Wednesday, December 27, 2023

An inexplicable riddle.

"The charter flight detained by French authorities last Thursday (21 December) for carrying Indian passengers who were suspected to be victims of human trafficking landed in Mumbai on Tuesday, with 276 out of the original flyers on board." "A number of passengers sought asylum and stayed back. Among those who remained in France were unaccompanied minors, including a 21 month old child." Asylum from what? India is not at war and all communities are living in peace and harmony. "People belonging to various religious communities heaped praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an event in Australia for his 'ability to respect all communities'." HT. "Union Home Minister Amit Shah reiterated...that the lesson taught to the inciters of riots by the Narendra Modi government, which was in power in 2002, has led to enduring peace in the state (Gujarat)." TOI. "According to official figures, the riots ended with 1,044 dead, 233 missing, and 2,500 injured. Of the dead, 790 were Muslim and 254 Hindu." wikipedia. Which community was the lesson for? "Most of the passengers were young men from the state of Punjab, carrying a single piece of luggage," who covered their faces and refused to answer questions from the media. TOI. Two days before the French incident, "six youths were brought back from Russia to India after surviving nine days in a jungle, getting thrashed by border security forces of different countries twice and spending time in a Russian jail." First, they were flown to Oman, then to Moscow and then, "Through taxis, we were taken to Belarus, where a group of 22 men were kept in two rooms. The group included a few Pakistanis and Afghans while those from India were from Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat," said Lakhbir Singh from Punjab. Afghans may be fleeing from Taliban rule and Pakistan suffered devastating floods in 2022 which killed 1,839 people and caused $15.2 billion of economic damage. wikipedia. "Overall, real gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have declined by 0.6 percent in FY23," and "With 44 percent of poor workers relying on agriculture, weak agricultural performance had significant poverty impacts." World Bank. But the Indian economy is booming. "The Indian economy is likely to grow 6.7% in FY24, according to median forecast by 11 economists," as "Growth in the first half of this fiscal year was 7.7%," and "The Indian economy registered 7.2% growth in FY23." ET. If India is the fastest growing major economy, as they say, it should be creating numerous well-paid jobs. Why then, must we "also consider the likelihood that they were not being trafficked as human cargo for exploitation, but were headed for America - with Nicaragua as a transit point - on their own volition for a better life?" Mint. And, why are Gujaratis fleeing when it has "enduring peace" and "The entire world talks about the Gujarat model of development." "Under Narendra Modi, the farmers of Gujarat witnessed unprecedented prosperity?" "Industrial development scaled new heights in Gujarat since 2001." And, "Governance in Gujarat has reached the very last person in the queue." The Gujarat Model.  Difficult to digest so much "unprecedented prosperity", new heights of industrial development and governance. So that, a family of four from the Dingucha village in Gujarat froze to death in Canada just yards from the US border. NBC. Is it a case of too much of a good thing (Grammarist) or are Gujaratis most ungrateful? It really is a riddle wrapped in an enigma. wikipedia.

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