Looking to the future

The general election here has been decided, and it has turned out to be a surprise for the Indian nation. They had feared that several parties would have to join together in order to form a government, which always ends up in compromise, with projects that shouldn't be considered reaching the top of the pile. To everyone's surprise, the Congress Party had a triumphant victory and the former Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, has been re-elected, despite being 77 years old. He is expected to govern for at least another 2 or 3 years while they prepare the young Rahul Gandhi (aged 38), grandson of Indira Gandhi - contrary to what I read in one English newspaper this morning which reported that the PM would only stand for a few weeks. This is drivel. Age is no set-back in India. The leader of the Opposition is 82. Can we learn something from this? The Gandhi dynasty continues on, as Rahul's mother, Sonia, is chairman of the Party and the two of them are widely credited for organising a brilliant campaign. The stock market shot up 20 percent and there is a feeling in India that this is their decade. Their largest demographic is those between the ages of 20 and 30; they don't have an aging population, but a young, vibrant, and well educated one. Perhaps more important, their banks are not collapsing; their wise old PM, an economist by training, passed a law prohibiting banks loaning to people who couldn't offer 100% collaterol.

My tour continues at a thrilling pace, and I'm posting some more photographs from the event in Gurgaon on Friday, kindly sent in by Loreign & Eilleen Ovung and Arindam.

Last night here in Pune, I spoke to a packed-out audience, which was followed by a book signing session lasting 3 hours. While in the city, I did manage to squeeze in a visit to the best jewellery shop I've ever been to, Dolphin Jewellery, in the Clover Centre. No doormen, no fancy salespeople, just two Indians - one a craftsman, the other a salesman - and reasonable prices. I'm dictating this blog in a taxi on the motorway - that's how they describe it - on the way to the airport. Rickshaws, bikes (the women riding side-saddle on the back, their saris spotless despite the dust), and assorted animals ensuring that we don't do more than 20 mph. I'm off to Bangalore for the final set of interviews and a speech before returning to Britain. It's been a fascinating tour, and I shall be sorry to be leaving this exciting and vibrant country.