New Year ruminations: 2024 was by far the best of the last 10

How do you look at the year we've just lived through and the year ahead?

This was the most wonderful year we’ve had in a decade. After 10 years of a particular form of leadership and government, we saw a change that reflected in the results of the general election. While on the surface things appear unchanged — we have the same prime minister, home minister, finance minister, defence minister, national security advisor and even Lok Sabha speaker — in reality, things have shifted — and for the better. There will be a further shift next year as the prime minister approaches his 75th birthday. Not changes so much as subtle, yet meaningful, shifts. Elsewhere, things happened in America and in Bangladesh that will affect us and the world at large.

What was your most crushing disappointment in 2024 and what’s your most fervent hope for 2025?

I was saddened by the passing of the person I consider my guru — journalist Khaled Ahmed, but the most crushing disappointment, even though it was unsurprising, was the manner in which the world disregarded the trauma of Palestinians. My hope is that this will end and we’re able to speak in one voice on genocide and apartheid.

For 2025, I hope that more technological marvels are unveiled. I worry that as someone who is 55, I might not live long enough to see the monumental transformation of the human race through artificial intelligence. We’ve been promised the current era is about to end and it’ll be a shame to kick the bucket without having witnessed this transformation, whether it is good or bad.

What was the worst and the best you saw of what we are capable of as a people, as citizens?

The best without doubt was the triumph of 4 June, when Indian voters dented what was expected to be a coronation. The worst is always around us and perhaps we will see a little less of it in 2025 and the years ahead.

Who were the people who stood out for you at the extremes of giving hope or giving up on hope?

I am always lifted by the spirit of ordinary Indians, who are cheerful and resolute despite their condition. The one person who to my mind exemplified courage and resolve this year was Vinesh Phogat.