The Week

bafs-the-smart-way-to-let-the-markets-ups-and-downs-work-for-you

Sat Oct 26 11:40:25 IST 2024

WHEN THE MARKETS soar to new heights, the fear of an imminent crash keeps many investors on edge. What if you could invest confidently without constantly worrying about when to enter or exit the market? Balanced Advantage Funds (BAFs) offer that peace of mind. This category of funds with over 12.8 lakh crore of assets spread over 48 lakh folios (as of August 2024) has been the go-to solution that thrives in both uncertain times, bullish times and flat markets ie full market cycles.

BAFs are hybrid mutual funds designed to adapt to changing market conditions by dynamically adjusting the allocation between equity and debt. These funds have gained significant popularity in India due to their flexibility and potential for consistent returns across market cycles. For years, BAFs have helped investors stay put in moments of uncertainty and convert them into opportunities to secure consistent returns.

Understanding BAFs

BAFs, also known as Dynamic Asset Allocation Funds, adjust their equity and debt exposure based on market conditions. Unlike traditional hybrid funds that maintain a static ratio between equity and debt, BAFs use a flexible asset allocation strategy. This allows the fund to increase equity exposure during market dips and reduce it during market highs, thus aiming to “buy low and sell high.” The key feature of BAFs is their use of quantitative models to guide these allocation shifts. This approach helps investors navigate market volatility without needing to time the market themselves. This makes BAFs an attractive option for both seasoned and novice investors.

BAFs work by following a dynamic investment process that is largely driven by quantitative models. Fund managers assess market conditions using metrics like the P/BV ratio etc, to determine the fund’s equity and debt allocation. For instance, if the equity market is overvalued, equity exposure is cut and debt allocation is hiked to mitigate risk. Conversely, when the market is undervalued, the equity exposure is increased to capitalise on potential gains.

BAFs mostly endeavour to adopt a flexi-cap approach for equity allocation. In case of debt allocation, they aim to invest in high quality instruments with over 80% of the portfolio in AAA-rated papers.

The BAF strategy helps to balance risk and reward by avoiding extreme exposure to any single asset class, allowing for a smooth investment experience.

Risk-return profile

Balanced Advantage Funds offer a balanced risk-return profile, sitting between pure equity funds and debt funds. Since BAFs adjust their asset allocation according to market conditions, they tend to carry lower risk than equity funds, especially in volatile markets. However, their return potential is higher than that of traditional debt funds due to their equity exposure.

The ability of BAFs to participate in market rallies while protecting downside during bear phases makes them appealing for investors seeking moderate capital appreciation and income generation.

In the last one year period ended September 30, BAFs as a category have delivered 25.7% return. In the last three- and five-year period, category returns are 14.8% CAGR and 13.9% CAGR respectively.

The tax treatment of Balanced Advantage Funds is similar to equity mutual funds. If the equity exposure is maintained above 65%, BAFs are classified as equity funds for tax purposes. Gross equity exposure in funds is usually maintained between 65% and 100%. If the equity allocation falls below 65%, the gross equity exposure is maintained at 65% using equity derivatives.

BAFs are suitable for a wide range of investors, especially those with moderate risk tolerance and a medium-to long-term investment horizon. Conservative investors can benefit from the downside protection provided by the dynamic asset allocation strategy, while aggressive investors can still enjoy equity-like returns during market upswings.

Investors looking for diversification without constantly monitoring the market may find BAFs ideal, as these funds take care of asset rebalancing, offering peace of mind amid market fluctuations. Additionally, the use of a quantitative model minimises emotional bias, allowing for more discipline.

One such BAF which investors may consider investing in is the ICICI Prudential Balanced Advantage Fund. With an AUM of over Rs60,000 crore, the fund is one of the largest and oldest in this category. As of September 30, 2024 the fund delivered a strong return of 23.59% on a one year basis and CAGR returns of 13.75% and 14.37% on three-year and five-year basis, respectively.

The writer is a mutual fund distributor

a-memorandum-signed-by-50-brics-countries-signals-the-need-for-fashion-to-move-away-from-western-perspectives

Sat Oct 19 15:43:16 IST 2024

By Namrata Zakaria /Moscow

A major movement in the global fashion industry has just taken place that will find little mention in the western media. The BRICS+ Fashion Summit wrapped up in Moscow last week, where industry leaders from more than 50 countries signed a memorandum to form a new association that will fuel the world’s emerging economies.

BRICS International Fashion Federation is possibly the biggest move to shift the fashion industry’s centre of gravity from Europe and the US to the faster developing newer markets. This would promote more international cooperation, include new economies, increase efficiency, create new opportunities, improve sustainability and allow for a more global perspective in the fashion and retail business. The memorandum on the creation of the BRICS International Fashion Federation was signed in Moscow by the heads of fashion weeks, CEOs of fashion and textile associations, heads of educational institutions from India, South Africa, Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Ghana, Tanzania, Jordan and several other countries. The BRICS is an intergovernmental organisation that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and, since 2024, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The signing followed the BRICS+ Fashion Summit, which took place in Moscow from October 3 to 5, and was attended by over 100 countries.

Says Sunil Sethi, chairman of the Fashion Design Council of India: “The fashion industry is mainly led by a handful of global brands, so it is necessary that the emerging markets have a platform to raise their voice. The call for such an alliance is long overdue. Brands, designers and fashion markets face common challenges―from supply chain disruptions to environmental concerns―that can be addressed more effectively through joint action.”

BRICS+ markets, especially India and China, have long played key roles in the global textile and garment industry, but have historically been treated either as suppliers of labour or new areas of profit generation. Seldom have their talent or ideas been incorporated into Euro- or US-centric fashion and trade. The vast participation in BRICS+ this year signalled the need for the world to update and diversify itself.

A comparison by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2024 of the G7 and BRICS shows that GDP in the purchasing power of the two groups has already converged. For example, in 2007, the purchasing power of the G7 group was 37.4 per cent of the world’s GDP while that of BRICS was 23.4 per cent. In 2022, the G7 nations’ purchasing power stood at 30.3 per cent of the world’s GDP while that of the BRICS countries was already higher at 31.5 per cent.

This year’s IMF World Economic Outlook report (released in April), showcasing the Real GDP Growth Forecast of 2024 shows the G7 nations trailing, with the highest GDP among them belonging to the US at 2.7 per cent. In contrast, the GDP growth rate of several BRICS countries is higher than the US, including Egypt, Russia, Iran and the UAE. India’s is highest at 6.8 per cent and Ethiopia follows at 6.2 per cent.

The textile and fashion industry is a major branch of the global economy. Additionally, BRICS has taken a stronger grip on the energy markets since five new members joined the alliance. With Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the BRICS+ bloc accounts for nearly 40 per cent of global oil production and 30 per cent of this is natural gas. India and China are also major oil importers. This is important as it allows the BRICS+ nations to negotiate oil prices with the western countries better. Further, the trade turnover in the top five BRICS countries grew by 56 per cent between 2017 and 2022 to reach $422 billion. Western sanctions on Russia, for example, have redirected the country’s trade to India and China. When Russian President Vladimir Putin met Chinese President Xi Jinping in May, Putin remarked that almost 90 per cent of Russia’s trade with China is done in rubles and yuan, leading to de-dollarisation as a global trend.

The BRICS-IFF strengthens and expands the network of fashion organisations worldwide. It promotes local talent, advocates environmental and cultural concerns, and facilitates information and education. Participating countries can access new technologies, preserve cultural identities and support traditional crafts.

“We are committed to providing these visionaries with a global platform and local events to ensure that their creative work is celebrated globally,” reads the official communique of the BRICS+ Fashion Summit. “Our goal is to promote sustainable and eco-friendly practices, striving to implement transparent methodologies that will significantly reduce the fashion industry’s carbon footprint. Slow fashion, characterised by mindful consumption and production, will be at the heart of the BRICS-IFF agenda as we strive to reduce the environmental impact of fashion.”

The fashion summit led to the Moscow Fashion Week, which saw the participation of several designers from the BRICS+ countries like Nitin Bal Chauhan from India, Maison Revolta from Brazil, Kensun from China, Angelo Estera from the UAE, and Eve Valverde from Costa Rica.

“This gave me a chance to work with a great production team,” Chauhan tells us. “All the talent, from hair and makeup to choreographers, photographers, models and lighting engineers are world class. We also received more than 300 requests from fashion bloggers, models, stylists, enthusiasts and clients to attend the show. It is assuring to find customers who get our vibe. Like every fashion marker globally, it is essential to be consistent and show collections for a few seasons in order to create awareness among buyers and develop a fan base. We have met a few buyers and are looking forward to closing in on some stores in the coming season.”

Among the business discussions at the summit were topics of great relevance such as ‘Fashion as Cultural Diplomacy’, ‘Creative Capital: The Role of Creative Industries in Regional Economic Development’, ‘Retail Transformations: From Clothing Stores to Cultural Spaces’, and ‘Cloud Wardrobe’. During the session on ‘Fashion as Cultural Diplomacy’, Stephen Manzini, founder of Soweto Fashion Week, said: “It is crucial to establish a lasting presence in each other’s countries―this could take the form of a fashion exhibition or a multi-brand store. This would allow consumers to explore new brands, try on different styles, and engage with them directly. We want Russians to open stores in South Africa to promote their products in our market, while we will pursue similar opportunities in Russia.”

The ‘From Factory to Runway: Industry on Trend’ talk saw Akashdeep Singh, president of Indian Business Council in Russia, speak in fluent Russian of his two-country enterprise. As chairman and MD of Vulkan-A, he lives and works in both countries. “I want to restore faith in cooperation and mutual assistance for bilateral development. Russia and India have been historically friendly, it is time to pay attention to the huge potential of our cooperation,” he said. A big advocate of Indian textiles, he aims to teach Russia about India’s strengths. “Unfortunately, fast fashion has taken over Russian megacities, and the poorly developed light industry has made sewing clothes a pastime for the wealthy. In India, however, this has not lost its strength. For all important holidays, costumes are sewn individually, fabrics are given to each other as something necessary, which is commensurate with other household gifts that are familiar to us,” he said.

In the session on ‘Cloud Wardrobe’, French stylist and consultant Audrey Taillee remarked: “Trends are now so fluid and adapting. Fashion is not about trends anymore, it is about getting to know who you are selling to. In this manner, the trends of the west cannot apply to the entire world. Everyone is not wearing the same thing in different parts of the world. People now buy for the experience.” She also added that AI could never replace a creative soul. “AI can make your life faster, but it cannot replace a designer,” she said. “Fashion is about sensitivity, about the human soul. AI cannot give you a [Steve] McQueen. What it does that is of great importance is that it aids in e-commerce, and makes the world an open market. It gives opportunities to less visible designers. Technology makes the world a smaller place. But fashion is a human experience, it is pain and it is happiness.”

multi-asset-allocation-funds-may-be-a-good-choice-for-first-time-investors

Sat Oct 19 15:37:56 IST 2024

Do you have money to invest? Ask around and you will get varied suggestions. Some will say invest in equities, others will point out equities are risky and debt instruments are low-risk and, therefore, better. Indians have found gold attractive as an investment option that could come in handy on a rainy day.

Some smart guys at a mutual fund thought, why not package all these into one? As a result, most fund houses now have multi-asset allocation funds. These funds typically have to invest in at least three asset classes with a minimum allocation of 10 per cent in each.

These funds may invest in a number of traditional equity and fixed income strategies, index-tracking funds, financial derivatives as well as commodities like gold or silver. Some may invest in instruments like real estate investment trusts or infrastructure investment trusts. And, some may invest in foreign securities or funds that invest in global markets. In comparison, hybrid funds typically invest only in equity and debt.

“Multi-asset allocation funds aim to strike a balance of risk and returns through diversification across asset classes,” said Ashish Naik, fund manager at Axis Mutual Fund.

He pointed out that the three asset classes―equity, debt and gold/silver―are not highly co-related and hence provide a relatively better balance.

Over the last two-three years, equity has given strong returns. Three-year returns of large cap funds average between 15 per cent to 20 per cent. Three-year returns of small cap funds have ranged between 25 per cent and 30 per cent or more. This has made equity investments attractive.

But, equity investing also comes with high risk; they can fall sharply and provide low to negative returns for a long period. This is something many investors may not be able to digest.

In this backdrop, fund managers and investment advisers feel asset allocation becomes necessary and products like multi-asset funds help here.

“Many investors get swayed by the recent performance of asset classes to make their investment allocation decisions,” said Harshad Patwardhan, chief investment officer at Union Asset Management. “For instance, the superlative performance of equities in recent times has led to investors getting carried away while making their choices, often ignoring the words of caution from their own investment advisers.” The fund house had launched its multi-asset allocation fund in August.

Of late, we have seen a lot of volatility in the equity market. Market experts have been stressing on valuations being expensive in various corners of the market for some time now and point to a lot of uncertainties, be it from the geopolitical turmoil in West Asia or slowing demand in certain areas like automobiles.

Fund managers say multi-asset funds are well suited during such times of volatility.

“The three in one approach of this fund ensures relatively steady returns,” said Naik. “Investing in pure equity funds involves an element of risk while investing purely in debt is typically for investors who are risk averse. Multi-asset allocation funds blend all the three asset classes in one and provide a cushion to market volatility.”

Timing the market has always been a difficult proposition. Therefore, fund managers say products like multi-asset allocation funds may be a good choice for first-time investors or even for those who are looking at investments with low-risk and lower volatility.

“Multi-asset funds offer a one-stop solution for investors seeking a diversified portfolio without the need for constant monitoring or rebalancing of individual investments,” said Ihab Dalwai, fund manager, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company. “By holding a mix of assets, these funds aim to provide a better risk-adjusted return.”

What one must remember is that not all multi-asset allocations are the same. They may differ in terms of their allocation in each asset class and also in terms of their risk-return profile. One fund may have a higher exposure to equity, another may have more exposure to debt. Therefore, their returns may differ vastly. Data from Value Research shows that over the past one year some multi-asset funds have delivered 47-48 per cent returns, while others have only managed 15-20 per cent.

The idea behind pushing such multi-asset funds is that different asset classes perform differently during various market cycles. Dalwai said that since professional fund managers make allocation decisions, such funds reduce the burden on individual investors.

But, Vidya Bala, co-founder of Primeinvestor.in, a research solutions platform for retail investors, noted that multi-asset funds can give negative returns when equity markets fall and, therefore, for someone to think that such funds will reduce risk completely is not right.

How then should multi-asset funds be used?

“Multi-asset funds are useful for investors who are looking at a lower risk profile, equity-like fund, in addition to equity or debt that they may already have,” said Bala. “For instance, they have already built a portfolio consisting of large cap, mid cap and so on and now they still want to have sufficient exposure to an equity-like asset class but with a slightly lower risk, there multi-asset comes into play.”

She feels that in an ideal scenario, an investor should invest in asset classes like equity, debt and commodities separately as then the investor could have a choice of the best in each category.

“Supposing this (multi-asset) fund is 10 per cent of your portfolio and it holds 20 per cent in gold, you only get 10 per cent of 20 per cent, which is 2 per cent,” she said. “Whereas, if you would have taken gold yourselves, you would be holding 5 per cent or 10 per cent.”

At the end of the day, asset allocation depends on risk profile. For risk-takers and more savvy investors, a diversified approach may well work. While those who are risk averse maybe better served by a more conservative approach.

special-festive-season-fd-schemes-offered-by-banks

Sat Oct 19 12:06:25 IST 2024

Bank of Baroda has launched a new “Utsav Deposit” scheme with a term period of 400 days, which the public sector lender has launched specially for the festive season. Under this FD, general public will be offered an interest rate of 7.3 per cent, while senior citizens will get 7.8 per cent. Super senior citizens (people aged 80 and above) will get 7.9 per cent interest.

Bank of India, too, has recently launched a special 400-day retail term deposit scheme at interest rates ranging from 7.3 per cent (general public) to 7.95 per cent (super senior citizen). In case one opts for non-callable deposit, which means there is no premature withdrawal available, the interest rates offered are higher―between 7.45 per cent to 8.1 per cent.

The country’s largest lender, State Bank of India, too, has a similar 400-day term deposit scheme called Amrit Kalash, and a 444-day term deposit scheme called Amrit Vrishti, offering higher interest rates. Many other banks, including Union Bank, have launched special term deposit schemes.

This rush by lenders to offer special fixed deposit schemes at attractive interest rates comes against the backdrop of bank deposits growing at a slower pace than credit growth. Over the last few years, people have increasingly turned to stock markets and mutual funds. More than Rs24,000 crore is coming to mutual funds per month via SIPs (systematic investment plans) alone. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had in August nudged state-owned banks to undertake special drives to mobilise deposits.

Clearly, there was a need for banks to make term deposits slightly more attractive and that is why we see these special offers. But, the question is, should individuals park their money in long-term deposits now, or wait?

One major thing to consider here is interest rates. Over the last couple of years, as inflation surged, major central banks hiked interest rates. But, the cycle seems to be turning. In September, the US Federal Reserve slashed its interest rate by an outsized 50 basis points. It is expected to slash rates by a similar level by December 2024 and then some more in 2025. The Chinese central bank and the European Central Bank, too, have slashed interest rates this year.

Back home, the Reserve Bank of India, in its latest monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting on October 9, left its benchmark repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent. However, it changed its stance to “neutral” from “withdrawal of accommodation”, clearly signalling that it could act in the future, should conditions turn conducive. “The RBI’s recent shift to a neutral stance signals a move towards anticipated rate cuts and a lower interest rate cycle, both in India and globally,” said Raghvendra Nath, managing director, Ladderup Wealth Management.

A lot depends on where inflation is headed. The CPI (consumer price index) inflation in July and August came in below RBI’s targeted 4 per cent. But, it has jumped to 5.49 per cent in September, on the back of rise in food prices. After the Reserve Bank changed its stance to neutral, the wider expectation was that it will start cutting interest rates from December. But food prices continue to pose a major risk to inflation. The continued geopolitical tensions in West Asia, too, remain a risk. The central bank will also be watchful of how the GDP growth pans out and any slowdown there could raise the chance of a rate cut, too.

Some economists still see the central bank making rate cuts in December, but don’t expect too many cuts, unlike in other, especially developed, economies. “There are chances of a shallow rate cut of 25 bps in the December policy, followed by another 25 bps in the February policy, provided food inflation moderates,” said Rajani Sinha, chief economist at CareEdge Ratings.

UBS’s chief India economist Tanvee Gupta Jain expects the RBI to lower the repo rate by 75 basis points during the easing cycle. “The timing of the rate cut cycle is tricky and we believe the MPC would remain data dependent. For policy easing to begin from December, either inflation will need to soften well below 5 per cent and/or growth to surprise on the downside,” said Jain.

As such interest rates are expected to come down over the next few quarters, with little to no chance of them going up. That brings us back to the original question. Should individuals lock in their money now in long-term fixed deposits?

“With banks offering higher interest rates on special FDs, savers could consider locking in long-term deposits to benefit from these rates before a potential rate cut cycle begins,” said Kirang Gandhi, a personal finance mentor. He expects the RBI’s benchmark rate at which it lends money to commercial banks to come down by 100 basis points (1 per cent) by December 2025, with growth slowdown becoming apparent. “However, balancing liquidity needs and exploring other investment options may offer better long-term growth opportunities,” Gandhi noted.

Equity markets have given far superior returns over the last two to three years. However, of late, there has been a lot of volatility. The BSE Sensex having touched a life high of 85,978.25 on September 27 has closed below 82,000 on October 15. Fixed deposits in contrast offer slow, but steady returns. Ultimately, you should assess your risk appetite before allocating your money, especially if its a large sum.

You may also want to explore debt mutual funds. Should interest rates start falling, debt funds would benefit, as typically when rates fall, the value of the existing bonds these funds are holding rises and vice-versa.

“For those willing to take on a bit more risk, investing in high-quality investment-grade bonds can be a good option, potentially generating returns that outpace inflation on a post-tax basis,” said Nath of Ladderup. “However, for risk-averse investors seeking a fixed return without any risk, locking in a high-rate fixed deposit would be the better choice.”

the-coldplay-mania-shows-the-power-of-live-entertainment-and-its-immense-business-opportunity

Sat Oct 05 14:56:17 IST 2024

It was supposed to be an ‘adventure of a lifetime’ for Deepali Taneja. The academician from Delhi and her friends had made meticulous plans to buy tickets to the much-anticipated live concert by the British rock band Coldplay. “My friends and I had logged in much before 12 noon, the time when the tickets went live, and we were in contact with each other in real time,” she said.

The day, however, spiralled down into chaos, as Taneja, along with around 1.3 crore fans, got into a ‘digital stampede’ while trying to get their hands on the 1.65 lakh tickets on offer. It first led to the ticketing site BookMyShow crashing, before many found themselves in queues running into some 10 lakh people. “I kept trying between my phone and laptop, but to no avail,” said Deepali. “Now, more than the feeling of disappointment, I feel a sense of being scammed. Despite my best efforts, I missed the opportunity!”

Even adding a third concert (they were supposed to do only two) did not help, as tickets, ranging from Rs2,500 to Rs35,000 were snapped up within minutes. Worse, many landed up on international ticketing sites or in the black market that charge multiple times the original price. While BookMyShow spoke of “issues from suspicious and malicious traffic,” former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said the tickets landing up in the black market “posed a serious challenge to governance”.

What the fiasco also proved was the coming of age of India’s live entertainment and ticketing sector. “India has emerged as a highly attractive and compelling destination for both domestic and international acts, with the burgeoning appetite for live entertainment events in the country,” said Owen Roncon, chief operating officer (live events) of BookMyShow, the organiser of the Coldplay event and many other high-profile live events.

According to a report by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce, the live events sector generated nearly Rs9,000 crore in revenue last year, and it is estimated to hit Rs14,300 crore by next year.

While Coldplay and other big events like Lollapalooza (a multi-act music festival scheduled for winter) and Punjabi superstar Diljit Dosanjh (sold out in minutes) may be the poster boys of the live entertainment sector, concerts are just one aspect of it. The live events business market ranges anything from theatre to stand up comedy to dance, literary events and, of course, sports.

And they are all on fire. If the IPL cricket franchise opened up the true scope of what a well-marketed live event can earn, those from fields as varied as literature and comedy are learning the lessons, and raking it in. Jaipur Literature Festival makes its moolah from sponsorship, but it recently went ticketed, more in an effort to cut down the number of attendees. One of the most sought-after outings this monsoon across Indian cities were candlelight concerts, where musical performances took place in Instagram-worthy backdrops.

The rise of standup comedy as a celebrity career encapsulates the trend of live events like no other. Comedians like Kanan Gill and Danny Fernandes count their social media followers in hundreds of thousands, and are on tour with their ticketed standup acts every other week. Earlier limited to comedy clubs and small bars, they are now increasingly playing to sold-out auditoriums. Vir Das’s controversial act in New York last year made it into a Netflix show, and bagged an International Emmy.

“Indians were exposed to different kinds of entertainment that crawled into our homes through phones and televisions during Covid, and they portrayed western world trends like standup comedy. Suddenly, the audience has woken up!” said Ambika Prasad Nanda, associate professor, Jagdish Sheth School of Management (JAGSoM), Bengaluru.

“Covid is an obvious reason, but it does not stop there,” said Nanda. “Many migrants to metros come from tier 2 and tier 3 cities where we traditionally have had a culture of going out for music and dance beyond films―from Ramnavami plays to Natya Shastra, our classical dances and many other folk forms. In the big city, they don’t usually get an opportunity to indulge in it, busy as they are dealing with work and the traffic snarls. And now they are looking for that connection which these experiences offer.”

BookMyShow says last year saw demand for live entertainment surging 82 per cent, with a 2.3 times increase in premium event-goers. “Our mission has always been to democratise access to entertainment, making it effortless and accessible,” said Roncon.

BookMyShow straddles the ticketing business, both events and cinemas, with an estimated 75 per cent market share. That has brought with it its fair share of criticism―detractors point out to the high ‘convenience fee’ the entity charges for tickets, because of its virtual monopoly.

It could well change soon. Competition is on the horizon with food aggregator Zomato acquiring the also-ran in the field, Paytm Insider. “Zomato sees the going-out business as a combination of multiple categories with strong network effects,” said its founder Deepinder Goyal. “The idea is to drive profitability at a combined level while allowing for different sub-categories to operate at different margin profiles.”

“For Zomato, this acquisition highlights its focus on the ‘revenge entertainment’ segment at a time when OTT players offer world entertainment at the customer’s fingertips,” said Srinivas Reddy, assistant professor (marketing management) at the T.A. Pai Management Institute, Manipal. While it could run into hurdles like BookMyShow’s binding agreements with multiplex chains, there are many other models it could work with, like smaller chains, single-screen theatres and non-film events. It can use its vast distribution network to go into smaller towns faster with value adds.

Zomato has already announced concerts by pop stars Dua Lipa and Bryan Adams to match BookMyShow’s Coldplay, and Shawn Mendes and Greenday at Lollapalooza.

Live concerts are big-ticket events. The revenue from the Coldplay concerts in Mumbai could be over Rs100 crore, while the consumer spending on travel, food and stay will be in multiples of that. Unsurprisingly, travel and hospitality majors are also looking at this in a big way. “The Indian travellers’ mindset has changed, they now seek experiences that are inspired by what they see, follow and admire,” said Santosh Kumar, India country Manager of Booking.com.

Globally, live events have been recognised to be game-changers for the economy. Singapore, which exclusively hosted American pop star Taylor Swift’s Eras World Tour in the region (much to many neighbours’ chagrin), claimed that its GDP growth of 2.7 per cent in the April-June period was in part due to the frenzy over the concert.

When pop queen Madonna closed out her Celebration tour with a free concert in Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach this summer, Brazilian authorities spent huge money (equivalent of Rs30 crore) in security and arrangements for the 16 lakh people who turned up. The benefit? With 170 extra flights bringing in fans from around the world who not only attended the concert but stayed, ate and drank, Brazil is estimated to have earned nearly Rs500 crore equivalent in taxes and ancillary revenues. There is a lesson in it for India as its nascent live events scene comes of age.

as-savvy-investors-seek-new-avenues-thematic-mutual-funds-are-gaining-popularity

Sat Sep 21 11:45:01 IST 2024

Mutual funds have taken off in a big way in the past few years. The surge started when central banks slashed interest rates during the Covid-19 pandemic, making investors chasing high returns turn to capital markets, either investing directly or via mutual funds. Interestingly, this phenomenon has survived the high interest rate phase of the past two years, and more and more investors are investing in equity now.

The latest data from Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI), says average assets managed by the Indian mutual fund industry was Rs66.04 lakh crore in August 2024, a 40 per cent jump over August 2023 when it was Rs46.94 lakh crore. Equity-oriented schemes now account for about 60 per cent of the industry assets, up from 52.7 per cent in August 2023.

Between January and August 2024, the total net inflow into equity mutual funds has been around 02.48 lakh crore. Just in August, some 64 lakh new systematic investment plans (SIP) were registered and the monthly SIP contribution hit a new high of Rs23,547.34 crore. While August was the 42nd consecutive month of positive equity inflows, one category of funds seems to have attracted a lot of interest this year―sectoral/thematic funds.

Sectoral funds are equity mutual funds that focus on businesses operating within a specific industry, like technology, health care, defence, energy, automobile, or financial services. There are funds that focus on specific themes like consumption, manufacturing, infrastructure or clean energy as well.

Such funds have received around Rs1.03 lakh crore in net inflows between January and August. What is driving this huge interest?

On the one hand, many savvy investors are seeking newer investment ideas. On the other, India’s economy is growing and government policies are opening up opportunities for newer sectors. That has driven the fund houses to launch more such funds targeting sectors and themes. “The mutual fund industry is thriving, riding the wave of opportunities across the Indian economy; hence we are seeing thematic and sectoral launches looking to capitalise on emerging opportunities and trends,” said D.P. Singh, deputy managing director and joint CEO of SBI Mutual Fund.

SBI MF is the country’s largest asset manager with average assets under management (AUM) of over 09.88 lakh crore in the April-June quarter. The fund house has launched several sectoral NFOs (new fund offerings) this year, the latest being the SBI Innovative Opportunities Fund, towards the end of July. The idea behind this fund was to invest in equity and equity-related instruments of companies that seek to benefit from the adoption of innovative strategies and themes. In February, SBI MF launched the energy opportunities fund and in May, the automotive opportunities fund.

“In an economy like India which is still evolving, opportunities exist across the spectrum with new industries mushrooming,” said Singh. “Today, for example, EVs are growing, as the ecosystem around will evolve with technological advancements. So energy as a theme is a big opportunity. There are similar opportunities across industries, and we will launch more funds if necessary.”

Several other fund houses have also cashed in on this sectoral theme. In August, for instance, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC launched the defence index fund, aiming to take advantage of the growing defence sector. Axis Mutual Fund has launched the Axis Consumption Fund, aiming to provide a diversified portfolio that reflects the broad spectrum of consumption-driven sectors like fast moving consumer goods, auto, telecom, real estate and health care.

“As our aspirations grow and spending power increases, companies in this space are positioned for sustained growth,” said Ashish Gupta, chief investment officer of Axis AMC. “The Axis Consumption Fund offers investors the opportunity to participate in this unfolding trend and aims to build a robust portfolio that captures this dynamic growth.”

Some themes did quite well in the past year. Mahesh Patil, chief investment officer at Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, said that PSU (public sector undertaking), defence, auto and energy had given excellent returns, thus creating more interest in themes.

It is worth noting that in order to bring uniformity, the Securities and Exchange Board of India in 2017 issued clear definitions for each fund category like large cap, small cap, mid cap and multi cap. As per the regulator’s guidelines, a fund house can have only one scheme in each category, although there are exceptions like index funds or exchange traded funds and sectoral/thematic funds. With most large fund houses already having schemes in the key categories, thematic funds and even index funds have offered new growth opportunities.

“From a mutual funds side, these are the only areas where you can add new products. Most mutual funds already have products in the traditional baskets. That is also fuelling new launches and the excitement in the thematic side,” said Patil.

Investing in thematic and sectoral funds, however, comes with several risks that investors need to keep in mind. “If you are evaluating sector and thematic funds, there are five challenges to be addressed. Performance is cyclical, timing is difficult, cost of mistiming is very high, unlike diversified funds, a ‘buy and hold’ approach may not work, and even if you get everything right, you are likely to be under-allocated,” said Jiral Mehta, senior research analyst at FundsIndia.

Many investors look at the performance of 1-2 years and then make their investment choices accordingly. But, they must remember that sectors do go through their cycles and what delivered last year may not deliver this year.

For instance, infrastructure mutual funds delivered anywhere between 61 per cent to 75 per cent over the past one year. But there have also been years when they delivered negative returns. In 2018, their annualised returns were negative 15-25 per cent. Many funds in the infra space had gained traction just before the 2008 global financial crisis. But after stellar returns initially, many of them went through a phase between 2008-14 where even their three-year and in some cases even five-year trailing returns were negative.

As far as sectoral or thematic funds go, one should stick to actively managed funds, given the fact that the stocks are carefully chosen and sector calls are taken by the fund manager, so an investor need not worry about the timing, said Mehta.

Investing in sectoral funds can be appealing for certain types of investors, but it is important to understand who they are best suited for and how they compare to broader strategies like large caps or flexi/multi caps, says Singh.

“These funds are suitable for experienced and nuanced investors who understand the impact of the sector/theme on the overall economy and how its growth can lead to potential gains in their portfolios. So, while diversified offerings are a must-have in the portfolio, those who have a higher risk appetite and would like exposure to a certain theme or sector can invest with a long-term investment horizon,” said Singh. According to him, investors should ensure diversified offerings occupy a larger part of their portfolio, along with these offerings in a satellite portion for potential boost to overall returns.

Most investors are better off investing in diversified equity funds where patience and a long-time horizon act as an advantage. “For experienced investors with a high-risk appetite, wanting to explore sector and thematic investing, we would suggest starting small with a limited exposure (less than 20 per cent) and increasing it over time as you gain experience and expertise,” said Mehta.

Index funds, which track a particular underlying index such as Sensex or NSE Nifty Next 50 or small cap 50 with little active fund manager decision making, have also gained traction in this backdrop. Fund houses are also seen taking innovative bets in index funds.

DSP, for instance, recently launched the Nifty top 10 equal weight index fund. Currently equity markets are at a high and valuations in several stocks and sectors appear expensive. In this context, it is wise to invest in areas showing relative underperformance, where there is a margin of safety and good growth potential, said Anil Ghelani, head of passive investments and products at DSP Mutual Fund.

“While there is growing interest in small and mid-cap stocks, the largest and mega-cap stocks appear to be trading at relatively more attractive valuations. Over the past four years, the market has witnessed significant depolarisation, leading to the underperformance of the top 10 stocks compared to broader indices. This relatively lower valuation and margin of safety could be seen as a good opportunity,” said Ghelani.

One reason passive funds (index funds and exchange traded funds) have generated interest is that they have extremely low cost. For instance, annual expense ratio (annual fee that fund houses charge for managing the fund) of index funds linked to the Nifty50 ranges between 0.2-0.3 per cent, while the actively managed large-cap funds have an expense ratio of about 1 per cent.

Passive funds are also more straightforward, providing investors with a clear understanding of their risk and return outcomes, said Ghelani. Although the overall AUM of passive funds is still low compared with active funds, in the large-cap category, for instance, index funds and ETFs have seen larger inflows compared with active funds over the past three years.

ETFs and index funds now account for around 17 per cent of the total MF industry AUM and that proportion is likely to increase to 25 per cent in next 3-5 years.

usage-driven-motor-insurance-policies-offer-several-benefits

Sat Sep 21 11:33:50 IST 2024

Looking to buy a new car insurance policy or renewing your existing one? The master circular issued by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) in June had some important guidelines that will help you.

IRDAI asked insurance companies to offer two options as first choice under motor insurance. One of the options was 'pay-as-you-drive' insurance cover.

As the name suggests, you pay premium on the motor insurance based on how much or how you drive rather than paying a flat fee. This is a comprehensive own-damage plus third-party motor insurance policy. The third party premium will continue to be determined by existing rules, but the own-damage premium is based on the number of kilometres that you drive. So, if you drive less, you pay less.

A few companies now offer this as an add-on cover. For instance, if you are driving less than 10,000km a year, HDFC Ergo lets you claim benefit up to 25 per cent of the basic own damage premium at the end of the policy year. When the policy expires, subject to providing distance travelled, one can claim the benefit.

Some companies also offer the 'pay-how-you-drive' option, where the premium is calculated based on how you drive your car. The safer you drive, the lower will be the premium.

Telematics and usage driven motor insurance offers several other benefits as well. “It offers feedback on driving habits, which can help improve driving behaviour and potentially increase safety,” said Shashi Kant Dahuja, executive director and chief underwriting officer at Shriram General Insurance. “Also, in the event of a claim, detailed data can help provide a clearer picture of what happened, leading to faster resolution.”

Shriram General Insurance offers pay as you drive as a usage-based add-on cover, under which the insured can get a discount on own damage premium. “To avail the benefit, at the time of policy inception, the insured need to declare the maximum kilometres the vehicle will run as per the opted kilometre plan,” said Dahuja.

Zuno General Insurance (formerly Edelweiss General Insurance) recently launched a usage based add-on option for its motor insurance customers, where, the user driving behaviour is analysed based on data collected through mobile telematics on the company's app. The policy holder can assess her driving skills and generate a points-based score. Based on the score, she can get a discount on insurance premium at the time of renewal. Shanai Ghosh, MD and CEO of Zuno General Insurance, said a policyholder could save up to 30 per cent on the premium, depending on the score.

According to a report by Fortune Business Insights, the global insurance telematics market was valued at $4.33 billion in 2023 and it is projected to grow to $5.03 billion in 2024 and $19.23 billion by 2032. In India, it is still at a nascent stage, though. “The starting point of telematics was that you had to pay extra for a device and you had to install it in your car. Both were barriers to adoption,” said Ghosh.

Dahuja said data privacy and security are also a concern among customers. “The collection and handling of personal and vehicle data raise privacy concerns among consumers. There may be apprehensions about how data is used and who has access to it.” Ensuring compliance with data protection regulations and addressing privacy concerns are crucial for insurance companies to gain customer trust, he said.

Modern cars have advanced technology features on board. By harnessing the data from these features, insurers can improve risk assessment, streamline claims management, offer personalised coverage and develop innovative insurance products, he added.

While such data- and usage-based motor insurance products were slow to take off, the Covid-19 pandemic gave it some boost. As remote work and work from home gained ground in many sectors, pay-as-you-drive plans started gaining popularity among hybrid/remote workers. Homemakers and those with more than one car are also attracted to this, according to an analysis by insurance distributor PolicyBazaar. Hybrid/remote or work-from-home employees account for 35 per cent of the pay-as-you-drive customer base.

“Hybrid/remote workers are more inclined towards distance slabs of 5,500km (33 per cent), 7,500km (29 per cent), and 2,500km (21 per cent). These choices reflect a mix of moderate to low annual mileage, aligning with the reduced commuting needs of remote workers,” said the report. These customers are predominantly located in cities like Bengaluru, Gurugram, Delhi, Pune and Hyderabad, which are the major tech hubs.

Homemakers make up around 15 per cent of the pay-as-you-drive customer base and households with multiple cars account for 25 per cent.

tata-was-supposed-to-work-its-midas-touch-and-transform-air-india-into-the-lord-of-the-skies

Sat Sep 14 12:39:52 IST 2024

Vistara started doing its wing waves a few days ago. The airline stopped taking bookings on September 3, and will be merged with Air India in two months.

A joint venture of Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines (SIA), Vistara was the only Indian airline to make it to the Top 20 list of World’s Best Airlines this year. But there was little reason for it to continue as a separate entity after Tata bought back Air India from the government in October 2021. It did not make sense for one company to run two full-service airlines, especially with the regulatory approval for SIA taking 26 per cent stake in Air India coming through some time ago.

But the reality in the sky is that there is a world of difference in the service quality offered by Air India and Vistara. “It is baffling that the civil aviation ministry allowed the merger of a modern, well-functioning airline like Vistara with an outdated one and has approved Tata’s decision to rebrand it as Air India,” commented Kapil Chopra, founder of EazyDiner and The Postcard group of hotels and former president of The Oberoi group of hotels.

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE….

When Air India returned to the Tata fold, the expectation was that it would reclaim the lost glory as one of the finest in the world. Instead, it took a turn for the worse. “If people were expecting miracles within a year, that is an impossible task. But now almost three years are over, it is time to show and demonstrate that there have been significant improvements in the operation of the airline,” said Sidharath Kapur, former executive director of GMR Airports and former CEO of Adani Airports. “The honeymoon period is over. People are now expecting more.”

THE PROBLEM WITH THE MIDAS TOUCH

“There is a belief that because Air India once belonged to the Tatas, they have the requisite experience (to run an airline). There can’t be a bigger fallacy than this!” said Jitender Bhargava, former executive director of Air India. “J.R.D. Tata personally, and not Bombay House (Tata Sons headquarters), managed Air India. So for anyone to believe that Tatas have the capability and they will make it into a world-class airline because of past experience is wrong.”

While Tata did get into aviation in the 2010s with AirAsia India and Vistara, both were more investment than operations. But once it acquired Air India, that changed. “Be it Titan (watches and jewellery), Taj hotels, TCS (software) or consumer businesses, there is a certain expectation when people see the Tata name. The airline business, unfortunately, has not lived up to that promise,” said Prof Anand Narasimha, brand expert and professor of marketing at JAGSoM and visiting faculty at IIM Bangalore. “In the airline business, you are not flying planes, you are flying people.”

Even for a salt-to-software conglomerate, the decision to buy a white elephant paying Rs18,000 crore (and a few thousands of crores after that on new orders) was “more an emotional decision than a strategic or rational one”, said Narasimha.

Compounding matters, the five-year transformation process called vihaan.ai saw a series of missteps. “They brought in people from other Tata group companies,” pointed out Kapur. “But then they realised that you cannot bring in, say, an executive from a vehicle manufacturer to run an airline. It takes years of experience to understand the operations of a complex international airline and be adept at it.”

To rectify this, many expat managers were brought in from SIA, including CEO Campbell Wilson, who was heading SIA’s budget airline Scoot.

MAN, NOT MACHINE

Some Air India employees took the voluntary retirement scheme Tata offered after the takeover. And many of those who chose to stay soon started feeling demoralised with “Tata’s own people lording over them”. The once glamorous job with pampering perks had suddenly become a difficult workplace.

“I took this job several years ago despite lucrative offers from other PSUs because a job at Air India was more sought-after, with lots of privileges and perks,” said a senior employee who didn’t want to be named. “But now many of those have been cut down ruthlessly by the new management, from passage facility (free tickets) to lifelong medical coverage. The government had assured us that all privileges will remain, but that word wasn’t kept.”

Adding insult to injury was the notion that Tata was inheriting an incompetent bunch of employees who had lost their edge. “The employees were not bad; they were just demoralised. Their enthusiasm had been killed and they were not led properly,” said Bhargava, “Tata just needed to re-engineer their work practices, but they did not take that course.”

Thus was set in motion perhaps the biggest mistake in Tata’s makeover of Air India―disregarding the employees and the importance of human resources. “Ask any management expert what the key to a merger is? Manpower. How do you integrate the manpower and bring about harmony in work conditions? Same thing again―HR!” said Bhargava. “When they knew the merger was going to take place, they should have taken a merger expert for the role, and not an HR director who was retiring in a few months!”

The result was a trial-and-error style of management which has caused angst across the board. It spilled over this summer with Vistara pilots and Air India Express cabin crew going on strike. “Employees have to understand they are no longer in a government-run airline and need to be productive, efficient and smart,” said Shivram Choudhry of JK Lakshmipat University’s Institute of Management. “Likewise, the management has to understand that this government background attitude will change, but over a period of time. But you can’t come with the attitude that everyone in Air India from the past was no good and anyone from Tata knows better!”

Choudhry said Tata was making the same mistake the government made when it merged Air India and Indian Airlines. “Instead of equipping them to survive and prosper amidst fierce global and domestic competition, that merged entity ended up reporting persistent losses year after year, leading to an accumulated loss of Rs16,000 crore,” he said.

STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS

In defence of Tata and its strategy is a core ingredient―and challenge―of the business: competition.

The emotional legacy and Tata’s track record of buying sick companies and turning them around apart, the only way the Air India acquisition would have made sense was eventually the airline transforming into a cash spewer―akin to Emirates or Singapore Airlines. The opportunity is very much there. India is the fastest growing civil aviation market in the world and even the 1,000-plus aircraft ordered by its airline companies may still turn out to be inadequate if the growth continues with the same momentum.

In this scenario, not using its prized airport slots all over the world or not flying on all the routes was not an option, even if your planes and crew were not the best. “If Air India had withdrawn those services, other airlines would have taken that market,” said Bhargava. “To regain that market share in the next five years after the new aircraft arrived would have taken considerable amount of time and money. Tata’s decision to continue despite using older planes is all about protecting the market share and growing it.”

Kapur puts it in perspective, “Tatas are a committed organisation and they have deep pockets,” he said. “I am sure they have a strategy in place in terms of aircraft maintenance, HR practices, network planning, turnaround time and profitability. But what is missing is a communication strategy. Air India is in the public arena and a lot of your stakeholders are potential passengers. And they want to know, ‘Should I be flying Air India or not?’”

TEST MATCH, NOT T20

It is not for want of trying, but the airline is saddled with old aircraft that desperately need repairs and makeover. Wilson had told THE WEEK a few months ago that with new Airbus A350s being added into the fleet, old planes would be sent for retrofitting. “The process includes painting with the new branding and livery, and changing the interiors and seats. So we have to see what value we get. The really old planes will not go for this and will be retired from service,” he said.

That, however, will take time, and until then, the management has been playing with the frills―changing the logo and livery, a new set of crew uniforms designed by Manish Malhotra and overhauling the airline’s digital infra.

The digital upgrade includes a new app and revamped website, an iPad app for cabin crew and facilities like baggage tracking and WhatsApp virtual assistant for passengers. “In the last one year, we have taken several initiatives to enhance customer experience, including digital channels, airport and inflight services and contact centre,” said Rajesh Dogra, chief customer experience officer, Air India.

Air India has been working on improving its frequent flyer programme ‘Flying Returns’, adding in anything from Legoland to cruise lines and rail systems in Europe where points can be used and bookings done seamlessly. The Maharaja lounges at Delhi T3 and New York’s JFK are also set to be refurbished into signature lounges. “We are confident that the modern, world-class look of Air India will appeal to our guests globally and serve as a strong reminder of all the remarkable changes that have come or are to come to their Air India experience,” said Wilson.

WHOSE AIR INDIA IS IT ANYWAY?

Air India may still surprise us after the five-year transformation is complete in 2027. But that does not mean that India’s aviation market will be its for the taking.

The intense competition, both domestic and international, is unlikely to ease up, despite the fact that the number of domestic airlines can be counted on one’s fingers. While airlines from the Middle East and the likes of Turkish Airlines are eyeing the growing and lucrative international market, runaway market leader IndiGo is in no mood to give way at the domestic front.

Air India’s strategy is to speed up the Vistara merger to create an impression of better quality levels in its full-service offering, even while shoring up its presence in the low-cost space by aggressively expanding Air India Express. IndiGo has already responded with beefing up its international network and codeshare partnerships aiming to become India’s global carrier, a position that conventionally belonged to Air India. It has also announced a full-service business class offering, ending any hopes that Air India will have monopoly in the premium full-service segment within the country.

Also, the globetrotting connoisseur with rarefied tastes―the typical image of a passenger from Air India’s glory days―has changed. Millennials and Gen Z travellers are not really bothered with the champagne’s temperature or the cutlery on board. If at all, they only have negative connotations of the airline, unlike an older generation who associate AI with royalty, national pride and jet set glamour. It will be tough to win them over when stories of bad passenger experiences abound on social media.

Tail wind

By K. Sunil Thomas

If money is the bottom line, Air India’s new management does have reasons to be happy. The airline is still in the red, but the losses have narrowed, showing that there is hope left for the Maharaja.

The overall losses of all four airlines of Tata came down from about Rs15,000 crore in 2023 fiscal to just above Rs6,000 crore this year. For Air India alone, the losses have come down 60 per cent from around Rs11,000 crore in 2023 down to Rs4,444 crore this year. The increase in turnover was an impressive 24 per cent to more than Rs50,000 crore!

How did the airline manage this feat, considering the fact that it has been labouring under a mountain of debt? “They maximised their load capacity, getting as many planes as functional as possible, and increased routes, seats and the load factor,” explained aviation expert Sidharath Kapur. Airfares were also rationalised, making Air India offer, in many instances, more competitive fares than the market leader IndiGo.

The airline has also been working on a two-pronged strategy of cutting expenditure where possible, especially on the administrative side, even while maximising add-on revenue, on anything from seat selection to excess baggage. While passengers may crib that Air India is going the IndiGo way by charging for extra weight, “all this amounts to revenue”, according to an industry insider.

Kapur feels that if Air India manages to stay on this course, it might even turn profitable in a few years. Meanwhile, sister-airline Air India Express has flown into the red posting losses of Rs163 crore―ironic because even during the dark days of bureaucracy-run inefficiency, it had mostly made profits. This could be attributed to its aggressive expansion domestically to take on IndiGo.

sagarmanthan-the-great-oceans-dialogue-mumbai-india-maritime-agenda

Sat Sep 14 12:31:26 IST 2024

THE NAME COULDN’T have been more apt. In Hindu mythology’s ‘Samudra Manthan’ (churning of the ocean), Mount Mandara was used as the churning stick and Vasuki, the thousand-headed snake, as the rope to extract ‘amrit’ (nectar) from the netherworlds. The gods who consumed the elixir became immortal, and therefore invincible.

In an ambitious, strategic move, the ministry of ports, shipping, and waterways (MoPSW) will be hosting ‘Sagarmanthan: The Great Oceans Dialogue’ in Mumbai on November 18 and 19. About 100 countries, including those from North America, South America, Europe, Eurasia, the Gulf, East Asia, South and Southeast Asia, Africa and the Quad are expected to participate. While announcing the mega event in Delhi on September 3, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that the dialogue aims to churn ideas, strategies and solutions that will lead to a more sustainable and equitable future for the greater common good.

The dialogue’s focus will be to set India’s and the global south’s interests in the maritime agenda, which thus far had been governed by the global north; the global south’s voice had remained a faint echo, at best. It is part of a plan to claim India’s rightful place on the high table of global deliberations on policies, developmental effort and geopolitical strategy. The dialogue will be a veritable platform for critical conversations around blue economy, maritime logistics, ports, shipping and waterways, critical minerals, diversified supply chains, global maritime economy and training and labour standards. There will be stakeholders from across fields, including leaders, policymakers, strategic thinkers, intergovernmental organisations, maritime policy research institutions and industry.

“There can be no doubt that we need to infuse new dynamism to reinvent India’s maritime prowess, more so when blessed with a long coastline and island chains on both sides of peninsular India,” Commodore R.S. Vasan (retd), regional director of the National Maritime Foundation, Tamil Nadu, told THE WEEK.

Today, 95 per cent of India’s global trade by volume and 70 per cent by value are carried out on the oceans, and India is the third largest in terms of ship recycling by tonnage. Despite being strategically located on the world’s shipping routes and with more than 7,500km of coastline, India is only the 16th largest maritime country in the world.

“For some unexplained reasons, to some extent attributed to ocean blindness, the shipping and port sector remained largely neglected,” said Vasan. “We have not progressed beyond the 12 major ports that were barely adequate to meet the demands of a growing economy. The fact that even today we are dependent on Colombo and Singapore for transshipment of merchandise is entirely due to non-development of suitable deep water modern ports. The glorious past, unfortunately, was left behind only to be eulogised.”

This has made the government sit up and act. “Whether it is connecting the Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean through the India-Middle East-Europe-Economic Corridor or opening immense trade and economic opportunities for the land-locked countries of Central Asia by building the International North-South Transport Corridor, the goal is clear―‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’,” said Sonowal.

A ministry official added that it is imperative for India, as it moves from the fifth-largest to the third-largest economy, to establish a more prominent presence in the global maritime governance matrix. “The realisation of our economic goals depends significantly on the strength of our maritime sector,” said Sonowal. “This includes our ability to shape global narratives, maintain resilient global supply chains and secure important maritime partnerships.”

And already the churn has set in. During the Global Maritime India Summit held in Mumbai last October, 360 MoUs totalling Rs10 lakh crore were signed with foreign and domestic stakeholders on government-to-government and business-to-business modes.

The MoUs include port development, modernisation, cruise sector, business and commerce, shipbuilding and knowledge sharing.

One such iconic project has been the development of the greenfield mega container port at Vadhavan on India’s west coast. The Vadhvan port development will create around one lakh jobs during construction and more than 12 lakh jobs once operational. In the 2023 Container Port Performance Index by the World Bank, nine Indian ports find a place among the top 100, with Visakhapatnam port in the top 20.

“The progress is indeed notable and there are visible signs of momentum in the ecosystem,” said Vasan, who is also director-general of Chennai Centre for China Studies. “The investment in spokes and hubs as part of rail, road, sea and river projects were long overdue and the planned projects would complement the aspirations of a maritime power. The inland waterways have taken rapid strides in the last decade or so and there are visible results along the Brahmaputra and Ganga. The operationalisation of Vizhinjam and modernisation of ports on both coasts have paid rich dividends and opened up new vistas. The plans for Galathia port in Nicobar would serve the needs of both the mercantile marine and the Indian Navy in the coming decades.”

About 15 per cent of global seafarers are from India, while the same cannot be said of India’s merchant fleet that accounts for just about two per cent of global tonnage. This is a serious setback as even today major tonnage is transported in Chinese hulls. In this context, the maritime vision document released by the government sets the right targets for concerned stakeholders.

Said Vasan: “India has its task cut out to overcome the hesitations of history to regain past glory of the Cholas, Kalingas and other kingdoms of yore, who harnessed the seas for wielding influence beyond the shores.”

hindenburg-allegations-put-spotlight-on-probity-of-regulators

Sat Aug 17 15:06:37 IST 2024

THE BJP SAYS IT is a conspiracy to destabilise India’s financial markets. The Congress wants a joint parliament committee probe. Irrespective of which side you are on, the latest report by Hindenburg Research has put the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India and its chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch in a spot over conflict of interest. It also raises broader compliance issues the very regulator has looked to address over the years.

Founded by Nathan Anderson, the New-York-based Hindenburg specialises in forensic financial research. In particular, it looks for situations where companies might have accounting irregularities, bad actors in management, undisclosed transactions, unethical business practices, undisclosed regulatory issues and the like. And it also aims to profit from its research through short-selling, a trading strategy where stock traders take a position that a particular stock price will fall. Often its report itself drives the stock price lower, like it did in January 2023, when its report on Adani Group alleging accounting fraud, stock price manipulation and money laundering wiped off around $150 billion in the group’s market cap. Hindenburg made $4.1 million revenue by shorting Adani securities on behalf of its client.

In its latest report, Hindenburg alleged that despite enough evidence, SEBI did not act against Adani. It alleges that Buch and her husband, Dhaval, had investments in the same obscure offshore funds used by Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani’s brother Vinod. It also alleged that while Dhaval was a senior adviser at American investment management company Blackstone and Buch was a SEBI official, two Blackstone-sponsored real estate investment trusts (REITs) received the approval to go public in India, and after she became chair, SEBI implemented several REITs regulations that benefited Blackstone.

Another allegation was that Buch had set up two advisory firms, one in Singapore and the other in India, and held 99 per cent stake in the Indian firm and that firm had generated $261,000 revenue from consulting in financial year 2022, which was 4.4 times her disclosed salary as a whole-time member of SEBI.

The Buchs responded with point-by-point answers to the allegation. For instance, they said they invested in the fund (IPE Plus Fund 1) when they were working in Singapore and they did so because the CIO Anil Ahuja was Dhaval’s childhood friend. The investments were made in 2015 and redeemed in 2018 when Ahuja left. She said that the consulting firms she had set up had become dormant on her appointment at SEBI and once the shareholding of the Singapore entity was transferred to her husband, it was disclosed to SEBI as well as Singapore authorities.

J.N. Gupta, former executive director of SEBI, said there was no way that the Buchs would have known who the other investors were in a fund. “Would you ask for details of all investors in a mutual fund before investing? These expectations are irrational,” he said.

According to Shriram Subramanian, founder of the proxy advisory firm InGovern, the Hindenburg allegations against Buch were “amateurish” and seemed “vindictive without any depth of analysis”. “She has not gained anything from being an investor in the IPE Plus Fund, her shareholdings in the Indian and Singapore consultancy firms are fairly straightforward and on an ongoing basis, SEBI officials, including the whole-time members and chairperson have to internally disclose their personal investments and commercial interests,” he said.

SEBI, too, clarified that she had made all relevant disclosures of securities holdings and recused herself when necessary. According to Gupta, the current disclosure norms for SEBI officials are robust, with them having to declare all assets and investments. And they can’t invest in shares of listed companies.

Nonetheless, the whole episode has raised many concerns.

“This can be viewed as a wake-up call for SEBI and other regulators,” said Subramanian. “The chairs and top officials should disclose and put their wealth and investments into blind trusts.” Blind trusts are typically set up where an individual needs to avoid a conflict of interest between her work and personal investments. In countries like Canada and the US, it predominantly applies to government officials. In a blind trust, the individual assigns all her assets to a trustee, who is then in charge of all the decision making related to the assets.

Columnist and author Debashis Basu said it was not a corporate governance issue. “It is about the probity of the regulator, which has been pushing enormous burden of disclosure and compliance on market participants,” he said. “SEBI already has board members from the finance ministry and the RBI who can start by asking some questions if needed,” he said.

An independent inquiry seems to be the best way to protect the reputation of SEBI and its leadership. “If the claims are substantiated, it might call for a review of oversight mechanisms and personal accountability within SEBI. If they are found baseless, it is crucial to understand the motives behind such allegations and the potential impacts on the market. Either way, it underscores the need for robust systems to prevent and address conflicts of interest and ensure that the market operates transparently and fairly,” said Akshat Khetan, founder of AU Corporate Advisory and Legal Services.

While the new Hindenburg report has put the spotlight on the regulator and its chief, what is the status of the Adani investigation?

The Supreme Court had in January noted that SEBI had completed 22 of 24 investigations related to Adani Group. According to SEBI, another one has been completed in March and the last remaining investigation is close to completion. Apparently, it examined some 300 documents, issued more than 100 summonses and sent around 1,100 emails seeking information.

SEBI had issued a show-cause notice to Hindenburg in June over violations of securities laws. The regulator said that the proceedings are going on.

The episode has resulted in a political slugfest as well. The government has so far shown no inclination to give in to the opposition’s demand for a JPC probe. The opposition is likely to keep up the pressure. The equity markets’ response to the new Hindenburg report was significantly muted than the first one, perhaps because of the diminished shock value. But surely, we have not heard the last of the Hindenburg versus Adani and SEBI saga.

ex-imf-official-krishnamurthy-v-subramanian-about-india-economic-development-2047

Wed Aug 21 21:20:27 IST 2024

Interview/ Krishnamurthy V. Subramanian, executive director of IMF and former CEA

Krishnamurthy V. Subramanian has several titles you are free to choose from―the regular ‘Mr’ to ‘Er’ for his engineering degree from IIT Kanpur to 'Dr' for his doctorate in financial economics from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, or the one he seems to personally prefer, ‘Prof’ from his academic days at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. Subramanian, however, would brook no argument on India’s prospects of becoming a global economic leader by 2047.

He does have a little more than an ordinary citizen's stake in it, having been instrumental in formulating the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Vocal for Local’ restructuring of India’s economic policy during his days as the chief economic adviser. He followed this up with the longer-term ‘Amrit Kaal 2047’ blueprint for India becoming a developed nation. It is also the foundation for his new book, India @100; Envisioning Tomorrow’s Economic Powerhouse (Rupa). Currently executive director at the International Monetary Fund, Subramanian espouses his fervent belief that India is all set to grab this ‘once-in-a-few-centuries’ opportunity. Excerpts from an interview:

Q You have painted such a rosy picture of India’s future in your book, like its GDP touching $55 trillion in 2047.

A This outcome hinges on whether we can grow at 8 per cent from now on till 2047. Of course, I have portrayed other scenarios as well. Even if we grow at 7 per cent, we will be $40 trillion and, if we grow only at 6 per cent, we will still be $30 trillion.

If some risks manifest it is possible that growth may be lower. Eight per cent is ambitious but achievable especially given the demography we have, the kind of policies that have been implemented over the past 10 years, the public digital infrastructure, the innovation and the entrepreneurship.

Also, anywhere between two-thirds to three-quarters of our economy is informal, and informal sector firms are far less productive than formal sector firms. So the emphasis on formalisation that is happening through the public digital infrastructure will be a key driver of productivity improvement.

And for the first time, we have entered the top 40 innovative countries list. So these will drive productivity improvements in the formal sector as well. When you put it all together, there are potential headwinds and potential tailwinds.

Q You say India has a once-in-a-century opportunity.

A I did not say once in a century; I said once-in-a-few-centuries opportunity! If we indeed grow at 8 per cent, we will be a $55 trillion economy. In that case we will be rubbing shoulders with the top economy of that time. The last time India was of a similar size to a top economy was in the 13th or 14th century. India accounted for at least one-third of the world's GDP consistently for every century up until 1750 CE. So we could be the second largest economy or maybe very, very similar in size to the largest economy.

Q What are the factors that will contribute to it? You mentioned the demographic dividend, but that could very well turn into a burden.

A The first is the formalisation of the economy, where informal sector firms come into the formal sector and thereby become far more productive.

You have to remember that growth comes from two key things. One is investment and the other is productivity improvements. We have to maintain about 35 per cent of GDP as investment. A key driver is productivity growth from informal sector firms becoming formalised. Then the significant improvements that have happened in innovation and entrepreneurship. In the interim budget, Rs1 lakh crore of long-term funding for innovation was announced. Together with the National Research Foundation, this will enable innovation. So, innovation and entrepreneurship will lead to productivity improvements, even among formal sector firms that still have a long way to catch up with the formal sector firms internationally.

I have laid out a four-pillared economic strategy for India. The first pillar is macroeconomic force and focus on economic growth. The second pillar is social and economic inclusion. The third pillar is ethical money making. We did not become a stellar economy by following the socialist model. If anything, by following the socialist model from 1947 to 1991, we really lagged behind while East Asian economies, South Korea, Singapore all grew.

And the last point is entrepreneurship and the wealth and jobs they can create. Whether it is wealthy individual X or wealthy individual Y, they are not stacking rupee bills in their mattresses. Their wealth is invested in companies that provide jobs. Wealth creation leads to job creation. Wealth creators need to be respected. This is a narrative change that is required.

Q We have seen a huge dearth of jobs and, in fact, the budget also addressed it to some extent, admitting that there is an issue.

A The narrative on employment has run far ahead of the actual data. A lot of the negative narrative on employment actually comes from very poor quality data that the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy provides. If you look at the Reserve Bank of India report, it shows that over the past 10 years 12.5 crore jobs have been created. Just because the government is working on employment creation, that does not mean that jobs have not been created. The data shows it clearly.

Q You have mentioned that the slowdown before Covid originated due to the crony bank lending during the UPA era. Didn't demonetisation and other factors also contribute to it?

A Many people mention demonetisation. I want to point out the paper by my colleague at IMF, Gita Gopinath. They tried very hard to find the effect of demonetisation on growth and found no such impact. I think it is time we actually let the data speak here. Rather than going by just anecdotal accounts, we should be respecting empirical evidence.

Q You have made a confident, optimistic outlook of India's future. What could actually trip it up? Could a regime change, one with a different kind of economic policy coming in, pose a danger?

A What is important is good policies. In the past 10 years, we've had good economic policies, starting from the 500 million bank accounts that enabled us to do the JAM trinity (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile), the IBC (insolvency and bankruptcy code), the way we dealt with Covid, both on the health front and on the economic front, rather than mimicking advanced economies.

People who live in the US and come here for a few days on vacation do not have such a good understanding of the Indian economic landscape as one has when you actually live here. At the same time, those who live here also need to be aware of what other countries are doing. A combination of both is what is required for policy.

We should not just cut-paste what advanced economies have done. For instance, the Maastricht Treaty for Europe requires countries to keep fiscal deficit at 3 per cent of the GDP. Our Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act just cut-pasted that without accounting for the fact that India is at a very different stage of development where the sovereign has to create public goods, be it digital public goods, physical public goods, or human capital public goods. At the same time, our growth potential is much higher than that of Europe. Yet, we did cut-paste without taking into account some of these very important aspects. So the key risk is actually in not implementing good economic policies.

nmdc-has-made-a-commitment-to-responsible-mining

Sat Aug 10 15:40:13 IST 2024

Interview/Amitava Mukherjee, Chairman and Managing Director, NMDC

An impressive increase in sales (16 per cent) and production of iron ore (10 per cent) was witnessed during 2023-24 as compared to the last financial year. What efforts went into achieving these figures?

The volumes delivered by NMDC in FY24 were indeed impressive. The production of 45.1 MT and sales of 44.4 MT, made NMDC the first iron ore mining company in India to surpass the 45 million tonne milestone! With strategic agility towards capacity building, we outperformed the capex target for FY24 with an expenditure of Rs2,014 crore, up by 14 per cent of the target.

Strategic investment in manpower, machine, and material led to streamlined projects and enhanced operations. In FY24, a new vertical―‘Works Organisation’ was also introduced in the company line for timely execution and monitoring of projects. Some achievements of building dedicated responsibility centres in the company were commencement of operations from the Kumar Marenga stockyard, implementation of an all inclusive pricing mechanism, and development of digital business intelligence.

Our key iron ore mining projects in Bailadila and Donimalai range played a crucial role in this performance by delivering their best-ever volumes since the company's inception. The initiatives of the top management, the policy and direction from a dynamic Board at the hub and devoted and resilient workforce at the spoke have propelled the company to surpass all expectations. NMDC has demonstrated its sheer strength in FY24, inspiring confidence in the vision of producing 100 million tonnes of iron ore by 2030.

Doors to a new R&D facility were recently opened by NMDC in Hyderabad. What is your take on Research and Development at NMDC in the coming years?

NMDC has invested Rs150 crore towards research and development in the past five years, which we view as an investment in the future of the Indian mining industry. Our R&D is a part of our long standing commitment and vision anchored in the ambition of ensuring mineral security and self-reliance.

In the budget session, the finance minister has reduced customs duty on rare earth metals and critical minerals. What impact will it have on NMDC’s exploration exercises and operations?

The cutback in customs duty on rare earth metals and critical minerals by the honourable finance minister presents a fitting opportunity to the mining companies of the country. This policy shift will bring down the cost of importing essential equipment and new age technology; enabling the industrial effort to accelerate exploration of critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel. Battery minerals are becoming increasingly essential for our transition to electric vehicles and other renewable energy solutions.

In our diversification roadmap, lithium, cobalt and nickel prominently feature in the list and so it is a very welcome decision for NMDC. It will encourage our exploration and collaboration initiatives while promoting investment in R&D and the expansion of our mineral portfolio. This intervention supports our ambition to become a key player in the global market for critical minerals and be one of the first mining companies in India to bring lithium home.

A catalyst in the changing mineral landscape, the new policy gives us a competitive edge. With the determination to leverage this opportunity, NMDC is gearing up to make a key contribution to the green growth of India’s mining sector.

In the new financial year, what are the initiatives, interests, and plans of NMDC?

We are poised to build up our market leadership in FY25 towards the goal of 100 million tonnes production capacity by 2030. Our primary focus will be on enhancing production and evacuation capacities and to this end, a capital expenditure of Rs2,500 crore has been earmarked for this financial year. NMDC will be investing in mine infrastructure and intelligent equipment to boost productivity and efficiency.

We are also keen on expanding our mineral and geographical footprint. The team is exploring opportunities in Australia, Africa, South East Asia and Latin America to mine strategic minerals of national interest―iron ore, coking coal, lithium and battery minerals.

NMDC has made a commitment to responsible mining. We have outlined key performance indicators to assess the progress and efficacy of our ESG initiatives. In FY25, we aim to weave sustainability into the fabric of our company’s overall business goals, decision making, risk management, strategic investment and future planning.

badra-coffee-is-brewing-a-shake-up-in-the-coffee-market

Fri Aug 02 16:37:32 IST 2024

Do you like your coffee? Or do you just drink it out of habit? If your answer is ‘yes’ to the second question, Jacob Mammen, managing director of Badra Estates in Chikkamagaluru in Karnataka might have a solution for you.

Badra Coffee is all set to launch four blends for the retail market. Three of them, Temple Mountain (Arabica), Misty Heights (single estate) and Kaapi Nirvana (filter), are pure coffees, while Dakshin Fusion is a filter coffee with chicory. “Explore a basket of flavours direct from our farm, grown, roasted and curated by us available soon,” says Mammen. These will soon be available to the Indian consumers.

Mammen’s great-grandfather bought the estate from Brooke Bond Ltd. Three generations of the family have run Badra Estates and Industries Ltd, which was formed in 1943. “Things were quite different in the beginning. The Coffee market was fully regulated. All growers pooled their coffee with the Coffee Board of India. We had no control after coffee left the farm,” says Mammen. In 1997, the government allowed growers to sell their coffee. Badra started exploring export possibilities then, and has been focusing on specialty coffee ever since.

Mammen is a true believer in developing specialty coffee, and he worked with reputable international buyers to improve the quality of Badra Coffee. “We call it relationship coffees,” he says. “We interact with our buyers to understand their requirements of different flavour profiles, and then work on developing coffees that specifically suit them.”

Special attention is also given to manufacturing, which involves washed, semi-washed, and unwashed processes. The company has done different trials in fermentation and has been working with a German buyer who collaborates with the German government. Scientists from Germany come to the farm during harvest. They collect samples after many trials. The samples are then taken to their labs in Berlin where they isolate the beneficial microbes prevalent on different estates. These microbes are then used to tweak fermentation and produce a basket of flavours.

The focus on collaboration has led to a range of coffees that could be as wide as what is available in the wine industry. Climate, altitude, soil, farming methods, plant varieties and microclimate all play a role in developing flavour. In general, Indian coffees are of medium acidity, which is very good for an espresso.

Taste is everything in the specialty coffee market. Badra Coffee sells coffee based on taste and flavour. The company’s experts tailor-make coffees to customer requirements. “Every process, from bean to cup, affects the taste of coffee. All processes from growing to roasting are handled in-house and not outsourced,” says Mammen.

India is just one of the many markets that international buyers shop from. “Usually our customers are roasters and they buy from all over the world,” says Mammen. “As a seller, we must know what buyers are looking for in our coffees. So we must understand whether they are looking for espresso, stand-alone, filter, blend or any other special taste characteristics. They interact with us and cup coffees to find out what matches their requirements.” Badra Coffee mainly sells to niche coffee roasters in Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Germany, Italy, the UK, Norway, Greece and the US.

Over the years, however, the coffee industry in India has changed dramatically. Climate change and labour issues have posed new and difficult challenges for growers. On the positive side of the spectrum, coffee consumption and consumer interest in coffee have drastically increased. As a result, Badra Coffee has now decided to move beyond relationship coffees as the Indian consumer is asking for more.

“The Indian coffee market has evolved a lot,” says Mammen. “With Indian consumers becoming increasingly discerning, they now seek detailed information about the origin and flavours of their coffee. In response to this demand, we offer both roasted beans and ground coffee tailored to customer requirements. This is the opportunity to move to the next level of the roast and the ground segment.”

The domestic special and specialty coffee market is still small but growing. Mammen gives the credit for this growth to Cafe Coffee Day, which set up coffee outlets all over this tea-drinking country. “Of late, with so many people popularising coffee, young people are now very interested in it,” he says.

This is the first time Badra Coffee is selling a finished product to retail customers. “We are in total control of our coffees. We are a seed-to-cup company. So if you are looking to savour every sip of your coffee rather than just drink it out of habit, give some of Badra Coffee’s blends a try for a truly sensational bean-to-cup experience,” says Mammen.

made-by-political-compulsions-nirmala-sitharaman-s-budget-is-meant-for-political-outcomes

Sat Jul 27 13:20:05 IST 2024

A LOT HAS CHANGED in a few months, and it was clearly evident in the Modi 3.0 government’s first budget.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented an interim budget on February 1 against the backdrop of the confidence that the BJP-led government would return to power with a larger majority, and her speech dwelled on the achievements of the BJP’s decade-long rule. On July 23, Sitharaman’s speech presenting the full budget was just 30 minutes longer than the previous one, and conveyed a succinct message reflecting the new political landscape.

With an apparent hint of course correction, the focus shifted to job creation, putting more money in the pockets of the middle class, and giving the rural economy a boost, signalling that the government was sensitive to their distress. According to a survey by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, unemployment rate in India rose sharply to 9.2 per cent in June 2024 from 7 per cent in May. The budget’s job pitch may provide relief to the youth and the middle class.

The political intent of the budget outweighed the big-ticket reforms the government had promised before the 2024 polls. But what marks the continuity from the interim budget is the promised fiscal consolidation―with the targeted fiscal deficit going down to 4.9 per cent of the GDP from the 5.1 per cent set in February―and the infrastructure push. Also, the finance minister did not quote any poet, just like the interim budget, and kept her speech short.

What stood out was the prominence of new realities. The government paid the political MSP (minimum support price) to its two most important allies―Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party―as the finance minister announced budgetary allocations and a promise to get more from financial institutions. Together these parties provide the support of 28 MPs in the Lok Sabha and they seem to have exacted a cost as they wanted more than just plum cabinet berths.

Naidu with his 16 MPs is crucial for the NDA government’s survival and he has reasons to feel satisfied now that his dream capital, Amaravati, on the banks of the Krishna, will see the light of the day with Sitharaman promising Rs15,000 crore and more funds later, apart from a commitment on the Polavaram irrigation project, which aims to irrigate 4.36 lakh acres and generate 960 MW power. “It is an emotional issue for Andhra Pradesh as we were working without a capital in the last five years,” said TDP leader and Civil Aviation Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said we will take care of you. People see what has been promised before polls have been delivered.”

With Naidu, the BJP may look at a stable partnership ahead, but with Nitish, it has a chequered past. In an apparent poll pitch, Sitharaman announced Rs26,000 crore worth of road projects while promising more hospitals, airports, and sports complexes apart from developing an industrial node and religious sites in Gaya and a 2,400MW power project at a cost of Rs21,400 crore. She also announced financial support of Rs11,500 crore for flood control measures in the state. For the politicised state, however, the announcements may not mean much. “These are routine announcements. What’s so special about these? We want special status. Nitish Kumar has discarded the special status demand,” said RJD leader Manoj Jha.

The allies in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh might have got enough, but the poll-bound Maharashtra and Haryana failed to find any mention in the budget, kicking up a political storm. Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said the budget was only about Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. “And that is why Maharashtra has suffered. There is nothing new for Maharashtra. All that we got was continuation of existing schemes like funding for highways and metro,” said the Congress leader.

Sitharaman, however, said in the Rajya Sabha a day after the budget that all states were not necessarily mentioned in the budget. “PM Modi has already approved Vadhavan port in Maharashtra at a cost of Rs76,000 crore,” she said.

The BJP might have raised a saleable poll pitch for the assembly elections, but the government would have to deliver on its other biggest focus of this budget―jobs and agriculture―to get any traction in Haryana and Maharashtra. In fact, the subtle change in the government’s theme comes with visible emphasis on the middle class, an opinionated section of society that had largely supported the party and hailed Modi. This aspirational class had felt the pinch of inflation and unemployment, and wanted more in the pockets to spend and to save.

The budget made mobile phones and gold cheaper, two things the middle class spend a lot of money on. Wooing them makes political sense, considering their growing size. The government claims to have added 25 crore to the category in the past 10 years. The BJP clearly suffered from the strong undercurrent during the polls generated by a lack of employment opportunities. The series of question paper leaks has only exacerbated the situation. And, as the polls results indicated, people needed more than just guarantees.

The finance minister spent a significant part of her budget speech on job creation. She labelled it as the prime minister’s package of five schemes and initiatives. The package aims to facilitate employment, skilling, and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth over a five-year period with a central outlay of Rs2 lakh crore.

An innovative scheme announced was of internship opportunities in 500 top companies to one crore youth in five years. The interns will get an allowance of Rs5,000 per month, along with a one-time assistance of Rs6,000. The Congress pointed out that the scheme was lifted from its manifesto.

“They should have the seen full budget,” senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad retorted. “It is a budget for the country’s progress.”

It was also a budget where the chorus to restructure the income tax slabs had been the loudest. The government gave in to the demand, announcing some tax relief for the salaried as the middle class that have been impacted by the price rise. The finance minister proposed to increase the standard deduction for salaried employees from Rs50,000 to Rs75,000. Also, the deduction on family pension for pensioners is proposed to be enhanced from Rs15,000 to Rs25,000 under the new tax regime. This will provide relief to about four crore salaried individuals and pensioners. The tax slabs were also revised to give benefits to middle-income employees.

The big challenge staring at the government in the next five years is going to be from farmers. As several organisations have been preparing for another round of agitation demanding legal guarantee on minimum support price for crops, Sitharaman could not have ignored it. In fact, she started her budget speech mentioning farmers and agriculture.

The forgotten dream of “doubling farmers’ income by 2022” has now been replaced with realistic increasing productivity and resilience in agriculture. “A provision of Rs1.52 lakh crore has been made for the agriculture and allied sectors with an aim to enhance productivity and resilience through missions for oil seeds and clusters for vegetable production,” she said.

Senior farmer leader Vijay Jawandhia, however, slammed the budget as the one which is fooling farmers. “The message for farmers is to quit farming and villages, move to cities and work on infrastructure projects on low pay and get the free ration given by the government and remain satisfied. This is new colonialism. This is a budget which is making ‘Bharat’ a slave of the new Super India,” he said.

The budget, being the first policy document of the government, has signalled that it was ready to listen to people while maintaining fiscal prudence. It was also the new government’s first big test. We will know the results in the Haryana and Maharashtra assembly polls.

With Dnyanesh Jathar

while-remaining-true-to-the-modi-governments-long-term-vision-the-budget-tries-to-address-the-immediate-challenges

Sat Jul 27 13:16:42 IST 2024

RS11,11,111 CRORE. Earmarked for infrastructure projects, this assumedly auspicious number in this year’s budget does have a nice ring to it. Another expected figure, however, was surprisingly missing―the $4 trillion mark that India’s GDP is set to cross this year.

What is not surprising was the absence of the usual hyperbole. Walking the tightrope between political expediency and long-term ‘Amrit Kaal’ goals, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had bigger shrimps (considering their regular appearance in her budget speeches) to fry.

TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE

While the political need of keeping the two main coalition partners, from Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, well-fed and happy was taken care of with an unabashed, almost embarrassing, largesse, a bigger issue remained―an economic boom that is not creating enough jobs and seemed to be benefitting only those at the top of the pyramid.

Sitharaman’s remedy? A two-pronged approach of pushing for skilling, education loans and job creation while doubling down on domestic manufacturing and wooing investment. The jobs push has a central outlay of Rs2 lakh crore over a period of five years and it would benefit 4.1crore youth. It includes not just schemes for skilling the young and providing education loans, but an ‘employment linked incentive’, which will pay Rs15,000 to new employees. The aim is to coax entrepreneurs and corporates to offer jobs, and also get more private sector professionals registered in the Employees Provident Fund Office (EPFO), by taking care of a portion of their contribution to the EPFO for a period.

“The budget’s commitment to boosting education, employment and skill building… are steps in the right direction,” said Raghav Gupta, MD (India and Asia Pacific) of Coursera. “The provision for gaining industry experience through internships with 500 top companies can address the rapidly growing skills gap and social inequities, ensuring students’ transition smoothly into high-demand job roles.”

The success of these initiatives, however, will depend on how well they will bridge the gap between classroom learning and workplace demands. “If implemented effectively, it could profoundly transform our educational landscape,” said Monica Soni, professor, JKLU Institute of Management in Jaipur.

The job push will work only if there are enough entrepreneurs offering jobs. This is where MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) get some attention. Facilitating easier loans for MSMEs and establishing e-commerce hubs in MSME clusters form the crux of Sitharaman’s several initiatives for the sector.

Tarun Chugh, CEO of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, said the focus on developing skills and generating employment laid the groundwork for a robust and sustainable economic growth.

That exactly was the intention. “We want more investment to come into this country,” Sitharaman said after the budget presentation on her measures to woo foreign direct investment (FDI), which included slashing of corporate tax for foreign companies. She knows well that big numbers in jobs are possible only with big-ticket investments, and who better to do that than multinational giants coming on the wing of ‘China plus one’ and a prayer for ease of doing business.

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

Of course, Sitharaman also knows that while big ticket foreign investment gives the country bragging rights, it is not the basket you put all your eggs in. This is where the many other announcements, be it the emphasis on energy transition, funding for innovation and research, multiplying capital expenditure for private space startups and, most importantly, the reduction of basic customs duty on a plethora of items come in. This reduction of duty on anything from solar panels to critical minerals like lithium, precious metals like gold and silver and many raw materials and components for electronics manufacturing, petrochemicals and telecom sectors are specifically meant to give a fillip to their local manufacturing base.

Take, for instance, the cut in the customs duty on gold, silver and platinum. As revenue secretary Sanjay Malhotra clarified, the decision was taken considering India’s growing importance as a business and processing hub for precious stones and metals. “We have 50 lakh Indians employed in this sector,” he said.

The ‘Make in India’ push is clear from the rejigging of tariffs and policies―telecom equipment duty goes up to 15 per cent in an effort to entice local manufacturing, while the period of export of goods imported for repairs has been extended from six months to one year in aviation and shipping in hopes of attracting international business in maintenance, repair and overhauling.

NIRMALA’S NIGHTMARE

While the government’s best intention is reaping a GDP windfall from a combination of skilling and job incentives plus businesses investing more money and employing more people, there is a recurring worst-case-scenario in it. FDI fell 43 per cent last year, the lowest in 17 years, with many foreign investors preferring Indian bourses to doing business here.

Domestic industry, meanwhile, has been holding off on investing in new capacity. This is despite a consistent pampering of the formal economy biggies with massive government spending in infra and logistics. While this has helped shareholders of India Inc fatten their wallets, a reciprocal pumping of money into new plants and new businesses has not happened yet.

One of the marked features of the Modi regime’s economic policy has been its relentless push for manufacturing. What kicked off as ‘Make in India’ back in 2015 hit take-off velocity with the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ package later and the production-linked incentives (PLI). But, with the exception of an Apple here or a Micron there, a rush by global biggies to set up plants in India is yet to be seen.

“India considers itself as a big market, but we should consider that as a per capita market and we are small,” said Rahul Ahluwalia, co-founder of the Delhi-based think tank Foundation for Economic Development. “For a global company, we may be just 5 or 6 per cent of their total market. That is not enough for them to set up their manufacturing base here, unless we transform our local ecosystem and make it competitive with what they get in Vietnam or China. Raising protective tariff walls and inviting manufacturers is not going to do it.”

Then there are concerns about the growing inequality. While the growth has been good, it has been top-heavy. Kaushik Basu, former chief economist at World Bank, said India’s recovery after the Covid pandemic was a classic case of K-shaped recovery. Sitharaman might be hoping to fix this with skilling and employment incentives, but she completely ignored it in the opportunity provided by the income tax restructuring.

ACE UP HER SLEEVE

Sitharaman’s seventh budget remains true to the long-term vision of the Modi government that local manufacturing is the way forward. While it was a blinkers-on race to notch up numbers till now, this budget has tweaked it a bit by embracing education, job generation and social sector guarantees.

To her credit, Sitharaman has stuck to her vision of spending big and dreaming bigger, even while pulling off a miracle of sorts by targeting a sharp reduction in fiscal deficit, from 5.5 per cent to 4.9 per cent. “Keeping the fiscal deficit target at a better-than-expected 4.9 per cent of the GDP while retaining the focus on capital expenditure is no mean achievement,” said Sanjiv Puri, president of the Confederation of Indian Industry and chairman of ITC Limited.

The robust tax collections and the record dividend from the Reserve Bank of India this year sure helped, while the additional revenue Sitharaman intends to mop up does stand her in good stead.

fixing-the-job-crisis-is-a-gigantic-task-and-the-government-must-apply-itself-diligently-to-it

Sat Jul 27 13:12:36 IST 2024

A FEW WEEKS AGO, the Reserve Bank of India published an article on the economy. The authors claimed that eight crore jobs had been created in India in the last few years and “there is no jobs crisis in India”.

It was an astounding statement, especially from a cautious, conservative and politically neutral institution like the RBI. The claim was lapped up by the BJP’s leaders, including the prime minister who mentioned it in one of his speeches.

The finance minister was silent. The chief economic adviser looked away. The NITI Aayog, that often sprang up to make bizarre claims, did not make any comment. No one asked the RBI questions such as how the claim was made, what kind of jobs were created, where were the jobs and who were the beneficiaries.

