As we approach the New Year, the universalist message on Man, God and Religion – deeply rooted in India’s strong Bhakti and Sufi traditions – is worth pondering afresh.

This too shall pass, like the 1930s did. But the latter exited after a huge catastrophe that underlay the long peace and strengthened institutions of the postwar era. Can we see off the new bottle without major catastrophe?

'How could you possibly have hoped to achieve Ram Rajya if, after capturing state power from foreign tyrants, it was to be handed over to domestic bigoted men of straw?'

The revolutionary idea sought to unite and liberate suppressed ethnic groups from external forces through anti-imperial movements in the colonies. The counter-revolutionary movement sought to repress minorities within society by linking the concept of nation to majoritarian social groupings.

The revolutionary idea sought to unite and liberate suppressed ethnic groups from external forces through anti-imperial movements in the colonies. The counter-revolutionary movement sought to repress minorities within society by linking the concept of nation to majoritarian social groupings.

A strong civil society will not easily allow democratic institutions to be captured by the state or political parties.

It was relatively easy for global powers with differing interests to agree on economic matters. Now, getting a leaders’ statement in place will require a lot more work.

India cannot afford lost decades, like the one it is presently experiencing with trend growth falling sharply. This will not only push it further behind China, but it might also age before it grows rich. This would scuttle its geopolitical ambitions and lock it into a middle-income trap.