affect the coastal areas in every single country along the sea coast around the world.
What is worrying is that the frequency of these occurrences has increased significantly in the last decade. And the disappointing factor is that there is absolutely nothing that a person can do to prevent being affected by the natural calamities. A king and a beggar are equally affected by an earthquake. If this continues, what is the guarantee of any human life?
The world is coping up with these uncertainties and moving on. The recent nuclear plant incident in Japan has made the world to sit back and review its nuclear policies. No amount of political or corporate lobbying in the past had attracted this much serious thinking about nuclear strategies. Nature has done that.
Added to that there are different theories floating around about the 2012, ‘The judgment day’ etc, which further instill fear in minds of weak hearted people.
The Recession of 2008
The entire world has witnessed a recession in last few years. Our children and grandchildren will use the terminology ‘The recession of 2008…” just as we refer the great recession of 1937.
This recession has no doubt changed many futures around the world. Many people lost their jobs. Many more had to relocate at much lesser remunerations. The growth almost halted for many. The younger children, whose parents lost their jobs, are going to have a far reaching impact in their thought process on any sort of expenditure in their future lives.
What is more surprising is that despite the highly advanced accounting practices available today, no one really predicted the recession of this size. So, is it something like an earthquake which cannot be predicted? Where was the collective intelligence of all high breed accounting professionals in 2006 and 2007?
As per one theory, this recession was an indirect result of the arrogant and reckless behavior of the new breed of MBAs who are occupying the top positions in banking and other financial sectors. These people take decisions based on impulsive behavior and personal emotions rather than any logic or thoroughly researched analysis. In earlier times, the decisions were taken after due diligence and proper justifications.
Today, people talk of a second wave of recession. No one is sure, when the world economy will be back on track. . The equations are changing. Already people talk of the weakening of existing super power. One of the auditing companies has downgraded US for the first time in history. On the other hand, the business magazines talk at length about the success stories of BRIC economies.
This change in the relative standing of different countries is definitely going to have a lot of impact on the common men living in those countries. In Obama’s words, “Earlier when an American child did not eat, the parents used to say, please eat. Think of so many Indian children who are starving…! Now, when an American child does not study, the parents say, please study. Otherwise an Indian child will take your job and you will starve…!”
The Arab Revolution
What is currently happening in Arab countries is beyond anybody’s logical understanding and comprehension. How can one digest a fact that the countries which were ruled for decades by rulers are suddenly waking up to the thoughts of democracy. And we are not talking about one or two countries here. There are dozens of them. And they are all in different stages of this transformation. Some are adopting peaceful means while some are extremely bloodied.
It all started off with Tunisia. And then the little signs of success there encouraged their neighboring countries like Egypt and Libya to try similar things. It is very unfortunate that these rulers who ruled for several years are either attending courts on a stretcher in a metal cage or are being flushed out of drains and killed point blank. The sensible ones are taking political asylum in other countries. But then, if we really think about it, this is the result of their own actions. Most of these rulers had used their power for aggrandizing the personal wealth and ruled over people by using harsh means. Any dissent was crushed then and there.
What is notable here is the fact that people have realized their power. They have shown to themselves and the world that if they unite, no one can come in their way. And this very fact is giving sleepless nights to the rulers of those countries in Arab world, which are yet to see any such demonstrations. For they know that one day or other, their people are also going to try it out on them. And that is a cause of big worry for them.
That is why, we see so many rulers suddenly declaring generous incentives and gifts to their local population. This is only an attempt to postpone or avoid the revolt. The moot question is where will it stop? And how the world will look like when the carnage is over? How will the political equations change? Will other countries get involved at any stage in this internal power struggle? And finally, who will finally gain and who will lose at the end.
The Anna Hazare movement
This one movement has caught the eye of the entire world because of several unique characteristics of this movement. First of all, this was lead by a 74 year old man who had no personal benefits coming to him from his demands. He was asking something which would have helped to minimize corruption in the society and increase accountability of the government.
The movement had no any organizational and hierarchical leadership to lead such huge masses across almost every city and town in India for almost two weeks. What is more surprising is that it was totally non-violent. Even properly organized political rallies witness some violence, but this was an exception. Another striking feature of this movement was the impressive participation from women and children in large numbers.
Many youngsters opined that they had only heard about the freedom struggle all these days. But they felt it during this movement. People were getting drawn into it with each passing day. There was no coercion from any quarters for anyone to join the struggle. It was a completely conscience driven struggle with 100% voluntary involvement.
By the time this ‘fast’ had reached its 8th day, it started making international headlines. Many countries were interested in knowing the outcome, as it made an excellent case study to evaluate the might of people protesting against the government in a peaceful manner. In Pakistan, there is one Jahangir, 68 who also is planning to start such a movement. Anna has also received an invitation from Pakistan as a dignitary.