The RBI’s claim and the government’s tacit endorsement ran contrary to the evidence around us:

◆ The Uttar Pradesh Police department conducted an examination to recruit 60,244 positions in the state police, mostly constables. More than 48,00,000 persons, including 16,00,000 women, wrote the examination. (The examination was cancelled after a few days).

◆ Air India wanted to fill 2,216 vacancies of ‘handyman’, a job that involved diverse repair and maintenance duties. Some 25,000 persons thronged the Mumbai airport for a walk-in interview, and police had to step in to maintain order.

◆ A private company in Gujarat sought to fill five positions; more than 1,000 persons applied.

◆ Madhya Pradesh advertised 15 low-skilled government jobs. It attracted 11,000 applicants, many of whom were postgraduates, engineers, MBAs and even one who was preparing to write an examination for the post of a judge.

The jobs crisis is best illustrated by the examinations conducted every year by the Staff Selection Commissions at the Centre and in many states. In Uttar Pradesh, an examination conducted for 7,500 posts (mostly clerical), received 24,74,030 applications.

Unemployment is, and has been for many years, a serious problem in India. Past governments acknowledged the problem. The BJP was different: it flatly denied there was a problem. On the eve of the 2014 elections to the Lok Sabha, Mr Narendra Modi promised to create two crore jobs a year. The promise, among other promises, was described as an ‘election jumla’ by no less a person than the home minister. At one point, the Prime Minister said that “frying pakoras is also a job”.

The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy measures the unemployment situation very closely. Its latest report has estimated the all-India unemployment rate as 9.2 per cent. The Periodic Labour Force Survey conducted by the central government has thrown up some uncomfortable truths. Most Indians do not hold regular jobs; they are self-employed (57.3 per cent). Only 20.9 persons of the employed earn a regular salary. Among graduates who have attained the age of 40, the unemployment rate is 10 per cent. The least educated are the least unemployed. The only zero-unemployment group is illiterate rural women.

The cry for jobs is heard in every town and village of India. The cry was finally heard by the finance minister after her government received a hard slap from the electorate in the 2024 elections. In her budget speech on July 23, she announced three schemes to promote employment under the description ‘Employment-linked Incentive’ (ELI) scheme. In essence, the schemes incentivise employers to hire more persons, especially first-time employees. She claimed that the schemes will benefit 290 lakh persons, but there was no data to support the claim.

The ELI scheme was a copy and paste of the promise in the Congress manifesto that had offered to amend the Apprenticeship Act and provide a one-year apprenticeship to every diploma or degree holder with an annual allowance of Rs1 lakh and with the expectation of a job at the end of the period of apprenticeship. I am naturally happy that the finance minister had an opportunity to read the Congress manifesto at least after the elections and take a leaf out of the document.

I emphasise that the jobs crisis is real. The crisis is compounded by several factors. An average child spends only seven-eight years in school. Nearly one-half of the students cannot read or write a simple text in any language and they cannot do multiplication or division. They learn no skills. Jobs have to be found for such children as well as for skilled persons, graduates, postgraduates, technically qualified persons, engineers, doctors, scientists and so on. It is a gigantic task, and the government must apply itself diligently to the task. It must first shed its posture of denial. Going by the finance minister’s speech, the government seems to have, at last, acknowledged the problem.

―Chidambaram is a Rajya Sabha member and former Union finance minister.

budget-2024-nirmala-sitharaman-expectations

Sun Jul 21 09:22:39 IST 2024

It is not in the nature of Droupadi Murmu to give surprises. The president follows the decorum and sticks to the protocol. But while reading out the government’s vision document in Parliament, her first address after Modi 3.0 took charge, she dropped a bombshell.

“This budget will be an effective document of the government’s far-reaching policies and futuristic vision. Along with big economic and social decisions, many historic steps will also be seen in (it),” she said, referring to the upcoming full budget to be tabled in Parliament on July 23. She also pointed out how India was the fastest growing major economy, averaging 8 per cent in the past four years.

If Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted a murmur of anticipation to precede Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s first budget of the new government, that speech achieved its goal.

India had embarked on radically pro-market reforms after the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of these measures even topped up the economy outside of the ambit of the annual budget exercise, like the slashing of corporate tax for new businesses back in 2018, the Atmanirbhar Bharat and the Vocal for Local rejig or even the production-linked incentives (PLI) announced for various sectors from time to time. The budget itself had stuck to the script, coming out year after year on February 1 with consistent announcements of major capital expenditure plans―all in an effort to boost the economy by wooing in precious investment. It did not change even on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections.

All that is water under the bridge, or votes won or lost across the hinterland. With the Lok Sabha election outcome turning out to be what it was, there is speculation galore about any route deviation in Nirmala Sitharaman’s spending principles. Murmu’s speech just turned it into a deafening murmur.

So how different will the budget for 2024-25 be? The hearts of India Inc would brook no tinkering in the government-industry tango that had seen big splurging on infra projects. But the heart of Bharat, as the poll results indicate, sways to a different beat. What tune will eventually get played?

SHOW ME THE MONEY

Upasana, an interior decorator in Gurugram, loves Kapil Sharma shows and Bollywood movies but switches to news on the budget day for one thing―to see if there is a cut in income tax.

Income tax cuts are a sure-fire formula to ignite the middle-classes. But why would a government that did not bother to dole out tax reliefs before election do it after the polls? “I think the election results have been such that the government is under pressure to do something to cater to the electorate in some way or the other,” said Sethurathnam Ravi, tax specialist and former chairman of the Bombay Stock Exchange. “In any case there are some crucial assembly elections coming up in a few months.”

Shashank Pal, chief business officer at Prabhudas Lilladher Wealth Management, said there were three aspects to it. “The expectation is that basic tax exemption limits would be hiked,” he said. “Second is in terms of the benefits against insurance and for senior citizens. That would go up. And third is in terms of the tax slabs. That is expected to increase.”

An array of taxes are under the scanner, if the buzz is to be believed. Corporate tax, which was slashed in the first Modi regime’s push to get companies to set up shop in India, could see a rejig. New-economy companies are pinning their hopes on getting relief from Angel Tax, which is applicable to investment received by startups and the like.

LET THERE BE JOBS

Jobless growth has been the inherent irony of India’s economic growth in recent years. Before the Lok Sabha elections, both industry doyens and economists said in one voice that the main focus of the new government should be creating jobs. “There is a need to create a lot of quality jobs,” said Sanjiv Puri, president of CII and chairman of ITC, a week after the new government took over. His suggestion? An investment-led growth. “Investment creating jobs and consumption creating a virtuous cycle,” he said. There are, however, others who beg to differ, pointing out how years of big capital investment has not led to the expected boom in jobs.

Going back to the drawing board, what will South Block’s number crunchers come up with?

“We can expect a continuation of the big infra push,” said Ravi. But it will be with a twist. “With more on the rural areas than urban ones,” he said.

If spending can catalyse economic growth, spending in rural areas will be tantamount to killing two birds with one stone. Of course, with a specific focus on Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, home of the two parties propping up the coalition government at the Centre.

Focusing on small industries could help in this. “MSMEs suffered during Covid. Many got shut because they could not cope with the aftermath of the pandemic. Their rehabilitation has taken time,” said Ravi. There are expectations of a push through the budget to revitalise this crucial sector. “Initiatives geared towards stimulating job creation, particularly through robust support for small businesses, will foster a thriving economy,” said Jitendra Patil, a Pune-based startup entrepreneur.

NATURE’S BOUNTY

Despite the big infra push, the overarching shade in this budget is likely to be green. “There have been significant provision in the last budget on green energy, especially in terms of wind, solar and other non-fuel based energy sources. But in terms of trying to spread out, incentivising solarisation, transmission by the discoms and creating infrastructure, there is an expectation that there would be further concessions, liberties, discounts, rebates and cheaper availability of credits,” said Pal. With a National Green Hydrogen Mission already up and running, he feels that green hydrogen, too, is “expected to get some boost for creating infrastructure.”

And there are promises to fulfil. “You have to give incentives because India has made huge commitments to net zero and clean energy,” said Ravi. “Institutionalising net zero carbon goals through the budget could help―the cost of funding will come down as there are many global funds who finance [such projects] at lower costs. While the last budget also mentioned sustainability, this budget’s announcements will be more granular and progressive.”

THE GIST OF IT ALL

Decisions on the Goods and Services Tax are taken by the GST Council. But it is likely to make a transformative appearance in this year’s budget speech, even if the nitty gritty will be left to the GST Council. “Rationalisation of GST is critical,” says Rahul Ahluwalia, co-founder of the Foundation for Economic Development. “If you include luxury tax and cess, we have six or seven slabs of GST. Experts have consistently said that we should have only one slab. If there are political compulsions, have two, or at most three.”

Ahluwalia also tries to make a strong case against high tax rates. “The government has been trying to use tariffs strategically to cut down imports,” he said. “By and large, that has not worked. India has traditionally tried to use tariffs as a way to protect our industry. But it is actually the liberalisation of tariffs in 1991 that really promoted Indian industry beyond anything that had come before that.”

His argument is part of the big picture view that only exports will lead to growth, and that is where he has a problem with protecting domestic businesses with high import duties. “A tax on imports is a tax on exports, which is something we don’t often realise,” he said. “We think of ourselves as a big market, but per capita-wise, we are a small player. Unless we become export competitive, we cannot grow fast. We forget that from 1991, all of our growth has been export-led, though it started flattening somewhere around 2011. This government has tried, but our export has not picked up. Only fast growth in exports can lead to economic growth.”

OUT OF THE BOX

The use of phrases like ‘futuristic’ and ‘historic’ in the government’s vision document has triggered many theories about a grand announcement―a universal health care scheme, rejigging of the National Pension Scheme, or even a universal income scheme.

Pal would not rule out something as game-changing as an unemployment wage for those who are qualified, and a universal pension for those above 70 or 75, where “the government takes care of basic financial requirements”.

Such a move could take the wind out of the freebies the opposition parties have been promising, but has not the prime minister always been against revdis (handouts)?

“Modi has always expressed his displeasure, but a sobering election result would be enough to change your mind to do something dramatic like this,” said Pal. “If they want another term, they need something earth-moving.”

mapmyindia-ceo-and-executive-director-rohan-verma-interview

Sun Jul 21 09:22:14 IST 2024

Interview/ Rohan Verma, CEO & executive director, MapmyIndia

Q. What are the crucial areas the Union budget should focus on?

The government should continue the good work of generating economic demand and economic growth that is inclusive and covers all strata of society. Fundamentally, a strong and balanced growth is good for business, the people and the nation. So, everything the government can do around that would be relevant.

Q. What are the new-age legal, tax and facilitatory needs of startups and digital firms that the government should address through the budget?

Businesses require predictability and consistency. Shocks to the system or too many regulatory requirements over too much paperwork create problems for companies. A smoother way of doing business, fewer things that are onerous, that are asked of startups, those are the things that would be helpful.

Q. How can the government find a balance between capital expenditure on infra and social spending needs?

The government has been doing a good job providing basic needs in terms of welfare schemes to the people at the bottom of the pyramid, be it through the Ujjwala scheme, food rations and housing. And infra also, with all the roads and highways and ports, the government has been doing it strongly.

Ultimately there is a unifying theme, leaning to Atmanirbhar Bharat. Growing the capabilities or demand for indigenous firms and indigenous technologies, products and services will ensure supply and hence jobs and wealth creation, value creation within the country, and a certain self-reliance when it comes to various technologies. I think if the budget leans to that, we will be self-sufficient and self-sustaining in a strong way.

india-s-first-fully-fdi-hospital-sakra-bengaluru

Sat Jul 13 17:54:09 IST 2024

On May 11, 2022, Kavitha Shanmugam received a jolt of a phone call. “Your husband is alive and breathing,” said the caller from a North Carolina hospital. It was about her husband Pravinrajraj Radha’s bicycle accident. What made it worse was that she was in India and he in the US.

Kavitha and Pravinraj, who had been in the US for 12 years, got married in 2018. Kavitha was in India to meet her father, who had met with an accident in 2020. She could visit him only in April 2022 because of the pandemic. On the day of Pravinraj’s accident, Kavitha and he had been on call with each other till 3am, India time. Pravinraj had told her that he would be out cycling once he was done with a meeting. And then, close to noon, she got that fateful call from the hospital.

How bad can a bicycle accident be, Kavitha had initially wondered. But a call with the doctors revealed that Pravinraj had suffered a major traumatic brain injury and was in coma, with a score of three―the lowest score that came with an extremely high mortality rate. Kavitha was told that his chances of survival were slim. Pravinraj was in coma for two months; he did not respond to any commands, except for a slight movement in his fingers. He was advised rehabilitation treatment, but that would be a long and slow process. Since Pravinraj was the sole earning member of the family, it became financially unviable to let him remain in care in the US for long. So, he was flown down to India in a critical condition―he could not talk, was fed through a tube and had a tracheostomy done to help him breathe. When he woke up from the coma, he did not recognise Kavitha and would often ask her to call his wife; Kavitha would then leave the room, call him on his phone and talk to him.

That was July 2022. By December though, Pravinraj was on his way to recovery. Within a month of arriving in India, he was able to get up from the bed with some help, take small steps, eat and speak a few words, thanks to extensive neurorehabilitation with physiotherapy, occupational therapy and neuropsychology. Today, Pravinraj can button his own shirt, goes to the gym daily and is looking at resuming work as a software expert in Bengaluru.

“Even though I know he will never be the same person again, it is incredible to see how far he has come,” says Kavitha. “Had it not been for the rehabilitation he underwent at Sakra [World Hospital], I don't think he would be where he is today.”

Venkata, whose 17-year-old son slipped into a coma following a car accident this March, shares the same sentiment. His son had severe internal and external brain injury and partial paralysis of right limbs. The stiffness in his muscles was to such an extent that one could not get him to open his palms even after applying pressure. Today, his son can move his limbs with ease. He underwent movement rehabilitation with the help of a robot and was also put on the hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which treats wounds and other medical conditions by supplying the patient with 100 per cent oxygen inside a special chamber and speeds up the healing process.

“I never thought my son could recover from that fatal accident,” said Venkata. “A brilliant student, he was about to appear for his IIT-JEE when our dreams shattered in those few minutes. I think what made the difference is that my son got passionate and involved care here, which helped him sail through. Every single person at the hospital, from doctors to the attendants, wanted him to recover.”

Both these moving stories of radical turnaround had a common ground―the Sakra Institute of Rehabilitation Sciences, said to be the largest rehab centre in Asia, at the Sakra World Hospital in Bengaluru. The hospital, in its 10th year, is India's first ever 100 per cent FDI (foreign direct investment) hospital, owned and managed by a joint venture between Toyota Tsusho and Secom Hospitals, Japan. The 15,000sqft rehabilitation centre on the third floor of the hospital speaks volumes about the importance given to the rehabilitation process, which is in line with its ideology that every patient should be able to carry out basic functions independently before leaving the hospital. This is also the first rehabilitation centre with a Global Quality Accreditation.

“The Japanese accord a high priority and importance to rehabilitation and that shows in the way they have planned Sakra World Hospital,” says Dr B.M. Maheswarappa, who heads the department. “Secom has a setup for acute rehabilitation in all of its 20 secondary and tertiary care hospitals it runs in Japan. The Japanese give significant importance to a patient's quality of life and so they have dedicated an entire floor towards an advanced multispecialty rehabilitation institute. Here, patients, especially those with traumatic brain injuries and stroke go back home after being trained in dressing, combing, cooking, bathing, toileting and self care. Some patients even learn to independently make tea and coffee before leaving the premises.”

The Japanese way of life and importance to health care is reflected in the smaller aspects at the 307-bedded multispecialty hospital. As you enter, the support staff bows and greets you with a smile. There are no long queues near elevators―one reason could be the short flight of stairs inside the quadrangle. And, the canteen on the ground floor is easily accessible.

“One of the crucial aspects I want to highlight is the courteousness and civility one experiences here,” says Kavitha. “Given the anger issues that my husband was grappling with, everyone, including the person who came to change his diapers, displayed tremendous patience and composure. I think that is really important because if the support staff is grumpy and irritable, then it becomes difficult.”

THE WEEK visited the hospital on a weekday afternoon.

It was crowded but not chaotic. The spacious lobby was free of people huddled together in groups. The Japanese imprint is visible in the ‘May I help you?’ desk and the set of Hina dolls, dressed in imperial clothing of the 9th century, displayed near the entrance. Also, the staff here uses the Japanese honorific ‘-san’ at the end of either the first or last name. And, nobody here will be caught saying, “Give us two minutes.” That, in particular, is a pet peeve of the leadership that runs the hospital. And that is so because it values punctuality.

When THE WEEK arrived 10 minutes early for an interview with managing director Yuichi Nagano and deputy managing director Naoya Matsumi, they walked in within two minutes and were surprised that we were there before time. The duo also did not carry their phones with them during the interview, giving us their full attention. The two of them have been in India for a decade now and having traversed the country, they say, they have learnt a few things “that are so Indian” including “time management, procrastination and the deep urge to give explanations for everything.” The duo ensured that “adherence to time” became a part of the hospital culture.

“Initially, we heard ‘two minutes’ all the time. We decided this culture had to go,” says Matsumi. “There had to be respect for time and discipline. This IST should be accorded some respect, not ridiculed for being Indian Standard Time, which is people will always be late. That is a value we are trying to bring from Japan. Also Indians are very good with giving explanations. But this is a Japanese hospital and so no excuses.”

The duo also noticed some issues with payments. “When we started this hospital, I noticed that somehow payments to the vendors were being delayed,” says Matsumi. “Pharmacy company bills were lying here for days on end and were cleared only upon our reminding. Somebody told me this was the Indian way, but we didn't like it. This is not how an organisation builds trust with its vendors. So behaviours that are otherwise normal and natural in Japan aren't so in India, so our effort is to bring in the best practices in day-to-day functioning.”

Sakra was initially a joint venture between the two Japanese companies and the Kirloskar Group. The Japanese management took over after a fallout with the Kirloskars in 2016. Secom now owns 60 per cent and Toyota Tsusho the rest. “Hospital business is very tough to manage and this hospital was our first hospital in India, outside of Japan,” says Nagano. “In 2019, just before Covid-19, we began making profits for the very first time. But then in 2020, lockdowns happened and the number of patients decreased drastically. So we became negative again. But after 2021, we came back to positive again and now I can say that we are very much a profitable hospital.” So much so, he adds, that their investors have decided to fund a second hospital with 450 beds, which will come up by January 2027 in the city. At the new hospital, there are plans to set up a radiation facility for cancer patients, which the current hospital lacks. “The capacity of [the present] hospital is almost reaching a limitation in terms of occupancy and the number of surgeries,” says Nagano. “So we need to expand our functions so as to increase the number of patients.”

Patients THE WEEK spoke to cited several reasons for choosing Sakra. “When I compared the cost of the hyperbaric oxygen therapy in certain other hospitals in Bengaluru, it was much less at Sakra,” says Venkata. “The cleanliness and hygiene and civility among the staff played a huge role, too.”

The quick turnaround time in the billing and discharge was what worked for Sandhya Sri Koka, who was admitted thrice at the hospital for her asthmatic attacks; her husband, too, was admitted twice. “It did not take more than one to two hours for us to get through to the admissions or the discharge process,” she says. “There are no delays in either the processes nor in seeking an appointment with the doctor or summoning one while one is in the hospital.”

This, explains Matsumi, “captures the Shokunin culture” which is deeply ingrained in the Japanese society as its commitment to mastery, craftsmanship and profound connection to one’s work. “We came down from five hours initially to two hours of post-discharge paperwork,” he says. “Also, the billing process at Sakra hospital has been streamlined to less than 10 minutes.”

Nagano attributes the Sakra culture to the Japanese philosophy of Kaizen―continuous improvement in everyday operations. “It took us more than five years to establish it,” he says. At present, all employees at Sakra are Indian, except for Nagano and Matsumi.

Dr Raji Verghese, associate consultant in the paediatric department, appreciates the organised way of working at the hospital. “We have all the sub-specialties in the area of paediatrics, including rheumatology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, mother and child section, and we have even operated on pre-term babies,” says Verghese, who has been with Sakra for nine years now. “But we lack a paediatric cardiology section.”

Speaking about the initial hiccups in running the hospital, Nagano says, “When we were opening this hospital, Indian partners at that time didn't think twice; they were impatient and pushy. ‘Believe in me and my word, the hospital will be successful,’ they said. But Japan doesn't work like that. We see the market size, population, payment capability, income level segments and specialties―we analyse everything. But Indians think that we are delaying the process and they say that by the time you finish all this analysis, the market will already have moved on to the competitor. I think we are more cautious than Indians.”

This difference in style of working and approaching things could be why the Kirloskars left the venture. In 2015, Geetanjali Kirloskar, who was the hospital’s chairperson then, had written in an article about how the Japanese build business by building relationships. “The prerequisite is trust, which takes time. Thereafter they will stand by you regardless,” she wrote. “They reach meetings early, understanding traffic conditions and other possible delays and account for them. If we reach late, they will receive you politely, smile and bow. The Japanese arrive at consensus through closed-door interactions within their team. This synthesis of differing views makes Japanese style the antithesis of the agile management style of Silicon Valley, to which we subscribe.” She also added that while the Japanese were always courteous, never contradicting each other or their boss in public, Indians tend to be argumentative and aggressive.

Also, health care in Japan is mainly covered by government insurance. Patients there see hospitals as offering public service. Hence, their expectations remain low. However, in India, said Nagano, patients look for value for money in everything. “At times, and I am very sorry to say this, Indian patients are very demanding,” he says. “It is easier to please a Japanese patient more than it is to impress an Indian patient.”

Both Nagano and Matsumi talk about the “perennial problem related to the attrition of nurses in the hospital”. “It is a headache. It is more than 60 per cent,” says Matsumi. “It is very difficult for us to maintain the quality of nurses in India and one reason for it is that here doctors are placed on a pedestal but the social status of nurses is abysmally low in comparison with Japan. We place high value on the education of nurses and accordingly decided to take Indian nurses to Japan to raise their social status. There is a training and simulation centre for nurses at Sakra now.”

But why would the Japanese establish a state-of-the-art hospital in India? “India is a potential market. In the area of health care, we see more liberty and opportunities here,” says Matsumi. “In Japan, we have strict rules put in place by the government―there are limitations in terms of pricing…. It is an overall tightly regulated country. But in India, there is free competition. If we are doing good work and offering good services, patients will come.”

budget-2024-expectations-finance-minister-nirmala-sitharaman

Sat Jul 13 15:07:31 IST 2024

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has many firsts to her credit―from being India’s first full-fledged woman finance minister to presenting the first paperless budget to giving the longest budget speech. She will have another first when she presents her seventh budget in a row on July 23―the first non-Congress finance minister to do so.

Sitharaman is expected to make more than just statistical history―a lot will be riding on her budget speech. And there have already been some hints. “This budget will be an effective document of the government’s extensive policies and futuristic vision,” said President Droupadi Murmu in her joint address to Parliament a month ago. “Alongside major economic and social decisions, many historic steps will be highlighted.”

The new Modi government had signalled continuity by retaining most of the cabinet even though the Prime Minister had to rely on allies to secure a majority after the Lok Sabha polls. The budget, however, will have to address political considerations while maintaining fiscal consolidation and pushing growth. The massive mandates Modi received in 2014 and 2019 had given the government a lot of elbow room to push reforms. With an energised opposition trying to corner the government on every possible occasion, the government may be inclined to take a more populist route.

Two key allies―the Telugu Desam Party and the Janata Dal (United)―run governments in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, respectively, and they have been vocal in demanding special packages for their states. They seek financial assurances to let Modi pursue his political agenda. How far the Modi government goes to address their needs would set the contours of the remaining term of the government. The budget, which is the first major policy document of the government, is expected to rely on the BJP’s manifesto for fulfilling many of its promises on social welfare, cultural and reforms fronts.

The Rs2.11 lakh crore dividend given by the Reserve Bank offers the government sufficient financial cushion. It would come in handy in addressing the needs of the alliance parties and extending carrots to the sections of the population that ditched the party in the Lok Sabha elections.

A lot has changed since the interim budget in February, when the government, confident of getting a third term, did not announce any pre-poll sop. The marginalised, poor, rural population, women and middle class, affected by the spiralling inflation, voted for a stronger opposition.

The salaried class has not been given any significant relief of late. Though less than 2 per cent of the total population, they account for a large chunk of direct tax collection and play a crucial role in shaping public opinion. Sitharaman may give some relief to them by revising the tax limits so that they get more money in their pockets, which in turn would boost consumption and savings. Though the economy grew 8.2 per cent in the last fiscal, consumption has not been keeping pace with it.

“When the finance minister presents the budget, we are sure she will consider every aspect of tax structure, asset class, where all taxpayers can be benefited,” said a party leader.

Several review meetings were carried out by the BJP leadership to analyse how the rural population and women were swayed by the Congress’s promise to give Rs1 lakh every year. The government may opt for enhancing the workdays under the MNREGA scheme. “Women have emerged as the main swing voters who can change the elections,” said a BJP leader, indicating that the budget would have enough for them. “The government has given 33 per cent reservation in seats, last year, indicating its intent. But the population needs something tangible in their hands.”

Job creation remains a potent emotional factor among the people, not just the youth, as the recent election campaign and the results have shown. Creating job opportunities will come through continued focus on building infrastructure and enhancing the manufacturing and the services sectors.

In the past, the BJP had cited electoral mandates behind its ideological commitments, be it abrogation of Article 370 or implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The humbling mandate in the recent polls seems to have forced the party to recalibrate. Would it provide immediate relief through sops rather than schemes that have long gestation periods? A certain salutary message to those impacted by policy changes and unexpected events in the recent years is a political need it cannot ignore.

The BJP even set up a six-member panel to collate feedback and sent it to the finance minister. “In the last few budgets, it was laying of the tracks. Most of the structural reforms are already there. Now, we will move ahead. More reforms will be there. It will be a growth oriented budget for sure,” said party spokesperson Syed Zafar Islam, also a member of the panel. “We are already contributing 18 per cent to the world GDP. The kind of momentum we have in economic activities, we expect the government to capitalise on the momentum for more job creation and higher private investments.”

Modi could deliver the electoral message using his appeal with consistent nurturing of the beneficiaries. However, when beneficiaries get used to a particular facility or do not get it, resentment grows. That is when attractive sops influence the voting patterns.

Since the Lok Sabha poll results, the BJP governments in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan have presented state budgets where sops have been announced for the poor, women and farmers through stipends, increased spending, free bus rides and reduction in oil prices. This was to address the immediate concerns of the population.

“Budget is an exercise where inputs are taken from every section of the society,” said Islam. “It has nothing to do with the elections. We are the single largest party with 240 seats. We make policies after feedback from the diverse groups.”

As assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra are round the corner, the government may focus on target groups like the farmers, women, youth and the OBCs. There have been indications that earnings of farmers would be increased by strengthening the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi (Rs6,000 a year), expanding infrastructure for farmers for storage of grains and crops, extending credit and promoting crop diversification to tide over the increased political pressure for legalising minimum support price for crops.

Schemes like MNREGA and Agniveer also have a strong salience in rural India. As the opposition has turned the lacunae in the Agniveer scheme into a political weapon, the Modi government has major work at hand. Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who has been given agriculture and rural development ministries, would need something more in the budget to navigate the tough terrain ahead.

While Nitin Gadkari may continue to raise capex for building highways, he would also need budgetary support to keep up the pace. The budget is expected to increase allocation for the health sector to increase the number of hospitals, set up more medical colleges, and even increasing the scope of health insurance from the current Rs5 lakh. The BJP had promised the benefits of health insurance to the senior citizens. Sitharaman may announce the new scheme in the budget.

The BJP had also promised more trains, be it Vande Bharat or even bullet trains. Given the political significance of the ministry, as it serves a large section of the population, the allocation is set to increase.

The budget session is likely to be stormy with the opposition trying to put the government on the mat on issues like question paper leaks, inflation and rural distress. The budget, however, will provide an opportunity for the government to grab some positive headlines by giving people something to cheer about.

future-of-energy

Sat Jul 13 14:59:45 IST 2024

LET US THINK of a world without power―imagine the electricity going off when you are in the middle of your work―now, your laptop, and your mobile phone are both minutes from dying, and all you can do is wait for the power to come back on. Without electricity, you cannot use any of your trusted appliances―be it your television, microwave or air conditioner―making the world appear like a truly dark place. Now consider driving to a faraway destination, and noticing the empty fuel signal on your car’s dashboard―we cannot reach our destination, or accomplish the simplest everyday tasks without energy.

Decoding the energy paradigm

Energy is an essential part of our daily lives, shaping our necessities and conveniences. While households once relied mainly on electric lights, gas stoves, and televisions, modern living now demands a variety of electrical appliances such as refrigerators, air conditioners, induction stoves, and microwaves. This shift highlights a broader lifestyle change and a significant increase in energy demand. Energy’s role extends far beyond households, fuelling transportation―from cars and two-wheelers to cargo engines, trains, and airplanes―and driving industrial growth across sectors like healthcare, FMCG, textiles, and IT. It supports communication networks, including telecommunication, broadcasting, internet services, and data transmission.

Considering the energy opportunities roadmap, the oil and gas value chain comprises upstream exploration and extraction, midstream processing and transportation, and downstream refining and distribution. Similarly, the power value chain involves generation from various sources, transmission, and final distribution to consumers. With the rise of renewable energy, the solar and wind value chains involve manufacturing, equipment provision, and infrastructure development, even as energy ancillary companies enhance this ecosystem by offering essential services such as EPC, maintenance, power storage solutions, and smart metering. Accordingly, the energy opportunities theme encompasses a variety of possible investment options across these avenues.

Upcoming demand for energy

India’s energy future is intricately linked to its growth trajectory―over the past two decades, India’s primary energy consumption has more than doubled, making it the fourth-largest energy consumer globally. However, India’s per capita energy consumption remains one-third of the global average, significantly lower than countries like China and Korea and as the country remains poised to become the world’s third-largest economy, its consumption is expected to rise substantially. In this scenario, power demand is anticipated to grow strongly, with shortages during non-solar hours, necessitating government focus to bridge the deficit.

India’s shift from agriculture to manufacturing, similar to China’s earlier transition, is expected to create massive power demand. Going forward, the increasing penetration of electricity and rising per capita income will drive higher energy consumption even as emerging segments like AI and data centres remain set to further escalate energy demand, potentially using more power than entire countries by 2028.

The best way forward

Even as you prepare to shell out more for the energy you consume, you can balance out the equation by investing in the energy opportunities theme, either directly or through mutual funds. Popular investment avenues include power ancillaries, the oil value chain, consisting of integrated refining and marketing companies, downstream petrochemicals, base oil processors, etc, and green energy, which comprises of companies undergoing energy transitions, and renewable energy value chains. You can also consider investments in the gas value chain, which consists of gas transmission, LNG terminal and city gas distribution, and the power value chain, which includes coal producing companies, and aspects such as power generation, power transmission, and power trading.

If you want to invest in the energy theme via the mutual fund route, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund currently has a New Fund Offer (NFO) focused on the energy sector, open from July 2, 2024, to July 16, 2024. The scheme’s investment universe includes companies involved in green energy, oil and gas sector, power and related sectors, offering a diversified approach to tapping into these energy opportunities.

Whichever route you may opt for, there is no questioning the fact that energy opportunities is the theme for the future―making this your moment to capitalise on the sector.

The writer is founder and director, Shubhgain Finserv Pvt Ltd.

a-global-leadership-opportunity-in-the-ai-age-beckons

Sat Jul 13 14:56:52 IST 2024

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTIONS reshape global power dynamics. The first saw the rise of the UK and Europe with coal and steam power. The second, driven by electricity and mass production, elevated the US and Japan. China emerged during the third revolution with electronics and IT, while the US surged ahead. The fourth revolution we are in―the digital age, driven by the internet, AI, IoT, blockchain and Gen AI―is shifting global power dynamics yet again. While the US and China have taken the lead, India is swiftly gaining ground in this global race.

The essential nature of data and AI is democratisation, making it accessible to everyone, regardless of background or expertise. India stands at a unique advantage.

DEMOCRATISATION OF INFORMATION, KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNOLOGY

India’s phenomenal growth is evident in its 820 million active internet users and a 78 per cent smartphone penetration rate. It accounts for nearly half of the world's digital transactions. Social media platforms are widely used for content consumption and creation. E-learning platforms have democratised access to education, and government efforts like Digital India have further democratised technology access nationwide.

STRENGTH OF DIGITAL NATIVES

More than half of India's population is below the age of 30. These digital natives are adept at adopting and adapting to new digital technologies. They consume and create extensive digital content. And their growing affinity towards digital activities like e-commerce, social media influencing and digital education makes them a valuable resource.

DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE AND GLOBAL IT SERVICES HUB

India's Aadhaar stack stands out as a highly effective digital infrastructure, leveraging extensive data repositories to facilitate various services like UPI, digital identity verification, and e-governance. Additionally, India has become a global IT services hub with over 50 per cent of the global IT services workforce in 2022, up from 35 per cent in 2013.

ONE OF THE BIGGEST DATA GENERATORS OF THE WORLD

India has a natural edge as the data-first world unfolds around us, driven by a remarkable 1,00,000-1,50,000 times growth in data, the bedrock fuelling the digital and now the AI revolution. India significantly contributes as one of the leading data generators globally, accounting for a fifth of all the world’s data, owing to its large population and rapid digitalisation. In my new book Mastering the Data Paradox I have outlined a practical approach on how nations can build competitive differentiation anchored on data.

UNLEASHING THE WAVE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

China's global leadership is bolstered by substantial government sponsorships, while the US benefits from the presence of major tech giants, giving it a competitive edge. China invests heavily in programmes, policies and incentives to encourage innovation and technology development through entrepreneurship. Funding and subsidies like the National High-Tech Enterprise (NHTE) programme, policies like Made in China 2025 and billions of dollars invested every year in Next Generation AI Development Plan are a few notable examples.

In the US, big tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Nvidia enable pace and scale of digital and AI innovation. They not only provide substantial funding for research and development but also play a crucial role in shaping the technology landscape and enabling an entire ecosystem, as seen in Silicon Valley.

However, the models of China and the US may not be the natural paths for India to leapfrog in data and AI leadership. For India, the way to capture the immense opportunities of the digital and AI age is to leverage its natural advantages and unleash a tsunami of entrepreneurship, creating millions of young entrepreneurs.

In the highly dynamic and ever-changing technology landscape, startups can bring speed and agility, enabling India to leapfrog and quickly benefit from the rapidly changing business and technology dynamics. It would pave the way for India to become a global innovation hub, tackling global challenges and creating unique market and industry disruptions.

India becoming an entrepreneurial powerhouse is not a pipe dream. As we saw above we have some unique advantages that we can build on, it is truly our time! India's digital infrastructure provides a strong foundation for startups to leverage and build upon, enabling startups to scale efficiently and deliver value-added services. The vast and varied population offers a diverse market for testing products and services. India's pyramid of digital natives who are tech-savvy and eager to embrace new technologies, make them ideal contributors to India's entrepreneurial ecosystem. India can capitalise on its position as one of the biggest data generators globally, allowing startups to harness data and AI to innovate at scale.

However, achieving this is not easy. It requires a significant shift in both mindset and approach.

TRANSITIONING FROM IT SERVICES TO PRODUCT COMPANIES

India has traditionally excelled in providing IT services. But as globally companies are shifting from building to consumption, India must focus on building and scaling product-based companies that provide end-to-end solutions to customer problems through innovative solutions. This requires a strong focus on innovation, continuous R&D and problem solving.

BREAKING THE EXISTING MINDSET OF AN ‘ORDER-TAKER’

We have long been the order-takers and, if we are self-critical, perhaps have ended up being 'coding coolies'. While it has helped establish ourselves as a global services hub, it has also meant that we have ended up playing only a supporting cast role, with the west enjoying greater control and benefits in the technology value chain. To climb up the digital value chain we need to shift towards independent and proactive thinking, be more aggressive as risk-takers and experiment to unleash creativity.

BUILDING CRITICAL THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING

As the business world becomes increasingly dynamic, developing an entrepreneurial mindset is critical to succeed in the data and AI age. Questioning the norm, asking 'why' is becoming increasingly critical. Critical thinking empowers individuals to question assumptions, analyse problems deeply, and explore alternative approaches to come up with new and innovative solutions. Shifting from the traditional technical-centric approach to education and workforce, to prioritise critical thinking and problem solving, is critical for success in the long term.

India’s independence led to political freedom, yet millions of Indians were left economically and socially disadvantaged. The digital era provides a remarkable opportunity for India to establish itself as a global leader. While India's journey into the data-first world and the AI age holds immense promise, there are significant hurdles that need to be addressed.

Seth is former chief operating officer of Flipkart.

health-insurance-premium-is-shooting-through-the-roof-and-policyholders-are-worried-sick

Sun Jun 30 11:38:21 IST 2024

Udit Bhandari, a real estate consultant, lives in Gurugram, Haryana, with his wife and eight-year-old son. He has a family floater health insurance policy from a private insurance company. Family floaters are health insurance plans that cover health care expenses of any of the members of a family, and they are very popular because of the flexibility. But Bhandari is worried, as his plan’s premium has gone up exorbitantly. “For a cover of Rs5 lakh, I paid a premium of Rs28,578 for two years (2022-24). For the same policy and the same cover, this time (2024-2026) they have quoted Rs39,500, though I had not made any claims in the past five years,” he says.

Bhandari is not alone. In a recent survey by LocalCircles on health insurance premiums, around 21 per cent of the 11,000 respondents said their premiums jumped 50 per cent in the past year. Around 31 per cent said their premiums went up by 25-50 per cent and about half of the respondents said their premiums increased by more than 25 per cent.

There are several reasons behind this rise. Insurance premiums usually go up with age. Also, there has been significant cost inflation in the health care sector. “In health care industry, the cost of treatment increases at the rate of 10-15 per cent,” said Ashish Yadav, head of products at ManipalCigna Health Insurance Company. In fact, prices rose massively during the pandemic. Bhandari said that in some of the top private hospitals in Gurugram, the consultation fees charged by specialists had gone up from around Rs1,000 to Rs2,000.

“While the number one factor that impacts health care cost is inflation, number two is unanticipated incidents like the Covid-19 pandemic. There could be a spike in various other infections and related diseases. Our lifestyles are also changing. There are increasing incidents of cancer and cardiac-related ailments,” said Yadav.

Another reason is the rapid advancements in the health care sector. “The medical field is constantly evolving, with new, often expensive, diagnostic tools and treatment options emerging,” said Tapan Singhel, MD and CEO of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. “While these advancements are positive for patient outcomes, they contribute to the rising health care costs, which are reflected in premiums.”

Then there is heavy taxation. Currently, a GST of 18 per cent is levied on insurance premiums. For instance, if your annual insurance premium is Rs30,000, the addition of GST will take it to Rs35,400. Before the GST regime was implemented, there was a 15 per cent service tax on health insurance. A parliamentary panel has recommended to reduce the GST rate on health insurance products, especially micro-insurance policies and health insurance plans for senior citizens. “Reducing GST on health insurance premiums would be a welcome step, as it would reduce the financial burden on customers and encourage them to purchase health insurance,” said Singhel.

Health care costs have gone up so much that most Indians cannot afford them. The irony is a majority of Indians do not have health insurance, which would have equipped them to access these services. According to insurtech platform Plum, about 71 per cent of Indians pay for their health care expenses out of their pockets.

The silver lining is the fact that health insurance is growing fast. “It has now overtaken motor insurance,” said Yadav. “Covid played a very important role here; it acted as a catalyst, making people realise the need for health insurance and how much health insurance one should take.”

Health insurance has also moved beyond the vanilla mediclaim policies. Plans are now available for specific ailments, out-patient department (OPD) costs and doctor consultations. Amit Chhabra, chief business officer, general insurance, Policybazaar, said the demand for OPD plans had quadrupled. One can also buy longer-duration policies.

“Health insurance has become extremely modular lately,” said Chhabra. “Consumers can go for a basic plan and buy add-ons for features that they require. This can significantly reduce their insurance premium. Increasing deductibles is another effective method; while it requires higher out-of-pocket payments before insurance kicks in, it significantly reduces the monthly or annual premiums.” Several insurance companies offer discounts based on cities as well. A person living in a small city, for instance, has to pay around 40 per cent less premium than someone living in a metro.

Technology plays a key role today in the health insurance space. Not only that policy issuance and the claims process have become digital, but also smartwatches and fitness apps can be linked to the policy. Insurance companies track this data and reward customers who are active and fit with discounts and lower premiums. “The journey that this industry has witnessed is from illness to wellness,” said Yadav. “A lot of innovation is happening on wellness. The insurance companies are rewarding customers with good fitness regime.” If no claim is made during the policy period, insurers offer a no-claim bonus, which could be in the form of an increase in the sum assured or lower premiums.

The settlement of claims in a timely manner is also an issue with medical insurance. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India has been trying to streamline the claims process. In May, IRDAI issued a master circular in which the regulator asked companies to decide on cashless authorisation requests within an hour. It also said no policy and claim should be contestable on any grounds of non-disclosure except for established fraud, after the completion of the moratorium period of 60 months of continuous coverage. Customers who missed renewing their policy will be granted a grace period of 30 days from the payment due date if paid annually, half yearly or quarterly, and 15 days in case of monthly premium payment.

The Union health ministry and IRDAI have set up a National Health Claim Exchange to simplify and expedite the claims filing process. “By creating a digital, interoperable and standardised platform, the National Health Claim Exchange aims to enhance the efficiency and transparency of the claims process. This initiative addresses the longstanding issues of manual data entry, inconsistent procedures, and high administrative costs that have plagued the health insurance sector in India,” said Chhabra.

It will bring insurers, health care providers and policyholders onto a single platform, facilitating seamless information exchange and improving the accuracy and reliability of claims-related data. This transparency should help reduce disputes and ensure quicker claim settlements.

confederation-of-indian-industry-president-sanjiv-puri-interview

Sat Jun 22 15:11:16 IST 2024

Interview/ Sanjiv Puri, president, Confederation of Indian Industry

SANJIV PURI, THE ITC chairman who was recently elected president of the Confederation of Indian Industry, has a clear blueprint: Ensure that the new ‘coalition’ government’s composition does not derail the economic reforms set in motion by Modi 1.0 and 2.0. And that there is something in it for everyone, the takeaways from the recent election results making it all too clear. Puri and India Inc’s first test in this regard will be the Union budget, slated for mid-July. And he has some expectations. Excerpts from an exclusive interview:

Q/ India is having an economic boom, but one that is not creating jobs. Is the private sector not investing enough at fault?

A/ India has achieved an 8 per cent plus growth at a time when the rest of the world has been under stress. So that in itself is an exceptional performance. Now, India has a demographic advantage. Therefore, there is a need to create a lot of quality jobs; no doubt about it. What should be the way forward? The broad approach to growth and creating jobs is around the model that has been adopted by the government—an investment-led growth. Investment creating jobs and consumption creating a virtuous cycle.

First of all, we need to look at next generation reforms, which are between the state and the Centre. Land, labour, agriculture, power, and so on, to unlock the productivity of the economy.

Number two, we believe that the private capital expenditure (capex), which also serves a purpose besides generating employment, strengthens the competitiveness of the economy, reduces logistics costs and increases accessibility for people to various services that may not be available in their location. Private capex should go up by 25 per cent. And there can be greater thrust on rural areas besides these two.

Q/ But that would again be from the government side. What can the private sector do to generate more jobs?

A/ I don’t think these two are completely divorced from each other. Clearly industry has an important role to play. Whatever items I am saying, it is not just for policy makers, but also for the industry to leverage to orchestrate the next horizon growth.

If you look at manufacturing, we are seeing that this sector is reviving in a significant way with fresh investments. There is also an opportunity in sectors that have a high employment index, where the employment-to-capital ratio is high. These are sectors like toys, apparel, textiles, wood-based, retail, tourism, media and entertainment. These are industries that need to be provided further impetus. For this, we are recommending an employment-linked incentive (ELI) with some outcome metrics.

A lot of investment needs to go into human capital development—skilling, education and health care. And industry also needs to do its bit as far as that is concerned.

For rural areas, we are suggesting integrated development hubs, where even CII can open model career centres and so on. Again, joint responsibilities.

As far as investment is concerned, let me say that the private sector is investing. The investment as a percentage of the GDP in the financial year 2023 was 23.8 per cent. The trajectory is upward. It is higher than the highest peak over the past several years.

This is also a result of the fact that a lot of good enablers are in place—the rationalisation of the corporate income tax, the PLI schemes, ease of doing business, the interventions on logistics, FTAs, the technology tie-ups that have been enabled through bilateral agreements. All of these are providing the opportunity and we are seeing investment go up.

Q/ You said that the industry’s viewpoint is that the RBI’s annual dividend to the government, which this year had more than doubled to 02.1 lakh crore, should be used for additional capex.

A/ One portion of it.

Q/ Looking at the upcoming budget, do you think the government’s viewpoints might just have changed after the election results? There had been so much focus on infra and capex spending.

A/ The larger approach is on reforms to unlock the potential of the economy to make it more productive. Within that, capex is just one part of it. I see no reason that should change because we have benefitted from it. The economy is doing well. Capex, in particular, increases the productive capacity of the economy, besides creating jobs. So we believe that given the impact it has had, there is a reason to continue, or even, accelerate the pace of reforms.

Q/ The focus on infra and capex, a lot of highways and airports and all, did not really work if you go by the election results, and rural distress is pretty real. If the industry has a wish list, what would it suggest to the government?

A/ Highways and all increase the productive capacity of the economy. These are all essential requirements.

Specifically on rural, we should acknowledge the fact that some of the stress is on account of factors like climate. And the overall cost has gone up because of external factors. At one point of time, for instance, fertiliser cost really went up. Then there are geopolitical issues. I would say India has managed that comparatively well.

So where do we go from there? The issue is to look at how to build productivity in agriculture, how to build resilience in agriculture. There are certain policy instruments that are already in play, like farmer collectives and digital. We have to now take it to the next level to create clusters, create ecosystems for leveraging technology in agriculture.

And the second piece is on social infrastructure. It is about skilling, education, health care. To promote the spirit of entrepreneurship so that the people in rural areas are also available as resources to partner in the broader economy.

We are also suggesting creation of integrated rural development hubs where all of these facilities can be converged around a cluster of villages.

Q/ What are the areas that the government should probably look at now?

A/ These are the areas where we are seeing the next phase of transformation—labour, agriculture, power.

Q/ What would be the Indian industry’s best-case scenario for the upcoming budget?

A/ Continue on the fiscal glide path. Continue to invest in the important areas of public capex, social infrastructure, agriculture and creating centres of excellence in tourism.

from-simplified-taxes-to-daring-reforms-india-incs-wish-list-for-the-new-government-is-long

Sat May 25 11:58:15 IST 2024

Most bureaucrats in the corridors of power in Delhi look forward to the summer. The pace of work gets a bit languorous and a good chunk, family in tow, go to their native places for that much-needed summer vacation. Many others take off to cooler climes―the lucky few to Europe and others to domestic hill stations and pilgrim centres.

A lazy summer becomes an even greater attraction in an election year. With the model code of conduct limiting the incumbent government from making any major decisions or policy changes and with ministers away campaigning, the pace of government work further slows down. It is usually a relaxed few weeks spent speculating on election results and extended tea breaks before the flurry of activity hits them in full blast with a new government.

This summer, though, things have been a bit different. The outgoing Narendra Modi government, in a show of super confidence in its fate at the hustings, has given them so much work that the bureaucracy’s hope for a ‘chill-out summer’ just melted away. It was set in motion way back in February. Modi initiated in a cabinet meeting the planning for a 100-day agenda that his government would take up after coming back to power. The plan was to be worked out by senior bureaucrats; a final list of 50 projects or policies to be taken up immediately after the new government’s formation, targeted at the grand vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.

The result? Senior bureaucrats have been scampering around attending many rounds of meetings and presentations. Officials from the ministries of finance, corporate affairs, and micro, medium and small enterprises have been particularly busy, with meetings and deliberations on topics ranging from rationalisation of tax rates to prioritising pending reforms. A vision document for transforming the country into Viksit Bharat and the launch of a ‘Made in India’ branding are under preparation.

But is all the planning in ministerial meeting rooms in tune with what the industry and markets want?

“I have a straightforward answer,” said former Reserve Bank governor D. Subbarao, when asked what the new government should focus on. “We must focus on creating jobs.”

For all the big numbers that are being touted around―a blazing pace of growth not less than 6.5 per cent; soon to be the world’s fourth largest economy―India exhibits a curious dichotomy on the ground. The ‘India Shining’ sentiment does not reflect ground reality―there aren’t enough jobs for the youth, and the rural India and the lower middle class are not yet out of the distress caused by the Covid pandemic.

It is not that the government has not tried. Through its Atmanirbhar Bharat packages and production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes, it had sought to exert emphasis on improving the state of manufacturing in the country. Indian economy had moved from an agrarian one to a services-focused one, largely skipping the manufacturing phase which many developed nations had gone through in their transition. The post-Covid world order demanded that the country focus on self-reliance and its own manufacturing capabilities, with the neat dividend of it being a job creator.

But there was a problem. Where do you get the qualified workers?

“Growing the way we are, we are not able to get skilled, disciplined and regular manpower,” said Ajinkya Firodia, managing director of automaker Kinetic Engineering.

While labour laws are one part of it, the stark reality is that India’s labour force is unskilled or, at best, semi-skilled. This is when India has grandiose visions of becoming a tech manufacturing hub, making anything from Tesla’s electric cars (Elon Musk willing) to semiconductors. Those leaving their farming days behind and venturing into industrial hubs eager for labour jobs may not fit the bill any longer.

R. Dinesh, founder and executive chairman of TVS Supply Chain Solutions and the outgoing president of the Confederation of Indian Industry, realises this gap. “We have formally educated workers ready to work, but with new technologies and artificial intelligence coming in, the process of manufacturing itself has changed dramatically,” he said. “All of it requires upskilling.”

While some corporates and even industry bodies like the CII have set up centres for upskilling, it might not be enough. “One of our asks for the future is for an employment-linked incentive plan,” said Dinesh. “Especially in sectors like textiles, logistics, tourism, hospitality and health care. And as we keep investing in those sectors, you will see that a virtuous cycle will be set in motion, because people get prepared and they get an opportunity.”

But it would be foolhardy to expect this mega job creation to happen through just big multinationals or the big daddies of India Inc. Therein pops up the most talked about, but yet-to-be-weaponised four-letter acronym in the country―MSME, or micro, small and medium businesses. It is still looking for a saviour as it has not come out of the troubles that Covid caused. Yet, the category offers the best possible avenue for job creation in a nation that desperately needs its GDP growth benefits to trickle down.

“With a new government coming on board, it is an important point for us to figure out how to support MSMEs for their own growth,” said Dinesh. He suggests creating a fund which allows first ‘loss’ guarantee (the government will cover a certain percentage of losses if the borrower defaults on a loan), developing a rating system that understands sector requirements, and helping MSMEs in their digital and green transition.

While advocating green transition is fashionable, India Inc, deep inside, does palpitate at its implications. Especially with India in advanced stage of negotiations for free trade agreements with the likes of the UK, Oman and the EU. It would trigger a new approach to the environment, carbon emissions and renewable energy, which can be an opportunity or a challenge, depending on how you approach it.

“Once the FTAs come into existence, many Indian businesses will feel that they are put at a competitive disadvantage as cost of compliance goes up,” said Sunil Kumar Sinha, principal economist & director (public finance) at India Ratings & Research, pointing to the EU’s carbon adjustment mechanism that might make Indian exports to the continent more expensive. “India has committed to energy transition. So it is a very important focus, irrespective of whether you are a cement manufacturer, steel manufacturer or fertiliser manufacturer. Everyone would be closely looking forward to what policies are put in place by the government in terms of energy transition and increasing use of renewable energy as compared with fossil fuel energy. It will call to form the very best of the government’s balancing act.”

Another challenge is the upswing in real estate prices, which poses a question to the government’s efforts to develop affordable houses. “We need a scheme for really affordable houses,” said G. Hari Babu, president of the National Real Estate Development Council. “Around 10 per cent of our population controls 63 per cent of the total wealth in the country. So it is time we gave some subsidies to the other 90 per cent.”

His suggestion? Plan houses under Rs35 lakh, offered with home loans up to Rs25 lakh on a lowered interest rate of 5 per cent for the first five years. “The Central government should put in a word to state governments to lower stamp duty for their registration process,” he said.

In commercial realty, too, there are expectations of unlocking potential through relaxing stipulations. For instance, allowing special economic zones (SEZs) to use a portion of their land for development “made India the most preferred location for Global Capability Centres”, said Sanjay Chatrath, managing partner of Incuspaze, a co-working space provider. “We expect that the new government would focus on initiating progressive initiatives like the GIFT City in other cities, too,” he said.

The government’s economic direction so far has been in alignment with the interests of big businesses. The massive investment in infra, ranging from highways to ports and airports, the Gati Shakti programme and the digitisation of logistic networks have directly helped business growth. “There is a clear consensus among industry members that we are on the cusp of seizing an opportunity to use this cost competitiveness and digital differentiation to become more global,” said Dinesh. “Already, it is happening in certain sectors, but we see a lot more opportunities.”

The new government will also be expected to push for the three big-ticket reforms that have vexed the Modi regime throughout its tenure―land, labour and agriculture reforms. “The pending reforms in labour and land are very difficult,” said Sinha. “When it came back to power in 2014, the NDA government tried to touch them, and immediately gave up because of the resistance.”

It was worse when it came to agriculture reforms, and these ‘holy trinity’ prompts Sinha to believe that the incoming regime will stay clear of it. “On the contrary, they will look at infra development and improvement in ease of doing business,” he said.

But a businessman can dream, right? “Land, labour and agri reforms are possible, in our view,” said Dinesh. “Just like GST, when people sit down and discuss, we can build up consensus.”

former-reserve-bank-governor-d-subbarao-interview

Sat May 25 11:52:23 IST 2024

Interview/ D. Subbarao, former Reserve Bank governor

From standing up to the Union government to defend the autonomy of the Reserve Bank of India to criticising the deteriorating quality of the civil services, Duvvuri Subbarao has never shied away from doing the heavy lifting. As his latest book, Just a Mercenary, hits headlines for his questioning the Comptroller and Auditor General’s interpretation of ‘presumptive loss’ in the 2G scam, THE WEEK caught up with the former bureaucrat, who also had served as finance secretary and secretary to the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council. Excerpts from an exclusive interview:

Q/ The most satisfying and most traumatic part of your career, now looking back.

A/ I was posted as an officer on special duty for bottling liquor by the N.T. Rama Rao government in Andhra Pradesh in the mid-1980s. NTR was aghast at people drinking adulterated liquor, and losing lives and livelihoods. So he decided that the solution was to set up arrack bottling plants in every district, and I was appointed an officer on special duty for the project.

My first reaction was, why did they pick me? I had shown no special expertise for field projects, particularly for bottling liquor. I thought I was destined for bigger things―join the IAS and change the world. I was angry. I sat at home for three-four days, but then picked myself up. I said, ‘If I have to do this, I will do it. If I fail, that’s okay. But at least let me try.’ I completed the project three days ahead of the deadline. It was a tremendously satisfying experience.

And I learned many lessons. For example, that people should not fear being pushed out of their comfort zones. In fact, there are a lot of lessons to be learned from being pushed out of your comfort zone. In leadership training programmes, they tell you the secret to success in life is to discover your passion and follow it. But the lesson I learned is not so much to discover your passion and follow it, but to do whatever you have to do in life with passion.

Q/ With a lot of fundamental changes slated to happen, including delimitation, what would you say is the ideal way forward for the Centre-state balance of power?

A/ The amount that states can borrow has to be approved by the Union government. I believe those are good guidelines, although some states are protesting. States have to learn to be more self-sufficient and fall back on their own resources and see how they can raise additional taxes, improve governance, and improve the investment climate that will generate jobs and get more productive.

Q/ States also complain that with the GST, they don’t have control over revenue. Meanwhile, industry has been demanding that state subjects like excise and fuel also be included in the GST.

A/ I think the GST has been a great thing although we have had some implementation problems. As late finance minister Arun Jaitley said, it is a tribute to our fiscal federalism. The states and the Centre came together for the common good. I don’t think the GST should be seen as a mechanism that has actually detracted from the autonomy of states. That is the wrong way of looking at it. But, of course, states will complain―have you ever seen a hostel student who doesn’t complain about the hostel food? It is in their very nature to complain!

Q/ Richer states say they are not getting their due.

A/ There is some cross-subsidisation. For every rupee richer states like Maharashtra and Karnataka contribute to the central tax pool, they get back less than a rupee. Poorest states like Bihar and Jharkhand get more than a rupee for every rupee they contribute. That is necessary, even desirable, up to a certain extent. It happens in most other federations. It is incumbent on the richest states to cross-subsidise the poorest states.

But there has to be limits to it. And I get a sense that we are hitting the limits of that cross-subsidisation. There has to be some milestone set for the cross-subsidisation formula. It cannot go on forever.

Q/ We will have a new government soon. What are the areas it should focus on?

A/ I have a straightforward answer to that: We must focus on creating jobs.

The economy is growing at a sizzling pace, eight plus per cent year before last, 7.6 per cent last year, 7 per cent this year, estimated, and probably 6.5 per cent for the next two to three years. Yet, it is not creating jobs, because growth is coming from sectors that are not job intensive. Several economists who study these numbers have said that this pace of growth of 6.5 to 7 per cent is incompatible with the growth in consumption, which is just 3.5 per cent, which shows that there is unemployment and there is growing inequality. Unemployment and inequality are the two big problems and solving them is morally right, not just politically right. I believe it is good economics. We need to solve them because consumption is the biggest growth driver in India. We have about 300 to 500 million people who are middle class or lower middle class. If their incomes improve, they will spend that money. And when they spend that money, demand will go up. If demand goes up, production will go up, jobs will go up, that will generate more jobs and more growth. So, we need to focus on creating jobs and ensuring that benefits of growth are widely shared for our growth to be sustainable. It is an economic necessity.

We have not focused as much on job creation as on growth numbers. In fact, you are not seeing this debate in the election, it is all about reservations and freebies. How do you ensure that the benefits of the wealth creation accrue to the important segments of the population? Growth and inequality are two big problems that the next government must address.

Q/ You said growth is in areas that are not job-intensive. So which areas should the new government focus on?

A/ Let’s look at agriculture. Agriculture will not create jobs. In fact, there are about 70 to 80 million people, perhaps even more, in the agriculture sector, who are underemployed. If agriculture productivity improves as we want it to, agriculture will throw out 80 million to 100 million people. Those people will have to look at jobs outside.

Then there is the services sector. People think that the services sector is very job-intensive. But that view is shaped by the experience of a Bangalore or a Hyderabad, the software hubs. But if you actually dig deeper, you’ll find that software has created just about 7 million to 8 million jobs in a workforce of a billion. So the services sector jobs that have been created over the last 10 years are low-end jobs like security guards, cleaners and janitors. But we want higher-end jobs. So if agriculture and services are not the solution in the immediate future, we are going to fall back on manufacturing.

We know that large corporate investment is not job-intensive. But if large corporate private investment comes in, that will have a multiplier effect down the line. MSMEs and below MSMEs, even tiny enterprises. And those are job-intensive. That’s where we must be focusing on.

But on the supply side, we have to work on skills and on education. I told you about the labour that agriculture would throw out. They are going to be at best semi-skilled and they cannot be absorbed in the manufacturing sector right away. You have to make them job- ready. We have to attack the jobs problem from both the demand side and the supply side.

Just a Mercenary; Notes From My Life and Career

By Duvvuri Subbarao

Published by Penguin Viking

Price Rs799 (hardbound); pages 435

indian-economist-karthik-muralidharan-interview

Sat May 25 11:48:28 IST 2024

Interview/ Karthik Muralidharan, economist

It is unusual for an economist to make heads turn for his theories and philosophies rather than his politics or insider revelations. But that is exactly what Karthik Muralidharan seems to have achieved with his just-released book Accelerating India’s Development. The reviews have ranged from ‘outstanding’ to ‘essential reading’. THE WEEK caught up with this Tata Chancellor’s Professor of economics at the University of California, San Diego. Excerpts from an interview:

Q/ What is your theory about development and where India is going wrong?

A/ The grand debate in development has been about growth. [Economists] J.N. Bhagwati and Arvind Panagariya will say that if you manage to get faster economic growth, everything else will follow. On the other hand, Amartya Sen and Jean Dreze will say that the purpose of development is to improve human life and therefore things like health and education should be a priority.

Now my point of departure in this debate is to say that at some level they are both correct. Because more growth helps human development, more human development helps growth. Then it becomes a fight about what you should focus on. The growthwallahs will say we need to do capital expenditure. The developmentwallahs will say we need to focus on the social sector. This is fundamentally a fight for budget allocation. But if you look at how inefficient the government is in the delivery system, then it doesn’t matter what you’re spending on, you’re spending it very badly.

Q/ You say our delivery system is flawed; the government says it has tided over this situation by using digital as a means of last-mile delivery.

A/ The modern welfare state initially had limited democracy, with voting rights only to white property-owning men. And that demographic wanted capital expenditure because they benefitted from the appreciation of capex. I gave this context because what makes India unique in human history is that we are the only country with universal democracy from day one. It is a great moral triumph, because it gives the marginalised citizens a voice in governance.

But the problem is that it expands the demands on the state before the state has the capacity to meet those demands. Because these other welfare states happened after they reached middle income status. The US, for instance, did food stamps for the poor at a GDP per capita of $18,000 (adjusted to 2011) while India did PDS at a GDP per capita of $1,200.

But what that means is that given the limited public finances of the welfare state, the lack of programmes at an early stage means that we have chronically underinvested in our governance systems. Because these systems only pay off in the long term, the political incentive to invest in governance is always important but never urgent, say, compared with a short-term scheme that appeal to the voters.

The current government has not expanded any of the major welfare schemes but has focused more on tightening and cleaning up delivery. And I think they have managed to do that very well in welfare programmes where you can dis-intermediate these layers. The unfinished agenda now is the service delivery that is mediated through humans. So, if you look at education, if you look at health, you can’t digitise away the intermediary. That requires a much deeper, sophisticated thinking on governance.

Q/ Whenever we have a very strong Central government, sentiments against over-centralisation pop up.

A/ We need to not focus too much on who has control but on what is good for citizens. There are costs and benefits of both that we have to balance. The benefit of centralisation is that sometimes you get economies of scale, better national coordination, better expertise and lower transaction costs. But if you over-centralise, you have to accommodate more variation across the country with the same policy. For example, Kerala’s needs are very different from Bihar’s.

Second problem is not about Centre to state, but state to local. The bigger over-centralisation in India is not from Delhi to state governments, but from state to local. The reason I am not sympathetic to chief ministers who complain about over-centralising is that they are the most guilty of over-centralising. So like [the late economist] Dr Raja Chelliah famously said, everybody wants decentralisation up to their level, but nobody wants to let go of power below that. So the important point is, go back to first principles of federalism and look at what is in the citizens’ interest.

There are aspects of governance where we need more centralisation, but there are other aspects where we need much less. India is the most over-centralised country in the world. One reason was the fear that local elites will not allow education of underprivileged groups or gender rights. So they over-centralised because of the Ambedkar-Nehruvian vision of a modernising state that will overcome the biases and prejudices of traditional society. They never trusted local governments. Unfortunately, that has not worked. If you want effective service delivery, you have to decentralise more.

But now, the good news after 75 years of independence is that people are a lot more educated and a lot more aware that they are able to resist if there is too much local elite capture. So that is why on service delivery we need a lot more decentralisation. But the action needed is not so much centre to state, but state to local.

Q/ What would be the two fundamental changes that India needs to do to speed up growth?

A/ The single biggest thing holding India back right now is the weak delivery of essential services. At one level, we have a very good system, macro fundamentals are good, growth rate is good, but there is very uneven growth. The top 10 per cent is driving growth by high incomes and good jobs. The next 30 to 40 per cent are migrant workers from rural to urban areas who are being sustained by the demand created by the top 10 per cent. Then you’ve got the bottom 50 per cent who are completely left out because rural stagnation is very real.

At one level, this model has delivered a certain amount, but we can’t accelerate growth to 8, 9 or 10 per cent unless you are firing on all engines. Right now, you are firing on only 10 per cent of the engines. The bottom 50 per cent is not participating actively in the growth process because they don’t have the health, the education and the skills required to participate. Services used by the poor, for the most part, are incredibly weak. The key sectors we need to focus on are education and skills, health and nutrition, and police and public safety. Safety is a fundamental determinant of female labour force participation.

Accelerating India’s Development: A State-led Roadmap for Effective Governance

By Karthik Muralidharan

Published by Penguin Viking

Price Rs1,299 (hardbound); pages 812

understanding-valuations-large-caps-vs-mid-and-small-caps

Sat May 18 12:21:35 IST 2024

THE PAST YEAR has been exceptionally rewarding for equity investors in India, with small-cap and mid-cap stocks outperforming the large caps. Returns of Mid and Small cap space exceeded 60 per cent each, while large caps yielded around 34 per cent.

This rally in market has left investors divided: some investors are now considering to exit the stock market because they are not sure if this good time will continue, while some others are still putting money in, hoping to get good returns. This trend is reflected in mutual fund flows, where inflows into mid and small-cap categories have dipped but remain substantial, surpassing Rs4,700 crores according to recent AMFI data for February 2024. These contrasting sentiments and actions of investors underscore the dynamic nature of equity markets, where strategy plays a pivotal role in navigating investment opportunities and risks.

Historically it has been observed that investors who chase returns often have a bad investing experience. This happens because when you chase returns, you might end up investing in stocks or areas that are already very expensive compared to their intrinsic value. Warren Buffet in his investing theories has always emphasised on the importance of not overpaying for investments, as the true value of an asset should justify its price. Hence, one of the most important parameters of investing is valuation as it helps in understanding whether a particular market cap segment is overvalued, undervalued, or fairly valued relative to its growth prospects.

Comparison of Large Cap versus Mid and Small Caps in terms of valuation

Large cap stocks generally represent those companies that are firmly established and are amongst the companies with the largest market capitalization. They often have stable earnings, established market positions, and relatively lower risk compared to mid and small caps. On the other hand, mid and small-cap stocks belong to companies with relatively smaller market capitalizations and is fundamentally not as robust and well established as the large caps.

When comparing the valuation of large cap stocks to mid and small-caps, various valuation parameters like Price-to-Earnings (PE), Price-to-Book (PB), and Market Cap to GDP ratios can be considered. However, the most used metrics are PE and PB Ratios. The Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio measures how much investors are paying for each unit of earnings by comparing a company’s stock price to its earnings per share. A high P/E ratio may indicate an overvalued stock, while a low ratio could suggest undervaluation.

Similarly, the Price-to-Book (P/B) ratio compares a company’s stock price to its book value per share, reflecting the market’s valuation of the company’s assets relative to its market price. It is important to note that any valuation ratio in absolute terms does not provide a clear picture and should always be analysed in a relative context. Comparing these ratios across different market cap segments helps investors assess whether stocks are priced fairly, overvalued, or undervalued.

The recent rally in mid and small-cap segments, coupled with continued flows, suggests that these flows are driving the rally more than fundamentals. Currently, the PE of Nifty 100, representing large caps, stands at 23.18, with a PB of 4.01. In contrast, midcaps have a PE of 33.63 and PB of 4.59, showing they are relatively expensive. Even small caps exhibit high valuations. The market cap share of mid and small caps exceeds their Dec 17 highs, while large caps remain near their previous low in Mar 2018. Additionally, the small cap to large cap market cap ratio has surpassed 2008 levels, indicating an overstretched rally in small caps.

Further, understanding that different market cap segments perform differently during economic cycles is crucial. For instance, small cap stocks tend to be more sensitive to economic downturns, leading to weaker performance cycles and hence they carry higher risk.

Investing in Large caps

For an investor looking to invest into large caps, one of the easiest ways is to invest in a large cap based mutual fund offering. Here, the fund manager, will invest into a set of companies from the top 100 stock universe. From the offerings available, ICICI Prudential Bluechip is one of the oldest (15+year track record) and the largest in the category. The fund has weathered several market storms and has delivered consistent returns over the years. As of March 31, 2024, the fund delivered an impressive one-year return of 42.4 per cent and a healthy return of 21.5 per cent and 17.9 per cent over three and five years respectively.

Mahesh Kumar S. Is proprietor, Dreamz Finmart. +91 9842526928

understanding-business-cycle-investing

Sat May 04 12:36:25 IST 2024

EVERY NEW YEAR brings with it untold opportunities and possibilities in every ream of life and the investing sphere is no different. While you may have tried your hand at a variety of investment styles such as value investing, growth investing, dividend investing, and index investing among others, have you ever attempted business cycle based investing? If not, then 2024 could be a great year to try this probabilistic analysis based investing strategy which is slowly yet steadily picking pace in the economic ecosystem.

What is business cycle investing?

Investors who practice business cycle investing tend to keenly observe the ebb and flow of economic activity, known as the business cycle, while adjusting their investment strategies accordingly. This involves tweaking sector exposure within their portfolios based on prevailing economic conditions―for instance, during economic expansions, certain industries thrive, whereas others fare better during contractions. Therefore, the business cycle―tracking a nation’s economic expansion and contraction phases―mirrors the fluctuations in gross domestic product (GDP) and overall economic activity, which tend to be impacted by everything from workforce productivity, population growth, and technological advancements to external events.

Cycles and sectors at play
While business and market cycles are often used interchangeably, they measure distinct aspects; the former assesses overall economic health, while the latter gauges stock market fluctuations. The business cycle operates in stages, spanning periods of expansion and contraction, with the four primary stages including recession, early cycle, mid-cycle, and late cycle. Each phase, with varying durations, presents unique challenges and opportunities for investors. Industries react differently to these phases, with certain sectors demonstrating resilience or prosperity. For instance, sectors such as health care, consumer staples, and utilities tend to weather recessions well due to constant demand, while early-cycle expansion sees growth-oriented sectors like retail, construction, and financial services thrive, buoyed by increased spending and borrowing.

Is it right for you?

Now that you know the concept of business cycle based investing, we come to the question of whether or not this strategy is the right fit for your requirements. Business cycle investing entails predicting shifts in the business cycle and adjusting asset allocation accordingly, aiming to capitalise on assets’ performance across different phases. Investors who follow this strategy might purchase stocks during economic expansions and divest before the peak in anticipation of a downturn.

While potentially lucrative, this active approach demands constant monitoring of economic indicators and market trends, as timing the market accurately poses challenges. Therefore, this strategy is best suited for investors with the time and risk tolerance to navigate market cycles adeptly. Conversely, a long-term buy-and-hold strategy, preferred by some, eschews market timing, emphasising minimal portfolio adjustments over time. This strategy, while less hands-on, prioritises stability and may be better aligned with the risk preferences of investors.

Business cycle investing in 2024

Business cycle investing is a suitable strategy for 2024 and beyond as this investing style adopts a top-down approach, analysing how broader economic cycles impact markets, sectors, and individual stocks. Over the next half-decade, and probably further, chances are high that central banks, and their monetary policy movements, will likely steer markets, underscoring the significance of macro-oriented investing. The importance of top-down investing became apparent in the past two decades, with a global liquidity surge lifting stock markets from 2003 to 2007, followed by the global financial crisis causing a sharp downturn. In India, the government’s response to the 2008 crisis initially spurred growth until 2012, but it eventually led to challenges like high inflation, currency depreciation, and a cycle of non-performing assets (NPAs), persisting for years.

Across these and more such scenarios in the future, business cycle investing has the potential to ensure portfolio robustness, as investors pay more attention to the macros at play and pick stocks based on their ability to perform optimally even amid economic shocks.

Dhanya V.R., CFP, is MD, Wealth Plus Financial Solutions.

we-want-to-help-include-more-people-in-the-economic-system-george-m-george

Sat Apr 13 11:27:41 IST 2024

GEORGE M. GEORGE, deputy managing director of The Muthoot Group, looks after the hospitality business of the diversified group. But there is another responsibility that George keeps closer to his heart, spearheading the group’s corporate social responsibility initiatives. He says the company is committed to these initiatives and that is why it has not outsourced it to an NGO. It uses its vast network of branches to identify the beneficiaries and help them. George talks about his focus areas, plans and how he wants to do more for the environment.

Could you please give our readers an idea about your CSR activities.

We have channelised our CSR activities into three important sectors―education, health care, and environment. About 98 per cent of our projects fall in these three sections. Why are these sectors important? Education is something that is the basis on which we can build the economy of the country, if not the future of the country. India is going towards a $5 trillion economy, as the Prime Minister said, and we hope that as we include more people within the economic system, or at least people who are gainfully employed, it will help.

But that's not the only thing, because education also provides people with sustenance. Charity only gets you that far, but if you can educate somebody, then you're building a future for that person, and most probably for their children and their future generations as well. One of the projects that we are focused on is the anganwadis. They are mostly dilapidated, ignored. It is more seen as a provision for the urban poor, or for semi-rural areas. There are 68 million children in anganwadis in India, which is the total population of some small countries. We did one project in Moolampilly in Kerala, where we built the country's first smart anganwadi. Our aim is to do at least 100 in the next five years, if not more. We've already completed 25. It's called the Muthoot Smart Anganwadi.

In health care, there are many initiatives. For our Snehasraya health check-up vans, we are getting a lot of applications across our branch network. We have these vans going out there and doing medical checkups for people who can't afford to go for them. And then we categorise them into A, B, and C. A is the ones who are okay. B is where they are on the borderline. So, we would recommend that they go see doctors. We subsidise that and any medication that is required. C is complicated issues that require medical intervention. We are doing it in five states now―Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala. We've touched more than six lakh people.

One other programme that we did was the Cup of Life initiative with Hibi Eden, MP. It was months and months of activity, to educate women on how they could get rid of sanitary pads and use menstrual cups. We entered the Guinness Book of Records for distributing the highest number of menstrual cups within 24 hours. The aim was not to break that record, but it just so happened.

On an average, we spend about Rs100 crore a year. We could easily just give it to an NGO and get it off our heads. But we are present in more than 6,000 locations across the country, and we get requests through these branches for all these projects. We also have our CSR managers in key locations across the country. Along with CSR, we insist on ISR, which is individual social responsibility.

We are supporting traditional artists in a big way, especially those who are associated with the temple arts. They have contributed immensely to society, but have little savings. We identified these people who were well-recognised, but are now in distress. We give them an amount on a monthly basis―Rs4,000 to Rs5,000. We add more artists every year. We have decided to do it for another three to five years.

At last but not the least, the environment. We do projects, but I don't think we do enough. By environment we don't mean just flora and fauna. The environment comprises of everything within it. Like even society, people, traditions, culture and values… all of these are also important.

Is the geographical distribution of your CSR work proportional to your business?

The business is like 50 per cent from the north, east and west and 50 per cent from the south of India. And our CSR spend is more or less like that, 50-50. We never looked at it from that perspective, but today I think we've also had a lot of questions asked by the independent directors as well.

Is there an area which you would like to focus on in the future?

Environment. It's not flora and fauna alone, it involves people. It involves their livelihoods.

recent-initiatives-by-sebi-have-made-capital-markets-a-better-place-for-investors

Sat Apr 06 16:24:38 IST 2024

January 27, 2023, was a significant day in the history of India’s capital markets―they fully transitioned to T+1 settlements, which meant if you sold shares you would get the money in your account the next day. They went one better on March 25, 2024, as the stock exchanges debuted T+0 settlement for 25 scrips, which meant sellers would get their money on the same day. The plan is to move to instantaneous settlements next year.

The journey towards shorter settlement had begun when the Securities and Exchange Board of India allowed exchanges to move from T+2 to T+1 settlement cycle in January 2022. It was done in phases and took a year for complete switching. There were hiccups. The custodians of foreign institutional investors resisted it citing some difficulties. But, SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch ensured that all of them were ironed out.

Quicker settlements offer many benefits, notably the reduction of counterparty risk (the probability that the other party may not fulfil the contractual obligations) and the bolstering of market efficiency, said Rakeshh Mehta, chairman of Mehta Equities. “Furthermore, it is anticipated to substantially lower operational expenses for market participants and reduce the funding costs that brokers face,” he said.

There are, however, many challenges and concerns. A shorter settlement cycle would necessitate an overhaul of the market infrastructure, systems and processes. Also, it may contribute to an increase in market volatility. SEBI says it will continue consultations with stakeholders and the board will review the progress periodically.

Quicker settlement is just one of the many initiatives Buch has been pushing for since she took charge as SEBI chief two years ago. Protecting investors and reducing market risks feature high on her agenda. For instance, SEBI recently raised concerns over the rising froth in the midcap and smallcap segments on the back of significant mutual funds flows into them. The BSE midcap index surged more than 60 per cent over the past year and the smallcap index 56 per cent. Following the regulator’s concerns, the Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI) wrote to fund houses urging them to put in place safeguard measures to protect the interests of investors. Though SEBI or AMFI has so far not put any restriction on fund flows to these categories, many fund houses have put certain restrictions on flows into their smallcap funds.

The regulator has also been worried about the rising investor interest in the risky futures and options (F&O) segment. As per its own assessment, nine out of 10 individual traders in equity F&O incurred losses of an average of Rs1.1 lakh during the financial year 2021-22. Now, many brokers flash warning signs on the perils of F&O investing when investors log in to their platforms.

Why not just stop people from doing F&O trading? Buch says, we cannot end up being a “nanny state”. Development of the market, regulation of the market and investor protection, all these things have to be balanced, she said.

Use of tools like artificial intelligence is increasingly playing a big role here. For instance, officers now need not read the entire annual report of a real estate investment trust (REIT) to check for the 14-odd compliances needed. The report can be fed to ChatGPT, a generative AI programme, and an output model has been created listing down all the relevant regulations. SEBI is planning to expand its use. “We just have to tweak this (the AI model) for InvITs (infrastructure investment trusts), and we are looking at deploying this for IPO documents and offer for sale documents also,” said Buch. This means quicker clearing of IPO applications, which in turn will reduce the gap between filing for IPO and going public.

Technology is also being used for picking up front-running (the practice by market-makers of dealing on advance information provided by their brokers and investment analysts, before their clients have been given the information) and insider trading, says Buch. SEBI last month slapped a fine of Rs7.4 crore on several people who were part of the guest panel of a business news channel. They had allegedly made profit on executing trades based on advance information of stock recommendations.

Buch said there were huge growth opportunities in India’s financial markets and there would be a lot of developmental work to do as well. But, at the same time, it will have to contain fraudulent activities. “Where there is money, there is mischief,” said Buch. “So, there will always be people who will come up with innovative ways to do fraud. We will have to come up with innovative ways to catch them.”

SEBI is preparing guidelines to rein in financial influencers. It took action against two finfluencers―Mohammad Nasiruddin Ansari and P.R. Sundar―for providing investment advisory services without requisite registration. It is also keeping an eye on the small and medium enterprises IPO segment, where Buch has flagged possible signs of manipulation. Some of the IPOs in the SME segment have got subscription 100 times to 900 times higher than the issue size. The BSE SME IPO index has surged 110 per cent over the past year, significantly outperforming the broader markets. “Anybody who approaches a merchant banker gets a royal valuation,” said Avinash Gorakshakar, head of research at Profitmart Securities. “The market is such right now that even garbage is getting value.”

Buch said that since the regulations and risks were different for SME IPOs, it was important for the regulator to underline those through disclosures to investors. SEBI is also working towards identifying evidence related to potential price manipulations in the SME IPO segment.

Buch also wants to deepen financial inclusion. On her agenda is making Rs250 systematic investment plans viable in mutual funds. Over the past few years, retail investments in the equity market via SIPs of mutual funds have picked up in a big way. In February 2024 alone, 49 lakh new SIPs were registered and SIP assets under management have crossed Rs10.52 lakh crore. In most cases, the minimum amount to invest in a fund via an SIP is Rs500 or Rs1,000. “In the next one year, we are hoping to make Rs250 SIPs viable for mutual funds,” said Buch. “Some people do offer Rs100 SIP, but we know it is not viable, so they will not push it. But, if we are able to help the industry make the Rs250 SIP viable, it will really open the door to financial inclusion.”

SEBI is also working on the growth of real estate investment trusts (REITs), infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) and the municipal bonds market. REITs are publicly traded companies that own and operate income-generating properties. The income earned by the company gets distributed among its unit holders. Though draft guidelines for REITs were first introduced in 2013, the first REIT went public only in 2019 (Embassy Office Parks), and since then only three more REITs have gone public.

SEBI wants to improve the muted demand for REITs, and it has issued guidelines for creation of small and medium REITs (SM REITs). An SM REIT will be allowed to gather funds from Rs50 crore, issuing units to a minimum of 200 investors. This move has the potential to expand the REIT market significantly, as around 328 million square feet of office assets valued at $48 billion come in this category, according to the real state consultancy JLL.

“The REIT market in India grew from Rs30,000 crore to Rs1.3 lakh crore in gross asset value within a span of five years. As the regulatory framework falls into place and fractional ownership platforms overcome initial implementation obstacles, we expect the SM REIT market to experience an even more accelerated pace of growth,” said Samantak Das, chief economist and head of research, India, JLL.

Buch said SEBI was working closely with many stakeholders for the growth of the REIT, InvIT and the municipal bond market. “Hopefully that will be a big one,” she said.

the-latest-financial-education-event-by-aditya-birla-sun-life-amc-and-the-week-in-calicut

Sat Mar 23 15:07:06 IST 2024

On the last World Cities Day, October 31, 2023, Unesco picked a storied city in northern Kerala as India’s first City of Literature. (On the same day, Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh became a City of Music.) So, Kozhikode was a natural choice for Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC to hold its financial education event for February, powered by THE WEEK.

There could not have been a better venue to start the day than the leafy campus of Providence Women’s College, founded in 1952. The three-member panel in the college was led by K.S. Rao, executive vice-president and head of investor education and distribution development, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Ltd. The other panellists were Rajesh Krishnamoorthy, non-executive chairman, iFAST India Holdings Pte Ltd; and Sandeep Sundar, then regional head (Kerala), Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Ltd.

At the campus event, Rao focused on Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC’s flagship programme for students―My First Paycheque. He stressed the need to save and invest, and to curb the craving for instant gratification. “Amazon and Flipkart have more festivals than regions and religions put together,” he said. “If you buy on offer, you save 50 per cent; if you don’t buy, you save 100 per cent.”

Rajesh and Shree Kumar Menon, THE WEEK’s resident chief general manager (Mumbai), also addressed the students. Rajesh, a gifted percussionist, closed by leading the students in a chair-thumping signature boom-boom-bah, boom-boom-bah beat that heralds Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’. It was news to the silver-haired (ok, salt-and-pepper) in the crowd that the song which was released 47 years ago (1977) continues to have pull among the youth. The warm response from the students and the faculty―led by principal Dr Sister Jaseena Joseph―testified to the success of the event.

