It’s the last day of December and one can’t help but look back; ponder on how similar ‘not different’ the December of 2013 has been from the one preceding it. The December of 2012 saw large scale protests engulf the capital. The word ‘popular’ took on a whole new connotation as Delhiites took to the streets in unprecedented numbers protesting against the December 16th horrific gang rape. The world watched as the proverbially ‘cold and heartless’ Delhi stirred the country’s conscience demanding justice for the medical student whose young life and dreams had been ravaged. Last December, there was no Christmas, nor New Year in Delhi. Delhiites bartered their celebrations for ‘dharnas’ at India Gate and Jantar Mantar.
This December there’s another “popular” churn, fuelled again by the rage of the common man - the ‘aam’ citizen. The Aam Aadmi Party’s electoral success and coming to power in Delhi this December has changed the political discourse across the country. Once again, literally the world gaped in awe as Delhiites, anger at the callousness of the political class was channelized into a new vocabulary for political change.
The old order (read the political class) which got the fright of their lives seeing the teeming masses throng the stately environs of Raisina Hill last December, were now at a loss for words trying to understand how the AAP defied all political logic (they’re just a year old party) and smashed to smithereens the ruling Congress on December 8. All that the BJP could do was to cry foul and allege match fixing.
The celebrations for Christmas and New Year may have not been put on hold this year in the capital but they have donned a different hue. On December 28 when AAP came to power, they did so riding on the back of the “aam aadmi” the Delhi citizen,( derisively referred to as the “mango” people by the ignorant few.) Those that thronged the Ramleela Maidan that day ( December 28) were the same Delhiites, who had decided not to take it lying down any longer, demanding clean governance and a safer city for women.
The interim 12 months between last December and this, has witnessed history in the making and whether the December of 2014 will maintain that trend or lapse into the “chalta hai” attitude of the past, is a story which will only be told 365 days from now.
