By Kul BhushanThe British media preaches to new nations like India on how to run their economy and government while dithering and fumbling on how to tackle Brexit.
Just absorb at the most humiliating historic defeat of the British Prime Minister Theresa May in parliament on 15 January 2019.
After losing by 230 votes, yes, 230 votes including members of her own party – the biggest government defeat in history - Theresa May did not resign yesterday and faced a no-confidence motion the next day.
No wonder the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called this defeat "catastrophic" and confirmed he was tabling a no confidence motion in the government.
Yes, catastrophic it is because no matter on what conditions or no conditions Britain exits, it is a slide all the way, for its economy and political status.
High time to eat the humble pie and stop proselytising to India on what and how to run the economy as Indian economy has already overtaken the British economy and how to manage its government as India takes its place at the high table of world powers.
How the hell did Britain get into this Brexit mess?
First it joined the EU on its tough terms keeping its pound to mint money, opting out of a common visa for Europe and many other conditions.
Now it wants to resign from this club and still enjoy many membership rights without contributing to its budget.
Wrote a British journalist, “But even if she stays in power, Britain faces a period of unprecedented chaos as politicians scramble to find a way forward for Brexit.”
Wake up and smell the tea.
And it’s the same story with American media that never fails to publish negative news about India.
With President Donald Trump triggering the longest shutdown in US history going on right now and his unending gaffes, the American media is usually critical of India. The mainstream print media pays hefty sums to its correspondents who provide exactly what the media wants: stories on violence, minority rights, social injustice and so on. The Western media keeps pushing stories about intolerance, cow protection and strife.
How come these papers never publish any stories about India’s space achievements achieved at a fraction of the budgets of the West or its digital progress. India now has the world’s second-largest internet user base. Further, it is a leader in mobile internet usage, with close to 80% of its web traffic accessed through mobile phones (as compared to around 55% for China and a global average of 50%). This is giving rise to unique mobile-first business models and is reshaping industries, including e-commerce, entertainment and the sharing economy. Plus, transparency in government.
No mention of over a billion mobiles connecting India’s 1.3 billion people and Total Transaction Value in the Digital Payments segment amounting to US$ 62,234m in 2019. Or hundreds of such projects and initiatives.
Before castigating India and other upcoming countries, take a hard look at the mess in Britain and USA.