In the evening, the venue moved to the Hyson Heritage Hotel, and the panel was bolstered by the presence of Uthara Ramakrishnan, the popular Instagram finfluencer and founder of Artha Financial Services.

After Rao’s opening speech, the panel discussed various topics. Uthara spoke on the need for women to be in the know of a family’s financial affairs. “I credit my father for empowering me to reach this position,” she said. “I wish everyone had a father like that.” Among other things, Rao spoke on using mutual funds for pension planning and Sandeep spoke about the ease and options offered by mutual funds. Rajesh elaborated on the need to have wills in place, and to have guardianship documents ready if you have children who are minors.

A word about the audience that filled the hall before time. “If this is an indication of your discipline, financial freedom is a given,” Rao told the audience. An active audience meant that the panel had to wind up early to take questions from the crowd. And, as always, after the event was over and the snack bar was running low, much of the audience stayed back to pull panellists aside for a quiet word and general guidance.

consolidation-is-the-way-ahead-in-the-visual-media-segment-and-corporate-money-is-fuelling-it

Sat Mar 09 15:25:21 IST 2024

In a recent advertisement, Sachin Tendulkar urges the audience to watch the Indian Premier League “only on” JioCinema. Clearly, when the ad was commissioned, the brief was to draw the audience away from Star Sports, which also will telecast the IPL starting on March 22. After the new turn of events, however, it seems neither Tendulkar nor JioCinema would mind people watching on either platform.

When the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sold the IPL broadcasting rights for the 2023-27 cycle, the rights for digital platforms and television were split into two packages. Star Sports, controlled by Disney, retained the television rights paying Rs23,575 crore and Viacom18 (JioCinema’s parent, owned by Reliance Industries Ltd) bagged the digital rights for Rs20,500 crore. And the two engaged in an advertising war. JioCinema got cricketers M.S. Dhoni and Suryakumar Yadav encouraging fans to watch the matches live from anywhere. Star Sports roped in Virat Kohli to emphasise the experience of watching it on television screens. JioCinema stumped everyone by streaming IPL for free.

The rivalry, however, has become a thing of the past, as Viacom18 and Disney are joining hands to create a 070,000-crore media giant. The media undertaking of Viacom18 will be merged into Star India Private Limited through a court-approved scheme of arrangement. Reliance will invest Rs11,500 crore in the joint venture in which Viacom18 will hold 46.82 per cent, Disney 36.84 per cent and Reliance 16.34 per cent.

The JV will be unparalleled in size and scale on the Indian visual media landscape. The new entity will become the largest broadcaster in the country with 110 television channels in multiple languages, two leading OTT streaming platforms (JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar) and a viewer base of 750 million across the country. It is estimated that the it will have around 40 per cent market share in advertising and subscription. It will have in its kitty top satellite channels such as Star Plus, Colors, Star Gold, Star Sports and Sports18, and content from the vast library of Walt Disney. JioCinema also has the rights to stream the popular HBO shows.

But the prize catch will be cricket. “BCCI rights (television and digital) are with Viacom18, whereas International Cricket Council (ICC) rights are with Disney-Star. Further, digital rights of IPL are with Viacom18, while television rights are with Disney-Star. In effect, post-merger, the JV will emerge as a cricketing rights powerhouse,” said Jinesh Joshi, analyst at Prabhudas Lilladher.

It will have a significant presence in football broadcast as well with the popular English Premier League on Star Sports and Hotstar, and the Indian Super League and the Spanish LaLiga on Sports18 and JioCinema.

There will be a lot of synergies in the combined entity. “On the OTT side, despite being a late entrant, JioCinema has expanded aggressively, initially by bagging IPL rights and subsequently with the content of NBC Universal and Warner Bros. However, it still lacks a big content library, which has prevented it from building up a sizeable subscriber base. Disney+ Hotstar, on the other hand, has been a market leader in terms of paid subscribers. With this merger, JioCinema can take advantage of Hotstar’s superior technology,” said Pulkit Chawla, analyst at Emkay Global Financial Services.

There will be some cross-leveraging beyond the segment as well. RIL’s Jio is the largest player in the telecom space and the company could make use of this base to offer bundled plans.

The merger comes at a time when streaming platforms are seriously thinking about tweaking their subscription-based model in favour of advertising supported video on demand (AVOD). “In the OTT segment, 2023 saw subscription video on demand (SVOD) models take a bit of a backseat, with premium sports available for free across almost all platforms,” said Vibhor Gauba, associate partner, KPMG in India. “We believe that 2024 will continue to see the same phenomenon and hence SVOD monetisation is likely to be under pressure. Also, consumption is likely to see a robust growth, with premium sports properties primed to gain from advertisement/AVOD spends on digital.”

Two other major players, Zee Entertainment and Sony Pictures Network, were also in an advanced stage of a merger but it was called off by Sony. The deal had received most approvals, including from shareholders and the Competition Commission of India. Sony has filed a case in Singapore Arbitration Centre seeking compensation from Zee for not meeting the criteria for the merger, and Zee has approached the National Company Law Tribunal in a bid to get the merger deal enforced. For either party, the termination of the deal is a setback as they will have to take on the might of the combined strength of Disney and Viacom.

A merger between Zee and Sony could have created an entertainment behemoth with 75 channels, and Sony was planning to infuse $1.5 billion in the merged entity, which could have been utilised for content acquisition. This could have been a strong competitor to the Reliance-Disney JV.

Zee’s managing director Punit Goenka, however, remains upbeat on the network’s prospects. He said his company’s intrinsic value remained intact, and he had chalked out a structured plan to bring back its margins to industry-beating levels. “How I envisage taking the company forward in the coming quarters is centred on three key aspects. The first is frugality, the second is optimisation, and the third, the most important, is sharp focus on quality content,” said Goenka.

But analysts are concerned. “Though Zee is actively implementing measures to revive the business and efficiently run business operations as a stand-alone entity, concerns around weak financial positioning, corporate governance, and litigation outcomes continue to remain,” said Chirag Maroo, research analyst at Keynote Capital.

The focus of major broadcasters on OTT comes as no surprise―it is where the future is. According to the consulting firm PwC, India’s OTT revenue is expected to grow at a 14.32 per cent compounded annual rate to Rs3.51 lakh crore by 2027. It was only Rs1.80 lakh crore in 2022.

Content in regional languages has undoubtedly been a big driver of OTT growth. It is estimated that more than half of the movies on OTT platforms are regional titles. Similarly, regional content accounts for nearly half of the original content on OTT. According to PwC, “OTT video will continue to get its boost from regional play.”

OTT has also given companies a platform to expand their offerings in sports. Earlier, cricket and the major events in football, hockey and tennis accounted for bulk of sports coverage. But, today, companies have leveraged OTT to drive sports broadcasting in e-sports, kabbadi, basketball and volleyball, in addition to deepening the coverage in existing sports programming.

Not surprisingly, advertisers are also looking at digital marketing in a big way, with television advertising seeing a muted growth. As per an estimate of FICCI and EY, entertainment OTT platforms will generate around Rs6,000 crore of advertising by 2025.

Big companies are better positioned than the smaller ones to benefit from this booming market, as they could exercise significant bargaining power with advertisers and viewers. “Even the subscription business will get a fillip as bouquets [of channels] will be created around sports,” said Joshi of Prabhudas Lilladher. “Further, they may consider putting sports content behind paywall and raise subscription prices for OTT packs as well.”

Clearly, consolidation is the way ahead in the segment. “Consolidation should happen in the industry,” said Chawla. “Small individual players cannot take on Reliance and Disney. So, it becomes necessary for the smaller players to get together.”

Infusion of corporate money has also accelerated the consolidation. Adani Group took big media bets with its AMG Media Networks acquiring news broadcaster NDTV in 2022 . It has started expanding to regional languages. In December 2023, Adani Enterprises acquired a majority stake in the news agency IANS. It also controls Quintillion Business Media. “At the moment, the focus is to consolidate, expand the offerings across platforms and grow these businesses to become a preferred news destination for Indians in India and for a global audience,” said a spokesperson for AMG Media Networks.

Will there be an Adani vs Ambani battle in the entertainment broadcasting space, too? Will Zee and Sony shake hands again or will a new suitor emerge? Will OTT trump television as 5G gains traction? The broadcasting space has all the ingredients of a gripping soap opera.

itc-hit-the-ground-running-when-the-government-s-millets-initiative-took-off

Fri Feb 16 15:26:10 IST 2024

BUSINESSMAN, agriculture innovator, professional entrepreneur, social reformer. The last one is one epithet S. Sivakumar, head of ITC's agri-business division, may do a double-take on, but it is certainly true.

In the early 2000s, ITC's e-Choupal empowered lakhs of farmers through digitisation. An internet kiosk installed in select villages provided valuable information on anything from weather conditions for farming to procurement price at various mandis. While it became a much feted bridge between technology and the farming community, few actually know that it almost came unstuck because of one stark Indian reality―caste.

Initially, the internet kiosk was installed in the house of a Choupal sanchalak, a coordinator selected by the company, in each village. That sparked off the first roadblock―many villagers complained that at least two kiosks should be provided, for each of the two dominant castes in the area.

After much deliberation, the company put its foot down. “Our belief was that we were building an economic institution, and it should be agnostic to social and political aspects,” said Sivakumar. “We said we would follow the screening parameters for an ideal sanchalak, and then see if other [castes] would use it or not.”

While those not from the same caste as the sanchalak kept away during the following sowing and harvest season, the differences slowly started to dissolve by the second and third seasons, as the economic benefits of getting on the platform became evident to the villagers.

“First, farmers sent their sons to ask about prices; then by next season, it seemed as if the caste differences became secondary. I think social equity was an indirect benefit which came through because of this economic primacy. So long as the value was demonstrated, the other issues took a back seat,” said Sivakumar.

Another pleasant outcome of e-Choupal was women empowerment. Even in the conservative villages of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, women started participating “a lot more, in terms of decision-making on when and where to sell.” They also started asking about additional source of livelihood for women, beyond agriculture. This led to ventures like incense sticks.

Using the internet and technology to further progress, be it in a boardroom or on a farm, may today sound so commonplace. But e-Choupal pioneered it in more ways than one, as does its post-millennial avatar, ITC MAARS (Metamarket for Advanced Agriculture and Rural Services). But for Sivakumar, who is on to his fourth decade at ITC, it has always been about staying ahead of the curve and innovating to make that decisive impact.

Nothing exemplified this better than how the company hit the ground running when the government’s millets initiative took off, with the UN and its Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) declaring 2023 as the ‘International Year of Millets’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that India was “honoured to be at the forefront of popularising millets”, while FAO Director General Qu Dongyu pointed out how millets can “empower smallholder farmers, achieve sustainable development, eliminate hunger, adapt to climate change, promote biodiversity, and transform agri-food systems”.

Not to forget its superfood benefits. “Bajra boasts gut-friendly fibre and kodu millet aides in cholesterol control. Ragi provides vital calcium and fibre, which is particularly beneficial for new mothers. Millets are naturally anti-acidic, rich in niacin, are gluten-free and low on the glycaemic index,” said nutritionist Suman Agarwal.

Sivakumar already knew that. While the data tracking division of ITC had noticed the consumer trend towards wellness, the agribusiness and its push for climate-smart agriculture had hit upon millet cultivation as a panacea for many ills plaguing the system―their cultivation consumed less water, and the crops were more climate resilient, hence providing high productivity. Also, a good chunk of existing millet crops were going off as animal feed, for malting or for the farmer’s own consumption at home, with only a small portion going out into the market.

In fact, Aashirvaad, ITC's atta brand, had come up with a millet-based variant even before the UN announcement. But there was an impediment―most consumers did not know what to do with it.

“We realised the consumer was used to rice and wheat, but did not know what to do with kodo and bajra and all that,” said Sivakumar. “Even simple things like making a (millet) roti is a complex process because there is not enough gluten to roll them into proper rotis.”

Entered ITC’s other divisions. While chefs from its hotels (as well as many other leading star hotels in the country) whipped up recipes incorporating millets, the consumer foods division unleashed a campaign to raise awareness, releasing millet-based products from biscuits and noodles to poha and even chocolates. “The government provided both the highway and the fuel. And so we built the right car, and hopefully it will scale,” said Sivakumar. The crowning glory was when ITC was enlisted as the caterer to the world leaders at the G20 Summit at Delhi’s Bharat Mandapam last year, where it unleashed an array of millet-based haute cuisine.

“The vectors of growth will happen slowly,” said Sivakumar. “If you look at the total consumption of all grains to that of millets, millets is still a small fraction. (But) consumers who are using millets have adapted to it. But what it used to be versus what it is now, it has grown manifold.”

The ITC agribusiness team is already on to its future forward ventures. “In terms of value-added products, we are working on medicinal and aromatic plants that are major ingredients in nutraceuticals,” said Sivakumar. Focus now is on scientific segregation of properties and efficacies of traditional Indian formulations, the various herbs and spices, and also, with a backend traceable value chain, all cultivated sustainably using climate smart agriculture methods.

unveiling-the-dynamics-of-large-and-mid-cap-category

Sat Feb 03 12:33:21 IST 2024

IN THE VAST and ever-evolving realm of investment opportunities, investors are often presented with a spectrum of choices. Among these, the large- and mid-cap category stands out as a nuanced and strategic option, offering a blend of stability and growth.

Large-cap: The pillar of stability

Large-cap, short for large capitalisation, are companies that form the top 100 companies in the average market capitalisation. The list for the same is published on the AMFI website every six months. Market capitalisation is calculated by multiplying the company’s current stock price by the total number of outstanding shares. These companies are often industry leaders, characterised by their stability, established market presence and significant market share.

Investing in large-cap stocks provides a degree of stability that appeals to risk-averse investors. These companies are generally well-established, with a proven track record of weathering economic downturns. They often also have a global presence, diversified revenue streams and the financial strength to withstand market fluctuations.

Mid-cap: The sweet spot of growth

Mid-capitalisation companies are the 101 to 250 of the largest companies on the stock exchange. Mid-cap stocks represent a diverse group of companies that have outgrown their small-cap status but are still in the growth phase.

Mid-cap stocks are often seen as the sweet spot for growth-oriented investors. These companies, while not as established as their large-cap counterparts, have the potential for substantial expansion. They are agile, responsive to market trends and have the capacity to capitalise on emerging opportunities.

The power of combination

The large- and mid-cap category is a strategic fusion of both large-cap and mid-cap stocks. Herein, the fund manager must maintain large-cap and mid-cap exposure at a minimum of 35 per cent each.

In times of economic uncertainty or market downturns, large-cap stocks act as a stabilising force. Meanwhile, mid-cap stocks contribute to the portfolio’s overall growth potential, ensuring that investors are not solely reliant on established giants but are also positioned to benefit from the dynamism of mid-sized, high-potential companies.

Why you should invest in large- and mid-cap

The large- and mid-cap category caters to a broad spectrum of investors, each with distinct preferences and risk appetites. For example, investors enthusiastic about diversifying their portfolios across market caps and sectors can leverage the large- and mid-cap categories to achieve a well-rounded mix.

Next, investing in this category can help an investor ride out market cycles, capitalising on both stability and growth over an extended period. However, the caveat here is that these investments should be made at least with an investment horizon of five-plus years.

Furthermore, this category offers a comprehensive solution that caters to a diverse range of long-term investment objectives such as creating a corpus for retirement, child’s education or marriage.

Taxation

When you decide to redeem the units of your large- and mid-cap fund, you realise that capital gains are subject to taxation. The applicable tax rate, however, hinges on the duration of your investment in the fund, commonly referred to as the holding period. Capital gains accrued during a holding period of less than one year are termed short-term capital gains (STCG) and are subject to a tax rate of 15 per cent.

Conversely, capital gains acquired from a holding period exceeding a year fall under long-term capital gains (LTCG). As per the current regulations, gains surpassing Rs1 lakh incur a tax of 10 per cent without any benefit from indexation.

There are 26 offerings with a total asset under management of Rs1.75 lakh crore in this category. Within these, one of the consistent performers with over two decades of track record is ICICI Prudential Large & Midcap Fund. Over the last three years, the fund has delivered returns of 20.56 per cent and 27.66 per cent compared to its benchmark, which delivered 19.92 per cent and 23.34 per cent.

Deepesh Mehta is founder, Happy Investor Finserv LLP

nmdc-chairman-and-managing-director-amitava-mukherjee-interview

Sat Feb 03 11:36:04 IST 2024

Interview/ Amitava Mukherjee, chairman and managing director (additional charge), National Mineral Development Corporation

National Mineral Development Corporation, India’s largest iron ore producer, has transitioned itself into a much stronger entity in the recent times with a busy order book, robust results and a dream run on the stock markets. Amitava Mukherjee, NMDC’s chairman, is not only looking to diversify its portfolio by mining other minerals from overseas mines but also working towards supplying lithium in India. He shares NMDC’s vision, policies and strategy in an interview. Excerpts:

Q \ What are NMDC’s growth targets?

A \ This financial year, our guidance has been around 47 million metric tonnes to 49 million metric tonnes (iron ore production). Now with the delay in getting the approvals for the Kumaraswamy iron ore mine in Karnataka, realistically it would be lower. We were targeting 50. But there was also a delay in the commissioning of our fifth line in Bacheli. We were expecting it to be commissioned in August. In the next financial year, we should be able to do 53 million metric tonnes.

Q \ Between April and November 2023, your production of iron ore went up by 17 per cent.

A \ Two or three factors led to it. A major reason was the planning by our team. Second, we have made huge investments in machineries. Last year we bought 11 dumpers. We have a five-year equipment replacement policy. We are taking advance action by two years now, so anything that has to be replaced in 2026 will be ordered now because of the cycle time. In the earlier process, we would have placed the order only in 2026. Also, one of our major mines that was doing only two shifts is doing three now with the additional usage of dumpers.

Q \ The share price of NMDC has doubled since last August.

A \ I think our production and dispatch mechanisms were one of the major reasons. We have also been open to the market about our future plans―that we are completely reorienting our energy, overhauling our dispatch systems and our marketing strategies as well. In the long run, we do not wish to dispatch from the minehead because there are essential physical constraints there. So we want to make blending hubs and dispatch yards. The market can see how we are changing ourselves and now they are confident that we will be able to execute projects at projected timelines. We talk to investors and analysts every three months, so they are aware of what we plan to do in the next five or six years. Generally, the steel industry is upbeat, looking at the way capital expenditure is being planned and the way expansion is happening. Also, our customers are increasing.

Q \ Do you think the demerger from NMDC Steel has proven to be beneficial to NMDC?

A \ Yes. The value unlock of the NMDC share has happened. When the steel plants were in our books, we did not get any traction out of it in the share prices. So it was a free carry that way. The market was also complaining about that. Once the demerger happened, the value got released.

Q \ What are the developments in the field of coal and gold mining?

A \ We have decided to surrender the gold mine we had in India because the revenues did not justify the investments. It was a conscious decision to not start operations of the Chigargunta-Bisanatham gold mine. But that doesn’t mean we won’t do gold mining. In fact, of the seven or eight minerals that we want to diversify, gold is one. We are mining gold in Australia in a small mine because we wanted to gain some mining experience in that country. We have a lot of other gold mining terrains across the mine that we have started. Now we are making a plan for accelerated exploration of all those five or six other terrains. So if you get five to six mines to be explored fast and if we can hopefully make two or three operational, our portfolio of gold would be substantial. Right now it is minimal.

Coking coal is a matter of interest. We have a coking coal terrain which has been given to us on reservation. We are looking at coking coal even outside India. The demand for coking coal in India will last for at least another 60 to 200 years because of the blast furnaces that are coming back. We have looked at a mine in Indonesia. We do not want virgin mines and we want to invest in producing mines. If you take a virgin one, it takes around 12 years to develop it. As far as coking coal is concerned, because the requirement is immediate, wasting 12 years on exploration and development of the mine is illogical.

Q \ Is NMDC in the race to produce lithium?

A \ If things go right, and I am saying this with a big disclaimer, then I am sure that NMDC would be the first company to get lithium into India. We are talking to various people who have mines in Australia and Africa, trying to get into some sort of an understanding with them, some sort of an equity participation. It is the same coking coal route where you have to go in for some of the working mines or just about-to-start working mine. Take some stakes there, have some off-take agreement, and do some exploration in virgin terrains. We have a site in Australia where we are in a partnership with the very big mining company, Hancock Perspective. It is called handbrino. With them we have a magnetite project on the huge terrain, Mount Bevan, and traces of lithium might be from there. We are looking at Africa, too, but those are essentially virgin mines. So that is going to take some time. But in Australia, we are talking to a couple of miners who have either working mines or mines that can start to work and this will be our immediate target.

Q \ What are the employee-friendly measures being implemented by NMDC?

A \ We maintain regular communication with the workers and unions. When I speak to them, my standard line is that whatever we have done in the past 66 years, we need to do in six years. We have been telling our employees that we have reached from zero to 45 million tonnes in 66 years, and in another six years, we have to go from 50 to 100. Now, we are mining outside India. We are doing a lot of things that we have not done in 66 years. This message has gone to them and to motivate the employees, we have introduced awards to recognise their extraordinary work. We have made certain policy changes. For example, now dependent daughters and dependent sisters of employees are eligible to get medical benefits. We are also providing housing to them. I believe that the management is extremely worker-friendly and that is why our employees respond to our call.

nirmala-sitharaman-s-interim-budget-expectations

Sat Jan 27 12:13:58 IST 2024

DANCING TO ‘NAATU NAATU’ in Singapore is surely not out of the scheme of things, considering the city state’s huge diaspora. But when Simon Wong, Singapore’s high commissioner to India, expressed a desire to do so to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently, he was referring to a very specific wish―with India being the ‘biggest bright spot’ in the world economy, will there be another super-charged budget that will have the markets and global investors dancing away?

Sitharaman did not give in to the temptation to open up. “I am not going to play spoilsport, but it is a matter of truth that the budget will just be a vote-on-account because we will be in election mode.” Her reply, made at the Global Economic Policy Summit in Delhi, set tongues wagging.

Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (A thousand wishes like this)

Although Sitharaman tried to tell the world there would be “no spectacular announcement” in the interim budget she will present on February 1, it has not stopped India’s economy and business from looking forward to big-ticket announcements. Called a ‘vote-on-account’ as per British tradition, an interim budget presented by an outgoing government on the eve of elections is aimed at meeting expenditure for a few months till the new government comes in after the polls and issues a budget based on its own policy objectives.

Try telling that to the thousand wishes blooming across the land, from corporate leaders to the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) entrepreneur, right down to the common man expecting ‘Amrit Kaal’ right away. Or even to the satraps of the ruling party―an election-eve budget is one of the most effective campaign manifestos one could hope for, and who would ever let go of such an opportunity?

“In light of the impending elections, populist policies may be the main focus of the budget in an attempt to win over voters,” said Subhashish Banerjee, founder of P3 (People, Policy, and Politics), a strategic advisory organisation. “Anticipate changes to policy targeted at major problems like health care, unemployment and economic recovery. The government might launch programmes to encourage the creation of jobs and increase consumer spending. There may also be initiatives to support the health care industry and provide funding for social welfare initiatives.”

RRR

Or rise, rallies and risks. The good news is that India remains a bright spot on the global economic firmament, even as China’s growth slows down and rich western nations stare at possible recession. Every rating agency has been progressively revising upwards the GDP growth rate this financial year as the Indian economy rallied on from strength to strength―latest estimates hover just below the magical 7 per cent figure, with super-optimists feeling it would not be a surprise if even that is surpassed.

This type of rise and rally is not without the risks, though. Sanjay Kumar, partner, Deloitte, along with economist Rumki Majumdar spoke about the four risks the Indian economy could face if one got too carried away: “Inflation, particularly high food prices; the impact of a long drawn out election season [as it promises to be till mid-May]; geopolitical uncertainties with two major wars and the contagion effect on global supply chains; and the diverging demand gap seen since Covid, with rural demand not seeing sustainable growth the way high income segment has.”

Baahubali

All this means that to treat the interim budget as just a stop-gap expense accounting exercise would not be too prudent. Not to forget the need to check all the boxes when it comes to pre-poll posturing. Sure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is on a strong wicket as things stand. But the BJP election machinery likes to ensure that all bases are covered and go all guns blazing. The budget is too juicy an opportunity to miss. And it would be the perfect opportunity to address the K-shaped conundrum, with the lower middle class and poor never really recovering from the devastation of the pandemic aftermath.

“The agriculture sector and the rural sector itself have not been doing particularly well compared with the urban and business sectors,” said Sethurathnam Ravi, economist and former chairman of the Bombay Stock Exchange. “So I see more tax incentives there. Because that is one area of concern for everybody, as food inflation is rising.”

Looking back at the 2019 elections, one cannot discount the trickle-down effect that direct benefit transfers and social welfare schemes like the Ujjwala Yojana had, which indirectly translated into support for the ruling party. While Modi has spoken against freebies, it really should not come in the way of Sitharaman targeting the crucial rural voter base. “Considering the prime minister’s anti-freebies stand, even the best of direct beneficiary plans will be represented as citizen schemes, which will be drafted not only to clear the government’s stand on benefiting the masses, but it will also generate considerable economic boost among the lower and middle classes,” said Banerjee.

“A democratic government owes to its voters that the last man on the street takes precedence,” said R.D. Sahay, adviser policy, Sharda University. “The common man must have a stake. He needs to find that there is something for him in the system.”

Going hand-in-hand with welfare would be an impetus on job creation and social security, like additional funds for PM Shram Yogi Maandhaan (for old age protection and social security of unorganised workers) and Ayushman Bharat Yojana (public health insurance scheme). “Targeted incentives may stimulate investment, job creation and industrial expansion, supported by increased allocations for skill development, incentives in the informal sector and stable working conditions,” said Rohet Ramesh, director of the talent management and business consulting firm Layam.

Chak de! India

Sitharaman’s stint as finance minister has been characterised by a ‘go big or go home’ spending strategy, with a massive capital expenditure push particularly in the post-Covid years. The aim was to reignite growth, as much as spur investment from the reticent private sector.

Nobody really expects it to be toned down now, with Deloitte’s Kumar and Majumdar flagging how most of it has been concentrated on roads and railways. “On the other hand, over the past two years, spending on urban development and energy as a share of GDP has declined,” they said. This big-ticket spending spree, though helpful in boosting growth and employment, has led to a ballooning fiscal deficit. The Black Swan circumstance of the pandemic was an excuse to let caution to the winds and let the deficit increase, but it could haunt the economy if adequate measures are not taken soon.

The pressing question is whether North Block will go cautious and stick to its target of reducing the fiscal deficit of Rs6.43 lakh crore, which is 6.5 per cent of the GDP, down to 5.9 per cent, at least by the next financial year by splurging less, or whether the temptation of an election year will be too much.

Kal ka Avtar (Tomorrow’s avatar)

Electoral compulsions notwithstanding, Sitharaman is expected to do all that is possible within the ambit of an interim budget to state India’s future forward credentials, especially on the heels of the G20 summit. This could include incentives for clean energy, waste management, pollution control, agriculture technology and logistics.

“As we approach this year’s budget announcement, there is an expectation that the momentum of the green growth initiative from the previous year will strengthen, reflecting a sustainability-first approach,” said Arun Awasthy, president and managing director of Johnson Controls India. There is a win-win in many of this. For example, agriculture logistics, like warehousing and supply chain, could directly contribute to reducing food inflation, while pollution and waste management initiatives could be huge employment generators.

From EV sops to hydrogen to artificial intelligence, new-age technologies are now too crucial for any budget to ignore. “The overriding theme of the budget should centre on sustainability, innovation and self-sufficiency… and a strategic focus on R&D,” said Nitin Gupta, cofounder and CEO of Attero, a lithium battery recycling firm. “The industry expects measures that will position India as a global leader in the green economy.”

For all the speculation on which sector will get incentives and which areas the budget will focus on, nothing garners the greatest interest like the question that captivates the salaried middle-class come every budget season― whether there will be an upward revision of the personal income tax slabs.

While a nudge towards the newer personal income tax regime―lower rates but with no availing of deductions―is the likely long term scenario, the poll-eve timing means nothing is off the table. “For more dramatic decisions we should probably wait till July,” said Ravi. “Every year, people would get excited over that, but nothing happens. Maybe the government has reserved it for the election year… that is still possible.” Who will dance to ‘Naatu Naatu’ on February 1 remains locked up in Sitharaman’s red bahi-khata pouch for now.

gift-city-on-the-way-to-becoming-an-international-financial-hub

Sat Jan 13 12:03:40 IST 2024

Gujarat is officially a dry state. But soon, investors flocking to the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, or GIFT City, which is located between the state’s largest city Ahmedabad and its capital Gandhinagar, will be able to raise a toast, as the government has given hotels, restaurants and clubs there permits for wine and dine facilities.

GIFT City has always been an exception. The ambitious project envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to challenge global financial hubs like Dubai and Singapore. Conceptualised in 2007, when Modi was Gujarat chief minister, its foundation stone was laid in 2012 and business commenced in 2015.

It is still a work in progress, and a far cry from the global financial hub it aspires to be, but it is steadily getting there. “Once major players set up shop in GIFT City―some of the foreign banks are already there and some have set up back office operations―it is only a matter of time before we have all types of players from the ecosystem,” said Sriram Krishnan, chief business development officer, NSE. “In the next few years, GIFT City will be how Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai looks today.”

GIFT City has already established itself as an international financial services centre (IFSC). Last year, the popular SGX Nifty, the Singapore Stock Exchange-traded futures on the NSE’s benchmark Nifty50 index, was rebranded GIFT Nifty and all the derivative contracts earlier traded in Singapore were moved to the NSE International Exchange (NSE IX) in GIFT City. This shift of derivatives trade worth $7.5 billion was a big step in attracting more investors. Some 59.13 lakh contracts were traded on international stock exchanges in GIFT City with a traded value of $194.88 billion till September last year.

Modi recently said he wanted to make GIFT City a global nerve centre of new age global financial and technology services. Many tech giants have shown interest. Google and Oracle have already taken up space to set up their fintech centres. Many global business leaders attended the Global Fintech Leadership Forum at GIFT City, organised as part of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, on January 10.

Bhavin Shah, partner and leader (deals) at PwC India, said the establishment of International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA) as a unified regulator for GIFT City had ushered in a new era of progress. “IFSCA has been proactive in introducing regular updates and amendments, offering robust regulatory support to enhance the business environment. The goal is to streamline business procedures and lay down a ‘red carpet’ to investors and businesses who opt for GIFT City, instead of the proverbial ‘red tape’,” he said. Some 400 entities have already opted to establish operations in GIFT City.

Twenty-three IFSC Banking Units (IBUs) already have presence in GIFT City. IBUs are branches of banks that offer international banking services. Assets of these IBUs―trade finance, investments, commercial loans and interbank placements―touched $46.48 billion in September 2023.

Asset managers and alternative investment funds, too, have been steadily driving in, as having a base in GIFT City enables both inbound and outbound investments. These funds can offer products to global investors, and, at the same time, offer local investors options to invest in global markets through the liberalised remittance scheme (LRS) route.

A lot of the global capital is managed out of Singapore and Dubai. GIFT City gives the option of managing this money through Indian shores. DSP, for instance, manages around $19 billion in funds, of which around $2.5 billion is managed through its offshore office in Mauritius, where it has raised money from global investors. It is now moving the office to GIFT City. “There will be focus on products for inbound investors, foreign institutional investors, hedge funds, family offices and pension funds, and outbound investors can invest in global opportunities,” said Jay Kothari, senior vice president and global head of international business at DSP Asset Managers.

It is not just the banks and financial institutions that are setting up shop in GIFT City. Aircraft lessors, ship leasing companies and fintechs are moving in in droves. Air India’s recent acquisition of Airbus A350 aircraft in a finance lease was facilitated by AI Fleet Services (AIFS), a finance company registered in GIFT City. AIFS will be the primary Air India entity for wide-body aircraft financing. IndiGo, India’s largest airline, also has plans to set up a unit in GIFT City to finance lease aircraft.

Along with regulatory support, cost effectiveness also sets GIFT City apart. “Compared to other international financial centres, the operational costs in GIFT City are notably lower, making it an attractive destination for businesses seeking a thriving and conducive economic environment,” said Shah of PwC.

GIFT City offers a 10-year tax holiday for units. There is no goods and services tax on services received by a unit. Investors are exempted from securities transactions tax (STT) and stamp duty for transactions done on international exchanges in the IFSC. Funds operated from there are exempt from distribution tax. Interest payable by a unit to non-residents is not taxable in India and the minimum alternate tax (MAT) rate for income earned in convertible foreign currency is 9 per cent against the actual 18.5 per cent.

“A recent notification also grants exemption from the requirement to obtain permanent account number (PAN) for non-residents undertaking specified transactions with an IBU. This reflects a deliberate effort to attract foreign investors and create a business environment at GIFT City that is notably friendly and conducive to investors,” said Shah of PwC.

The government actively removes any speed bump on the way of GIFT City’s smooth progress. The dual approval needed to set up a unit there―one from the development commissioner of special economic zone and the other from the IFSC authority―was a headache. To overcome this, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a proposal in the 2023-2024 Union Budget to give IFSC Authority powers under the SEZ Act. A single window IT portal was also created to get approvals.

As new businesses move to GIFT city, authorities are also focusing on building the social infrastructure that will be key to attracting people to live there. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel recently said that there were plans to develop the riverfront along the Sabarmati. Metro rail connectivity from Ahmedabad to GIFT City is expected to be operational by July and approval has already been granted for constructing more residential units. Patel said town planning schemes would be devised as part of the phase two development plan and a large township would be constructed in the adjoining areas of GIFT City.

Australia’s Deakin University opened its first overseas campus in GIFT City on January 9. For now it offers postgraduate courses in cyber security and business analytics. “The location of the site―one of the biggest financial and tech hubs in India―makes it very attractive. It suited what we wanted to have, a focus on employment related to postgraduate qualifications, working in cyber security, business analytics, where business are crying out for well qualified graduates, and this makes it a good option,” said Prof Iain Martin, vice chancellor of Deakin University. The University of Wollongong, Australia, is also planning to open a campus in GIFT City.

Aided by the upswing in demand, the real estate in GIFT City is witnessing a surge. “The government has allocated some 22 million square feet space so far, and $240 million committed investment,” said Swapnil Anil, executive director & head of advisory services, Colliers India. “The residential prices in GIFT City have increased 25-30 per cent in the past a few quarters. These advancements have resulted in a notable rise in the residential and commercial real estate markets along the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar corridor.”

unlocking-investment-potential-the-case-for-multi-asset-allocation-funds

Sat Jan 13 11:59:30 IST 2024

WITH THE CONFLICT RAGING in the Middle East, the equity markets in India and world over has turned volatile as investor sentiment has dampened over the past few weeks. You, too, might have pondered the question, “How should I protect the value of my investments, or how can I reduce erosion in portfolio value?” The answer could lie in multi-asset allocation funds. These funds have been gaining traction and are increasingly becoming a go-to option for both seasoned and new investors.

Multi-asset allocation funds, a sub-category of hybrid funds, are a distinct type of mutual funds. These funds are specifically designed to invest in a diverse range of asset classes, which can include equities (stocks), debt (bonds), commodities like gold and/or silver, and real estate investment trusts (REITs). The primary aim of this offering is to combine these asset classes in a way that optimises returns while mitigating risk.

One of the most compelling reasons to consider multi-asset allocation funds is the ease of diversification they offer. Diversification is the investment strategy of spreading your money across various assets to reduce risk. With multi-asset funds, you do not need to agonise over creating the perfect asset mix. The fund manager does that for you. They dynamically allocate assets based on market conditions, aiming to balance the risk-reward trade-off. This simplifies your investment journey and ensures that your portfolio is well-rounded.

Additionally, asset classes can be volatile, with each having its market dynamics. Equity markets can soar to great heights, but they can also experience severe downturns. Debt provides stability but might not offer substantial growth. Multi-asset funds harness the potential of different assets during various market cycles. For instance, when equities are down, investments in debt and gold can provide stability. Conversely, when equities are bullish, they can drive higher returns. This dynamic approach can help reduce portfolio volatility and enhance risk management.

Finally, multi-asset funds are managed keeping tax efficiency in mind. Depending on the fund’s stated asset allocation, they can be structured to be treated as equity funds or as non-equity funds with indexation benefit.

The meaning of tax treatment as equity fund means that they can offer you favourable tax benefits, such as only long-term capital gains tax at 10 per cent and short-term capital gains tax at 15 per cent. Plus, you do not have to worry about capital gains taxes when the fund rebalances its assets, which is a cost you might otherwise incur when managing asset shifts independently.

In the Union Budget 2023, there was an introduction of non-equity funds where at least 35 per cent equity investment has to be maintained so that the fund receives indexation benefit.

Whether a fund employs equity taxation or non-equity taxation with indexation benefits, the multi-asset fund generally has a much lower standard deviation as a whole. In 2015, 2020 and 2022, when the market volatility was significantly higher, a multi-asset approach emerged as a superior investment strategy.

Multi-asset funds also offer time efficiency. With these funds, you can free yourself from the constant monitoring and rebalancing that managing a diverse portfolio of individual assets would require. The fund manager takes care of the nitty-gritty, ensuring your investments are well-maintained and aligned with market conditions.

With rising geopolitical uncertainties, high inflation, and increased market volatility, multi-asset allocation funds are positioned to offer a more stable and rewarding investment experience. In such an environment, having a well-balanced portfolio that spans equities, debt, commodities and real estate investments is a prudent strategy for 2023 and beyond.

In conclusion, multi-asset allocation funds are a versatile and efficient way to harness the potential of various asset classes while minimising the complexity and risks associated with managing them individually. These funds simplify diversification, enhance risk management, and offer favourable tax treatment.

Kumar is founder, Perpetual Investments.

a-comprehensive-exploration-of-aggressive-hybrid-funds

Sat Jan 13 11:55:46 IST 2024

IN THE COMPLEX LANDSCAPE of investment options, aggressive hybrid funds stand out as a traditional choice for investors. These mutual funds, nestled within the hybrid scheme, predominantly invest in stocks while also incorporating a measured allocation in debt instruments. This unique blend positions them as a well-rounded investment avenue, providing a strategic mix of risk and stability.

According to SEBI scheme categorisation, aggressive hybrid funds are mandated to maintain a balance, allocating between 65 per cent and 80 per cent of their portfolio to equities and related instruments. The remaining portion finds its place in debt securities. This strategic allocation strategy aims to spread investments across different avenues, mitigating risk and thereby ensuring these funds are less volatile than their pure equity counterparts.

Equity, as an asset class, bears the potential to generate long-term wealth, while debt offers stability and a steady income stream. Aggressive hybrid funds, by combining these elements, strive to deliver the best of both worlds within a single investment product. The equity portion fuels return during market upswings, while the debt component acts as a stabilising force during market downturns, offering a unique dual-role investment proposition.

Aggressive hybrid funds present an attractive option for a broad spectrum of investors, from beginners to seasoned market participants. Specifically designed for those looking to step into equity investments without exposing themselves to the full risk inherent in pure equity funds, these funds are well-suited for individuals with a three- to five-year investment horizon or longer. Investors can align these funds with financial goals anticipated within the next three to five years, making them a versatile addition to a diversified portfolio.

The aspect investors must be mindful about is that though this type of fund is not as risky as pure equity mutual funds, aggressive hybrid funds carry moderately high risk because of their substantial equity component. During market corrections, investors may witness a decline in the investment value, but it is generally less severe compared with a pure equity mutual fund. And, in rising markets, these funds might underperform pure equity funds, given their allocation to debt instruments. However, over the long term, the return differential between aggressive hybrid funds and pure equity funds is relatively modest.

The hallmark of aggressive hybrid funds lies in their ability to provide true diversification. With a portfolio encompassing both high-risk, high-return equities and low-risk, low-return debt, investors benefit from this balanced approach. This not only ensures returns are not solely contingent on equity market movements but also provides a cushion during market corrections, underscoring the dual role played by the debt component.

Another advantage is their capacity to eliminate the necessity of buying multiple funds for exposure to different asset classes. The fund manager takes on the responsibility of asset allocation between equities and debt, simplifying the tracking effort required from investors. Also, an investor need not worry about the rebalancing process. Current regulations mandate a minimum of 20 per cent investment in debt funds at all times. As markets rise, the equity holdings increase in value, tilting the allocation mix in favour of equity. To restore balance, the fund manager sells stocks and invests in debt instruments, strategically selling equities at high points and purchasing them at lower levels.

Aggressive hybrid funds are treated as equity funds for tax purposes. This advantage provides investors with a tax-efficient investment avenue that combines the benefits of both asset classes. Short-term capital gains, realised within one year, are taxed at 15 per cent, while long-term capital gains are tax-free up to Rs1 lakh and taxed at 10 per cent beyond that.

To conclude, aggressive hybrid funds emerge as a compelling investment option, seamlessly combining the growth potential of equities with the stability of debt. Their strategic asset allocation, and tax advantages, make them a versatile choice for investors seeking a balanced and adaptive investment strategy. As investors navigate the complex world of finance, aggressive hybrid funds offer a roadmap that bridges risk and stability, potentially unlocking long-term wealth creation.

Sunila is founder, Jupiter Fintech Solutions

events-that-will-determine-how-much-india-leaps-ahead-in-2024

Sat Jan 06 14:02:46 IST 2024

Swag. It was not a traditional Indian attitude. But from Salman Khan’s Tiger who sang ‘Swag se karenge (Will do it with confidence)’ to the alpha male heroes of the recent movies, swag has very much been appropriated by Bharat. Even as the world braces itself for a round of uncertainty about the wars, the narrative on desi streets―high, low and Dalal―couldn’t be more different. Indians are flush with swag and swagger leaping into 2024.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to the zeitgeist on New Year’s Eve. “India is brimming with self-confidence,” he said. “We have to maintain the same spirit and momentum in 2024 as well.”

While political India’s eyes will be pinned on the Lok Sabha elections in the summer, the mood of the nation will be determined not just by the incoming government’s policies, but by some major, far-reaching developments on the economy side of affairs, some of which are already under way.

The most talked-about, of course, is the hyperbole of how India is all set to become a $5-trillion economy in 2024-2025, if not the calendar year itself. While that has more milestone value than anything else, many significant developments across the technology, finance and commerce spaces could upend the world around us as we know it.

I, Robot

The good news? We’ve only scraped the surface of what artificial intelligence can do. The bad news? We’ve only scraped the surface of what artificial intelligence can do.

While we were mighty impressed by what generative AI programmes like ChatGPT could churn out, 2024 could unfold the true extent of what AI is capable of. Tata Sons chair N.Chandrasekaran told his employees to “proactively pursue the benefits of AI―economically, operationally and socially”. As the year progresses, we will see increasing adoption of AI across India Inc, stretching right up to factory floors.

Of course, Chandra added a caveat: “We must be prepared for more disruption and volatility.” These disruptions may not be pretty to those working in jobs like cashiers, customer care executives, secretaries and administrative assistants, going by a US Bureau of Labor Statistics prediction on jobs that are shrinking the quickest. Or to fresh-in-the-job-market youngsters who find their qualifications already outdated by technology.

Then, there is the threat of misuse. “As the Lok Sabha elections approach, the intricate interplay of AI and deepfakes adds a layer of complexity to the overall system,” warned Ibrahim H. Khatri, CEO and Founder of Privezi Solutions, a Mumbai-based corporate data security and management firm. “Though AI can be a driving force behind effective campaigning and educated voter participation, the improper use of deepfakes can jeopardise the democratic process by increasing the spread of misinformation and manipulation.”

Updating legislation will be crucial, but important legal frameworks in this effort―the Digital India Act and the Data Protection Act―are yet to be fully implemented. The government seems content on passing on the onus to tech companies and social media platforms.

Swipe right

India is on a courtship spree, trying to sew up free trade agreements left, right and centre. The one with the UK, negotiations for which are on its last leg, is crucial for both and could see fruition before the elections are announced. For the UK, it will go a long way in making up for its Brexit misadventure; while for India, it will not just be a nice poll point (many Indians hope it means cheaper Johnnie Walker scotch!), but part of its larger gameplay to counterbalance China’s Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which India had refused to join.

However, the UK FTA is just one of the many agreements New Delhi is negotiating. Other ongoing talks include the long-pending ones with the US and the EU, as well as those close to completion like the one with Oman and the four-nation bloc comprising Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

“India aspires for fair, transparent and mutually beneficial agreements that make our businesses competitive, opening new markets for them,” said Piyush Goyal, minister of commerce and industry. “FTAs expand trade and commerce, and accelerate economic growth, thus creating jobs and business opportunities.”

The ground beneath our feet

Through the last one-and-a-half decade, India’s real estate sector was stuttering, wreaked by the global financial meltdown in 2008-2009, demonetisation and RERA. But over the past year or so, the sun has been shining on realty, with some of the biggest value increases since the boom of the early 2000s. And what more, ticket prices are firmly up, with homebuyers with a penchant for premium housing sniffing around for good picks. “We expect projects in the premium and luxury segments (Rs2 crore and above) to continue experiencing healthy growth,” said Anshuman Magazine, chairman & CEO of the real estate consultancy CBRE India, pointing out how sales of high-end flats and villas grew 75 per cent last year. “Affordability is no longer the sole decisive factor for homebuyers, as health and safety, community living, sustainability, and integration of smart home technologies emerge as key factors in home purchase decisions.”

Pie from the sky

India’s space odyssey will hit a pivotal point in 2024 with the unmanned test flight of Gaganyaan. While that will, science willing, be an illustrious high point, the nation’s space progress, especially in the area of space business and startups, notches up way higher than such marquee moments. While XpoSat is already successful and Aditya L1 is set to reach its designated orbit, other high profile rollouts slated for 2024 include the earth observation satellite NISAR, a Venus mission and the second Mars mission.

Another landmark would be when Airtel’s OneWeb starts its broadband internet from space service. It will be expensive in the beginning, but will help rural and remote areas get access to high-speed communication. Elon Musk’s Starlink and Jeff Bezos’s Project Kuiper are also waiting in the wings to launch similar services in India. “Broadband services will improve further and telecommunication will connect all remote areas, which will further improve mobile telephone, video and data management,” said G. Narahari Dutta, former ISRO deputy director and professor at NITTE Meenakshi Institute of Technology, Bengaluru.

But the proof of the pie will be the fledgling Indian space startups showing use cases and profits. “Early-stage startups continue to make strides and augment their capabilities across upstream and downstream,” said Apurwa Masook, founder & CEO, SpaceFields, a space startup. “India is well positioned with increased cooperation and global partnerships in space amid escalating geopolitical tensions in various regions.”

New year, new energy

Despite COP-28 and the debate over fossil fuels, the fact that a good chunk of India’s energy still comes from coal is unlikely to change in 2024, or in the near future. But that does not mean there isn’t a whiff of change in the air. Last year saw momentum in the adoption of electric vehicles, and that is set to accelerate this year as well. “Despite the reduction in FAME subsidy, India’s EV market has recovered and electric two-wheeler sales are 5 per cent of total two-wheeler sales, with an year-on year growth of 11.5 per cent,” said Anirudh Ravi Narayanan, CEO of BNC Motors, a clean energy two-wheeler startup. “This is an important step because the crutches are coming off the industry. What can help now from the policy side is to provide stability and a long-term view so that the industry can plan accordingly.” Also on his wish list? Enabling battery swapping in the country.

Big brothers

Is a hyper-consolidated business good or bad? 2024 could well point the way for Indian media and Big Tech. For all the television channels, newspapers and magazines and their legacy, two Big Tech entities Alphabet (YouTube and Google) and Meta (Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp) have a grapple hold of our online lives, and they earned a neat revenue of Rs43,000 crore last year. The will-they-won’t-they merger of Zee with Sony, as well as Disney Star with Reliance (Jio, TV18, Colors, etc), could create two formidable players with heft. What does it mean for the average media & entertainment consumer? The writing’s on the airwaves.

Phoenix rising?

After the nightmare that was 2023, Gautam Adani would be hoping the only way is up in 2024. Hindenburg revelations’ specific casualty was his flagship company’s much-touted follow-on public offer (FPO), through which it was hoping to mop up Rs20,000 crore for its expansion. It had to be called off, as the company faced months of bad press.

That done and the company slowly clawing back up, it seems the good days are back―Adani is reported to be holding a series of roadshows for investors, and with the current bull run, it wouldn’t be a surprise if it decides to revive the FPO. The billion dollar question will be―before or after the polls?

Slumdog trillionaire

Indian economy may or may not hit $5 trillion this year, or surpass Germany and Japan to become the world’s third richest nation, but all agree that it is on a roll, and it is not just the stock markets. Financial year 2024-2025 could see India easily attaining an above 7 per cent GDP growth, reinforcing its position as the fastest growing major economy in the world.

“That is a big positive, particularly in view of the global headwinds,” said Sanjay Kumar, partner, Deloitte India. “Oft-understood reason for this strong sentiment on growth is robust capital investments with widening crowding in of private capital expenditure in related areas. Systemic financial risks are also seen to be declining.”

Kumar does throw in a cautionary note, though: “This, however, needs continued policy support, vigilant supervision and liberal framework to manage emerging vulnerabilities.”

Markets believe the likely return of Modi, for a third term, will be lucky for the economy, with a push for further market-friendly economic reforms likely in the ‘actual’ budget to follow in the summer. Yet, more work is to be done, as Kumar points out: “We need policies focused on promoting high quality job-rich growth, with continued reform in areas of education, health, land, agriculture, and labour markets, including improving equity and inclusion in labour force participation.”

farmer-producer-organisations-could-fix-many-problems-of-india-s-fragmented-agriculture-sector

Sat Jan 06 13:17:29 IST 2024

Pushkar, in Rajasthan, is a popular tourist destination. It is also known for its roses. Some 700 hectares in the region are dedicated for rose cultivation. The flowers are mostly exported.

Though Pushkar gives the highest per-hectare yield of roses in the country, the farmers' earnings were limited because of the highly fragmented land holding in the area. In 2015, Nand Kishor Saini decided to fix it. He brought together all the rose farmers in the region and set up a farmer-producer organisation (FPO), Pushkar Rural Agricultural Youth and Employment Producer Company (PRAYE). It started with 260 shareholders, and now has 500 shareholders and 350 unregistered members. The company has facilities where the produce is processed into value-added products like gulkand (a sweet preserve of rose petals), rose water, rose syrup and dehydrated rose petals. These products are sold under the brand Pushkarwala.

PRAYE collects 500-600kg pink roses a day. “Before the formation of the company, an individual rose farmer got Rs50 a kilogram for the crop. Now, he gets more than Rs65,” said Saini. Last financial year, PRAYE's revenue topped Rs1 crore.

The synergy helps in every aspect―from fetching better yield to extracting higher price for the produce, as Anita Malge, who runs Yashaswini Agro Producer Company in Solapur, Maharashtra, affirms. “We started with a small group of 10 people,” she said. “We collectively bought seeds and agri chemical, and started cultivating together.” Started in 2015, the company's goal is improving the lives of women farmers in the district. Today, it has more than 1,400 women shareholders from 32 villages.

Yashaswini focuses on millets and pulses, and sources them from farmers and then converts them into food products like biscuits and cookies, and sells them. “We have 55 products now, and our revenue was close to Rs8.27 crore in 2022-23,” said Malge.

Indian agriculture has for long been constrained by fragmented land holdings. According to the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), some 85 per cent of the land holdings belong to small and marginal farmers. The use of latest farm machinery is limited in small land parcels and, more importantly, these unorganised farmers are unable to get good value for their limited produce. They are also at the mercy of the vagaries of nature.

That is where FPOs like Yashaswini and PRAYE can make a difference. They are owned by farmers and the profits are shared among the shareholders. Each FPO has an elected board of directors. NABARD, government departments, banks and international aid agencies provide financial and technical support to these companies.

FPOs eliminate many layers of exploitation. Typically, local collection agents collect a farmer's produce for a commission. Then brokers sell it to a trader and the trader eventually sells it to institutional buyers. There is commission at every step and the farmer ends up getting very low price for his produce. And, he has limited say in negotiations.

FPO model changes all this. An FPO procures inputs, provides market information to the members, helps them get access to finance and typically has storage and processing facilities. FPOs also help in brand building, packaging and marketing the produce to large buyers.

Sahyadri Farmer Producer Company, based in Nashik, in Maharashtra, is a good example for how collective strength can reap huge benefits for farmers. Famous for its grapes, Nashik, over the years, has emerged as the wine capital of India. In 2011, four smalltime farmers led by Vilas Shinde came together and formed Sahyadri. Today, it services more than 18,000 registered farmers covering 31,000 acres and nine crops. Its turnover in the 2022-23 financial year was Rs1,007 crore, including Rs352 crore from exports.

The core crops that Sahyadri focuses on are grapes, tomato, pomegranate, oranges, sweet lime and sweet corn. The company has also launched processed food products like tomato ketchup, puree, frozen fruit pulp and frozen vegetables. It is the largest exporter of grapes from India. “We are striving to replicate the nation's commendable global presence in the dairy sector in horticulture,” said Shinde. “There is ample opportunity for collaboration within the agriculture sector, driven by unwavering commitment and a clear direction.”

According to the ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare, there are more than 7,000 FPOs registered through agencies like NABARD and Small Farmers' Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC). In 2021, the government launched a scheme called 'Formation and Promotion of 10,000 FPOs' with the budgetary provision of Rs6,865 crore. Under the scheme, FPOs are provided financial assistance up to Rs18 lakh for a period of three years. Provision has been made for matching equity grant up to Rs 2,000 a farmer with a limit of Rs15 lakh per FPO and a credit guarantee facility up to Rs2 crore per FPO from an eligible lending institution.

In May 2023, the ministry of cooperation decided to set up 1,100 new FPOs in the cooperative sector. Under this scheme, 033 lakh is being given to each FPO and 025 lakh per FPO to cluster-based business organisations.

P. Chandra Shekara, director general of the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management, said the challenge was how the small holders could be brought together to bring in economies of scale. “The farmer is confined to production,” he said. “Much of the profit is not in production, but in processing and marketing, where farmers play a minimum role.”

The farm sector in India is a tale of two sides. While farmer producer companies like Sahyadri, Yashaswini and PRAYE have shown that working together can have huge benefits, hundreds of farmers kill themselves every year unable to pay off their debts. Creating more FPOs might help them collectively cultivate a better future.

inside-the-integral-coach-factory-in-chennai-where-vande-bharat-express-trains-are-manufactured

Sat Dec 23 19:14:58 IST 2023

Clang! The sound of metal striking metal welcomes one to the Integral Coach Factory in north Chennai’s Perambur. Large pieces of steel and metal plates are spread on the factory floor. As you walk down a green epoxy pathway, taking in the huge cranes on either side, men and women in dark blue uniforms walk past you with rods and wires in their hands. Some of their colleagues are carrying steel sheets, others are operating the cranes, which are moving heavy frames to an assembly point.

Sparks fly as women wearing protective helmets wield welding torches. Adjacent to the assembly unit, at the furnishing unit, men are lying under the chassis, tightening bolts, laying wires, fixing rubber beading on doors and windows. A team of young men are installing the propulsion system’s controls in loco pilot’s cabin.

The ICF, which makes coaches for Vande Bharat Express trains, has a full schedule this fiscal. It is aiming to roll out 600 Vande Bharat coaches before March 31, 2024, and manufactures 16 to 18 train sets (units of eight or 16 coaches) a month. “ICF is best suited for the manufacture of VB coaches as we have expertise in a variety of coaches, especially air-conditioned coaches,” ICF general manager B.G. Mallya told THE WEEK. “We also have expertise in self-propellant coaches.”

Within the factory, there is a separate facility with more than 800 employees for the manufacture of specialty train coaches. It has a dedicated assembly and furnishing division. Mallya said this saves a lot of time, particularly during furnishing. Contract workers from ICF’s vendors work on propulsion, brakes and pre-fabrication. There are more than 200 vendors, including the firms which supply the smaller items. “Around 80 to 90 per cent of VB trains are indigenous,” said Mallya. “Items like the forged wheels are imported. The forged wheels [were being] imported from Ukraine and China. But, as a result of the war in Ukraine, they are [now also] being made at the Durgapur Steel Plant. But, manufacturing is a bit slow because of constraints at the plant.”

The Vande Bharat trains are a cause of much enthusiasm among railway travellers in India. Introduced as Train 18 in 2018 and renamed Vande Bharat Express ahead of its first service the following February, they are the first semi-high speed trains in India. They can reduce journey time by 25 per cent to 45 per cent and have aeroplane-style passenger amenities. The maximum speed has been set at 160kmph, but tracks have to be upgraded to allow them to reach that speed. So, for now, they mostly run at up to 130kmph.

“A train set has four basic units,” said Mallya. “A basic unit is independent; [capable] of moving on its own power. Like a locomotive with space for 300 passengers. VB trains don’t require locomotives as power is distributed among the coaches and each unit acts as a locomotive. Even if one unit fails the train continues to run without any technical glitch.”

To allow higher acceleration, the trains have motors fitted in every second coach. An eight-coach train set needs 7,000kw of power. All this means that the trains accelerate and decelerate faster. They also have an intelligent braking system, which uses a mix of electric braking and pneumatic braking (air/gas braking). And, during braking, the system generates electrical power from the energy and momentum of the fast-moving trains and feeds it back into the supply. Called regenerative braking, this process aids energy efficiency.

The furnishing division of ICF works on the top-notch facilities and state-of-the-art safety features. The seat cushions are more comfortable than those in AC chair cars in conventional trains. The seats recline 19.37 degrees; better than the average aeroplane seat. Every seat has a mobile charging point, snack table, footrests, bottle holders and newspaper/magazine bags. The air conditioning has improved energy efficiency and there is a special mechanism for neutralising germs. The windows have fabric-based roller blinds. The lights in the luggage racks have been upgraded from resistive touch to capacitive touch (more accurate touch sensors for ease-of-use). The toilets are bio-vacuum, like in aeroplanes.

Safety has been given the utmost priority in these trains. There is an aerosol-based fire detection and suppression system and CCTV surveillance inside and outside the train, including four cameras to monitor stone-pelters. The trains are also equipped with the Kavach (armour) train collision avoidance system. It includes features to aid the loco pilot when visibility is low and even automatic braking if the loco pilot fails to act in time.

Additionally, the passage connecting coaches is stable and wide, unlike the partially open and shaky passages in conventional trains. Overall, the design of coaches is such that when the train runs at high speeds, it will be like sitting in your home, said Mallya. There are 25 Vande Bharat trains running across India and that number will be close to 100 in the next one year. The cost of manufacturing a 16-coach Vande Bharat train is about Rs120 crore.

Mallya said the ICF was working on new variants of Vande Bharat coaches. “We are working on sleeper class, short-distance commute travel and non-AC train set during this fiscal,” he said. “We are also planning to launch two push-pull trains with non-AC LHB coaches (Linke Hofmann Busch are German-made passenger coaches which have been in use since 2000). These will provide the same experience as the VB trains.” They will have a seating capacity of 1,834 passengers and will be economical.

Mallya said the sleeper coaches are on schedule and will be launched before the end of this financial year. “[They] will have 11 AC three-tier coaches, four 2-tier coaches and one first-class AC coach,” he said. “The ambience will be much different from the existing trains. The lights will be warm and even the ladder to climb to the upper berth will be of a different standard. The sleeper will [eventually] be able to substitute the existing trains.”

india-s-key-scientific-and-technological-innovators

Sat Dec 23 11:35:32 IST 2023

Krishna Kumar had a problem at hand. He had India’s biggest business empire backing him and a high-quality product―the finest tea from the most famous hills. But by the time it was transported in wooden boxes from the hills, he realised, there was a distinct loss of freshness.

“KK was a brilliant mind,” brand expert Harish Bijoor recalled the iconic managing director of Tata Tea, who passed away this year, and the simple idea with which he revolutionised India’s favourite drink. “But you don’t need a brilliant mind to come up with an innovation. All it takes is a simple idea!”

KK’s idea was simple, and, as it turned out, very effective. Along with fellow honcho Darbari Seth, he figured out that while the wooden chest was classy, it did lead to loss of quality. His solution? Laminate polypacks to vacuum seal the tea so that it is not spoilt in wooden or carton boxes during transportation and retail.

Bijoor was then working at Hindustan Lever, Tata Tea’s main rival. “I was on the other side of the fence, and my first reaction was ‘this is downgrading packaging!’ Marketers’ brand paradigm is that products must look glossy and upmarket, tempting people to buy. And Tata Tea was downgrading packaging,” he said.

Down the line, Bijoor and rest of the market realised it was packaging that was functionally correct. Not only did sealing keep the tea fresh, the reduced size and weight of polypacks meant the trucks coming down from the estates could carry a lot more load. This ‘polypack revolution’, as Bijoor called it, not just changed how tea was packed, but also “pioneered the way in many other categories”.

AN IDEA CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE

The power of innovation has always been the driving force behind the advancement of human civilisation. And India, historically, has not done too badly. Right from Aryabhata inventing the ‘zero’ and the Indus Valley folks coming up with buttons to keep their clothes together, to giving the world anything from chess (initially called Ashtapada) to cataract surgery (Sushruta used a curved needle), we have been there, done that, and earned the historical laurels.

But, are we still at the top of the ideas game?

As it turns out, we are pretty well sorted. Of course, it might seem that innovations would today have evolved beyond the home lab or that ashram by the stream. In the case of technology, that may well be correct, but an idea ‘that can change your life’ need not always be science or hyper-fangled tech geeks coding it out. It could be as simple as a company hitting upon a new way of packaging that improves quality and saves money, as much as it could be a vaccine which had thousands of specialised researchers working in tandem, racing against the clock.

Today, ideas come fast and thick anywhere―a boardroom in Mumbai or a pharmaceutical lab in Gujarat or a garage workstation in Bengaluru. Or, for that matter, very much in the bedrooms of small towns or even the fields of rural India. If you doubt it, ask Sridhar Vembu, who virtually runs his software-as-a-service startup Zoho from a village on the foothills of the Western Ghats. Zoho’s revenue last year was around Rs 7,000 crore.

And they needn’t be all about advanced technology or inventing something from scratch. Sometimes, the power of an idea is very much the necessity it was spawned by, and the circumstances in which it took shape.

Like Operation Flood, for instance, the much-talked about dairy cooperative movement that made India the world’s largest milk producer. The programme, later billed the ‘white revolution’, came out of the search for solutions to a basic problem―the fluctuation in milk production, with animals producing more milk during the flush season leading to wastage, and less during the lean months causing scarcity across the country.

Dr Verghese Kurien came up with a two-pronged strategy―a cooperative of farmers coordinating through a network of centralised milk sheds that linked them to consumers, as well as a method to turn excess milk into milk powder. Unlike the west, India produced more buffalo milk than cow milk. So it required some nimble innovation on the part of Harichand Megha Dalaya (Kurien’s batch mate from college who came for a visit to Anand and was persuaded to stay on) to devise skim milk powder and condensed milk from buffalo milk.

THIS DRIVE IS UNIVERSAL

‘Global first’ innovations may seem to be the preserve of the west, but once you start counting, Indians do notch up a decent tally. While Sabeer Bhatia being the founder of Hotmail is pretty well known, the name Ajay V. Bhatt may not ring a bell except in tech circles. The Gujarati is the inventor of the USB, or universal serial bus, that helps us connect and transfer data effortlessly. Bhatt moved to the US after finishing studies in his home state, before ending up heading the team from Intel which worked with other tech biggies like Compaq to work out the universal standard.

And he is not the only one. Perhaps there is a reason Indians bloom bigger abroad.

HOW GREEN IS MY VALLEY

“A strong ideation ecosystem exists in India,” said business coach Ratish Pandey. “But if the idea is great and funding comes in, often these companies move to Singapore or other countries.”

Tax is not the only reason they do that. “You become far more ‘investible’ if you are based abroad,” said Pandey. “It is easier for investors to fund and to take their money out when the time comes.” This manifests itself as a different form of ‘flight of capital’. “Sure, the idea may have germinated in India, but ultimately, a whole lot of ‘Indian’ unicorns are registered in the US or Europe or Singapore,” said Pandey.

And even when companies based in India come up with innovative products or services, quite often they delay patenting it, or do it with the US Patents office. “There is a significant difference in the number of patents that get registered in India compared to the western world,” said Pandey. The Indian government has been trying to reverse this flow by offering incentives like covering a part of the cost of the patent process.

LOOK MA, IT’S THE GOVERNMENT!

While it is no surprise that the spirit of pioneering a new innovation is being held aloft by the startup community, the surprise package in the whole deal is the government itself. “A lot of innovative thinking is happening in the government space; the government as an enabler,” said Prashant Mishra, dean of the School of Business Management at Narsee Monjee University, Mumbai. “From the Jan Dhan-Aadhar-Mobile (JAM) innovation to the vaccine rollout to ONDC, this government has innovated in a manner many other countries are actually learning from it.”

Beyond innovation, most central ministries have also been spurring ideation through its agencies and schemes. “There is a significant government push. The amount of grants you can manage if your idea is good is not small, starting from Rs25 lakh. Pretty much every ministry is putting away money for startups,” said Pandey.

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Another area which has come into its own has been the support initiatives by academia. “A significant shift I have seen is that every technical institute and university is putting in place incubation labs, because they want to capture every possible smart idea that these young students are developing,” said Pandey.

Starting with some of the IITs, many universities and technical institutes today offer incubation labs, grants and guidance on scaling the idea to a workable business. “We check if the startups have science at the core of it, and then whether there is a market opportunity,” said C.S. Murali, chairman of the entrepreneurship cell, Foundation for Science, Innovation and Development at Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. “If it all works, we say yes to incubation―provide space and seed capital, faculty become technical mentors and give them access to lab and equipment.”

IISc has to its credit startups like Bellatrix Aerospace, which provides end-to-end solutions for satellites and launch vehicle systems. The better known IIT Madras Research Park has spawned success stories like Ather, now one of India’s biggest electric two-wheeler makers. It has so far incubated 280 startups with a cumulative valuation of Rs33,000 crore.

MAKE FOR INDIA

But if the proof of the pudding is in the eating, where are all those innovative products and services? Bijoor puts the blame on the Indian mentality of jugaad. “Innovation is a process and a science in itself. We need patience to face failures. In India, we seem to be taking the patli gali (narrow bylane) of jugaad instead of the super highway of mega innovation,” he said.

This, however, is attributed to two distinct situational realities. One, India’s consumption levels are still below the global average. Take tea, for example. It might seem that the whole nation is gulping down cupfuls round the clock, but India does not feature even in the top 20 tea drinking nations when it comes to per capita consumption.

“For company marketers, that is a market still untapped. So their focus is on expanding reach to improve consumption,” said Pandey. “Innovation will come only once we reach a certain level of consumption. Then you start thinking, ‘now what is the new thing I can bring into play to excite the customer?’ In that sense, we are behind the curve vis-a-vis the western world in terms of innovating. Right now Indian businesses have so much of space to just produce and sell that they don’t really need to innovate.”

Second, while India does have a few ‘global firsts’, its pioneering spirit seems to be at its best in taking existing standards and innovations and adapting it. “Of late, India’s most significant achievements have been through process-based innovations or improvements for unique contexts in which Indian businesses operate,” said Mishra. “That way, Indian firms have shown much ingenuity and much greater resilience compared to many of the US-based or western origin firms.”

How? “India is complex and varied in its geography, climate and culture. A firm can’t just offer a standard product in many cases. Tackling that diversity requires higher agility, and much decentralised planning and execution,” said Mishra, giving examples of companies like Unilever coming with soaps and cleaning liquids that use less water and L&T’s engineering solutions to build railway tracks in difficult terrains.

Or even the Mangalyaan mission. It is not like ISRO reinvented the wheel―there were spaceships and missions to Mars even earlier. ISRO’s achievement was the process efficiency, driven through frugal innovation that eventually cost a fraction of NASA’s missions.

THE FUTURE IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK

India could just crack the ‘global first’ criteria more frequently in the near future, if one sees the pace at which its startup ecosystem is thriving. Using technology as the backbone and the huge scale India’s population offers, startup ideas have been changing the country’s landscape. From UPI, a digital payment mode that is now a model for other countries, to tech-assisted agriculture, Indian startups are driving innovation. “Sadly our mainstream companies are not pioneering new ideas much,” said Bijoor. “But my happy factor is our huge startup ecosystem. They are not just a glimmer of hope, but millions of glimmers of hope!”

1955

FIBRE FOR GROWTH

Unless you are someone who checks the Padma awards list every year meticulously, the name Narinder Singh Kapany is unlikely to ring a bell (He got Padma Vibhushan in 2021, a year after his death). His fame beyond the Sikh diaspora in the US and the scientific academia is sketchy at best. Not surprising that a leading magazine recently billed the physicist one of the “greatest unsung heroes of mankind”.

It is no hyperbole. The modern telecommunication ecosystem, from telecom to broadcast and everything in between, owes it all to one not-so-humble invention Kapany played a pivotal role in inventing―fibre optics. After working in Indian Ordnance Factories in Kanpur, Kapany moved to Imperial College London in the early 1950s and worked with Harold Hopkins on achieving good image transmission through bundles of optical fibres. Coupled with the invention of optical cladding by Dutch scientist Bram van Heel, it spawned the era of fibre optics and modern communication.

FUN FACT

Jawaharlal Nehru asked Kapany to come back from London and become scientific adviser to his government. If Kapany had said yes, he might have got his Padma award earlier, but we may not have had today’s telecommunications!

1970

LET THERE BE FLOOD

Harichand Megha Dalaya came back to India just for a visit, but was given a job by his good friend Verghese Kurien. And the result was a flood.

Operation Flood turned India from a milk deficient country to the world’s biggest producer. In fact, India had a rather peculiar problem with milk before the White Revolution. During the flush season, so much of it went to waste; but during rest of the time, there was scarcity across the country. Until then, machines that converted excess milk into milk powder existed only for cow milk, and they could not be used effectively for buffalo milk because of its high fat content. Dalaya used his tech know-how and engineering capabilities to instal the world’s first spray dry machine for buffalo milk at Amul.

FUN FACT

Freedom fighter and father of the cooperative movement Tribhuvandas Patel, who set up the Kheda Cooperative, was known as the ‘father’ and Kurien the ‘son’ of dairy cooperatives. The publicity-shy Dalaya was its ‘holy ghost!’

1971

THE CUP OF LIFE

Dilip Mahalanabis came up with an idea that saved crores of lives while in a swampy refugee camp during the Bangladesh liberation war. Cholera and diarrhoea were rampant in the camps, and the traditional treatment was huge amounts of intravenous fluids. But Dilip, a paediatrician, realised this was not viable in developing countries. His solution was an oral solution of 22g glucose, 3.5g salt and 2.5g baking soda mixed with a litre of water.

Today we know this life-saver as ORS, or oral rehydration solution, easily available even in the remotest parts of the world, that does not need a health professional and can be easily mixed with clean water and works wonders with patients.

FUN FACT

After Mahalanabis started using ORS, the death rate in the refugee camp came down to 2 per cent from 30 per cent. And stories on this life-saving formula started getting broadcast on the underground radio station that beamed programmes to the Bangla freedom fighters deep inside East Pakistan.

1993

CHIPPING INTO THE FUTURE

As we in the 2020s see Intel and Apple take the chip battle into another era, it almost feels quaint harking back to that one product that was the must-have ‘inside’ every PC worth its RAM once upon a time. Intel came out with the Pentium chip in the early 1990s, giving a fillip to the PC revolution that was already under way. The fight to be the top cat of the chips block was intense―there were many consortiums vying with their products, including one led by Apple, IBM and Motorola and another by Compaq and Microsoft, besides others.

But none had Vinod Dham, who was later called ‘The Pentium engineer’. The Indian immigrant believed that Intel’s ‘focus and execute’ would pull through, and Pentium’s eventual market dominance is testament to the man’s vision. Dham has several other inventions to his credit, right from Intel’s first flash memory technology to, believe it or not, the K6, often referred to as ‘the Pentium killer’, brought out by Intel rival AMD, where he joined after leaving Intel.

FUN FACT

An Intel Pentium chip designed by Dham occupied the pride of place at Washington’s Smithsonian Museum’s ‘Beyond Bollywood’ exhibition on the life and contribution of Indians in America.

2011

PLASTIC, FANTASTIC

Urban Indians are used to the sight of plastic waste on streets and overflowing the dumpsters. Well, take solace in the fact that some of that plastic is beneath your feet.

As per government figures in 2021, more than 700 km of national highways alone have been made by mixing plastic waste. The actual number would be higher as this is the figure for national highways. Many municipal bodies are doing their own bit for the environment by constructing roads using discarded plastic.

Madurai-based scientist and chemistry professor Rajagopalan Vasudevan was instrumental in coming up with an innovative method of mixing shredded plastic waste with bitumen and using the polymerised mix in road construction. Not only does it make the transport glide faster on such roads, it also makes roads more resistant to monsoon damage.

FUN FACT

Countries like the Netherlands and Indonesia have constructed roads with plastic-asphalt mix, while the UK has announced that it will implement Vasudevan’s technology along with some of its own secret compounds to make the roads in London, Gloucester and Durham.

2013

MY SKY UNDER MY STAR

NavIC, or Navigation with Indian Constellation, came about when the US refused to allow Indian military use of its Global Positioning System (GPS). The Manmohan Singh government approved the project in 2006, with ISRO opening a Deep Space Network station in Karnataka and launching a bunch of IRNSS satellites. Almost every bit of this project is indigenously developed. Today, anyone from fishermen out in the sea to cargo vans on national highways use NavIC to find their way.

FUN FACT

NavIC currently covers only the Indian territorial landmass and 1,500 km beyond. There are plans for further extension, and new commercial usage is also likely.

2016

MONEY GOES MOBILE

From buying a tender coconut from a roadside vendor to a television set at a fancy mall, Indians are not swiping, but scanning―Rs17 lakh crore last month alone. Say thanks to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

While digital money transfer existed before UPI, this Indian model’s success lay in the government intervention that ensured that all such payment mechanisms were standardised. Due to the low penetration of credit cards and net banking, the RBI-initiated idea, concretised by the National Payment Corporation of India in 2016, was a runaway success, as anyone with a mobile phone and data connection could link their banks to their phones and use the apps for almost any payment. The entry of private operators like GooglePay and PhonePe only catalysed the popularity.

Today, UPI forms 84 per cent of all digital transactions in the country, and the rest of the world is also interested. Already, non-resident accounts in countries like the US, the UK and Singapore can use UPI.

FUN FACT

Inspired by the success of UPI in India (where its GooglePay is the second biggest player), Google’s suggestion to incorporate it as a template was accepted by the US Federal Reserve for the recently launched real-time payment system called FedNow.

2020

INDIA STACK

It is rather abnormal for a list of pioneering innovations to feature a governmental initiative. But that is exactly what India seems to have pulled off with the India Stack, its unified software platform to digitise service delivery between governments, businesses, startups and developers.

First off the block was Aadhaar, a unique identity number for citizens. Despite controversies over its data management, Aadhaar is today the go-to identity marker across India.

With Jan Dhan direct benefits using Aadhaar and UPI becoming a popular hit, and the massive vaccination programme success achieved digitally using India Stack as the fundamental, it is well on its way towards its aim of a digitised society. “India’s innovation ecosystem is now one of the fastest growing in the world. As the prime minister said, the next decade can be India’s ‘Tech’ade!” said Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union minister of state for electronics & IT.

FUN FACT

The Indian government has been conducting hackathons, inviting developers to play and develop more applications using the India Stack open source programme.

former-reserve-bank-governor-raghuram-rajan-interview

Sat Dec 09 16:16:52 IST 2023

Exclusive Interview/ Raghuram Rajan, former Reserve Bank governor

Raghuram Rajan revels in his post-RBI governor status as a sort of conscience-keeper of India’s political economy, ignoring trolling and allegations of ‘Modi bashing’. It helps that he is not present on any of the popular social media platforms except LinkedIn.

But as Rohit Lamba, economist at Pennsylvania State University and co-author of Rajan’s latest book, Breaking the Mould, tells me, “People should engage with the message, not the messenger! We wrote this book because we seriously think there is a political economy path vision problem, and we are proposing a different path forward.”

In the book, Rajan explains, point by point and with examples galore, why India is on the wrong path with its post-pandemic focus on manufacturing, with its production linked incentive (PLI) schemes and China + 1 focus. One highlighted example is incentives offered to Micron to set up a semiconductor plant in Gujarat. “You are spending Rs16,500 crore to set up a chip plant that is not even cutting edge, spending more than one-third of the entire education budget of the central government to generate just a few hundred or thousand jobs,” argued Lamba. “Where are your priorities? Do you have a vision broad enough to tackle growth and jobs for the coming decades for India?”

Rajan himself had more to say. Excerpts from an exclusive interview:

Q\ You’ve given a thumbs down to the economic model of PLIs and manufacturing. How do we strike a balance, how do we go about trying a new model?

A\Services is where India needs to focus on. Not just the old-style services, but new services related to value-added part of manufacturing, the intellectual property, the content and the creativity that goes into that. The problem the China model is running into is creativity. The authoritarian government does not create an environment where creativity can flourish.

India with its democracy has an advantage here. If we strengthen our democracy, if we allow all this creativity to flourish, it can capture the high ground. What we are worried about is that we are spending so much money trying to capture the low ground [of manufacturing] where we will be competing with Vietnam and China, and not the space that is available for the taking, where we are competing a little bit with the west.

Think, for example, a consultant. Today if you hire a consultant in the west, they will cost you $200,000 upwards a year. But if you hire a brilliant consultant from IIM Ahmedabad, they will cost you maybe $40,000-$50,000 a year. This is a huge possibility of high value-added labour arbitrage, if we can get many more kids through institutions like the IIM. So, the need of the hour is not so much factories like Micron, but intellectual capital factories like IIMs, but [with] higher quality.

Q\ Perhaps since our education levels are not so high, the government thinks that low skill manufacturing is something we can do. Most Indian states have a dismal record when it comes to education as well as health. The pandemic would have been a great point to reset, but I don’t think it really happened.

A\ It takes a really long time to get any improvement in health care, to get any improvement in education. The emphasis seen in the recent elections is all about freebies, as opposed to much better school and health care. The provision of social goods takes back seat to the provision of freebies.

Now, we are not entirely against targeted transfers, because they can give people spending power, especially the poor, and they can use that to get some of the social services that they don’t get. But that said, I think government has to focus on improving the quality of social services. To my mind, that requires changes in government also. This is a holistic approach. We need decentralisation, so that people can hold somebody to account. If you are not getting a good school, if the teacher is absent, if the dispensary doesn’t open regularly, if the medicine is not available, they have to have somebody to protest to. That is where local governments become much more important.

Our sense is that our (centre-state government) structure was set up post-independence when national integration was more important than anything else. And now that national integration is largely assured, we need to think about what is the best government for the 21st century. It is not about changing the Constitution. But within the Constitution, can we do some things that we always thought we will do, the third layer of [localised] government that has sort of been arrested in the country at the state level for now.

It is a two-pronged approach, both directly on measures to improve education, health care, finance, but also, the governance that allows those things to flourish, that allows the bottom up pressure to come, that allows the system to respond. The system will respond, but the pressure has to come.

Q\ The current focus is on improving GDP numbers by manufacturing and infrastructure development, as seen by reforms initiated during the pandemic. Because, if you focus on education and health, it will be a generation before those dividends start to show.

A\ We need to learn the lessons from the pandemic. Many countries instituted inquiries to find out what they did well and what they didn’t; we haven’t. Because we claim we did really well!

As you know, there is a lot of discussion about the statistics, whether we grossly undercounted our deaths. If we properly counted it as per WHO says, maybe we had a disastrous performance. We need to better understand what we did and that goes back to the point that data should not be suppressed, but used to inform, so that we can improve our governance.

Yes, anything done well is going to take time. But we had 10 years of this government. Since Atal Bihari Vajpayee started the thrust on primary education in the early 2000s, it has been two decades. Time builds up, and we benefited from the Vajpayee push. The question is, do we need to do more now, to compete in the global economy?

We are not against low-skill manufacturing by any means. We should encourage it. But what we are saying is that there are diminishing returns to going there, because we are not competing with the west anymore. We will be competing with Vietnam and China that already have well-educated workers that are moving up the value chain. And it will be very hard to carve a niche for ourselves.

Take all this talk of cellphones that are coming through PLIs―we are importing most of the parts! This is not a huge value add! This is the lowest part of the value add in the chain. Let’s be clear―we are spending a lot of subsidies in getting this low value-added manufacturing in here. Improving our infrastructure will bring some of it; our large market will get some of it. But we don’t need to pay to get it. What we should pay for is scaling up improvements in education and health care, which will create the labour force that people will want to employ. They will bring factories in.

In a sense we are saying [the current government policy] is very short-term thinking, and very much focused on subsidising manufacturing to a great extent. And what happens when you find at the end of the subsidies they are not willing to stay? Because they are not bringing in a huge amount of investment if you look at the numbers. While subsidies are there, they will be happy to stay. But even if you are looking at the China + 1 pressure, companies looking at an alternative to China, we are not getting a large part of those.

Q\ Are we frittering away our demographic dividend with this focus on low-skill manufacturing policy?

A\ I would say we are in danger of frittering away our demographic dividend not so much by the low-skill manufacturing policy, but by not investing enough in education and health care.

Take the pandemic. When you take the data of some of the states, it is alarming how poorly kids are doing in school. They haven’t come back to school in the same numbers; many have dropped out. They are not learning because they have forgotten a lot of what they learnt, because schools were closed during the pandemic. What kind of labour force are we expecting to have, when these kids have dropped so much behind and are dropping out?

As a country we must look to our human capital. What are we missing? Forget creating a 21st century labour force, even to create a 20th century workforce, we need to repair the damage that has been done by the pandemic. The key resource in the 21st century is going to be brains; not brawn, not buildings.

Q\ You hint in the book that the GDP growth is too unreal and does not reflect ground reality.

A\ We don’t want to enter that debate because there are more learned people than us engaged in that debate. What is true is, if you are a relatively poor country, you are going to grow faster. The fact that we are the fastest growing GDP in the G20 becomes less meaningful when you recognise that we are also the poorest country in the G20.

The key question is, are we growing enough to provide the jobs, to take advantage of the demographic dividend? There, almost surely the answer is no, if you look at the growing unemployment, if you look at kids trying to take the civil services exams, trying to enter military service, any kind of government service. There is an enormous number of people applying for government jobs because the private sector is not creating enough jobs.

You would think that in an economy which is growing as splendidly, jobs would be plentiful. Of course, there are good jobs, there are lots of good stories coming out of India. But that is not enough right now.

The only way we can do far more is by focusing on the factories of the future, which are schools, medical clinics, hospitals, universities. Those are going to be the factories that will manufacture human capital. And that is where we need to be focused on right now. Because we are just not doing it right.

Q\ A K-shaped recovery has seen many sections of people falling off. You make the startling observation that our youth are jobless but distracted by cheap mobile data videos.

