Talking Shop: Weighing us down

"All of these chains,

Weighing down on me,

Weighing down,

All of these chains,

Weighing down on me..."

—Avi Kaplan

There are many reasons the world is labelled 'Developed', 'Developing' and 'Underdeveloped'. This is a class-laden approach based on monetary and fiduciary facilities, unbalanced in its very approach and science. But from some of the 'Developed' nations, we do sometimes find pearls of wisdom and people of undeniable moral standards, as I learnt last week while watching television. Surfing the Web, I came across a series where a familiar voice spoke to me of nature, wildlife and saving what's left thriving on the planet. The iteration bespoke a love for humankind, a sensible outlook and a humble ethos.

I loved it, even though the anchor did chillingly remind me of all that is wrong in the global scheme of things, both economically and ecologically. It was particularly overwhelming because who I was watching share these insights was former United States President Barack Obama, acting as a simple correspondent and narrator. Obama warned that while the world remains beautiful, there is now an overbearing need to save the planet for the next few generations. "Ours is the first generation to experience the impact of Global Warming, as also the last that can do anything about it," he said. He added that the first call and action on this front needs to be taken by 'Developed Superpowers'.

This last statement led me to scratch my head and wonder—don't I belong to a superpower nation too, one creating Unicorns and thousands of billionaires? After all, that's what I am being repeatedly told. That evening, as I lay down on the bed, these thoughts slowly fanned me to sleep. The bloody alarm rang before it should have and I was awoken and welcomed to another new morrow, one that would see me again pay through the nose for essentials that have rocketed in price and diminished in size and value over the last two years, much like some sensitive body parts. I can only thank my stars and bless my previous generations for making sure that I am not unspoken for in these gory and nebulous times.

Fraught times indeed

The times are alarming and the causes are as obvious as they are vicious. As a nation and a world, we are being skilfully targeted, shepherded and pummelled towards a labyrinth, one where we shall continue to scour and devour, but not be able to find a way out in the end-game. Clearly, something less than the miraculous lurks around that dark corner fast approaching us. And all that India has taken decades and tanker-loads of sweat to build and create is at perilous risk. The only recourse is to take the bull by the horns, hoping that the protagonists of this epic do not react too harshly.

India is battling pygmies in the backwaters. I am not referring to any small-statured people in Kerala, God's own country, for none of that nature exists or ever did. I am referring instead to the astonishing loss of sensibility and decorum across the leadership in our land. Sadder still, their jibes, scythes and shenanigans are working, inflicting a wound that is getting deeper and well-sighted; for when the devious wield the hammer, the very fabric of society gets ripped asunder. Look beyond the bulldozers, the temples, mosques, gurudwaras, synagogues and churches. Look at the real numbers that are getting worrisome by the day.

As per the Center for Monitoring the Indian Economy's (CMIE) latest report last week, we are witnessing a massive increase in people who are not even looking for a job anymore, frustrated after not being able to find any. Over 45 crore Indians don't want a job anymore—that implies that more than half of the 90 crore Indians of legal working age (roughly the population of the United States and Russia combined) have no hopes of finding a job. Welcome to personal, economic and financial freedom.

Runaway debt numbers

I hate our national reverence for figures, be they on joblessness, homelessness or dwindling bank balances. But since we are enamoured of them, let me present India's latest external debt numbers, which rose by US $11.5 billion to US $614.9 billion in the three months ended December 2021, the finance ministry has revealed. For the rupee-minded, multiply each billion by 7,642 and you will get the number in rupees, crore. The external debt to GDP ratio fell marginally to 20 per cent at the end of December 2021, from 20.3 per cent at the end of September 2021.

In recent times, in rupee terms, India borrowed Rs 114,771 crore in 2020-2021 and Rs 74,225 crore in 2021-2022. In the same time-period, we paid back Rs 34,715 crore and Rs 36,024 crore, respectively, thus being short of payments to the tune of Rs 118,257 crore for these years alone. The ministry shared a statement as well, that "India's external debt continues to be sustainable and prudently managed."

Historically, similar borrowings have happened worldwide, sometimes with disaster following in the wake. It happened in Japan in the early part of the new millennium, when Junichiro Koizumi was Prime Minister from 2001 to 2006. This is what the international media wrote about him: "The basic and failed strategy of Koizumi was (trying) growing the economy's way out of debt. How did that ploy work out for Tokyo? Rather dismally, for in 2001, when Koizumi rose to the premiership, Japan's ratio of debt to gross domestic product was 104 per cent. At the time, Koizumi spelled out an ambitious plan to curtail public-works spending, a desperate political handout."

The rest is history and Japan has taken nearly 20 years to claw back from that one crisis alone. Clearly, there is no hard or quick fix for problems confronting entire nations. And remember, India is way larger than Japan, as are the problems confronting us, especially on the back of a pandemic that stretched our already disembowelled finances to the limit and eventually ripped out our economic innards. So badly have the innards been ripped that none other than the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reportedly said over the weekend that India is likely to take another 13 years to overcome the losses incurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. What does that mean, you ask? Well, only that we shall have to wait till 2035 to have what we already had in 2020.

Russia-Ukraine skirmish

It is indubitably a blight, a well-orchestrated and planned invasion, even as Russian leaders insist that it is just to "demilitarise and de-Nazify Ukraine". Russia claims its declared aim is "to protect people subjected to years of bullying and genocide by Ukraine's government and to ensure Ukraine's neutral status". Ukraine has retorted in kind. "It's crazy, sometimes not even they (Russia) can explain what they are referring to," said Ukraine foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba in a statement. Time and again, Russia's leaders have refused to call it an 'invasion' or a 'war'. Moscow continues to coin Europe's biggest war since World War II a "special military operation".

Why am I referring to Russia and Ukraine? Well, only because it appears to be the whim of one man adamantly doing what he wants and his desperation to present something to his constituency that can be seen as a victory. Others are following a similar path—one can readily name North Korea, China and the new Afghanistan as the front-runners in this unenviable list.

The underlying moral is that flocks of eagles and hawks are now flying among pigeons. The outcome of a one-sided faceoff like this is a foregone conclusion. Sure, the former two will inevitably win; in the process, though, they will also wipe out their own food chain. That should not be allowed to happen and any sensible nation or well-meaning leader would not shoot himself / herself and his / her people in the foot with such wanton behaviour and licentious fiefdom.

Having begun the column with Avi Kaplan, I also end it with his thoughts which mirror and reflect those of millions in today's world. "Yeah, I drift away to a brighter place; That I close my eyes to see and there are some days I think that things will change; but I'm losing my belief..."

Much like Avi, many others are losing the faith too.

The writer is a clinical analyst and communications specialist. Views expressed are personal. narayanrajeev2006@gmail.com