THE INFLUENCERS
His exemplary valour and calm under enemy pressure earned the young wing commander the admiration of his entire country
A Nobel winner, a war hero, unlikely allies, a space scientist and more... 2019 became newsworthy because of their exploits
1. ABHINANDAN VARTHAMAN IAF PILOT
2. NIRMALA SITHARAMAN UNION MINISTER FOR FINANCE
3. RAHUL GANDHI CONGRESS MP
5. ABHIJIT BANERJEE ECONOMIST
4. SHARAD PAWAR, NCP CHIEF UDDHAV THACKERAY, SHIV SENA CHIEF
6. SHAKTIKANTA DAS RESERVE BANK OF INDIA GOVERNOR
7. SOURAV GANGULY BCCI PRESIDENT
8. P.V. SINDHU BADMINTON PLAYER
9. K. SIVAN ISRO CHAIRMAN
10. P. CHIDAMBARAM FORMER HOME AND FINANCE MINISTER
THERE’S A REASON FIGHTER PILOTS have to be physically fit and mentally agile. Being in the cockpit of a fast-moving fighter jet calls for split-second reflexes to steer their machines in combat. There is another reason why—being shot down and surviving over enemy territory can be a harrowing experience. Especially when the enemy doesn’t follow the laws of civilised warfare. During the Kargil War in 1999, Pakistani soldiers killed a downed MiG-21 pilot, Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja, and tortured another, Flight Lieutenant K. Nachiketa. On February 27, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman flew a MiG-21 that repulsed a reprisal raid by the Pakistani Air Force. The IAF says Varthaman shot down a PAF F-16 for which he was awarded a Vir Chakra. But most Indians remember the pilot for the extraordinary grit he displayed while in enemy captivity for 60 hours.
Pakistani authorities circulated a series of trophy videos which showed the downed pilot bruised, bleeding and blindfolded and, later, being interrogated by them. The videos were designed to score a moral victory. But visuals of the pilot calmly sipping tea and telling his interrogators, “I’m sorry but I’m not supposed to tell you this,” had the opposite effect. Wing Commander Varthaman became a national sensation. His lines became a meme and a catch-phrase for military cool under fire, and his gunslinger moustache worthy of emulation by thousands of Indians.
WHEN SHE TOOK over as finance minister at the end of May, Nirmala Sitharaman had critics aplenty and sympathisers none. It didn’t help that she had to fill in the enormous shoes of the now deceased Arun Jaitley.
India’s first woman finance minister, Sitharaman had a little over a month in which to present the Union budget. It was a juncture when nearly all indices of the economy were going slow, be it investment, manufacturing, jobs or the rural economy. Window-dressing the budget in a red bahi-khata instead of the customary briefcase inspired little hope; the document itself spooked markets and economists alike, with measures such as the surcharge on foreign portfolio investors and issue of sovereign bonds in foreign currency.
As bad news on the economic front mounted and critics accused the government of being in denial, Sitharaman began damage control, starting with the rollback of the FPI surcharge and announcement of measures to address sectoral pains—especially in the job-generating real estate and automobile sectors. In November, she announced a Rs 25,000 crore special window to provide funds to stuck housing projects.
Her challenge, however, is far from over. She received flak for her response to the onion crisis— “I come from a family that doesn’t eat onion and garlic.” She also lacks the political heft of her predecessors Jaitley, Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee. What she does have, though, is experience in handling two complex ministries—defence and commerce. Bureaucrats who have worked with her describe her as diligent and inquisitive, someone who goes by everyone’s advice but also lets her disagreement known. She also enjoys the confidence of the party’s top leaders, even as some of her colleagues continue to undermine her. Sitharaman is a fighter, even if currently a besieged one.
WELL BEGUN, THEY SAY, is half done. But not, it seems for Rahul Gandhi in 2019. The year had begun on a good note. The Congress, with him as president, had just wrested three states from the BJP—Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The slowing economy, rising unemployment and farmers’ distress provided him the perfect opportunity to mount a multi-pronged attack on the ruling dispensation, ahead of the Lok Sabha election in May. He had three strong weapons in his arsenal—a ‘scam’ in the Rafale deal, the
Nyuntam Aay Yojana and soft Hindutva.
Since it was his incorruptible image that Narendra Modi was seeking re-election on, it was that image he would destroy, declared Rahul in an exclusive interview to india today in May. So even as Modi described himself as the ‘chowkidar’ (guard) of the country, Rahul retaliated with the coinage: chowkidar chor hai (the guard is a thief). In April, the Congress announced its minimum income guarantee scheme, NYAY. Finally, to break the BJP monopoly over the Hindu vote, Rahul went temple-hopping across the country and burnished his credentials as a janeudhari Shiv bhakt.
Yet, all his efforts came to naught as the Modiled BJP returned to power with an even larger majority than 2014. Worse, he lost family pocket borough Amethi to Smriti Irani; Wayanad, Kerala, proved to be his saving grace.
Disheartened at the turn of events, Rahul resigned as party president, leaving mother Sonia Gandhi to resume the reins of the party. He himself returned to disappearing for vipassana breaks, trips abroad and firing salvos on Twitter.
Yet, down he may be, but Rahul will never be out of Indian politics. The BJP needs him as much as the Congress—the former to have someone to train its guns on; and the Congress because it gets paralysed if a Nehru-Gandhi isn’t at the helm.