An amazing people.

"Modi's government has met or exceeded expectations in the second term, according to 67% of 64,000 people polled by LocalCircles. That's a jump from 51% last year when a brutal second wave of Covid-19 infections overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums and 62% in 2020 when the pandemic started." "The growing approval comes as India's retail inflation is tracking an eight-year high" but, "73% said they were optimistic about their future and that of their families in India." This is despite the fact that 4.7 million people may have died due to Covid infection, according to the WHO, ET. The Indian government says that only 481,000 died of Covid between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2021 though the government has not supplied figures for excess mortality, BBC. People who have lost loved ones should be aggrieved but they do not seem to care. Amazing. "On March 25, when India had reported only 500 cases, the country went into what was one of the strictest lockdowns in the world. This first set of curbs remained in place till April 14 and was extended four times, each time with gradual relaxations," HT. Millions of migrant workers walked hundreds of kilometers back to their villages with little children and whatever they could carry, TOI. Yet, they have no questions to ask. Amazing. "FMCG and auto companies sensed the heat first. The slow burn of tapering demand from rural India. Now others are flagging something that few are prepared to talk about: rural India is suffering from declining wages, spiraling inflation, high unemployment, and consequent rising inequality," ET. Yet, they are just grateful to be alive. Amazing. "Frustrated at not being able to find the right kind of job, millions of Indians, particularly women, are exiting the labor force entirely, according to new data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE)," ET. "Now, more than half of the 900 million Indians of legal working age -- roughly the population of the US and Russia combined -- don't want a job, according to the CMIE." Must be our fault. Amazing. A report from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) "has found that 89 percent of children between the formative ages of 6-23 months do not receive a 'minimum acceptable diet'," TIE. "94.11% registered informal workers' income at Rs 10,000 or below; 74% belong to SC, ST, OBC," ET. Can't afford to lose this pittance, so smile. Amazing. "Jammu and Kashmir has seen a steep rise in terrorism in 2022 compared to the corresponding period of last year," ET. "As many as 62 terrorists have been killed so far this year in Jammu and Kashmir," till April, HT. Yet, 700,000 happy tourists have visited the valley till May this year, Hindu. Amazing. India's press freedom ranking fell from 133 in 2016 to 150 out of 180 countries in 2021, The Wire. Who wants the truth when things are so great? Amazing. Research shows that gratitude makes people happy, Harvard. We Indians are the most grateful. Amazing.