A Crab Called 97

Consider that in Maharashtra, where Thackeray rules with an iron fist, no communal riot was reported, nor has any serious Hindu-Muslim violence broken out in other parts of the country. Of course, disturbances occurred, most recently in Coimbatore, but by and large communal peace reigned in 1997. Neither did caste/ethnic/terrorist strife make major gains. The Jehanabad carnage, Dalit riots, train blasts in Punjab, ULFA strikes in Assam with the tragic murder of Sanjoy Ghose, the random, small-scale killings in Kashmir.... Given the country's previous record in these areas, 1997 can definitely be described as tranquil. Nature may have been unpredictable thanks to Ms El Nino—shivering Delhiites will confirm—but her fury was mostly contained, almost benign. No natural calamity of any consequence struck India and the monsoon, after a wayward start, was 'normal'.

On the debit side, two prime ministers resigned, instability had a prolonged run, an election nobody wanted was imposed, the economy slowed down, caste division at once magnified and consolidated, those who purported to govern us seemed uncontrite, arrogant. All of which suggests the country continued along its depressing one step forward, two steps backward march. That said, on Wednesday midnight, you could raise your glass and drink a toast to 1997 with the thought: "It could have been worse".