Day 365-2011 : Adieu...

Adieu to a remarkable year.  A year in which the power of collective action was demonstrated time and again.  Throughout the year.  If there was one word which could correctly encapsulate the tone of the entire year of 2011, it was revolution.

2011 will be remembered as the year in which the clamor for change was heard the loudest.  People protested against everything.  From atrocities of dictators to the corruption of politicians; from women objecting to being branded as sluts based on how they dressed to people objecting to the social and economic inequality by occupying Wall Street.  Some of these were highly successful, but some weren't so.  The world today is definitely a different place after the Arab Spring.  The ouster of at least four dictators till date and a few more under siege are clear signs of people embracing the path of non-violent protests...and winning.  I grew up on news reports of the violent struggles in Lebanon and Palestine.  I grew up on reports of Pakistan attacking the sovereign borders of this country. Over the years I have watched the various extremist actions by Islamic groups across the world.  However, in 2011, it was so refreshing to see the Islamic populace adopting non-violence as the core principle of their protests across the world.  Of course, the perennial mascot of Islamic violence himself, Osama-bin-Laden, was killed this year.

Closer home, the story has been much the same.  One scam after another being unearthed by the activism of the media and the judiciary, and people in high places of power being held responsible for it, gave the common man in India a common cause to fight against, corruption.  True, corruption was not invented this year and it was certainly not discovered by Anna Hazare.  Anna and the India Against Corruption movement just grabbed the opportunity created by the prevailing mood of disillusionment caused by the multiple scams.  It was an amazing movement with a momentum of its own, causing the government of the day to grumble, mumble, stumble and tumble for one reason or the other on a daily basis.  For once the might of a government in power was dwarfed by a people's movement and was found wanting.  It was like a rabbit caught in the headlights, not withstanding the feeble, and sometimes questionable, attempts at redemption by its favorite crisis managers.

The financial services industry was not only hit by world-wide recession but also people power.  Beginning in Wall Street, groups of activists protested against the greed of the financial services sector which has ruined many economies, across the major financial centers in the world.  Occupy Dalal Street was also on the schedule, but the protest lasted for less than an hour when the 40 odd protesters were bundled off to preventive custody!  Typical of Mumbai, nobody could care less.  The looming crisis in Europe has caused discontent among its citizens as well.  People across the various countries comprising the European Union protested, either against the imposed austerity measures or against the funding of weaker countries in the union.  

However, the one common thread across all of this has been uncertainty.  The situation in Europe is still very uncertain, so is the case with the India Against Corruption and its movement for the Lokpal Bill.  Some of the Arab countries which were 'liberated' from the clutches of the various dictators, are still grappling with the problem of finding viable alternatives.  This sense of uncertainty will, I think, be the biggest challenge for the new year.  Clearly, the year 2012 is going to be a difficult one for the world, with the financial crisis and slowdown showing no signs improvement.  Political stress across the world can only contribute to it and make it worse.  Did somebody say that the world is coming to an end in 2012 as well?

Personally, it is time again for me to review my resolutions and goals which I set for myself at the beginning of the last year.  With that objective, I did go through my post on this blog on the first day of 2011.  Having read through it, I find that, all that I have listed there, are still valid resolutions and goals.  Not that I haven't achieved any of them.  I feel that I have made significant progress on most of them, however, I realize that I could do more.  Also, I am ending the year with a tick in the box for something that I have always wanted to do...a road trip to Ahmedabad from Mumbai!  I loved the 8 hour drive and am gearing up for the drive back tomorrow.

So, there you go...my resolutions for the coming year are not very different from those that I made at the beginning of the last year.  Which was the case last year as well!  After all isn't this blog all about the sense of Deja Vu?!

Finally, I wish you and your loved ones a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012.  For those of you who plan to party hard tonight to ring in the new year, please do so responsibly and have a great time!

Take care!