The verdict

I am so proud of India's elections, for so many reasons. First of all, remembering the elections from when I was a child, when it'd take forever for the voting and then the counting process. We'd have Prannoy Roy on air for days, as poll data came trickling in. DD would show lots of movies, including Chupke Chupke, so it used to be a fun time. And now, this year, I voted week before last, and the results are already out. Apparently it's one of the fastest counting processes in the world. And when you think about how large and complex this country is, how many things the Election Commission has to manage, and then delivers it so well, you can't help feeling a huge sense of pride in India's efficiency. (Of course, you are entitled to wish it translated into more areas of activity!)

Another thing I'm proud of is that India seems to have voted for performance over polish. The anti-incumbency factor hasn't just swung in randomly as it used to, but has only come in where the citizens have a genuine grievance against the incumbent government for lack of care and concern (e.g. West Bengal). The last time around, one of the things that got me really riled was that even friends who I thought were quite rational thought that the BJP's loss was an anti-development vote.

The fact is, the only thing that ever made the BJP palatable was their economic agenda. And once the Congress took that agenda under its wing, they lost any claim to importance. They of course cinched their place amongst the notorious multiple times, be it the Rath yatra or the breaking down of Babri Masjid in 1992 or in 2002, with a state-sponsored pogrom in Gujarat. I find it really hard to stomach when educated, so-called liberal and secular people say that the only bad thing about Modi is the Pogrom – to me that's a huge bad thing. It's like saying, "So Hitler killed a few Jews. He did well for Germany, didn't he?"

I'm making chocolate brownies to celebrate the result of these elections. Any likeminded, secular people are free to join me J