Through this movement, what comes out is that even today, people protesting in a non violent manner have the power to overthrow a well elected government. The way it started off, the way it generated momentum is a miracle in today’s world and shall be remembered in history for a very long time.
However, it is very much doubtful, whether a sequel of this act would be half as popular. This is because, certain things click at one time, but fail to impress the second time. And already the sheen and aura around the coveted members of team Anna has started to fade with allegations leveled against them. Though these allegations are generally minor in nature, they will definitely erode the sanctity of their movement.
Tihar jail – A new home for ministers
Never in the history of independent India have so many ministers and senior bureaucrats / businessmen lodged in a jail. Whatever are the compelling reasons for the government to do so; one thing is clear that law finally catches up with the criminals. The judiciary system in India is finally appearing to wake up to the ugly reality of the corporate – political nexus and taking stringent measures to control it.
Could anyone have ever thought that the giants like Suresh Kalmadi, A Raja, Kanimozhi, Amar Singh, Yeddiyurappa and Reddy (mining) would be in jail on various charges of corruption? The Maran brothers and Jagan mohan Reddy are next in the list to be arrested soon. This only shows that the accountability is slowly rising in the Indian political system. The political parties are not willing to stake their future at stake by shielding the corrupt individuals, however powerful they may be.
This is a harbinger of a new era when every politician will be scared to do anything wrong. And that is a very good sign from the governance perspective. Finally, people can hope that their hard earned money, which is collected in various forms of taxes, is spent for their welfare and not stashed away in Swiss banks by a few individuals in a clandestine manner. The popular joke doing rounds is that the Swiss bank is installing an ATM machine inside the Tihar jail premises for better customer service.
Virtual colonies
In olden days, elder people used to gather in the evenings at the Nukkad, Chauraha or Chaupal of the villages to gossip, discuss and share the happenings around. The children used to play and become friends with those in the neighborhood. The readers above the age group of mid 40s would also remember something called ‘Pen pals’. A pen pal was a friend living in another city that we have never met but is a friend through letters delivered through post office. People used to pride themselves with the number of pen pals they had.
In last few years, some social networking sites have come up which are doing the same in modern way. The means of communication have become faster and the horizons have expanded. There are no specified timings, as the friends are from different parts of the world. It is almost like virtual colonies set up where people drop in whenever they are free and share their views before getting on with their work.
These social networking sites have become a craze among all age groups in the last few years. We are talking about Facebook, Orkut, and Twitter etc. People are hooked on to one, two or three of them simultaneously. There is an urge like never before for the people to open out their feelings and emotions in front of everyone. The photographs of a family function held in anywhere can be shared with everyone else around the world in just a few seconds. It doesn’t matter anymore if many of the friends on such sites are absolute strangers. The friendship on such sites starts only with an invitation.
Many people have got an excellent opportunity to display their hidden talents in poetry, storytelling, writing, photography etc. with the advent of these sites. My nephew Deepak Karamungikar shot into fame and stardom by effectively using this medium. He was recently interviewed by a Radio FM channel in Hyderabad for his achievements and huge fan following on these sites.
Based on the extent of usage and depth of engagement with these social networking sites, all the people in this world can be divided in four categories.
One: Those who have never opened an account in any one of these sites. This also includes those, who just opened their accounts for namesake and forgot about it soon. They are by far the happiest people compared with others. For them, the golden rule is ‘Ignorance is bliss’. They are like Adam and Eve before they tasted the apple.
Two: Those who have accounts but visit these sites less than once a week. These people are surely missing a lot of fun and activity. But they are more balanced in their lives and tend to value ‘real relations’ more than the ‘virtual relations’. Their priorities are very clear in life. They are usually workaholics and serious natured people.
Three: Those who visit these sites at least once in a day or on alternate days. These people are generally those who have some work pressures and cannot afford to spend more time on these activities due to professional and personal reasons. Yet, the fact is that they do actually enjoy the act of visiting these sites.
Four: Those who are permanently glued to these sites on a 24 X 7 basis. These people tend to value the virtual relations almost equal to the real relations on ground. They care as much for their status on these sites as in their personal lives. They miss the activity badly if they happen to go on a trip and are not connected for few days.
As a pure source of entertainment this is a very good avenue to express / share one’s light hearted feelings, but getting uncontrollably drawn into it has its own disadvantages. Because, then people start valuing the virtual friendships more than the real ones. And that is not a good sign for the society.
The virtual friendships, however, lack a personal touch, which is so essential in the true friendships.