A\ The narrative is so ebullient, newspapers full of this being inaugurated, that being inaugurated, that there is a sense that if I am not participating in it, there must be something wrong with me. Meanwhile, the intellectual class is benefiting from the tremendous upper-level job growth―their kids are being employed by the likes of Goldman Sachs in Bengaluru! So in that sense, they are doing fine.

The real question is how long this sort of separation can persist. [These are] parents whose kids are dropping out of school because they did not get enough attention during the pandemic, the ones who are going back to agriculture because there are no jobs in industry? At some point, this will start to blow up. What we are seeing right now are small mutinies―Manipur, tussle over reservations. These are examples of the way in which they come out in our country. Frustration then looks for immediate sort of cause, and sort of boils over.

Once many more reach workable age and we don’t provide the jobs for them, it turns into a demographic curse. And the most worrisome will be if youth don’t get jobs and they are not distracted. Then that will be a problem.

Q\ From critiquing ‘vishwaguru’ to criticising every point of the present government’s narrative, you have now crossed over firmly into ‘Modi bashing’ territory. Does it bother you?

A\ There is an attempt to portray me as being with some party or the other. I actually worked with Yashwant Sinha, who was finance minister in the BJP government. What I want is, really, how India can do better. India’s strengths are its democracy, its willingness to talk, its willingness to debate, and these are going to be huge strengths in the 21st century. And we should not give these up lightly in an attempt to go the China way. And from all that we hear, that seems to be the closest model we are moving to―manufacturing-led, infrastructure-led, and more focus on buildings than on debate and brains.

Let us focus on India’s strengths, and if we can do that, India will become a vishwaguru. There will be an outpouring of knowledge from India, which will make people point to India. In fact, a whole lot of companies are coming to India to exploit that availability of our smart young people. But we can do far more. We can own that intellectual capital. And we can grab the higher value-added parts of the supply chain. Why should Satya Nadella be only in Microsoft? Can’t we replicate him in Indian companies and make a huge movement upward?

We should also recognise that 75 years after independence, there are some changes we should make, given that the challenges we face are different from the challenges after independence. But it’s not in the direction of giving up on inclusion and moving towards majoritarianism. It is by trying to get governance into people’s hands. Becoming more democratic than less democratic. Getting more information, more power into people’s hands. We should continue on that trend rather than reverse it.

Breaking the Mould: Reimagining India’s Economic Future

By Raghuram Rajan and Rohit Lamba

Published by Penguin Random House India

Pages : 336; Price: Rs799

indians-are-getting-more-and-more-credit-cards-and-swiping-them-more-often-than-ever

Sat Dec 09 16:11:02 IST 2023

CREDIT CARDS HAVE been around for a few decades. In fact, it is the primary mode of payment for purchases in many countries. But in India, they had never really taken off as they were seen as being out of bounds for most of the salaried, and retailers were reluctant to accept them.

That is, however, a thing of the past. Not only are more and more people getting credit cards, but also they are using them more frequently. The most recent data on payments and settlement systems by the Reserve Bank of India says the number of active credit cards in India was 9.13 crore in August 2023. It was just 7.8 crore a year before that—that is a 17 per cent growth. In January 2020, it was just 5.6 crore. So, in some three and a half years, the number of credit cards surged 63 per cent.

The growth in credit card usage is even more impressive. In August this year, credit card spends touched Rs1.48 lakh crore, up 2.7 per cent from the month before that and up 32.3 per cent from August 2022.

What is driving this growth?

“The continued increase in discretionary spending on vacation, travel, entertainment and consumer durables in metros and beyond, and digital payments have propelled credit card usage in India,” said Puneet Bhatia, vice president, acquisition and product management, American Express Banking Corp. India.

Indians are swiping their cards everywhere. “PoS (point of sale) spends across all key categories, including consumer durables, furnishing and hardware, apparel and jewellery, have increased significantly, indicating consumers’ strong preference for offline shopping experiences as well,” said Abhijit Chakravorty, managing director and CEO, SBI Cards and Payment Services. Promotions by large e-commerce platforms in the festive season have also been a big driver.

In Amazon's recent Great Indian Festival sale, one out of every three purchases was made using the co-branded credit card Amazon Pay has with ICICI Bank, the Amazon Pay Later option or via EMIs (equated monthly instalments). The usage of the Amazon Pay ICICI credit card soared 65 per cent, said Mayank Jain, director, credit and lending, Amazon Pay India.

Co-branded cards offer excellent value proposition to users. For instance, Amazon Prime members can get up to 5 per cent cashback each time they use it on Amazon. “You can maximise benefits by capitalising on exclusive rewards, discounts and perks offered by the partnering brands,” said Gaurav Chopra, founder and CEO of IndiaLends.

Promotions and offers by banks on EMI purchases on cards is another driver for growing cards usage. In the first 48 hours of Amazon's Great Indian Festival sale, EMI payments emerged as the top choice, with one in four shopping orders placed in instalments, and three out of four EMI orders qualified for no-cost EMI benefits, said Jain.

The biggest boost, however, would have been the option to link credit cards to UPI. For now, this is restricted to RuPay cards. “Customers will benefit from the ease and the increased opportunity to use their credit cards. Merchants will benefit from the increase in consumption by being part of the credit ecosystem with acceptance of credit cards using asset lite QR codes,” said National Payments Corporation of India, which manages UPI.

Many retailers, especially smaller ones, were earlier not keen on accepting credit cards owing to the charges associated with them. For instance, a retailer would need to buy a PoS machine and pay the merchant discount rate (MDR), generally two to three per cent, as well. If a consumer makes a purchase of Rs10,000 and pays by credit card, the retailer would have to pay an MDR of Rs200 to Rs300.

There are no such charges on UPI payments. Also, the person paying via the credit card linked to UPI can scan the same QR code that one would scan for normal UPI payments and all the payments can be consolidated in just one app, making it convenient to monitor and manage all the expenses.

Parag Rao, country head of payments, liability products, consumer finance and marketing at HDFC Bank, said his bank had seen a ten-times growth in UPI on credit card spends in the past six months and it had around 45 per cent share in the segment. Chakravorty of SBI Cards said 9 per cent of its RuPay cardholders had enrolled for the UPI usage.

A lot of this growth is not from the metros. It is estimated that by 2025, tier III and tier IV towns in India will have a combined GDP of around $1 trillion, and they would add around 250 million new financial consumers to the market. “Aspirational young Indians with high disposable income, increased awareness, and heightened taste for premium have been empowered by economic growth, growing entrepreneurship, and deeper penetration of e-commerce. This is propelling growth in spending on cards like never before,” said Bhatia of American Express.

The rise in credit card spending mirrors the strong growth the banking and financial services industry is seeing in retail credit, especially unsecured loans given to consumers. According to the financial stability report of the Reserve Bank of India, overall gross advances grew at around 14 per cent between March 2021 and March 2023. Retail credit grew at a compounded annual growth of around 25 per cent in the same period. Credit card dues crossed Rs2 lakh crore for the first time earlier this year. This surge in retail lending has got the RBI concerned, with the regulator warning banks and NBFCs to be careful.

“If you look at the past couple of years, the year-on-year average growth on retail credit has been close to 30 per cent in most institutions and secured retail credit has grown at 23 per cent,” said Swaminathan Janakiraman, deputy governor of RBI, in the post monetary policy briefing in October. “If you see that in the context of the rest of the credit growth, which is in the range of 12-14 per cent, it looks to be an outlier. So, as a supervisor, it is our intention to inform the banks that this is an outlier level of growth.”

Of late, the RBI has introduced several security measures for cards such as tokenisation, where sensitive data like the card number and security code are anonymised with a unique token. Janakiraman said banks should strengthen their internal surveillance mechanisms so that any risk that might likely be building up was “handled upfront rather than coming to grief at a later time”.

In a move to check the rampant growth in consumer loans, the RBI recently raised risk weights in respect to consumer credit exposure of commercial banks, including personal loans, by 25 percentage points to 125 per cent. Risk weights on credit card receivables of scheduled commercial banks and NBFCs were also raised by 25 percentage points. Essentially it means banks and NBFCs have to back their retail loans with more capital.

While credit cards have their advantages, they can become debt traps if dues are not paid regularly. Banks allow users to pay credit card dues every cycle fully or partially. The interest rate on credit card overdue is steep—2.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent a month. Also, the interest is charged on the outstanding balance as well as subsequent purchases once the interest free period lapses.

taj-mahal-palace-hotel-ihcl-celebrates-120-years

Sat Dec 09 16:51:58 IST 2023

As imposing as the Gateway of India―the archway that was erected in 1924 to welcome George V, the first British monarch to arrive on Indian shores―is its neighbour, the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. One could say it has served as a more memorable guidepost, too, since it was built in 1903, two decades before the Gateway was conceived.

Then called the Taj Mahal Hotel, after India’s most famous monument of love, and built in the Indo-Saracenic style, it was the first to introduce the country’s famous hospitality to the rest of the world. It was the finest hotel east of the Suez Canal then and it transformed not just the face of Bombay, but also the image of India. The New York Times called it “a resplendent debut”, as it was Tata Group founder Jamsetji Tata’s first hotel under the aegis of the Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL). On December 16, 2023, this magnificent edifice celebrates its 120th birthday.

The hotel continues to earn its place in history. Maharajas considered it their second home. During the freedom movement, leaders like Muhammed Ali Jinnah and Sarojini Naidu held court in its suites. Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru were both visitors, as were writers Somerset Maugham and Aldous Huxley who supported India’s independence. In fact, independent India’s first speech to industry leaders took place at this hotel.

The Taj Mahal Hotel’s list of eminent guests is probably rivalled only by the Rashtrapati Bhavan―King Charles III, Margaret Thatcher, the Clintons, Jacqueline Onassis, David Rockefeller, the Obamas, George Bernard Shaw, Irving Stone, Barbara Cartland, Richard Attenborough, Mick Jagger, Yehudi Menuhin, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Madonna and the prince and princess of Wales William and Catherine, too, had stayed at the Taj.

“This building houses not just the history of the Taj hotels and of India, but also the history of the world,” says Puneet Chhatwal, managing director and chief executive officer of IHCL. “This is natural given our 120-year history of being an iconic crown jewel of India.”

The hotel was the first in India to have a licenced bar (its famous Harbour Bar has the licence number 1) and electric elevators. And it introduced jazz and cabaret to India.

IHCL went on to be counted among the finest luxury hotel chains in the world. It began by opening its doors to India’s palaces. It opened up tourism in states like Rajasthan, Kerala and Goa, the Andamans and, more recently, the northeast. Iconic properties in the UK and the US followed, too. What started as a single hotel in 1903 is now a hospitality ecosystem with world-class service and a bouquet of properties across luxury and business hotels. IHCL today has a portfolio of 274 hotels, including 82 under development, across four continents and 11 countries. It is India’s largest hospitality company by market capitalisation. This year, Brand Finance named Taj India’s Strongest Brand.

SeleQtions is a collection of hotels under the IHCL umbrella, along with the upscale Vivanta, a lean luxe segment with Ginger, and a charming portfolio of private bungalows and villas in picturesque spots called amã Stays & Trails.

This year, IHCL has also announced its 104th luxury hotel property. “We are among the top three luxury hotel chains of the world, and the fastest growing in this space,” says Chhatwal. “These include our iconic assets like The Pierre in New York, or the St James Court and the Taj 51 Buckingham Gate in London. There are three hotels in operation in Dubai, and one under development. We are in all the neighbouring countries, except in Kathmandu, Nepal.”

Chhatwal says the next decade will see the chain develop a strong presence in Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and maybe a few properties in continental Europe. “Personally, this gives me a sense of pride,” he says. “It gives me a sense of accomplishment. I believe that when you serve the Taj, you serve the nation. Because that’s exactly what we do. The majority of the G20 events took place at a Taj property. The host of the B20 was the Taj Palace in New Delhi, a lot of the dignitaries were staying both at the Taj Palace here and the Taj Mansingh, too.”

IHCL’s service to the nation was especially evident during the Covid-19 pandemic. “If you are the largest hospitality ecosystem of India, automatically what you are doing is in alignment with the strategy of the national leadership,” Chhatwal explains. “This becomes like a service to the nation if you are at the forefront hosting 1,20,000 beds a night for frontline workers, or six million meals (during Covid as well as the Assam floods), all hosted through the Taj Public Service Welfare Trust, which was formed in the aftermath of the 2008 terror attacks.”

The group worked closely with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and government hospitals in Mumbai and took care of frontline staff as well as migrant workers. “There were 12 to 13 hospitals we were catering to,” Chhatwal says. “This is all a part of the DNA of the group; we have always been large-hearted,”.

When Chhatwal joined the group in 2017, IHCL was a loss-making entity. He turned it around in a year, reporting a profit of Rs101 crore. When the hotel industry worldwide was hit by the pandemic, the hospitality industry reported major losses. But IHCL recovered by 2022-23 itself, recording its highest-ever profit of Rs1,003 crore.

How did he manage the crisis? “We have been blessed to have gone to good schools, colleges, and business schools,” says Chhatwal. “They teach you sensitivity; what happens if your revenue drops by 20 per cent to 30 per cent. But I don’t think anybody ever taught what happens if your revenue becomes zero. When the lockdown was announced at that time, I don’t think anybody ever thought how long it would last. If we had known in the beginning that this was going to go on for two years, a lot of us would have given up. Because we thought it was going to come to an end, we started working before the second lockdown came. That is what kept us going. The leadership of the Tata Group chairman was critical in this space. So there was no panic reaction. For example, we didn’t put any of our full-time employees in furlough. I will say 200 people of the top management took a voluntary salary cut to support contractual employees. We did whatever we could for the people who were directly or indirectly associated with us.”

The pandemic was also a wake-up call for resetting costs. “We invented luxury home stays with amã. We went into luxury home delivery with Qmin. It kept evolving and everybody was kept busy. We opened in Mumbai in May 2020. Then we extended to four cities in the next month, then to 10 or 12 in the next 12 months. So it is not always just about revenue or profitability, but the system was busy, something was always happening. Today, even that has evolved as a business. The all-day dining of all Ginger hotels will be called Qmin. Today, we have 40 operational outlets for Qmin. It will soon have 100 outlets. So, 100 Qmin restaurants that started from an idea of home delivery,” says Chhatwal.

All of this is part of Chhatwal’s strategy to keep IHCL iconic as well as profitable. His call to action was called Ahvaan 2025, and he is making the chain asset light.

When the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel turned 100, a renovation programme was put into place. International architects were invited to work with local artisans and hotel staff to bring about a loving update. The Taj Mahal Palace has collected some 4,000 paintings and works of art―possibly the largest collection in the country after Air India’s, which is yet to be archived. More than 250 of these are museum-quality pieces. Giant Belgian chandeliers and the finest Bastar tribal art have been curated and displayed together. Anglo-Indian inlay chairs, Goan Christian artefacts, Mughal jaali-inspired designs and contemporary sculpture―the hotel is a veritable living museum of the finest talents.

The 120-year celebrations promise to be as iconic. It will start on December 17, with a sound and light show at the Gateway of India. A year of celebrations across all hotels will follow.

“We call March 24, which was otherwise the worst day for the hotel sector, a TAJNESS day. We will celebrate it across our hotels from breakfast to dinner. All guests, employees and stakeholders will be involved in the celebration. TAJNESS stands for Trust, Awareness and Joy, our three pillars of hospitality,” says Chhatwal. Musical evenings, black-tie dinners and the like will be hosted across major Indian cities.

A luxury brand celebrating 120 years also shows how the hotel has held on to both strings of legacy as well as modernity. The Taj Mahal Palace hotel as well as the IHCL group are constantly evolving. Social media promotions are a serious business now. Newer concepts to timeless spaces are constantly being planned. “Whether we did a Wasabi a few decades ago or a Souk, our restaurants are thriving. The once popular Zodiac Grill also comes back as a weekend Chambers (one of the most sought-after private clubs) dining. Now we will be going into renovation with the Chambers. We did the entire pool side and a new spa. We will be doing a new salon. We will be doubling the size of Chambers and taking a floor above that,” says Chhatwal.

The Taj Mahal Palace and IHCL are focused on an inclusive and sustainable growth, and to be major drivers to make India a top travel and tourism economy. The latest World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) report expects the sector to create 126 million jobs globally with at least 20 per cent of these coming from the Indian subcontinent.

“At the end of the day, you are still dealing with human beings, you are still dealing with emotions, you are still dealing with the experience,” says Chhatwal. “The experiences are getting more and more in focus than just the brick and mortar.”

indigo-is-not-satisfied-with-the-dominance-in-the-indian-sky

Sat Dec 02 16:44:18 IST 2023

SOMEONE SUGGESTED THAT we just look at the map and…” Pieter Elbers makes a motion resembling a dart being thrown, and laughs. “That’s not really how we select a new route to fly to,” he says, the grin firmly in place.

Elbers, CEO of IndiGo, Asia’s biggest airline and eighth largest in the world, is in his element after another round of laughing all the way to the bank―four quarters of profits in a row even as many fellow airlines are floundering or staring at bankruptcy. And the ‘going international’ strategy, which he set in motion a year ago, is now in top gear.

It is this choice of destinations that has the aviation world agog, and the subject of the question to Elbers. After starting the predictable India-Gulf routes a few years ago, the airline dialled up the expansion push by many notches this year with flights to, wait for it, Baku (Azerbaijan), Tbilisi (Georgia), Nairobi (Kenya), Jakarta (Indonesia) and more.

“We establish some market info first, looking into general parameters like GDP and foreign investments. Then we looked at whether Indians want to go to these places, how much of a detour is necessary to get there today and what options they have now,” says Elbers in an interaction with THE WEEK.

Third, he adds, is the entrepreneurial approach of taking a risk with a new route, as much as using the weight of IndiGo’s dominance in the domestic market as an advantage. “A Delhi to Baku flight is actually an India to Baku flight, because we connect so many domestic destinations to Delhi,” he says. “I’m encouraged by what I see in some of these new markets. The appetite of the Indian consumer to explore internationally is just about to start. We’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg.”

We might have as well seen just the tip of the iceberg as far as IndiGo’s insatiable thirst for market dominance is concerned. Founded in 2006 by travel entrepreneur Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal, who was president & CEO of US Airways, the airline quickly captured the nation’s imagination with its lean, mean business model, and leapfrogged established players like Jet Airways and Air India to become India’s biggest in barely six years.

Swiftly adding new destinations in India and the neighbourhood (Gulf and Southeast Asia), the airline had even freaked out the Directorate of Civil Aviation, which warned that such rapid expansion could impact safety. As Kingfisher Airlines, Jet Airways and Go First went belly up over the years, IndiGo steadily increased its market share, which currently stands at a staggering 62.6 per cent, a dominance rarely seen in open aviation markets.

But Bhatia (Gangwal is on his way out, diluting his stake as per an armistice reached between the warring co-founders recently) and Elbers are not content. “Our internationalisation strategy is coming to fruition,” says Elbers. “Traditionally, IndiGo was focused on the Gulf region. We are now stretching our wings.”

While Medina (Saudi Arabia) and Bali (Indonesia) are the next two international destinations to be added, taking up the total number to 14, they are only a small part of a larger strategy. IndiGo already has a code-sharing partnership with Turkish Airlines, which has seen not only Indian passengers being herded to the Istanbul hub for flights to destinations across Europe, but also the biggest international flight from India―the wide-bodied Boeing 777s that can carry 531 passengers.

This larger-than-life approach is what gives a different dimension to IndiGo’s plans. It is not just satisfied with being a domestic market leader or even the biggest international operator from India; its aim is to carve for itself a niche as a global operator by turning India into a global hub, similar to what Emirates has done for Dubai, or Singapore Airlines for the city-state.

“About 65 per cent of the world population lives within the range of our aircraft (from India) today; so we have a lot of opportunity to find new routes and destinations,” says Elbers, pointing out how India’s geographical range is helping it to develop its network. For instance, while its current aircraft can fly from Mumbai to Nairobi, it will need bigger planes to do the same destination from Delhi. The vastness of the country allows the airline to operate different destinations from different cities. And the situation will further improve when the aircraft on order, like the Airbus A321XLR (Extra Long Range), come in.

IndiGo’s intent to take the battle to the global carriers is clear. It is offering India as a new hub opportunity for international travellers between east and west, and herding in the increasing number of Indians who are travelling abroad by offering them direct routes, instead of transits through Doha or Dubai.

“I don’t see why foreign carriers can fly to so many places in India and we remain limited to Delhi and Mumbai,” says Elbers. “We can do it ourselves. If Singapore Airlines can fly to more than 10 destinations in India, why should we limit ourselves in India to only fly from one destination to Singapore? It is India’s time. It is also our time. That is the strategy we set for ourselves one year ago.”

But with all that breakneck expansion spree, IndiGo does foresee trouble ahead, particularly with technical glitches and supply chain issues nagging it since the pandemic. The latest, a powder metal problem with its Pratt & Whitney engines. Along with the earlier issues with the A320neo engines, the number of planes to be grounded is estimated to cross 70 by the new year.

“We have adopted a whole range of mitigating measures―leases extended, inducted new ATRs, and have recently arranged for another 11 damp lease aircraft,” says Elbers. But cost control will remain an issue, as leased aircraft will come with older engines, which means less fuel efficiency, which in turn will squeeze profit margins in a business where margins are even otherwise razor thin.

So far a tightly run ship, IndiGo will be in unfamiliar waters with the global expansion owing to the changes to the format it has operated in so far. The departure of Gangwal, a staunch advocate of the low-cost model that had included using only one type of aircraft for cost optimisation in maintenance and pilot training, might have an effect. Some international routes of IndiGo are rumoured to be loss-making, and the airline is yet to make a decision on having business class service, which rakes in a lot more money, on its newer routes. The planes will have to be reconfigured accordingly if the decision is positive though the buzz has picked up pace over the past few days.

Then, there is, of course, the Tatas. Air India is on a five-year transformation exercise, while the nimble Vistara continues to wow passengers with its service excellence so much that the Tatas are said to be going slow in its merger with Air India. The real threat for IndiGo, however, would be from Air India Express, which Bombay House plans to position as an aggressive low-cost carrier for domestic and nearby international routes. Considering that the Tatas’ have deep pockets and deeper patience, IndiGo would need to keep its domestic flanks protected during its eager push into becoming a global carrier.

Elbers though is cool as cucumber, and he has set his eyes on doubling the size of IndiGo by the end of the decade. “Bigger, better and global―that is what IndiGo is doing,” he says. “Representing the size and potential of India itself.”

Aiming high

IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers on the carrier’s plans

Business class on IndiGo

We are awaiting our Airbus A321 XLR (Extra Long Range) aircraft order. We are awaiting Airbus to share the final capability. We haven’t decided yet whether to introduce business class (on international flights). We will keep that flexible.

Exact configuration (all economy or a mix of economy class and business class) will have some impact on the range (depending on) whether you have 230 passengers or 190. And we have the flexibility to decide on the exact number of XLRs.

India as a transit hub

Our new international destinations are not only connections in itself, but has even (created) connectivity―we now see people flying from Tbilisi to Delhi and then connecting to Phuket. New traffic flows help us realise the vision of India becoming an aviation hub and not only a big market.

Partnerships

New code-share with BA; same with Qatar Airways, Qantas from earlier. Code-share with Turkish means five cities in the US and 30 destinations in Europe. In India, everyone knows IndiGo; outside India, there is still work to be done. These code-shares will help in that.

Geographical position of India is extremely helpful. Not only are we operating domestic in the largest population on earth and the soon-to-be third largest economy in the world, we are also located with a big market to the north, and a relevant market to the east and west. You can go east, west and north from India itself and we develop our partnerships with exactly this in mind. So BA brings in passengers from the UK, Qantas from Australia and with that we are building our global presence.

Increasing delays

I would love to have 1,900 flights a day all leaving on time. Check our OAG (a provider of digital flight information) data, we are thinking as a very ‘on time performance’ airline domestically.

Udan

Some of the Udan routes are building up to be structural routes. Udan is a temporary scheme. Against that backdrop, it is good for IndiGo to participate in it. Routes are opening and we are participating in it. We have the ambition to fly those routes even when Udan is no longer there.

The typical Indian traveller

India hosts today a huge variety of travellers. So we have people who fly Delhi-Mumbai every week, people who fly all over the country because their factories are all over. But we also have first time travellers―people who used to travel on trains but are now coming onboard. The Udan scheme is helping in that. The Indian consumer is a huge variety. On an average plane of IndiGo, if you ask who is flying for the first time, you see a lot of hands going up. Udan has played a significant part in that.

Flying to Russia and China

I don’t want to speculate. We will monitor the Indian government’s position on this (flying to Russia) before deciding. Today, it’s not in our planning, but we are not ruling out anything going forward.

Regarding China, we have opened our flights to Hong Kong, and, of course, we monitor the situation there closely.

Looking ahead

We will continue our network expansion. We have 85 destinations within India, and we will continue adding new routes.

chief-economic-adviser-to-the-union-government-v-anantha-nageswaran-interview

Sat Dec 02 12:12:50 IST 2023

Genial but sharp, soft-spoken but articulate, V. Anantha Nageswaran has a knack for balancing extremes. The chief economic adviser to the Union government does not see the economy slowing down in the near future, but has already identified factors that would affect it in the long term. In an interview with THE WEEK, he talks about the effects of the Palestine-Israel conflict to India, the debt of the states and the need to prioritise health. Excerpts:

Q/ You said the short-term economic prospects of India were good and growth will be steady in the medium term, but beyond 2030, there would be major challenges. What are the issues that we should address now so that we can sustain the good growth rate?

A/ I believe our current growth rate is sustainable, maintaining a robust average of around 6.5 per cent per annum in real terms until the end of this decade. However, to sustain or even surpass this growth rate afterwards, there are internal challenges that we must address.

A key focus should be on ensuring that education and skilling of young Indians are adequate, making them increasingly employable. While there has been significant improvement―with the employability of graduates rising from one-third to 50 per cent―further enhancements are necessary.

Certain sectors still face skill shortages, indicating that graduates in specific specialisations are not yet job-ready. This aspect requires attention and transformation.

The second is the need for India to prioritise health and fitness. We must learn from the mistakes made by the west. We don’t have to go through the same cycle of learning; we can glean insights from their experiences. It is crucial to avoid repeating the cycle of errors, such as the overconsumption of junk food and sugar-rich beverages, as well as neglecting physical activity. Only a healthy economy can be a productive economy, only a healthy citizen can be a productive citizen.

The third concern is the imperative of ensuring energy security for sustained growth. While the emphasis on renewable energy and energy transition is significant, prioritising energy security takes precedence. If these three things are addressed by all levels of government, not just the Union government, and also by the citizens themselves, then the growth will be sustained.

Externally, we must remain vigilant regarding geopolitical conflicts. The worsening of such conflicts can lead to uncontrollable consequences, including disruptions in trade and the flow of raw materials. We must be prepared to address them as they arise.

Q/ How would the Israel-Palestine conflict impact India’s long-term economic growth plans?

A/ At this stage, I don’t believe it will directly impact us unless there is a significant disruption in global crude oil supplies. Interestingly, over the past month and a half, since tensions escalated between Israel and Hamas, the oil price has decreased. As of November 17, Brent crude, closely linked to the Indian crude oil basket, is just above $80 per barrel. Therefore, asserting that it will significantly impact the Indian economy necessitates making assumptions that may be far-fetched at this stage.

Q/ Are we facing a situation where we are failing to create enough jobs despite high economic growth?

A/ That is not true at all. According to the periodic labour force survey, the unemployment rate for Indian youth has decreased from 17 per cent to 10 per cent. It is perplexing why there is such reluctance to take the periodic labour force survey seriously. India’s overall unemployment rate, which rose during the Covid-19 pandemic, has significantly declined. This improvement is evident in both rural and urban employment, as well as in youth employment. Across these categories, unemployment rates are decreasing and have made substantial progress since the peak of the pandemic. The Indian economy is, indeed, generating jobs. This optimism is reflected in household perceptions of job creation, as indicated by the RBI survey of consumer confidence.

The optimism expressed by households aligns with the eagerness of industries to hire, a sentiment evident in the industrial outlook survey conducted by the Reserve Bank of India. This willingness is further reflected in the job growth of listed companies in India. In the fiscal year 2022, job growth in listed companies stood at about 8 per cent, and in FY23, it was around 5 per cent, accompanied by commendable wage and compensation growth. Contrary to a prevalent misconception, the data affirms that the Indian economy is actively generating employment. The evidence suggests that job creation is on an upward trajectory and is poised to further escalate in the coming years.

Q/ Bibek Debroy, chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, recently said the government was losing revenue due to the GST, which should be revenue neutral with a single rate. Do you share his view?

A/ I need to delve into the specifics of what he mentioned because I haven’t had a chance to read the report on the statements made by the EAC PM. When the GST was implemented in 2017, the revenue-neutral rate was closer to 15 per cent. However, it seems to have decreased by about three percentage points now, settling somewhere between 11 per cent and 12 per cent. I believe that was the point he intended to convey. The decrease in the revenue-neutral rate can be attributed to various exemptions, resulting in a lower effective GST rate. And that is a legitimate point to make.

Q/ Many states are neck-deep in debt. How much would you attribute the freebie culture to this situation? Also, some states say that the Union government is trying to undermine their fiscal freedom.

A/ In the larger scheme of things, the GST implemented by states has exhibited a much swifter growth compared to the individual state sales tax revenues of the past. That is why this argument is no longer being raised. Moreover, states retain the authority to impose taxes on property and increase user charges; products like alcohol and petroleum products are still outside the GST framework. Additionally, states possess the flexibility to enhance their fiscal situation by making decisions in areas still under their control. Before raising concerns about their revenue generation scope being curtailed, states should first demonstrate that they have fully utilised and tapped into all potential sources of revenue available to them.

Drawing conclusions about if deficits have widened due to a freebie culture requires a detailed analysis of the specific factors contributing to the increase in debts among certain states. Making off-the-cuff statements is challenging without a comprehensive breakdown of these causes. Generally, the fiscal deficit of state governments is well below 3 per cent, but concerns arise from elevated debt ratios in some states. To address this, it is crucial to investigate the reasons behind the growing debt burden. This includes examining whether it results from a freebie culture, a failure to adjust user charges for key consumption items and utilities, or a lack of revision in property index values and property tax rates. A thorough examination of these details is necessary before attributing the debt increase to a particular factor.

Q/ Some states have complaints about the central government stopping the GST compensation.

A/ I believe this is a matter for the GST Council to deliberate upon. It [GST compensation] was originally meant for five years. The GST, as an indirect tax revenue system, has proven its mettle and has come of age. The actual revenue growth has consistently increased year after year. In that sense, this may be a moot point.

Q/ Are we on track to achieve our commitments on green transitioning? Also, what are the challenges we are facing now in balancing our industrial growth and green commitments?

A/ I believe we have performed exceptionally well so far, surpassing many others. A report by the International Finance Corporation released in early October highlights that among the G20 countries, India has made the most significant progress in shifting towards renewable energy. In this context, India is well ahead of many other nations in its energy transition. Importantly, this transition has not impeded industrialisation; rather, it has facilitated it.

However, looking ahead, as the proportion of renewable or non-fossil fuel energy increases in India’s overall energy mix, challenges will arise. It is important to note that this is not unique to India; many countries, including advanced ones, grapple with similar issues. Concerns such as grid stability, battery storage, and the availability of critical minerals and rare earths essential for renewable energy are shared challenges faced by the global community. In this regard, India has navigated its transition toward non-fossil fuel energy more effectively than many other nations, as acknowledged by the IFC report.

Q/ On the economic side, how are we preparing ourselves to fight with China?

A/ I don’t perceive it as a matter of contention or a trade-off. China’s rise occurred during a period when the US and western countries were flourishing. Likewise, it is not a zero-sum game. I think there is enough scope for India to rise, even as China’s growth rate levels off. Because it has now reached a certain level in the GDP, where naturally its growth rate will be lower. India is ready to pick up the baton, and India’s growth rate will improve.

understanding-multi-asset-investing

Sat Nov 18 12:12:48 IST 2023

‘DON’T KEEP ALL EGGS in one basket’ is a popular adage in the investment world. Simply put, concentrating your investments in a single asset class ties your fortune to the vagaries of that asset class. Investors increasingly realise that having a well-balanced and structured portfolio is key to long-term returns and peace of mind. This is why multi-asset investing as a single-window and all-weather solution has gained prominence.

Story of multiples

Due to the dynamic nature of global markets and economic cycles, it is impossible to consistently invest in the winning asset class. Also, each asset class may have prolonged cycles of outperformance and underperformance. Historical data also demonstrates that no single asset class performs consistently well. An investor who invests 100% of their hard-earned money in a single asset class leaves their investment vulnerable to the asset’s ups and downs. During good times, this may pay off, but during bad times, such a strategy may not suit the investors’ risk appetite. This can cause a suboptimal return experience.

Multi-asset investing, which is best routed through a multi-asset mutual fund in India, can provide diversified exposure to various asset classes through a single fund. The mandate of such a fund is to invest in three or more asset classes. Typical asset classes where multi-asset allocation funds invest are equity, equity arbitrage, debt/fixed income, gold, silver, international equities, REITs, and InvITs. As a result, investors who wish to lower portfolio volatility and aim for greater predictability of returns should consider a multi-asset offering as a core part of their portfolio.

By virtue of having a diversified portfolio, multi-asset funds help reduce risks. Diversification works best when the constituents of a portfolio do not move in tandem as a result of a macroeconomic or market development. Different assets move in response to various factors and thrive in different types of market conditions. Instead of focusing on one or two asset classes, multi-asset investing is about finding the right asset allocation mix across a number of assets and fine-tuning exposure as and when required. These are the important factors that will determine your actual return experience. By spreading your investments across different assets, you are essentially betting on the entire team rather than a single star player.

Mix and match

There are different approaches to multi-asset investing, each with its pros and cons. Within the multi-asset mutual fund offering, there are various types available. If the goal is to generate low-volatility fixed-income equivalent returns, the multi-asset investment approach should focus on fixed-income and equity arbitrage. The other assets serve only as a supplement to the primary goal of capital preservation. Here, gains would be taxed in a debt-like manner.

However, if the goal is to generate growth-like returns, the multi-asset framework should focus on equities while using other assets as counterbalancing forces. Even in this approach, where equities have the upper hand, the priority would be to mitigate volatility. Taxation of gains would be more optimal, given the equity edge.

The benefit of multi-asset investing is that the investment approach is dynamic in terms of asset allocation decisions and allows for choosing the instruments that best play each asset class. Another significant advantage of multi asset investing is that shifts made across asset classes within the fund by the fund manager are not taxed at the hands of the investor, while if one tries to do this on a portfolio level, the tax liability on these changes could be significant.

Over the long term, such an approach leads to better risk and tax adjusted returns.

Choices available

Multi-asset falls under the hybrid category of mutual fund schemes. With over a dozen offerings, this category has more than Rs 34,000 crore in investor assets under management. Given the nature of the fund, it is ideal for both new as well as experienced investors. According to Value Research data, multi-asset funds posted 14.45 per cent in the one-year period ending September 5, 2023. In the 3-year period, the returns are higher at 16.12 per cent.

Given the wide variety of options available, investors should look at the fund management team’s strength when selecting a fund. This is because multi-asset funds carve their niche by surviving in an environment of complicated interplay between multiple assets and investment decisions involved. So, an experienced team that has over the years managed to grow investor wealth is essential.

In conclusion, a multi asset fund deserves a place in every portfolio, both, through the lumpsum and SIP route, in order to optimize risk and return over the long term given market volatility and changes in the economy.

Writer is managing partner at Credel Capital Financial Services LLP

personality-testing-industry-mbti-enneagram-big-five-hexaco-hogan

Wed Oct 30 09:38:54 IST 2024

What does your favourite fruitcake say about you? Are you a wallflower or a social butterfly? Should the Sorting Hat put you in Gryffindor or Slytherin? Which F.R.I.E.N.D.S character are you? Thus go some of the quirky personality quizzes I stumbled across online recently. A viral trend on Instagram this year was the Cosmos Persona Quiz. It categorises you into celestial bodies like Nebula, Black Hole or Supernova based on your responses. Then there are the classic what-do-you-see Freudian illusion tests that assess you based on your interpretations of images. So why are these quizzes, with no scientific backing, an instant hit among Gen-Zers? They give these young soul-searchers a sense of fulfilment in their journey of self-discovery.

Just admit it: After coming across a magazine zodiac section that goes something like, “You trust your gut feelings”, you have told yourself, “Wow, that’s so me!”. If a roadside palmist tells you, “You often doubt yourself,” you might nod to that, too. Two contrasting remarks but both oddly feel personal to you. That’s the Barnum effect―a feeling that a random remark about human traits is specifically about you. These online quizzes are no different―they tell you what you want to hear, whether it is fruitcakes, F.R.I.E.N.D.S or Freudian.

“Who am I?” It is a cross-cultural and trans-historical question that has kept sages, scientists and maybe even your neighbour’s Saint Bernard up at night. The Upanishads explore the ideas of Aham Brahmasmi (I am the ultimate reality) and Tat Tvam Asi (You are That). In the early 20th century, Ramana Maharshi’s practice of Atma Vichara (self reflection) became popular in the west, inspiring contemporaries like Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung.

A few millennia ago, it was the Mesopotamians who first posited human-sorting theories. When the idea reached ancient Greece, Hippocrates, the father of medicine, devised humorism to sort people based on four bodily fluids: blood, black bile, yellow bile and phlegm. He believed that if your humours go out of whack, so would your body and mind. Greek physician Galen later jazzed up the humours into four temperaments: sanguine, melancholic, choleric and phlegmatic.

However, like corsets and sword fights, there were fewer takers for the ancient wisdom in the 20th century. The two Great Wars accelerated the need to dissect the human psyche using contemporary science. The first reported use of personality tests was by the US Army during World War I to spot soldiers prone to “shell shock” or “war neuroses”, a condition that we now know as post-traumatic stress disorder. The American Psychological Association roped in Columbia University professor Robert S. Woodworth to prepare a yes-or-no questionnaire to screen out the US enlistees being shipped to France. And voila, the world’s first personality test was born―The Woodworth Personal Data Sheet.

Now, back to the future and a look closer home. Soul-searching today has become commodified in the form of personality tests and you can learn about your psyche, at a premium. But who can put a price on self-discovery, right? The multi-million dollar industry not only caters to people looking to discover themselves and relevant careers but also companies trying to hire the best candidates or building dream teams. Dr Alok Kulkarni, senior consultant and interventional psychiatrist, Manas Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Hubballi, said that the global market for personality tests is estimated to be around $500 million with an annual growth rate of 10-15 per cent. “Personality tests categorise individuals into specific types or traits. To some extent, this reduces humans to data in today’s knowledge economy. Though individuality cannot be reduced to a set of data points that can be bought and sold, unfortunately, market forces seem to be doing that,” he told THE WEEK. “A welcome trend is the integration of these tests with neuroscience and genetics, which lends objectivity to the overall testing process.”

In our country, too, the industry is booming. “Personality assessments are already big in India,” said Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, organisational psychologist and professor of business psychology at University College London and Columbia University. “This is no surprise, given India has all the conditions to leverage assessments: a tech-savvy nation with great talent and expertise in business psychology and AI; a rapidly growing economy; a talent-centric philosophy; and large volumes of applications and jobs, as well as data scientists and evidence-based leaders. There is already a big explosion in startup activities in this field, leveraging AI, game-based assessments and other innovations.”

One such innovative startup is the Delhi-based PMaps, which has come up with a visual assessment that can prevent candidates from gaming the algorithm, making it tough for you to give fake responses and get socially desirable results. PMaps cofounder Saurabh Rana says unlike text-based assessments, a visual test is quick, fun and one doesn’t have to be proficient in a particular language.

The most popular psychometric instrument to date is (drumroll, please) the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), first copyrighted during the peak of World War II in 1943 by Katharine Briggs and Isabel Myers, an American mother-daughter duo who had no formal education in psychology. The inspiration for this test was Jung’s 1921 work Psychological Types, which was also not based on any experiments or data.

MBTI categorises you into one of the 16 different personality types. The first type is based on whether you receive your energy from being alone or with other people: Introvert (I) or Extrovert (E); then it sorts you based on how you take in information: Sensing (S) or Intuitive (N); the next one is how you come to conclusions: Thinking (T) or Feeling (F); and the last one is how you approach the outside world: Judging (J) or Perceiving (P). According to the 93-question framework, you have one dominant preference in each of the four pairs represented by four letters like ENFP or ISTJ.

MBTI isn’t just for soul-searching, it can also help you search for your soulmate. Forget cluttering your Tinder bio with fancy Greek-laden adjectives like sapiosexual or pluviophile, your four-letter type might have more chances of getting you swiped right. It became a huge hit in South Korea during the pandemic, with even BTS and Blackpink members as well as the country’s presidential candidates flashing their MBTI types.

Janaki Venkat, one of the founder-directors of Anahat, which is the official distributor of the MBTI test in India since 2005, told THE WEEK, “Young people are naturally attracted to typology because they want to find their tribe. When we train professionals who are authorised to administer MBTI, we make sure they present it with equal respect regardless of your type. MBTI gives equal weightage to all 16 types and does not see one type as inferior to the other. This is one of the reasons for MBTI’s popularity.”

Child Rights and You (CRY) board member Pervin Varma said MBTI was introduced in the NGO in 2001. “The assessment was insightful and transformed our working relationships, by giving us a deeper appreciation of the gifts in differences. Areas of possible friction were turned to opportunities for collaboration,” she said.

Depending on how deeply you want to know about yourself, MBTI can cost anywhere between Rs 2,540 and Rs 9,330. Going by Myers-Briggs, I am an ESTJ and people like me make up 9 per cent of the population; it says I am dependable, a rule-abider and a problem-solver; moreover, I am a natural leader. If I keep flattering myself, you may think I am pretentious, too (I am not). But MBTI has platitudes not just for ESTJs, but for all the 16 types because its “positive psychology” allows a person to be their best self.

But to be honest, I consider myself an ambivert, which people close to me would vouch for. However, according to MyersBriggs.com, you are either an extrovert or introvert, not both―just like you are either right- or left-handed.

“This assertion is anti-scientific,” said Chamorro-Premuzic, “It’s like saying that some people are Libra or Scorpio. Most people are neither extroverted nor introverted, but somewhere in the middle. And the same goes for all the other traits that MBTI tries to assess. So, according to the MBTI, most people do not exist.”

However, Cameron Nott, chief international markets officer and psychologist at The Myers-Briggs Company, clarified that we can have both preferences. “If you are born an extrovert, you can still have introverted characteristics. But MBTI looks at which preference is actually driving you,” said Nott, asserting that the test meets the validity and reliability standards set by the American Psychological Society and British Psychological Society. “We also continuously update MBTI to promote diversity, train leaders to be inclusive and stay relevant in hybrid workplaces.”

So, to get a perspective, I tried MBTI-style tests elsewhere, too. These tests are inspired by Jungian types and Myer-Briggs but have their own formats and interpretations to avoid copyright infringement. One such MBTI-inspired assessment, Truity.com’s TypeFinder test, priced at Rs 2,435, found an ESTP in me, slightly different from my MBTI type ESTJ. ESTPs are flexible and spontaneous, while ESTJs prefer structure and planning. But both are outgoing, task-oriented and focus on the here and now.

But going by the Rs 2,399 NERIS Type Explorer test on 16personalities.com, I was more like “WHAT?”―forgive my Freudian slip, or Jungian snark if you will―I meant INTJ, which is a lot different from the previous two types. INTJs are reserved and seek innovative methods to solve problems, while ESTJs and ESTPs are direct and prefer traditional processes. And only the logical reasoning trait is a constant among all three.

However, contrasting results from different Jungian tests do not necessarily raise questions about the reliability of these self-reported assessments. Because the way questions are framed by different test providers can impact the results. Your carelessness, honesty, self-awareness and stress are also key factors.

Bengaluru-based techie Dashwini Anoop, 31, first came across the 16personalities test during the pandemic and she is an ESFJ. “I think it is nice to get an idea about ourselves. But what I find problematic is that these types restrict you to a few labels, not allowing you to grow.”

Another popular typology framework is the Enneagram, which simply means “nine letters”. At the core of this theory is a circular diagram with nine equidistant points, each represented by a number that denotes nine personality types. According to the Enneagram, you could have some traits of all nine types but not equally. However, unlike MBTI, it does not cast you into an either/or binary.

The Narrative Enneagram, a Colorado-based educational nonprofit, encourages representatives of different types to share their personal stories and reveal their inner worlds for the understanding of its students. Terry Saracino, founding president and core faculty of The Narrative Enneagram, said, “In our school, determining your type is a process of self-discovery.

Scientific validity is not a high priority to many of our students who find tremendous value in the Enneagram as a tool to help improve themselves and their relationships. Once a person identifies their type, they have an inner sense of the truth of it.”

The most popular Enneagram test is the Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI), devised by the late Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson, who founded The Enneagram Institute in New York. The forced-choice assessment with 144 paired statements costs Rs 1,680. The results will reveal how much you scored for each type and one of the high-scoring types could be your actual personality.

My highest RHETI score was 22―for both Type 6 and Type 9―followed by 20 for Type 3. Talking about my results, Hudson said, “It’s not surprising because those three points form the inner triangle in the Enneagram. Whichever one is your actual type, you have the two inner lines connecting the other two.” He was referring to the lines inside the Enneagram circle connecting 3, 6 and 9, showing how each type relates to two other types. A Type 9 will behave like an average Type 6 when they are stressed, and at their best, they will act like a Type 3. The same goes for the other two types.

Enneagram Institute recommends reading the type descriptions, observing yourself and talking to someone close to you to find your actual personality. “Though I designed the RHETI, I am not a big advocate of people just relying on tests,” Hudson clarified. “Tests are pieces of evidence, a good place to start looking but not a final word on anything. Enneagram is meant to help people see themselves more accurately.”

However, not all personality tests are type-based like MBTI and Enneagram, which classify you into a specific category. Some of them are trait-based, measuring where you are on a spectrum. And most psychologists prefer traits to types. “The type versus trait debate is a hotbed in the field of personality psychology,” said Kulkarni. “Generally, trait-based models are considered more reliable and scientifically valid. These provide a more nuanced understanding. On the other hand, MBTI categorises individuals into distinct types based on traits. This can oversimplify the complexity of human personality.”

Type-based tests like MBTI can help you become the best version of yourself or help you learn about others. The problem emerges when they are used for hiring. “It’s like asking someone to design a forklift truck and then complaining that it is not as fast as a Ferrari,” says C.S. Mahesh, founder-director of Anahat. “When you check the validity of a test, you should first check what it was constructed for in the first place. Each test is made for a specific reason. MBTI focuses on a person’s inner workings and is suitable for coaching and team building. It should not be used for hiring, as typologies don’t predict well an individual’s workplace behaviour.”

The Big Five framework, a trait-based model, is generally considered a more suitable tool for hiring. Chamorro-Premuzic considers it the “gold standard” for all personality tests as studies show it has more widely replicated reliability and validity predicting work outcomes. Agreed Kulkarni, adding that the Big Five has more empirical data, which is gathered through controlled experiments or surveys. Since the Big Five measures traits on a continuous scale, it allows for more flexibility in describing personality, he said.

The traits measured in this five-factor model are often referred to by the acronym OCEAN. O stands for openness to experience, which measures your personality in a continuum between curious and cautious. Then comes conscientiousness that looks into the organised vs careless scale, while extraversion assesses energetic vs reserved spectrum. Agreeableness gauges where you stand in the compassionate vs judgmental range. The last one is neuroticism, which measures how nervous or confident you are.

Chamorro-Premuzic said critics of the Big Five are outliers. One of the cons of this model is the missing H factor: humility vs honesty. This led to the creation of the Hexaco, which is an acronym for the six traits the model measures: honesty-humility (H), emotionality (E), extraversion (X), agreeableness (A), conscientiousness (C) and openness to experience (O). Though less popular than the Big Five, Hexaco is often attributed for giving better insights into your integrity and being apt for diverse cultural settings.

Hogan Assessment Systems, an Oklahoma-based test provider, claims its Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) incorporates key predictors of workplace behaviour that are not readily found in other tests. Its chief science officer Ryne Sherman, citing studies, said that both Big Five and Hexaco measure the “bright side” of personality, which is when you put your best self forward. This means a stranger can accurately evaluate the traits measured by both these frameworks.

“HPI is similar to Big Five and Hexaco in this regard,” Sherman told THE WEEK, “However, it measures two core dimensions obscured by them: ambition and learning approach.” A very low score on ambition could mean you are a good team player, willing to let others lead, and complacent, while a very high score might mean you are energetic, competitive, restless and forceful. If your learning approach score is very low, you might be a hands-on learner, focused on your interests and technology-averse, while a high score could indicate you are interested in learning, insightful and may seem like a know-it-all.

The company also has another test called Hogan Development Survey (HDS), which it claims is the only validated test that can identify the “dark side”of a personality. HDS-based programmes are said to help tackle employee stress while improving morale and job satisfaction. HDS scores indicate possible risks linked to hiring and help employers explore them during the interview.

Recalling how his firm began using HDS, Salil Raghavan, Head-HR at Mumbai-based Great Eastern Shipping, said that in 2015, one of their ships collided with two other vessels at a Fujairah offshore anchorage in the UAE. A probe revealed that the ship was speeding and the captain was under stress and not listening to his crewmates. Following this, the company introduced HDS tests to screen leadership-level hiring to avoid future mishaps.

Raghavan, who is also certified by Anahat to administer MBTI since 2005, recounted how the test helped him personally. While he is an INFP, the former HR-Head at the shipping company, N.J. Thomas, is an ISTJ. As a Sensing-Judging personality, Thomas had a preference for details and structure while Raghavan looked at the macro picture and was flexible due to his Intuitive-Perceiving trait. “Understanding his personality helped me anticipate his needs in advance and prepare for his review sessions,”said Raghavan.

There are several more personality tests that are beyond the scope of this article. And, there are many more to come, as AI takes centrestage. So where is the personality testing industry headed in the coming years? If you ask Chamorro-Premuzic, he would tell you, “...To get rid of assessments altogether. In a world in which we have unlimited data on humans, and sophisticated AI to interpret those data and turn insights into a prediction machine, there would be no need for assessments as we know them and have used for the past 100 years.”

Yet, even in a future where AI and datafication leave traditional assessments redundant, the basic human quest to learn about oneself is here to stay. So, in the coming years, we can expect personality tests―scientific or not―to coexist in some or other advanced form alongside apps like Co-Star that delivers real-time star readings using NASA data, Kundli GPT that advises on marriage and career via an AI chatbot and whatever other fads that social media throws at us. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go listen to what my favourite fruitcake has to psychobabble about me (Trust me, I won’t argue with a dessert).

JUNG AND FREUD

Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, who published Psychological Types in 1921, laid the foundations of modern psychology along with Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis. The duo closely collaborated from 1906 to 1913, a friendship that prompted Freud to name Jung as his successor. However, the bonhomie did not last long as Jung was opposed to Freud’s insistence on sexuality as the root of core personality. By 1913, they parted ways. It was around this time that Jung first spoke about typology at the Munich Psychological Congress.

different-types-of-personality-tests

Sat Oct 26 12:10:03 IST 2024

Graphics: Sreemanikandan S./Research: Sachin Jose

professor-of-business-psychology-at-university-college-london-and-columbia-university-dr-tomas-chamorro-premuzic-interview

Sat Oct 26 17:00:24 IST 2024

Interview/ Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, professor of business psychology at University College London and Columbia University

DR TOMAS CHAMORRO-PREMUZIC, psychologist and author, has been instrumental in building science-based tools that help companies predict performance of employees and people’s ability to understand themselves. As an expert in AI, he has often cited studies showing how “AI can make more accurate estimates of our personality than not just our friends but also ourselves”.

In his book, I, Human: AI, Automation, and the Quest to Reclaim What Makes Us Unique, he recalls that 20 years ago, when he was running research experiments for his doctoral thesis, he had to beg people to take psychometric tests. However, in the AI age, he says “the behavioural DNA of our habits, including our most intimate preferences, our deepest, most private thoughts and our guilty pleasures, has been turned into a vast reserve of information so that algorithms can learn all there is to know about us”.

Based in Brooklyn, New York City, he cofounded DeeperSignals and Metaprofiling. An international authority in psychological profiling, he was the former CEO at Hogan Assessment Systems, which is known for its state-of-the-art personality assessments. He is also the professor of business psychology at University College London and Columbia University. With roots in Buenos Aires, Chamorro-Premuzic established his career in London before moving to the US. In the past, he has held academic positions at the New York University and the London School of Economics and frequently lectures at Harvard Business School, Stanford Business School, London Business School and International Institute for Management Development.

He has bagged awards from the American Psychological Association, the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences and the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology, to which he is a fellow.

Currently serving as chief talent scientist at Wisconsin-based Manpower Group, one of the largest staffing firms globally, he spoke to THE WEEK exclusively on the evolution of personality tests and how AI will impact the personality testing industry. Excerpts:

Q/ What are the most significant changes you have observed in the personality testing industry?

A/ No major changes in the past 50 years, just cosmetic changes: shortening the tests, adding pictures, using AI to improve the scoring key and so on. There has not been true innovation in the field and most of the so-called innovations have made them worse. The most significant advancement in the field is that you can now scrape passive data to infer people’s personality without having to give them an assessment. In that sense, the biggest innovation has been to make assessments irrelevant (though legal constraints regulate against the use of passive data scraping, keeping traditional assessments in business).

Q/ Are today’s personality tests successful in cherry-picking high potential employees (HiPos)?

A/ Personality tests can certainly enhance HiPo identification by going beyond past performance and zeroing in on potential, soft skills and leadership abilities, even when candidates have not managed people before. They are also better than alternatives such as managerial ratings, CVs, past performance or experience, qualifications and 360 [degree feedback]. They are also better than IQ tests, though they mostly complement them.

Q/ How reliable is the use of AI in hiring, whether it is personality tests or interviews?

A/ AI is too big to answer this question. It includes CV-parsing tools, natural language processing (NLP), gen AI, machine learning, neural networks, deep learning, and many other ways to turn data into insights. It is more interesting to look at the data in question: how reliable is video interview data, voice, speech, language, behaviour in X or Y context and so on.

In general, AI has been useful in identifying some signals that predict potential where other data science methods don’t, but the overarching finding so far is that it is mostly helpful in terms of costs, speed and efficiency, including improving user experience, rather than accuracy. The best AI is more accurate than most humans, an average AI is as accurate as a competent human, but a human expert augmented by AI is the best formula to date. Ultimately, it all depends on the quality of data.

If you train AI to predict who gets promoted in a firm, it may select Machiavellian sociopaths who are confident rather than competent. If you train it to identify the people who add most value to a company, it may identify the best workers. But they will be dismissed by human raters who are used to politicians and alpha males.

Q/ How do modern assessments tackle test-takers who pick socially desirable responses to score well?

A/ Well-designed assessments invite people to fake; they assume they will. Success in every area of life involves impression management, deception and socially agreeable behaviour. When an interviewer asks you if you love working with others, the honest answer is: “it depends on who they are”. But if you answer that, you are probably antisocial and shouldn’t get the job.

Likewise, the best tests don’t take your answers at face value. Think of assessments as an invitation to present yourself in a positive way. If your scores predict your performance, the assessment is valid and useful, irrespective of whether you think you were honest.

how-dramaturge-jeff-kitchen-cooks-up-life-like-characters-using-a-special-cutlery

Mon Oct 28 15:33:12 IST 2024

Jeff Kitchen is a chef, but of screenplays―a dramaturge whose clients include top playwrights in Broadway and screenwriters in Hollywood. He has a set of special cutleries and secret recipes to cook a good story and serve it as a dramatic plot. One of his special cutlery is the Enneagram, a psychometric framework that posits that there are nine personality types. He says it not only helps him develop credible characters, but also construct an engaging plot.

“Everyone focuses on the art of storytelling rather than the craft of the dramatist. This is why 99 per cent of scripts get rejected,” says the California-based script consultant, whose students include Oscar, Emmy and Tony award winners. One of them is Ted Melfi, whose 2016 directorial, Hidden Figures, was nominated for an Oscar in the best picture and best adapted screenplay categories.

If it was Greek physician Galen’s four temperaments―sanguine, melancholic, choleric and phlegmatic―that made Shakespearean characters multidimensional, it was Enneagram that helped Kitchen add complexity to the characters he created. Before discovering the psychometric tool, he mostly drew upon his own knowledge of the people around him. “I know a lot about how people operate in the world, but it’s nowhere near as comprehensive as Enneagram,” he tells THE WEEK.

Kitchen is not the only person to use personality types to develop characters. Isabel Myers, who devised the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) with the help of her mother, Katharine Briggs, was also a novelist who used typology to build her characters. Her first novel, Murder Yet to Come, won the National Detective Murder Mystery Contest in 1929.

Kitchen, 70, has also tried a few other personality tests and Galen’s humours. “But, for me, the Enneagram is more comprehensive and practical. It is highly organised so that I can quickly and efficiently scout through an array of possibilities, finding what I need,” he adds.

The dramaturge came across Enneagram through his late friend Armand F. DiMele, a Manhattan-based psychotherapist and on-air radio host of The Positive Mind. DiMele was a cinephile, so he used to help Kitchen and his clients in creating psychological profiles of characters. “At one point, DiMele asked me if I had ever worked with Enneagram and told me it was the best thing out there,” he says. “So I leapt right on it and started studying Enneagram. It radically changed everything about how I approached my characters.”

Kitchen uses material from The Enneagram Institute, including the book, The Wisdom of the Enneagram, authored by its founders. According to the institute, Type 1―the reformer―is rational and idealistic, Type 2―the helper―is caring and interpersonal, Type 3―the achiever―is success-oriented and pragmatic, Type 4―the individualist―is sensitive and introspective, Type 5―the investigator―is intense and cerebral, Type 6―the loyalist―is committed and security-oriented, Type 7―the enthusiast―is busy and variety-seeking, Type 8―the challenger―is powerful and dominating, and Type 9―the peacemaker―is easygoing and self-effacing.

Enneagram describes the strengths and weaknesses of each of the nine characters, whether it is core beliefs, basic desires, preferences, fears, flaws and unconscious patterns that drive people’s behaviour, says Kitchen. Besides, it also delves deeper into healthy, average and unhealthy levels of a personality, depending on whether a person’s life is coming together or falling apart.

“The use of Enneagram makes your characters not all sound like yourself as you have deep insight into nine entirely different types,” says Kitchen. However, he also points out that when he revisits the same type of personality for a different character, it feels entirely different from the previous character he created, thanks to the complex dimensions of Enneagram.

Unlike most writers, Kitchen believes that a strong dilemma forms the core of the entire story and it has to be a choice between two equally painful options. He takes a major character in the story he is working on and looks at which of the nine Enneagram types fits that personality. “I then dig deeper to see if it holds true. If so, I study the 40-page chapter on that particular type in The Wisdom of the Enneagram, which has a huge trove of insightful information. This clarity about the mechanics of a character opens up dynamic possibilities, helping me find what the dilemma of the story is and how they interact with it during a crucial moment of the story,” he explains.

Once the character is dimensionalised and set in stone, it suggests new possibilities for the plot, says Kitchen. “If your character tends to retreat inward to first sort out their emotions before dealing with a situation, that trait might suggest a scene or a major turning point,” he said. “If the Enneagram traits ring true, then you will find many elements that validate your feelings and expand your understanding of why your character behaves that way. The more you know about your character, the more ideas suggest themselves for the story.”

Enneagram is not the only tool Kitchen relies on for scriptwriting. He devised a three-step process based on the preliminary works of Broadway script doctor William T. Price, who formed the first school of playwriting at the turn of the 20th century. Price had 28 students, of whom 24 created Broadway hits. This motivated Kitchen to explore his 1908 book, The Analysis of Play Construction and Dramatic Principle. He felt the technique mentioned in the book was incomplete, so he did some investigation and tinkering based on the material available from the works of Price and his students. He then ended up forging the ‘sequence, proposition, plot’ tool that could solve a myriad of issues vexing writers. One of these solutions included beginning the story from the climax and working in reverse, thereby helping the writer build a solid chain of causes and effects. This ensured that redundant sequences, scenes and dialogues were omitted from the script.

And, Kitchen has his pick of good scripts from India, too. “I watched RRR on big screen and it is on my list of the best movies I have ever seen,” he says. “The script was bold, adventurous and quite different, with compelling characters and an epic story. I have also watched 3 Idiots, and thought the writing was quite good, if a bit long-winded, with a lot of powerful emotion. Angamaly Diaries is a compelling drama with a likeable protagonist, great villains, rich conflict and a dynamic ending with long sequences and no cuts.”

Kitchen’s two books―Writing a Great Movie: Key Tools for Successful Screenwriting (2006) and The Hero’s Dilemma: Drama at the Heart of Your Story (2023)―offer a detailed overview of screenwriting techniques and are a hit among film enthusiasts. He teaches small hands-on groups via Zoom and, for users from India, his classes cost $125 a month for 55 hours of live instruction. You can reach out to him HERE.

WORD PLAY AND MIND GAMES

If you wonder how literature and psychology are interlinked, here is some food for thought. The word ‘character’ has evolved not only to define figures portrayed in stories, but also an individual’s personality. The Latin word ‘persona’ itself has links to the Roman theatre, referring to the mask worn by actors in a play. In the 20th century, persona was redefined by psychiatrist Carl Jung to refer to the ‘mask’ of public identity that people use to hide their true self.

a-r-rahman-is-eyeing-the-larger-picture-leaving-his-full-artistic-mark-on-the-global-stage

Sat Oct 19 15:33:35 IST 2024

A small red room inside an unassuming building off a bylane in Chennai transports you into alternate reality. A winding staircase leads up from the ground floor to the mezzanine where a blue carpeted floor contrasts with walls covered in red roses from floor to ceiling, enhanced by mood lighting. At the centre lies a big egg chair with soft red velvet seating. Behind it, a full-length poster reads “ARR Immersive Entertainment”.

A manager helps with a headset, asks me to relax, and switches off the lights. For the next 37 minutes, I am immersed in a multi-sensory cinematic experience―a space where sight, sound and scent blur the lines between reality and a parallel universe.

The story follows an heiress and musician, played by French actress Nora Arnezeder, who uses her memory of scents to track down the men who changed her destiny 20 years after she was orphaned. This is Le Musk, a 37-minute virtual reality film written and directed by two-time Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman. The film, featuring a soundtrack of 12 world music songs, has been showcased at galas around the world, including Cannes, but has yet to be officially released because of “bottlenecks”. I have been fortunate to catch a first glimpse.

For Rahman, Le Musk has become a lesson in patience, but once it is released, he will be at the forefront of immersive cinema, where viewers become participants in the story rather than mere observers.

Rahman, 57, has always loved to experiment and push boundaries. “Technology and the yearning to know more keeps me going. Because it opens up the world for you; there is so much you can do if you know how to do it. I get sleepless if I can’t understand how something works―I will ask a hundred people until I learn it myself,” he says.

A walk through Rahman’s studio reveals the collector he is. With majestic chairs, a scarlet-red piano, and artefacts from around the world, the space feels more like a cafe than a workplace. His team―mostly interns from his music school―seems no older than 25. Vikram, a young assistant in his early 20s, helps set up the camera for the interview. “He noticed my photography skills when I was a teen and has mentored me ever since,” he says. Vikram is now preparing to release his first film as director.

Rahman today contrasts sharply with the eager front-bencher of the 1990s who was determined to prove his musical mettle. Now a more relaxed back-bencher, happy and yet more creatively ambitious, he is focused on the larger picture―leaving his full artistic mark on the global stage. After having delivered original scores and songs for 145 films across multiple languages―Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, English, Persian and Mandarin―Rahman is now prioritising projects that bring him joy. He no longer feels the need to prove himself, instead selecting “big-budget films” and large-scale non-film projects that satisfy his creative and entrepreneurial instincts. “I won the Oscars a long time ago, but now, who cares?” he says. “I am doing work that is close to me and will inspire future generations.”

Rahman recently launched UStream, a state-of-the-art virtual production studio at his ARR Film City in Chennai, a collaboration with technopreneur Sridhar Santhanam. “It will usher in a new era of filmmaking powered by cutting-edge technology,” says Rahman, “where art and technology converge to take Indian storytelling to a global audience.”

His calm demeanour is striking. Is he always this composed? “With age, my tolerance has actually gone down,” he says. “Two things annoy me: a selfie request with a timer and directors who lead me astray. They will add crazy lyrics, and I ask myself: ‘Would I want to perform this on stage?’ If the answer is no, I turn it down.”

For industry insiders and fans alike, Rahman’s experimental genius is no surprise. Veteran percussionist Madhav Pawar recalls how Rahman scored Subhash Ghai’s hit musical Taal (1999). After listening to the title track, ‘Taal se taal mila’, Pawar asked Rahman whether he had dropped the tabla segment that Pawar had recorded. Rahman said no; he had incorporated it into the first mukhda (intro) onwards. “I listened again and was stunned. Throughout the song were bits of my recording, so beautifully modified that I was unable to recognise it as my own work,” says Pawar, who has worked with composer Ilaiyaraaja as well. “While Ilaiyaraaja would keep the instrumental notes mostly as they are, Rahman would go wild and dip them in colours to bring out varied hues.”

Singer Mahalakshmi Iyer recalls how she first met Rahman, when she was in her twenties and “he was all the rage”, to record ‘Ae Ajnabi’ for Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se (1998). “I went to Chennai and he gave me three words―‘Paakhi Paakhi Pardesi’―along with a very basic sketch of the melody,” says Iyer. “He asked me to improvise. So I played around and recorded variations. That mukhda was just a few seconds, but the way he used it, it became the soul of the rendition.”

Rahman uses sounds, says Iyer, like artists use colours. “He gives you a plain canvas with a basic sketch, and asks you to outline the main scenery you want. He then fills in the colours, transforming the background as well as the picture altogether,” she says. “Doing all that requires being in tune with innovations. Rahman was always good at it; even today, he is way ahead of the times.”

But, it is not just his mastery of technology that sets Rahman apart. “There is a difference between using technology for the sake of using it, and making a significant difference with it with the wisdom one has gained over the years,” says director Blessy, who collaborated with Rahman in Aadujeevitham (2024). “He is well-read, and brings a spiritual sensitivity to his compositions.”

A crucial scene in Aadujeevitham, says Blessy, called for a tune that perfectly captured the duality of the lead character’s frame of mind―the agony of being physically exhausted and the elation at being spiritually free. “In 24 hours, he shared a composition that brought out all that needed to be conveyed,” says Blessy. “It’s nothing short of genius.”

Some critics say Rahman leans too heavily on synthetic music, but Iyer disagrees. He might opt for the programmed version of live drums to fill a song, she says, but once he arranges the sounds together, only the melody resonates. “‘Kehna hi kya’ (from Bombay, 1995) is such a masterclass,” says Iyer. “An aspect that works in his favour is his flexibility―he gives you a lot of room, and is very open to new styles. He is always asking, ‘Can we try something different? Can we try something new?’”

indian-music-director-a-r-rahman-interview

Sat Oct 19 15:31:09 IST 2024

Interview/A.R. Rahman, musician

Two or three decades ago, it would have been unthinkable to get A.R. Rahman to agree to a quick interview, let alone have a leisurely chat after work. He was the musical genius who was heard more than seen, with his public interactions limited to a smile and a brief “thank you”. Today, though, Rahman is a skilled conversationalist―sharing his feelings, explaining his thoughts, and cracking jokes and laughing heartily. He has also become skilled at posing for photos, adept at finding the right angles that show himself exactly how he wants to be seen. “Yes, I am getting better at it. Part of the job, right?” he smiles.

Our interview begins late at night and stretches past midnight. His assistant tells me this is when Rahman is at his best, mentally and physically. Throughout the day, he is busy with recordings, events and meetings with film producers. Yet, as his SUV pulls into the studio, which also doubles as his multi-storey bungalow in Chennai, he looks as though his day has just begun.

Right next to the studio is a simple pet corner with a green mat, a small toy slide, a ball and a food bowl for the cats that frequent the space.

We grab mugs of hot black coffee before sitting down for our chat. Piping-hot biryani, ordered from a nearby restaurant, awaits us for dinner. “This interview has become as long as a Hollywood film,” he quips.

Our conversation flows freely, without inhibitions, covering the Oscar-winning musician’s life―from the intense ambitions of the 1990s and early 2000s to the more perceptive composer he has become in the last two decades, to the tech innovator he is evolving to be. Despite his accolades, Rahman does not write “Oscar-winning musician” on his X bio―he simply updates it with his current project. “That was my past, but I live in the moment,” he explains.

He has never been more content with himself, he says. “This has to be my best decade so far, and now I am making music that makes me happy. The desire to give back, to leave something that will inspire future generations, has never been stronger. I am constantly thinking about what more I can do, what more I can contribute,” he says.

At the start of our conversation, he made it clear: “Please don’t use grand words to describe me. I’m no ‘Mozart of Madras,’ and I am not some fancy authority. Please keep it simple; just use my name.”

Edited excerpts from the interview:

Q/ The Rahman I see today is very different from the one I grew up listening to as a millennial. Director Mani Ratnam calls you a style icon. What has led to this transformation?

A/ Yes, that’s true. Earlier, I believed in letting my work speak for itself, and I still do to an extent. But since I have become a part-writer who tells stories, I have improved my vocabulary and articulation. Also, after winning the Oscars, I realised that if people are looking at you, from India, you can’t remain silent―you need to open up, dress up…. So, from a third-person perspective, I thought, ‘Okay, things have to change.’ My wife, Saira, deserves all the credit for it; she shops for me, styles me, and is my everything.

Q/ You have been exploring emerging technologies―penning a virtual reality thriller and working with the latest technologies in music. Does stepping into unknown territories come naturally to you?

A/ Music is such a vast ocean, and sometimes it feels like I haven’t even scratched the surface of what’s possible. People find formulas all the time, and even I find myself trapped by repetition even though I try to avoid it. After I have done something, I could easily capitalise on it tenfold, but I want to move on. It is important to stay passionate about what excites you. I am sleepless, and I am constantly texting people asking how things are done, because I am eager to know the possibilities. A question that is very important to me is, why can’t Indians innovate like they do in the west? We may be good at certain things, but art is definitely not one among them.

Q/ You ventured into virtual reality, much ahead of its time. Is India ready to embrace it now?

A/ For me, it was about doing something that I have not done before. The 37-minute VR film Le Musk is not just a story; it is an immersive experience with scent, art, psychology and spirituality all bundled together. I have had people say they didn’t want to return to the real world, which is the highest compliment I have received.

Although it began with a casual conversation with my wife, who enjoys perfumes, the main trigger was boredom with the traditional film formats. We have been watching films on rectangular screens for more than a hundred years, and it is time to move on and make the experience more immersive. [Le Musk integrates] a scent module, haptics, 3D and 4K 360-degree [visuals] and cutting-edge sound.

Q/ Is the output as you envisioned?

A/ It was not easy. In film and music, there are countless people working on software and technology, and it is essential to stay updated. A 2D filmmaker can never understand [VR] tech. I didn’t know anything about 2D filmmaking, so I set up my own work flow and set of cameras for close-up, mid shots and all that stuff. We now have a set of 21 cameras, one for each need.

We shot the film in Rome and released it in two months on a streaming platform. We faced a lot of challenges, but I kept my team motivated. We released teasers and showcased a shortened version at Cannes. We did the final cut a year ago, with even more tech involving sound and scent. Unfortunately, only around 1,000 people in the world have been able to watch it; those VR chairs are not easy to come by here in India.

Q/ Your ambitious project, Secret Mountain, is being hailed as the future of entertainment.

A/ Secret Mountain is also a band from India. We have had amazing musicians like Pandit Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar and Zakir Hussain, but we have never had an internationally recognised band. After ‘Jai Ho’ [from Slumdog Millionaire], I took a year off to chill out. I had the idea to form a band in Los Angeles that was multicultural, so I auditioned musicians from Berkeley. But then my mom fell ill, and I had to return. But the idea stayed with me.

And then I saw the progress of Unreal Engine and MetaHumans (Unreal Engine is a digital platform where users can create and animate highly realistic digital human characters, called MetaHumans), and I thought, ‘This is it!’ You are no longer trapped by your skin colour; you can be anything.

We now have mentors from Africa, Ireland, China, America and India, and singers from Africa, Ireland and Mongolia. I have been having the time of my life working on this, even as the technology in this domain is growing in leaps and bounds every week. Mind you, this is not artificial intelligence; it is a collaborative effort where a lot of people work on each character.

Q/ What about the potential of AI?

A/ AI is Frankenstein―trained on collected, stolen knowledge. [It] is good as a starting tool. I use AI for posters. Sometimes the result surprises you, and sometimes it is very bad, in which case I use a combination of Photoshop and AI.

Q/ How do you use AI in music?

A/ AI helps in the mastering process, but creating a tune still requires a human heart and philosophical mind. I believe the future will belong to real musicians going on stage with a guitar and a song…. I feel that, with digitisation, we will value the flaws even more―‘Oh, it’s real, see? He is out of tune.’

Q/ You recently used AI to recreate the voices of late singers Bamba Bakya and Shahul Hameed, for a track in the Rajinikanth film Lal Salaam.

A/ I was watching people recreating famous singers on Instagram when Aishwarya (director Aishwarya Rajinikanth) asked for a folk voice. I said I wished we had a voice like Shahul’s. We reached out to his family, got their approval and compensated them fairly. It is a great way to honour them, rather than just taking their work.

Q/ In India, how far do we need to go to fully utilise future technologies?

A/ Beyond technology, we need to invest in talent and in collective creations. Musical theatre is virtually nonexistent here, except for NMACC (Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre) in Mumbai…. We don’t have world-class load-ins (the facilities for setting up all equipment and material needed for a production)…. We are trying to set up a state-of-the-art space in Chennai, with guidance from international experts.

Q/ You mentioned the urge to innovate in every decade.

A/ Every three years; not every decade. If I don’t do something new every three years, I feel like I am rotting.

Bahauddin sahab (the rudra veena exponent Bahauddin Dagar) once told me that each of us has a different mental makeup. I was focused on mastering a raga for three years before learning another. One has to go deep into certain things.

Some directors are knowledgeable, like [K.] Balachander, Raja [Krishna] Menon… Mani Ratnam has a keen ear for everything. When he hears it, he gets it. So I keep telling people who say that (directors) are not letting them do it, ‘Why don’t you show them, instead of telling them, that you are going to do a Bilaskhani Todi?’.

Your investment is not waiting for somebody to commission you. You commission yourself, and you do things so that people know what you are capable of doing. Luckily, I have been learning by doing movies and getting paid for it. It is a great way to learn―you get paid and you test out what the audience like and don’t like. And then you learn more.

Q/ Mani Ratnam says your way of working is very instinctive. You first make the music and, if he likes it, he places it in the film.

A/ I have seen composers approach scenes in certain ways. [With those ways], scenes trigger muscle memory in me. So, to challenge my instincts, I try something entirely different. With the director’s help, we place [a musical piece] in the movie and see how it pans out. We just wildly put it in some place and magic happens. That’s what happened with Roja.

Q/ From Taal and Rang De Basanti to Raanjhanaa, Atrangi Re and Aadujeevitham, you have grown and evolved.

A/ My work is like a capsule―the outer layer changes, but the core is the melody. Can the tune stand on its own, is what I assess. The audience responds to compositions that are grounded.

Q/ You collaborated with Hans Zimmer. How was the experience?

A/ I was in LA when Hans called me asking if I would like to be part of a super band for the Oscars. There was Pharrell [Williams], Giorgio Moroder, Junkie XL, Sheila E., Hans and I. So we hung out in his studio, rehearsing, and he was very generous and encouraging. ‘I have done only half the movies you have done, buddy,’ he said.

He uses Cubase (a music production software, developed by Steinberg) and I use Logic (developed by Apple). He can tell [Steinberg] to modify the software. He got that power. I don’t have that much influence. I can’t tell Apple, ‘Can you change this for me?’ We talked about these things.

Q/ You have had a long-standing relationship with director Subhash Ghai, with whom you collaborated for Taal 25 years ago.

A/ Yes, he is my Hindi and Punjabi teacher. Even when I had success with Rangeela, Roja and Bombay, I felt the core Hindi audience at the time belonged to people like Ghai. Everyone who would meet me would say, ‘You know, you should work with Subhash Ghai.’ And I didn’t even know who the man was.

So, one night, as I was sleeping, the fax machine started buzzing. ‘I am Subhash Ghai, and I’d love to meet you,’ said the message. I was thrilled. I went and met him in a couple of days, and the movie we started working on, called Shikhar, never actually took off. The main track of Taal, ‘Ishq Bina’, was actually composed for that film. We still have four or five songs left from that movie―all of which he has still got. With Taal, my concern was the music was primarily rhythmic. So I worked with Bakshi sahab (lyricist Anand Bakshi) to focus on meaningful lyrics, ensuring that the melodies were grounded.

Ghai is a great fan of music and respects the process. He came to Chennai to be among us while we worked; he could have been in Bombay, where everyone would wait for him. Down south, we don’t like people pushing Hindi on us, but I respect all languages, and I took to it well.

Q/ Earlier, producers used to call the shots. But, with the decentralisation and distribution of music through streaming platforms, how are the dynamics changing?

A/ There are good and bad things. Budding composers now have more opportunities. I don’t know whether they are exploited; but at least they are getting exposure, which is good. New singers, songwriters, producers and composers are emerging, which is great.

The problem is that the control over quality and the way people listened to music is no longer there. We used to listen to FM stations and Chitrahaar; now, with so many streams available, we don’t know where the good things are. This is why movie promotions are important―when a movie becomes a hit, its songs act as a sort of curator for listeners. That is one of the reasons I still focus on film music.

Q/ Many composers are fighting for copyright ownership. You have managed to avoid such issues.

A/ I believe in always following certain ethics. You can’t take a song from a movie and use it in another movie six years later, saying you are reimagining it. You can’t reimagine people’s work without their permission. You could post it on Instagram, but certainly not make it mainstream.

An even bigger evil is people misusing AI and not paying the composer even if they are borrowing his style. We need to bell this cat, because it could lead to major ethical issues. People could lose jobs.

In my opinion, AI should be used to tackle challenges that human beings procrastinate on―like [improving] the justice system, infrastructure and education, and empowering the underprivileged.

Q/ You have said often that you are a blend of your parents―musician R.K. Shekhar, who died when you were young, and Kareema Begum, who brought you up and your three siblings.

A/ The memory of my father’s death is intolerably dark, which is why I don’t talk about him. He used to take me to the studios, and after his death, people praised him. There is a clip of [composer] Ilaiyaraaja talking about how he and my father learnt from the same master.

His end was not a good one―his face resembled a skull, his stomach protruded, his legs were bony. But I think his hard work was a blessing for us. My mother was a very strong figure―the resilience she showed as she raised all four of us is what I have learnt from her.

Q/ Are there new artistes whose work you admire?

A/ All those whom I follow on social media. But the one song I have been listening to on loop is something I saw in Leeds―[the opera] Orpheus. There is a gentleman who has composed beautifully―a Sri Lankan artiste was singing that on stage. Outside of work, I don’t listen to music―just like a chef doesn’t want to cook after hours.

Q/ How do you handle the pressure to not repeat yourself?

A/ I take on less work now. In the past, music directors would work on 40 movies a year, almost like a factory, but I believe that can take away the joy of the process and lead to monotony. I have done a lot of movies, so I am planning to relax a bit and focus on a few major projects and some personal ventures, like Secret Mountain.

Q/ Is there a director who both inspires you and is difficult to work with?

A/ Mani Ratnam! (Laughs.) I think the more trust you have in someone, the more you torture yourself. Some directors are very clear about what they want, so the projects move faster. But Mani Ratnam will say, ‘Give me something,’ and you wonder and torture yourself to give him something inspiring. Meanwhile, he quietly enjoys it… in a good way of course.

Q/ Is there a song that you think was released at the wrong time?

A/ 99 Songs. It was lockdown, and I just wanted to get on with my life. So, after a while, [working on it] became a torment, and [the film] inevitably suffered. I just moved on.

Q/ How does it feel to know that you are a global icon?

A/ I don’t really know! My focus now is on how to create Broadway-style productions in Chennai, and what it would take to get the right infrastructure and investment for that. I am starting to think more like an entrepreneur than just a musician. I want to give back to the society now; I want to inspire generations.

Q/ How do you control your mind?

A/ I have trained myself to be in a Zen state―neither happy, nor sad; neither fully fed, nor hungry; neither sleepy, nor fully awake. That is the best state for making music―you don’t exist, only the art exists. When you go deep into philosophy, you realise that there is life and there is death, and we are in between. So, don’t take anything seriously.

jammu-and-kashmir-and-haryana-election-results-analysis

Fri Oct 11 17:32:13 IST 2024

It is a moment of catharsis for the common man in Jammu and Kashmir. A successful assembly election after a ten-year gap, with a majority vote for the National Conference-Congress alliance, reflects the belief of the people that the first election to choose a governance structure post the voiding of Article 370 was free and fair.

The return of the NC is like a sentient force breathing life into a peaceful but otherwise politically sterile void. Five years of lieutenant governor’s rule produced demonstrable outcomes, particularly a non-negotiable national security strategy that largely kept Pakistan at bay. But, within Jammu and Kashmir, it also created a barren political landscape where bureaucrats built roads but not relations, provided transparency but not accessibility, and people were seen but not heard.

Listening is a need in itself, and whoever had their ear to the ground during the polls heard the most. The elections were largely peaceful (with no major law and order or terror incidents reported), and the diverse outcome (the NC- Congress alliance celebrating victory; the BJP bagging seats in Jammu; and the People’s Conference, the Aam Aadmi Party and the CPI(M) winning a seat each) has helped the common man assert his identity that goes beyond the narratives of the past five years.

While the narratives around the removal of Article 370 and 35(a) and the rise of hindutva (and other smaller narratives around the reservation for Paharis, a community that largely lives in the mountainous regions, and the attempt to change voting patterns through delimitation) were what mobilised the electorate, the average Kashmiri was not just choosing from the known NC-Congress-PDP spectrum, but also trying to prevent the BJP from coming to power.

The assertion of the Kashmiri identity is now both complete and complementary to the Indian state. This is the key achievement of the Indian state in the first election after the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. It reflects the people’s understanding of the symbiotic relationship between democracy and elections, with the results corroborating free and fair polls.

This not only strengthens the national security strategy by countering Pakistan’s narrative of secessionist and militant tendencies in Jammu and Kashmir, but also reassures people across the region, whether in Kupwara, Kishtwar, Baramulla or Pooch, that they are living in a democracy.

The ripple effect of the J&K elections is being felt in the neighbouring Union territory of Ladakh. Voices like that of Sonam Wangchuk have reached Delhi, and demands of constitutional safeguards and statehood for Ladakh have grown. While these demands may have ruffled feathers in the national capital, intangible strategic gains have been made, as Ladakh becomes a part of the larger story of both J&K and India. The Pakistan-China axis around the Himalayas cannot ignore the sentiments that now bind these regions to New Delhi.

