Politicians talk too much but say very little. Last week, the current Congress ex-president Rahul Gandhi launched a war of words against Prime Minister Modi asking why the government doesn’t insist on returning to the status quo in Galwan Valley. Was he saying there was really a status quo post ’62—even of uncertain status—since Nehru asked Mao “Quo vadis?” and got the reply, “To India, pal.” A week before, Mr Modi spoke out that no Chinese soldiers had crossed into India. Satellite maps subsequently showed that some misinformed mandarin gave him the wrong picture; now that Mr Doval has given the dirty Commies a one-way return ticket to status quo, the situ is now as clear as a Himalayan summer day.
With the virus prowling like a vengeful cop searching for mask-less rioters, politicians are quarantined in the blue world of Twitterhetoric. The BJP’s astutely pleasant president JP Nadda said the Congress has many deserving members who understand parliamentary matters but one dynasty will never let such leaders grow. Did his words mean that he was sad that Congress leaders couldn’t grow at all—politically, not financially or in calories of course—or that he wants them to grow but Baba said no to all the black sheep, like for example, Sanjay Jha? Forget it, that status quo between merit and el familia isn’t gonna end anytime soon.
Let’s leave the BJP and Congress aside. Is our fickle defender de jour Donald Trump who called Swami Vivekanand “Viveka-mu-nand’ ejecting Indian techies and students, and dynamiting H1B visas because he “loves Indians”? There’s more loose talk in the world than loose change. Fuzzword TV anchors and maternally challenged ex-soldiers got gullible couch potatoes glued to their every uninformed or obscene word on what passes for national television, until the coronavirus put two and two together and got one. Numbers, not words, now explain the world.
There are over 12,000,000 coronavirus cases globally. 5,50,000 cases were expected in Delhi by end-July, said a mantri while providentially it’s over 1,03,000. 16 possible vaccines (sorry not you, 15/8/2020 ICMR). 125 candidate vaccines in preclinical evaluation. On June 25, 16 Chinese tents, one large shelter, 14 vehicles in a 423-metre stretch. The world economy loses $5,000,000,000,000—exactly our projected pre-virus growth rate. If only the right heads had counted on Brahmagupta and Varahamihira instead of glorifying unverified aeronautical engineers, the mystique of digits that theorizes the arcana of the universe would be blessings to count. Too many words like secularism, illiberal, anti-national, social distancing, MAGA are being bandied about—enough to send Alice scrambling back into the rabbit hole. India invented zero. Apply it to the hurricane of verbiage. Zero is both the alpha and omega that multiplies wisdom by common sense. My word, your number is up.
ravi@newindianexpress.com