In a powerful and somber reflection on the year gone by, senior politician and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has declared 'HATE' as the single word that defined India in 2025. Writing on January 4, 2026, Chidambaram expressed profound shame and regret as he pinned the blame squarely on the State, its leaders in pivotal positions, and organizations emboldened by state patronage for fostering this toxic environment.
Short-Lived Contenders: From Sindoor to Tariffs
Chidambaram's analysis first considered other potential words that captured moments of 2025 but failed to leave a lasting national imprint. He cited 'Sindoor', referencing the counter-terror Operation Sindoor launched after the Pahalgam attack. While the Indian Air Force's response inflicted damage on Pakistani infrastructure, the four-day war was "too short to leave a lasting impression," with a lack of transparency around outcomes.
The word 'Tariff', alongside 'Trump', dominated conversations from April 2, 2025. Reciprocal US tariffs and penalties on Indian exports for buying Russian oil severely impacted steel, aluminum, textiles, gems, and chemicals. Chidambaram noted that Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal's promised bilateral trade agreement remained as elusive at the end of 2025 as it was in April.
Even GST rationalisation, though welcome, provided too little tax relief to boost broad consumption, with benefits largely confined to the top earners. Administrative harassment for traders continued unabated.
The Hollow Claims and Vanishing Ideals
The columnist dismissed the official narrative of a 'Goldilocks year for the economy', a phrase that quickly vanished. He pointed to the IMF questioning India's national accounts credibility and widespread criticism from economists. A sobering data comparison showed that while China closes its GDP gap with the US, India's gap with both giants is widening.
More alarmingly, Chidambaram highlighted the practical disappearance of the word 'Secular' from public discourse. Once a proud descriptor based on reason and humanism, it has become a "non-word." This retreat, he argues, has directly given rise to the prevailing culture of hate.
The Shameful Winner: How Hate Became Pervasive
Chidambaram states that the most evident hate is directed against Muslims—their practices, dress, food, and places of worship—often justified by specious historical grievances. The Christian community also faces ire, with reports of church vandalism, attacks on priests, and assaults on carol-singing children, all in the name of asserting majoritarian 'rights'.
"Nothing can be more abhorrent to the Constitution of India than the idea of Hindu supremacy," he writes, emphasizing that India's idea is built on citizenship, not religion, race, caste, or language.
The most worrying aspect for Chidambaram is the attempt to sanitize or legitimize such illegal actions. He holds the State and its leaders primarily responsible, stating that their "words, deeds or silence encourage the messengers of hate." He warns that this trend threatens to splinter India, breaking it into fragments divided by "narrow domestic walls."
For these compelling and tragic reasons, P. Chidambaram, with profound shame and regret, selects HATE as the word that defined India in 2025, painting a picture of a nation at a dangerous crossroads.