In the coming months, the demand for statehood, protection of land rights and tussle over more powers to the lieutenant governor will dominate the streets of J&K―as well as Ladakh, which remains closely tied to these issues. The outcome of the J&K polls demands a wiser Union government and a capable state chief minister, and the electorate would do well by guarding themselves against a new set of meta-narratives around religion, identity, freedom of speech, prestige and validation, which can again plunge the region into the dark days of militancy.

Electoral gains derive legitimacy from the behaviour of ruling parties. While voters may see the NC as an extension of their Kashmiri identity, they also remember the pre-stamped ballot papers found on NC supporters and the eerie silence after the alliance led by NC leader Farooq Abdullah recorded a landslide victory in 1987. That rigged election became one of the factors leading to militancy in the valley. Opposition leader Syed Salahuddin, his campaign manager Yasin Malik and their supporters were jailed―it was Salahuddin’s last election before he crossed the Line of Control to fight the Indian state.

The slogan ‘Tihar ka badla vote se (seeking revenge for Tihar with votes)’ echoed on the streets of J&K this time, with Engineer Rashid becoming the voice of separatists jailed in the past five years. But, after decades of violence, the Kashmiri voter is now more mature. Neither Rashid, nor the banned Jamaat-e-Islami, which tried to woo voters after decades of boycotting polls, managed to sway the electorate with their grey-zone tactics.

But before celebrating the clear-cut nature of the J&K elections, it is important to remember that the current peace is at odds with Pakistan’s already rigged approach to Kashmiris. What is unnerving is that, domestically, the calls for resuming talks with Islamabad have begun even before the new chief minister has taken office. With Parliament having paved the way to complete J&K’s integration to India by voiding Article 370―with a resolution passed in 1984 declaring Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as part of India―any move to allow Pakistan to put Kashmir back on the table in a bilateral engagement would be self-defeating. Also, any deviation by the state government from the country’s foreign policy could undermine national security interests. But, it would be a win-win situation if India and Pakistan can prioritise talks on trade and counter-terror operations.

Before capitalising on the electoral gains, the ruling BJP at the Centre must focus not only on understanding the pulse of the people, but also on listening to their heartbeats, as their wounds are yet to fully heal.

“Everyone is a leader, no one is a worker,” said an ordinary Kashmiri―a statement that political parties in both J&K and Haryana should take to heart. The parties involved may be different, but the people’s sentiment is similar. In Haryana, where the Congress suffered a shocking defeat and the BJP won an unprecedented third term, the meta-narratives of farmers’ protests, the Agniveer scheme and a strong Congress wave failed to alter the public mood. As Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini tuned into grassroots issues, offering jobs and other sops free from favouritism and bribery to Other Backward Classes (bina parchi, bina kharchi naukri), the Congress strategy failed because of lack of grassroots support.

Whether it was wrong choice of candidates (too many leaders, too few workers) or an over-reliance on narratives that drowned their own messaging, politicians in Haryana have been jolted awake. The political class has a lot to learn, as they prepare to set the tone for the next round of assembly elections in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Delhi. A common lesson for them: the popular strategy of spinning powerful meta-narratives for the ears of the electorate is evidently unreliable. What is needed now is for them have their ear to the ground.

the-abdullahs-return-to-power-after-16-years-but-omar-will-have-to-walk-the-tightrope

Fri Oct 11 17:31:42 IST 2024

AS THE MORNING light filtered through the windows of National Conference president Farooq Abdullah’s residence on Srinagar’s Gupkar Road on October 8, his son Omar Abdullah was already awake, anxiously awaiting the results of the first assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir in a decade. Omar debated whether to go for a run, recalling how his last election day (the Lok Sabha polls) run had ended in a loss. “I thought if I ran and lost again, I would never run again,” he mused. “But I went for a run to break the jinx, and I still won, so I will keep running whenever I have to.”

By 2 pm, it was clear that the National Conference was heading for a sweeping victory in Kashmir, while the BJP maintained its stronghold in Jammu. Jubilant National Conference supporters took to the streets, waving red party flags with the iconic white plough and chanting slogans.

At the Abdullah residence, the gates swung open, and a flood of supporters and reporters entered. As Farooq and Omar stepped out of their home at the foot of the Shankaracharya mountain, they were met with a jubilant crowd. Farooq, visibly moved, thanked his supporters, declaring the victory “a new chapter for Jammu and Kashmir”.

While BJP supporters were equally jubilant after the party’s best-ever performance, their mood was tempered when it became clear that the overall mandate was against them. The BJP had fielded 19 candidates in Kashmir but drew a blank. By dusk, the National Conference had secured 42 seats in the 90-member assembly, with the Congress taking six and the CPI(M) one.

The National Conference’s success was most pronounced in the Kashmir Valley, where it won 35 of 47 seats. Omar, poised to become chief minister, won decisively in both the Ganderbal and Budgam constituencies. In Ganderbal, he defeated his closest rival, PDP’s Bashir Ahmad Mir, by over 10,000 votes, while his margin in Budgam was over 18,000. The Congress won five seats in Kashmir, and the CPI(M), with National Conference’s backing, secured a seat in Kulgam.

The BJP continued to dominate Jammu, securing 29 seats―its highest tally, up from 25 in 2014. It maintained its grip in Hindu-majority districts like Jammu, Udhampur and Samba.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the National Conference on its performance and said the high voter turnout was a sign of the people’s faith in the democratic process. Addressing party workers after the BJP’s victory in the Haryana polls, he said: “The BJP has emerged as the biggest party in Jammu and Kashmir in terms of vote percentage. The people of Jammu and Kashmir gave the mandate to the National Conference alliance, and I congratulate them, too. Some people used to say that if Article 370 is removed, Kashmir will burn. But Kashmir did not burn; it is blooming beautifully.”

Despite the BJP’s success in Jammu, it faced setbacks in seats reserved for the Scheduled Tribes, losing all six in the Jammu division. However, it secured all seven seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes and won five of six newly created constituencies in Jammu after delimitation. The sour note was BJP state president Ravinder Raina’s loss in Nowshera. The Congress, once a major player in Jammu, faced its worst-ever performance, winning only one seat in Rajouri.

Analysts see the results as a rejection of BJP’s post-Article 370 policies, especially in Kashmir, where discontent has grown since the abrogation. Observers believe the mandate reflects the people’s desire to reverse the changes introduced by the BJP, particularly the loss of statehood and concerns over land and job security.

The PDP’s grip on the Valley has weakened, with the party winning only three seats. Mehbooba Mufti acknowledged her party’s poor performance but hailed the mandate for the National Conference-Congress alliance. “I anticipated that the people would vote for the National Conference-Congress alliance. The mandate is loud and clear. There is no possibility of tampering with it now,” she said. Reflecting on the PDP’s decline, she noted that political fluctuations are natural, perhaps referring to the National Conference’s experience of winning 57 seats in 1996 to getting only 15 in 2014.

With Omar set to become the first chief minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP’s control of Jammu and its influence through Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha will pose challenges for the new government. Sinha retains most powers, including control over the police and the posting of government officials. Analysts compare the situation to that in Delhi, where the elected government often clashes with the lieutenant governor, suggesting similar tensions may arise in Jammu and Kashmir.

Omar is aware of the difficult road ahead, and has made conciliatory remarks towards the BJP. “I choose to believe the prime minister’s commitment to restoring statehood,” he said. “I don’t remember him saying that statehood would only be restored if the BJP is in power or that the people of J&K would be punished for not voting for the BJP.”

The road ahead will test the National Conference-Congress alliance’s ability to meet the people’s aspirations while maintaining a delicate balance in a divided region.

national-conference-chairperson-omar-abdullah-interview

Fri Oct 11 17:46:44 IST 2024

Interview/ Omar Abdullah, chairperson, National Conference

Q/ You received an impressive mandate.

A/ I am pleasantly surprised. We were not expecting such a stupendous response from the people. We were worried about vote division with a large number of independents and smaller parties propped up in this election. But all credit goes to the wisdom of the voters, who saw through this and defeated it.

Q/ Do you think the mandate your party received is a pushback from the people against the BJP’s decision to abrogate Article 370?

A/ It is a rejection of what was done to Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019. And I am also including all the seats outside the BJP’s kitty―whether bagged by independents, the People’s Conference, the Peoples Democratic Party, or the alliance. This is a rejection of what the BJP did.

Q/ Were you nervous about the results of your two constituencies?

A/ Obviously. But my contesting from two seats had nothing to do with my nervousness. I was nervous about the elections as a whole, particularly in light of the Baramulla parliamentary results, which were bound to have an impact.

Q/ What about the performance of your alliance partner? Do you feel the Congress let you down?

A/ I am not going to get into that. They could have done better, but I’m grateful for every single seat we won and that we crossed the halfway mark. That was more important.

Q/ Will you be following through on your commitment to pass a resolution in the assembly for the restoration of statehood and against the Article 370 move by the BJP?

A/ The resolution should come from the cabinet. Why wait for the assembly?

The assembly can debate and discuss other things, but the cabinet should be clear on the restoration of statehood.

Q/ Given the mandate the National Conference has secured, how do you intend to address regional aspirations in the face of a not-so-friendly government at the Centre?

A/ These are tricky waters to navigate, no doubt. We will see how things unfold. Unfortunately, this is a new experience for us, as we’re not used to governing as a Union territory.

Q/ Do you feel redeemed by your assembly seat victories after the Lok Sabha election loss?

A/ Every election you win is a good election and every election you lose is an opportunity to learn. Let’s just say the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat was a learning experience that helped in planning for the assembly elections.

Q/ Observers say you have a mandate from the people, but the assembly and government are hamstrung by limited powers.

A/ In the initial phase, we will do whatever we can. But I don’t believe we will remain a Union territory. The prime minister is on record committing statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP has said it is a three-step process: delimitation, elections and statehood. Two steps have been completed; now it’s time for the third. The prime minister has made a public commitment to restoring statehood, and we hope to see that commitment fulfilled.

Q/ The elections have revealed a regional divide between Jammu and the valley. How do you intend to carry Jammu along?

A/ This government can’t be just for the people who voted for it. It has to be for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. If it only serves those who voted for us, then what about the 70 per cent of Srinagar who didn’t vote at all? People exercised their democratic choice in Jammu, and we respect that.

Q/ You have made some positive overtures to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. What are your expectations from him now?

A/ I’m very clear: in terms of party politics, the NC and the BJP will continue to oppose each other. There is no common ground between our two parties. But I believe we should be able to draw a line between political opposition and governmental cooperation. I hope that, in the spirit of federalism, the governments of Jammu and Kashmir and India will establish a healthy relationship.

Q/ Do you think the mandate you have received disproves the narrative of dynastic politics raised by your opponents?

A/ That narrative should now be buried for good. People voted knowing full well who I am and the family I belong to. If they still gave the NC the majority, then I don’t think this “dynasty” thing is of any interest to them any more. Politicians from political families lost in this election, and some won.

Q/ What role do you envision for your father, Farooq Abdullah?

A/ He is the brain of the party, guiding us. Inshallah, once the assembly is in place and we hold elections for the Rajya Sabha, I would very much like to see Dr Sahab go to the Rajya Sabha and fight for the interests of Jammu and Kashmir.

Scan to watch the interview

decoding-jammu-and-kashmir-and-haryana-assembly-elections-2024

Fri Oct 11 17:29:19 IST 2024

THE CONGRESS’S POLITICAL narrative that the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were on a downhill journey―post the 2024 Lok Sabha elections―could not get the much-needed endorsement from voters in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.

The results have shown that a large section of voters might not have been satisfied with the BJP’s performance, but, at the same time, they did not repose confidence in the Congress to be a viable alternative, with its excessive reliance on the farmers’ protests and efforts at social engineering around caste. The political narrative was not in convergence with the logic of social dynamics. By way of counter-mobilisation, the BJP stoked memories, such as anti-dalit violence in Mirchpur in 2010 and a violent Jat agitation that targeted non-Jat businesses, which led to a Jat-focused, high-pitch campaign. And, as a result, only 13 of 27 Jat candidates of the Congress won.

The AAP, which claimed to be a party with a difference and ran a massive media campaign showcasing its performance in Delhi and Punjab, could get only under 2 per cent of the votes. It is claimed that this vote share might have hurt the Congress in three to four seats. But the voters are not herds, they are social beings bound by their everyday survival needs. For the BJP, the third consecutive win in Haryana is an achievement. And peaceful elections, with a 64 per cent turnout, holds the message that the people in Kashmir firmly believe that democracy is the only antidote to violence.

A GLANCE AT THE RESULTS

The Haryana results clearly demonstrated the polarisation among the Jat and non-Jat voters. The BJP had an edge with around 59 per cent strike rate in non-Jat dominant regions, whereas the Congress had an edge with the Jat peasantry with 48 per cent strike rate. It clearly reflects the non-Jat consolidation in favour of the BJP.

And in Jammu and Kashmir, identity politics related to religion and the regions―Jammu and Kashmir valley―played a crucial role. Of 43 seats from the Jammu region, the BJP won 29. The National Conference secured 41 seats from the Muslim-dominated Kashmir valley.

FROM COALITION NURTURING TO POWER COALITIONS

HARYANA

The BJP in Haryana was already the dominant party, which approached electoral alliances more selectively, focusing on maintaining dominance rather than building coalitions to win elections. It changed its stance from alliance builder to power consolidator.

The BJP’s strategy shifted towards a more self-reliant model, focusing on leveraging its own national dominance. Its ability to win elections on its own, particularly in the non-Jat heartland, reduced the need for a large pre-poll alliance. However, it left the door open for post-election partnerships to ensure smoother governance or support in regional legislative bodies.

The Congress has of late been more flexible in its ideological partnerships, focusing on pragmatic alliances with regional parties to stop the BJP’s dominance. But, in Haryana, it decided not to enter a pre-poll alliance with the AAP and tried to leverage regional strengths on its own to defeat the BJP.

JAMMU AND KASHMIR

The Congress entered a strategic alliance with the National Conference as it could observe that the voters in Kashmir support regional parties overwhelmingly. In Jammu, the voters were sceptical of the Congress and its alliance with the NC. The voters who see the Congress as a counterbalance to the BJP’s policies might have voted for this alliance.

The NC alliance with the Congress helped consolidate significant percentage of votes for the NC vis-à-vis other contestants like the PDP.

The BJP presented itself as a force to maintain peace, harmony and development. There were not many takers of this promise in the Kashmir valley. The voters in Jammu, however, harbour a grievance that the NC government in the past favoured Kashmir in terms of resource allocation.

These results in Jammu and Kashmir will push the radical sections to the margins. People’s disillusionment with violence as a mode of achieving goals was visible in the villages of Kashmir. Iklaq, a shopkeeper in Anantnag’s Hanjan village, said that the demand for ‘Azad Kashmir’ was now history, but he lamented that, at the level of politics, the issues of livelihood, jobs and infrastructure development get drowned in the fight between Hindus and Muslims, and between Jammu and Kashmir.

The election results have shown that instead of azadi, identity or autonomy, people are more concerned about the basic issues of survival, which include clean water, roads, jobs and health care facilities.

For the NC, the challenge would be to integrate, politically and economically, the two regions and allocate resources to Jammu despite the fact that it voted for the BJP. Democracy is the only antidote to terrorism. And development and distributive justice are the only hope for the survival of democracy. NC president Farooq Abdullah observed that they had to tackle inflation and unemployment, and that all 90 members of the assembly shall work together to rebuild Jammu and Kashmir.

For the Centre, it would be politically prudent to grant full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. This would give a fillip to the rural economy, which appeared to be stagnating with production being only for subsistence and not for the market, besides providing subsidies for the apple growers as per the Himachal Pradesh model and setting up agro-processing units.

ISSUES, CAMPAIGN AND STRATEGY

Leaders in the fray seemed to have covered every possible local concern ranging from caste reservations in jobs, both in the private and the public sectors, to women’s employment. This became a rallying point as caste equations directly impacted the election results, particularly in Haryana.

The rhetoric of political parties, that they would liberate people from poverty, inequalities, unemployment, crony capitalism and food inflation, etc., is seen by voters as ritualistic theatrical performances by competing political actors.

In the midst of rising expectations, with social media nurturing an aspirational class, populism becomes a potent tool to connect with the voters. For instance, the agenda of political parties to provide freebies to the voters as entitlements merited their attention. In its manifesto, the BJP promised monthly assistance of Rs2,100 for women, two lakh government jobs for the youth and guaranteed government jobs for Agniveers from the state. It also declared that it would procure 24 crops at MSP.

The Congress also announced seven guarantees, including promises of a legal guarantee for MSP, a caste survey, and Rs2,000 per month to women.

In Jammu and Kashmir, the political discourse was largely articulated within the manifest forms of tensions like abrogation of Article 370 and restoration of statehood, rather than issues relating to livelihood.

A major narrative in this election was centred on change (badlaav), with opposition parties, especially the Congress, pushing for a shift in governance after nearly a decade of BJP rule. The BJP emphasised the fear of Jat dominance under the Congress to rally non-Jats, while the dalit votes also played a crucial role, with several alliances aiming to split the vote.

The BJP has traditionally attempted to consolidate the OBC vote by promoting non-Jat leadership, such as its new chief minister, Nayab Singh Saini, an OBC. The party could unite OBCs and upper-caste communities, who hold political significance, especially in the non-Jat-dominated areas.

The opposition targeted the BJP over the handling of the economy, citing price hikes in food, fuel and agricultural inputs, which have hurt both urban and rural populations.

The 2020–2021 farmer protests against the now-repealed farm laws still linger in Haryana. They continue to protest the Centre’s agricultural policies, accusing the BJP of not legalising MSPs.

REASONS FOR THE CONGRESS’S DEFEAT IN HARYANA

The main reason for the loss, as stated before, was the consolidation of the non-Jat votes and the factional feud between Jats and scheduled castes.

The faction-ridden Congress and the impact of the public feud between Kumari Selja, a dalit leader, and the state leadership of Bhupinder Singh Hooda, led to a large section of the rural dalit vote bank shifting to the BJP. The BJP carefully appropriated it. The government of Haryana announced that it will divide SCs into deprived scheduled castes (DSC) of 36 groups such as Balmikis, Dhanaks, Mazhabi Sikhs and Khatiks, and other scheduled castes (OSC) consisting of Chamars, Jatavs, Rehgars and Raigars, among others. The government decided that DSCs would have an internal reservation of 50 per cent within the SC quota.

The division influenced the vote shift from those of the second-largest SC community in the state, the Balmikis, to the BJP. This not only helped in the reserved seats, but built a narrative in support of the BJP.

For the Congress, losing key states like Haryana, where it has had a strong foothold, would dent the party’s image. This could create an impression of the waning prospects of the Congress’s emergence, which may embolden the BJP and the regional players in Maharashtra to intensify their campaigns against the Maha Vikas Aghadi.

The writer is chairperson, Institute for Development and Communication, Chandigarh

haryana-results-show-that-effective-messaging-targeted-outreach-and-the-ability-to-manipulate-a-divided-opposition-can-tackle-anti-incumbency

Fri Oct 11 17:28:31 IST 2024

“A WEEK IS A long time in politics,” said former British prime minister Harold Wilson. His words rung true in Haryana on October 8, as the ruling BJP, in a major turn of events, created history by scoring a hat-trick win in the agrarian state, defying all predictions. It won 48 seats, eight more than it got last time, comfortably crossing the half way mark in the 90-member assembly.

Most observers got it wrong as they predicted a Congress win as the situation on the ground suggested strong anti-incumbency against the BJP, fuelled by discontent among the dominant Jat community, the wrestlers’ protest, opposition to the Agnipath scheme and rising unemployment.

What then turned the tide? Many believe that the shift began with the “parchi-kharchi” jibe by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally in Kurukshetra on September 27. It referred to the 10-year Congress rule in the state, from 2004 to 2014, when jobs allegedly could be secured only through recommendation or bribes. “This narrative of corruption and nepotism associated with the Hoodas neutralised the issue of unemployment,” said Rajendra Sharma, professor of political science, Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak. The Jat vs non-Jat narrative, too, hurt the Congress. While the Jats voted overwhelmingly for the Congress, other communities looked at alternatives, mainly the BJP. Said Satish Tyagi, a political analyst, “Putting Bhupinder Hooda in a commanding position polarised non-Jats much more than anyone anticipated. It stirred the latent fears of Jatshahi (Jat dominance) that historically exists in Haryana.”

The BJP capitalised on the situation, focusing on strong messaging and grassroots mobilisation. The party countered each and every issue of discontent. While the local political machinery skilfully emphasised development initiatives and social welfare schemes, party leaders stoked fears that the Congress was fighting only for a single community. Sources said that the RSS, too, mobilised its cadre, which directly communicated the benefits of the welfare schemes to the rural populace.

The BJP also exploited divisions within the Congress, particularly between former chief minister Hooda and Lok Sabha MP Kumari Selja. While Hooda, a Jat leader, was given a free hand by the high command, Selja, who is the face of the dalit community, made her displeasure felt over the allocation of seats (Hooda selected 72 of 90 candidates) and marginalisation. She was even denied the opportunity to contest. The narrative managed to rally the support of voters inherently apprehensive of Jat domination. “It seems that just a couple of days before polling about 10 per cent of the votes shifted to the BJP,” said Tyagi.

The BJP’s project of wooing the dalits and the OBCs had been initiated with the replacement of Manohar Lal Khattar with OBC leader Nayab Singh Saini as chief minister in March. To placate the two groups, the BJP promised gas cylinders at Rs500 to families below poverty line, full scholarship to scheduled caste and OBC students in government medical and engineering colleges, loans up to Rs25 lakh for OBC entrepreneurs and two lakh government jobs. For farmers, the government agreed to procure 23 crops at minimum support price and for Agniveers, it extended significant benefits including a 10 per cent horizontal reservation in government recruitment and interest-free loans up to Rs5 lakh. “The dalits and the OBCs were never much against the BJP and because certain measures were taken by the Saini government in the past few weeks, the dissatisfaction among them were taken care of to a large extent,” said Tyagi.

Besides, the BJP was smarter in ticket distribution. It replaced 25 of its 40 sitting MLAs, while the Congress repeated all its 28 MLAs, of whom 15 lost. Of the 47 seats where the dalit population is 20 per cent or more, the BJP won 38 seats and of the 17 reserved seats, it won seven seats, improving its tally by two from 2019. Said Rajiv Singh, professor, Central University of Haryana, “No one understood the silent voter who became the deciding factor.”

Another advantage the BJP seems to have got is the fragmentation of opposition votes as the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party could not seal an alliance unlike in the Lok Sabha polls. The fact that the AAP polled more votes than the BJP’s victory margin in at least three seats points to this fact.

On the other hand, the over emphasis on the Jat vote bank backfired for the Congress. The party fielded 32 per cent Jat candidates against the BJP’s 17 per cent. “The Congress tried to bring about a collaboration between the dominant and the marginalised segments of the society in Haryana without any robust plan,” said Singh. “That proved to be a huge mistake.”

The Haryana verdict shows that while the BJP learned its lessons from the parliamentary elections, the Congress failed to take its gains forward. “The organisational paucity and insufficient mobilisation of the Congress is clear from the results in Haryana,” said Sharma. Marred by overconfidence, wrong messaging and strategic miscalculations, the Congress gave the victory away on a platter.

For the BJP, the win signifies a strong mandate that could bolster its strategy in upcoming assembly elections. While anti-incumbency was palpable in Haryana, the BJP’s victory demonstrates that effective messaging, targeted outreach and the ability to navigate a divided opposition can beat the odds.

the-return-of-rss-cadre-and-the-bjps-grooming-of-second-rung-leaders-across-the-country-bode-well-for-its-future

Fri Oct 11 17:27:30 IST 2024

IN MARCH, HARYANA Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini sought a vote of confidence in the assembly after the Bharatiya Janata Party picked him to replace two-term chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar. Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda ridiculed the new chief minister, saying he was just a night watchman for his party. In the months that followed, Saini made policy announcements to tide over anti-incumbency. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah rolled out a strategy to counter the Congress’ focus on jawan, kisan and pehalwan.

Now known as the 35-1 strategy, the BJP leaders looked for ways to consolidate votes from 35 of the 36 prominent communities in the state, since the Congress focused on the Jats who constitute 25 per cent of the population. They actively wooed the remaining 75 per cent. Saini promised permanent jobs to Agniveers and enhanced quota for OBCs. And, when the votes were counted, it became evident that OBCs, Punjabis, dalits and even a section of the Jats had backed the BJP. Also, the fear of the return of farmers’ agitation and a Jat government led to consolidation in favour of the saffron party.

The showing in Haryana was honed in previous elections; in Madhya Pradesh, where the party faced similar anti-incumbency sentiments, and even in Chhattisgarh, where the Congress was poised for victory. If Kamal Nath was vocal about his aspirations to be the chief minister in Madhya Pradesh, Hooda left no doubts about his. This caused a schism within the party and even led to complacency. Moreover, as the Congress celebrated winning five of 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state, the BJP crunched the numbers and found that it was ahead in 44 assembly segments and looked at how to use that information in the assembly polls.

It was the BJP’s back-to-basics campaign strategy, in which the RSS volunteers also participated, that led to its remarkable performance in Haryana and its best in Jammu and Kashmir, where it got the highest vote share―around 26 per cent.

The message from these polls is layered. Coming within months of the humbling Lok Sabha poll experience, the Haryana win has lifted the BJP’s morale and reinforced brand Modi. The results have stopped the slide not just in numbers but also in regard to the public perception of the BJP’s longevity.

The Haryana result is a reminder to the BJP’s allies, too, that the party’s skill in getting electoral results has not diminished. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had held four rallies in the state from where he started his political career as secretary-in-charge for Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh in the mid-1990s.

The real import of the two results goes beyond arithmetic. The common factor is that both the electorates gave a clear mandate to the winning side.

“The message from these polls is far reaching,” said BJP spokesperson Tuhin Sinha. “The results are a rejection of the Congress’s caste and divisive politics along with the freebie politics it has unleashed in states [ruled by it]. Its narrative, jawan, kisan, pehalwan, that Agniveers, farmers and wrestlers were angry with the BJP, has been rejected. They have reposed faith in the BJP government and validated the Agniveer scheme.”

The elections in J&K will restore confidence in public institutions and also help the Modi government score in the perception battle as elections were successful in the conflict zone. The Muslim world, particularly Pakistan, gets the message that people have reposed faith in electoral governance. The sub-text of the Kashmir result is that the moderate National Conference has won over the Peoples Democratic Party and Engineer Rashid’s new outfit. The problem is that the verdict is communally divided. The BJP swept Hindu-dominated Jammu with 29 seats (28 Hindus and one Sikh) and could not win a seat in Kashmir. The NC-Congress alliance, meanwhile, only has two Hindus among its 48 MPs. The government will have to do a delicate balancing act to maintain harmony in the sensitive Union terrirory.

Going forward, the BJP will use the momentum from Haryana to aim big during the upcoming assembly polls in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Delhi. In Maharashtra, the Mahayuti government is busy with foundation stone laying and inaugurations before the polls are announced. A party leader said that the Haryana result would give the BJP more bargaining power within the alliance.

Said Sinha: “We will have an edge now. In Jharkhand, the people are fed up with the Hemant Soren government. In Maharashtra, it will have a positive bearing. Unlike the Congress which is hung up on 99 [Lok Sabha] seats, the BJP cadre works on the ground and delivers.”

INDIA’s reliance on the caste census promise did not work for it in Bihar during the Lok Sabha polls, nor did it in Haryana. The BJP had promised to give Rs2,100 to women and set up three new industrial cities to generate jobs―these promises have clearly found takers in Haryana.

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been reaching out to farmers to contain their anger by holding weekly meetings and announcing better minimum support prices, an issue which finds resonance in Maharashtra. Chouhan, who is the BJP’s election in-charge for Jharkhand, also made an unusual announcement that the party would bring the National Register of Citizens to counter demographic change caused by illegal Bangladeshi settlers in the tribal state. This showed that the BJP would not shy away from a polarising issue to oust the government of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the Congress.

Moreover, the impact of the Haryana results may be felt in how the BJP pushes its ideological agenda. The victory in Haryana and the consolidation of Hindu votes in Jammu may prompt the party to speed up work on One nation, One Poll and Waqf Bill. A good show in Maharashtra and Jharkhand will wipe out what remains of the 2024 Lok Sabha poll humiliation.

The Haryana result also held a strong message for the BJP itself. The return of RSS cadre in campaigning and booth management after a lukewarm response during the Lok Sabha polls has been welcomed within the organisation. The first signal had come with the return of RSS leader Ram Madhav as election in-charge in J&K.

This would translate to better coordination between the BJP and its ideological parent and would influence the selection of a new party chief and even a successor to Modi in the coming years.

Saini’s return as Haryana chief minister marks another change in the Indian political landscape where the BJP is taking the lead. When the 54-year-old Saini, who had a clean image and credentials of organisational work, was picked to replace 70-year-old Khattar, it gave a hint that the party was rewarding diligent workers. Now, Saini, who was up against 77-year-old Hooda, joins a growing list of BJP chief ministers who are below the age of 60. Of the BJP’s 13 chief ministers, nine are below 60. The median age of BJP chief ministers is 56, which means it is grooming second-rung leaders across the country and pushing a generational change.

In comparison, the Congress’s chief ministerial candidates like Nath, Ashok Gehlot and Siddaramiah, and even the chief ministers who are BJP allies―N. Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar―are all in their 70s. The BJP’s vision maybe reflected when it picks its next party president, who is also likely to be in the 50s.

the-humiliation-in-haryana-and-an-underwhelming-show-in-kashmir-come-as-a-reality-check-for-the-congress

Fri Oct 11 17:26:43 IST 2024

THE CONGRESS HAD been in a celebratory mood since October 5, when the exit polls unanimously predicted its victory in Haryana and gave it a chance at forming a coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir. Drum beats and the sound of crackers filled the air at the party headquarters in Delhi in the morning of October 8, the counting day, when early trends favoured the party.

The celebrations soon turned out to be an embarrassment, as the BJP took lead. By noon, the party office fell silent. Just three months after a spirited performance in the Lok Sabha elections, the party was yet again left to deal with the rather familiar situation of an electoral defeat.

The Congress was optimistic about doing well in the assembly polls. Victory in the state elections would have enhanced doubts about Brand Modi and the stability of the BJP-led Central government. It would also have strengthened the leadership credentials of Rahul Gandhi and increased the party’s heft in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

However, the defeat in Haryana and the underwhelming performance in Jammu and Kashmir have come as a sobering experience. The debacle in Haryana, particularly, is stinging. A victory against the BJP in the Hindi belt would have given the party a big morale booster amid its poor record in direct contests against the BJP, and also a second state to rule north of the Vindhyas. It would also have set the tone for the next round of elections, with Maharashtra and Jharkhand scheduled for polls in November. The party could have bargained harder for seats with its alliance partners from a position of strength. Noises are already being made by the partners in Maharashtra that the party needs to shed its big brother mentality and be more realistic in the seat-sharing discussions.

“It seems the Congress’s overconfidence and arrogance of local Congress leaders led to the party’s defeat,” said the editorial of Saamana, the mouthpiece of the Shiv Sena (UBT), a day after the results. The party is an ally of the Congress in the Maha Vikas Aghadi formation in Maharashtra along with the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (SP).

The Shiv Sena (UBT), headed by Uddhav Thackeray, is said to be unhappy with the Congress demanding a lion’s share of the seats in the upcoming assembly elections based on its performance in the Lok Sabha polls. The Congress had won 13 seats, the highest among the three allies. Also, the Congress has not been in favour of the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s demand to go into the elections with a chief minister face.

Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole downplayed the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s criticism. “The circumstances and the political dynamics in Maharashtra are completely different from Haryana,” he said. “The people of Maharashtra are waiting to dethrone this government.”

The Congress’s negotiations with the Samajwadi Party for the upcoming by-elections to ten seats in Uttar Pradesh could also be impacted by its performance. It has been demanding five seats, but might have to settle for fewer.

Delhi goes to polls early next year, and the neighbouring Haryana has provided both the ruling Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress with a cautionary warning about taking the BJP challenge lightly. “Let us take a look at the election results in Haryana,” said AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal. “The biggest lesson one can draw from it is one should never be overconfident.” As of now, however, both the parties are maintaining that they will not get into an alliance for the Delhi assembly elections.

The Congress’s allies are bound to argue that the party fails to do well against the BJP when it is not in an alliance and it should be more accommodating towards its INDIA partners in the upcoming elections. Even in Jammu, the Congress failed to put up a strong fight against the BJP, managing just one seat against the BJP’s best ever haul of 29.

The Congress, though, takes heart in being a part of the government in Jammu and Kashmir. The victory of the National Conference-Congress alliance is also heartening for the INDIA bloc, as it dashed the BJP’s hopes of smaller parties and independents spoiling the NC’s chances in the valley. The BJP’s failure to be a part of the government in Jammu and Kashmir is significant since the abrogation of Article 370 has been the mainstay of its nationalistic messaging.

The results also come with some important takeaways on Rahul’s leadership. Just ahead of counting day, the Congress had put out publicity material about his first hundred days as the Leader of Opposition, which described him as the shadow prime minister who was taking up the issues of the people. Comparisons were also made between his and Modi’s campaign for the state polls. After the results came out, the party reminded that Rahul had a role to play in the shaping of the political environment of J&K through his Bharat Jodo Yatra.

“The Bharat Jodo Yatra was a transformational movement as far as the politics of Jammu and Kashmir is concerned,” said Jairam Ramesh, AICC general secretary in charge of communications. “The National Conference has scored a handsome victory and we congratulate them. They are our ally. But to say the Indian National Congress has not had a role in the transformation of the political environment in J&K in the last two years is wrong.”

Rahul’s silence on counting day had placed the Congress in an awkward situation. A day later, he posted a message on X, thanking the people of J&K for voting for the INDIA alliance. He also said the party would analyse the “unexpected results” in Haryana and take up with the Election Commission complaints coming in from the different Vidhan Sabha constituencies on the counting process.

What the results also mean for the Congress is that it would have to go back to the drawing board on the issues it has been raising. The focus on caste census may not be yielding the desired results. Rahul has been spearheading the demand for a caste census. The BJP’s success in Haryana is being attributed to a caste coalition comprising the other backward castes and a section of dalits. Also, while the scheduled castes had voted for the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections, with the perceived threat to reservations being a major issue then, the BJP seems to have succeeded in courting the non-dominant dalit castes this time.

climate-activist-sonam-wangchuk-interview

Fri Oct 11 17:40:32 IST 2024

Interview/ Sonam Wangchuk, climate activist

LADAKH WAS IN the news recently, as climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who is the Union territory’s most recognisable figure, undertook a trip to Delhi on foot to draw attention to the ecologically fragile Himalayan region. He is advocating for Ladakh’s inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which allows for the formation of autonomous district councils that possess the authority to regulate matters such as forestry, health care, land use, social customs, mining and policing. Wangchuk says indigenous communities should determine their own development models. Upon arriving in Delhi, Wangchuk was detained as he sought a venue to protest and also a meeting with president, prime minister or home minister. When his demand was not met, he launched a sit-in at the Ladakh Bhawan in Chanakyapuri, surprising the authorities.

Wangchuk, 58, has worn many hats: engineer, educator, climate warrior and now social activist. He says he has no political ambitions. “I would rather influence the entire population than be associated with one party,” he told THE WEEK in an exclusive interview. Excerpts:

Q/ After the abrogation of Article 370, you got a separate identity, but lost certain safeguards you enjoyed.

A/ It is a transition period. So I won’t judge it from the current situation. We are very hopeful that we will have what we want very soon.

Q/ There is often debate on the safeguards under the Sixth Schedule versus development.

A/ It is like the British saying that if we grant India freedom, there will not be any development, so we better keep it a colony. The Sixth Schedule has nothing to do with development. The only difference is that under the Sixth Schedule, development will happen in consultation with local people. If local people so desire, they can have industries or allow mining, but they will check whether it helps them or harms them, which unscrupulous corporates and officials with two-year terms will not check.

Q/ Ladakh is known for its cultural traditions and tourism. How will Sixth Schedule help?

A/ Its impact will be very positive. Indigenous people can decide on their own culture, environment, land and forests. They will preserve and maintain it. And that’s what tourists are interested in.

Q/ Is there any particular model that you want to replicate?

A/ Ladakh has shown for the last 30 years since the Hill Council was formed that it can be run by Ladakhi leadership with utmost integrity. We believe that this will become an example for all the Sixth Schedule regions of the country.

Q/ There are many arguments for and against giving Ladakh statehood.

A/ Our area is large, and the population is just three lakh. Many people say we are on the sensitive border area. But the same is true for Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim. If those can be states and enjoy democracy, then why not Ladakh?

Q/ Are you looking at a possible political role?

A/ No, not everybody is interested in a chair. There are people who want to influence the destiny of their future generations. I am here to help those who are in these positions.

Q/ The government may think why it should listen to you as there are others as well who represent Ladakh.

A/ It need not be me. It can be members of the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, who have been in discussions with the government. It can be the MP from Ladakh. It can be all of them and they can exclude me. I don’t mind. I don’t have to be in that meeting.

union-minister-jitendra-singh-interview

Mon Oct 14 10:51:45 IST 2024

Interview/ Jitendra Singh, Union minister of state, Prime Minister’s Office

Q/ How do you analyse the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, considering it was held after 10 years and its significance in light of the abrogation of Article 370?

A/ What we witnessed today in Kashmir is the true ‘mainstreaming’ of democracy.... And the credit for this goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his inclusive approach.... For the first time, after several decades, there was no separatist slogan, no hartal, no poll boycott call, and the voter turnout was almost as much as the national average. It has been a long journey since the 1950s and 1960s, when the returning officer would reject all nomination papers and just accept one—that of the ruling party—and that candidate would be elected unopposed. From there, we moved to a long spell of terrorism, which lasted more than three decades and saw a limited turnout of 8 to 10 per cent. The hartal call would come from Islamabad and the boycott call from the separatist groups in Kashmir valley, and people would hardly come out to vote. Only a handful of entitled people or families would vote, manipulating a 10 per cent voter turnout to get themselves elected as legislators and MPs and also form governments generation after generation. Now, it is a true grassroots democracy.

As far as the BJP is concerned, this is our finest-ever performance since independence. Our vote share has increased both in Jammu province and the Kashmir Valley. A lesser-known fact is that even in this assembly election, the BJP had the largest vote share. We had a vote share of over 25 per cent, whereas the National Conference, though they had more number of seats, had a vote share of 23 per cent or less.

Q/ The National Conference and the PDP have raised concerns over Jammu and Kashmir’s Union territory status. Do you think there will be a clash with the Centre over statehood?

A/ First of all, let’s remember that Prime Minister Modi himself announced the restoration of statehood. He said that during the public rally at Bakshi Stadium, Srinagar, and repeated it at the Doda and Jammu rallies. So once the prime minister makes a statement, I don’t think there is any need to add to it. The home minister, too, has said so in Parliament.

Therefore, what the opposition is trying to do is actually an old trick. They are trying to manufacture a false narrative, wherein they are seen as putting pressure on the government to give statehood. This is so that when statehood is restored, they might be applauded for it. But with real-time media, I don’t think this old trick is going to work.

Q/ How do you see the performance of the separatists, even Engineer Rashid?

A/ There are two aspects to it. Both are very heartening. First, all those who raised separatist slogans were trying their luck at the hustings. There were some of them who were former Jamaat-e-Islami members, some former separatists. But they all joined India’s mainstream electoral process. Second, the masses rejected them. Most of them lost the election. This means that the common man walking on the streets of Kashmir, particularly the youth, has moved on. He has seen three generations being sacrificed at the altar of violence over the last three-and-a-half decades and being misled by these hollow slogans of so-called azadi. And, in the last 10 years, he is witness to the umpteen number of opportunities, revenues, startup options unleashed by Prime Minister Modi. And, he doesn’t want to miss the bus. Because the youth of Kashmir is highly aspirational. He wants to move on, be part of India’s growth story and secure a prosperous future for himself.

Q/ The people of Ladakh are demanding constitutional safeguards. How are their concerns being addressed by New Delhi?

A/ I think what is more important, which is also not often reported, is that this government, under Prime Minister Modi, addressed the demand of Union territory for Ladakh. The first time this demand was raised was in 1948 when a Ladakh delegation met prime minister Nehru and presented a memorandum. Maybe the almighty wanted Prime Minister Modi to address this. That also reflects the concern and high priority that Prime Minister Modi gives to these far-flung regions that had suffered neglect during earlier regimes. I am sure the home ministry and the government are always very sensitively engaging with them.

Q/ What led to the BJP’s unprecedented third term in Haryana?

A/ I think the biggest takeaway is that the Congress tried to manufacture a false narrative against the Modi government and the BJP. They tried to mislead the farmers and wrestlers. They tried to misinterpret the Constitution, too. But people today are more aware and no longer agree with what the Congress stands for—corruption, scams, dynasty rule and entitlement. Haryana has given them a befitting reply, which I am sure is also a message for voters across the country.

prashant-kishor-new-political-party-jan-suraaj-has-generated-immense-buzz-in-bihar

Sat Oct 05 18:21:50 IST 2024

Patna is getting all decked up for Durga Puja. Pandals are being erected, and idols are being given final touches before they take centrestage in the festivities. There is a buzz of a different kind as well. And it has to do with political consultant-turned-politician Prashant Kishor launching his party, Jan Suraaj (people’s governance).

On October 2, Gandhi Jayanti, exactly two years after he had embarked on a statewide padyatra, Kishor walked about one and a half kilometres from Sheikhpura House, where he has been staying in Patna, to the Bihar Veterinary College Ground. There, before a large gathering, he launched his party, introduced its president and unveiled its constitution.

Dressed in a grey kurta and white pyjamas, Kishor, 47, addressed the gathering in Hindi―spoken in typical Bihari style, peppered with idioms and words drawn from the local dialect. He raised the slogan ‘Jai Bihar’, and repeatedly invoked Bihari pride. “The people of Bihar have decided that we will, within our lifetime, witness a Bihar that is developed. We will reclaim our past glory,” he said.

The new party, born in the ever-vibrant yet utterly complex political landscape of Bihar, has the slogan ‘Bihar ne kar li taiyari, apne bachchon ki hai bari’ (Bihar is ready to work for the future of its children). It is in sync with Kishor’s exhortation to the people to vote not on caste or communal lines but for the future of their children.

Jan Suraaj, he said, will aim to ensure world-class education for children, employment for the youth and social security for the elderly. He would link the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme with farm labour to help farmers, and give women business loans on 4 per cent interest.

He added that people voted for Prime Minister Narendra Modi for free food grains and the Ram Mandir; they voted for Lalu Prasad because he gave the backward classes a voice; and they voted for Nitish Kumar because he promised roads, electricity and water. “But you never voted for the future of your children,” he said. “Now is the time to do that.”

Kishor’s entry has generated immense buzz in political circles. He may be a newcomer in state politics, but he is making everyone sit up and take notice. This is in large measure because of Kishor’s achievements as a strategist for the who’s who of Indian politics. And the timing is not lost on anyone, coming as it does exactly a year before the assembly polls in the state.

Jan Suraaj has made the bold declaration that it will contest all 243 seats in the state. It will also contest the bypolls to four assembly seats to be held soon, in what would provide an indication of how far the Jan Suraaj idea has resonated with the people.

Kishor had, shortly after helping the Trinamool Congress win a high-voltage contest against the BJP in the West Bengal assembly polls in 2021, declared that he was leaving political consultancy for good. A year later, Kishor was back in his home state where he made the stunning announcement that he was launching Jan Suraaj, a people’s campaign that could result in the formation of a political party. He wanted to be known as a ‘political activist’.

The message was clear―a son of Bihar’s soil had come back after a successful career as political consultant for national and regional leaders, and he had grand plans for his state. Kishor hails from a middle-class family in Sasaram district. His father was a doctor who worked in the Bihar government.

Kishor has projected Jan Suraaj party as a new deal for Bihar. Comparisons have in fact been made between Kishor’s efforts in Bihar and what Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party achieved in Delhi and Punjab. He is positioning the party as a departure from the established rules of the game in Bihar.

At the launch of the party, Kishor shared the salient features of the party’s constitution, such as selection of candidates through US presidential election-style primaries, and the right to recall a legislator who is corrupt or does not meet people’s expectations. The party flag, he said, would feature portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar.

Kishor has been emphasising that established leaders have failed to free Bihar from the throes of sluggish development and debilitating backwardness. He has been saying in his speeches that both Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad, who have dominated Bihar politics for the last three decades, have failed to bring about improvement in the lives of ordinary people.

Jan Suraaj, Kishor insists, will go beyond the politics of caste. The main objective of the party is ensuring that the people of Bihar do not have to go outside the state for education, employment or health care.

Before the party’s launch, Kishor ruled himself out as party president. He said the post would be occupied by leaders belonging to different social categories on a rotational basis. The idea is to provide representation to the main groups―upper castes, backward and extremely backward classes, scheduled castes and tribes, and Muslims. The party president will be part of a 25-member leadership council that has members from different social groups in keeping with their proportion in the state’s population. Former diplomat Manoj Bharti has been named the party’s first president. A dalit, Bharti hails from Madhubani district and is an IIT Kanpur and IIT Delhi alumnus.

Kishor has also announced that party tickets would be given to different social groups based on their share in the state’s population. There will be at least 40 women candidates, and Kishor wants to fix a minimum educational criterion for candidates.

He has declared that Jan Suraaj will form the next government. Kishor has projected his own track record as a political consultant, saying nobody backed by him has been defeated in an election. “In the election next year, I am backing the people of Bihar and they will emerge winners,” he said at a meeting.

At another event, he said, “I have worked for Mamata Banerjee, M.K. Stalin, Arvind Kejriwal and Nitish Kumar. They all won. Now, I am working for Jan Suraaj, and I will not let the party fail.”

His padyatra had begun from Mahatma Gandhi’s Bhithiharwa Ashram in West Champaran district. Kishor has often said that Gandhi is his inspiration. The exercise is an effort to give the party the semblance of a people’s movement.

The padyatra is in keeping with Kishor’s tried and tested method as an election strategist who goes to the people and learns from them. His visits to the villages have been followed up by a team of volunteers who work to keep people engaged with party activities. This is similar to the strategy of the political consultancy group he founded―the Indian Political Action Committee. The I-PAC not just conveyed messages the people, but also collected feedback.

According to Kishor’s team members, the padyatra has taken him to almost every block in 17 districts so far. He has covered around 5,000km and touched 5,500 villages. Kishor plans to cover all 38 districts.

“Not everyone on the padyatra trail knew who he was. Some people thought he was a relative of Gandhi. Others thought he was a saint or a godman. But people listened to him and he encouraged them to ask questions. Now, we can confidently say he is a household name in Bihar,” said an associate.

Kishor has kept the pot boiling with his statements on politically significant issues―from prohibition (he plans to revoke it) to caste census (which, he feels, will not make much difference and is only being used to score political points).

The party claims to have one crore members, 12 lakh office-bearers, 20,000 youth clubs, and more than 2,000 volunteers and one lakh digital activists. Kishor’s gameplan appears to be to occupy the space that would be vacated by Nitish and Lalu, who are nearing the end of their political careers. He wants the next electoral contest in Bihar to be between the BJP and his party. He said while Lalu’s reign was known as the “jungle raj of organised crime”, Nitish’s rule turned out to be a “jungle raj of bureaucrats”. It is in this backdrop that Kishor has been relentless in his attacks on Tejashwi Yadav, Lalu’s heir apparent who has been leading the Rashtriya Janata Dal.

Other political parties are viewing Kishor’s political foray with much interest. They are sizing him up, trying to estimate the impact he will have and identify the party he will cause more damage to.

The RJD feels that his thrust on Muslims could create a divide in its minority vote bank. In the BJP, there is concern that Kishor, a Brahmin, could find support among the upper castes. His pitch that more women should be given tickets is being viewed with interest by the JD(U), which counts women as core supporters.

For now, the parties describe as impossible the chances of the new party succeeding in the state. An argument put forth is that the people of Bihar cannot be expected to drastically veer away from caste politics. “Kishor cannot achieve in Bihar what Kejriwal could do in Delhi,” said BJP spokesperson and former legislator Prem Ranjan Patel. “Many such experiments have failed here. Caste continues to be the main factor in Bihar politics. The contest will be between the National Democratic Alliance and the Mahagathbandhan. At best, Kishor will be a vote cutter and could attract people who have been denied tickets by other parties.”

Both the ruling side and the opposition have raised questions regarding the funding of the Jan Suraaj programmes, and in doing so, they have also raised doubts about the real intent of Kishor’s political entry and which party he is trying to damage.

“During the padyatra, we saw how he spent money like water. Our party workers would tell us that he would just get people to gather for his events by giving money or sending vehicles to pick them up,” said Nihora Prasad Yadav, JD(U)’s state vice president.

The RJD says his purpose is to harm the RJD and thereby help the BJP. “We all know Kishor’s genesis as a political consultant happened in Gujarat,” said RJD spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav. “The connection is clear. He is the B team of the BJP. Also, he is spending unlimited funds. Where is this money coming from?”

It has been pointed out that the leaders who have joined Kishor are either imports from other parties or retired bureaucrats. And they do not inspire much confidence or convey a sense of newness. “The former MPs or MLAs who have joined Jan Suraaj have no credibility,” said Rajiv Ranjan Prasad, national spokesperson of the JD(U). “Where are the new faces the people would have expected to see in a party being projected as a novel experiment?”

There are questions whether Kishor can claim that his party is a break from the past, and change a system he has been a part of, and criticise leaders with whom he had worked. He had joined the JD(U) after the Mahagathbandhan’s victory in the assembly elections in 2015, and was made its vice president. He was expelled from the party in 2020, purportedly over his differences with Nitish on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Anupam, a political activist who led the Halla Bol Yatra in Bihar in 2022 to take up issues of the youth and who recently joined the Congress, said it was true that Bihar desires change. But he doubts if Kishor can provide it. “The party has not emanated out of any struggle or a new political thought. Kishor has no history of struggle or has not put forth any revolutionary new idea. He has been a part of the system. He has worked with all political leaders, be it Narendra Modi or Nitish Kumar or Lalu Prasad,” he said.

Some observers believe Kishor is actually aiming for the 2030 assembly polls, and that his effort right now is to register his strong presence in the state’s political scene. But Kishor’s team insists that his confidence that Jan Suraaj will form the next government comes from the feedback he got from the padyatra.

“No other leader has been working in the midst of people with so much commitment as Kishor in the last two and a half years,” said a member of Kishor’s team. “His confidence and aggression come from his interactions with the people on the ground. It is not just hot air.”

jan-suraaj-leader-prashant-kishor-interview

Sat Oct 05 18:16:48 IST 2024

Interview/ Prashant Kishor, Jan Suraaj leader

Sheikhpura House is, at the moment, one of the most sought-after addresses in Patna. This is where Prashant Kishor has been staying for the past two and a half years, after he quit political consultancy to become, in his words, a political activist en route to becoming a politician.

The address has seen a rush of visitors in the run-up to the launch of Jan Suraaj, Kishor’s new political party. Earlier, said an associate, they were reaching out to the people; now the people were approaching them. Kishor has been meeting all of them, thanking them for coming to Patna for the party’s launch.

A recurring theme in his interactions is that the party will work for the future of Bihar’s children. He tells people that, in six months, the name Jan Suraaj will be heard everywhere in the state. He has a bad throat after all the speeches he has been making, but he knows he cannot take a break.

For the past several days, Kishor has been burning midnight oil to plan the party’s launch. His meticulous planning and eye for detail show in the publicity material. The banners and posters are in yellow and black, the colours that Kishor believes attract maximum attention.

Kishor is the newest leader in Bihar’s vibrant political landscape. After attending the convention where Jan Suraaj was formally launched as a party, he returns to his house surrounded by supporters who raise slogans of ‘Jai Bihar’. He shakes hands with everyone and gives occasional hugs. The challenge for him is mammoth―make an impact in the complex political map of Bihar.

In the midst of all the excitement, Kishor sits down for an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, his first since the launch of the party. In a detailed interaction, he talks about the vision behind his party, how it is distinct from the others, and what it seeks to achieve for Bihar. Excerpts:

Q How is Jan Suraaj different from other political parties?

A This party is not being formed by an individual or a particular caste or a social group or a family. This is being formed by more than 10 million people who have come together with the desire to change the situation in Bihar, which continues to be deprived, uneducated and poor, I would say right at the bottom of the pool in all political indicators. For decades, we have suffered and the people of Bihar have tried all parties that existed in the state. They have seen that nothing has changed.

During this whole movement, what we have tried to do is to go to the villages, talk to the people and tell them that the only way you can improve your lives is to come together and pick a leader who is from your own community, from your own village. But much more than that, much more than the leaders, it is how you vote for them. The people of Bihar have voted for ideologies, for caste, for religion…. Rather than focusing too much on who you vote for, you should be more concerned about what you vote for. So if you want your children’s education and employment, you have to vote for it. We will continue to go to the villages, tell people that this is how you can change your lives, this is how you can change the destiny of your children.

Jan Suraaj means people’s governance. It is not about one caste, it is not about one religion, it is about whatever is good for people at large.

Q So how will you ensure that the voice of the people is going to be heard and counted?

A We are making a constitution for the party, how tickets will be distributed, who will get the tickets… how people will have control over those who get elected. The leader of the party or a group of individuals in the party will not select the candidate. Jan Suraaj will announce the probable names of people who want to fight election with us…so that people can assess, discuss. Whoever is selected by the people will become the automatic candidate of Jan Suraaj.

We are going a step further. What happens if the person, after getting elected, turns out to be not a good choice? Should we wait for five years, or should we have the power to recall? So we are proposing in our constitution that the people who are coming together to form Jan Suraaj would have the right to recall the elected representative.

Q What makes you confident that Jan Suraaj will form the next government in Bihar?

A My understanding of what I have seen, witnessed firsthand, in the last two and a half years. In the last 25 years, nothing has changed in Bihar. When Lalu Prasad became chief minister of Bihar, it was the poorest, most backward state in India. When Nitish Kumar became chief minister in 2005, Bihar was the most backward and right at the bottom of all the development indicators. Even after 20 years with Nitish as leader, Bihar is still the poorest state. There is tremendous discontent among people. Then why the people have not dislodged these governments? They have. Actually, Lalu won Bihar only once in 1990. Beyond that, he has been part of the ruling coalition. Similarly, people of Bihar mandated Nitish Kumar only once, in 2005. After that he has never won a majority [on his own]. The people never had an alternative which was big enough, credible enough, with which they could have gone.

Q When you enter the electoral arena, who do you see as your main rival?

A If I go back to the recent Lok Sabha elections, the National Democratic Alliance was ahead in 176 assembly constituencies. So, naturally, ultimately, the fight will be between the Jan Suraaj and the NDA.

Q So are the Janata Dal (United) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal on their way out?

A I think it is on the wall, clearly visible to everyone. Lalu ji is no longer active. His son is leading the RJD. And Nitish Kumar has almost become a lame-duck chief minister, whose government is run by a couple of handpicked advisers who are retired bureaucrats. Nitish Kumar, physically, mentally, organisationally, politically, is in no position to be in the chair of the chief minister of a state as big as Bihar.

Q Who will be the chief ministerial face of Jan Suraaj? Will it be you?

A I announced I will not be the leader of the party. You saw we announced the leader of the party today. Our agenda is clear: first we go to the masses and we will continue doing that. I am leading that part. The party is formed and the leadership has been constituted. Once these two things are done, then we are going to share the vision that Jan Suraaj has for the people of Bihar. We are going to do it sometime in late February or March. After that, if the people vote for Jan Suraaj, the elected people will decide who the chief minister will be.

Q Are you open to the idea of becoming CM?

A I am not fighting the election; I am not the leader of the party.

Q You won’t be fighting the election?

A Unless the party says I have to fight the election, I don’t intend to. My programme is to continue working because whatever I have said publicly, I will never go back on that. If I have said that I will continue to walk, I will walk, come what may. Even if the election happens before, I will still not stop walking.

Q The general perception is that the voters of Bihar vote on caste lines. What makes you feel this would change in 2025?

A The view that the voters of Bihar vote based on caste shows the malafide assessment of people coming from outside Bihar. When you say people of Bihar vote only based on caste, are we saying that in other states, people are not voting based on caste? In 2014 the BJP won more than 30 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar. Everyone says the vote is not for the BJP, the vote is for Narendra Modi. In 2019, the alliance won 39 seats. This year, they won more than 30 seats. How many people of Modi’s caste live in Bihar?

Yes, caste is one of the major factors. But caste is not the only factor. There are other factors. It could be religion, it could be fear. Fear is not only among Muslims. In Bihar, Muslims vote for the RJD because they are fearful of the BJP. Similarly, a big majority of the NDA vote is because they are fearful of Lalu.

Q You spoke about revoking prohibition. But it is said this would not go down well with the women.

A There is no proof backed by data that through prohibition any society, state or country can achieve a better life. People also talk about morality. Now, if somebody says Mahatma Gandhi has said this, Gandhi never said that enact law for prohibition. For Gandhi, stopping liquor consumption was a social effort. Even if we take it that there is some merit in prohibition, the benefit will come only if it is implemented on the ground. What we have in Bihar is not prohibition. In the name of prohibition, the liquor shops are closed and home delivery has flourished. Liquor is available in every house at an exorbitant price. And in the process, the state is losing close to Rs20,000 crore in revenue every month. Where is this money going? This money is going to corrupt politicians, police and liquor mafia. What we are proposing is: remove prohibition, and whatever we earn as revenue, use it to build a new education system in Bihar.

Q The RJD has questioned the real intent of Jan Suraaj. They say you are working to damage the RJD and help the BJP.

A First of all, the BJP is not big enough a party here to win Bihar on their own. In the last assembly election, their vote share was 19.6 per cent. The most scared party of all is the BJP. They will say that I am the agent of the RJD-INDIA alliance. The fact of the matter is both formations, the RJD-led alliance and the Nitish-BJP alliance, have become so accustomed to getting free vote. People don’t like them, but still vote for them because they are fearful of the others. So when you are so used to getting free vote, you don’t want people to have a third option. The moment a third option comes, you will be scared. So when you are scared, what will you do? You will make some justification.

The culprits for Bihar’s situation are Lalu and Nitish. But the real blame should lie with the BJP and the Congress. Why? Because people of Bihar voted for Lalu ji once. But remaining 10 to 12 years, they have been able to be in government because the Congress extended help. Why did the Congress do that? It is because they wanted the support of a few MPs to run the government in Delhi. What happened to the Congress? People finished the Congress in Bihar.

The same mistake is being done by the BJP. This is the party which, at least in the last few years, has been so ruthless. They break your party, they buy MPs, MLAs, do whatever it takes to form government. Just see the situation in Bihar. It’s unique. The BJP has 75 MLAs. Nitish has 42. The BJP voluntarily says we don’t want the chief minister’s post. Why? Because they want a few extra MPs from Bihar. So, the way people have punished the Congress, the BJP will be punished, too.

Q A criticism about you is that you have worked with all the leaders and parties you are now attacking.

A Actually, not all the leaders. I have worked with Nitish Kumar. In fact, in 2015, a lot of people think that he would not have come back to power but for my support. I must explain why I helped him in 2015 and why I am opposing him now. There is a great difference between Nitish Kumar of 2014-15 and 2024-25. The person who I helped was an administrator, who was seen as ‘Sushasan Babu’, somebody who started some work to bring Bihar out of the misery of jungle raj that people witnessed during Lalu ji’s regime. I helped that guy. At least there was some morality in him. His party lost the Lok Sabha elections in 2014. In response he resigned from the chief minister’s post. As railway minister, when there was a rail accident, he resigned. During Covid, lakhs of people walked in horrible conditions with their families with no help from the government. This guy did not come out of his bungalow. The person I helped in 2014-15 had not lost the election but he left the chief minister’s post. Today, he has lost the election but he is still sticking to the post.

Q Another question raised is about the funding of Jan Suraaj.

A How much money do you think I have spent in the last two years? Put a figure. Rs100 crore? I have helped people form governments, win states. People say that I have worked for money. So do you think that if I were to raise Rs100 crore, I don’t have enough people to raise Rs100 crore? So this is a ridiculous argument.

Are you asking how Lalu runs his party, where he gets his funds from? How JD(U) gets its funds? They get their money from sand mafia, liquor mafia, transfer, posting, money they make from the schemes that are meant for the poor. I am raising money from those who I have helped in the last ten years.

We are setting up probably the biggest ever decentralised crowdfunding platform in Bihar. And I have given this clarion call that out of the 13 crore population we have, if two crore people give Rs100 each, we would be able to raise Rs200 crore.

Q During the Lok Sabha elections, when you predicted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP would come back with an enhanced mandate, questions were raised about your motive.

A I had said five or six things. First, whatever the numbers, Narendra Modi is going to become prime minister. Second, whatever we are observing, data or other evidence, the intensity of the blind support he used to have has come down drastically.

Third, we gave him 300 seats. And this is where I made a mistake. If you look at the vote share, they have got almost the same vote share as they got in 2019. But in terms of number of seats, definitely my assessment was off by almost 10 per cent. Which is a big number. But we are not gods. We make the assessment based on data. But you were not obliged to listen to me and then vote. And when did I say [this]? After five rounds of elections.

But beyond this, I had also made three more important points. That Modi will be a weaker prime minister compared to his first and second terms. Because there is big discontent on the ground among farmers, among youth, and growing inequality is a major issue. I had also said that the BJP leadership of Uttar Pradesh will be one of the formidable challenges the BJP leadership at the national level and the [Rashtriya Swayamsevak] Sangh will have to deal with in the coming years. Of the six things I said, five turned out to be true.

Q How stable do you think this Modi government would be?

A The stability of this government purely depends on the election outcomes of the next eight or nine states… Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Delhi, Bihar, Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Assam. If the BJP does very well in many of these state elections, then they would be very stable.

Q How do you look at Rahul Gandhi’s leadership in the light of the Lok Sabha election results?

A The Lok Sabha election results have settled the debate about whether Rahul Gandhi is the leader the Congress should bank on. He has proved in the last two and a half years… whatever he has done, the effort he has put, definitely there are some signs of the revival of the Congress, to say the least.

But, has he become the leader of the country? I doubt. Indira ji, who was one of the tallest leaders of Congress, had 154 MPs in her worst defeat in 1977. Rahul ji, with his best victory, has got 99. He has some distance to go before he becomes the leader of the country.

Q Coming back to Jan Suraaj, will you take it to other states?

A Our entire focus right now is on Bihar. In the next 10 years, how Bihar becomes one of the top 10 states of India, that is the focus. Winning election is just part of that. Winning election is difficult. But it is not the most difficult thing. Winning election with the right people is the difficult thing.

anti-defection-law-india-analysis

Mon Sep 30 14:07:16 IST 2024

Two states going to polls are integral to the story of the anti-defection law―Haryana and Maharashtra. While Haryana provides the historical backdrop for the enactment of the law, the large-scale defections and change of regime in Maharashtra that took place more recently is the peg on which the demand for an amendment in the law rests.

The Haryana politician Gaya Lal is legendary. His astounding political somersaults after the first assembly elections in the state in 1967 earned him notoriety that has long survived him. The Congress had won the election with a slim majority, getting 48 out of 81 seats, and the government had fallen less than a week after it was formed. Amid the political chaos, Lal, who was an independent legislator and in great demand, changed parties four times in one day―from the Congress to the Janata Party, back to the Congress, again to the Janata Party and then once again back to the Congress! Two weeks later, he had joined the rival United Front. In the intervening period, he had also joined the Arya Sabha and the Bharatiya Lok Dal.

At one juncture, when he was back in the Congress after having switched to the Janata Party, a party leader declared his return at a news conference, saying, “Gaya Lal is now Aya Lal!” Thus was born the phrase ‘Aya Ram, Gaya Ram’, which has often been used to describe the tendency of Indian politicians to switch parties frequently. Incidentally, Gaya Lal’s son Udai Bhan is the current president of the Haryana Congress and will be contesting from Hodal, which was earlier represented by Lal. He maintains his father never betrayed anyone, and that he was given a raw deal by the parties.

The year 1967 is regarded as a time when political instability hit several states and the era of defections and horse-trading began. Coalition governments were formed and as many as 32 governments collapsed one after the other because of legislators changing their allegiances. That same year, the first structured discussion on the need for a law to curb defections began, with P. Venkatasubbaiah, a Lok Sabha MP belonging to the Congress, moving a resolution seeking the appointment of a committee to recommend ways to deal with the problem of defections.

After some unsuccessful attempts to enact a legislation, in early 1985, emboldened by its colossal majority in the Lok Sabha, the Rajiv Gandhi government succeeded in passing in Parliament the Constitution (52nd Amendment) Bill, or the anti-defection legislation. With the enactment of the law, the Tenth Schedule was inserted into the Constitution that contained provisions regarding disqualification of an MP or an MLA on grounds of defection. Political opponents had derisively called the legislation a save-the-Congress endeavour as the ruling party had suffered from desertions on multiple occasions since 1967.

The Congress now wants it to be amended. In fact, in its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections this year, it wanted an MLA or an MP leaving the party he or she got elected from to be a ground for automatic disqualification. In recent years, the Congress has lost governments in many states because of its legislators crossing over to the rival camp en masse.

It was indeed ironic that the Congress’s legal eagle Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who has been a lawyer in almost all the court cases that have to do with defections, should become a victim of defections himself. In early 2024, Singhvi was the party candidate to the Rajya Sabha from Himachal Pradesh, a state the Congress rules and where the numbers were heavily tilted in his favour. However, some Congress MLAs switched allegiance right before the election, and Singhvi, after three consecutive terms in the upper house, found himself out of it.

A shocked Singhvi had then said, “They have taught us a lot because they supped with us till 11pm last night and three of them had breakfast with us.” He was subsequently elected to the Rajya Sabha from Congress-ruled Telangana.

Statistics reveal that more defections have taken place after the anti-defection law was enacted. It is widely accepted that the law has allowed wholesale defections, and thus toppling of governments.

The developments in Maharashtra since 2022 become important here. While they have a huge bearing on the political dynamics in the state and will have an impact on how the state votes in the coming assembly elections, they also bring into sharp focus the problems in the implementation of the law. From the exception provided to two-thirds of the legislators crossing the floor to the role of the speaker to questions about the decision taken by the Election Commission in granting symbols and party names to the Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar factions, the big defection rush in Maharashtra gave rise to several pertinent questions about the law.

THE WEEK takes an in-depth look at the working of the anti-defection law four decades after it came into being.

the-current-state-of-the-anti-defection-law-is-affecting-democracy-itself

Sat Sep 28 12:42:00 IST 2024

UNFORTUNATELY, TALKING ABOUT the Tenth Schedule and defections forces me to use the Shakespearean adage, “the law is an ass”. We, the operators of the Tenth Schedule, and that means all stakeholders and not just politicians, have actually made it an ass. If I tell you the kind of jugaads we have adopted on the subject of defections, you will actually start laughing. And it would be really comic, were it not tragic.

If Gaya Lal was alive today, he would go and jump off a cliff for not having thought of any of these things!

Let me give you a few examples that may shock you. They may amuse you, but, above all, they will tell you all about our great genius to render non-functional something created with the highest ideals, distort something intended to be noble and high.

First is a fundamental question about the speaker’s post. We have adopted these things from Britain. In the old days, speakers were elected unopposed and had credibility by virtue of being genuinely unaffiliated. That is the first reform we need. The rhetorical sermonising from the pulpit, that when I sit on the speaker’s chair I leave behind all of my affiliations and I am not political, that is just not true. The speaker cannot at all sever his umbilical cord. He is a partisan person of a political party. Speakers of the assembly and the Parliament must be elected unopposed and given full authority to be independent.

The fulcrum of the Tenth Schedule is the speaker―the persona designata. The only one who can decide on complaints under the Tenth Schedule. The chosen arbiter. The persona designata has to be brutally and genuinely independent.

Secondly, now, the inbuilt delay [in deciding defection complaints] arises from the politics of it. If I am party A, and you defect from my party and join party B, a speaker of party A will immediately take up the complaint and take a decision. But, if the speaker belongs to B, there are any number of cases where the speaker will indefinitely and interminably prolong the complaint for months, or even years. I have handled cases in Tamil Nadu where the speaker did not decide for years. I go to the High Court, which says we cannot give a direction to the speaker. We go to the Supreme Court, which says, yes, we can give a direction to the speaker, let the speaker decide within so and so time. Then the speaker seeks extensions and finally decides three months before the end of the tenure of the assembly!

In Manipur, in his usual style, Justice [Rohinton Fali] Nariman met the issue head on and prescribed a period of three months. Unfortunately, that is completely observed in the breach because it is not statutory.

Thirdly, it is a misconception that there is a two-thirds split concept in the Tenth Schedule. There is no such thing that you go with two-thirds number and you are immune from the law. You become immune only if two-thirds go with you, and I repeat, and merge with another political party. The second part is forgotten by everyone.

Take, for example, the Maharashtra case. [Eknath] Shinde and team are clearly defectors because there is no merger with any party. But that part of the explicit text of the Tenth Schedule is ignored.

Fourthly, the time you take in deciding whether you have voluntarily given up your seat is mostly a waste of time because now there are enough judgments which say that myriad situations of a diverse character will constitute giving up your seat. I do not have to say I join you, or I defect to you. If I am seen with you, accompanying you in the bus to the governor, and standing with the governor with the list of people, that is also defection. If I write to you, if I support you, if I vote against you, or I abstain from voting, these are each taken up as a de novo paradigm every time the case comes up and speakers spend days and months on it, to delay matters, even though earlier judgments have definitively decided that these are all defections.

Fifth is the period of notice. Normally, assemblies have a provision providing for either 14 days or seven days. This is done for good, positive reasons of natural justice. But it can be easily misused. Take, for example, a case where a budget session is going on and I am a defector. I leave your party and directly vote in the budget session the following day. As you know, on a vote on a money bill, the government can fall. Now, I have defected, the government has fallen, but I will then seek seven days’ notice. I will continue to enjoy the fruits of my defection. I will continue to be an MLA. But in the recent case in Himachal Pradesh, the speaker, rightly―by the way, in Himachal Pradesh, I was a victim [of defections]―said I am giving you one day’s notice. What is the need for a notice? In the Rajya Sabha election, you have to show your vote. You have voted contrary to the party whip and that means you are defecting. So he gave them one day’s notice and disqualified them. Otherwise, the government would have fallen as the budget session was on.

Sixth is probably the most absurd, which is now fortunately pending for consideration before a larger bench of the Supreme Court. A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court, in the Nabam Rebia judgment said that if I defect, but at the time of defection or before defection, I level a genuine allegation about the speaker―lack of faith, bias, etc―then the speaker is disabled from deciding on the complaint against defection as long as a notice seeking his removal is pending. Now, this paragraph is, first of all, wrong and loosely worded. Second, look at the bizarre ways in which this is being misused. This happened in Maharashtra. All the defectors sat together and decided they are defecting. They know they will be disqualified immediately by the speaker because they are going away to other cities, sitting with the other side, openly cohabiting with the BJP. So before leaving Mumbai, they make a complaint against the speaker. When the speaker takes up the disqualification petition, there is an objection to it. He cannot decide on it.

Unfortunately, with great respect to the Supreme Court, an erroneous order was made disabling the speaker from deciding, allowing the defectors to enjoy the fruits of defection. It is like saying that I disable the judge by making an allegation and I will go and commit a criminal act.

Seventh is another stratagem, another jugaad adopted in India, which the framers of the Tenth Schedule or Gaya Lal never even dreamt of. You will find this new stratagem in the Maharashtra cases, and I have done all these cases. Say I am defecting tomorrow, and today I file a complaint in the Election Commission saying I am the real party, please give me the symbol and decide on my petition. And then, I defect. Consequences follow as per the Tenth Schedule. But before the speaker decides, and he could be delaying, because of either a friendly Central government or a friendly EC, I get my EC complaint decided first. The EC decides I am the real party, the symbol is mine, and that is then used to say there is no defection.

Now, the Supreme Court in the Sunil Prabhu case (petition filed by the Uddhav Thackeray faction) has rightly debunked this. The Supreme Court has specifically said the EC and the Tenth Schedule operate in different spheres. It is ridiculous to say that the EC, operating under a non-statutory symbols order (Election Symbols Order, 1968) with the speaker operating under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, will be able to render the speaker’s decision infructuous.

Eighth, an important point is the retrospective aspect of defection which is frequently forgotten. I defect today, you are the speaker, you delay, or you do not delay, I delay the decision-making by filing applications, and you take one year to decide. In that one year, the government falls, the defectors form the government. But when the decision comes a year later, it is found that you have defected. Now, the law is clear. One year later, when the decision of the speaker comes, it relates back, because the act of defection happened one year earlier. That decision applies from the inception, which means on the day the new government was formed, it was formed by the vote of defectors. What this means is that those votes have to be excluded and the government has to go, which is exactly what happened in the Sunil Prabhu case.

Ninth, and this is the amazing part―the Supreme Court said, yes, there is defection in the aforesaid Sunil Prabhu case and the judgment on defection must relate back, and so, it must be deemed that the voting in the floor test was invalid because it had the votes of defectors. But then, the Supreme Court, with great respect to them, nullified that conclusion by further finding that you are not liable for a change of government because Uddhav Thackeray did not take the floor test. That is irrelevant. You have to only exclude the votes of the defectors. If I decide not to take part in the voting on the floor, how does that change the illegality of defection?

Tenth, take another example. Suppose the BJP is in power and a Congressman defects to the BJP. That Congressman is not disqualified because the speaker is considering the petition for six months. He is made a minister as a reward for defection. He does not have to be re-elected for six months. This encourages defection. You have to prohibit such ploys by saying you cannot be a minister without an election in such cases.

I have given you many examples. Do you not think this kind of jugaad, distortion, manipulation, deceit and lack of bona fides make the law an ass? Then, eleventh, my final point, does it not make it necessary to scrap the Tenth Schedule and have a simple rule that the moment I cross over, irrespective of one-thirds or two-thirds, irrespective of party A or party B, I just have to fight another election.

Also, twelfth, let us have an independent constitutional commission to decide on defections, or change the way the speaker is appointed.

Otherwise, it is a sham. It makes a mockery of our system. And there are much higher consequences, because one man, one vote, free and fair elections and level playing field for elections are all part of the basic structure of the Constitution. One man, one vote becoming two defections, one vote... you are actually affecting the basic structure. You are affecting democracy itself. So it is time to completely overhaul the system.

Singhvi is a four-term sitting MP and one of the country’s leading lawyers. He is former chair of three parliamentary standing committees―commerce, law and home; member of the Congress working committee; former additional solicitor general of India; senior national spokesperson of Congress; chair, Congress department on law, human rights and RTI; author and well-known media face.

As told to Soni Mishra

former-vice-president-of-india-m-venkaiah-naidu-interview

Sat Sep 28 12:40:43 IST 2024

Interview/ M. Venkaiah Naidu, former vice president of India

M. VENKAIAH NAIDU sits relaxed on an off-white wing chair in the drawing room of his Jubilee Hills residence in Hyderabad. He is dressed in a white dhoti and a shirt, over which he is wearing a loose-fitting, dark-coloured sweater. It is nippy in the Telangana capital because of incessant rains. There is a line-up of sketches of Naidu from various stages of his life adorning the walls; he proudly says his granddaughter got them made based on old photographs. The drawings encapsulate the 75-year-old’s political career―from a student leader to the vice president of India.

Naidu told THE WEEK that he always stayed true to his party and that he is aggrieved at the ease and frequency with which legislators now switch sides. He is of the firm view that the anti-defection law needs amendment. A major flaw, he says, is that the law allows large-scale defections.

The veteran leader says the power to decide under the Tenth Schedule must remain with the speaker, but a time frame of three to four months should be fixed.

Excerpts:

Q/ Why do you feel the anti-defection law must be amended?

A/ Politics, once upon a time, used to be based on ideology. There used to be commitment, conviction. But of late, politics has undergone a change. Politicians frequently change parties, with the result that people are losing confidence in the system.

The other day, I said at a public function, jokingly, that like the railway or flight timetable, you have to put a signboard in every town stating which man is in which party on that day.

So the anti-defection law needs to be amended. This is my firm view, having been in politics and in an ideology-based party throughout my life.

Q/ The law was brought in 1985. What are your recollections of that time?

A/ When Rajiv Gandhi brought the legislation, people welcomed it. Up to 1967, politics was stable and had an ideological basis. In 1967, the Congress, the ruling party, lost in majority of the states. And in some states, the governments became unsteady. I remember, in Haryana, there was Gaya Lal who changed parties thrice in one day. The Congress (did it) for its own reasons. Whatever be the motive, we all welcomed it.

Q/ Some say the law was rushed, without enough consultation.

A/ There was some amount of consultation. Some people may feel it was not enough. But law should always be amenable to change depending on the situation.

Q/ What changes do you suggest in the law?

A/ If you are elected on the ticket of a particular party, if you want to change your party, you must resign from your position as MLA or MP. That is the spirit of the anti-defection law.

Now, instead of retail defection, we have wholesale defection. Originally, the law said if one-third members decide to form another party or another group, it was okay. Subsequently, we went to two-thirds. Even that has to be revisited. Two-thirds in the original party or two-thirds in the legislature party? Though, I feel since you got elected on the basis of the symbol and ideology of the party, it should be party.

Q/ In Maharashtra, the Eknath Shinde faction broke away and was recognised as the real Shiv Sena on the basis of the number of MLAs.

A/ The majority of the legislators broke away and claimed they are the original Shiv Sena. They (Shinde faction) got into an alliance with the BJP. Their argument is that elections were fought together by the BJP and the Shiv Sena. They got the majority and the BJP got the majority of the seats within the alliance. But the Shiv Sena wanted to have its chief minister, so they went to the Congress. I think the BJP, to take revenge or teach them a lesson, broke the party and has an alliance (with the Shinde faction).

These are not healthy alliances. Political compulsions are making parties reach such an understanding.

Q/ How do you view the role of the speaker under the Tenth Schedule?

A/ The law gives power to the speaker or the chairman (to decide on complaints made under the Tenth Schedule), and rightly so. After all, it is a matter pertaining to a legislative body. But there should be a time frame. Otherwise, the speaker sits on a particular case for the remainder of the term. Then what is the purpose? Some people say this should be taken away from the speaker and given to the judiciary. In the judiciary also there are cases pending for years. The speaker or the chairman must be mandated to decide within three or four months. And at the end of the day, everything is subject to judicial review.

Q/ Many feel the speaker comes from a political party and cannot be impartial.

A/ I agree that can be an argument. But it is something that happened in the legislature. And he is the presiding officer. But finally a judicial review can always happen. For the judicial review also there must be a time frame.

Q/ The law is allowing large-scale defections because of the two-third norm.

A/ One-third or two-third, individual or group, once you defect you must resign and contest elections. That is the spirit of democracy. But that will have far reaching consequences and there has to be a consensus. Political parties, for their own interest, will not support such a law.

Q/ In recent years, many state governments have fallen because of large-scale defections.

A/ Many more governments have fallen earlier also. I am not confining to this regime or that regime.

Q/ We have seen defections happening in Telangana also, to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi and now from the BRS.

A/ The BRS did it. The Congress is now doing the same thing. Earlier in Andhra, the YSRCP did it. Before that, the Telugu Desam Party. In certain states, the BJP has done the same thing.

Q/ Why do we see so many defections happening?

A/ It is because of affection for power. People want power and they want it easily. You must have patience, ability and stability. But people want quick results. When they don’t get elected, they don’t get power in this party, they switch to another party and enjoy fruits of power.

Q/ What does it tell us about morality in politics?

A/ I joined student politics when I was 16 years old. My uncle took me to a senior Congress leader and told him, ‘My boy wants to join politics’. The leader asked me, ‘Which party?’ I said, ‘I like Vajpayee ji. I like his speeches. So I am inclined towards Jan Sangh.’ He said, ‘Jan Sangh?’ Then he told me, ‘Babu, that’s an Uttara Bharatiya party, an urban party, a Brahmin Baniya party, and a vegetarian party.’ I made my choice and I never changed my party. I used to make announcements sitting in a bullock cart about the arrival of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. I used to write on walls. I got arrested during the Emergency. I was given ticket for Lok Sabha polls in 1977. I could not succeed, though. In 1978 and in 1983, I became an MLA. Later, I became a four-time MP. Also, state president and then national president. I became rural development minister, urban development minister. Initially, it was an ordeal because there was no scope for winning elections. But at the end of the day, I succeeded in becoming a parliamentarian and then a minister and then, vice president of India, the second highest constitutional post.

I tell people, commitment to an ideology is always a good thing.

Q/ The opposition accuses the BJP of engineering defections.

A/ I don’t want to defend the BJP. I am no longer a spokesperson for the BJP. My point is, every political party should go for some soul searching before accusing others. What you have done in the past, let every political party introspect. The Congress is accusing the BJP. The BJP accuses the Congress, saying you are the grandfather of defections. That is not going to solve the problem. The leaders of what was originally the Jan Sangh and the communists used to stick to their ideology. More recently, in Telangana, a CPI(M) leader in the assembly joined the BRS, became a minister. So, it is happening in those parties, too.

Q/ Many say the whip needs to be revisited because it stifles freedom of expression.

A/ When the law was brought in, stalwarts like Madhu Limaye said you cannot restrict the freedom of expression of the individual. Freedom of expression is an important aspect. But once you join a party, it means you are committing to its ideology and you are bound by its rules.

But I am of the view, and even the Supreme Court has opined so, that the whip should be to the extent possible confined to bills that have a bearing on the stability of the government.

Q/ Would you want the present dispensation to take the initiative to amend the anti-defection law?

A/ The ruling party can take the initiative or the opposition can and let the Parliament, in its collective wisdom, decide. The government of the day can bring in a legislation. I always say that in Parliament, let the government propose, let the opposition oppose, let the house dispose. The opposition also can bring in legislation and put it for voting. If the government loses, there is a moral defeat.

Also, parties should promise (in the manifesto) they will bring a legislation to stop defections. They can also promise in their manifestos their legislators will behave in a democratic way in the Parliament. And if they don’t fulfil that promise, people should teach them a lesson. There cannot be a remedial law for everything. It is the people’s collective wisdom that will offer a solution.

merger-exemption-needs-clarity-or-removal

Sat Sep 28 12:39:16 IST 2024

THE 2022 POLITICAL crisis in Maharashtra saw 34 petitions under the anti-defection law filed by members of either faction seeking disqualification of more than 50 MLAs. Rather anticlimactically, no MLA was disqualified by Speaker Rahul Narwekar, who delivered a similar verdict in the NCP split in 2023.

Such occurrences have repeatedly exposed the inability of India’s anti-defection law to curb bulk defections. The law has infamously magnified the problem it was meant to solve, while defecting legislators escape disqualification. How did the law lose the plot so miserably?

