December proved to be an eventful month, both on the political and other fronts, as many a political applecart got upset, with the people’s verdict going soundly against the expectations of traditional political parties. Out of five states which went to the polls, four handed a defeat to the congress party, sending the 100-year old party into ‘deep introspection.’ Elections in Delhi the capital resulted in a hung assembly, and what with BJP, the single largest party loath to have a go at government formation, it has ultimately come about that the Aam Aadmi (Common Man) Party form the government, with ‘outside support’ from the congress party. The Lokpal Bill has been passed, with Anna Hazare accepting it, and Arvind Kejriwal still maintaining that it is a Jokepal. On the external affairs front, we have an ongoing spat with the United States, the matter has hogged the news for sometime now. All these high-pitched cacophonies have sort of swamped some of the other less sensational happenings and forthcoming events that can have a bearing on this land of a Billion and more, like the upcoming PBD that is just about to begin in a week from now in Delhi. But all said and done, the dawning of 2014 sure promises to be an eventful one, as the very ethos of Indian politics seems poised for a change.
The tumulous happenings in Delhi have grabbed eyeballs across the country and to some extent, abroad as well. Aam Aadmi Party takes over the mantle, swearing in happens at Ram Lila Maidan under the full glare of media and public scrutiny, and the new government gets down to work from the word go. Delhiites to get 20 kilolitres of water gratis, and power tarrifs slashed to 50% in 48 hours. What more to come, time will soon tell. We bring you a short special feature in the form of our cover story of the year in review.
Our regular segments are of course all there for your reading pleasure, ranging from new product launches to news drawn from the worlds of business, sports, cinema, heritage, culture and architecture, and yes, our ubiquitous travelogue that takes you down memory lane, to Rafi saab’s village in Punjab. Heritage this time takes you to dwell a bit on the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. The two columns on Vaastu & Astrology continue and have been appreciated by many. Our other regular sections on real estate and property, health and wellness, and similar are also very much there for you to spend time with. Dossier and Special Supplement brings you brief glimpses into some success stories of some overseas Indians.
We hope you will like this evolving mix of content that attempts to present and portray the Diaspora world and the mother land in this issue, and yes, do send in your feedback on what you like, and continue sharing your wish-list on what more you would like us to feature in this magazine of yours. Many of you have asked us to cover more hard news and politics, we make a tentative beginning in this issue, let us see how it pans out.