Rome was not built in a day
I travelled to the Agra, Aligarh and Bareilly divisions of the state of Uttar Pradesh last week. Holi being the principal festival of these regions, it was the peak season of festivities in these areas. Since, in the past two years, the Covid pandemic impacted the festivities to a great extent; this year’s celebrations were particularly enthusiastic. A good sugarcane and bumper wheat crop added to the farmers’ delight. Poor realization for potatoes was a little dampener. The elections to the state assembly have just concluded and the new government is yet to be formed. Both the principal political parties, the BJP and SP, have performed well in the elections. So the political leaders and workers were also seen celebrating with fervor. Broadly, the aerial socio-economic view of the region appeared quite ebullient and promising. There are few observations that I would like to share with the readers. These observations are relevant for understanding some popular political narratives...