The Tenth Schedule is poorly drafted and vulnerable to multiple interpretations. Sample Paragraph 4, which exempts legislators from disqualification if they cross the floor in a group to merge with an existing political party. So, while individual defections get punished, bulk defections can pass muster!

Paragraph 4 has two sub-paragraphs, which may be read either conjunctively or disjunctively. In a conjunctive reading, a merger is valid only when a political party merges with another political party and at least two-thirds of the members of the legislature party agree to this merger. In a disjunctive reading, a valid merger needs only two-thirds of the legislature party to agree to merge with another legislature party. Called a “deemed merger”, this does not require the coming together of the original political parties.

How these two sub-paragraphs are read has a bearing on the law’s performance. A disjunctive reading eases mergers, especially in smaller legislative assemblies such as Goa’s. In 2019, 10 MLAs of a 15-member Congress legislature party in Goa merged with the BJP. Disqualification petitions filed against them were dismissed by the speaker, and subsequently by the Bombay High Court (Goa Bench), both opting for a disjunctive reading and validating the merger of the legislature parties.

Simultaneously, conjunctive readings also exist. In the late 1990s, in petitions filed against Haryana MLAs Charan Dass Shorewala and Vinod Kumar Mariya for defecting from the Samata Party, speaker Chattar Singh Chauhan held that Paragraph 4 “...does not speak of split or merger in the Legislature Party but... in the original political party”, signalling a conjunctive reading.

Until 2003, the Tenth Schedule also exempted “splits” in political parties―a faction needed to first demonstrate a split in their original party, and then, one-third members of the legislature party had to agree to the split. In 2007, the Supreme Court held the two steps absolutely necessary for a valid split and overruled the argument that a split in the original party need not be separately established if one in the legislature party is shown. A similar conclusive observation for a valid merger remains elusive.

Meanwhile, disjunctive readings continue. For example, in 2021, petitions against 12 Congress MLAs in Meghalaya for joining the Trinamool Congress did not result in disqualification because they were two-thirds of the 17-member Congress legislature party.

Therefore, the merger exemption needs either conclusive interpretation or complete removal.

Also, speakers must be replaced by an impartial authority to decide disqualification petitions.

However, while solutions abound, the political appetite to see these reforms through is still awaited.

Sharma is a senior resident fellow at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy and leads Charkha, Vidhi’s dedicated constitutional law team.

former-union-minister-p-chidambaram-interview-anti-defection-law

Sat Sep 28 12:38:08 IST 2024

Interview / P. Chidambaram, former Union minister

P. CHIDAMBARAM WAS A first-time MP when the anti-defection law was passed in Parliament in 1985. He walked up to A.K. Sen, the law minister, and suggested that he should carefully consider the provisions being made in the Tenth Schedule. Sen’s reply, said Chidambaram, was that it could be amended later.

Forty years later, the Congress in its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections promised to amend the law. Chidambaram, the chief architect of the manifesto and one of the brightest legal minds in India, insists that an amendment should make defection a ground for automatic disqualification and ban the member from contesting an election during the term of the house. Excerpts from an interview:

Q/ A Congress government enacted the anti-defection law in 1985. Before the Lok Sabha elections this year, the Congress, in its manifesto, said the law must be amended. Why do you feel the law needs to be amended?

A/ I remember the year in which the Tenth Schedule was passed in Parliament. A.K. Sen, who was the law minister, had moved the bill. I was a first-term member of Parliament, and I walked up to him and said, ‘Sir, I think you should carefully consider the provisions you are making in the Tenth Schedule’. He said, ‘Let’s pass it, and then we can always amend it’.

The original Tenth Schedule had a provision for split and merger. The provision for split was omitted by an amendment, but the provision for merger remains. And that has been open to abuse. The provision for merger encourages one or more members who are elected on a party ticket to defect from the party and then put forward various arguments. The provision for merger, on many occasions, effectively becomes a split in the legislature party. The matter then goes to the speaker, who sits on the complaint for months, in some cases, years. He hands down a decision towards the end of the term of the member, and in many cases, after the term of the member is over.

It has spawned litigation in every high court. Some high courts have taken the view that is plainly wrong in view of the subsequent judgment of the Supreme Court. They have taken the view that even if there is no split in the parent political party, there can be a split in the legislature party, and one section or one faction can claim to be either an independent party or merge with another party. That is why we put it in the manifesto; all this is completely open to abuse.

Q/ What is the solution?

A/ The simple provision should be that if you defect, which is if you join another party, if you resign from your party, if you vote against your party’s whip, the party being the party on whose ticket you were elected, instantaneously you are disqualified, and you cannot contest an election for the remainder of that term. It is written in the manifesto that we promise to amend the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution and make defection a ground for automatic disqualification of the membership in the assembly or Parliament. In one section, the entire law of defection can be reformed and it can become an effective deterrent to defection.

Q/ How are you going to go about it? You are not in power.

A/ The party in power believes in Operation Lotus. The party in power encourages defections; it encourages splits in parties. Therefore, this party in power will never agree to our amendment. The manifesto promises if we come to power, we will pass this law. And I have no doubt that if the Congress had formed the government, either on its own or in alliance, we could have persuaded the council of ministers or the cabinet to pass such a law. This is a very simple, elegant solution to defection. The Tenth Schedule was added in 1985. Now, this is the 40th year, and yet defection has not been effectively suppressed by the Tenth Schedule. My proposal will effectively suppress any defection.

Q/ Do you feel that there are problems with the law, or is it that the political class has found a way around it?

A/ Problem with the law, number one. Number two, problem with the abuse of the law. Three, problem with the speakers’ action and inaction. Four, problem with the interpretation of the provisions by various high courts.

Q/ Proposals have been made that speakers’ role can be looked at and an alternative mechanism can be set up to decide on disqualification petitions.

A/ There is no need for that. In the case of resignation, although the speaker has to satisfy himself on whether the signature of the MLA or the MP is genuine, the resignation must be accepted. Similarly, in the case of defection, all that the complainant has to say and the speaker has to be satisfied with is whether he has resigned from the party, whether he has voted against the party’s whip, whether he has joined another party. So these are incontrovertible facts; so there is no great enquiry required. The examination of these three facts can be completed in half an hour.

Q/ You feel that the law in its present form has actually helped wholesale defections.

A/ Obviously. The fact that despite 40 years of the Tenth Schedule, there have been hundreds of defections proves that the law has been ineffective.

Q/ Can any law deal with issues of political morality?

A/ Here, we are not talking about political morality. If you are very unhappy with your party, resign and contest an election. If you resign and contest an election, there is no bar. You can’t rely upon the strength of your previous election and defect and betray your party. You can always resign and contest an election. The moment you resign, there will be a vacancy, there will be a by-election, contest it. We are not deciding the morality of that legislator. We are discussing the morality of his keeping the victory that was won on the strength of his earlier party, but acting against the interests of the original party.

Q/ Allegations have been made against the Congress that it, too, has encouraged defections.

A/ I am not discussing whether one party’s record is good or another party’s record is bad. All I am pointing out is that under the Tenth Schedule, as it stood and as it stands, it has proved to be a complete failure.

Q/ No party has got a clear majority in the Lok Sabha elections. Do you fear that defections could begin again?

A/ I don’t think so because the BJP has two allies who bring 28 seats to the alliance, and with some smaller allies, they cross 272. If one of the two allies were to withdraw support, then I think the game of defections may start. But as long as both the allies stand by the BJP, there is no compelling reason why they should encourage defection. But that does not mean that the BJP will not encourage defections. It is in the BJP’s DNA to encourage defections.

political-bias-should-be-kept-out-of-anti-defection-law

Sat Sep 28 12:36:56 IST 2024

THE 52ND AMENDMENT to the Constitution was made in 1985 to incorporate the Tenth Schedule, commonly known as the ‘anti-defection law’. The Statement of Objects and Reasons for the Amendment is rather lengthy, but the substance is in the introductory paragraph, which reads:

“The evil of political defections has been a matter of national concern. If it is not combated, it is likely to undermine the very foundations of our democracy and the principles which sustain it. With this object, an assurance was given in the Address by the President to Parliament that the Government intended to introduce in the current session of Parliament an anti-defection Bill. This Bill is meant for outlawing defection and fulfilling the above assurance.”

While the intention of the amendment was to curb the ‘Aya Ram Gaya Ram’ syndrome prevalent at the time, the speaker of the house had a key role in his capacity as the implementing authority. The first case under this law before the Supreme Court was that of Kihoto Hollohan v. Zachillhu (1985) which dealt with a complaint (among other issues) of disqualification on the ground of defection of some members of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly. On the role of the speaker, the court held that the speaker performs a judicial function while deciding on a complaint under the anti-defection law and therefore the decision is judicially reviewable, but only to a limited extent and not on the merits of the decision. Equally importantly, the Supreme Court held that the office of the speaker in a parliamentary democracy has a high status and importance and performs wide-ranging functions, including of a judicial character. “The speaker is said to be the very embodiment of propriety and impartiality.” Therefore, the court rejected the contention that vesting an adjudicatory function in the speaker would vitiate the provision on the ground of likelihood of political bias.

Fast forward to 2011. In the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, disqualification petitions were filed under the anti-defection law against five legislators. For some reason, they were not heard by the speaker, and the petitioners moved the High Court for a direction to the speaker to decide the petitions. The High Court gave four months to the speaker to make a decision and also ‘disqualified’ the concerned legislators from functioning as legislators in the assembly. These directions were challenged by the speaker in the Supreme Court, which held that while the direction to decide the petitions within a specified timeframe was valid, the direction ‘disqualifying’ the legislators was invalid.

A somewhat similar situation arose in Manipur. The Legislative Assembly was constituted in March 2017 and soon after, the speaker received several disqualification petitions under the anti-defection law, one of which pertained to a cabinet minister. Unfortunately, the speaker took no action on these petitions. After examining the law on the subject and whether the speaker could refrain from exercising jurisdiction vested in him, the court held in Keisham Meghachandra Singh v. Speaker, Manipur Legislative Assembly (2021) that the only relief that could be granted is a direction to the speaker to decide on the disqualification petitions within four weeks, perhaps keeping in mind that the disqualification petitions had been pending for almost four years with the speaker.

Not unsurprisingly, the speaker did not act within the deadline. Instead, an application was moved seeking another eight weeks to decide on the disqualification petitions. But that application was withdrawn. This attitude led the Supreme Court to restrain the minister “from entering the Legislative Assembly till further orders of this Court. Needless to add, he will cease to be a Minister of the Cabinet immediately.” The message was loud and clear that a perception of political bias was not acceptable.

In Subhash Desai v. Principal Secretary, Governor of Maharashtra (2023), the Supreme Court directed the speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly in May to decide on the disqualification petitions pending before him “within a reasonable period”. No decision was taken till September. Then the court gave a peremptory date of 31 December to make a decision. The court then gave two more extensions and, eventually, the speaker decided on the petitions on February 15, 2024. Political bias?

The Supreme Court has observed that the time has come to have a rethink on the matter and perhaps entrust the decision-making to a permanent tribunal headed by a retired Supreme Court judge or a retired Chief Justice of a High Court or some other independent mechanism so that such disputes are adjudicated swiftly and impartially. The Law Commission of India has also recommended some changes. These suggestions need a serious discussion so that a possible political bias is kept out of the anti-defection law, otherwise the Tenth Schedule will die a natural death.

Madan Lokur is a former Supreme Court judge and Raagini Raghu is a Delhi-based lawyer.

former-chief-election-commissioner-o-p-rawat-interview

Sat Sep 28 12:36:03 IST 2024

Interview / O.P. Rawat, former chief election commissioner

Q/ There has been criticism of the Election Commission’s role in granting the Shiv Sena symbol and party name to the Eknath Shinde faction.

A/ When the EC has information to believe there has been a split in a political party, it starts proceedings under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. The first such case was of the Congress in 1969 when it split over the presidential election―one group fielded V.V. Giri and the other backed [Neelam] Sanjeeva Reddy. The matter came to the EC. It applied four tests―organisational strength, legislative strength, compliance to the party’s constitution and inner party democracy. Based on that, the EC took a decision that Congress(J) was the real Congress. Congress(O)’s Sadiq Ali went to the Supreme Court challenging the decision, and the court upheld the decision, which was solely based on legislative strength.

As regards organisational strength, there were claims and counter claims, and many people on one side, many on the other. It was humanly impossible to manage any opinion on that. Similarly, claims and counterclaims on compliance to the constitution. So all those tests failed, and the EC based its order on legislative strength. The same tests were applied in the Eknath Shinde case, and there again, the same thing was observed, that on all other tests, there were claims and counterclaims, and without going into a detailed inquiry, no definite opinion was possible. So the test of legislative strength was applied. And legislative strength was on Shinde’s side.

Q/ The counter argument is that the party is the organisation and it can exist even without legislators.

A/ In fact, the party can still exist without the symbol. Symbol is required for elections, and election throws up the legislators, and therefore the direct connection is with the legislative strength. Legislative strength is definite because numbers do not need any kind of corroboration or evidence. The number of MLAs or MPs is a clear ground. So, for a summary inquiry to be completed in 15 days or one month, this is the only way.

Like in one case from Tamil Nadu, we found that three truckloads of affidavits had come to the EC. The EC said this cannot be sifted through in one year because we have a staff strength of just about 300. You cannot form a definite opinion on organisational strength easily without any detailed inquiry.

Q/ Is there a need to change Paragraph 15 to bring in more safeguards regarding how factions are recognised?

A/ I don’t think there is any need. Anything which needs to be done in a day or two or two weeks, if you bring in more rules and regulations, you will create space for political skulduggery and manipulation. It is simply a summary inquiry based on the material submitted by the warring factions. If more things are added to Paragraph 15, it will result in cross-examining and all those procedures which will be dilatory. So far, whatever decision has been taken, whether it was the AIADMK case or Samajwadi Party or the JD(U) case, the Supreme Court has upheld the decision of the EC.

Q/ Suggestions have been made that the speaker should not be the deciding authority in the Tenth Schedule and the decision should be taken by either the president or the governor acting on the advice of the EC.

A/ The Supreme Court has said that no executive authority should have the jurisdiction of getting into the political process. The speaker’s role being given to the governor or president or any other executive institution will vitiate the political process. He or she is appointed by someone else, so that person sitting remotely can control the political process of a state legislature. We will be destroying the democratic fabric. We must believe in our politicians and leave the whole political process to them.

The EC is set up only for conducting elections and maintaining electoral rolls. They should not be tasked with anything else. If you bring the EC into the anti-defection law, it will be terrible.

lok-sabha-former-secretary-general-subhash-c-kashyap-interview

Sat Sep 28 12:34:45 IST 2024

Interview/ Subhash C. Kashyap, former secretary general, Lok Sabha

A highly respected constitutional expert, the 95-year-old Kashyap’s two-volume book Anti-Defection Law and Parliamentary Privileges is insightful and incisive. He told THE WEEK that the law has been ineffective in stopping large-scale defections and suggests that the speaker should not be the deciding authority under the Tenth Schedule. Excerpts:

Q/ What was the backdrop for the enactment of the anti-defection law?

A/ The contours of politics in India underwent a radical change post 1967. The age of one-party dominance was over. The most important development was the formation of coalition governments of widely heterogeneous elements in several states and the change of their political labels by legislators in large numbers, thereby affecting the fate of ministries and course of political power. Of the 16 states that went to the polls in February 1967, the Congress lost absolute majority in eight and failed to form its government in seven of them. Even in states where the party retained control, its strength was much depleted and in the case of some of these states, defection by a few members could ruin its majority and turn it into a minority party.

Significantly, almost every single case of collapse of state government during this period was the direct result of change of allegiance by legislators. Empirical data shows that by the end of March 1971, some 50 per cent (2,000) of all legislators (4,000) had defected from their parties at least once. One legislator defected five times to become a minister for a few days! With an average of more than one legislator changing his label each day and for some time about one government falling each month, it is not surprising that the subject came to be discussed rather widely.

Q/ As the anti-defection law completes 40 years, the general opinion is that it has failed in its aims and objectives.

A/ The Constitution (52nd Amendment) Act, 1985, sought to outlaw defections. Besides questions raised about its constitutionality and advisability in a parliamentary democratic setup, the anti-defection law has not been able to prevent the malady even though it was amended by Constitution (91st Amendment) Act, 2003, which provided to place a limit on the number of ministers, so that they could not be more than 15 per cent of the number of members in the Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies. For the state level, however, a proviso was added stating that the number of ministers in a state shall not be less than 12 to take away the protection from defectors on grounds of splits, and to make defectors ineligible for being appointed as ministers or on any remunerative public office until re-election.

Q/ In focus is the role of the speaker. Should there be an alternative mechanism to decide on disqualification petitions?

A/ I have always been of the view that the office of the speaker or the presiding officer should not be involved in deciding cases of defection of legislators and these should be referred to the Election Commission or the judiciary.

A view expressed on the law is that it has been ineffective against large-scale defections which result in governments falling and political instability.

That the anti-defection law has been ineffective in solving the problem of large-scale defections by the legislators for money or office is evident. There have been more defections per year in the post anti-defection law period than in the period before its enactment. Also, more governments have fallen after the anti-defection law.

Q/ There is a view that the law has been ineffective against wholesale defections, which result in governments falling and political instability.

A/ That anti-defection law has been ineffective in solving the problem of large scale defections by the legislators for money or office is evident. There have been more defections per year in the post anti-defection law period then in the period before enactment of the anti-defection law in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. Also, more governments have fallen after the anti-defection law.

Q/ An argument made against the Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar defections in Maharashtra is that while a split took place, no merger happened. But the factions got the party symbol and name while their disqualification petitions were pending. Your views.

A/ It may be pointed out that by the 91st Amendment to the Constitution, split has ceased to be relevant in case of defections. The question of disqualification of members and merger of parties as a defence has to be decided by the speaker. The recognition of political parties and allocation of symbols has to be decided by the EC, which was done. It would have been better if the question of disqualification of members had been not kept pending and decided by the speaker earlier. The unfortunate position would not be a [problem] if disqualification was also referred to the EC.

Q/ Can the issue of political morality be solved by law?

A/ Even though the role of constitutional and legislative media cannot be completely ruled out as preventive, illustrative and deterrent, measures of political culture and questions of systemic morality and character of people cannot be tackled by law alone.

Q/ Your suggestions on how to make the law work or any alternative mechanism that needs to be put in place.

A/ Defections take place for toppling governments and in a situation of instability, I have been suggesting the election of the chief minister/prime minister by the House and removal by constructive votes of no-confidence, which would mean that the motion which expresses no confidence in the ministry also mentions the name of alternative leader to head the government.

gelephu-mindfulness-city-bhutan-proposes-an-economic-gateway-for-the-world-to-india-and-southeast-asia

Sat Sep 21 12:18:37 IST 2024

Robin Datgiri, 51, lives in the last house on the border in Assam’s Hatisar village, which lies next to the town of Gelephu in Bhutan. As a child, he would cross the border daily to attend school in Gelephu, where he not only received an education, but also discounted meals (Rs3 for Indians)―an opportunity that shaped his childhood. Proximity to Gelephu has been a gateway to a better life for the people of Hatisar, providing access to resources and opportunities that were otherwise scarce in their small village.

“We step into Gelephu for our daily needs even today as it is less than a kilometre away compared with the nearest Indian town, Bongaigaon, which is 60 kilometres away,” said Datgiri, who runs a pharmacy. “There is no general practitioner in Hatisar. Local doctors in Gelephu are our first call for any emergency.”

Gelephu, a town strategically situated on the Assam border, offers convenient access to other districts within Bhutan as well. It has long been a passage between Bhutan and India, serving as an important trading post and transit point for monks and traders moving between the Indian plains and Bhutanese highlands. Its long-standing role as a lifeline and strategic location on the fertile plains, in contrast to the mountainous terrain that dominates much of the Himalayan kingdom, has given shape to a new dream for King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who is developing the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) as the first of its kind special administrative region (SAR) in Bhutan based on a “two systems, one country” policy.

“It is designed for Bhutan. But it is not just for Bhutan. It is going to benefit Assam and all of India,” said Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay. “We see it as an economic gateway for the world to India and through India to southeast Asia.”

This transformation aims to turn Gelephu into an economic and a strategic corridor bringing India and Bhutan closer, without disturbing Thimphu’s comfortable relationship with its other neighbour, China. After 60 years of development, Bhutan still depends on the goodwill of donors. The jewel in the Himalayas is also going through the biggest existential crisis in history with its youth moving out in search of better opportunities. It is estimated that nearly 40,000 people from its seven lakh population have left in the last few years.

But Bhutan has an optimistic approach to tackling its problems. “Disappointment is an integral part of human nature. But it is this disappointment, which is different from cynicism, that promotes progress and injects new thinking in a society,” said Lyonpo Sonam Tobgye, former chief justice of the supreme court of Bhutan.

The visionary monarchs are looking into the future once again―just like they did while making a successful transition to democracy. Dasho Kungzang Wangdi, the first chief election commissioner of Bhutan, said that before the first national assembly elections were held in 2008, many wanted to continue with the existing system because they were happy with the monarchy. “I think whenever you talk of monarchy [outside Bhutan], you think of it as dictatorship or autocracy where things are not too good.” Wangdi said the Bhutanese saw it in a unique way. Their kings are more democratic in nature and the well being of people is their priority, he said.

This time, the effort is to keep up with the demographic advantages and the rapid economic growth of its neighbours―India and China. The policy of neutrality has kept the kingdom strong and stable, but Jigme realises that the time has come for Bhutan to take the next step forward, alongside China and India, which are expected to become the world’s largest and third largest economies, respectively, as per their own estimates. This means that the global economic centre of gravity will shift towards this region, creating tremendous opportunities for business and wealth creation.

Historically, Gelephu has enjoyed a higher level of development compared with many other Bhutanese towns. During the 1970s and 1980s, it served as a thriving hub for industries and trade. Gelephu produced and exported a diverse range of goods, including candles, matchsticks, soaps, honey, incense, timber and other natural products. Furthermore, the town significantly benefited from Bhutan’s flourishing tourism industry, attracting a substantial number of visitors from Assam. The outreach will only get bigger with the GMC being centred around Gelephu and built over 2,600 square kilometres, giving the landlocked country access to global markets. And India is once again playing a pivotal role in the creation of the GMC.

Interestingly, Gelephu has a nostalgic connection with India as well. It is one of the three frontier towns of Bhutan which had Indian names till 1959. Gelephu was originally called Hatisar, while the other two were called Jaigaon Bhutan and Gudama or Mela bazaar. Old timers recall that one day, Bhutan’s third king Jigme Dorji Wangchuck summoned Lopen Nyapchhi, the storekeeper of the palace, to know why some of the Indian letters were delivered in Bhutan and some Bhutanese ones went to India. Lopen said it was because the three border towns did not have Bhutanese names. So the king, who was about to leave on a trekking expedition, asked him to choose new names. He asked Lopen to broadcast the names on the radio and said that he was carrying his radio set with him and would check whether Lopen obeyed his order.

As soon as the king left, Lopen rushed to the only wireless station in Thimphu to ask help from Mr Chawna, an Indian who had set up the station. Chawna was fondly called “wireless babu” by the local people. He told Lopen that the announcement would not be effective unless something was done to attract the attention of the listeners. So he played songs and jokes and then made the announcement about the new names―Phuentsholing, Gelephu and Samdrup-jongkhar―every day for an hour between 8am and 9am for two weeks. Even the king was impressed.

Hatisar is now in India and Gelephu in Bhutan, but the sharing of songs, cultures, families and friends continues. The familial connections are so robust that the GMC elicits an immediate, positive response from the children of Bhutanese who are married to Indians and residing in India. Sujit Chhetri, the head of Hatisar village, was born to an Assamese father and a Bhutanese mother. Both his sisters are married in Gelephu. “We are excited about the GMC project as it will bring development to both India and Bhutan. Already, land prices are going up. When businessmen from outside come and set up industries and shops, the economy on the border will grow,” said Chhetri. “There was no border in the past, hence the population is a mix of Indians and Bhutanese. ”

Like Datgiri, Chhetri, too, did his schooling in Gelephu, enjoying his daily lunch of dal and fish served to students. “From the early 1970s to the late 1980s, it is understood that there were no [border] gates, with the exception of a pull-down barrier utilised by the forestry and trade departments,” said Dawa Penjor, general secretary of the Bhutan-India friendship association.

But today, movement across the border is restricted as check posts have come up. Border forces in Assam ensure that illegal movements and activities do not scar the friendship. Securing the borders of the tiny kingdom has long been a concern for Bhutanese and Indian governments, which share a history of crackdown on transnational linkages of northeast Indian insurgent groups taking shelter across the border. Bhutan’s first military operation in 140 years was against armed insurgents of ULFA and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland in 2003. In the misty clouds of the Dochula Pass, Bhutan’s highest mountain pass, stand 108 memorial stupas, erected in the memory of the brave Bhutanese soldiers who sacrificed their lives.

“Over the past few years, all the militant groups active along the India-Bhutan border have joined the mainstream,” said G.P. Singh, director general of the Assam Police. He said the emphasis was on creating an economic and social environment in Assam that ensured the youth did not get attracted towards militancy. “We have been able to achieve this satisfactorily during the last few years precluding the likelihood of safe haven in Bhutan,” said Singh. The impact is visible. The guns have fallen silent since, showing the success of active cooperation between the governments and security agencies on either side.

The state visit of King Jigme to Guwahati in November 2023, the first official visit by a Bhutanese monarch to Assam, demonstrated that the time was ripe to reap the dividends of peace. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will be visiting Bhutan next month, bringing further excitement to the plans of building the first India-Bhutan rail link connecting Kokrajhar and Gelephu, where Bhutan also plans to build an international airport. Bhutan’s approach to its neighbourhood has shifted from self preservation and isolation to embracing openness, balancing its economic needs with growing opportunities. The sustainable development fees charged for foreign tourists might surprise most Indians, but Bhutan realises that protecting its pristine landscape is as important as attracting investment and tourists. “This is where friendship plays a big role. Those who understand that the bond runs deep will not see it from the prism of reciprocity or equality [with India],” said Penjor. He lives in Gelephu, barely a kilometre from the border and finds himself in Assam almost every day.

While India enjoys close geographic proximity with Bhutan, China, too, remains a key neighbour. But the Himalayan divide creates a kind of distance between Bhutan and China. Bhutan understands the importance of balancing relations with the two big neighbours.

Penjor said the GMC project, too, aligned with the future of this trilateral partnership. “I don’t think China has any reservations to the GMC project or any collaboration with India. China wants a prosperous neighbour who can look after itself. Lack of good governance or development impacts the stability of the region, which India and China do not want,” he said. Proximity has made the neighbours more pragmatic over the years. Penjor pointed towards Sino-Indian trade ties to argue that the neighbourhood should not worry about the Bhutan-China relationship. “China is India’s largest trading partner. Other than occasional border issues, both countries continue economic activities. Ninety per cent of Bhutan’s imports are from India. This itself explains that India is a key partner for both. So it is wrong to say that the Bhutan-China equation can disturb trilateral balance,” he said.

Understanding the Bhutanese perspective is key for India to resolve border differences with China as there are two important tri-junction points―one in the west involving Doklam and the other in the east of the McMohan line which delineates the Sino-Indian border in this region. In 2017, Doklam was the site of a tiff between India and China as India believes that Doklam is part of Bhutanese territory and any part of this territory cannot be ceded to China as it overlooks the critical Siliguri corridor that links the northeast to the rest of India. There is a clear understanding in Bhutan that any resolution coming through in its border talks with China will primarily have India’s interests in mind, which is why the issue has dragged on for long. “It pains the Bhutanese to see the Indian media question Bhutan’s friendship with India by insinuating that Bhutan and China are coming closer,” said Penjor.

For India to be a big brother without a big brother attitude would certainly entail honouring the 1949 peace and friendship treaty, by not interfering in Bhutan’s internal administration, and also close cooperation on issues of national security without interfering in foreign policy based on the 2007 friendship treaty. This also explains why the GMC will not have an inclusion or exclusion criteria when it opens up its doors for investments from countries, companies and individuals, with or without diplomatic relations with Bhutan. “It all boils down to business ideas and investments that align with the vision of the GMC. It will be invitation based, and investors must follow the GMC guidelines. As long as the standards are met, why should there be exclusion criteria?,” asked Dr Lotay Tshering, former prime minister of Bhutan, who is part of the implementation team of the GMC.

The Gelephu SAR will be governed by the GMC Authority, which will include international domain and investment experts, according to the blueprint prepared by the Bhutan government. Since the monarchy is the most trusted institution in Bhutan, the SAR will be established through the royal prerogative of the king and the promulgation of a royal charter. After the announcement of the GMC on the national day (December 17) in 2023, work has already begun to enact major changes in the country’s governance structure to create a different executive and judicial system that will be autonomous from the rest of the country.

What makes the Bhutan model unique is that the autonomous region will be run by international domain experts, who may belong to different nationalities, but will share a common vision to develop GMC mindfully to make it the “silicon valley of the east”, where spiritual values and nature will form the bedrock of technological progress and development of a greenfield global city. Sources said Bhutan was studying the Singapore model among others to learn world-class business efficiencies. “The idea is to blend modern day development, technology, artificial intelligence and urban living with spirituality, nature and meditation to bring a balance that you will not find in developed cities around the world,” said Penjor.

The GMC will develop its own legal system, which is likely to be based on the English common law system and OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) standards. “Newer parameters of legal knowledge are unfolding today which require us to be responsive to the changing times and aspirations of people,” said Justice Tobgye. He did not discount the fact that the judiciary, like any other institution, could face challenges, but expressed hope that it should be able to rise to the occasion.

The administration of the GMC will also feature a new model that promotes speed, efficiency and transparency. A new cadre may be created for officials who will serve only within the GMC to ensure flexibility. While a culture of experimentation, development and innovation will be encouraged, Bhutan is mindful of rule of law. It has been seen that, globally, economic hubs run the risk of becoming safe havens for money laundering or tax evasion. Senior government officials said the safety of investment and rule of law would be a priority area. “It will not be a place for random businesses and questionable practices. All investors must understand and honour the vision of the GMC before committing to start a business here,” said Lotay Tshering. The SAR will have a separate central bank that can develop its own monetary policy and even issue its own currency, something that is being discussed within closed doors at the moment.

The GMC will focus on key sectors of tourism, health and wellness, education and research, spirituality, agri tech, forestry and green energy. The GMC timeline is 21 years, but the expansion of infrastructure would be an ongoing process as Bhutan would work for a holistic, mindful city ecosystem that could increase the gross national happiness quotient of its people and also the global community. Dasho Karma Ura, who leads Bhutan’s happiness surveys, highlighted the country’s unique stance: “Small nations like Bhutan, without the power or economic strength to engage in arms races, must rely on neutrality. This neutrality and territorial integrity deserve respect.”

Bhutan may be a late participant in the global race of development and modernisation, but it is getting ready to create something unique. Bhutan’s kings, who introduced democracy when its people and the world least expected it, have set a precedent for thoughtful governance. Now, with the development of the GMC, Bhutan could once again serve as a global example of urban progress rooted in peace and well-being. Its commitment to neutrality is a powerful lesson that there is more than one path to success and even the smallest nations can act as beacons of hope and peace in a world overshadowed by conflict.

prime-minister-of-bhutan-tshering-tobgay-interview

Sat Sep 21 12:17:20 IST 2024

Interview/ Tshering Tobgay, prime minister of Bhutan

Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay considers India a benevolent elder sibling as the “big brotherly attitude’’ is happily missing from bilateral ties. He thinks the relationship shared by the two countries has become a model of friendship not just for the region, but for the entire world. “India’s attitude is definitely not of a big brother who is controlling and does not allow the little brother to blossom and grow,” says Tobgay in an exclusive interview with THE WEEK.

The continuity of the strong historical, cultural and spiritual ties is on the threshold of transforming itself into a unique, modern-era global partnership with the development of the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) project on the border with Assam. “The GMC is the vision of the king and it will be a gateway of the world to India and through India to southeast Asia, benefiting the entire region’s development,” he says.

Tobgay, a cycling and fitness enthusiast, leads a carbon negative country where 70 per cent of the land is covered by forests. He is conscious about balancing development with the core values of the Himalayan kingdom. The GMC, he says, will be developed mindfully to make it what is being referred to by the Bhutanese people as the “silicon valley of the east”, where spiritual values and nature will form the bedrock of technological progress and development. Excerpts from the interview:

Q/ How would you describe bilateral ties between India and Bhutan? What are the key challenges facing the partnership?

A/ I wouldn’t call it bilateral ties. This is a long and deep friendship with India that began thousands of years ago, from the time the Buddha was born, imparted his teachings and gained enlightenment. We received teachings through India. Many of the foremost teachers in Bhutan came from India those days, and many of our foremost teachers went to India to study. We share strong historical and cultural ties with India. After India’s independence, we enjoyed friendship and it has been growing over the years. In Bhutan’s case, the principal drivers of this friendship have been our kings. They have placed our friendship with India as a cornerstone of our policy. And with each successive enlightened monarch, we have enjoyed a deeper and more meaningful friendship with India. Today, our friendship with India is a role model of friendship, not just in the region, but also a leading example of neighbourly friendship in the world.

Like any friendship and family, every now and then, there will be small issues, but nothing that cannot be resolved. Because when we know that we are genuine friends, enjoy the trust and confidence of each other, have a proven track record of friendship and when the future looks very good, we don’t have any major challenges.

Q/ Which are the priority sectors of bilateral cooperation under the 13th five-year plan?

A/ The 13th five-year plan was rolled out in July and a large part of the plan has been possible because of the goodwill, friendship and financial assistance of the government and the people of India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an assistance package of Rs8,500 crore for the plan and this is going to benefit a wide range of areas like infrastructure, health care, schools, education and communication. But our economy is small. Even though it is sustainable, it is small and we still have not fully recovered from the impact of the pandemic, and, therefore, we need to stimulate it. Again, Prime Minister Modi and the government of India have been very kind in offering an economic stimulus of Rs1,500 crore. This is an immediate assistance package which has already started arriving to stimulate our economy. So these are the two major areas where we are receiving a lot of support from India. We have a lot to do together. A key area of partnership is the hydropower sector which has been the cornerstone of our cooperation. We also see accelerated partnership and cooperation in other areas like cultural ties. There are a lot of exchanges on the cultural front and scholarships for training in higher education.

The GMC is being developed by the king as a special administrative region along our border with India. Here, too, Prime Minister Modi and the Indian government are rendering the fullest support, cooperation and assistance to develop it not just for Bhutan’s future, but for the future of the region. Beyond all these, my principal focus is going to be people-to-people exchanges because nurturing this friendship is very important for Bhutan and for India.

Q/ This year began with the visit of the Indian foreign secretary to Bhutan after you formed the government in January. Incumbent foreign secretary Vikram Misri’s first foreign visit was to Bhutan in July. Can you share some details about the key areas of focus?

A/ During the January visit of foreign secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra, we discussed the 13th five-year plan and the economic stimulus programme, hydropower exchanges and support for the GMC. Then we met him again in Delhi during my first official visit to India and then again during Prime Minister Modi’s swearing in ceremony. Foreign secretary Vikram Misri took charge on July 15, and he came here three days later, and we continued the discussions which have been very fruitful. India and Bhutan have had exchanges at the highest levels, whether it is the king visiting India or the president of India or Prime Minister Modi visiting Bhutan. I have had the good fortune of visiting India thrice. These exchanges and visits get a lot of work done. Ultimately, it is meant to nurture our friendship and to talk of the future.

The king has announced that the GMC would be an international city, an economic corridor connecting south Asia with southeast Asia through India’s northeast. This is a special administrative region that is going to have independence in terms of government, law-making and judiciary. This is the first of its kind special administrative region in the world. The others are economic zones. The special administrative regions that have existed so far are legacies of colonialism. Ours is deliberate and different and it is going to be useful for Bhutan. It is designed for Bhutan, for our future. Many of our youth are going to get jobs in the mindfulness city. This is going to carry forward the ideals and values of gross national happiness that we cherish. It is going to contribute exceedingly to the economic growth of the entire country. But it is not just for Bhutan. It is also going to benefit Assam, and all of India. We see it as an economic gateway for the world to India and through India to southeast Asia.

Q/ How are you addressing environmental concerns while developing a world class city?

A/ Bhutan is a carbon negative country. We sequester many times more carbon than we emit. And one of the reasons is that we have more than 70 per cent of our country under forest cover. And in the GMC, which is 2,600 square kilometres, we have two of our old forests there. They have biodiversity hotspots, but they are also able to sequester huge amounts of carbon. Therefore, the entire city area, through mindfulness, will not just be sustainable, but is going to be carbon negative.

Q/ When we talk of people-to-people contact, do the Bhutanese people look at India as a big brother with an overbearing attitude sometimes?

A/ Well, yes and no. I see India as a big brother. India is a huge country with 140 crore people and a huge economy. We are only seven lakh people so there’s no denying that geographically, economically and demographically, India is far, far bigger than Bhutan. And because we are like a family, India is a big brother. So in that context, it is true.

But I would also say no, because you asked whether India has a big brother attitude. My answer to that is no because India’s attitude is not of a big brother who is controlling and does not allow the little brother to blossom and grow. India is an elder brother who has helped us and continues to help us.

Q/ You have interacted closely with Prime Minister Modi. What are your impressions of the prime minister?

A/ I consider him my big brother, my elder brother. I have always thought of him as my friend, my mentor, but most important, my elder brother. He is very kind and the reason I consider him a mentor is because he is one of the world’s greatest leaders. He is the leader of 1.4 billion Indians, taking them forward. And it is not just 1.4 billion people and not just India, but also the neighbourhood. And when I say neighbourhood, I am not just talking of Bhutan, but the entire Global South and beyond it. The reason is simple. Prime Minister Modi is trying to get order into the world. Therefore, he is a global leader, one that the world has not seen too many of, so I admire him. I am a fan.

Q/ It was Bhutan that coined the term gross national happiness. How do you assess your country’s happiness quotient at the moment?

A/ His majesty the fourth king coined the word ‘gross national happiness’ and it has done very well. The term emphasises the happiness and the well being of our people. It tries to balance economic growth, which is essential, with sustainability, social progress, cultural preservation, environmental protection and good governance. The technical part is that it is measured. There are nine domains of gross national happiness―health, education, living standards, ecological diversity and resilience, good governance, psychological well-being, time use, community vitality and cultural diversity. These are the conditions not just for happiness, but gross national happiness and we measure how we are performing across four pillars, nine domains and 33 indicators. We have been doing this every five years and the trend is encouraging. It shows that in terms of gross national happiness, we are improving year on year. We are also improving in terms of subjective happiness.

Q/ You have said that security is important to become happy. How happy are you about Bhutan’s security?

A/ Security is important at two levels. For individual happiness or subjective happiness, the foundation has to be security. If you don’t have security, you would be living a life of anxiety and uncertainty. So you have got to have security, whether it’s personal security, security of family, home, job, good health and so on. You have to enjoy security to be happy.

National security is important as well and in that context, I agree that we have a lot to do. We have got to improve it over a period of time. But right now, our immediate neighbourhood is secure. Our borders are secure. We have friendly relations with other countries. There is law and order within the country and there is no reason for insecurity among our people. So yes, our security is good. Do we need to do more? Yes, we must always have our eye on the ball.

Q/ Global warming is affecting the Himalayan region. As a Buddhist and as prime minister, how concerned are you about climate change and the melting glaciers?

A/ I am very worried. Our planet has existed in a certain way for millennia upon millennia, and now, within a few decades, if you are going to change it, it is going to upset that balance. It has taken thousands of years to achieve a certain balance, and we human beings are upsetting this balance in a few decades. So I am concerned. Glaciers have existed in the Himalayas for thousands of years. Suddenly, when we see the glaciers melt in front of our eyes, I am very concerned.

Now project this danger into the future and you realise that whether it is global warming or the interrelated melting of our glaciers, it is going to wreak havoc in the Himalayan region. And when the Himalayan region suffers, the people downstream suffer. The Himalayan rivers feed most of India. Unless we do a course correction now, we can already see the suffering our people can undergo in future. Unfortunately, the course correction cannot be done in isolation. You cannot even do it regionally. Of course, we should have regional partners and partnerships. But it’s not enough. Global action is required, otherwise we all suffer together.

Q/ What has been your most significant achievement as prime minister in your first term?

A/ I was prime minister from 2013 to 2018, and then I got booted out and these are the wonders of democracy. But in those five years, I had this wonderful opportunity to serve my king, my country and my people. We were happy that we could undertake a lot of development work. More than that, I was very happy that we could stimulate the economy, which was suffering at that time. Also, I was very happy that I could further enhance the already strong relations with India during those five years. But most important, I was happy to be able to instil hope and ambition in our people.

Q/ How do you look at your growing up years?

A/ I am a simple man from a simple family. I don’t have any extraordinary stories to share. The good thing about my past is that I can relate to simple lives today. I can relate to people and their everyday problems and their aspirations.

Q/ You spoke of the impact of the pandemic. How do you plan to step up the economy of Bhutan and also promote tourism?

A/ The strategy is to stimulate our economy first. And the main way of doing that is the Rs1,500 crore economic stimulus programme financed by India. It is very generous of India and this will inject a lot of money into the economy, but, more important, instil hope and optimism among our people. So this is going to be the strategy by which we uplift our economy immediately. There is also a lot of infrastructure development going on with investments and a lot of opportunities in the entire ecosystem. We are also focusing on tourism and trying to get investment from outside. As I mentioned, the hydropower sector is getting a lot of boost. We have got to move away from subsistence to commercial agriculture so that our farmers have money in their hands.

Q/ Unemployment rate is a concern. There is also the threat of many young people leaving the country.

A/ The overall unemployment is 3.7 per cent, which is not that bad. But youth unemployment is 19-20 per cent, which is dangerous. This is partly the reason why many of our youth are migrating. As we are relatively well educated and can speak English, we get jobs anywhere in the world, especially in English speaking countries. They can acquire experience and knowledge and hopefully they will return to Bhutan. In Bhutan, we must ensure that the fundamentals of our economy are strengthened. We must ensure that economic growth is possible. We must ensure that economic opportunities are provided to those who are here. When those working abroad will see these opportunities, they will return and boost the economy further. They can also make better use of economic opportunities here by utilising their earnings, but more important, they will be able to invest their knowledge, skills and experience which they have acquired when they were abroad.

Q/ How do you look at Bhutan’s democratic transition? The recent elections were described by the world media as a “bright spot in south Asia”.

A/ The fact that our people have blessed us and we won the election, it is not just a bright spot, it is a shining example. Because democracies are usually either the result of civil strife, revolution or is imposed by colonial powers. They fight, there is bloodshed and then they earn democracy. Bhutan is a shining example in that sense because none of these things happened here. In fact, our kings imposed democracy on us. Our democracy was very carefully designed to suit our own purposes while being absolutely true and faithful to democratic ideals, values and principles. So our democracy is uniquely structured for Bhutan yet recognisable as any other democracy in the world. The other reason why we are a shining example is that we have had four elections and they yielded four different governments. So our people understand their responsibilities.

former-prime-minister-of-bhutan-dr-lotay-tshering-interview

Sat Sep 21 12:16:28 IST 2024

Interview/ Dr Lotay Tshering, former prime minister of Bhutan

With full executive, legislative and judicial autonomy, the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) adopts a unique model that is distinct from the prevailing administrative system in Bhutan. Former prime minister Dr Lotay Tshering is part of the implementation team of the GMC, which allows countries, people and companies from around the world to invest hundred per cent in building a world-class, carbon negative city. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Tshering, a practising surgeon based in Gelephu, says mindful progress, spiritual growth and nature centric development are at the core of the GMC. Excerpts:

Q/ What is the vision behind the GMC?

A/ The GMC is a vision born out of King Jigme’s wish to set up a city that has all the components other countries and cities dream of. By developing the GMC as a special administrative region, he is creating a remarkable system in which all three arms of the government―executive, judiciary and legislative―are autonomous and distinct from the rest of the country. The GMC will be administered by the GMC authority that will be independent of the mainland government. It will be run by domain experts from around the world.

Q/ How is Gelephu creating an economic corridor connecting India’s northeast with southeast Asia?

A/ Gelephu borders Assam and a small tip of West Bengal. It has plains, foothills and hills that present different landscape, biodiversity and climatic regions. The topography is unique, and the conditions are conducive for a full-fledged international airport. Gelephu’s proximity and connection with major Indian cities and its strategic location are most suitable to create an economic corridor that will bring development to the region. King Jigme has met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to discuss the project, and we are ready to take it forward.

Q/ What are the founding principles on which the GMC is being established?

A/ We are not building any conventional city. The king is anchoring the GMC on five main founding principles. The first one is health, which will have a combination of eastern and western medicines, and a blend of modern and traditional medical systems. The second factor is education―what you learn must be applicable in daily life. The third is sustainable energy, as our entire life depends on it. It has to be absolutely green and renewable. The fourth is spirituality and the fifth is wealth management.

Q/ Will there be hundred per cent FDI in GMC?

A/ Currently, our laws do not allow foreigners to own land in any part of the country. Similarly, our FDI policy has certain dos and don’ts in the context of our priorities. But that will not be the case in the GMC. It is a place where well intended, mindful and spiritual individuals should be able to pursue their businesses in the best of environment and circumstances.

Backed by clear legislation, the GMC will offer ideal factors like zero crime and corruption, full transparency and cleanest surroundings. It will not be a place for random businesses and questionable practices. All investors must understand and honour the vision of the GMC before committing to start a business here. The FDI policy will be designed to match the goal and spirit of the GMC.

Q/ What about investments from countries with which Bhutan does not have diplomatic relations?

A/ There is no inclusion or exclusion criteria. It all boils down to business ideas and investments that align with the vision of the GMC. It will be invitation-based, and investors―be it individual, agency or a country―must follow the GMC guidelines. New immigration laws will be adopted and facilitated efficiently. The GMC authority will ensure creating favourable atmosphere for the investors to come and build businesses based on the values of the GMC.

Q/ How will you ensure that the GMC does not become a strategic battleground for Bhutan’s two neighbours―India and China?

A/ We are a tiny country between two global giants. We draw confidence from Bhutan’s political stability and continuity of leadership. Through generations, we have maintained good and friendly bonds with all our neighbours.

Bhutan has excellent relations with both [India and China], and in turn, we receive warm and friendly gestures from both. The GMC embodies coexistence, harmony and sustainable innovation. Our aspirations are to sustain peace and progress in the world, just as our developmental philosophy is anchored on the principles of gross national happiness. Therefore, it is our prayer that through the realisation of the GMC, a prosperous and sustainable future is built in the region and beyond.

centre-for-bhutan-and-gross-national-happiness-studies-president-dasho-karma-ura-interview

Sat Sep 21 14:09:11 IST 2024

Interview/ Dasho Karma Ura, president, Centre for Bhutan & Gross National Happiness Studies

Dasho Karma Ura, one of the world’s leading happiness experts, has guided Bhutan’s unique gross national happiness (GNH) project. He uses empirical data to show that money cannot buy happiness in all circumstances, rather it is family and health that have the strongest positive effect on happiness. Excerpts from an interview:

Q/ Bhutan is a unique country which focuses on gross national happiness, not GDP.

A/ Gross national happiness takes a far broader and multidimensional measurement of happiness than the way happiness is measured in the World Happiness Report where you judge your life on a simple 0-10 scale measure. GNH includes both subjective and objective conditions to account for challenges of modernity such as collapse of environment, culture, communities and time. Moreover, unlike GDP, consumer price index or Dow Jones index, where quantities of things are measured in themselves, GNH deals with both quantities of goods and incomes and people’s qualitative experiences of feelings, satisfaction and perceptions. All these measure conditions of happiness.

As an account of progress, GDP is problematic, and legitimising GDP growth as an achievement condones excessive exploitation. Using GDP as the only measure of human well-being and progress is illogical and unethical.

Q/ Bhutan is surrounded by India and China, two economic and military giants. How do you ensure that your country is safe and happy?

A/ I belong to the generation that grew up in the 1970s and 80s, when the inspirational vision of peace dividend prevailed along with the end of the Cold War. But it turned out to be false. Now, there is an increasing diversion of money to arms race. Every nation claims it is for defence. But it is a vicious cycle―as one nation strengthens its defence capability, others feel more insecure, and the arms race goes on. The world has become far more unstable and conflict ridden. The scale of violence has increased and the potential to devastate each other is far greater. I wish pacifism could become a larger discourse in domestic and international governance. Technology and industries involved in weapon-making make tantalising profits out of conflict, insecurity and violence. In such a world, small nations like Bhutan, which have neither the demographic might, nor the economic size to finance arms, lack options, except neutrality. Obviously, neutrality and territorial integrity ought to be respected. It is a very attractive and long-standing idea in Hindu civilisation as well as Buddhist philosophy.

Q/ What would be your message to world leaders to spread happiness and decrease violence and conflict?

A/ I am a nobody in a small country, and a small country is a nobody in the world. But sometimes, revelation comes from small places. Globally, there is a hardening sense of masculine leadership and territorial intrusion. The spectre of violence looms large. Dual-use nuclear technology, weapons production and arms export are counted as contribution to well-being in GDP calculation. It is an instance of measurement gone wrong. Individual and collective fear and insecurity drive international policies. Thinkers in many traditions, including Buddhism, are focused on getting rid of fear among human beings. Irrespective of the global effect, small countries like Bhutan are doing the right thing, and that is the path we will continue to take.

sri-lankan-presidential-election-candidates-analysis

Sat Sep 14 13:15:39 IST 2024

The statue of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, the former prime minister who led Sri Lanka through several political upheavals, stands on a pedestal at the iconic Galle Face Green, the famous city park near the presidential secretariat in Colombo. It was from here that the people of Sri Lanka started the movement to overthrow the powerful Rajapaksas two years ago. Today, however, an uneasy calm prevails on the streets of Colombo as Sri Lanka gets ready to elect its next president on September 21. Despite the presence of 39 candidates―a few of them offering some fairly revolutionary policy options―the 1.7 crore voters of Sri Lanka do not appear really excited.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) is contesting as an independent, backed by a major section of legislators from former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP). Also in the fray are opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, leftist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Mahinda’s son, Namal. Sajith’s Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has aligned with some of the prominent parties and has the support of the Tamil and the Muslim minorities, who form 11 per cent and 9.7 per cent of the population, respectively. Anura is a Marxist-Leninist leader from the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the main constituent of the National People’s Power (NPP) coalition.

While Ranil, Sajith and Anura are the frontrunners, Namal, the youngest in the fray, has made the contest tough for them. He is the official SLPP candidate, but his chances of winning even half of the 69 lakh votes polled by his uncle Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2019 appear remote. Other important candidates include P. Ariyanethiran, the Tamil MP from the north, Nuwan Bopage, the activist lawyer who led the Aragalaya protest movement in 2022, and former military chief Sarath Fonseka.

“The 2019 election was fought on security issues and there were only two main contenders. But this election is being fought on the merits of each candidate, with an economic crisis still looming large. This one is establishment versus anti-establishment,” said columnist and research analyst Udita Devapriya. The last election was held in the wake of the Easter bombings on April 21, 2019. Gotabaya won a decisive victory back then, while Sajith finished second.

Voters appear confused this time. In the rural areas outside Colombo, the masses look at Anura as a promising candidate, while the city elites stand by Ranil. Sajith finds support largely from the farmers, teachers, doctors and the Tamil minority. “Two of them (Sajith and Anura) have promised to abolish the executive presidency. But we want a leader who will also look into the welfare of the Tamils,” said M.A. Sumanthiran, leader of the Tamil National Alliance.

The senior-most candidate in the presidential race is 75-year-old Ranil. But the erudite intellectual lacks charisma and the backing of a strong political party. Most members of Ranil’s UNP are now with Sajith, while he finds support from a section of the SLPP. Despite his lack of connect with the voters, Ranil hopes that his efforts in managing the economic crisis will help him.

While Ranil enjoyed fairly high popularity ratings till about a few months ago, Sajith and Anura overtook him once the election was announced. Son of former president Ranasinghe Premadasa, Sajith is a soft-spoken intellectual who appears capable of balancing the complex power equations among various stakeholders, including Tamils. His election manifesto focuses on five key points: building a resilient economy, empowering every citizen, enhancing government services, protecting the quality of life and safeguarding the nation.

Sajith could play a key role in ushering in an economic revival, especially as the country needs to work closely with the International Monetary Fund. “Sri Lanka has worked with the IMF before. When Premadasa got loans from the IMF, he utilised it to establish the garment sector. But, after him, successive governments failed to expand it,” said Chameera Dedduwage, a social activist. Sajith’s manifesto promises an economic recovery by working with the IMF. “The people of Sri Lanka will have to make a choice between a new visionary approach and the same old approach which protects the rich. Our people have a choice [other than opting for] extreme socialism and Marxism, which has not proved to be a viable model in modern day governance,” said Sajith.

With some of the best minds from the Ranil and Rajapaksa camps joining him, Sajith’s strength has grown multifold. His alliance now has key leaders like Patali Champika Ranawaka, Nalaka Godahewa, Charitha Herath and G.L. Peiris. However, Sajith could be handicapped by the fact that he has not really moved away from the UNP’s policies and ideas. His critics call him an economic populist and a better version of Mahinda―a rational, forward-looking populist, who is not a racist. And most of his party members are either from the SLPP or the UNP. Political observers say his lack of ideological clarity could hurt him.

If ideology is a concern for Sajith, Anura is banking on it to see him through. With his Marxist ideology, he has turned out to be one of the most popular candidates. He is campaigning on a platform of anti-corruption and clean governance in a country that still reels under severe debt. Backed by the youth and the protesters who were part of the 2022 Aragalaya movement, Anura presents himself as a change-maker. The 55-year-old former minister contested the 2019 presidential election, but finished a distant third with just 3 per cent of the votes.

“The people have endured these governments for a long time and are exhausted by the repeated failure of governance,” said Anura. “The breakdown of law and order has left them vulnerable to underworld crime. The collapse of the economy has further victimised the population, while critical sectors like education, health and transport have deteriorated. As a result, people are desperate to break free from their victimhood and helplessness. This desire for change is what draws them to us.” Support for Anura has hit a new peak just before the election, with university students, teachers and the working class supporting him. However the JVP’s dislike of the IMF and the west could play a role in determining his fate.

The last of the four main candidates is 38-year-old Namal, who seems to be facing a losing battle. The Rajapaksas know that they are nowhere near victory. Gotabaya, who fled the country during the economic crisis, has been campaigning for his nephew in closed-door meetings. Mahinda meets with Colombo elites and SLPP veterans and also addresses rallies, seeking support for his son. Namal is playing the Sinhala Theravada nationalist card, but it may not work this time.

“Winning or losing does not matter. Namal is a real fighter. He decided to contest only because of his fighting spirit,” said Mahinda. When asked whether the party wanted to field Namal, he said it was his son’s choice. Namal hopes that his father’s charisma and legacy will get him the Sinhala votes. Unlike the other main candidates, he has not promised the devolution of powers or the abolition of the executive presidency. He is sticking to the SLPP’s core ideology of Sinhala Buddhist majoritarianism. Namal targets young voters and has promised an economic revival and more jobs. “I chose to contest because my party wanted me to do so. It is the right decision, because we believe in the Sri Lankan model of development and that our ideology should be protected. We have a historic responsibility to make sure that we represent our voter base, community and people who believe in the Sri Lankan model,” said Namal.

In the 2019 elections, Namal’s uncle Gotabaya swept major parts of the country except the Tamil dominated north and east as terrorism and national security became key issues after the Easter bombings. But Gotabaya’s inept governance and his decision to flee the country during the economic crisis discredited the Rajapaksa brand and the SLPP. Most of the SLPP MPs are now with Ranil, while the intellectuals in the party have moved to Sajith’s SJB. Namal was reportedly asked to contest to keep the party alive. Earlier, the SLPP had plans to field billionaire businessman Dhammika Perera. But when it became clear that it would lead to a massive loss and that the remaining SLPP cadres, too, would leave the party, Namal decided to step in. “Only the MPs have gone with Ranil and Sajith. But the core Sinhala and Rajapaksa vote is with Namal,” said Lasanga Karunaratne, SLPP member from Matara.

It is, however, clear that the SLPP is facing an existential crisis after a series of political missteps and Ranil’s success on his own terms in the past two years using the SLPP support base. If Namal suffers a massive loss, it could spell doom for his future and could even bring down the curtain on the Rajapaksa brand of politics.

Opinion polls and voter surveys indicate that the election result will be determined by economic issues such as cost of living, inflation, unemployment and high taxes, while corruption among politicians and bureaucrats, problems in the education sector, flawed health services and a growing drug crisis are among other key concerns. The candidate who can convince the voters about having the most effective platform to tackle inflation and ensure economic recovery stands the best chance to win on September 21. As of now, Anura and Sajith have an edge even as Ranil hopes that his track record of stabilising and running the country during the economic crisis could land him another chance at the helm.

national-peoples-power-sri-lanka-presidential-candidate-anura-kumara-dissanayake-interview

Fri Sep 20 09:18:41 IST 2024

Interview/ Anura Kumara Dissanayake, presidential candidate, National People’s Power

Q/ How important is this presidential election for Sri Lanka?

A/ It is the most important election in Sri Lanka’s history. In every election, power shifts from one ruling faction to another. Initially, these groups had distinct identities, but over the past two to three decades, they have become almost indistinguishably merged. As a result, while governments have changed since 1994, many of the same individuals continuously held ministerial positions across administrations. Some have even supported conflicting constitutional amendments over time. Thus far, elections have not led to any significant change in the governance structure.

Therefore, this election is crucial because it offers a unique opportunity to reshape the economic, social and political path of our country, steering it in a completely new direction. It brings the government closer to the people, with the promise of a brighter future. While we have proposed these goals before, this is the first time we have the power to effect meaningful change. The transfer of power will be driven by a public movement rooted in the people’s interest, breaking away from the traditional cycles of power.

Q/ Do you think the Aragalaya uprising in 2022 made the NPP popular?

A/ The struggle emerged as an outcry against the oppression faced by the people. Imagine a country where one family ruled, leading to a situation where there was no oil, gas or electricity, children were deprived of basic necessities like milk powder, and people could no longer sustain their livelihoods. The last resort was to take to the streets and oust the ruling elite. If the people themselves build a government, it is their right to rise up again, should their expectations be betrayed. Such a struggle is not only justified, but also fair.

Q/ You were also a part of it.

A/ We became part of that struggle, not as leaders or planners, but as participants. As a political movement, the NPP recognised the significant challenges in fulfilling the aspirations of that struggle. While anarchy is not a solution, and some form of constitutional authority must be maintained, the core demands of the people were not fully addressed in the resulting political framework. However, the people have entrusted us with the responsibility of carrying their hopes forward through the election. We benefit from the momentum of that uprising and the people’s desire for change.

Q/ Do you think a liberation movement can actually bring about a positive change in a country, or lead to instability?

A/ People can rise up and remove rulers from power, but what follows should not be anarchy. After the expulsion, a new government must be established to restore order. The solution is to form a democratic, constitutional government to prevent the descent into anarchy. By establishing such a government, we can ensure stability and transition away from disorder. We believe that through this approach, governance can be restored and freed from the chaos that typically follows upheaval.

Q/ The International Monetary Fund programme is being implemented in Sri Lanka, and austerity measures are coming into effect.

A/ Yes, we are currently under an IMF programme, and its implementation has caused significant hardship for the people. This is why we are seeking a new mandate from the public to renegotiate with the IMF. We believe they will respect the will of the people. Our position is that in pursuing economic goals, we must advance in a way that alleviates pressure on the public, while safeguarding the macroeconomic system. Our economy is fragile and even a minor shock could have major consequences. Therefore, we aim to make the necessary changes gradually to ensure long-term stability.

Q/ Corruption and economic democracy have been two focal points of your current campaign.

A/ Fraud, corruption and waste have been key contributors to the collapse of the economy. Many essential development projects have failed due to these practices, but at the same time, numerous unnecessary projects have been undertaken because of fraud, corruption and waste. Economic decisions are often driven by bribes received by those in power, which has been a major factor in the downfall of our economy. Furthermore, fraud and corruption have become significant barriers for investors, entrepreneurs and industrialists, as the success of a project is often determined by the amount of money a minister receives. To rebuild our country, eliminating fraud and corruption is essential.

Additionally, the erosion of economic democracy stands as a second critical issue. Fraud and corruption have severely undermined economic democracy, as investors secure projects based on bribes rather than merit. Numerous barriers have been placed in front of potential investors, with the government acting as an impediment. Our goal is to ensure fair and democratic access to the economy for all those with the capacity and potential to contribute. Achieving this is essential for our country’s economic advancement.

Q/ How do you want to engage with India? There are other countries, like China, which also have interests in Sri Lanka.

A/ Our approach to India will reflect its close proximity and significant role in geopolitics. India has made impressive strides in both economy and technology, and it is crucial to our development and regional security. We will ensure that our sea, land and airspace are not used in ways that threaten India or regional stability. Additionally, we will carefully consider how our economic measures impact our country, recognising the importance of India’s support in our development efforts.

It is well known that there is competition between India and China in our region. India, being a country in the Indian Ocean, understands the strategic significance of our region’s political and economic positions. Meanwhile, China is actively working to consolidate its economic and political influence here, and we are aware of this as well. Our approach will be to safeguard regional security while leveraging economic opportunities to our advantage. However, we are committed to maintaining our sovereignty and will not become subordinate to any power in this geopolitical race. We believe in adopting a strong foreign policy that aligns with the global conditions and serves our national interests effectively.

with-his-marxist-ideology-and-anti-corruption-rhetoric-anura-kumara-dissanayake-has-captured-the-imagination-of-sri-lankans

Sat Sep 14 16:26:57 IST 2024

It is 4pm on a Sunday evening at Homagama, a Colombo neighbourhood. Small groups of working class people walk into an open ground for an election rally. An hour later, the ground remains half empty. High decibel speakers belt out popular Sinhala numbers. By 6pm, darkness engulfs the area as rain clouds gather high up in the sky. Soon, it starts raining, but, by then, the venue is full. People unfurl their umbrellas and wait for the leader to arrive.

It is almost 8pm when a man, clad in jeans and a blue shirt, walks on to the stage. The crowd laps up every single word of his speech. Anura Kumara Dissanayake has that effect on people. Political observers say his people skills are impeccable. They point to his unique disarming style while dealing with his party colleagues, parliamentarians, ambassadors, political aides and even his detractors. And that could be one of the factors that has helped him win over a significant number of voters and emerge as a leading contender this presidential election.

Rooted in the Marxist-Leninist ideology, the 55-year-old Anura leads the National People’s Power, a coalition of leftist political parties and socialist groups. The leading party in the coalition is the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, headed by Anura. With his strong anti-corruption credentials, Anura, who is the sitting MP for Colombo district, is running an energetic campaign against the two other main candidates, President Ranil Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa.

“The voters used to be carried away by emotions and petty identities such as religion, race or affiliation to a particular party. This election is going to decide whether they want the same crooks or they want to find a new path. Anura is the anti-corruption leader who wants to bring about a change,” said Anil Jayantha, executive committee member of the NPP. “This is a historic moment that will change the destiny of the Sri Lankan people.”

Born on November 24, 1968, at Thambuttegama in Anuradhapura district to a daily-wage worker and a homemaker, Anura was active in student politics during his days at the University of Peradeniya and the University of Kelaniya. He entered politics full time with the JVP’s anti-government insurrection of 1987-1989. In 1995, he became the national organiser of the Socialist Students Association and was appointed to the central working committee of the JVP. Three years later, he became a member of the party’s political bureau.

He was part of Chandrika Kumaratunga’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party government in the early 2000s as agriculture minister. In 2019, he contested the presidential election against Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Sajith Premadasa, finishing a distant third with just 3 per cent of the votes. But his prospects improved impressively in the past five years thanks to an effective grassroots campaign.

It all began in 2021, soon after the second wave of the pandemic, when Sri Lanka started facing a major economic crisis. President Gotabaya banned importing chemical fertilisers to make the agriculture sector completely organic, but it led to a dramatic fall in yields, hurting farmers. Subsequent protests gave rise to the Aragalaya movement, leading to Gotabaya’s resignation.

Anura was among the leaders who grew immensely popular because of his leadership role in the protests. Now a significant majority of the youth, university students and teachers, farmers and the working class stand by him. “I believe only Anura and the NPP can bring in change,” said Chandani Karunaratne, a student from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. “Corruption has to go for the economy to thrive. All other contenders are from the same old guard.” Chandani and her classmates were part of the Aragalaya movement and were inspired by the JVP’s policies.

Anura has also promised to abolish the powerful executive presidency and to renegotiate the terms of the IMF economic programme. “The implementation of the IMF programme has caused significant hardship for the people. That is why we are seeking a new mandate from the public to renegotiate with the IMF,” said Anura. “In pursuing economic goals, we must advance in a way that alleviates pressure on the public…. We aim to make the necessary changes gradually to ensure long-term stability.”

While Anura and his alliance are growing increasingly popular, there are also apprehensions about them. His popularity and revolutionary ideas do not go well with the Colombo elites and the rich. In 2019, Gotabaya won because there was a fear factor about terrorism returning to the country. Though that fear has abated somewhat, the JVP’s revolutionary ideas and the insurrection it launched in the late 1980s could work against Anura. “When Aragalaya was at its peak, the houses of MPs were burnt. Many places were set on fire. Who did that? The JVP was well entrenched in Aragalaya. So that fear factor is there this time,” said a senior Sri Lankan official. Some critics worry that insurgency could return to the island under an Anura presidency.

The Marxist leader’s emergence could upset the ongoing economic reforms, too, given his dislike of the IMF. “Anura finished a distant third in the 2019 elections. The popularity he has gained now is a huge surge from the 3 per cent he got back then,” said Omar Rajarathnam, adviser to Factum, a Colombo-based think tank. “There is concern among people whether he has the experience to govern, but in democracies, the people’s mandate takes priority over the leader’s political experience.”

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Sat Sep 14 16:25:38 IST 2024

Interview/ Sajith Premadasa, presidential candidate, Samagi Jana Balawegaya

Young men and women queue up for security check outside the Samagi Jana Balawegaya office in Colombo. Lemon yellow and light green colour flags fly high everywhere, and the office appears unusually busy. The party’s presidential candidate and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa walks in, with a smile on his face and folded hands. Sajith spoke exclusively with THE WEEK, explaining the importance of the upcoming election, his promise to abolish the executive presidency and his views on ties with India. Edited excerpts:

Q/ How crucial is this election for the people of Sri Lanka? Why do you think they should vote for you?

A/ It is a pivotal moment in Sri Lanka’s history. The people will have an opportunity to express their opinion and to provide their mandate for a new approach, for a pathbreaking vision and for changing the old guard. The country has gone through a terrible human and economic tragedy. Catastrophe has engulfed the whole country, affecting children, mothers, youth, everyone. Except for the super rich, every strata of society has been affected. This election will give an opportunity for the people to make a choice against the old approach of protecting the rich and the crony capitalists. Our approach would be to serve all 22 million people of our country. The people also have a choice [of not opting for] extreme socialism and Marxism, which has not proven to be a viable model in modern governance. I am very confident that they will make the right choice.

Q/ You contested the 2019 election as well. Is there a change in the mindset of the people?

A/ In 2019, there was polarisation in society. There was a lot of ethnic and religious extremism. The election took place after the Easter terrorist attacks. And the country was not bankrupt. The administration that came to power in 2019 has bankrupted the country. So this is a post bankruptcy election, testing the people’s will. More and more people are looking for results, for solutions. They want to see the practical, honest implementation of the solutions. They do not want ethnicity-centric racism, religious polarisation and extremism. They want answers to their problems. I firmly believe that my party and my alliance provides Sri Lanka with the best set of solutions that will ensure that we come out of this disastrous situation.

Q/ You have promised to abolish the executive presidency.

A/ It is an important aspect of the policies that we have proposed. We have seen that the executive presidency tends to corrupt, to move towards the concentration of power in the hands of a single person. In a parliamentary system, one would be accountable and would listen to the people. It will be a more participatory system of governance than the authoritarian system which exists now. It is always good to have a system of checks and balances. We don’t want elected dictatorships, a phrase used by Lord Hailsham, back in the 1970s in the UK. We need to have an accountable, responsible and transparent government.

Q/ As far as Sri Lanka’s economic recovery is concerned, do you plan to continue with the IMF? How would you restructure debts?

A/ We have to work within the existing international economic order. And we will work with the IMF. There should be transformations, reforms and changes on a mass scale and a number of corrective measures are needed. The difference between the incumbent government and us is that we believe that the changes need to be done with minimum damage to the people. The present administration has dumped all the burden on the common man and woman, sparing the super rich and the crony capitalists. We need programmes that uphold social justice and equity, that promote growth, rather than contract growth. This will make the economy stronger. We want to grow ourselves. We want to ensure that economic activity and positive economic multipliers are there, so that we grow ourselves out of the problem. And we will work with the IMF. Of course, we do not want to burden the people by taxing them very high. We need to have a humane approach that protects the people and does not victimise them.

Q/ You have been a friend of India. How do you expect India to engage with you?

A/ India is a great power. We want to have a strong, productive, constructive and conducive relationship with India in multiple sectors―politics, international affairs, commerce, trade, economy―to ensure that we grow together. And we have a very scientific, professional approach to decision-making. Our relationship with India will be towards maximising our national interests. India is our closest neighbour, and a strong, powerful and vibrant country. I have always been supportive of India getting a permanent seat in the UN security council, because that would be a reflection of the global political, military and economic situation. I have a very cordial and strong relationship with India. We will make sure that it results in benefiting our motherland, and our 22 million people in a variety of ways.

Q/ How do you assess the performance of the Ranil Wickremesinghe government in the past two years?

A/ He has driven the country to a new normal, which entails forcing millions and millions into poverty, making the micro, small and medium industries go bankrupt and causing the fabric of society to crumble. Do you want stability by bringing unseen suffering on the people? We have proposed that we have to grow ourselves out of this problem. We have to extricate ourselves out of this quagmire through productive, constructive, pro-people and pro-poor growth.

aragalaya-movement-presidential-candidate-nuwan-s-bopage-interview

Sat Sep 14 16:24:29 IST 2024

Interview/ Nuwan S. Bopage, presidential candidate, Aragalaya movement

Lawyer-activist Nuwan Bopage was a pillar of support for those arrested during the 2022 Aragalaya protests. In an exclusive interview, Nuwan talks about his decision to contest the presidential election on behalf of the Aragalaya activists, his opposition to IMF policies and his views on ties with India. Edited excerpts:

Q/ Why did you decide to contest?

A/ This is the first election after the 2022 uprising when the country witnessed people’s power. In the past two years, certain reforms were introduced by the Ranil Wickremesinghe government which were detrimental to the general public. The intervention of the IMF, the activities of India and the US and the expansion of the new liberal policies are all a matter of concern. Those of us who participated in Aragalaya decided that we wanted a solution and I was nominated as presidential candidate.

Q/ What kind of changes do you think you can bring about?

A/ The economy is very unfair. Social disparity is high. A few segments of society control everything. The workers are affected. At the same time, companies have made money. We have to address the social disparity. In the prevailing representative democracy, people would not gain anything after voting. For the next five years, the elected members will act according to their whims and fancies. We are planning to convert the existing system into a participatory democracy where people are more involved in the decision-making process. When there is a political decision affecting farmers, they should be involved. Likewise, every sector of society should participate in policy decisions. Another issue is a national question. Tamil, Muslim and hill country Tamil people should be given the freedom to rule their own areas within one country.

Q/ You have been against the IMF. What are your plans for economic stability?

A/ Our main slogan is the IMF’s exit. The IMF has got nothing to do with stabilising the economy. It is an institution that grants loans. The IMF has given Sri Lanka $1.5 billion and $2 billion more is coming. But the interest rate is 6.5 per cent. Our debt crisis is deep, we have a debt of $100 billion. The IMF is here only to impose conditions on the people, get maximum taxes and give space to multinational companies. The implementation of the new liberal policy is the IMF’s idea. We don’t want that. We know how to repay our loans, how to collect taxes, how to abolish the concessions to multinational companies and how to make government institutions profitable. We are going to stabilise the fiscal and exchange policies and stabilise the economy.

Q/ You say you are against Indian intervention in Sri Lanka.

A/ We are not anti-India. We are against the Adani and the Ambani groups being allowed to control the geopolitical situation in our country. You would have witnessed the recent Ambani family wedding. Sri Lanka’s debt crisis could have been resolved with that money. Now LNG and drug supplies to Sri Lanka are going to be an Indian monopoly. We have our own state pharmaceutical department. So, in the guise of the crisis, India is trying to exploit us. We are India’s friends. But we are against Modi’s economic concept of invading other countries. Adani and Ambani are the representatives of Modi’s foreign policy. We are against that.

sri-lanka-podujana-peramuna-presidential-candidate-namal-rajapaksa-interview

Sat Sep 14 16:22:39 IST 2024

Interview/ Namal Rajapaksa, presidential candidate, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna

Clad in a white dhoti and a maroon shirt, the trademark red-brown scarf draped around his neck, Namal Rajapaksa enters the Sri Lanka Foundation building near the Independence Square in Colombo. He appears confident, despite the fact that he is fighting a losing battle in the presidential election. He has come to attend the signing of an agreement between the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party to support him. After the signing ceremony, he spoke exclusively with THE WEEK, explaining the reasons behind his decision to contest, despite the loss of popular support for the SLPP. Excerpts from the interview:

Q/ Why did you decide to contest? Earlier it was said that the billionaire businessman Dhammika Perera would be your candidate.

A/ My party wanted me to contest. I believe that I made the right decision, because we believe in the Sri Lankan model of development and that our ideology should be protected. The policies of most other parties are different from ours. We had decided to field another candidate. Unfortunately, he could not continue. Then the party thought that I would be the best choice.

Q/ Didn’t you take up the challenge to keep your flock together?

A/ Yes. The party decided to field me so that I can keep our grassroot workers together. I believe the young generation should take up the responsibility when there is a crisis, not when the ship is sailing fine.

Q/ The SLPP was among the parties with a strong membership base. That seems to have been lost.

A/ At the grassroots level, we are still the strongest party. We are the only party that preaches and practises the ideology that we represent. People still have trust in us.

Q/ During the 2022 uprising, people were completely against your family.

A/ I am the new generation Rajapaksa who has learnt a hard lesson from the past. Our policies remain the same, but the approach will be modern. It doesn’t matter that things had gone wrong earlier for my family. I want to correct those mistakes and move forward.

Q/ A part of the SLPP is with Ranil Wickremesinghe and another one is with Sajith Premadasa.

A/ My party is the most stable and the strongest political party in the country at this moment. Most of these coalitions that have been created for the election will not last long. So if a young voter is looking at a long-term vision, the SLPP is the best.

Q/ What are your promises to the youth of Sri Lanka?

A/ We will transform and modernise Sri Lanka. We will protect our culture. We will always ensure that we stick to our core values, but we will modernise. I want to ensure that Sri Lanka will be the modern hub of Asia.

Q/ How do you look at the IMF bailout package?

A/ There are good things in the IMF package. We need a fiscal policy that can save the country for the next 15 to 20 years. We need to rework our budget, increase revenue and cut down expenditure. We cannot burden the public with more taxes. We will go for more investors. We will work closely with India.

Q/ How do you expect India to engage with you?

A/ We will continue to work with India. A stable and progressive Sri Lanka is good for India. We want to strengthen our cultural and economic ties with India. Sri Lanka is a Buddhist nation and Prime Minister Modi believes in Hinduism. We have a lot of similarities. Ramayana is one of the key factors that connects India and Sri Lanka. So in the years to come I believe that there will be a very strong bilateral relationship between India and Sri Lanka.

manish-sisodia-aap-s-tallest-leader-after-arvind-kejriwal-is-working-overtime-to-revive-his-partys-fortunes

Sat Sep 07 15:18:05 IST 2024

It is late in the evening and Kalkaji, one of the prominent neighbourhoods in south Delhi, is teeming with rush hour traffic as people head home from work. Soon, there is a break in the hustle as senior Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia steps out from an SUV. Flanked by party workers raising slogans in support and holding aloft his posters, Sisodia, the former deputy chief minister of Delhi, is in the locality to launch his first padyatra after coming out of jail.

The busy crowd slows down to catch a glimpse of the leader who was recently released from jail on bail in the Delhi excise policy case, after 17 months behind bars. A woman pushes her way towards him, “We will never forget what you have done for our children,” she tells him, reminding the crowd about Sisodia’s stint as minister of education.

At regular intervals, volunteers chant the AAP’s new slogan, ‘Manish Sisodia aa gaye, Kejriwal bhi aayenge (Sisodia is back, Kejriwal, too, will follow)’ even as the song, ‘Mera Rang De Basanti Chola’, now featured in most AAP events, plays in the background. As Sisodia finds children lined up with placards welcoming him, he moves through the crowd to acknowledge their presence and gives them his blessings. Sisodia’s most talked about achievement came when he held the education portfolio, transforming the condition of government-run schools in the capital.

Since his release from jail, Sisodia has been on an outreach blitzkrieg through padyatras, meeting a large number of people. “I am overwhelmed to be welcomed as one of their family members,” he told THE WEEK in an exclusive interview. He said his priority was to “reconnect” with the electorate. And rightly so, with the assembly elections in Delhi just six months away.

Sisodia is the tallest leader in the AAP after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who, too, was arrested in the excise policy case. They go back a long way and Sisodia is Kejriwal’s closest confidant and comrade-in-arms. He was tasked with implementing the AAP’s policies in Delhi, which allowed Kejriwal to focus on the party’s expansion plans. Sisodia’s release has come as a big relief for the AAP.

“With Manish ji’s return, the AAP has become stronger,” said party colleague and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. In the absence of its top two leaders, the AAP’s morale was dipping. Sisodia’s release will help the party re-strategise its campaign, especially in its stronghold, Delhi. He immediately took charge of the upcoming assembly elections, holding meetings with AAP volunteers, MLAs and councillors. “Our volunteers did not lose courage in adverse circumstances. We will soon come out of this crisis,” he said.

Political observers believe that his presence will make a difference in Delhi. Said Ashutosh, a political commentator who was earlier with the AAP, “There is a renewed energy at the organisational level. A new determination, which had been missing, is returning.”

For the AAP’s second-rung leaders, especially Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Gopal Rai, ministers with the most number of portfolios, the absence of Sisodia and Kejriwal has been particularly challenging. As the party and the government grappled with the high-profile arrests, they found themselves at the forefront of the AAP’s efforts to maintain its political and administrative momentum. Atishi broke down as the news of the release of Sisodia, regarded as her mentor, emerged.

Constant tiffs with Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena have made matters worse. The death of three civil services aspirants on July 27 after being trapped in the flooded basement of a coaching centre turned into a major confrontation between the LG and the Delhi government. The blame game over the pathetic condition of civic facilities continues unabated with Atishi writing to the chief secretary recently over sewer overflows and waterlogging in several parts of Delhi. Holding the LG-controlled bureaucracy responsible, Atishi said, “Delhi has been turned into a living hell.”

Bharadwaj, who has the health portfolio, and the LG’s office locked horns recently over non-hiring of doctors and other medical staff in government hospitals, holding each other responsible. The LG’s decision to seek details of the MLA Local Area Development Fund scheme on a Congress complaint resulted in sharp criticism from the AAP who accused Saxena of “deploying obstructive tactics” to “derail” the city’s development. Sisodia’s release has provided a breather to the ministers and the focus will now shift to how they work with him to navigate the post-arrest landscape.

Sisodia, meanwhile, has his task cut out. He cannot rejoin the cabinet until Kejriwal returns to the secretariat and reappoints him. This gives him ample time to focus on his political responsibilities, especially against the backdrop of the Lok Sabha elections where the AAP could not win even a single seat despite having an alliance with the Congress. Its vote share, however, increased to 24.14 per cent from 18.2 per cent in 2019.

The AAP fought a highly localised campaign, making Kejriwal’s arrest and the BJP’s dictatorial attitude its central poll plank, with an eye on the sympathy vote. However, the results indicate that it did not work, with the BJP retaining all seven seats in Delhi. The focus on free electricity and water, developing ‘schools of eminence’ and mohalla clinics had some resonance, but could not fetch enough votes. Besides, there seems to be a fatigue with the AAP as voters were unhappy with absentee MLAs and unfulfilled promises.

The Lok Sabha election results show that the AAP needs to go back to the drawing board and recalibrate its strategy. Its targeting of the Central government and playing the victim card showed a lack of strategic depth. “The AAP’s campaign for the assembly elections should not be relying too much on victimhood. The party should talk more about the good work it has done in Delhi for the past ten years,” said Sanjay Kumar, co-director of Lokniti, a research programme at the Delhi-based Centre for the Study of Developing Societies. Ashutosh said the AAP needed to stop its politics of confrontation. “It should adopt an accommodating strategy because people are suffering.”

Even though a lot of ground needs to be covered, a slight change in strategy is already visible. Sisodia first meeting with MLAs signalled a shift. Urging legislators and workers to do the “politics of development”, Sisodia said, “All of us should focus on positive and work-based politics and take Arvind Kejriwal’s unparalleled work to everyone.” On August 17, the AAP launched a campaign at autorickshaw stands across the city to use autorickshaw drivers, the party’s traditional supporters, to spread its message.

The outreach efforts also include booth-wise mapping of party volunteers and workers’ conferences in each assembly segment. “The workers’ conference is going on in all 70 assembly seats. MLAs are presenting the report of their work before the public,” said Sandeep Pathak, AAP’s national general secretary (organisation). There is also a door-to-door campaign to assess the mood of the voters.

The AAP is contesting all assembly seats in Haryana as well. The party is on a weaker footing in the Jat heartland which has 90 seats, but its aggressive campaign is likely to divide the votes and may spring a surprise. Said Ranbir Singh, an academic and political analyst from Haryana, “All regional parties, especially the AAP, will play the role of a spoiler for the big fish.”

Meanwhile, in Delhi, despite Sisodia’s return, the AAP needs to effect a fundamental change in its functioning for the national capital to be governed properly. “In the present circumstances, the fight between the Delhi government and the LG will continue even if the AAP wins the assembly elections, which will be problematic for the people of Delhi,” said Ashutosh. “It is high time Kejriwal came out of his own mindset for things to fall in place.”

At the moment, however, Sisodia is trying to set things right for the AAP, with a smile.

delhi-former-deputy-chief-minister-manish-sisodia-interview

Sat Sep 07 12:07:48 IST 2024

Interview/ Manish Sisodia, former deputy chief minister, Delhi

Sporting his trademark pink shirt, Manish Sisodia is his usual affable self. “Yes, I am here now,” says the former deputy chief minister of Delhi with a smile as he sits down for an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, referring to his long stint in jail.

