Talking Shop: Withering Heights

"Do I want to live? Would you like

to live with your soul in the grave?

I am tired of being enclosed here."

–Wuthering Heights,

Emily Jane Brontë, 1847

I know my English, at least some. Exactly 175 years after she wrote the classic 'Wuthering Heights', Emily Brontë would rightfully be miffed with me today as I systematically and tastelessly distort her timeless masterpiece, if only to provide you with a crass reminder of what happens across the plains and moors still in a distant world. I admit we are not in Yorkshire, where Brontë's masterpiece was set, nor are we speaking of the Earnshaws and Lintons, or of their turbulent relationships and eventual perpetual estrangement.

The similarities between today's reality and the fleeting thoughts in Brontë's solo book are quite creepy, with the likenesses and parallels typically aping today's reality in my very own India, quite disconcertingly so. The affectations themselves are blatantly rabid, if only because they eerily breach the vagaries of time and shake me to the core.

What caused this vein of thought and distortion of historically esoteric verbiage? Well, it started with an Ola driver who dropped me home today from Delhi's Press Club, Ashish. MY newest friend Ashish is a full-blown Cordon Bleu chef (ergo) at one of the mega-star hotels in Sydney. When the first lockdown happened, Ashish was axed. What does he do now – obviously, if he dropped me, he now drives a cab in Delhi. A person once dishing out the most exotic of cuisines to millionaires in Australia dropped me home the other day. This is what COVID-19 has done. Well, it has done far more to crores of people in India, as this tirade shall unravel. The problem I face is that the more I write, the more I reveal and then the more I shall have to justify and portend. But so be it.

What is distressing?

This tale began with Brontë, William Shakespeare and Ashish, but the last is just but an adorable little blip, the tip of an iceberg, an addendum we use when the world and our nation are going topsy-turvy. As most of India gloats and bloats over the results of the assembly elections in five states, depending on political leanings, the ground-level truth is that we are in a state of personal and emotional flux, something that no one talks about. But does anyone even care?

The country's Consumer Price Index (CPI) has crossed the red line of 6 per cent, while the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) has breached the 13-per cent mark. Remember, India imports nearly 80 per cent of its crude oil. On to unemployment, which increased its score by 3.5 crores in February 2020, a month before the novel Coronavirus hit us. And we all know what has happened over the two years since.

Let's talk Dr Amit Mitra, earlier the head of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and now the key Economic Advisor to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. "What India faces today is stagflation, due to the wrong economic policies of the Government (of India), unlike other Asian economies. Foreign institutional investors have pulled out a net of Rs 22,000 crores from India in three days alone (last week) and are dumping equity, pulling out. This is very dangerous." Clearly, for India, it is this cumulative double whammy of rising unemployment and inflation that is battering the economy. As Dr Mitra says, this has never simultaneously happened in any country, ever. Oops.

Other troubling signs

Foreign institutional investors pulling out of India is a dangerous trigger, especially so as it bespeaks an increasingly shaky confidence in a till-recently resurgent economy. That's the reason for the fall of the Indian rupee. As and when (God Forbid) the rupee breaches the Rs 80-mark against the greenback (US dollar), we will have more serious concerns. This will be exacerbated by the fact that we import most of our crude and pay for it in dollars. I say 'mostly' because we have since entered into bilateral trade agreements with the Middle-East suppliers to save our dollar reserves, which are at all-time highs.

Do we have other serious worries? Sure, a melange of them. India's macro-economic policies have been awry for quite a while. Look at these numbers – when the whole of India's GDP as a nation grew at a negative 7.2 per cent, the state of West Bengal grew at a positive 1.2 per cent, defying all logic. What is the take here – is here a Bramhastra in West Bengal, or some divina ex machina influence? I don't know. What I fathom here is that the state is following some very basic economic principles, as advised by experts, monitoring strict implementation and regulations, and are thus showing these positive numbers.

When talking economy, let's remember too that the United States, through President Joe Biden, last week announced sanctions on Russia, putting an embargo on imports of Russian crude oil. That's because Russia's invasion of Ukraine has created chaos and mayhem, whilst the rest of this game is played out. Time shall tell how this turns out. As a nation though, India has to play its part, exhibiting dignity, finesse and crafty arthashastra.

The escape route

The one thing that India has managed to create over the last few years is very robust foreign exchange reserves of nearly $632 billion. Today may be the right time to start divesting some of those reserves, rather than touting them as an achievement in poll statements. If this isn't done quickly, the Reserve Bank of India will be forced to increase interest rates to control inflation. We shall then end up rewriting history once more, propounding sordid tales on how India lost and ignored opportunities, making a mockery of a once-rejoicing economy and populace.

Investigate this – India is fortunate to have amongst the largest strategic oil reserves in the world, a Godsend in these times of oblong crude prices. The Government has not hiked petrol or diesel prices over the last four months, perhaps due to electoral reasons. Let's vacillate and plan, deciding to release some of the reserves. That shall control crazy price hikes which will not be acceptable to or go down well with the average Indian. The mist of the assembly elections is now over, but Indians continue to struggle – this is an opportunity for the Government to manifest and stamp its standing as a regime that truly cares. People cannot afford a fuel price hike now, so let's rejig, recamp and capitulate. There are many other ways to shore up the exchequer's kitty.

India's final say

This is short, sharp and pointed. The results of the assembly elections in five states are out and a point has been proven. Muscle and tome have been exhibited, by and large. Now is a good time to showcase heart, spleen and a softer sentiment. Sure, that may make us vulnerable for a while, but it shall display a capability to be a loveable next-door neighbour, a trustworthy friend, if you are too. Or else.

Whoever pulls this off shall achieve immortality. That's a good target and a great result, if we wish to harbour such feelings. It is up to stalwarts now to deride or pride themselves on the pluses that they have amassed – in terms of popularity, political victories and people's trust. It is time to humanize and deliver. Now.

The writer is a clinical analyst and a communications specialist. Views expressed are personal. [email protected]