Ten years have passed. Reconciliation is the theme that surrounds two important events of the last decade. Looking back, at the decade gone by, is an opportunity to see why after a decade long effort, reconciliation becomes a theme. One such opportunity presents itself now. At the beginning of the last decade, United States invaded Afghanistan. Though the intended outcome of the famous invasion is yet to be realised, United States has been making every attempt to spend the last few years by finding peace with Taliban. In India, we have been a witness to one significant ten year spell- Narendra Modi as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Why do I mention these two different events, located in two different geographical spheres, together?
Many parallels can be drawn here, if one attempts to look deeper. If I further my freedom of imagination, these two events appear alike in many ways. Odds against evens. Turning odds into evens.
When Obama took office, presidency inherited unstable economy and Afghanistan as the biggest worries. Ten years hence, Afghanistan still remains a troubled area. Independence from Taliban, so achieved, has limited meaning in several different parts of the country where druglords still have an impact. With no independent defence machanism, it looks as fragile as it was in 2001. Recent assassination of a former president, killing of Karzai's half brother, incidents like these neither instill confidence nor offer solutions. As the war looked long term affair, United States managed to get international community on board. In the process of taking the war further, it found friends and few foes. US spent dollars, soldiers, political capital, but no concrete results achieved. All in all, war hasn't brought the change that America wanted to see. War only added to already declining status of US. Now as it appears, United States doesn't want to keep spending money in defending the decision of invading Afghanistan. So, it seeks an exit.
Coming back to home, Narendra Modi has acquired the front page in almost every business newspaper in the country since 2002. All known business leaders in India have endorsed his development of the state. If we go by business reports, Modi has turned Gujarat into a model of growth for other states to follow. Ten years into Chief Minister's residence, Modi is still dealing with what he inherited from his first term. He is still surrounded with number of riots court cases. Despite Gujarat's highest growth across all states in the country, Narendra Modi still waits for an acceptance as a leader, both within and outside his party. He is still trapped in an image that refuses to die down; image that still denies him US visa. All in all, development alone has not been able to bring the change Modi would want to see. Modi, it seems, doesn't want to keep spending time defending his 'no-role' during 2002 riots anymore.
As the decade ends, US and Modi both seek to put an end to the image that reminds them of the horrid part of their past. So much has already been invested in defending those misdeeds. Both, as it appears, want to eliminate what both see as a nuisance that overshadows their achievements in the last one decade. United States doesn't want to lose its authority as superpower. Narendra Modi doesn't want to lose an opportunity to become Prime minister someday. Hence, we see display of reconciliation.
In the end, it appears, both United States and Narendra Modi seek one common virtue- "Sadbhaavna"..
