lndianlink

Publisher

PawanLuthra

EDITOR

RajniAnandLuthra

MELBOURNE COORDINATOR

PreetiJabbal

Contributors

BageshriSavyasachi,RheaLNath,

Sales

CharutaJoshi

Indian Link is a monthly newspaper published in English. No material, including advertisements designed by Indian Link, may be reproduced in part or inwholewithout the writtenconsentofthe editor Opinions carried in Indian Linkare those of the writers and not necessarilyendorsed byIndian Link. All correspondence should beaddressed to:

INDIAN LINK MEDIA GROUP

Level24/44 Market St,Sydney2000

GPO Box108,Sydney2001

Ph:029279-2004Fax:029279-2005

Email: info@indianlinkcom.au

BY PAWAN LUTHRA

s 2020 draws toa close, itlooks like thepandemjc isless ofa concern to the governn1entin India as opposedto thefarn1ersgatheringon the outskirts ofDelhi.

As wego to print, hundredsof thousands areca1nped outside Delhi to protestagainstwhatthey sayis the corporatisation offarmingbythe Modi government.The fanners, largely fron1 Punjab, arebeingjoinedbytheir fellowfarn1ersfron1 across the nation. Theferocity ofthepassion behind the protest-andsome starkimages of policebrutality-n1ay havegalvanised theModi governmentininitiatingtalks withthefanners,butto datethereis little progresstowardsresolution.

Like all thingsthisdecade,social media haslitupwithvariousexperts paradingaround extolling-or criticising-thenew agriculturelaws.

Whathas beeninterestingto noteis theinternationalisation ofthe farmers' protest, as supportcomes infrom the United Kingdom,Canada, andthe

UnitedStates.

Froma politicalleadership pointof view, the strongestremarks have come fromCanadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who has supported therights of Indianfarmers to protestpeacefully. This hasnot been takenkindlyby the Indiangovernment, whichina press release issued bythe Ministry ofExternalAffairs,saidthatsuch commentshave "encouraged" extremist activitiesoutside the Indianmissionsin Canada. India haswarnedthatremarks of the Canadianleadership onfarmer protests would leadto increasingantiIndia rallies inCanada.

Otherpoliticiansin the United Kingdo1nandAustralia have also added theirvoices to the ongoing protestsin Indiawithcomn1unitygroupsjoiningin globally.

Thenewbreed of Non Resident Indian continues to engage deeplywith theircountryoforigin, andcomes forwardreadily toshowsupport- be it forthe Indian cricket tean1 atthe SCG, or changes to Article 370, orthe Indian Citizenship Amendment Act.

An early demonstration ofsuch deep engagementwith the mothercountry came during theIndianelections of2014,when pro Modi supporters congregatedaticonic spots such as the

Sydney Opera House andMelbourne's Federation Square asresultswere declaredin India. Perhaps the most vocaloutpouringofpatrioticfervour was the Pulwa1naprotestmarchin SydneyCBDagainstalleged Pakistan ledterrorism. WhenCAAlegislation was announced, wesawbothpro and anti ralliesin Parramatta andSydney's CBD.

This internationalisation of domesticpoliticsisindeeda doubleedgedsword. Thejury is still out whetherwe shouldbe bringing contentious topics 'fron1 backho1ne' outin themainstrea1n. Then again, withsocialn1ediaplayingsuch a pivotalrole inhighlighting ourissues, vision opportunities ofsupporters anddetractors againstinternational landmarks do addan additional gravitas to the situation.

Meanwhile, as we prepare to bid adieu to 2020,we can'thelpbut look backatayear thatwas filledwith unknowns, and one whichforcedus to re-evaluate various aspects ofour lives. If 'pivot' wasthewordwe used frequentlyin2020, perhaps the word for2021willbe 'agile' -as welearnto workthroughissues in smarterways.

Wishing you and yourlovedones a great2021.