After spending more than 17 months behind bars in the Delhi excise policy case, Sisodia says he is grateful for just being able to be with his family and friends, without the police looking on. One of the first photos he posted on X after his release was of him enjoying a cup of tea with wife Seema. He captioned it, “First morning tea of freedom”.

Relief is writ large on the face of the 52-year-old Aam Aadmi Party leader, who was recently granted bail by the Supreme Court. He is in a sparsely furnished room, and the wall behind his seat has a picture of Bhagat Singh, idolised by the AAP. On the side table, there is a statue of Lord Hanuman, who AAP leaders say helps remove obstacles in their path and blesses them in times of crisis.

Sisodia speaks at length on his time in Tihar, recollecting his struggles with isolation in jail and the constant surveillance. He says he turned to his passion, which is reading, to pass time. Spiritual succour came from reading the Upanishads and the Gita, he says.

Sisodia gets emotional talking about the impact of his imprisonment on his wife and son. His wife suffers from multiple sclerosis and Sisodia says she has had to bear the brunt of the political fight that he is involved in. He says it hurts him that he was not there for his teenaged son when he needed his father’s counsel.

Sisodia is aware that he has to hold the fort in the absence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. He has hit the ground running with padyatras and meetings with party leaders and workers. Sisodia, however, says he is in no hurry to rejoin the cabinet, and his priority is to reconnect with people. Excerpts from the interview:

You were in jail for 17 months. How did you feel when you heard that you got bail?

My bail plea was getting rejected for the past 17 months on baseless grounds. So I was a little apprehensive, especially because I was deliberately booked by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Section 45 of the Act makes it very difficult to get bail. Such laws are enacted mainly to curb heinous crimes like terrorism and drug financing, but the Central government has used it against political opponents like me to make it difficult for us to get bail. When I learnt about the Supreme Court’s order [on bail], I was confident that despite the draconian laws being misused, there are courts and the Constitution to protect us. These are the scenarios that Baba Saheb Ambedkar and others must have thought of while drafting the Constitution―to empower the ordinary citizen under Article 21. I am grateful for that.

How does it feel to be out here now?

It feels very nice indeed. From within the jail walls, I could see only a limited part of the sky and I would wonder whether the outside world we belong to actually exists or was that just a dream! To meet your family and friends without cops and to be able to think and work freely is the biggest blessing.

How did you keep yourself occupied in jail? Were you able to interact with other inmates?

For security and other reasons, I was confined to a ward and was escorted by officers if I needed medical attention or if I had to go for video conferencing and legal meetings. I was not free to roam around. Within the ward, there were five or six people with whom I interacted. In the beginning, they were strictly instructed by the jail administration to avoid interacting with me.

I was confined to a small cell which remained locked for 15 hours and the remaining time when I was allowed to move around in a small complex near my cell, I could not talk to anyone. I spoke to the officers about it, and I asked them why they were punishing me by not allowing me to talk to others. The courts had not ordered anything like that. Plus, the television in my cell did not have a news channel. I was told that it was stopped during the Delhi riots. Along with other inmates, I wrote to the jail administration and after five or six months, a news channel was provided inside jail. Besides, I read a lot of books. I am a bookworm. I read all the books, many on education, which I had bought during my visits to different cities. I also pursued my spiritual interests. I got the time to read in depth scriptures like the Upanishads and the Gita.

When Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal came out on interim bail, he spoke about 24x7 surveillance and efforts to break him psychologically.

When you are in jail, you are locked in a cell monitored by CCTV. Except the small corner where the washroom is located, all your actions are watched, whether you are sleeping, eating, changing clothes, reading, everything is being watched. And people used to come and tell me that the CCTV feed was being watched, and this was the reason why no one would talk to me. I was told that the feed was being watched in the superintendent’s room, in the control room and even in the director general’s office. Imagine being watched all the time. Of course, it was not an easy thing, mentally.

Did you ever get a chance to meet Kejriwal in jail?

No. Within the Tihar complex, there are several jails with different officers and staff. I was in jail number one and Kejriwal was lodged in another jail which was across a big wall.

Your wife has been ailing. You were not able to be by her side when she needed you the most.

It was a difficult time. I was mentally ready to tolerate the hardship that politics brings with it, especially when you are fighting and challenging powerful people. My wife suffers from multiple sclerosis, a chronic autoimmune disease, and the only cure, as advised by doctors, is a happy and healthy life. However, she bore the brunt of what happened and suffered more than me. My arrest brought great trauma for her and her condition continued to deteriorate. But I am thankful to my family, my party and its leadership. They would laugh and cry with her in my absence so that emotionally she would feel that she was not alone. But I was most hurt when people would say that because I was a minister, I would not have tended to my wife and questioned my request to take care of her. They said there must be others in the house to take care of her.

What about your son? How did it impact him?

Thankfully, the atmosphere in my house prepared him for hardships. We used to go together for the Anna movement. He used to accompany me for the protests. He was not expecting a soft life, being the son of a struggler and a fighter. Still, he is in his teenage years which is a sensitive time for any child. I used to ask him if he needed anything when I was in jail. But he always responded in the negative. I used to feel bad because at his age when children expect certain things from their parents, I was not there for him. It was personally tough. However, the trust, respect and love that I have received in the past 17 months outweigh the personal trauma. We should be ready to tolerate pain if we are fighting for a cause.

The AAP and other opposition parties have spoken about the misuse of the PMLA. The Supreme Court is going to hear petitions challenging the Act.

Laws like the PMLA are made with the intent to fight terrorism and drug financing. But if these laws are misused to crush political opponents or extort money from the business community, it is very unfortunate. I am hopeful that the Supreme Court will take a view on that. Also, if you give an officer the power to arrest with such stringent bail provisions as is the case with PMLA, then the officer’s accountability should also be fixed and it should be ensured that no officer acts in a manner so as to support the party in power or get them donations. It is also very important to free them (officers) from the political clutches. Hopefully, the Supreme Court will look into these issues.

How soon do you expect Kejriwal to get bail in the CBI case from the Supreme Court?

All of the BJP’s efforts have been aimed at making sure that Kejriwal, Sanjay Singh, Satyendar Jain and I remain in jail till the elections. As soon as the government realised that Kejriwal will get bail in the ED case, they got him booked in another fake case by the CBI. Kejriwal is being kept inside by misusing power. I am grateful to the Supreme Court that despite being wrongly booked under the stringent PMLA, it made sure that democracy, Constitution and liberty have prevailed. I am sure that the judgment on Kejriwal’s bail will also be a landmark one, especially after the Supreme Court’s observations in my case, underscoring right to life and liberty.

How is Kejriwal’s prolonged absence affecting the party morale?

I had my own assessment and assumptions when I was in jail. But now when I am meeting people, I realise that they acknowledge how Kejriwal fought the BJP, the Central government and the lieutenant governor to ensure that good work continued to happen in Delhi. Whether it was good schools, mohalla clinics, or doorstep delivery, he got it all done. Unfortunately, with him behind bars, that fight is not taking place and some works have suffered. But I am sure that as soon as Kejriwal comes out, he will make up for the lost work.

There is also the question about the incarceration of a sitting chief minister, creating complications for governance in Delhi. How is Kejriwal running the government from jail?

Ministers meet him. He gives them suggestions. But most important, all the ministers know Kejriwal’s intent behind any scheme. The work on that intent and ideology is happening even in his absence. What is missing is the leader. He would put up a fight whenever the BJP tried to stop work in Delhi through the LG and the officers. That is the reason why the BJP’s strategy is to keep Kejriwal in jail because they know that he would get the work done despite the obstacles. Free electricity to lakhs of people, free medical care for over two crore people through mohalla clinics are examples of Kejriwal’s passion for work. The existing issues like de-silting of sewers have emerged because the BJP and the LG are not releasing funds. Kejriwal will come out and fight as he has done in the past to get things done.

No cabinet meetings have taken place, and no major policy decisions are made because the chief minister is in jail.

The ministers are empowered to run their respective departments. But, unfortunately, the Central government has complicated the situation by amending the GNCTD (Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi), Act. Now, the LG is empowered. In the previous system, ministers were empowered to work with their officers. Now if the LG wants to get any work done, he directly calls for the file from the ministers. However, if he has to stop any work, he says it should be sent through the chief minister. Therefore, the obstacles in our work are because of the attitude of the BJP and the LG. But it is a matter of time that these things will be resolved when the chief minister comes out.

Now that you are out of jail, what are your foremost priorities?

My priority now is to go to the people. A disconnect of 17 months is significant for any political person. Therefore, I am reconnecting with the people. I am listening to their problems and assessing the situation. I am glad that in the padyatras that I have done in the past few days, I am being warmly welcomed by the people of Delhi. Their concern for us matters a lot. They are praying for Kejriwal to come out as well. This sentiment keeps us going. My priority is to be among the people.

How do you view the performance of the AAP in the Lok Sabha elections, especially in Delhi where it failed to win a single seat?

Every election has its own dynamics. There is a pattern in which Delhi votes. I am not going into the reasons. In 2014, 2019 and 2024 we did not get any seat in the Lok Sabha polls despite our historic mandates in the assembly elections in 2015 and 2020. Delhi decided to keep the pattern intact. You may attribute it to the fact that we did not get public sympathy or our strategy was perhaps not right. But this has been the pattern in the parliamentary elections despite people saying that a lot of work has been done. But I am glad that the people are now clear about what they want in Delhi. They want Kejriwal to come out as soon as possible.

You are out on bail, but the trial will go on. How will the AAP counter the corruption allegations levelled by the BJP?

A lot of cases were wrongly imposed on us earlier also which were quashed by the courts. This (Delhi liquor policy case) is the biggest so far. We are confident because we have done nothing wrong and our team, workers and leaders know this. That is the reason why the AAP did not break down in such times of crisis. People know the truth and have clarity on this issue.

What is the feedback you are getting for Delhi elections this time? What are the issues on which people will repose faith in the AAP?

Kejriwal’s concern for the people resonates among the electorate. He ensured that in times of inflation, people are not burdened with expenses on education, health care and electricity. It is an economic model that keeps inflation in check in Delhi, generates employment and prevents tax evasion. Every resident of Delhi has benefited from Kejriwal’s governance model. A big difference is being made to the lives of the people and I can see that sentiment in my padyatras. People hug me and tell me we have been wronged.

Haryana elections have been announced. It seems to be a direct contest between the BJP and the Congress. The AAP is vigorously campaigning. Where do you see the AAP in Haryana elections?

When we went to Punjab, there used to be a three-cornered contest between the Congress, the Akalis and the BJP. We worked hard and came to power. In Gujarat and Goa, we have MLAs. In Haryana also, the Kejriwal model of governance that focuses on issues that matter the most to the people, as evidenced in Delhi and Punjab, will yield good results.

Do you see yourself playing a role in government formation in Haryana?

It is up to the people of Haryana what role they give to us. We are raising issues which nobody else is raising. The BJP government has disappointed the people of Haryana in the past ten years. People are looking for a change. How much space they give us remains to be seen.

Kejriwal’s wife, Sunita, has been standing in for her husband. She has been campaigning actively. What role do you see her playing in the days to come?

It is very rare that the family of a leader who is fighting a political battle of this kind takes the struggle forward without any greed. The way she has communicated Kejriwal’s feelings and sentiments to the people is commendable and it has developed a connect. But when Kejriwal comes out I do not think it would be necessary as he himself will connect with the public.

Is there any possibility of the Congress and the AAP joining hands for the Haryana polls?

It is hard for me to say much on Haryana as my focus for now is on Delhi. There are teams working on strategies for Haryana and once Kejriwal is out, things will move ahead further. It is difficult for me to say yes or no at this stage. Let us see how things unfold in the near future.

You are presently holding padyatras in Delhi. What kind of response are you getting? What are the people telling you?

Interestingly, people are meeting me like they meet their own family members after a long gap. The familiarity with which people greet me is beyond my imagination. Schoolchildren are welcoming me. It is heartening to see so much love. Besides, people have small issues of their localities which they share with me and I make a note of those issues.

A lot has changed since you went to jail. How do you see the performance of Delhi government in the last two years?

This whole story began with the BJP challenging the Constitution. The Supreme Court clearly said that the Delhi government had the mandate to control services. The Centre gave the powers back to the LG through an ordinance. In the last one year, the BJP has not given any attention to what will happen to the people of Delhi. For example, the Delhi government gives money to the Delhi Jal Board in the budget, but that money is not being released by the officers on the directions of the LG and the BJP. Moreover, by putting all senior leaders of the AAP in jail and in the absence of Kejriwal, governance has been affected to some extent. Had Kejriwal been out, he would be fighting for Delhi’s issues. That is the difference his absence makes.

You were deputy chief minister when you were arrested. When are you returning to the cabinet?

I am not thinking about that right now. My immediate priority is to meet the people and I am enjoying it. The ministers are also giving their best. So there is nothing that I can do better if I join the cabinet. When Kejriwal is out, my role in the party or the government would be reviewed. There is no hurry.

If Kejriwal continues to be in jail for a longer time, is there a possibility that you will step in for him?

There is little possibility that he remains inside jail for a long time. When he has got bail in the ED case, which has more stringent sections, it should not be a problem to secure bail in the CBI case. We are quite optimistic that he will get bail soon.

hema-committee-report-on-abuse-and-exploitation-in-malayalam-cinema

Sat Aug 31 16:53:03 IST 2024

Devaki Bhaagi, 36, still remembers the day when her dream of entering the magical world of cinema turned into a nightmare.

She was 12 when she went to Mananthavady, a quaint town in Kerala’s Wayanad district, with her father. “Wayanad was far removed from the glitter and glamour of the movie world,” recalled Bhaagi. “One of my father’s acquaintances, a telefilm actor, had told us that a filmmaker and his crew were at a hotel in Mananthavady to audition teenagers for their film Vacation.”

The filmmaker was K.K. Haridas, who had directed family entertainers in the 1990s. “As my father and the filmmaker talked in the hotel room, I grew bored and wandered out to the balcony,” she recalled. “An assistant director came and started talking to me. Then he grabbed my hand and pulled me to a room, offering me a gift. The grip tightened as we neared the door, and I panicked. ‘I don’t want any gift!’ I cried out. ‘Don’t worry, girl,’ he said, and tried to push me into the room. I screamed and grabbed a part of the door, and his grip loosened. I escaped and ran back to my father, who was still talking to the filmmaker, and sat beside him silently. I told him what happened as we left the hotel.”

Bhaagi’s father, a teacher, shook with rage as he listened. “He confronted a photographer, who was part of the film crew, and asked, ‘What is happening here? That man dared to misbehave with my little girl!’ The photographer said, ‘Mashe (sir), please take her and leave this place as soon as possible. If I talk about things that are happening here, they would just throw me out.’ We left the place immediately,” said Bhaagi. “Throughout the journey home, my father held my hand.”

Shocking as the experience was, Bhaagi did not let go of her acting dreams. She acted in advertisements and short films when she was in high school, and won the prestigious Kalathilakam title in the district-level school youth festival. When she was in Class 11, a debutant filmmaker approached her promising a lead role. To her dismay, he demanded that she be prepared for “adjustments”―a euphemism for sexual favours. “My parents were shocked that someone could come to our home and say such things,” she said.

This second incident forced Bhaagi to abandon her acting dreams. “To me, the film industry appeared to be filled with predators and manipulators,” she said. Bhaagi, however, returned to the industry when she was 28, as a script assistant for a filmmaker who was her senior in college. Today, she is an actor and ad director, and more importantly, a member of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC)―an influential group of women artistes formed in the aftermath of the case related to the sexual assault of a leading actor in a moving car in February 2017.

Malayalam cinema is currently in a watershed moment, as women like Bhaagi are speaking out about the horrific experiences they have had in the industry. The revelations have come after the report of the three-member Justice K. Hema committee, formed in 2017 to study issues of sexual harassment and gender inequality in the Malayalam film industry, was released on August 19. The report revealed many instances of abuse, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and exclusion in the industry.

After it was released, allegations of sexual misconduct against prominent members of the industry have gripped Malayalam cinema. Filmmaker Ranjith Balakrishnan recently stepped down as chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy, an autonomous institution under the state government, after Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra accused him of misconduct. On Mitra’s complaint, the Kerala Police registered a case against Ranjith under section 354 (assault or criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code.

Meanwhile, taking “moral responsibility” for the crisis in the industry, most members of the executive committee of the powerful Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) resigned, along with its president, actor Mohanlal. Two days earlier, veteran actor Siddique had resigned as AMMA general secretary after actor Revathy Sampath accused him of rape and criminal intimidation. The police have registered a case against Siddique based on the complaint.

Allegations have also been made against other prominent figures in Malayalam cinema, including actor and legislator M. Mukesh, who is a member of the ruling CPI(M), and AMMA joint secretary Baburaj.

A STAINED LEGACY

After it was formed in 2017, the WCC launched a film society named after P.K. Rosy, Kerala’s first woman actor. Rosy had played the lead role of Sarojini in Vigathakumaran (1928), the first Malayalam feature film. Her portrayal sparked an outrage because Sarojini was a caste Hindu and Rosy was a dalit Christian. Having become the target of angry mobs, Rosy was forced to flee Kerala.

She has been hailed as Malayalam cinema’s first symbol of resistance. The second is the leading actor who was sexually assaulted in 2017, but had the courage to stand her ground and file a police complaint. As the Malayalam film industry experiences a #MeToo moment, she is being seen as a torchbearer of the changes that are happening.

Interestingly, one of the actors who came out in support of her when the sexual assault came to light was Manju Warrier, former wife of actor-producer Dileep. According to the police, it was Dileep who had given a contract to a driver to abduct the actor and take obscene photos and videos of her. The police said it was an act of revenge, as the actor was close to Warrier and had reportedly encouraged her to file the divorce petition against Dileep.

Dileep spent 85 days in jail before he was released on bail. Interestingly, both Ranjith and Siddique were among the many celebrities who had visited Dileep when he was in jail. The case against him is still in court.

According to National Award-winning film critic and documentary filmmaker C.S. Venkiteswaran, the leading men of Malayalam cinema gained immense power after the emergence of television rights for movies. “When television became the major consumer of films, star ratings became immensely important,” he said.

In the 2000s, alongside Malayalam superstars Mammootty and Mohanlal, Dileep became a top beneficiary of these changes. Before the sexual assault case, Dileep’s influence in the industry was unparalleled―he held key positions in various film bodies and had the clout to bring about far-reaching changes. Just a month before he was arrested, for instance, Dileep had resolved a deadlock between two industry bodies over sharing theatre revenues. He had achieved it by orchestrating a split in one of the bodies, and becoming president of the newly formed third body, the Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala.

AMMA expelled Dileep the day after his arrest. The decision was said to have been taken under pressure from actor-producer Prithviraj, who was one of the first among male artistes to publicly support the survivor of the assault.

The resignation of AMMA’s executive committee came a day after he strongly criticised it for mishandling complaints. Prithviraj, whose influence has grown in the past seven years, also spoke out against the culture of bans. He said he was also subjected to an undeclared ban. In 2004, when his career was in its early stages, he was one of the first male artistes to agree to work on contract, a decision that displeased AMMA’s leadership. Eventually, though, top actors also began signing contracts.

If it was a group of men who brought progressive changes to the industry in 2004, it is now a group of women that is leading the charge for change. “Shell-shocked by the incident, we came together as a group, determined to support each other and the survivor,” actor Parvathy Thiruvothu, a founding member of the WCC, told THE WEEK. “We discovered that many of us shared similar experiences of feeling marginalised. We realised that there was a long-standing pattern of such issues.”

WOMEN VS WOMEN

The state government appointed the Hema committee following a petition from the WCC. But the committee encountered several roadblocks. Initially, it issued notice in newspapers, calling on people in the film industry to appear before the committee and give statements. But not a single person responded. So the committee began reaching out to individuals, and holding meetings at night to suit the schedule of those who were willing to talk. Many prominent actors appeared before the committee more than once, spending considerable time clarifying various aspects. The hearings went on for more than two years.

In its report submitted to the government on December 31, 2019, the committee said Malayalam cinema was controlled by an all-male “power group” that wielded significant influence over casting and production. Since woman artistes feared retaliation and blacklisting, many of them chose not to appear before the committee. Many of them even said there was “no need” in Malayalam cinema for an organisation like the WCC.

WCC members who deposed before the committee said male artistes openly threatened to prevent them from working in the industry. Notably, the committee’s report, from which names and other sensitive information have been redacted, mentions an actor who was initially with the WCC, but later changed her stance to get more opportunities.

T. Sarada, committee member and National Award-winning actor who started her career in 1959, noted in the report that “sexual harassment existed even in the early days of the film industry”. She blamed “western culture” and increased openness in interactions for the current problems.

“Girlfriends and boyfriends are very public now,” she wrote in the report. “The relationship between men and women was different in the old days. The culture of the new generation is different. ‘Adjustment’ and ‘compromise’ are openly discussed now, whereas it was not so open then.”

Sruthi Rajan Payyanur, assistant professor of journalism and mass communication at Birla Global University, Bhubaneswar, said consent was often manipulated in the film industry. “Even after consent is coerced, the threats persist, trapping individuals in a cycle of fear and control,” she said. Rajan revealed that she had to abandon her dream of becoming a filmmaker in mainstream cinema after a director demanded sexual favours for hiring her as an assistant director.

The report said men had been exploiting the lack of legal awareness among women in cinema. To address the issue, a group of senior women lawyers have come together and formed a collective. “We see the possibility that survivors who are now coming forward and speaking openly could again be victimised, unless there is strong support system to help them,” said advocate Sandhya Janardhanan Pillai, a member of the collective.

Veil of vagueness

When the Kerala government appointed a committee to look into issues faced by women in cinema, it was widely praised as a progressive, first-of-its-kind decision. But over the past few years, the government has squandered much of the goodwill because of the way it is perceived to have prevented the release of the report.

In February 2020, Justice Hema wrote to the government stressing the importance of protecting the privacy of those who deposed before the committee. In October the same year, the State Information Commission rejected RTI requests for the release of the report. The redacted report was finally released only after the commission reversed its decision this July. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan attributed the four-year delay in releasing the report to Justice Hema’s letter and the commission’s 2020 decision.

The government, however, has found it difficult to hide its apathy. On August 16, three days before the report’s release, Culture Minister Saji Cherian called a news conference in which he dismissed queries about the report, telling journalists that he had called them to announce the state film awards. The minister also announced the plan to organise a “film conclave”, which later became the government’s standard response to questions about implementing the recommendations of the Hema committee.

One of the recommendations in the report was the setting up of a quasi-judicial tribunal “to liberate women from the evils of the Malayalam film industry”. Vijayan, however, said the tribunal would incur significant costs.

Currently, there is no clarity on how the government plans to go about implementing the recommendations. Said Parvathy: “We kept choosing to trust the government to do the right thing. We still are; it’s been a week since the report came out and we are still waiting to hear from the government on the next steps.”

In 2014, a committee headed by acclaimed filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan submitted his recommendations to solve disputes between industry bodies. “We recommended setting up a body that would contain representatives of industry and the government. But it was not taken up. Our other recommendations, too, were not implemented,” said Gopalakrishnan, who refused to comment on current developments.

There are concerns that suggestions in the Hema committee report would meet the same fate. The report lists 17 kinds of issues that women in cinema commonly face, many of which are cognisable offences. This has attracted criticism that the police have not been proactive in taking action based on the report. “For the purpose of setting the law in motion for criminal investigation, mere information alone is sufficient,” T. Asaf Ali, former director general of prosecution, told THE WEEK. “Section 176 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita [says that] if the officer in charge of a police station receives information, or otherwise [has] knowledge, information or clue with regard to the commission of an offence, he has to set the law in motion for investigation.”

On August 22, the Kerala High Court admitted a writ petition seeking a directive to the director general of police to initiate criminal proceedings based on the report. The court has asked the state government to submit the report in full, including the redacted portions, in a sealed cover. The next hearing is on September 10.

Meanwhile, as pressure mounted on the government, Vijayan convened a special meeting of top police officers on August 25. A team of seven IPS officers was formed, and H. Venkitesh, additional director general of police (Crime Branch), was made its supervisor. The chief minister’s office said the team would function as a “special investigation team” that would look into the allegations. Notably, there was no mention of any inquiry into the allegations in the report.

Questions have been raised whether the government followed due procedure in forming the SIT. Section 21(2)(b) of the Kerala Police Act, which allows the government to create special units, stipulates the registration of a first information report for forming SITs. “An investigation without FIR is a farce,” said Asaf Ali. “They cannot summon, arrest, search or seize any material. And, they cannot file a report in court.”

The delay in releasing the government order constituting the team has added to the confusion. “This is a peculiar situation,” said an officer in the team. “The routine is to file the FIR in a police station and then transfer it to the SIT.”

The officer said the team was not formed under the Kerala Police Act, and that it would be operating under Section 30 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which deals with the powers of superior police officers. The team’s powers and scope of operations, however, remains unclear.

The scope and structure of the planned film conclave also remains vague. There is criticism that the event could force survivors to once again share space with perpetrators. CPI leader Annie Raja told THE WEEK that Minister Cherian should have been more serious in his approach. “The first response after a report like this should not have been to announce a conclave,” she said. “The immediate reaction should have been to present the report to the public and commit to taking action based on its recommendations. That was the bare minimum.”

Cherian has also been criticised for letting Mukesh, the actor-MLA accused of sexual misconduct, remain in a committee set up by his ministry to create a “film policy” for the state. The committee, led by filmmaker Shaji N. Karun, has been tasked with addressing 25 areas of concern, including gender issues and women’s safety.

Karun told THE WEEK that it was up to Mukesh to decide whether to remain in the committee, despite the allegations against him. “I don’t mind if he remains,” he said, “as his insights as producer, actor and politician are valuable.”

bengali-actress-sreelekha-mitra-interview-hema-committee-report

Sat Aug 31 16:22:00 IST 2024

Interview/ Sreelekha Mitra, actor

Sreelekha Mitra is known for her contributions to Bengali cinema and for being a champion of women and animal rights. A left sympathiser and a regular presence at party rallies and public programmes, she filed a police complaint against popular Malayalam movie director Ranjith alleging misconduct, which forced him to resign as chairman of the Kerala Film Academy. She was offered a role in Ranjith’s film Paleri Manikyam in 2009.

Q/ Ranjith has announced that he will take legal action.

A/ He has the right to take legal action. Who would openly admit to committing injustice? When it comes to something like sexual exploitation, even seemingly innocent gestures like touching someone’s bangles or hair cannot be taken lightly. Women know the difference between good touch and bad touch; we have been aware of it since childhood. I am not against Ranjith or anyone in this industry because I have nothing to gain from them. All I want is the Rs23,000 I spent on my return flight. However, the trauma I experienced that night and the following day was unthinkable.

Q/ Ranjith claims that this allegation is part of a larger conspiracy against him and the left government in Kerala?

A/ What conspiracy is he talking about? I am a left sympathiser and a staunch supporter, but no individual is above the party. He is answerable for his actions. This isn’t about one person; it’s about a broader issue that exists in many industries, especially the film industry due to the glamour, money, and fame associated with it. That is why it garners so much media attention. If you start unmasking, I am sure 90 per cent of the people would end up behind bars. This behaviour has become normalised, as if people think they have to give something to get something.

I gave him no such signal, especially since I was trying to save my marriage at the time. Yes, he was a good looking, charming, and well-spoken man, and in another time or situation, I might have liked him. But back then, I was very loyal and faithful to my husband. This is not a conspiracy. And if it is, I would say it is more likely a conspiracy from the Trinamool Congress government. Perhaps they know I am a left supporter and have instigated this so that a left supporter of Bengal will talk about another comrade in Kerala and the Kerala government.

Q/ What made you decide not to file a complaint initially?

A/ I have made my point, and I don’t want to pursue all these legal matters. Actually, I cannot say that he raped me or sexually assaulted me. That is not the case. Maybe if I had known you for a longer period of time, I would have come and hugged you, and you could have hugged me. But this is not the case. I met that person for the very first time, and he was romantically trying to instigate me when I was not in that zone. You have to understand a woman’s body language and attitude towards you.

filmmaker-and-chairman-of-the-committee-drafting-keralas-film-policy-shaji-n-karun-interview

Sat Aug 31 12:42:47 IST 2024

Interview/ Shaji N. Karun, filmmaker and chairman of the committee drafting Kerala’s film policy

Q/ As chairman of the committee drafting the film policy, you will play a key role in the upcoming film conclave. What will be the major focus areas of this policy?

A/ The film policy we’re currently drafting covers at least 25 areas, each assigned to specific experts. It addresses various aspects, including the construction of theatres, labour issues, and more. It’s crucial that the policy integrates both social philosophy and technological innovations.

Q/ There are allegations against M. Mukesh, an MLA who is part of the committee. Given that this committee is also responsible for addressing gender issues and creating a safe environment, how do you view his presence on the committee?

A/ He has to decide for himself. I don’t mind if he remains, as his insights as a producer, actor and politician are valuable. However, if he leaves, that space will become vacant in the committee.

Q/ How far have you proceeded with the policy?

A/ The first draft is done. I believe the fifth draft will be discussed at the conclave.

Q/ Is the MeToo wave sweeping through the industry tarnishing its image, or is it taking the industry into a correctional path?

A/ It is something that is happening not only in Malayalam cinema.

Q/ Yes, but this kind of movement is currently unique to Malayalam cinema.

A/ If the same issue is happening in some other industry, like IT or any other area, do you think that it will get such exposure in media? That itself makes you think with a different clarity, no? Because cinema has been reduced to gossip now, not a cultural activity. That’s why it’s [getting] such exposure. If [it was] any other industry, will it get such exposure?

Q/ But, my question is whether these revelations are pushing the industry to a course correction?

A/ Yeah. Their information, their thoughts and their feelings are added ingredients in the formulation of the film policy.

Q/ What will it add?

A/ Different thoughts. Earlier, there were no rules. When there is an issue, then rules are formed. So, now, the rules have to be recognised.

Q/ Abuses and exploitation are there in every film industry. Do you think the model established by the Malayalam film industry and its film policy could serve as a model for the entire country?

A/ [Yes]. For the entire country. Including technicians. And the people working outside should also cooperate with the Kerala industry.

actor-and-member-of-women-in-cinema-collective-parvathy-thiruvothu-interview

Sat Aug 31 12:41:33 IST 2024

Interview/ Parvathy Thiruvothu, actor and member of Women in Cinema Collective

She has captivated audiences through numerous characters over a career that spans nearly two decades. Yet, in the past seven years, Parvathy Thiruvothu has taken on a new role―a relentless fighter for her fellow women in cinema. Now, amid a #MeToo movement in Malayalam cinema, Parvathy opens up about the relentless struggle she and the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) have faced. Excerpts from an exclusive interview:

Q/ After the Hema committee report was submitted, it remained in cold storage for over four years. Do you think this delay had a damaging effect on women who were ready to speak before the committee? Were there attempts by powerful individuals to identify those who deposed?

A/ Frankly, I can’t say for certain if any powerful individuals were trying to identify those who were deposing. However, the number of women who came forward was not large, though it proved significant enough. The women who did come forward, did so only after the Hema committee ensured confidentiality. They assured that depositions would not be recorded with audio devices but would be handwritten, a more tedious process. Recounting their trauma and abuse was challenging, requiring them to reread and listen to their stories repeatedly to ensure accuracy. This process took hours and, for some, even days.

It took about one and a half years just to submit the report. During this time, the WCC consistently followed up with them, asking, “Is the report ready? Have you submitted it? Why the delay? Can we assist in any way to expedite the process?”

Q/ Were you checking in with the government or with the committee members?

A/ Both. The WCC emailed and sent letters to everyone involved, although after a point we stopped receiving responses. However, whenever we did get a reply, we were very proactive in offering our help. When the report was finally submitted in December 2019, we were thrilled. It was a historic moment. While the submission itself was significant, as we are now, we were focused on the recommendations.

[The report] was put in cold storage for four and a half years. The reason given was that it had sensitive information. Statements from the committee members, especially from actor Sarada, were particularly painful. Sarada, despite being a senior actor, made light of our situation by suggesting that women should just dress better, then we may not face issues such as sexual harassment. I believe that more survivors might have come forward and received help if the process had been handled differently.

Q/ Did you feel that the government was apathetic towards your cause?

A/ Personally, I feel a gross delay in justice always amounts to apathy. The time and effort that have gone into a study like this should be valued. We kept choosing to trust the government to do the right thing. We still are; it’s been a week since the report came out and we are still waiting to hear from the government on the next steps vis-a-vis the recommendations.

Q/ Women actors and technicians who joined the WCC faced professional repercussions for challenging powerful figures in the industry. How did you cope with the negativity and abuse directed at you?

A/ This period has been incredibly educational. There were allies in the public and the media that stood by me and my fellow WCC members. I understood what true ally-ship looks like and what it means to stay on course. The solidarity within the collective was crucial, especially when we faced challenges like losing work or being banned by employers who saw us as troublemakers. We also heard from women who were harassed on set―not only sexually, but verbally as well. They were told to be wary of us, labelled as WCC spies, and made the butt of jokes, which made their professional environment extremely uncomfortable.

These experiences have caused many women to leave the industry before they could even start their careers. Witnessing this was one of the worst things. I consider myself fortunate to have continued to get work, including outside the Malayalam industry. Nevertheless, it’s still unfair that I, too, lost opportunities. During this time, we leaned on each other for support, engaged in many conversations and learned a lot. Unfortunately, name-calling, memes and trolling had become our new normal, and took a significant toll on our mental health.

We didn’t know where any of this was going. On top of seeking justice, we had to beg and grovel for it. However, I’m proud that we have now arrived at this juncture and that we did not give up.

Q/ What was your reaction when the report was finally released?

A/ By the time the report came out, I was in a state of shock because, at that point, I had given up on it. I knew that as a collective we are not giving up. But personally, the embers of hope had completely died down. So, when the report finally came out, my first reaction wasn’t relief but anger and sadness, with thoughts about what we could have done [differently]. But, as I said, this wasn’t the case for the collective. I am so grateful for our allies in the media and the public for keeping our spirits up, too.

Q/ Do you believe the government is genuinely committed to implementing these recommendations? You said it was insensitive for the government to move forward with the idea for a film conclave.

A/ I didn’t say the idea of a conclave was insensitive. When they say they will bring everyone from the serial and film industry to a conclave and only discuss solutions, it easily gives way to many assumptions and concerns. One of the concerns would be that survivors, for the sake of solutions, would be given no choice but to share space with perpetrators. And, that can be insensitive. What I said is that in case they conduct a conclave, I hope they’re sensitive to the part that they have to protect the survivors in that process.

I was hoping that there would be more clarity in statements that were coming out from the government instead of saying that those who have a problem can go file a case; instead of saying that, ‘Oh, we will hold a conclave’.

Ideally, the next step should be a thorough study of the recommendations, followed by timely consultations with stakeholders, industry unions, and bodies like the WCC.... The issue is that we receive these vague statements with no follow-up, and we don’t want to endure another four and a half years of repeatedly asking for clarification on terms like “conclave”.

actor-tanushree-dutta-interview

Sat Aug 31 12:40:19 IST 2024

Interview/ Tanushree Dutta, actor

Q/ What do you think about the Hema Committee report?

A/ The sheer size of the report is impressive and it seems like a thorough, groundbreaking assessment of how bad the situation really is. I was initially uncertain about it because I thought it would be like the Vishaka Guidelines, which lost steam over the years. But, I have corrected my opinion after learning more. I didn’t know much about the Malayalam industry... so maybe reports like this are, after all, necessary.

Q/ Tell us about the power dynamics during the making of a film and how actresses tread the path?

A/ The problem of ‘casting couch’ is not that bad in Bollywood. Because it is more like camps in Bollywood that actresses join to get opportunities. Then what favours they need to do is another topic and I would not know because nobody took me in their camp. Rank newcomers have it toughest, but I think actresses in the A-plus, A and A-minus categories, at least, escape such transactions.

Misbehaviour and misdemeanour tales are a dime a dozen. There are a few uncivilised men in Bollywood who make the whole filmmaking experience a nightmare for girls who are outsiders. That I have personally seen and experienced. The only way is to avoid working with such people. So, better to do research on people you work with and get industry gossip on threads like Reddit and Quora. But, you may still get stuck with wrong people because they wear masks; you don’t know who is a psychopathic molester or abuser.

Q/ Please share your experiences of working in the Hindi cinema industry, from the perspective of safety and security.

A/ I didn’t have much of an issue with safety till the Horn ‘Ok’ Pleassss incident, where goons were called on set to vandalise my car at the behest of an actor whose advances I rejected. In the last few years, after the #MeToo movement, I have been targetted by hired goons, damaging my psyche and health. All manner of mishaps have happened to me. All this was clearly done by Nana Patekar in retaliation and revenge.

Prior to this obsessive, vengeful psycho Nana Patekar making my life hell on a daily basis, I only had a few minor altercations with a few unruly, ill-mannered, rogue-type men. They are easily manageable if you are strict and assertive. They are the majority and they leave you alone once you tell them to back off. But, the diabolical, vicious and manipulative ones, like Nana Patekar and a few others, plot and plan your downfall, including causing physical harm.

Q/ What are the systemic changes that could make a real difference?

A/ Had the government taken concrete actions against criminals in Bollywood after #MeToo in 2018, or generally, I am sure other, more heinous stuff would not have happened. Because Bollywood inspires people. So, it is obvious where the action should start. Criminals in Bollywood are out on bail and are thick as thieves with #MeToo accused. The women who complained are facing several issues after the #MeToo movement.

Q/ Do you feel female actors need to come out in support, as one unit?

A/ Of course, women in general need to have each other’s back. Also, good and clean men in the corridors of power need to side with those fighting for justice and safety.

I have noticed that good people have no unity, but bad people and criminals [stick together] during crises. Good people are too busy avoiding scandal and conflict, while the souls of survivors and change-makers burn with indignation, fear, anger, and sadness for being left out there to fend for themselves against all odds. Then, I don’t think anybody can call themselves good; if they don’t do anything to help and just watch the toxic drama unfold and continue to damage those few who dare to protest and refuse such evil practices.

The evil criminals have their bhais, messiahs and patrons to protect them and keep them in circulation, but the victims and survivors have no allies. A warrior is fighting not just for herself, but the next generation, too, and you do not help or provide for her in some way. How many movements are needed to see that some of these men are mentally unstable, sick and totally devoid of remorse, like psychopaths.

bengali-film-actress-ritabhari-chakraborty-interview

Sat Aug 31 12:39:22 IST 2024

The R.G. Kar incident showed how little the authorities care about women. The Hema Committee report gave me confidence that this is the right time to begin this discussion in the Bengali film industry as well.

The report has given me the belief that big, powerful men can be brought down. So, I think it is the right time for me to come forward with the struggles and issues I faced early in my career. I don’t want my juniors and newcomers to experience the same.

Groups of powerful men exist in the Bengali film industry as well. But I would still say that things have somewhat improved from what I saw at the beginning of my career 15 years ago.

But the groups exist and they are so influential that rejecting their advances and calls can negatively impact a woman’s career. They can deny women opportunities in every production house. That is why women are scared. They are scared to lose their jobs.

However, in most of the cases, advances from influential men are not direct, like, “I want to sleep with you”. Instead, they would say “Let’s go for a coffee or hang out”, and then drop subtle hints about their intentions. Most of the time, these men are married and have children.

In 2016 or 2017, a producer closely associated with a big Bengali superstar approached me, suggesting that the superstar was interested in going out with me. When I declined, the producer called me stupid and said that I would have made my career had I gone out with him. This scared me.

I had another traumatic experience and I wish to file a police complaint soon. I met a prominent producer in a public place to discuss a film, and he hinted that he wanted me to be his girlfriend. I didn’t respond and asked him to drive me home. During the drive, he touched my hand without my consent. I shouted at him, feeling scared. Although he didn’t do anything more, he was visibly angry.

The Hema Committee’s findings on the lack of basic amenities for women in the Malayalam film industry are equally applicable to West Bengal. As an established star, I receive the best facilities, but junior actors face extremely poor treatment and endure terrible experiences.

Then there are drunk technicians always knocking on women’s doors during outdoor shoots. In the Bengali film industry, it is still common to film intimate scenes without intimacy coordinators. These practices need to change for women to feel safe in the industry.

Ritabhari Chakraborty is an actor and model.

―As told to Niladry Sarkar

actor-and-bjp-leader-khushbu-sundar-interview

Sat Aug 31 12:38:05 IST 2024

Interview/ Khushbu Sundar, actor and BJP leader

Q/ What do you have to say about the Hema committee report? Do you think that it will help women in the industry to speak up?

A/ I am happy that the Hema committee report has come out. First of all, congratulations to the seven women who stood together and decided that they should fight it out. I understand that sexual assaults have been going on in the Malayalam industry for a long time. But I haven’t experienced something like this. I feel the report will make women speak up. What is important is that women speak up immediately when subjected to abuse. You adjust and compromise because you don’t want your career to be affected and then you speak up 15 or 20 years later; I feel that is not the right thing to do.

Today, the entire executive committee of AMMA, including Mohanlal, has resigned. So there is a new leadership that is going to come up. I think that even the men are standing up in solidarity with the women. But I feel they failed in supporting a woman or protecting her. I am glad that everyone, including Mohanlal, has quit from their post. But unfortunately, it is only cinema that is in the limelight. These kind of sexual abuse or asking for favours exist in every field and industry. So we need to look back as to where we have been failing.

Q/ Do you think the report and the developments in the Malayalam film industry will give courage to women in every field to speak up?

A/ I don’t know if this is going to give them the courage. But one thing is for sure―men will be scared to approach a woman, and that is extremely important. Because they will now understand that it might hit them 15 or 20 years later, that karma is going to hit back at them.

Q/ As someone who grew up in the Tamil film industry, are you saying that such issues do not exist here?

A/ I have also been part of the Malayalam industry. It is just that I have been more actively involved in the Tamil film industry. I was introduced in Telugu cinema. But that doesn’t mean that I did not go through any of this. Somebody can try to be in your good books and silently pass a lewd comment to see how you react. But no man will hold a knife to your neck and tell you to compromise for work. They are silent operators. I am sure now women in other industries, including the Tamil industry, will start speaking up.

Q/ There were allegations during the #MeToo movement in the Tamil film industry and there are some even now.

A/ I don’t know any specific case. I read an article where a couple of women spoke on the condition of anonymity. But I cannot support that. You are making allegations against an industry that gave you everything you have today, so don’t speak on condition of anonymity. Come out and speak; don’t hide.

Q/ It is said that women who speak up lose out on work opportunities.

A/ All the women [from the Women in Cinema Collective] have done some brilliant work. One of them won the best actor award from the Kerala government. Rima [Kallingal] has been working, Parvathy has been working. All these are the most talented bunch of actors in the Malayalam film industry. And, no producer is a fool to invest crores of money just because you get sexual favours. We need to understand that. If you are successful, if you are talented, you don’t even have to compromise. Why do you compromise?

Q/ What are your takeaways from the report?

A/ I haven’t read the entire report. But we need a system in the industry to build trust among the women workers. We definitely need a separate body where women can file complaints and an inquiry is called. Most importantly, I want women to speak up then and there. Nothing can be more important than your dignity and your respect. Your career and everything else can wait.

Q/ You have been a member of the National Commission for Women. Did anyone from the industry approach you with complaints?

A/ No, not even anonymous complaints.

Q/ What do you think will happen now that the report is out?

A/ This will go off. It came up only because of the women who fought consistently. What happened to #MeToo? People are going to forget. But here, I feel we should have a logical solution. I have been part of a committee that works on such issues and complaints. Merely an accusation cannot be a complaint. We need to have a proper investigation officer, because we have seen that many a time the complaints are used to settle personal scores. So, we need to have the support of the investigating agencies, the men in the industry and from everyone around.

actor-turned-motivator-anu-aggarwal-interview

Sat Aug 31 12:36:32 IST 2024

My work today is focused on mental health, and I’m pleased to see significant progress for women in the film industry. The government is also doing what it can. However, women in cinema―and in all fields―must be aware of their actions.

Not all men are rapists. Unless a man has serious mental issues, he won’t rape or molest a woman.

Judicial committees and the actions that follow are necessary and should take place. Corrective measures must be implemented, but it’s not fair to blame an entire industry or group for the actions of a few. Regular introspection is essential, and if mistakes have been made, they should be corrected.

I have never come forward with a #MeToo allegation. I’m single and live alone, but I’m always mindful of drawing the line. Being aware of my actions has protected me.

Yes, there are bad apples in every group, but we shouldn’t demean or detest men as a whole because of the actions of a few.

Men are not born rapists, and most men are decent.

Many of my married female friends claim they have achieved success on their own, but I remind them that a supportive husband often played a role―helping with children and household responsibilities. I know what it’s like to come home alone with no one waiting. We should respect men for who they are and what they do.

Let’s strive to live in harmony and avoid hostility for its own sake. That’s how we can build a just and happy society.

Anu Aggarwal is an actor-turned-motivator.

―As told to Anirudha Karindalam

indian-singer-and-voice-actress-chinmayi-sripada-interview

Sat Aug 31 12:35:23 IST 2024

Interview/ Chinmayi Sripada, singer and voice actor

Q/ What do you have to say about the Hema committee report and the fallout?

A/ The women from the Women in Cinema Collective who fought and got this done are heroes. It is amazing. The rest of the country should follow this.

Q/ What are your takeaways from the report?

A/ I read only a part of it. But I have been following every development and I am in touch with the women there. More or less whatever the Hema committee report has said has been happening in the film industry. This could be true for any film industry in India. But I am glad that the report came out at this point in time and has emboldened the women to speak up. But I feel that there are a lot more women who do not speak up. Women can actually speak up despite all odds, but what happens thereafter is the most important thing. Most of us had forgotten what happened to Raya Sarkar [who made a list of sexual predators in academia] in 2017, the sexual harassment and the case and the report thereafter. Most people forgot the hounding she faced.

Q/ Could you tell us about the ordeal you faced in the dubbing industry after you accused Tamil lyricist Vairamuthu of sexual misconduct?

A/ Not just the industry, but the entire political setup in Tamil Nadu and the DMK’s IT wing were after my blood. Lots of Tamil people across the globe were after me for speaking out.

Q/ Do you think that the film industry also did not stand by you?

A/ Not just the fraternity, even my seniors―the singers in the Tamil industry―did not stand by me. All the senior singers in the industry ganged up against me to protect Vairamuthu and singer Karthik. More than the Tamil industry, the Telugu and the Malayalam industry were more understanding. I have asked my colleagues in Telugu and Malayalam industry to not work with Karthik, and they have agreed at times. I was disappointed with the way my whole fraternity reacted when I spoke up. I thought the people whom I respected the most, like singer Srinivasan sir, would support a woman who has been affected. But despite seeing the video evidence of Karthik misbehaving with a girl, Srini sir was the first to whitewash the accusations against Karthik. I lost six prime years of my career. I am not getting any younger. Why does society or my own fraternity punish me for speaking the truth? Like the #MeToo movement, I feel this should not die down. Karthik and Vairamuthu are still big in the industry. It is a cesspool of molesters.

jammu-and-kashmir-prepares-to-hold-its-first-assembly-elections

Fri Aug 23 16:35:54 IST 2024

Elections are necessary in democracies, because the core strength of democracy lies in participatory politics. Today, Jammu and Kashmir is preparing to hold its first assembly elections in a decade, in a strategic-sociopolitical environment that underwent a radical transformation after the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.

The big question now: how can political parties help make the elections free and fair, ensuring that voters overcome challenges rooted in historical reasons that had pitted a sizeable section of the population against the Indian state?

The polls will define what a vote for democracy means in Jammu and Kashmir today. In the past five years, there has been a sharp swing in the rhetoric of political parties in Jammu and Kashmir―from a vocal unwillingness to fight the polls unless Article 370 was restored, to demands for statehood and, finally, expressing willingness to participate in the polls. Some politicians even concede that boycotting the district development council polls in 2020 was a mistake.

This demonstrates two points. First, the Indian state matters. Second, the political class―including the BJP, the Congress, the National Conference and the Peoples’ Democratic Party―understands that for the common man bijli, sadak, paani (electricity, road, water) matter. Hospitals, schools and colleges matter. Roads and infrastructure matter. Employment matters.

Politicians, as most Kashmiris would agree, have not historically done well when it comes to meeting their expectations. Hence, the apprehension among voters about whether the upcoming polls would bring much-needed relief in their day-to-day lives or just be a vehicle for vote bank politics that would skirt around issues of development and governance.

So, in an ecosystem that has failed to deliver on public welfare, and has, over time, become vulnerable to not just terrorism and separatism, but also anti-India sentiments, how must the Indian state respond?

It must respond with democratic fervour, as it is doing today―by preparing to hold the much awaited polls. The annual budget of Jammu and Kashmir had always been enriched by grants from the Union government, irrespective of the party in power. Now, the promise of welfare schemes must come without colour or tags.

“If both the elected government and the lieutenant governor work towards peace and progress, how can there be any difference [between them]?” said Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. “The elected government will get complete support of the office of the LG if it wants to work towards peace and development of Jammu and Kashmir.”

The people are eager to elect their representatives. “I have felt the pulse of the people during my public meetings,” said Vijay Kumar Bidhuri, divisional commissioner of Kashmir. “They are very eager for the polls. They have seen that, during the panchayat and local body polls, the sarpanch and block members have been able to distribute benefits of welfare schemes. There is a feeling of empowerment that percolates down when elections are held.”

The recent Lok Sabha polls saw a sharp rise in the number of candidates, because of which Bidhuri had to ensure that polling booths had two voting machines each. “We expect more participation in the assembly polls, and the subsequent panchayat and local body polls,” he said.

There are several reasons behind the increased participation. The youth are keen to participate in the decision-making process and, unlike in the past, when there was disenchantment with the government, they feel the need for participatory politics.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration is not particularly worried about the possibility of political protests, sloganeering and unrest in Kashmir once an elected government is formed. “Once people start reaping the dividends of peace and development, it is an irreversible process,” said Bidhuri. “Take the example of the right to information. There can be aberrations or misuse, but no one asks for taking back laws that benefit citizens. School curriculums have been completed, tourism got a boost, and markets opened up. The people of J&K are intelligent and will not fall back to the dark days of unrest.”

With the poll campaign set to start, voters are keen to know the core issues around which political parties would weave their narratives. They also want to find answers to several questions. Such as, does a particular party have a veneer? If yes, would the loss of that veneer make the party no different from the others? And, has the entry of a new party created a genuine political space, or is the party just colluding with another?

“All citizens have a right to be in control of their destiny and the moment they think there is no choice available on the political shelf, the elections will fall prey to the danger of being labelled as rigged,” said a senior government official.

A robust strategy is required to steer clear of these pitfalls, which pose a big challenge to the Union government. The answer may lie in a cross-party consensus that sends a message to voters that just as anti-India narratives are being expelled from spheres such as economy, trade, education, governance and security, such sentiments would be dispelled from Jammu and Kashmir’s political discourse as well.

“If there are protests by common people or political parties in a democratic way, and within the tenets of the Constitution, then I have no problem,” said Sinha. “But if there are actions that endanger the safety, sovereignty and integrity of the country, or challenge the unity of the nation, then I would exercise the powers vested in me by the Constitution.”

The judiciary and law enforcement will also need to play the watchdog role. Provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the Election Commission’s model code of conduct are enough to rein in possible attempts by political parties to create divisions in society.

In the run-up to the polls, a cross-party consensus for ensuring peace and stability in Jammu and Kashmir can be as radical a step as the voiding of Article 370 was. It will be a progressive step to declare that there would be no interference of the Army or the police in the polls, and that money power would not be allowed to influence the democratic process. Voters would certainly hope that all institutions rise to the occasion and make these pledges.

State and non-state actors in Pakistan could not disrupt the Lok Sabha elections. But the threat of cross-border terror persists. Security strategists believe that, in an effort to maintain its indirect hold on the levers of power, Pakistan would covertly support attempts to retain the anti-India constituency in Kashmir. The assembly polls, therefore, demand a security approach that is as cautious as the one that had been in effect during the Lok Sabha polls.

“The militancy situation in Jammu and Kashmir keeps oscillating between the valley and the Jammu region,” said D.K. Pathak, former director general of the Border Security Force. “Whichever area gets more security pressure, militant activities shift to the other half of J&K.”

This is exactly what the Jammu region is experiencing now. “For almost three years now, the enemy is trying to deflect the pressure [caused by the] tightening of the security in the valley,” said R.R. Swain, director general of the police.

After Article 370 was voided, security forces were concentrated in the valley, where more violent reactions was expected. This created a sort of vacuum in the Jammu region, where militant groups got opportunities to infiltrate and activate sleeper cells. According to Swain, battle-hardened terrorists from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan tunnelled their way into Jammu. Central intelligence agencies are now wary of the terror net spreading into the hinterland from Punjab, where Pakistan-based Babbar Khalsa International and Khalistan Zindabad Force have been trying to fish in troubled waters.

Bringing normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir will be the single biggest challenge for the next government. The first priority will be the strengthening of the police, which needs its own command structure to maintain law and order and carry out counter-terror operations. With the presence of more than half a dozen security forces, Jammu and Kashmir continues to have the country’s highest concentration of boots on the ground. Additional Army troops are being deployed to secure the higher reaches of Jammu from terrorist infiltration.

Traditionally, there is a three-tier security grid on the international border. The Border Security Force forms the first line of defence; the Army forms the second; and the police forms the third. Swain, whose tenure saw several steps being taken to strengthen the police, will retire amid the polls on September 30. He will be succeeded by Nalin Prabhat, a 1992-batch officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre. Swain has been instrumental in dismantling the terror ecosystem to a large extent, at times even ruffling the feathers of politicians.

Preventing terror-related violence requires a strong government, unbiased bureaucrats and a vigilant police. Since geopolitical dynamics will continue to influence the border situation, the elected political leadership will need to have absolute clarity regarding its approach towards Pakistan. For peace, it is imperative that New Delhi and Srinagar are on the same page.

“Increased militancy in Jammu and Kashmir has been a result of unresolved political problems and a trust deficit between New Delhi and J&K,” said M.M. Ansari, who was an interlocutor for Jammu and Kashmir during 2010-2011. “The Centre must adhere to democratic principles of governance without using draconian laws like the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.”

A drive through the tiny lanes of downtown Srinagar makes it evident how peace in recent times has brought back some sense of normalcy. Glass windows adorn brick buildings, where artisans are back in business. Two decades ago, when stone throwing first became widespread, the popularity of glass windows had taken a hit. Peace, it seems, has brought them back in favour.

Yasmina, one of the women artisans at Eidgah, Srinagar, once a nerve centre of militancy, has been working to revive the traditional spinning wheel craft with modern, foot-operated charkhas. “It is faster and safer for working long hours. If we work hard, we can earn more profits,” said a hopeful Yasmina.

Helping her and other local artisans revive their craft is Mujtaba Kadri, a businessman who said GI tags and QR codes were helping them take their products to foreign shores. Kadri hopes that the artisans would be able to increase their wages and profit margins if peace continues to prevail.

“It is time Jammu and Kashmir is freed from those profiting from conflict,” said Bidhuri, “and [is allowed to] build on the gains it has made so far.”

jammu-and-kashmir-upcoming-assembly-elections-scenario-analysis

Fri Aug 23 16:34:47 IST 2024

What makes the upcoming assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir different from previous ones is the altered constitutional framework. The reorganisation post the scrapping of Article 370 brought Jammu and Kashmir under the full purview of the Constitution. Thus, the new government will have to operate without the autonomy that the laws once provided.

Established regional parties like the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) have been grappling with this new reality. To stay relevant, their focus is now on the demand for the restoration of statehood and the need to address issues related to employment, land ownership, inflation, high tariffs and a deep sense of disempowerment among voters.

Imran Nabi Dar, the NC’s chief spokesperson, referred to the upcoming polls as an “alien election”. “This election is being held after Jammu and Kashmir was ruled by bureaucrats for 10 years,” he said. “It surpasses the six-year Central rule in the 1990s, after which elections were held in 1996.”

As the polls draw near, a high-stakes battle is shaping up between the NC and the PDP on one side and the BJP on the other. The BJP must prove that the voiding of Article 370 has restored normalcy and set Jammu and Kashmir on a development path. For the Congress, which aligns with the regional parties, the polls are an opportunity to reassert its role in the region, particularly in Jammu. The task of challenging the BJP, however, largely rests on the NC. With a strong organisational structure, the NC has managed to navigate the choppy political waters after the voiding of Article 370. In contrast, the PDP, which emerged as a formidable force after its 2002 assembly polls victory, has had significant setbacks. Several of its leaders and workers are now with the Apni Party, founded by former PDP leader Altaf Bukhari in March 2020.

The PDP’s influence has been on the wane in its strongholds―Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam. The NC has been reluctant to join hands with the weakened PDP, as many of its leaders believe that going it alone would be more beneficial. “The PDP is our main rival,” said a senior NC leader. “An alliance with them during their crisis will help them, not us. It will hurt us in the future.”

The NC was in alliance with the Congress and the CPI(M) in the Lok Sabha polls. The party led in 34 of 54 assembly segments in the three Lok Sabha constituencies in Kashmir: Srinagar, Baramulla and Anantnag-Rajouri. The BJP and the Congress chose not to contest these seats, focusing instead on the two Jammu constituencies―Udhampur and Jammu. The BJP led in 29 assembly segments in these two seats; the Congress led in seven.

On August 21, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge arrived in Srinagar, where they are expected to hold seat-sharing talks with the NC leadership. According to the NC leader, there was a possibility of a “tactical alliance” with the Congress in the Muslim-majority regions of the Pir Panjal range and Chenab Valley, which together have 11 assembly seats where the NC is in direct contest with the BJP. In the remaining Jammu constituencies, the BJP will primarily compete with the Congress.

Unlike in the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP plans to field candidates in Kashmir. “We will have candidates in 25 to 30 seats,” said Sofi Yousuf, vice president of the BJP’s state unit. “We expect to win five to ten.”

The party’s focus, however, will remain on Jammu, where it had won a record 25 seats in the 2014 assembly polls. Observers, however, say the BJP needs to address the growing disenchantment among supporters in the region, as evident from the decline in the party’s vote share in the Lok Sabha polls―from 46 per cent in 2019 to 24.4 per cent in 2024.

The BJP is facing a slew of challenges in Jammu―frustration among voters because of the prolonged political vacuum, anger at the new rules affecting local businesses, and discontent rooted in unemployment, inflation and rising electricity bills.

The BJP-led Union government has implemented several measures to offset these problems. It added six assembly seats in the region through delimitation, introduced reservations for the Pahari and Paddari tribes, and Kolis and Gadda Brahmins, and included 15 new castes in the list of Other Backward Classes.

Dar said the new assembly seats carved out by the Delimitation Commission have altered the power balance between Kashmir and Jammu. “There are also five nominations [to the assembly] with voting rights to be made by the governor,” he said. “That makes it 47 seats in Kashmir, 43 in Jammu, plus five nominations.”

The BJP has also introduced reservation in jobs for those living near the international border in Jammu, and granted citizenship rights to refugees from west Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. One of the five nominated members in the assembly would be from the refugee community from PoK. “This time we will fight elections in Kashmir and do well,” said Nirmal Singh, chairman of the BJP’s election committee and former deputy chief minister.

Dar said those who opposed the BJP faced serious challenges. “They will need to give the mandate to one party, as they have witnessed BJP rule for ten years now,” he said.

Political analysts say only a united front of regional parties can prevent the BJP from forming government. “They (the parties) need to work out an arrangement; otherwise, all of them stand to lose. They can agree on seat-sharing based on the leads in assembly segments,” said Noor Ahmed Baba, former head of the department of political science at the University of Kashmir, Srinagar.

The polls will also decide the fate of the parties that the NC and the PDP label as the BJP’s proxies―the Apni Party, the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP), and the People’s Conference. While the Apni Party has struggled to gain traction, the DPAP, led by former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, is yet to establish itself as a credible alternative. The People’s Conference, led by Sajad Lone, has support in North Kashmir, particularly in Kupwara district, but its broader appeal is doubtful.

Waheed Parra, the PDP’s youth president who came second in Srinagar in the Lok Sabha polls, said the assembly polls were about reclaiming what the people had lost. “There is a complete sense of dispossession in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

With institutions being mostly run by people from outside Jammu and Kashmir, there is a strong desire among local residents to reclaim their political space. “This is what makes this election so important,” said Parra. “While it may be too much to expect that the government will fully meet expectations, it will help alleviate some of the fear.”

Those who reached voting age since the previous assembly polls in 2014 are eager to elect a government that listens to their concerns. Kashif Amin Malik, a 24-year-old student from Noorabad in Kulgam district, belongs to this new generation. “Some people don’t understand the power of their vote,” said Malik, who voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. “If you don’t vote, you can’t elect the person you want to represent you in the assembly. That is self-disempowerment.”

Muzamil Ahmed of Pulwama said the present administration was disconnected from issues that the people face. “Even when matters are brought to their attention, it takes time to fix problems because approval has to come from the lieutenant governor,” he said.

Day-to-day problems such as water scarcity and inadequate transportation, he said, are best addressed by local politicians who are connected to their communities. “A local politician is aware of these problems because he experiences them himself,” said Ahmed.

Power supply is a major concern for Muhammad Amin, a 21-year-old political science student from Lolab, close to the Line of Control in Kupwara. “Electricity supply is erratic, and outages are frustrating, especially in winter,” he said. Lolab, according to him, has also been neglected as a tourist destination.

Across Kashmir, there is demand for an elected government that understands the aspirations of the youth. What seems an added motivation for the youth to vote is the way the two MPs from Kashmir, Agha Syed Ruhullah Mehdi and Mian Altaf Ahmed Larvi, raised the issue of abrogation of Article 370 and other matters concerning Kashmir in Parliament.

Even older voters are upbeat. “The first time I voted was in the 1987 assembly polls,” said Mushtaq Ahmed, 60, owner of a department store in the upmarket Balgarden area of Srinagar. “I had voted for the Muslim Mutahida Mahaz (Muslim United Front, or MUF).”

The MUF was a coalition of separatist parties that challenged the dominant National Conference. The polls were rigged in favour of the NC, leading to anger among MUF supporters. A year later, militancy erupted.

“I voted again in the Lok Sabha polls this year because the situation in Jammu and Kashmir has been difficult after the reading down of Article 370. We have been disempowered,” said Ahmed.

In Jammu, too, people feel that the increased powers of the lieutenant governor have undermined democracy. “Democracy must stay alive; otherwise, it doesn’t take much time for a Bangladesh-like situation,” said Ashok Sharma of Jammu. “Democracy is the identity of India, and people can’t be treated like cattle.”

The demand of voters seems clear: a government that listens, understands and acts on their behalf. Whether the first assembly polls under the new political order would be able to deliver it will be closely watched, not just in India but abroad as well.

jammu-and-kashmir-police-director-general-r-r-swain-interview

Sat Aug 24 11:56:35 IST 2024

Interview/ R.R. Swain, Director-General, Jammu and Kashmir Police

ABOUT THREE DOZEN Pakistani terrorists entered the border areas of Samba, Kathua and Hiranagar through tunnels during the three-month-long Lok Sabha elections to carry out attacks in Jammu. It was a new challenge for security agencies because unlike in the Kashmir valley, where indoctrination drives terrorism, it is the lure of money that is feeding the terror ecosystem in Jammu. “The people who are guiding the terrorists are doing it for money,” says R.R. Swain, director-general of Jammu and Kashmir police, in an exclusive interview. He says the police are focusing on village defence committees and setting up border police stations with night vision devices and better technology to defeat terrorism. Excerpts:

Q/ Many soldiers lost their lives in terror attacks in Jammu recently. Is terrorism back in Jammu after long years of peace?

A/ Terror threats in the Jammu region have been there for some time. In October 2021, we witnessed a terror attack in Poonch district, where five soldiers were killed in an ambush. There have also been drone attacks, including those targeting the Air Force facility in Jammu in June 2021. So it is not a recent phenomenon. For almost three years, the adversary has been trying to deflect the pressure [caused by the] tightening of security in the valley. A suicide attack was planned on the eve of the prime minister’s visit for a rural development programme in the Palli village on the outskirts of Jammu in April 2022. Two foreign terrorists attempted a suicide attack but were neutralised. During the exchange of fire, one CISF assistant sub-inspector lost his life and some others were injured. So Jammu has always been on the radar.

Q/ Is there any evidence of Pakistan support to the terror attacks in Jammu?

A/ How can a tunnel be dug from the other side (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) without the knowledge or support of the Pakistani army? Usually the length of these tunnels varies between 350 to 600 metres and it will take at least 30 days for digging up. These activities cannot be hidden from anyone as it requires logistical support and manpower to make it operational. There will be enough movement in the area when the terrorists use it and it cannot be done without the knowledge of the Pakistani state.

Q/ It is said that these terrorists belong to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region and trained alongside the Taliban.

A/ We know for sure that the two suicide attackers who attempted a terror strike days before the prime minister’s visit to Jammu were non-Urdu and non-Sindhi speakers and in all probability spoke Pashto. Pakistan has a sizeable Pashto-speaking population on its side of the Durand Line even though it is the language of the dominant population in the southern and eastern regions of Afghanistan. These are badlands without any control and these people are battle-hardened. They have trained with outfits like Jaish-e-Mohammed and other terrorist outfits who have openly rallied there in March and April, urging the youth to join them and move into India.

Q/ Is Jammu becoming a fertile ground for radicalised youth who take up arms?

A/ There is less indoctrination and fewer ideology-driven terror activities in Jammu than in Kashmir. Rather, it is the lure of money through narcotics and criminal syndicates that is being used for smuggling of drugs, arms and ammunition that is feeding the terror ecosystem. In Jammu, Kathua and Samba, the people who are guiding the terrorists are doing it for money and gradually a fear factor is inculcated in them as they get indexed in Pakistan once their handlers record their videos and identify their families.

Q/ Will the security environment allow the peaceful conduct of the assembly elections?

A/ As far as providing security is concerned, we are absolutely committed to it and we don’t see that as a challenge. We overcame these threats and challenges during the Lok Sabha polls and the outcome has been extremely positive and encouraging, as a large number of people stepped out of their homes to participate in the electoral process.

Q/ Has the alienation of local people over the years led to human intelligence drying up in J&K?

A/ This theory has no evidence. It is a conjecture because human intelligence is still flowing as it used to be in the past few years. The difference between intelligence gathering in the valley and in Jammu is that while most areas in the valley are connected by road or telecommunication facilities, in mountain regions it takes hours to reach from one spot to another and there is no road or mobile connectivity. Therefore, there is a gap between getting information about the movement of terrorists and reacting to it quickly. This gap between active information and action has to be reduced by way of dominating the heights. Unless we occupy the heights and reach quickly, there is bound to be a time lapse. The J&K Police, like all forces deployed in J&K, has its own challenges of manpower, but efforts are being made to occupy the heights in a way that the enemy does not have an advantage.

Q/ How is the J&K Police engaging the local population in far-flung areas?

A/ We have selected villages where we are supporting village defence committees and setting up border police stations, enabling them with night-vision devices, better equipment and technology to create a deterrent. A village defence committee has approximately fifteen persons, mostly young and able-bodied men who are keen to act as volunteers to assist the local police. We are offering them incentives such as permanent jobs in the police force if they demonstrate courage in collecting information and the action against terrorists and also meet the criteria such as age, height and so on. We also offer liberal cash rewards for doing something that can be directly linked to protection of community, installations and public assets.

madhya-pradesh-chief-minister-mohan-yadav-interview

Sat Oct 26 12:38:26 IST 2024

Interview/ Mohan Yadav, chief minister, Madhya Pradesh

MOHAN YADAV’S ELEVATION as chief minister of Madhya Pradesh was the result of years of excellence―in student politics, as chair of the Ujjain Development Authority, then of the state’s tourism board and finally as the state’s higher education minister. Plus, there was his affability which endeared him to even his opponents. Caste equations also favoured him (other backward castes are more than half the population).

But those who know the state’s politics say there is another backstory to Yadav’s rise. He had once helped Union Home Minister Amit Shah in a tricky legal case.

Now, 11 months into the job, Yadav is a man in a measured hurry. Senior journalist Girija Shankar said there was a “maturity” in Yadav’s functioning which belied the assumption that he, as a surprise pick, was unprepared. An example is the setting up of a delimitation commission to re-examine administrative boundaries, in contrast to the often public pleasing announcement of a new district or tehsil.

Born into an impoverished family, Yadav has never been ashamed of his background and never felt limited by it. He would not think twice before helping out at the small savoury shop run by his father. From boyhood, he exhibited great presence of mind and a thirst for knowledge. He holds degrees in science, law and political science and a doctorate in the last; his thesis was on the perception of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government among mediapersons.

Gopal Krishna Sharma, former professor and head of the department of political science, public administration and human rights at Vikram University, Ujjain, tutored Yadav privately as he pursued his political science degree. Sharma told THE WEEK that he always knew that Yadav was made for greater things. “When he gave his first budget speech, I was amazed at how well he sketched out a road map for the state,” he said. “I want him to achieve in five years what people take decades to do. He will carve out a place for himself at the national level.”

If Yadav is burdened by the inevitable comparisons with his predecessor Chouhan, he does not seem frazzled by those. He is a faster decision maker and does not dwell on consultations for long. He holds the party above the government and does not hesitate to go to the party office in the middle of a workday.

Senior journalist Naveen Joshi’s cousin Kushal Bhatt is a friend of Yadav’s. The chief minister saved Bhatt’s life twice in their childhood―he once leapt into a river to save him from drowning and on another occasion, he kept his nerve to save him from electrocution. Said Joshi: “As a student, Yadav was fond of leading [RSS] shakha parades, brandishing swords and lathis. He attended akharas though he never took up wrestling.”

For now, the chief minister’s focus is on inviting investment to the state. He told THE WEEK that the poor, youth, women and farmers are the focus of his government’s schemes, and that he wanted his state to be a model in terms of their welfare. Excerpts from an interview:

Q/ Your selection as chief minister was unexpected. What challenges did you face within and outside the party?

A/ I feel extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to serve the Bharatiya Janata Party. Just as a mother teaches her children discipline, love, and humanity, the BJP has nurtured me and instilled in me a love for our cultural values, grounding my political education in nationalism. My election as chief minister was surprising, but I accepted the party’s decision with respect. For me, this is not merely a challenge but a great opportunity to perform. The BJP in Madhya Pradesh is so disciplined that challenges are minimal. The real challenge lies in consistently performing well for the state’s benefit. Together, we will work towards development and set new goals in every sector.

Q/ What are the most important initiatives that you have launched?

A/ The BJP is committed to public welfare and antyodaya (upliftment of the poorest). Prime Minister Narendra Modi identifies the poor, women, youth, and farmers as the four ‘VIPs’, and our government is dedicated to ensuring their welfare. We are on a journey of social upliftment and spiritual development. Inspired by the prime minister’s vision, we will launch the Youth Empowerment Mission, Poor Welfare Mission, Women Empowerment Mission, and Farmer Welfare Mission on November 1―Madhya Pradesh foundation day.

In the Youth Empowerment Mission, we will focus on education, skill development, employment, entrepreneurship, leadership development, and cultural and social advancement. The Poor Welfare Mission will emphasise self-employment schemes, social security, housing, education, and health care improvement. The Women Empowerment Mission will prioritise initiatives such as girl child education, the Ladli Lakshmi Yojana, the Ladli Behna Yojana and the Lakhpati Didi initiative, as well as empowering women’s self-help groups. The Farmer Welfare Mission aims to enhance agricultural profitability and productivity.

We have made a payment of Rs224 crore to 4,800 families of workers from Hukumchand Mill in Indore, a case that had been pending for over four decades.

In March, we launched the PM Shri Air Ambulance Service to airlift critically ill and accident victims from remote areas for timely medical attention. To improve access to health care, we merged the medical education department with public health and family welfare.

We are also focusing on developing a tourism and spirituality-based economy in Madhya Pradesh. In this context, we launched the PM Shri Tourism Air Service in June, facilitating easier travel for tourists across key destinations. Eight cities―Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Rewa, Ujjain, Gwalior, Singrauli, and Khajuraho―now have air services.

To promote religious tourism, we initiated the PM Shri Religious Tourism Helicopter Service, initially connecting Bhopal-Ujjain Omkareshwar and Indore-Ujjain Omkareshwar. Future expansions will include other significant religious and historical sites.

We are among the leading states in implementing the New Education Policy, and on July 14, we inaugurated Pradhan Mantri Colleges of Excellence in all 55 districts, providing quality, employment-oriented education locally.

We have also taken significant steps to regulate loudspeakers and ban the sale of meat and fish in open areas.

Q/ What plans are in place to increase investment and create job opportunities in Madhya Pradesh?

A/ To achieve this, attracting more industries is essential. We are encouraging industrialists to invest in the state and harness its human capital.

To accelerate industrial development, we have initiated a series of regional industry conclaves, starting from Ujjain, then Jabalpur, Gwalior and Sagar. The recently held conclave at Sagar received investment proposals worth Rs23.18 crore, promising to create 27,000 jobs.

We are systematically working to boost industrial investment through the development of several industrial corridors and clusters. Initiatives like the single-window clearance system and ‘Start Your Business in 30 Days’ aim to provide a red carpet for entrepreneurs.

Our faceless and contactless automated systems offer various capital and input subsidies, along with tax exemptions for entrepreneurs. For major investors, we have arrangements for customised packages.

Micro, small, and medium enterprises play a crucial role in job creation, and we are working to integrate this sector into the global supply chain. We have established several industrial clusters where small and medium entrepreneurs benefit from improved facilities for packaging, transport and branding. Our startup policy promotes a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem, offering assistance to new ventures.

Q/ Recently, you visited Tamil Nadu and sought textile industry investment. What other industries is Madhya Pradesh focusing on?

A/ I am actively meeting investors from other states to inform them about new opportunities. During my visit to Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, a well-known textile hub, I highlighted Madhya Pradesh’s favourable ecosystem for the textile industry. To attract garment industries, we have implemented a special Ready-Made Garment Policy, offering the best financial incentives in the country for the textile and garment sector. In Dhar district, the PM Mitra Park is being established over more than 2,000 acres, with initial investment proposals worth Rs6,900 crore.

At the ‘Invest in MP’ roadshow in Coimbatore, we received investment proposals exceeding Rs3,500 crore. To enhance trade between Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, we have opened an investment facilitation centre in Coimbatore.

Our policymakers have analysed the state’s strengths and identified focus sectors for investment, and we have sector-specific policies to attract investors.

Madhya Pradesh is rich in high quality cotton, boasts strong transportation facilities, and has a robust law and order system, making it a peaceful destination. Centrally located, we are well connected to other states.

We lead in food grain, pulses, oilseed, fruit, and vegetable production, and we rank first in plant-based protein production. We are prepared to harness the immense potential of the food processing sector. The pharmaceutical sector is also flourishing, with a Medical Device Park being established in Ujjain. Additionally, we are working to strengthen the automobile sector and are making rapid progress in renewable energy.

We anticipate significant investments in the IT sector and have laid a strong foundation for attracting investments in logistics, warehousing, defence, aerospace and tourism.

Q/ Why should one invest in Madhya Pradesh?

A/ Madhya Pradesh is a resource-rich state with abundant minerals, forests, water, agriculture, tourism and human resources. We offer several development-friendly and environmentally sustainable destinations.

Our central location in India provides excellent connectivity, with good transportation facilities including rail, road and air. Various expressways traverse the state’s industrial corridors.

Madhya Pradesh offers essential resources for industries, including land, water and electricity. We have a land bank of over 1,25,000 acres available for industries and have reserved 1,000 million cubic metres of water specifically for industrial use. As a power-surplus state with rich heritage, we provide every possible facility to investors.

With over 320 industrial areas developed across different regions, our government has clear policies for establishing industries.

Madhya Pradesh is progressing with a growth rate of 9.37 per cent, ranking among the fastest-growing states in the country. We are also among the leaders in the ease of doing business index.

Q/ What are the main objectives of the investors meet on February 7 and 8?

A/ Our goal is to contribute significantly to achieving the national objective of a $5 trillion economy.

We are actively preparing for the Global Investors Summit and are organising regional industry conclaves across the state. During conclaves in Ujjain, Jabalpur, Gwalior and Sagar, I discussed investment opportunities with local and out-of-state industrialists and invited them to the summit.

We are also conducting industry roadshows in other states. Successful roadshows have been held in Mumbai, Coimbatore, Bengaluru and Kolkata, where we engaged with leaders of several national and multinational companies, inviting them to invest in Madhya Pradesh. Through these four industry shows and the series of regional industry conclaves, we have received investment proposals exceeding Rs2.45 lakh crore. This will generate 3.71 lakh jobs.

Q/ Are you concentrating on foreign investment? Which sectors are priorities?

A/ Absolutely. We have developed an investment roadmap for the state and are making rapid progress.

Recently, I met with a delegation from Marqaba ECDS, a joint venture between South Korea and India. In the first phase, the company has proposed investments of Rs2,000 crore across approximately 20 projects, which will create over 25,000 job opportunities. We will continue to monitor such ventures in the future.

the-outcome-of-the-next-election-in-canada-will-hold-the-key-to-a-thaw-in-its-ties-with-india

Sat Oct 26 11:44:16 IST 2024

The frosty India-Canada ties await a spring. And the next spring in Canada may bring hope for India. The Canadian government is expected to table its budget in April, and there are indications that it may turn out to be the cruellest month for the minority government of Justin Trudeau. That’s because the Conservatives are unlikely to support it, and unless the Liberal Party gets support from at least one or two opposition parties, it can be forced into an election. And, the outcome of the next election will hold the key to a thaw in India-Canada ties.

At the moment, various poll ratings indicate a gap of over 20 per cent in favour of the Conservative Party; some show a 15 per cent to 24 per cent gap. The local people admit that the ruling party seems to be at an almost unrecoverable point. And this has happened over just a few weeks.

While Trudeau was not very popular before the pandemic, his popularity got a boost during Covid-19, say local residents. “Unless something very dramatic happens, it is unlikely that Trudeau will win again,” says Jonathan Berkshire Miller, director of foreign affairs, national security and defence at Macdonald-Laurier Institute, an Ottawa-based think tank. “In any case, the maximum period for the polls to take place will be less than a year. In all likelihood, it will be October. So, I think it is a matter of when, not if.”

For the next government in Canada, there will be an opportunity for a new start. It will be challenging though. The Conservatives will want to engage and partner with India on strategic and economic issues, but Trudeau’s public allegations against India have coloured the atmosphere, making it difficult for the new government to follow a pro-India foreign policy. “I suspect while we will see less antagonism, less public comments, it will still be very quiet diplomacy in the initial stages,” says Miller.

Miller admits that the allegations of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police accusing Indian diplomats and consular officials of being complicit in violence, intimidation and murders on its soil are bizarre. “Even more strange is that our federal police came out with a press conference,” he says. “Normally, law enforcement professionals don’t get involved in politics. Yet, what is surprising is that we still have an active investigation. I am not sure if it is the most responsible thing to do.”

That sentiment is echoed in India, too, raising a lot of questions about the behaviour of the RCMP. Does a policing agency like the RCMP act purely on intelligence? If investigation of crimes and criminal networks is its mandate, why has it not been a bit more descriptive about organised crime in Canada? Thirdly, if evidence collection is at the heart of the ongoing probe in the Hardeep Singh Nijjar murder case, why has Canada not questioned the close associates of Lawrence Bishnoi gang, named by the RCMP recently as having links with “Indian agents”?

New Delhi has shared dossiers with evidence of dozens of accused in crime and terror cases in India hiding in Canada, with case details, addresses, links and passport numbers and the year they fled to Canada. “International procedures demand that the known associates of absconding criminals are at least questioned by the host country,” says Atul Kulkarni, former special director general of National Investigation Agency.

But Ottawa seems to have totally ignored the part of the story where some Khalistan supporters have serious criminal records and whose presence is a threat to domestic security, says an Indian security official. Instead, the presence of Indian diplomats as ‘persons of interest’ in the Nijjar murder case is being cited as a threat, which is preposterous, he adds.

To top it all, while investigations in Canada are still underway, there are calls for sanctions against India. These are largely from the minority NDP party, which is very critical of the Indian government. “I don’t think the Liberal government is that careless. Even though it is careless in other things, it would not be taking such a step. I would imagine that would be very difficult for them to do,” says Miller.

But Trudeau appears to be swamped by political compulsions to remain in power. He testified at the foreign interference inquiry commission recently. The timing is interesting because it happened just a couple of days after the second round of accusations naming Indian diplomats. The Trudeau government had set up an inquiry commission in 2023 to probe allegations of foreign interference in the 2019 and 2021 elections in Canada.

“The foreign interference commission has said many times that China is by far the largest foreign interference actor here,” says Miller. “I think most people who are not even geopolitical experts understand that China is a global adversary in many ways.”

The Canadian intelligence brass is alert to threats from foreign interference operations as the country faced an aggressive onslaught in the last few years. “To some extent, it is a consequence of the fact that we are largely a country of immigrants, coupled with the fact that some countries see their former citizens as either a threat or an opportunity,” explains Ward Elcock, former director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

But Miller cautions against putting India in the same bracket as China and other adversaries. Chinese interference has different faces in Canada. Its closeness to certain private businesses with political clout may not hold much sway over the voters, but there is worry about their influence on the outcome. There have also been instances of intimidation against members of parliament or individuals who might take positions that are against Chinese interests, like Taiwan or the genocide in Xinjiang, says Miller.

In the melee of allegations against the Indian High Commissioner and six diplomats who were brought home by New Delhi, Canadians seem to have missed the point of whether China was actively trying to position its candidates in the next elections. A glaring example is the comparatively quiet exit of a Chinese diplomat in Toronto, who was declared persona non grata on May 9, 2023. At the time, Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly said her country won’t tolerate any interference in its internal affairs. Beijing reacted by expelling the Canadian consul. It is believed that the Chinese diplomat’s expulsion happened after many attempts to downplay the matter.

“The point is that Canada is bending over backwards with China as we don’t want to provoke them,” says Miller. “Imagine what would happen if Canada sent home the Chinese ambassador and six Chinese diplomats. It is unthinkable. So, I think we have to recognise the double standard here.”

Mending relations that have gone sour is no easy task. Canadian diplomats admit that the worst scenario would be if New Delhi were to just cut off diplomatic ties. That would be very difficult for even the next government in Ottawa to resume. Even now with the high commissioner going back to New Delhi, the thinning of diplomatic presence is high on the cards. There are attempts being made by the Canadians for a track II dialogue if direct talks are not possible. Elcock admits that after the position adopted by India since the meeting between Canadian and Indian officials in Singapore, it appears that short-term measures may not help much.

New Delhi has left no stone unturned to stress on the terror-criminal nexus of pro-Khalistan gangs, like Nijjar’s and Bishnoi’s, operating from Canada to target Indian states. Kulkarni said Bishnoi’s gang has terrorised many north Indian states, which is why the NIA was asked to probe and dismantle it.

