Friday, March, 29,2024

YEAR 2022: ANNUS HORRIBILIS

The year 2022, should be termed Annus Horribilis – a year of disaster and misfortune incidents e.g. The earthquake in Turkey. Where do I begin. Corona of course. Where did it first appear? Truly in laboratory in Wuhan in China. For months China vigorously denied that the disease had started in Wuhan. The doctor who found it was hounded got Corona and died. The WHO which gets huge donations from China was equivocal in its answers. The killer disease spread like a global fire. For almost 2 years the World almost came to a halt. To this day a cure for the disease has not been discovered.

CLIMATE CHANGE
This has finally caught up with us. Many attempts have been made to take worthwhile decisions. The industrialized countries have their own agenda. The almost non-functioning of United Nation resolutions are blatantly ignored.

Floods in the USA, Germany, Chile, Pakistan, China, New Zealand, Indonesia and India have destroyed crops, homes, hospitals and universities. Large parts of Africa have had no rain for several rainy seasons. The canals in Venice have dried up, while the river PO is not short of water.

Greenland, Iceland, the Arctic and Antarctic, the Himalayas, all are getting less and less of snow, while America, Europe and Canada are getting excess. Lakes and river are drying up in America. Temperatures are in some parts rising-in Rajasthan’s Shekhawati the mercury goes over 50 degree centigrade. In Delhi it appears that the middle of March has arrived. The weather pattern in America is changing. Do something about this not about jaunts to the moon.

UKRAINE WAR
Who started the war? Russia of course. Why? Because Ukraine wants to become a member of NATO, which so far has not given the green signal. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers, men, women and children have died. Who will take care of the orphans - no mother to embrace, father killed on the battle field. A posthumous medal is awardee. Who will receive it? This is war, this is war they say. We know. But here M/s Putin and Zelenskyy learnt no lessons from 1939-1945. Obviously not. But we have. For me it is a matter of immense pride that India has, never started a war. Skirmishes are not war. The other night the President of Ukraine said at a press conference that Ukraine will win the war against Russia in 2023. Are you being facetious or serious?

AFGHANISTAN
Brutality comes with ease to Taliban, not the Afghans. One Taliban leader told a world famous lady correspondent, “Educating girls is not in our culture.” Some culture. In which chapter of the Holy Quran is this to be found. I am sure there exist good and compassionate Taliban. Why do they wish to live in the 17th century. Afghanistan is geographically so strategically located that the people should made aware of the geography of the country.

For the past two or three years there has been an increase on demolition of Temples, Churches, Mosques and other religious places. These barbarous acts are now being committed from Australia to America. A man wearing a turban is beaten up. By whom, unfortunately by hoodlums and a whole people are condemned for the crime.

The increase in shooting school children and university students is frequent in the USA so is police’s brutal misconduct on the rise. In India we are indifferent to poverty, dirt, unrighteousness and unpunctuality. If a man or woman is hit by a car, falls down, with blood pouring from various parts of his/ her body, no cycle wallah, no motor cycle rider or car driver will stop to help the injured lady, fearing that the police might implicate them. Such, I gather are our laws!

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

K NATWAR SINGH The author is Former Minister of External Affairs of India

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