Vacuous and Verbose- 22

It must be tough being the ghost writer of India’s Prime Minister. Solemn messages must be sent out on every possible occasion. The PM must be seen or heard greeting people for every festival that is celebrated in the remotest parts of the country. Otherwise, umbrage will be taken and much blood-boiling will take place.

The poor writer has to rely on some loose templates, or boilerplates, to churn out these messages in time.

Here, for your ready reference, are the New Year messages sent out by the PM in the last 5 years. No one has ever read any of them, but what is important is that the newspapers must carry the obligatory “PM’s New Year message” on its headlines.

2007

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has greeted the people on the eve of the joyous occasion of New Year. In his New Year message, the Prime Minister said the New Year gives us an opportunity to dedicate ourselves to the consolidation of the gains of the past and to work for new horizons of progress and development.

2008

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh greeted the nation on New Year. In his message, the Prime Minister said that New Year is a time to reflect upon the year gone by, upon our successes, achievements and mistakes. It makes us wise to our strengths and weaknesses and gives us a chance to set new goals. It is a time for stocktaking and making a new start in achieving our individual and collective goals.

2009

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has greeted the Nation on the eve of the New Year. In a message, the Prime Minister hoped that the year 2009 will bring with it a better future for everyone. He also wished that the New Year will bring peace and prosperity to the world. “The beginning of the New Year is the time to firm up our resolve to work for the development of our country and for the well-being of our country-men”, the Prime Minister added.

2010

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has greeted the nation on the eve of the New Year.

In a message, Dr. Singh said that as we welcome the dawn of a new decade we should build upon the achievements of the past in striving for the realization of our dreams.

2011

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has greeted the nation on the eve of the New Year. Following is the text of Prime Minister’s message:

“I wish all our citizens a very happy New Year.

It is an occasion to take stock of the year gone by and of the challenges that lie ahead.

Let us make a new beginning to the year. Let us dispel the air of despondency and cynicism. We need to believe in the resilience of our democracy and its capacity to deal with infirmities and shortcomings through course correction.

On the eve of the New Year, I want to assure all our citizens that my government and I will work with renewed resolve for the welfare of our people. We will redouble our efforts to deal effectively and credibly with the challenges of inflation, cleansing our governing processes, national security and making our delivery system work for the aam aadmi.”

( Source: Press Information Bureau, Govt of India)