I can’t think of any situation in which we can be hopeless! I am certain that 2017 is going to be a great year for the world. Let me wish everyone a happy, healthy, peaceful and prosperous 2017!

As I start writing this blog at 22:18 hours on 31 December 2016, we await in India the beginning of 2017. Australia and New Zealand would have welcomed 2017 already and tomorrow morning, every hour we can watch the new year being welcomed in different parts of the world, sitting in front of our TV. And apparently, astronomers have decided to add a leap second to 2016 and so everyone will have to wait for another second to welcome 2017!

The result of USA/UK elections and the war in Syria, among other things have led the New York Times to dub the 2016 as the worst year ever (1).  Anyone who knows the World history to some extent will know this just can’t be true. Demonitization in India has affected every one and our former Prime  Minister Manmohan Singh has called it a monumental blunder. Unlike what the current Prime Minister Modi had mentioned some time ago, even after 50 days, the situation is far from normal. India has not only survived the monumental blunder (according to Manmohan Singh), we have survived seven decades of misrule by Congress (according to Modi). Modi was pleased to join ISRO as soon as he took over to watch the Mangalyaan launch and witnessed India becoming the first nation to reach Mars in its very first attempt. This is not the only positive outcome of seven decades of misrule! I had written a few blogs pointing out how India has risen in every field (2) and also coauthored articles on India’s growth in Chemistry (3) and Chemical Education (4).

Clearly Modi’s description of India in the first seven decades after Independence and Manmohan Singh’s description of demonitization  are just their opinions. I can’t believe that some are trying to point out the lack of violent protest as evidence that people are not suffering. Indians are by nature peace loving and they have survived much worse conditions. Last year’s flood in Chennai is a great example. People’s power was at work and it seemed they were lot more effective than the Government in relief work. India is too big a country for any monumental failure by even a Prime Minister to cause irreparable damage.

On 9th November, the day after demonitization, I had to send a parcel by courier and needed Rs 650. I had several thousand rupees with me in invalid currency but only Rs 400 with me. Though the courier company had a credit card machine for long, it was not working that day. When I told the lady in the counter that the parcel had to be sent urgently, she took it and told me that I could pay later when I have cash! I then went to a store to buy some malt and snacks. The bill was about Rs 1300 and luckily the card machine was working.  I asked the person who was running the store if he was facing any problem due to demonitization. His immediate response was that we should support our PM in this bold decision, though we will have some temporary problems. He said we need to do something about corruption. Then he gave me a bill for half the items I bought and added the other half in the back side of the bill and totalled it. When I asked him, why he was not adding all the items in the bill he said ‘they are different sir’. He was keen on supporting the bold initiative by the PM to root out black money :-). I thought I might use his patriotism and asked him if he would charge my card for a few more hundred and give me some cash. He obliged! I paid for the courier charges. Next evening our neighborhood fruit vendor took old rupee note and gave me fruit.

Whether it is seven decades of misrule or the monumental blunder, Indians know how to live. We have had no revolution yet and we are unlikely to have it either. Every election India votes and no one can take our voters for granted. They voted out Indira Gandhi after Emergency and Vajpayee after the ‘India shining campaign’ that was perceived to be ugly. If demonitization becomes a monumental failure, voters will speak loud in the next election. Congress was routed in 2014 Parliament elections and BJP was routed in Delhi and Bihar state elections. Indian electorate is decisive.

When the electorate in the largest democracy in the world are decisive, can we expect the electorate in the oldest democracy to be less wise? USA has elected Donald Trump and it is only fair that he is given a chance to run the USA for 4 years.

Whether it is God or Nature, the world is too big and there is enough in the world for everyone’s need as pointed out by the Mahatma Gandhi. He also pointed out that the world does not have enough for anyone’s greed. Incompetence, jealousy and greed have been serious sources of problems in society and country and it seems like they have been around  as long as there have been humans. I don’t see them vanishing and our troubles will continue. Whether it is Thirukkural in Tamil or a proverb from Africa, you can see scholars have been pointing out the dangers of these human traits. As Bharadwaj Rangan has beautifully written in a movie review “the acts we consider inhuman are born from the most basic human emotions” (5).

We have been using a daily sheet calendar in Tamil, popularly called Vivekananda Calendar. Everyday, it lists out the important events from all over the world. I note that January first is listed as the World Family Day and World Peace Day.   Again, whether it is God or Nature, it is great to have men and women, and it is clearly impossible not to have them both. As long as there are women in the world, I am convinced that the ‘family’ will survive and that will ensure that peace will prevail too! Stay positive and do what you can to make 2017 a great year!

1. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/28/opinion/2016-worst-year-ever.html?_r=0
2. https://earunan.org/2015/01/03/indian-science-catch-up-with-india-then-worry-about-china/ This blog discusses the growth of India in various fields and points out that Indian science has not grown as much.
3. E. Arunan, R. Brakaspathy, G. R. Desiraju, S. Sivaram, Chemistry in India, Angew. Chemie Int. Ed. Engl. 2013, 51.This article discusses the growth of Chemistry in India. 
4. Mangala Sunder Krishnan, R. Brakaspathy and E. Arunan Chemical Education in India: Addressing Current Challenges and Optimizing Opportunities J. Chem. Educ. 2016.
5. http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/Dhuruvangal-Pathinaaru-A-matter-of-crime/article16964857.ece