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Journalism of Courage
It has been clear from the very beginning that the outbreak of communal violence in Gujarat would tarnish India8217;s image abroad like nothing else has done in recent memory. But much more perhaps has been the damage done by the failure of the government in the state as well as at the Centre to demonstrate its willingness and ability to govern. What happened in the first 72 hours was tragic enough. But what has been happening since then is no less destructive because, instead of pulling the state out of that downward spiral, our leadership seems to be bent upon taking the whole country toward a future that worries every Indian who grew up to believe in the plurality, diversity and the principle of equality of the human being. Somewhere we seem to be forgetting that no country 8212; small or big 8212; in today8217;s world of information explosion can remain insulated from the perceptions and judgement of the international community. And in this global village perceptions are as important as the reality.
If the United States and other countries had come around to strengthen relations with India while setting aside other concerns, it was essentially because of the positive images that India evoked in recent years. The recovery from economic crisis with fundamental reforms considered impossible only a short while earlier demonstrated the promise of a new India. Coupled with the reality and image of a plural resilient democracy, where the number of voters exceeds the combined population of the US and European Union, this has been a major factor in reminding the world of an India that was attempting successfully what constitutes the most ambitious experiment in human history: to transform a de-industrialised country, a stratified society and the impoverished millions through a consultative process which maintained its spirituality and tolerance. The world had also come to revise its earlier perceptions of what it described as the 8216;Hindu right-wing8217; political party ruling the country generally along the middle path.
