What
a bizarre month it’s been if you’re an ardent follower of cricket!
Lalit
Modi’s off field activities have dominated the headlines even more than the
great on field action. The hours after Chennai
won the IPL trophy were dominated
not by news of Chennai partying and rejoicing or even the highlights of the
final but rather the suspension of Lalit Modi as the Chairman and Commissioner of
the Indian Premier League.
While
it might seem strange that the face of the IPL has gone from being a marketing
whizkid to the villain he is seen now, the actions of Lalit Modi are not
surprising. Allegations still standing, Modi has fallen a victim to his ego and
despite his abilities hasn't been able to manage his own greed.
Rising
prices in India have always been the ‘run to’ issue for any political group.It
favors everyone except the government. This of course leaving aside the average
Indian who has to spend more.Now that it’s Food Prices which are going through
the roof, the usual round of chatter has begun. Opposition parties accusing the
incumbent government of lackluster action, ineffectiveness and the usual lingo
that anyone in India is used to especially when it’s a battle between political
parties. None of the rhetoric in any case means squat if prices do not come down.
We’ve been harping on rising prices for over a year now, I sincerely hope that
this is not the case a year later as well.
I
have been waiting patiently for quite a while now and speaking frankly at this
time of year I wouldn’t be wrong if I said that some degree of honesty from the
government would be highly appreciated regarding the great Indian monsoon.
The signs are out there aplenty to suggest that this year the monsoon is a failure.
The crops aren’t being sown yet, the canals are empty, most importantly it’s not raining, and the water is not
there.
It
is extremely irritating to see the government’s Agriculture Ministry brow
beating all the way around the bush with statement after statement saying that
the monsoon will pick up. In our last look at the monsoon we said that we are
one step away from declaring that the monsoon is a failure. Today we can indeed
say that the rains are not coming this year. However the government has to
simply call the situation. Once it declares a drought situation, the country
can move on.
What
we are instead seeing is a political soap opera for needless reasons, the ones
who end up paying the price are a.)The Farmers
b.)The Consumers.
A
few days ago we told you about India’s
battle with the rain gods. As the battle continues India’s farmers are
increasingly facing the certainty that in the next few weeks they will have to
hear the dreaded words that the water bearing monsoons have indeed failed. This
bit of information as far as the officials in the Indian government including
the Agriculture Minister is still “too premature”. We have to assume that the
monsoons despite having revived a bit in the last three days are going to be
sub par. The worst case scenario will be that the country is heading towards a
drought.
Sharad Pawar continues to survive and thrive in Indian politics, despite ill health and altered political equations. It is worth mentioning in this regard that having secured the top job at International Cricket Council, Sharad Pawar is back to his favorite sport, politics.
