The Darkest Year

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Shortly after the end of the year 2020, I took the decision to publish the collection of columns of 2019 and 2020 in book form. I also decided to self-publish the two volumes and make it available on the Internet absolutely free of cost". Hard copies will be printed and distributed through select book stores as well as mailed to readers who place an order on the Publisher. Kavitha Publication, a reputed publisher in Chennai, agreed to these conditions and, thus, this collection is in your hands or on your screen.

If 2019 was a disappointing year, 2020 was worse. Thanks to COVID-19, the economy took an unprecedented blow triggering the first recession in 40 years. The pandemic and the unplanned lockdowns confined me to my home. I used the time to read more and to write at a more leisurely pace. The result is 21 columns on Governance, 18 on Economics, 5 on Law, 5 on Politics and 3 on Security, adding up to one column a week for 52 weeks. I am proud that I did not miss a single date with the newspapers (in 11 languages) that publish my column.

Writing is a discipline. Writing on the economic situation requires greater discipline. Facts, particularly data, have to verified and cross-checked with official sources. This was a burden every week, but I cheerfully bore the burden because I wanted to be authentic, reliable, relevant and widely-read. Based on readers' responses, I am satisfied. I also note with pleasure that the trolls were obliged to read the column before they resorted to abuse.

A pandemic was completely new to the country. A recession was new to the present generation. The combination devastated the lives of millions of poor people resulting in significantly lower incomes and mass unemployment. The media, generally, was concerned with the handling of the pandemic, but not many journalists probed deeper. Most rated the government's responses poor to average, few dared to call it catastrophic. In these columns the reader will find that I was concerned about the far-reaching impact of the pandemic on the poor, their employment and their income, and I had proposed alternative measures. I am afraid it will take many years to heal the wounds suffered by the poor, especially the migrant workers, the self-employed and the micro and small businesses. The non-economic consequences of the pandemic on education, health and mental health also need to be examined and curative measures taken.

**Contents and Sample Pages**