While intelligence agencies on both sides may not see eye to eye at the moment, civil society voices want the political leadership to at least keep the windows of basic diplomacy open. The second step can be relaxation of movement of people and goods since India and Canada still have a massively significant people-to-people ties. Ottawa needs to keep the interest of the Indian Canadians and students in mind by not letting them fall prey to politics and ensuring the visas keep flowing. While there may not be any movement on trade agreements at the moment, the businesses and private sector should not feel punished. There is also a thinking within Canadian circles of a dialogue between the media on both sides to explain the domestic dynamics to each other to avoid assumptions in reports.

“This is especially important for Canada, which is recently taking interest in the Indo-Pacific,” says Miller. “If we want to be even remotely relevant in this part of the world, having an injurious relationship with India is not going to help.”

There may be no short-term solutions, as Elcock warns, but Canadians may still be ready to look at their relationship with Indians in the long term.

canadian-security-intelligence-service-former-director-ward-elcock-interview

Sat Oct 26 11:36:41 IST 2024

Interview/ Ward Elcock, former director, Canadian Security Intelligence Service

THERE IS CONCERN among the highest security circles in Canada about ties with India worsening as trials pursuant to the charges laid against Indians are expected to begin soon. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Ward Elcock, former director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), says there are a number of countries that have been identified as sources of foreign interference or have carried out interference operations in Canada over the years. China is generally seen as the major offender, but India has also been an offender. Given this, Elcock believes that there are no short-term steps to improve the relationship. Excerpts:

Q/ What short-term steps can be taken to bring the India-Canada relationship back on track?

A/ Clearly, the relationship is at an all-time low and, to be frank, it is hard to see a resolution of the issues that would allow a rebuilding of the relationship any time in the near future. Indeed, it is likely that the situation will worsen, as trials springing from the charges that have been laid begin to take place. Given that the RCMP investigations have already identified Indian diplomats as ‘persons of interest’, it seems likely that evidence will be produced in those trials, which will hardly improve the relationship. The position adopted by India since the meeting between Canadian and Indian officials in Singapore would suggest that there are no short-term steps that could be taken to improve the relationship.

Q/ Don’t you think the RCMP statements linking Indian agents to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang were avoidable?

A/ The action taken by the RCMP was unusual in a normal criminal investigation. In the context in which it was taken, however, it appears to have been unavoidable. In recent months, the RCMP have warned a number of individuals in Canada about threats to their security. Given that the RCMP investigation appears to have produced evidence of the involvement of Indian diplomats as an integral, if not the directing, element of those threats, public identification of that element appears to have been seen as a way to reduce or eliminate those threats.

Q/ How big is Canada’s concern about Indian interference? Several reports have shown China as the biggest threat as far as foreign interference is concerned.

A/ There are a number of countries that have been identified as sources of foreign interference or have carried out interference operations in Canada over the years. To some extent, that is a consequence of the fact that we are largely a country of immigrants, coupled with the fact that some countries see their former citizens as either a threat or an opportunity. While this is not a new issue, it has become a more pressing concern as a number of countries have become more aggressive in recent years. China is generally seen as the major offender, but India has also been an offender. The latest charges are, however, a very serious escalation including, apparently, accusations of involvement in more than one homicide, or attempted homicide, among other crimes.

Q/ International protocol demands that if a country provides information on wanted criminals, the host country acts on that. Lawrence Bishnoi’s brother Anmol and his associates like Goldy Brar are in Canada. Shouldn’t they be questioned?

A/ I am not in a position to comment on who the RCMP may, or may not, have interviewed in the course of their investigation. Nor am I aware of the names of those who have been charged beyond the four individuals who are accused in the murder of Mr. Nijjar, as they have been publicly identified and are now in jail awaiting trial. I understand that charges are either pending or have been laid in a number of other cases (perhaps as many as 20 or more, although in some cases there may be multiple charges against one individual), but I am not aware of the identities of the individuals. I think it is fair to say, however, that the RCMP have, up to this point, conducted a fairly successful and widespread investigation in a relatively shorter period of time than I would have expected in such a case.

Q/ Isn’t there a need for law enforcement agencies in India and Canada to share information on transnational criminal networks?

A/ Of course, they should cooperate and share information wherever possible. In that context, I understand, from published reports, that India has made a number of extradition requests to Canada. While I do not have any access to information related to those requests, beyond those reports, I would note that the public safety minister has said on a number of occasions that the extradition requests that India has made did not meet the test of Canadian law. I have no access to information on those requests but I would make the comment that, in dealing with similar issues, when I was the CSIS director, it was not unusual for information provided by some Indian agencies to be insufficient for the purpose for which it was offered. Under Canadian law, vocal, even enthusiastic support, for an independent Khalistan is not an offence, as is the same with respect to such support for Quebec independence. While I support neither concept, absent sufficient evidence of participation in terrorist activities, or other crimes, support for those concepts is not a crime.

Q/ Has Canada seen any case where senior diplomats have come under the scanner? Why do you think there was a need to withdraw, as India claims, the high commissioner?

A/ There have been cases where Canadian diplomats have been expelled, but that expulsion has usually been in response to some action Canada has taken. As to the second part, the RCMP press conference made it fairly clear that the high commissioner was one of the six diplomats who had been identified as a ‘person of interest’ in the course of the RCMP investigation as a consequence of their association with criminal activities. I have seen no reports that suggest that the high commissioner was expelled simply because he was, by virtue of his office, the senior official in the high commission.

Q/ Do you think national security laws in Canada need to define terrorism?

A/ This is a bit of a ‘red herring’, to be frank. There is no definition of terrorism in the CSIS Act, but the CSIS is perfectly able to target terrorist organisations and activities. Similarly, the Criminal Code does contain provisions that more than adequately deal with terrorism.

officials-who-have-interrogated-lawrence-bishnoi-feel-he-has-bitten-off-more-than-he-can-chew

Sat Oct 26 11:33:04 IST 2024

LAWRENCE BISHNOI HAS a disciplined routine. He fasts every Tuesday, enjoys simple meals like bajre ki roti and gur, and practises certain rituals to strengthen his focus on an austere life. None of these practices, however, will help him set foot outside the Sabarmati jail in Gujarat.

The 31-year-old is the gangster with the maximum number of cases in India―he has been named in 84 FIRs in states including Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi and Haryana. Interestingly, a lot of these charges have come during his nine years in jail. The son of a constable in the Haryana Police, Lawrence picked up the gun at 17. He dreamt of becoming a dreaded gangster―which he did―but little did he think that he would trigger a diplomatic row between two countries. As Canada investigates the Bishnoi gang’s alleged links to “Indian agents”, officials who have interrogated him feel he has bitten off more than he can chew. “If a fair investigation is undertaken by Canada and the US, it will require the questioning of Bishnoi’s associates on their soil,” said a senior security officer.

On top of the list is his brother Anmol, wanted in nearly a dozen cases for crimes including murder, looting and extortion. When Anmol was in jail in Rajasthan, Lawrence prepared the ground for his brother to flee the country. Investigators revealed that he ensured Anmol stayed in jail until his fake passport, which would take him to the US via Africa, was ready.

In 2022, Anmol reached the US; friends such as Goldy Brar were living comfortably next door in Canada. Indian agencies have shared with the Canadian government details of the flight Brar took to Canada in 2017.

Likewise, many vulnerable youth from Punjab―aided by criminal gangs including that of Hardeep Singh Nijjar―found their way to Canada on fake passports. Once there, personal ambitions and competition to be the bigger gang resulted in the drawing of guns.

The criminal networks soon became a terror nexus with Nijjar heading the node of Khalistani extremism. His foot soldiers started challenging the Bishnoi gang. Nijjar had links to Lakhbir Singh Rode, who was running the banned Khalistan Liberation Force in Pakistan. According to investigators, Nijjar’s liaison with criminal gangs lent firepower to the pro-Khalistan movement, which was fast losing support in Punjab. Lawrence’s own empire―which has 700 operatives, of which 300 are from his home state of Punjab―also lent muscle to the pro-Khalistan cause.

“In the 1970s or 1980s, pro-Khalistan supporters would reject criminal elements,” says Gurmeet Chauhan, assistant inspector general, anti-gangster task force, Punjab Police. “But the fast-growing drug nexus, and the land, mining and real estate mafia not only increased gangsterism in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi, but also made for a lucrative network for the pro-Khalistan movement.”

The collaboration of the crime and terror networks coincided with the proliferation of technology. Soon, Lawrence realised that jail was no obstacle to his empire-building exercise. He has managed to use mobile phones in at least five jails in Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and Gujarat. Collusion with jail authorities apart, the populated surroundings of the jails made it easy for phones to be smuggled in using other inmates and local help, who would throw the phones over the boundary walls. According to authorities, when he was in Tihar Jail, Lawrence used voice over IP calls―which use the internet―to communicate with his associates outside.

In less than a decade, the criminal networks, flush with crores of rupees, set up “control centres” in several countries in South America, Spain, Canada and Australia, where they started routing calls for extortion, exchange of information, hatching conspiracies and issuing threats. The National Investigation Agency found that these foreign lands gave them secrecy, immunity from the Indian law and escape from surveillance. Unsurprisingly, Lawrence’s network came in contact with pro-Khalistan terror groups being run from Pakistan, Canada and Europe, which were looking for support. “The overlap was natural,” said an investigator. “Soon, we found that the pro-Khalistan threats, terror attacks and targeted killings were carried out using the same control centres.” This became the basis on which the NIA booked criminals like Lawrence, Brar and others under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

“The NIA found that Bishnoi’s gang operated in collaboration with Khalistani extremists based in India and abroad,” said Atul Kulkarni, former NIA special director general. “He was charge-sheeted along with his associates in India and outside.” It is these charge-sheets―running into thousands of pages and involving cases registered in small police stations across towns―which Canadian authorities need to scan through patiently to understand the real story of Nijjar, the Bishnoi gang and the India connect.

WANTED BY INDIA

Khalistani operatives against whom Indian agencies have established evidence of involvement in terrorist activities. Dossiers shared with Canada

SANDEEP SINGH SIDHU

Affiliation: International Sikh Youth Federation

Superintendent in Canada Border Service Agency

Linked to ISI and accused of murder

ARSHDEEP SINGH GILL

Affiliation: Khalistan Tiger Force

Alias Arsh Dalla; involved in murders (has taken credit for at least one) and extortion

Designated terrorist; expert in radicalising youth

SATINDERJIT SINGH

Affiliation: Lawrence Bishnoi gang

Alias Goldy Brar; involved in murder, extortion and weapons and logistics support

Has taken credit for at least three murders

CHARANJIT SINGH

Affiliation: Khalistan Tiger Force

Alias Rinku Randhawa; 25+ cases, including murder

Involved in forming a group of radicals in Punjab and helping criminals flee India

RAMANDEEP SINGH

Affiliation: Jaipal Bhullar gang

Alias Raman Judge;10 cases, including murder

Involved in radicalising youth and sending them to kill people

LAKHBIR SINGH

Affiliation: Associate of Pak-based Harwinder Singh alias Rinda (Babbar Khalsa International)

Alias Landa; 30+ cases, including murder. Has taken credit for at least two murders

Instrumental in two RPG attacks on Punjab Police

GURPINDER SINGH

Affiliation: Khalistan Tiger Force

Alias Baba Dalla; 8 cases, including murder

Threatened to kill a person accused of sacrilege, who was later killed

TEXT: NAMRATA BIJI AHUJA

baba-siddique-murder-lawrence-bishnoi-gang-salman-khan

Sat Oct 19 12:51:21 IST 2024

THE MURDER OF former minister and Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar) leader Baba Ziauddin Siddique, known popularly as Baba Siddique, has shocked not just the political establishment and movie stars he was associated with, but also the common people of Mumbai as such a gangland operation with a high-profile target belonged to a bygone era of underworld violence.

Siddique, 66, was gunned down on the night of Dussehra (October 12) outside the Bandra East office of his legislator son Zeeshan. As people were bursting firecrackers, three assailants emerged from the crowd, neutralised the three-time former MLA’s personal security officer and opened fire from close range.

The news about the attack stunned political and cinema circles as Siddique was well liked by the film industry. Two of the three assailants―Gurmail Singh and Dharmaraj Kashyap―were arrested, while the third, Shivkumar Gautam, managed to escape in the confusion after the shooting.

The police also arrested Pravin Lonkar, brother of Shubham Lonkar, who claimed responsibility for the murder on social media. (Shubham was questioned by the police earlier in a case pertaining to the firing outside actor Salman Khan’s residence.) A case has been registered against him under the Arms Act. According to reports, the police are probing angles of business rivalry, role of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang (Shubham is said to be associated with the gang) and a possible dispute over a slum rehabilitation project as possible motives behind the killing.

Siddique’s political career started with the Congress, which he joined as a teenager. He rose quickly through the ranks, becoming a legislator in 1999. He served as a minister in the Vilasrao Deshmukh-led government from 2004 to 2008. Earlier this year, he joined the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP and was seen as a bridge between the party and the Muslim minority in Mumbai. A newspaper speculated that Siddique’s son Zeeshan, who is with the Congress, was also a target, but he was not present when the assailants struck.

Mumbai has a history of political assassinations, dating back to the murder of CPI(M) legislator Krishna Desai, committed allegedly by the Shiv Sainiks in June 1970. In 1991, Shiv Sena legislator Vitthal Chavan was killed by the underworld. Chavan’s death was followed by the murder of Ramdas Nayak, head of the Mumbai BJP and a legislator from Bandra West, in 1994. Nayak was allegedly killed by the Dawood Ibrahim gang. After Nayak, it was the turn of Dr Datta Samant, the prominent trade union leader, who was shot dead in 1997, allegedly by the Chhota Rajan gang.

At the time of filing this report, police teams are looking for Shubham, Shivkumar and Mohammad Zeeshan Akhtar, another accused in the case. The Lonkars are suspected to be the masterminds behind the attack. The police suspect the role of the Bishnoi gang because of Siddique’s proximity to Salman Khan who has received threats from the gang. Siddique could have been targeted also because of his alleged contacts in the Dawood Ibrahim network.

According to the police, the conspiracy was hatched in Pune where the Lonkars are based. Shivkumar and Kashyap were working in a scrap shop in Pune, close to a dairy owned by the Lonkars. The brothers provided logistics and money for the shooters.

Shivkumar first moved to Mumbai and rented a flat in Kurla, a central Mumbai suburb. He then brought Kashyap and Gurmail from Haryana. They were paid Rs50,000 each, and were given a bike to recce the area near Siddique’s home and office in Bandra. Akhtar, who is said to have a criminal record, was also in touch with the trio. On the night of the shooting, Shivkumar took position opposite Siddique and opened fire, while Kashyap and Gurmail stood behind him. Gurmail also had a canister of pepper spray with him.

Siddique’s murder has sparked a political war, with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi alleging that the murder of a ruling party leader showed the total collapse of law and order. It asked Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his two deputies―Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar―to resign. Shinde called the murder unfortunate and claimed that the assailants were from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. “They will not be spared no matter who they are, be it the Bishnoi gang or the underworld gang,”he said. “Those who are receiving threats, their safety is the state government’s responsibility and it will fulfil its responsibility.”

ratan-tata-life-lessons-gurcharan-das

Sat Oct 19 12:39:11 IST 2024

Ratan Tata ran a hundred-billion-dollar empire, but he never appeared on any billionaires list. This anomaly is explained by Tata Group’s unique structure where wealth is held by charitable trusts that reinvest the group’s profits in philanthropic activities―in education, health care and human welfare. In Ratan’s case, however, there is also a symbolic significance in the incongruity: he was not only a remarkably self-effacing, low-key individual but also he had a billionaire’s heart. His life’s lesson was simply that the real measure of success lies in serving society. He was universally respected because he was the conscience keeper of India Inc. It explains the spontaneous outpouring of grief, respect and admiration across India when he passed away on October 9.

Sometime in the late 1980s, I was privileged to be invited to join the board of one of the Tata companies. At a meeting in Bombay House one morning, the chairman, Freddie Mehta, invited a young man, whom he affectionately called ‘Ratan’. I didn’t know the stranger, but I remember him for his modest, shy manner. Nothing about him proclaimed that he was a mighty ‘Tata’. Fifteen minutes into the meeting, a dog entered the board room and without any fuss it sat down at Ratan’s feet. The broadminded board acted as though it was the most natural thing in the world. Later, I learned that the four-legged guest was one of the stray dogs that Ratan had picked up outside Bombay House a few days earlier and given temporary shelter in his office.

I next heard about Ratan Tata in 1991. He had just taken over from J.R.D. Tata as the head of the group. My first reaction was ‘nepotism’. The English word comes from the Latin, ‘nepot’, meaning ‘nephew’, and it is related to the Sanskrit word ‘napāt’. Ratan was J.R.D.’s nephew. My uncharitable reaction was natural. Ratan had little to show for his business life―only a failed venture, National Radio and Electronics (NELCO). Even his entry into business had been an accident. He had gone to Cornell University where he studied architecture. After that he had begun work as an architect, and had seriously thought of staying on in the US. But his ailing grandmother (who had raised him) brought him back to India two years later.

Fate had placed Ratan at the right place at the right time. Prime Minister Narasimha Rao had just opened the economy to the world and Indian business had been unshackled after two generations of ‘license, quota, inspector raj’. It was a time of opportunity. Before seizing it, however, Ratan had to first fix his own house. J.R.D. had left a loose federation of companies, and his successor worried that the group might fall apart because three powerful satraps were running three large companies as their personal fiefdoms―Russi Mody at Tata Steel, Darbari Seth at Tata Chemicals and Ajit Kerkar at Indian Hotels.

All three were extremely competent, but they had larger-than-life personas and they were feared. Even J.R.D. was in awe of the satraps. Thus began a battle in which the odds were stacked against Ratan. But he found his weapon and he won. Employing a little-known rule of retirement age, he eased them out. The world discovered that Ratan had an iron fist in a velvet glove. It turned out to be the right move as the Tata group began to knit itself together. There is a lesson here for India Inc. Just as ‘no one is above the law’ in a liberal democracy, ‘no one is bigger than the company’ in business. Both democracies and companies are best run by modest persons.

Next is the story of Ratan Tata the visionary, who went on to transform the Tata Group into a global name. He bought the UK’s Tetley Tea, the British steelmaker Corus and Jaguar-Land Rover from Ford Motor Company to become the largest investor in Britain. Corus, however, turned into a financial disaster after the global financial crisis. Domestically, after selling many businesses―including cement, textiles, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals―Tata executed audacious new moves: forays into telecom, retail and finance; the first indigenous car, Indica, and the cheapest, Nano. The Nano failed because of production and marketing problems. A car for Rs1 lakh might be the cheapest in the world but an aspiring family doesn’t want to be seen driving it.

By the time Tata stepped down in 2012, the group’s turnover had grown 25 times from $4 billion in 1991 to over $100 billion. Luckily, Tata Consultancy Services had become the biggest IT services company in Asia, accounting for 90 per cent of group profits. Yielding $4 billion in dividends a year, it became the group’s reliable cash cow.

Sadly, his tenure ended with a board room battle. Cyrus Mistry, whose family was the largest individual shareholder in the conglomerate, became his successor. But it didn’t work out, and Ratan ousted Mistry. But Mistry did not go quietly. He sued the Tata Group, alleging nepotism, ignoring minority shareholders and tolerating misdeeds. Initially, the courts ruled in Mistry’s favour, but the Supreme Court finally affirmed the legality of his dismissal.

The final lesson from Ratan Tata’s life relates to succession. An outstanding professional, N. Chandrasekaran, was appointed CEO in 2017 to manage the group. Ratan Tata remained the head of Tata Trusts, the de facto owner of the business. The family finally separated ownership and management, giving up running the business. This is an important lesson for India Inc where too many incompetent sons replace fathers. Too many Indian companies suffer from family fights. Indian business will only mature when founders of companies realise they must give up day-to-day control, and bring in the best person from the outside to run the company. It is common sense―a son may be competent, but he is unlikely to be best candidate in the world. The argument that a professional manager cannot be a risk-taker like a family member doesn’t hold. It only means that you haven’t selected the right CEO.

Writer was CEO of Procter & Gamble India and managing director of Procter & Gamble Worldwide (Strategic Planning)

tata-group-former-brand-custodian-mukund-rajan-interview

Sat Oct 19 12:34:39 IST 2024

Interview/ Mukund Rajan, former brand custodian, Tata Group

THE FIRST BRAND custodian of Tata Group, Mukund Rajan served on the board of various Tata companies. He joined the group in 1995 and closely worked with successive group chairmen before leaving in 2018 to become an entrepreneur. Excerpts from an interaction:

Q/ When Ratan Tata took charge, there were a lot of concerns about how he could fit into the shoes of J.R.D. Tata. But he succeeded in many ways. How did he do it?

A/ Establishing himself as a rightful successor to J.R.D. Tata, probably, was achieved by the end of the 1990s. And that’s the time also when his board, which he inherited from J.R.D. and which had many octogenarians on it, agreed to accept a new retirement policy. And one by one, they all stepped down. Famous names like Nani Palkhivala, F.C. Kohli, Shahrukh Sabhawala, A.H. Tobaccowala, all of those people started stepping down from the board of Tata Sons. It was a kind of reflection of the fact that they felt that their time was up, their duty to J.R.D. and Tata was over, and that Ratan Tata had proven to be an effective leader.

There were several major interventions that ensured Tata came out into the 2000s looking like a strong group. One was this whole idea of unification. Ratan Tata felt that individual companies had gone too far out in their own independent direction. There was a sense that some of these companies were doing their own thing without reference to the group centre. There wasn’t a sense of united purpose or a joint commitment that everyone bought into with a common vision of the future.

Tata Sons created a group centre which had the capability to help the group companies chart their direction. In the process of centralisation, the unification of the group which took place was catalysed by things like a common logo which every Tata company had to use, a common brand architecture identifying which companies could call themselves ‘a Tata company’ and the basis on which they could do that, the requirement that every company had to sign a Brand Equity and Business Promotion Agreement with Tata Sons which was the owner of the Tata brand, and so on. A Tata Code of Conduct created for the first time in 1998 ensured that companies didn’t go haywire in terms of poor governance or poor ethics.

Linked to all of that was this big focus on quality improvement. Ratan Tata was clear that quality improvement had to be a major thrust, and where required investments in technology had to be made towards that end. The Tata Business Excellence Model was very important in pushing group companies to measure themselves against the competition, not just in India but also overseas, and then figure out ways in which they could achieve those benchmarks.

On the strength of all of these interventions in the 1990s followed the push for global growth. One of the big motivations for this came from the successful acquisition of Tetley by Tata Tea in 2000. This was a leveraged buyout, the biggest one in Indian corporate history till then.

And Tatas were able to not only finance it, but successfully run it in partnership with much of the old team that used to run Tetley. That gave a fair amount of confidence that if one Tata company can do this, many others can take their lessons and do the same.

Q/ How is this legacy that Ratan Tata has left behind going to drive Tata Group in the future?

A/ It is up to each generation of leadership to build on the best that the previous generation left them. And either investigate new opportunities or find even better ways of doing things going forward. So I would expect that some of the basics that were put in place, unification of the group, the investment in the brand all over the world, the focus on ethics so that stakeholders maintain their trust in the brand, all of those are sustained. The group should never go easy on any of those issues or become complacent.

In terms of how you think about the future, with each few years something new becomes a disruption. In the last decade and a bit, digitalisation has been a major disruption. When Ratan Tata was in the chair, globalisation was another disruptor, which was part of the reason he said all our companies needed to have an international strand to their strategy.

These days, a lot of people talk about AI and automation and what that can do to disrupt industries, including Tata’s largest breadwinner at the moment, TCS, where you have a large number of people doing things like coding. What happens if coding becomes something that can be automated and AI can do it for you? Will that shift the power balance to other parts of the world that are very strong in AI? How strong is your innovation engine and your ability across industries to keep up with the rest of the world while using these new tools that are becoming available? Those would be the things that would be giving sleepless nights to Chandrasekaran and his team.

Q/ What are your thoughts on the appointment of Noel Tata as the chairman of Tata Trusts?

A/ I haven’t worked closely with him and it wouldn’t be fair for me to comment. Noel has the surname, therefore there will be the pressure of expectation. He has to think about a group in which the Tata Trusts are the largest shareholder.

But the trusts also have a public welfare mandate. And therefore he has to think about the people of India. But the group is also international, therefore he has to think about communities in other parts of the world.

Q/ Could you talk a bit on the lighter side of Ratan Tata?

A/ He had a good sense of humour and a loud laugh. He was happy to laugh at jokes, at himself, at the sillier side of things. Even during important meetings, he could break the tension with something like that. His doodles and caricatures during board meetings were ways to deal with tedious board meetings. Some of them were presented to colleagues. In high-pressure jobs, you need to be able to pierce the tension in a room with humour. He had that.

tata-group-will-keep-benefitting-from-the-many-systems-that-ratan-tata-built

Sat Oct 19 12:31:22 IST 2024

TATA MOTORS WILL launch Avinya, its new premium electric vehicle platform, next year. The company is already the largest electric car maker in India, with a market share of around 70 per cent, and Avinya is expected to cement this position. Ratan Tata was not directly involved in the development of the platform and will not see a car made on it, but he was probably the biggest reason it happened, as Avinya is based on Jaguar Land Rover’s electrified modular architecture.

Tata acquired the marquee British car brands in 2008. Till then a maker of small mass-market cars, Tata Motors was instantly elevated to the league of Mercedes-Benz, BMW and the likes. More importantly, it brought access to technology, something that Tata Motors keeps benefitting from.

Many had questioned Tata’s buyout of JLR at the time, given it was loss-making and put a huge debt burden on Tata Motors. But JLR turned around soon and now contributes a major chunk of the profits of Tata Motors. “Ratan was a leader of vision and integrity and proved to be an excellent steward of Jaguar and Land Rover,” said Bill Ford, chairman of Ford Motor Company which sold JLR to Tata, in his tribute. Ratan Tata was 86 when he died on October 9 in Mumbai.

He was 53 when he was appointed chairman of Tata group in 1991, succeeding the charismatic J.R.D. Tata. Questions were raised, as he seemed too inexperienced to take on the powerful satraps who ran big Tata companies like they owned them. But Ratan turned out to be more than a match for them.

It was also the time the Indian economy was opening up to the world, which was both a challenge and an opportunity for Tata. “The way you navigated that environment, you could either be toast, which was what happened to many of the very large Indian names that used to be market leaders in the 1980s, or you could come into your own and become even bigger and stronger, which is what happened to Tata,” said Mukund Rajan, former brand custodian of Tata Group.

The 1990s marked a period when Tata consolidated the group and gave it a structure, which is probably the biggest reason it is still the flag-bearer of India Inc. Then his many acquisitions well and truly marked the arrival of the group on the world stage, and they continue to play a pivotal role in the conglomerate’s journey into the future.

Ratan Tata’s first acquisition was Tetley in 2000―it was the second largest tea brand globally at that time. That was followed by the acquisition of several other tea and coffee companies in Europe and the US. In 2004, Tata acquired the commercial vehicle section of the the Korean automaker Daewoo. Tata Steel acquired Anglo-Dutch steel maker Corus in 2007. JLR followed in 2008.

“When the economic history of modern India is written, even one full volume will not suffice to describe Ratan Tata’s phenomenal achievements,” said Shaktikanta Das, governor of the Reserve Bank of India, in his tribute.

The challenges and opportunities before Tata Group are way different from those Ratan had when he took over. “These days, a lot of people talk about AI and automation and what that can do to disrupt industries, including Tata’s largest breadwinner at the moment, TCS, where you have a large number of people doing things like coding,” said Rajan.

Tata Trusts swiftly appointed Ratan’s half brother Noel Tata as his successor. Noel played an instrumental role in the success of Tata Group’s retail arm Trent and its various ventures like department stores Westside and fast fashion brand Zudio. He has also been a trustee on the board of Sir Ratan Tata Trust since 2019 and Dorabji Tata Trust since 2022. His appointment signals continuity. “Noel is well-educated, accomplished as a business builder, humble as a person, and fresh with new ideas,” said R. Gopalakrishnan, former board member of Tata Sons. “That is a great recipe for taking the trusts forward.”

However, it will not be an easy ride for Noel. “In the coming years, one of his key tasks will be to ensure that the trust continues to expand its impact, both in India and globally, while addressing emerging challenges such as climate change, social inequality, and digital transformation,” said corporate and legal adviser Akshat Khetan. Managing the internal expectations of the trust’s stakeholders, while adapting to external pressures in this competitive and globalised environment will be crucial to his success, he said.

Noel is married to Aloo Mistry, daughter of Pallonji Mistry. Her brother Shapoorji Mistry now runs the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, which owns around 18 per cent share in Tata Sons.

Noel and Aloo have three children―Leah, Maya and Neville. All of them are associated with Tata Sons in various roles. Leah has been with Indian Hotels, Maya works at Tata Digital and Neville leads Trent’s supermarket chain Star Bazaar.

tata-sons-former-board-member-r-gopalakrishnan-interview

Sat Oct 19 12:28:51 IST 2024

Interview/ R. Gopalakrishnan, former board member, Tata Sons

R. GOPALAKRISHNAN, former board member of Tata Sons, worked closely with Ratan Tata and has many memories of his leadership qualities, humility and simplicity. In an exclusive interaction, he talks about the legacy Tata leaves behind and the group’s future under Noel Tata.

Q/ How did Ratan Tata shape Tata Group?

A/ Ratan Tata shaped the group in many strategic ways. At a time when centrifugal forces threatened the unity of the group, he held the companies together. He implemented an ongoing exercise to continue the long-standing philosophy of community centricity measures―through Brand Equity and Brand Promotion Scheme, through Tata Code of Conduct, through Tata Business Excellence Model, and through Tata Brand harmonisation. He set the group’s ambitions out-of-the-ordinary through global acquisitions, through highly innovative ideas, and by seeding new businesses.

Q/ What is the legacy that Tata leaves behind?

A/ Ratan Tata’s legacy is that he ran his ‘race’ like a disciplined relay runner to whom it mattered how his predecessors had run, how he could enhance the run further, and to hand over a winning baton to the successors. He was a great human being and also a great businessman. Both are needed to create sustainable enterprises with the potential for long life. Treating people with ibaadat, insaaniyat and inayat.

Q/ Tata Trusts have appointed Noel Tata as the new chairman. What are his key strengths?

A/ It is a superb move. Noel Tata is a credible, experienced and natural choice to lead the trusts. He is well-educated, accomplished as a business builder, humble as a person, and fresh with new ideas. That is a great recipe for taking the trusts forward.

ratan-tatas-simplicity-and-humility-made-him-admirable

Sat Oct 19 15:54:46 IST 2024

IT WAS JUST THE second meeting with Ratan Tata for a book that I was writing, and I got a call ahead of it from his office. I thought the interview had been put off and I was worried as it was important for the book. But, the call was to inform that Tata would be delayed by 20 minutes and to check whether I was fine with it. I was floored.

During the interview, Tata was restless and was checking something every now and then. I realised he was not there with me. After we wound up the interview, I asked him if everything was fine. He told me everything was fine, just that his dog was unwell that day and he had to fly to Singapore the same evening.

The next day, an announcement came from Singapore about the formation of a joint venture between Tata and Singapore Airlines for a new airline called Vistara. Amid such an important development, he seemed more worried about his dog’s health!

When we started meeting for the book, Tata was no longer the chairman and had moved into a small private office in an old building in south Mumbai. I asked him why he was not operating out of Bombay House. He said even J.R.D. Tata had done the same thing. “From the very next day after handing over the charge to me, J.R.D. stopped coming to Bombay House. If I continue to go to Bombay House, people would continue to consult me and the authority of the new chairman would get undermined,” he said. It says a lot about his attitude.

The deal between Tata and Singapore Airlines was expected to happen earlier, but was apparently stalled by a politician. The name of the politician was leaked earlier by a business daily. I asked Tata about it, but he didn’t mention the name even once.

You may be wealthy, but carrying simplicity and humility along with it is what made him so admirable. He was a class apart.

―As told to Nachiket Kelkar

Kuber is a Marathi journalist and author of Tatayan, a book on the Tatas.

the-maharashtra-elections-will-decide-which-of-the-two-shiv-senas-and-the-two-ncps-are-more-powerful

Fri Oct 11 17:53:45 IST 2024

Maharashtracha saat bara kay yanchya bapacha aahe ka? (Do the land records of Maharashtra belong to their fathers?)”

Senior farmers’ leader and two-term MP Raju Shetti made this angry statement when THE WEEK asked him why his Parivartan Maha Shakti front was being described as the B team of the ruling saffron alliance. He refuted the claim and said he was equally opposed to both the saffron alliance and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

He used the word saat bara, an important land record document, from the point of view of a farmer. For Shetti, who cut his political teeth in Sharad Joshi’s Shetkari Sanghatana and then formed his own Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, the focus is clear―get the votes of farmers and farming-dependent families who are miffed with both alliances and their policies.

As in many state elections, farmer-related issues are going to be top priority in Maharashtra. The ruling alliance, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has made tall claims that it will launch schemes to make farmers’ lives better. Regional media has reported Shinde saying he is going to launch Ladka Shetkari scheme (for farmers) after his Ladki Bahin and Ladka Bhau direct money transfer schemes for young women and men. He has also announced a subsidy of Rs5,000 a hectare for soyabean and cotton farmers, and has launched a farm electricity bills waiver scheme. To top it all, he recently declared Maharashtra’s indigenous cow breeds as rajya mata.

The MVA, on the other hand, is leaving no stone unturned to corner the ruling alliance. And if the return of leaders who had left the Congress and the NCP in 2019 is any sign, the MVA is on solid ground. Samarjeet Ghatge and Harshvardhan Patil have joined the NCP (Sharad Pawar) from the BJP, and Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar of the NCP (Ajit Pawar) is expected to return to the Sharad Pawar faction soon. Within the MVA, Congress leaders are confident that the next chief minister will be from their party.

When the Election Commission announces the poll dates, the swords will be out. The projected difference between the MVA and the saffron alliance is 2 to 3 per cent, and Shinde and his two deputies―Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar―are working hard to bridge this gap.

Every community is being wooed. For instance, there are efforts to include the Dhangar community in the scheduled tribes list; currently, they are a part of the larger OBC community. This move has angered the ST community. Their leader Narhari Zirwal, is from the NCP (Ajit Pawar) group and is also deputy speaker of the assembly. All 25 ST MLAs have threatened to resign if the Dhangars are made a part of the ST list. It will be interesting to see how the ruling alliance pacifies the community.

This election will also decide which of the two Shiv Senas and the two NCPs are more powerful. At present, in the game of perception, Pawar senior is clearly ahead of his nephew. But, like his uncle, Ajit is also a master of resource mobilisation and election management.

As for the perception battle between the Thackerays and Shinde, things are not as clear. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Shinde’s Sena won more of the seats where there was a direct contest between the Senas. Uddhav Thackeray certainly has the sympathy factor, but there is some doubt among his allies about whether he can convert this into votes. In that regard, Uddhav and son Aaditya have a fairly difficult task.

Notably, one Thackeray who has not played his cards yet is Raj, head of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. He has been travelling the state to gauge the mood of the people, and is thinking of contesting nearly 200 seats. If that happens, his candidates will eat into the Sena (UBT) votes.

modis-past-two-terms-have-been-spent-in-creating-big-slogans-for-farmers-but-there-has-been-no-action

Fri Oct 11 17:49:51 IST 2024

Farmer suicides began getting attention in the late 1990s, in the cotton belt of united Andhra Pradesh. Cotton prices nosedived globally, and the farmers there did not have a cotton monopoly procurement scheme like we in Maharashtra had. Our suicides, which continue even today, started around 2003, when the state government ended that scheme, which used to pay farmers Rs500 to Rs600 bonus, per quintal, above the MSP (minimum support price). With the scheme being revoked, our farmers became exposed to free market price trends and stopped getting the assured sum of money from the government.

Suicides kept increasing every year and, in 2008, the government led by prime minister Manmohan Singh began thinking about the issue seriously. It was Singh who had introduced the free market economy in 1991, which led to the widening of the gap between the rural and urban economy. With the fifth pay commission, the income of one class rose rapidly and people started buying fridges, microwaves and scooters at no interest.

Singh, taking cognisance of this, visited my village Waifad in Wardha and another village in Yavatmal district. He then took three measures to increase money supply in villages. He made Maharashtra’s employment guarantee scheme a national scheme in the form of MNREGA; at a time when our national budget was around Rs10 lakh crore, he sanctioned Rs40,000 crore for the scheme.

He also announced a Rs70,000 crore loan waiver package for farmers across India, but Sharad Pawar―then a Union minister―did injustice to Vidarbha farmers. He said the complete loan waiver would be for up to five acres of land holding; for those who had more land, the waiver would be 25 per cent of the loan amount. In Vidarbha and Marathwada, the land holdings are big. We protested and demanded that loans up to Rs50,000 be waived. Instead, they waived loans up to Rs20,000.

Singh’s third important decision was to increase MSP of all crops by 28 to 30 per cent. Since then, agricultural produce has never received such an increase in MSP, even during the past 10 years of the Narendra Modi government. For instance, cotton MSP did not increase for three years and remained stuck at Rs3,000 during UPA 2. We wanted the MSP to be Rs4,500, but Modi, then Gujarat chief minister, did not put any pressure on the Centre. So, in my experience, BJP leaders just keep shouting but do not act.

During the 2014 election campaign, Modi claimed that his government would give an MSP that would be 50 per cent more than the comprehensive cost, or C2, which includes all the costs―direct and indirect―incurred by farmers. But when he came to power, the Centre filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying it could not give such rates. Modi even made chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, both BJP-ruled, stop giving bonuses to farmers on crops like wheat and paddy. The past two terms of the Modi government have been spent in creating big slogans for farmers, but no action.

Current rulers say they have done so much for farmers, but it is not true. Devendra Fadnavis had taken out a protest march to demand a rate of Rs6,000 for soyabean farmers. Did the farmers get it? No. Similarly, Maharashtra Minister Girish Mahajan had launched an agitation for cotton farmers; what happened to it? They could not even impose tax on imported cotton. Even today cotton and soyabean farmers are dying.

Two years ago, cotton farmers got a rate of Rs9,000 to Rs10,000 per quintal. But this year, it will not cross Rs7,000 because the price of cotton in the US has fallen, which affects our prices. I wrote to Prime Minister Modi on this issue but there was no reply.

Everyone is talking about crop insurance, but there is no qualitative difference between the crop insurance schemes of Manmohan Singh and Modi. The only difference is that farmers can now get their crops insured for a token sum of Rs1. My question is, why are they charging even Rs1 when there is no difference? Farmers have to take so much effort to get registered. There is a need to make crop insurance farmer-friendly.

Also, why is no alliance promising to buy cotton from farmers by paying a bonus on MSP? If Modi can announce bonus on ‘dhan’ crops to win Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh elections, and also announce Modi guarantee additional price on MSP for wheat, then why can’t he give a similar promise for cotton and soyabean prices? This would go a long way in helping farmers in Maharashtra.

The biggest challenge is to not let the farmer face the vagaries of world markets. Both alliances in Maharashtra must promise in their manifesto that farmers will get C2 plus 50 per cent price, as mentioned in the M.S. Swaminathan commission report. This must be applicable to all crops on the MSP list.

If the government is not able to do this, then it must increase the subsidies for farmers because, in any developed economy, agriculture is not sustainable without state support. This has been proved in the US, Europe and China. Similarly, wages of a farm labourer should increase on the lines of the pay commission.

The state government can give bonus on and above MSP; they have that right to do so and they are expected to bear the burden.

The Maharashtra government should exert pressure on the Centre to not import any farm product at a cost lower than C2 plus 50 per cent. Also, subsidy should be given for exports. This is done for sugar. If those farmers can get various subsidies, why not farmers in non-irrigated areas like Vidarbha and Marathwada? Only if they get per-acre subsidy will they be able to withstand the vagaries of nature and market forces.

―As told to Dnyanesh Jathar

Vijay Jawandhia is a senior farmers’ leader from Maharashtra.

if-the-emerging-third-front-consolidates-its-position-maharashtra-could-head-towards-a-hung-assembly

Fri Oct 11 17:44:50 IST 2024

The Maharashtra assembly elections could turn even more interesting with the emergence of a potential third front. Constituents of the new alliance, called the Parivartan Maha Shakti, include the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana led by Raju Shetti, the Swarajya Paksh headed by Sambhaji Raje Chhatrapati, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s Maharashtra unit under Shankar Dhondge, the Prahar Janshakti Party of Omprakash Babarao Kadu alias Bachchu Kadu and cadres of the original Shetkari Sanghatana of Sharad Joshi.

Former two-term MP Shetti said the alliance would contest all 288 seats. “Efforts are on to bring Prakash Ambedkar (Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi), Kapil Patil (Samajwadi Ganarajya Party), Hitendra Thakur (Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi) and Manoj Jarange Patil (Maratha reservation activist) in our alliance,” he said.

Shetti hopes to bring together smaller parties and social movements which have put in decades of work for social development and change. “Once a new government is in power, people like us take up issues, face police wrath for nearly four years and ten months. And when the next elections are announced, the established players come forward, spend money and win. So what we plan to do this time is to put the force of our goodwill behind a promising and visionary person in every constituency and urge people to vote for him.’’

The planning for this alliance began more than two months ago. Initially, leaders and activists working on farmers’ issues, such as Shetty, Dhondge and Wamanrao Chatap, met to discuss the possibility of an alliance. Then came Kadu and Sambhaji Raje Chhatrapati. Shetti has also met Ambedkar, who is yet to join the alliance.

Kadu, who was with the saffron Mahayuti alliance till recently, said he had warned the Shinde government that if it failed to fulfil his party’s demands, he would withdraw from the alliance. “We organised a morcha in Sambhaji Nagar in August and raised 18 demands. Our manifesto will focus on farmers and agricultural labourers, and we will also take up issues like inequality in education, health care and industrial development.”

Kadu is confident that the new alliance will play a crucial role in forming the next government. “Did Deve Gowda have the numbers when he became prime minister? We will form the government,” he said. Shetti is more cautious, though. He said the alliance would have collective leadership, with a coordination committee taking decisions on issues like government formation or whom to support and on what terms.

Shetti is unhappy that certain leaders like Jayant Patil of the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party call them the BJP’s ‘B’ team. “Do they own Maharashtra? History has shown that these people were responsible for the defeat of stalwarts like Madhu Dandavate and Bapusaheb Kaldate,” said Shetti. “People know that I am anti-BJP.”

However, the strength of the leaders of the new alliance is limited to certain pockets. For instance, Shetti is influential in Kolhapur and Sangli districts, Sambhaji Raje Chhatrapati has support in Kolhapur and Nashik, Chatap is influential in certain pockets of Vidarbha and Bachchu Kadu is strong in Amravati district.

Senior journalist and political commentator Abhay Deshpande said that if the new alliance became strong, it would lead to the division of anti-establishment votes, thereby helping the ruling Mahayuti alliance. “They will cause damage [to the opposition] in their pockets of influence. The alliance can become a potent combination if Ambedkar or Jarange Patil joins it. Otherwise, its impact will be limited,” he said.

Political scientist Suhas Palshikar said the front would garner sizeable votes. “The front would attract uncommitted voters from all sides. It will be important in specific pockets, but not statewide. The division of votes would mean that a smaller vote size would be sufficient to win a constituency. So, any smart player locally can benefit from the third front,” he said.

What remains to be seen is whether Ambedkar or Jarange Patil joins forces with the emerging third front. If that happens, Maharashtra could well be heading for a hung assembly.

national-conference-chairperson-omar-abdullah-interview

Sat Oct 05 13:14:34 IST 2024

Exclusive Interview/ Omar Abdullah, chairperson, National Conference

ELECTIONS TO THE Jammu and Kashmir assembly got over with the third phase of polling on October 1. Former chief minister and chairperson of the National Conference Omar Abdullah appeared confident about the success of the alliance he had with the Congress, although he conceded that the BJP managed to put up a tight fight. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Omar said that the alliance with the Congress was the strongest possible message to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Calling the Awami Ittehad Party and its head, Engineer Rashid, BJP’s proxies, Omar predicted that the AIP would not be able to repeat the success it registered in the Lok Sabha polls. Excerpts:

Q/ What is your assessment after campaigning across Jammu and Kashmir?

A/ The reports are positive, with some closely contested seats. The trend shows that people favoured the National Conference-Congress alliance. The BJP’s attempts to divide and engineer results may not succeed.

Q/ Was this your biggest political test yet?

A/ Every election is a test. The 2002 assembly election was a test. My election as president of the National Conference was a test. The 2004 Parliament election was a test because I contested against Mufti sahib (Mufti Mohammad Sayeed), who was then chief minister. The 2014 Parliament election was a test because I fought it as part of the ruling alliance in the aftermath of the floods in J&K. We knew the mood was against us. We lost all Parliament seats that year, and there was simmering anger against the National Conference. That was a tougher test.

Q/ A lot is riding on your alliance with the Congress.

A/ The National Conference did what it could. We conceded seats to the Congress, where I have no doubt we could have put up a strong fight. But we did it because we believed that an alliance with the Congress was the strongest possible message to the people of Jammu and Kashmir―about an option that did not involve the BJP.

Q/ How crucial could the third phase be in deciding the winner?

A/ It was the phase where the BJP expected to make the most gains. It’s not rocket science―there are 24 seats in the heartland of Jammu where the BJP expects to perform well. We had a few seats in that phase. So, that phase would likely determine what the government will look like.

Q/ You formed an alliance with the Congress, but the PDP (People’s Democratic Party) was not allowed on board.

A/ We never had a pre-poll alliance with the PDP.

Q/ Didn’t the PDP want to be part of the alliance?

A/ If the PDP wanted to be on board, its behaviour should have reflected that. You cannot relentlessly attack the National Conference and then say you want to be part of the alliance.

Q/ You have been calling Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) leader Engineer Rashid a BJP proxy.

A/ What else would you call him? He is unwilling to state that he will not support the BJP. He says his doors are open to everyone. He admitted that he knew Article 370 was going to be revoked back in 2018, but kept quiet for a year. He was released from jail for 20 days to divert votes.

Q/ The AIP called you a bad loser because Rashid defeated you in the parliamentary polls?

A/ I have never lost badly, ever. I have always bounced back. This isn’t about me losing the parliamentary election; it is about the AIP’s motive in contesting these seats. How else do you explain the AIP and the Jamaat coming together? Explain the candidates they have put up. If Rashid is not a proxy for the BJP, explain his choice of candidates.

Q/ But didn’t he lead in 15 of 18 assembly segments in the Baramulla Parliamentary constituency?

A/ By that logic, we led in more than 30 constituencies, so why hold assembly elections at all? Parliament results don’t translate directly into assembly results. I guess Rashid will not repeat his parliamentary performance in this assembly election.

Q/ How many seats will the AIP get?

A/ Even with the Jamaat alliance, it will finish in single digits.

Q/ Did Rashid’s brother approach you before the parliamentary polls?

A/ He offered to support the National Conference, but we declined. I believed Rashid would face retribution from the ruling dispensation, and I didn’t want that on my conscience. Politically, it may not have been the best decision, but I have no regrets.

Q/ How do you look at the Jamaat and other separatists participating in the elections?

A/ That’s what democracy is about. But Jamaat must explain what they have done in the last 35 years. They demonised Sheikh Abdullah for his accord with Indira Gandhi, calling it a sell out. At least he had something to show―there was a signed agreement. What does the Jamaat have to show for the last 35 years?

Q/ But the Jamaat’s participation seems to vindicate the BJP’s claim that the Kashmir problem has been fixed, with separatists now participating in elections.

A/ You need to explain why 75 per cent of the voters in Srinagar did not come out. If the problem is fixed, why is the turnout lower? Why are there encounters in Jammu? The Jamaat is contesting only because it wants its schools and assets freed from the ban.

Q/ Would you allow the PDP on board if you need its support to form the government after the polls?

A/ Let’s not speculate. We will discuss it on October 8.

Q/ How many seats do you think the PDP will get?

A/ Many seats will be closely contested with tight margins. You can’t predict those outcomes.

Q/ You could say the same about the two seats you contested.

A/ One might be close, but the other isn’t.

Q/ Do you believe other parties will align with the BJP after the results, and would the National Conference consider forming a coalition with them?

A/ We had a pre-poll alliance with the Congress to avoid such a scenario. This alliance, Inshallah, will be elected to office.

Q/ You have said that this will be the most disempowered assembly ever. What happens to the hopes and aspirations of the people who voted for your alliance?

A/ People know what kind of assembly they are voting for. Things will change. This assembly will become the assembly of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It will have some power, and that’s a start. The prime minister has committed to restoring statehood. If it doesn’t happen, there is always the Supreme Court.

Q/ Parliament took away the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir, and it is superior to the Supreme Court.

A/ No, it is not. Parliament did not announce elections in J&K. The Election Commission of India did, following the Supreme Court’s direction.

Q/ Couldn’t the BJP delay the restoration of statehood, claiming the situation is not right?

A/ The prime minister has committed to restoring statehood and we will ensure the timeline is upheld by the Supreme Court.

the-dalit-voter-may-hold-the-key-to-the-poll-outcome-in-haryana

Sat Oct 05 13:12:31 IST 2024

AMID THE INTENSE discussion about how the Jat anger would influence the Haryana assembly polls, it seems the dalit voter is quietly emerging as the X factor.

After Punjab, Haryana has the highest proportion of dalits in the population. The scheduled castes make around 20 per cent of the state’s total population of 2.53 crore, as per the 2011 census. Of 90 Vidhan Sabha seats in the state, 17 are reserved for the scheduled castes. Dalits can make a difference in about 50 seats where their share in the population is between 15 and 20 per cent.

The importance of scheduled castes as a constituency that can make or break electoral fortunes is not lost on the political parties. In fact, the dalit voter is an important element in the electoral strategy of all the major parties in the fray.

Dalits are believed to have played a major role in the Congress winning five seats in Haryana in the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year. The party had drawn a blank in the 2019 elections. The Congress won both the seats reserved for the scheduled castes―Ambala and Sirsa.

It is said that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ‘400 paar’ slogan was interpreted by the scheduled castes as an indication of the party’s alleged plans to alter the framework of reservations. This might have resulted in the dalits turning away from the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls.

In the assembly elections in 2014, the BJP had won seven seats reserved for the scheduled castes and the Congress had won four. In 2019, the BJP’s number came down to five and the Congress’s went up to seven. “The dalits in Haryana have traditionally been supporters of the Congress,” said Prof Ashutosh Kumar, department of political science, Panjab University. “However, they are not a homogeneous entity and there are divisions within the SC community which both the Congress and the BJP are trying to utilise.”

For the ruling BJP, the dalit voter is of special interest since it is hoping to stitch up an alliance of castes to take on the Jats, who appear to be consolidating behind the Congress.

Shortly after the results of the Lok Sabha elections were declared, the BJP went into damage control mode. Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini posted pictures on the microblogging site X showing him in a meeting with officials to review the implementation of projects for the scheduled castes. “The BJP continues to have the trust of the dalit community because of its tried and tested policies in the state and at the Centre in the last ten years,” said party leader Ashok Tanwar.

The BJP is also hoping that the divisions within the community will work in the party’s favour. In an effort to ensure the support of the non-Jatav dalits who had voted for the BJP in the past, the Saini government announced 20 per cent quota in government jobs for the SCs and 10 per cent of the reservation for the deprived among them. The dominant Jatavs and their sub-castes have not taken kindly to the decision, but the rest of the community welcomed it, said a BJP leader. The party’s assessment, he said, is that a divide within the SC community would help the BJP, especially if the contests are close. The party has fielded more non-Jatav candidates than Jatavs. The Congress, on the other hand, has fielded more Jatavs.

The Congress is hoping to build on the gains it made in the Lok Sabha polls and takes heart from the stance of the dalit community in that election. The party is hoping that the Jat-dalit-Muslim combination that helped it in the Lok Sabha polls would continue to favour it in the assembly elections. Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the face of the party’s campaign, is a Jat and its state unit president Udai Bhan is a dalit. Kumari Selja, Lok Sabha member from Sirsa, is a prominent dalit leader. She was said to be upset about the party high command giving Hooda a free hand and was absent from the campaign in the initial days. There is a concern that this could influence the dalit voters.

Hooda said the BJP finished the jobs of dalits and backward classes by implementing Kaushal Nigam, a company set up for providing contract workers to government entities. “They closed 5,000 government schools, thus impacting the education of their children. They stopped the scholarship scheme for children and the scheme wherein plots of 100 square yards were being given. Why will dalits and the backward classes vote for the BJP?”

Both the Congress and the BJP are looking keenly at the two alliances that have been formed between parties that draw their influence from Jats or dalits―the alliance between the Indian National Lok Dal and the Bahujan Samaj Party, and the tie-up between the Jannayak Janata Party and Chandrashekar Azad’s Azad Samaj Party.

In close contests, a third player could harm the Congress. “The election will largely be a two-party contest, with the INLD-BSP or the JJP-ASP or the AAP not expected to make much of a difference,” said Ashutosh Kumar. “The reason for this is that people will vote taking into account the winnability factor. However, they may cost the Congress some votes and perhaps one or two seats.”

aaps-future-in-delhi-depends-on-how-atishi-navigates-the-complexities-of-her-role-as-cm

Sat Oct 05 12:58:48 IST 2024

ATISHI HELD HER first meeting with the bureaucrats of Delhi on September 24, three days after taking charge as the youngest chief minister of the state. It ended on a 'cordial' note, a departure from the regular confrontations with officials whom her party has been accusing of insubordination at the behest of Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena and the BJP.

What she said after the meeting took many by surprise. “As a government, it is our duty to ensure that government services reach even the last person in line, and that the government lives up to their expectations. The Delhi government and officials will work together to ensure that every person in need receives government services and can live with dignity.”

The “work together” paradigm has long eluded Delhi, especially in the past two years. The bitter battles over issues of governance between the government and the bureaucracy have been a constant. The discord hit its lowest with the arrest of Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on March 21 in the liquor policy case.

Delhi has a unique and complex relationship with the central government. The Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory has competence over entries in the state list and the concurrent list with the exceptions of public order, police and land. In 2023, in a ruling in favour of the government of Delhi, the Supreme Court said that the “elected” Delhi government will have legislative and executive control over administrative services except for the three excluded entries. A few weeks later, however, the Centre passed an ordinance nullifying the order, giving the powers back to the LG.

Since then, the control over services has been a bone of contention between the AAP government and the LG. While the BJP, in power at the Centre since 2014, accuses the AAP of being “corrupt”, the latter blames the Delhi LG of hindering all the work being done by the government and implicating senior AAP leaders in false cases.

This will be Atishi's biggest challenge, especially because of the short time she has―Delhi assembly elections are due next February. “My only goal is to make Arvind Kejriwal the chief minister again,” she said after becoming chief minister. The only way to achieve that is improving governance. “For that the relationship with the bureaucracy needs to be improved,” said Abhay Kumar Dubey, professor, Centre for Studies of the Developing Societies, Delhi.

Senior AAP leader Somnath Bharti, a three-time MLA from Malviya Nagar, said when both the arms of governance, the Delhi government and the LG office in this case, have the objective of serving the people, alliance will automatically happen. “However, in Delhi, the LG acts as the spokesperson for the BJP. For things to smoothen, the LG office will have to shun this image,” he said.

Atishi knows this battle well. She had been leading the AAP's charge against the LG in the absence of senior party leaders. “She is fully aware that governance in Delhi, even as chief minister, is not easy as the LG has special powers and the government does not have control over the bureaucracy,” said an AAP leader.

In Kejriwal’s absence, many welfare schemes of the Delhi government were confined to files. Their implementation will give the AAP a leg up in the run up to the assembly elections. “One issue the government faced with the arrest of Kejriwal was that cabinet meetings could not be convened. Now that has changed and Atishi should fast track key projects,” said an AAP leader.

It seems Atishi is focused on getting the job done. While other party leaders, including Kejriwal, have kept up their attacks on the LG and the BJP, she is refraining from commenting openly on contentious issues. “Atishi must find a middle way and take forward the works by taking the LG into confidence on all matters,” said political analyst Suresh P. Singh.

In the first 10 days of her government, Atishi announced an increase in the minimum wage, unveiled a 21-point winter action plan and directed the public works department to undertake a comprehensive road repair and strengthening initiative before Diwali. “The inertia that the city government was facing since the arrest of deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia is now gone. The authority of the government is now better. However, the bureaucracy is still under the LG and Atishi will have to manoeuvre cautiously,” said Arvind Mohan, a political analyst.

Atishi has a tough task cut out for her―damage control in governance, give the AAP a political and electoral push, maintain good relationship with senior colleagues in the party, find a way to work with the bureaucracy and create a new narrative to support the AAP’s election priorities. For this, conciliation seems to be a better option than confrontation. “There is an urgent need for the AAP to rebrand itself and move from a conflictual attitude to a reconciliatory and cooperating approach,” said Singh. “This is for the benefit of both the party and the people of Delhi.”

jammu-and-kashmir-assembly-elections-analysis

Sat Sep 28 12:50:34 IST 2024

IN THE FIERCELY contested Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, the stakes were particularly high in the second phase, on September 25. The first phase, on September 18, had seen a strong voter turnout of more than 61 per cent, and the second, covering 26 assembly segments, featured former chief minister Omar Abdullah, Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari and BJP state president Ravinder Raina.

Omar is fighting to reclaim the family stronghold of Ganderbal, which his grandfather Sheikh Abdullah won in 1977. In 2014, Omar, the sitting MLA, made way for Ishfaq Jabbar, who won, but the latter was expelled from the National Conference in 2023 for “anti-party” activities. While the NC retains support in Ganderbal, the entry of Bashir Mir, of the People’s Democratic Party, has made the race competitive. In 2014, Mir had narrowly lost to NC’s Mian Altaf by just over 1,400 votes in the Kangan constituency.

“The people of Ganderbal have been voting for 70 years but never had access to their representative,” said Mir. “This time, they want a candidate who is local and accessible.” Observers, however, believe that Mir’s “outsider” dig at Omar may not resonate, as he himself is not from Ganderbal.

Omar also faces competition from Jabbar, now an independent, as well as from jailed cleric Sarjan Ahmad Wagay and Awami Ittehad Party’s Sheikh Ashiq. Omar has labelled Wagay and Ashiq as “BJP agents” trying to split the vote.

Omar is relying on the NC’s grassroots support and past contributions, including the setting up of a Central university in Ganderbal. In a rare emotional moment at a party meeting after filing his nomination, he removed his cap and appealed to his supporters: “My honour is in your hands.”

Omar also contested from the Budgam seat, where his main opponent was the PDP candidate Aga Syed Muntazir, a Shia leader and cousin of NC MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi. The influential Aga family holds sway over Budgam’s Shia Muslims, who make up 40 per cent of the electorate. “The Shia vote will split, but we expect a larger share because of Ruhullah,” said an NC leader. “That’s why we have fielded Omar―he’s also likely to attract a significant portion of the Sunni vote.”

This election is also crucial for Altaf Bukhari, who was one of the first Kashmiri politicians to engage with the Centre after the abrogation of Article 370. The NC and the PDP have labelled his party as the BJP’s “B team”, which has hurt his prospects in Chanapora. Observers say the JKAP’s future hinges on Bukhari’s performance in this election.

Bukhari had gone door to door in Chanapora, promising to fight for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood. However, he did tell locals that no party could form the government alone. “We’ve been split into so many pieces that nobody listens to anyone,” he said. “We will have to make compromises.”

He has also been critical of the NC-Congress alliance, saying, “I don’t understand which soap they have washed the Congress with. They used to call them insects from a filthy drain.”

Bukhari’s main rival is the NC’s Mushtaq Guroo, who relied on the party’s strong organisational structure and the perception that the NC is ahead.

Bukhari is banking on his goodwill as a former minister in the PDP-BJP government, which collapsed in 2018. After delimitation, parts of Budgam have been merged with Chanapora, adding complexity to the race.

Nowshera, a key seat in Rajouri district, is another hotly contested constituency. BJP state president Ravinder Raina, who is seeking re-election, was up against the NC’s Surinder Choudhary, who enjoys strong support. In 2014, Raina defeated Choudhary, then a PDP candidate, by 9,503 votes. This time, though, the contest is expected to be tougher. The BJP is banking on the support of the Pahari community, which was recently granted ST status. This move, however, angered the Gujjars and Bakerwals (both on the list), who feel the Paharis don’t qualify for the classification.

Nowshera has traditionally been a Congress bastion; the party has won five of seven times since 1977, with the NC and the BJP each winning once.

Raina, known for his ability to connect with people of all faiths, is the only BJP leader widely recognised in Kashmir. Union Home Minister Amit Shah backed Raina―an RSS man―at a rally in Nowshera on September 22. “Ravinder Raina’s voice is heard strongly in both Srinagar and Delhi,” said Shah. On the other hand, Choudhary’s campaigns have been equally forceful and impressive. “Raina will have to tell the people what he has done for them in the past ten years,’’ he told a large gathering in Nowshera. “The people here know that this is a 19-year-old relationship. Our bond is one of happiness and grief.”

In another meeting, he criticised the government’s Agniveer scheme, saying it had not helped the youth who wanted to join the Army.

Observers say that Raina and Choudhary are locked in a tough battle and the winner is difficult to predict.

A key battleground in this phase, which has aroused curiosity, is the newly created Shri Mata Vaishno Devi constituency in Reasi district. This seat, carved out after delimitation, saw a heated contest between the BJP’s Baldev Raj Sharma, the NC-Congress candidate Bhupinder Singh, the PDP’s Partap Krishan Sharma, and the four independent candidates―Jugal Kishore, Bansi Lal, Raj Kumar and Sham Singh. Another high-profile candidate in the fray is the Jammu and Kashmir Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra, who contested from Central Shalteng in Srinagar. A former member of the PDP, Karra was a vocal critic of the BJP-PDP alliance and left the party in 2016. He joined the Congress in 2017.

Karra replaced Vikar Rasool as state party president in August, ahead of the assembly elections, after some Congress leaders complained to the high command about the latter’s style of functioning.

A day before the campaigning for second phase ended, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressed a rally in Shalteng to support Karra. “Jammu and Kashmir was not only downgraded to a Union territory,” said Gandhi, “but this place is now ruled by outsiders against the wishes of the people.”

He will have to wait till October 8 to see if the Kashmiris agree.

himachal-pradesh-chief-minister-sukhvinder-singh-sukhu-interview

Sat Oct 05 18:12:48 IST 2024

Interview/ Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu Himachal Pradesh chief minister

HIMACHAL PRADESH Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu recently announced that he, his ministers, chief parliamentary secretaries, and chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of boards and corporations would defer drawing their salaries for two months. It immediately put the focus on the finances of the hill state, which are not in the pink. In an exclusive interview, Sukhu says the state had already moved from a stage of financial crisis to financial discipline and fiscal prudence. Excerpts:

Q/ Is Himachal Pradesh going through a financial crisis?

A/ The financial crisis was because of the freebies announced by the BJP government. In April 2022, before the assembly elections, it made electricity up to 125 units free, waived off water bills and announced a discount of 50 per cent on fare for women travelling by state buses. There was a debt of more than Rs85,000 crore and a liability of Rs10,000 crore towards arrears to be paid to the employees as per the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission. We spend Rs25,000 crore on salaries of government employees every year. Our total budget is Rs52,000 crore. The freebies announced by the BJP government made the situation worse.

Q/ What is your government doing to deal with the financial crunch?

A/ We were in a financial crunch in 2022-23. We are bringing the economy back. We earned Rs2,200 crore additional revenue in a year.

When you change the system, some pain has to be endured. We are taking some tough decisions such as not providing free electricity and free water to everyone. Those who are paying income tax can pay for electricity and water. We have shut down 500 schools because there were no teachers in those schools. We want to provide people with good quality electricity, health care, food and education.

Q/ Are you reworking the subsidies?

A/ We were providing subsidy of Rs1 per unit of electricity to hotels. Why should five star or three star hotels that are making profits get this subsidy? We have stopped the subsidy on electricity given to commercial entities. A similar rationalisation is being done with regard to water subsidy. Only the poor families will get it for free.

Q/ Your decision to defer the salaries of the chief minister, the ministers and others gave out the message that the state’s finances were in poor shape.

A/ It is a symbolic move. How much will our salaries add up to? Rs1 crore or Rs1.5 crore. This was done to send out a message to society that if we move in the right direction now, our future generations will be safe. It was meant to send out a message of self-regulation and fiscal discipline, that the political leadership and the people, everyone has to participate in this.

Q/ Opposition leader Jai Ram Thakur says the government does not have the money to pay the salaries of the employees.

A/ We pay Rs2,000 crore a month towards the salaries and pensions of our employees―Rs1,200 crore for salaries and Rs800 crore as pension. The state takes loan from the RBI at a rate of 7.5 per cent to pay these. The share of the states from the Centre-state taxes reaches the states on the sixth of every month. We would pay interest rate on the loan taken from the RBI for five days. So by paying the salary on the sixth instead of the first of the month, we would save on the interest. In a year, we would save Rs36 crore.

Q/ The BJP claims that your government raised loans of more than Rs24,000 crore over the past 18 months and you will end up with Rs1 lakh crore debt by the end of this financial year.

A/ That is not true at all. This year, we have taken a loan of Rs6,300 crore, and last year, we had taken a loan of Rs8,000 crore. The loans are strictly as per the guidelines of the RBI.

Q/ Another allegation is that your government has taken loans by mortgaging employees’ general provident fund.

A/ Every state does that. It is a routine process.

Q/ Opposition-ruled states have complained about not getting adequate financial assistance from the Centre.

A/ The Centre is supposed to give us Rs9,300 crore as per its post-disaster assessment in the aftermath of the devastating floods in the state last year. They have to give us Rs9,200 crore that has been contributed by the employees under the National Pension Scheme. Around Rs5,000 crore is due to Himachal Pradesh from the Bhakra Beas Management Board. If we get all these funds, the financial issues will be taken care of.

Q/ Do you feel there should be a rethink on the populist measures announced during the elections?

A/ Subsidies or benefits should be given to those who need it. They have to be rationalised.

Q/ The Congress had promised old pension scheme, Rs1,500 for women and free power.

A/ We are implementing all these promises.

Q/ How are you enhancing your revenues?

A/ We will ensure that companies extracting minerals in the state pay the royalty and the tax that is due to the state, or the state will take over the facilities.

Q/ The BJP says there were irregularities in the excise department.

A/ In five years, the BJP government earned Rs600 crore in excise. We have in one year earned Rs485 crore. So where is the problem? We have auctioned liquor vends, which did not happen during the term of the BJP government.

Q/ Are you now placed comfortably in terms of numbers in the assembly?

A/ Of course, yes. We are back to being 40 MLAs in the assembly. There are no independent MLAs and it is just between the Congress and the BJP.

nitin-gadkari-staying-away-from-key-meetings-sets-political-tongues-wagging-once-again-maharashtra

Sat Sep 28 11:54:01 IST 2024

Is Nitin Gadkari trying to send a message to the BJP central leadership ahead of the Maharashtra elections? The Union minister of transport and highways skipped Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Wardha on September 20 to launch the Acharya Chanakya Skill Development Scheme and to mark the first anniversary of the PM Vishwakarma Yojana. Gadkari also stayed away from the BJP’s pre-election review meeting in Nagpur on September 24, which was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

When asked about Gadkari’s absence, his media officer said the minister was out of Maharashtra. A senior BJP leader close to Gadkari said too much was being read into Gadkari’s absence. “Is it necessary that Gadkari saheb has to be present at every event of the Central leadership? He is a Central minister as well and has his own programmes,” said the leader, dismissing allegations that Gadkari was staying away intentionally.

A week ago, Gadkari had joked at a public function that there was no guarantee that the BJP would be able to form the government at the Centre for a fourth time. While Modi was at Wardha, Gadkari was attending an event in Pune when he said that in a democracy, the government must be open to criticism. “Everyone should be free to express their opinion and those in power should tolerate criticism,” he said.

Gadkari is one of the few Union ministers who is popular among the opposition. He is known to speak his mind and does not hesitate to help MPs belonging to opposition parties. Speaking at an event in Nagpur on September 14, he said a senior leader from an opposition party had offered him support for the post of prime minister, but he had turned it down.

Ahead of the Maharashtra elections, the BJP is toying with the idea of collective leadership. State BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said a few days ago that Gadkari would be among the top leaders for the assembly campaign. This was not the case in 2019 when chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had controlled all aspects of the campaign. Back then, some of the top leaders perceived to be close to Gadkari, including Bawankule, were denied tickets. Five years later, Fadnavis is not really in a commanding position. So Gadkari will certainly have a say in ticket distribution and election management.

During his meeting in Nagpur, Shah set a target of winning 45 of 62 seats in Vidarbha. This is a big task given the BJP’s poor show in the region in the Lok Sabha elections. Against this backdrop, Gadkari’s absence at such a crucial meeting has confused the cadre further.

Maharashtra Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant said Gadkari certainly seemed upset with the Modi-Shah leadership. He said the dictatorship enforced by the duo over the BJP was far worse than what was being faced by the country. So, in his view, a senior leader like Gadkari, who once served as BJP president, is naturally feeling upset.

An incident that took place when Gadkari was party president offers some insight into his equation with Modi. As president, Gadkari tried to revive the career of Sanjay Joshi, one of the BJP’s national secretaries and a strong Modi opponent. Modi, who was then chief minister of Gujarat, refused to attend a party event in Mumbai till Joshi was asked to leave. Despite being national president, Gadkari had to bow to Modi’s wishes.

A senior NCP leader said that it was natural for Gadkari to feel frustrated. “Gadkari is a large-hearted and democratic leader. The current dispensation has reduced a vibrant democracy into a situation where the opposition is treated like an enemy,” the leader said. “Gadkari does not like this and he has been open about it.”

BOSS OF BLUNT TALK

Outspoken and unapologetic, Nitin Gadkari has been a magnet for controversy over the past few years. Some instances of his plain-speak:

“When I was a child, my mother would often tell me, ‘A critic should become our neighbour, so that our flaws can be pointed out.’ The biggest test of democracy is that the king is capable of tolerating criticism against himself.”

At an event in Pune on September 20, 2024

“[A] person said, ‘If you are going to become prime minister, we would support you.’ I asked, ‘Why should you support me? And why should I take your support?’ To become prime minister is not the aim in my life. I am loyal to my conviction… and I am not going to make compromises for any post.”

At an awards function in Nagpur on September 14, 2024

If we continue doing what the Congress used to do, then there is no use of their exit and our entry.

At the BJP executive meeting in Goa on July 12, 2024

“Never indulge in use-and-throw policy. When you have held someone’s hand, hold it tight if he is your friend, irrespective of whether the situation is good or bad.”

At an event in Nagpur on August 28, 2022, after he was dropped from the BJP’s parliamentary board

“People like politicians who sell dreams. But if these dreams are not realised, then they beat them up as well. I am not someone who just sells dreams; I realise them, too.”

At a function in Mumbai on January 27, 2019

“If I am the party president and my MPs and MLAs are not doing well, then who is responsible? I am.”

At an Intelligence Bureau event on December 24, 2018, after the BJP led by president Amit Shah lost three key heartland states in elections

coalition-dynamics-and-poor-electoral-prospects-continue-to-diminish-ajit-pawars-political-stock

Sat Sep 21 12:39:08 IST 2024

Is Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar sulking? Or, is he trying to garner sympathy for himself? Going by his recent public statements, the latter seems to be the case.

When Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently visited Mumbai to take part in Ganesh Chaturthi festivities, Ajit chose not to meet him along with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. When his absence became news, he met Shah at the airport.

It was reported that Ajit asked Shah to make him chief minister if the BJP-led alliance retained power after the assembly polls, due in November. Ajit later denied the report, saying he only discussed problems faced by farmers.

Apparently, Ajit has realised that his Nationalist Congress Party faces an uphill task in the polls. He recently said he did not have to ask for permission while distributing party tickets as he was the saheb (boss). It was a veiled reference to his uncle, former chief minister Sharad Pawar, with whom he had parted ways in February last year. In response, Amol Kolhe, MP, who belongs to the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP that opposes Ajit, retorted that Maharashtra knows only two sahebs―Balasaheb Thackeray and Sharad Pawar.

A leader of Ajit’s NCP in Pune district told THE WEEK that the party could get to contest 60 to 65 seats in the polls. “I met him (Ajit) a few days ago; instead of assembly elections, we spoke about elections in sugar cooperatives. But 60 to 65 seats is what we are aiming to contest [in the assembly polls],” said the leader.

Ajit recently said that he was ready to step aside if the people of Baramati, the assembly constituency that he has represented for more than three decades, wanted another leader to be their representative. This led to speculation regarding his future with Baramati.

Sunil Tatkare, MP and state NCP president, said there was no question of Ajit not contesting from Baramati. “Ajit dada says things in his way, but as far as the party is concerned, he will contest,” said Tatkare.

Said the NCP leader from Pune: “He took the defeat of his wife, Sunetra, in the Lok Sabha elections as his own defeat, and hence the statement.” Sunetra, who contested the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency, was defeated by Supriya Sule, incumbent MP and daughter of Sharad Pawar.

NCP leaders say Ajit will win the assembly polls in Baramati even if he does not campaign. “The people of Baramati are very clear―Supriya tai in the Lok Sabha and Ajit dada in the assembly,” said the leader from Pune.

Ajit also said recently that he had realised that politics should not enter one’s family. He said he had realised his mistake―apparently, of fielding Sunetra against Sule in the Lok Sabha polls.

A senior leader of the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP said Ajit was afraid that he might have to face his nephew Yugendra Pawar in Baramati. Yugendra, who is the son of Ajit’s younger brother Srinivas, is planning to launch a yatra in Baramati.

As the polls draw near, there have been desertions in the NCP’s ranks. Bhagyashri Atram, daughter of Minister Dharmrao Atram of Gadchiroli, recently joined Sharad Pawar’s NCP. Legislators such as Atul Benke, who represents Junnar in Pune district, have been perceived to be preparing to shift loyalties. Benke recently met Pawar publicly.

Ajit wants a respectable number of seats to contest, though he is aware of his party’s limitations. The party had got a drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls. It could win only one of the four seats contested―only Tatkare, who contested from Raigad, managed to win.

The NCP leader from Pune said all major leaders who would get the party ticket from Ajit have the capacity to win on their own. He was doubtful of Chhagan Bhujbal’s prospects. A veteran leader and minister, Bhujbal has been against giving reservation to the Maratha community from the quota allotted to the Other Backward Classes.

Mahesh Tapase, chief spokesperson of the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP, said the RSS had held Ajit responsible for the BJP’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls. Apparently, the RSS felt that many people in the BJP did not support the alliance with the NCP.

Veteran journalist Ravikiran Deshmukh said Ajit had become a liability for the BJP, as its cadre was not comfortable with the alliance. Also, said Deshmukh, Ajit had thought that he would be able to find a niche in state politics that was separate from his uncle’s. But the Lok Sabha polls showed that it had not worked out. Tatkare won because of his own base and network. So Ajit is now trying to garner sympathy for himself by claiming that it was a mistake to mix family and politics, said Deshmukh.

According to him, Ajit tried to claim credit for the Ladki Bahin Scheme, but the Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, thwarted it. In cabinet meetings, ministers from the Sena and the NCP locked horns over using the chief minister’s name while referring to the scheme. According to the NCP, the scheme was introduced in the budget by Ajit Pawar, who holds the finance portfolio.

“There is no future for Ajit Pawar in this alliance. It was the BJP who got him on board the saffron alliance. Now they (the BJP) will have to create a suitable space for him,” said Deshmukh, who was media adviser to Devendra Fadnavis when he was chief minister.

Arwind Tiwari, general secretary of the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP, said that Ajit’s assessment of himself had grossly gone wrong. Ajit, said Tiwari, thought he had established himself as a leader in his own right, but actually he was on borrowed political capital. He relied on the stature of his uncle. “During the Lok Sabha polls, his political stock got diminished in his own constituency. At one time, he had successfully created a perception that if Supriya Sule has to get elected to the Lok Sabha, she would have to be dependent on Ajit Pawar,” said Tiwari. But now Sule has emerged as a leader in her own right, and Ajit had lost relevance, he said.

According to Anil Deshmukh, former minister and leader of Sharad Pawar’s NCP, Ajit has been reduced to sticking to the script prepared by his newly appointed poll strategist Naresh Arora. “If Arora tells him to apologise, he does it. If Arora says, ‘Wear a pink jacket’, he does it. He is the president of his party, and he is acting according to Arora’s script,” said Deshmukh.

Jayant Patil, state president of Sharad Pawar’s NCP, also said Arora was calling the shots in Ajit’s NCP. Patil recently told journalists in Nagpur that Arora had told Ajit not to say or do anything on an impulse. “Ajit Pawar of today is not the Ajit Pawar he was earlier,” said Patil.

He also said the BJP would want to distance itself from Ajit, given the Lok Sabha poll results. According to Patil, the BJP may even ask Ajit’s NCP to go it alone in the assembly polls, and think about a tie-up post elections, if needed.

home-made-rockets-and-weapons-from-across-the-border-are-escalating-the-conflict-in-manipur

Sat Sep 21 12:34:39 IST 2024

It was like a sonic boom. I had gone inside the house seconds before it happened. When I ran back out, I found the priest lying there, covered in blood. Splinters were everywhere, and my sister was injured, too,” recounted M. Kelvin Singh, great-grandson of Manipur’s first elected chief minister and Indian National Army freedom fighter Mairembam Koireng Singh.

On September 6, a rocket launched from the Kuki-dominated hills of Churachandpur struck the Meitei town of Moirang in Bishnupur district. The attack resulted in the death of a priest who was performing a ritual at the former chief minister’s residence, adjacent to the INA Museum. The rocket struck a wall, causing it to collapse, and the resulting splinters caused damage to nearby areas. The priest was fatally injured by one of these splinters.

The attack signalled a dangerous new chapter in Manipur’s ethnic strife. In the earlier phases of the conflict, most casualties occurred during gunfights on the fringes. But, the latest wave of violence has seen a sharp increase in civilian deaths and injuries to minors, signalling a grave humanitarian crisis. With the use of improvised rockets, armed drones and heavy weaponry, even those living 5km to 10km from the conflict zones realise with chilling clarity that no one is safe any more. In response, paramilitary forces and the Indian Army have expanded their dominance deeper into fringe areas, bracing for the threat posed by longer range weapons.

Just days before the rocket attack in Moirang, on September 1, terror struck Meitei-dominated Koutruk village in Imphal West. Over 40 bombs were reportedly dropped from drones that flew in from the Kuki-dominated hills of Kangpokpi. The bombing was accompanied by a deadly sniper attack. Two lives were lost, including that of a woman.

Eleven-year-old Ngangbam Rojiya witnessed her mother Surbala Devi’s death―a sniper’s bullet tore through the wall and hit her head. Rojiya’s right hand was injured, but the trauma has left deeper scars. “My daughter still shivers when she recalls the incident,” said Ngangbam Ingo, her father and a member of the village defence force linked with the Manipur Police. “She can still hear the echoes of bombs and gunfire.” For their safety, Rojiya and her older brother, Mahesh, have been relocated to their father’s village of Phayeng, about 5km from the scene of the tragedy. Koutruk lay in ruins, with many shattered homes. This was the first time the warring communities have used drones in an attack.

Kuki Civil Society Organisations vehemently deny drone bombings (it is alleged that Kukis repurposed commercial drones), and even former director general of the Assam Rifles, Lieutenant General Pradeep Chandran Nair (retd), supports this view. Ginza Vualzong, spokesperson for the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum, the frontal body for Kukis, says that their drones are small and used only for surveillance. (The Army and the CRPF have faced trouble in using their anti-drone system. A senior officer noted that in the narrow valleys of the region, the system can interfere with air traffic control.)

Kuki leaders do acknowledge the fighting on September 1, saying it was in retaliation to armed Meitei groups trying to take control of the forest road between Kangpokpi and Churachandpur. This road is the only link connecting the areas now, as the main route through Imphal Valley has been inaccessible to Kuki-Zo communities since the start of the ethnic conflict.

No one from the Kuki community is denying the development of home-made rockets.

The community, known for its weapons like the Pompi gun―a bamboo tube covered with buffalo skin, which was used against the British―have adapted them into modern grenade launchers with longer range.

“Meitei militant groups, valley-based insurgent factions, and Arambai Tenggol have access to sophisticated weapons, many of which are taken from state armouries. We have no choice but to innovate, drawing on our indigenous knowledge, to defend our ancestral land,” said Kaiminlen Sitlhou, spokesperson for the Committee on Tribal Unity. From a secret location in Sadar Hills overlooking the Imphal Valley, Sitlhou demonstrated to THE WEEK the working of a third-generation Pompi.

“To counter the Meitei threat, we developed an improved version of the Pompi last December, and we made further enhancements by March,” said Sitlhou. The latest iterations are crafted from thick steel from earth movers and old Shaktiman trucks. These Pompis function almost like advanced fireworks, with gunpowder packed in the base and the grenades loaded at the front. According to Sitlhou, the new Pompi can launch a grenade up to 10km-15km.

While security agencies assert these weapons are not military-grade, their impact has been devastating. The operation of such weaponry is also highly hazardous. “The risk is significant―it can kill the person who triggers it if it explodes prematurely,” said Sitlhou. The locally made grenades vary in size from 10cm to more than 20cm.

Security forces suspect that Kuki groups were helped by the Chin of Myanmar, who are fighting the military junta, in developing rockets. It is also believed that valley-based insurgent groups, active in the current conflict, possess sophisticated weapons, including those sourced from China. Among the arms recovered were M16, M18, and M4A1 carbines, which are not in the state police armoury and, therefore, not obtained via the loot from local arsenals during the initial days of riot.

Over the past year, there has been numerous reports of stolen water pipes and electric posts, with security agencies saying these materials could have been used to make weapons. A recent rocket attack in Moirang underscores this disturbing trend. Four crude rockets, each targeting different locations in the town, were repurposed pipes. They were propelled by gunpowder and had casings embedded with metal splinters and cycle bearings to increase lethality. The pipes were equipped with four fins for in-flight stability and had nitrogenous explosives in their warheads. As per a report filed at the Moirang Police Station, one of these rockets weighed 23.8kg. All four rockets travelled over five kilometres before impact.

Following the rocket and drone attacks, many have fled to safer areas. Yet, for poor farmers in the old fringe regions, where gunfire and assaults are routine, escape is not an option. In Bishnupur’s Oaksubam village, 70-year-old Konjenbam Matun labours on his small plot of land at the foothills, cultivating tomato, cauliflower, cucumber and other vegetables. “The Kuki hills are just 2km away,” he says, gesturing towards the green, steep slopes beyond his field and a vast paddy expanse. “I have no choice but to continue farming to survive. Whenever there’s a shoot-out, I have to run. Even my mud house offers no real protection.”

Public agitation surged after rocket attacks and alleged drone strikes. Students took to the streets of Imphal, demanding an end to conflict. They burned in effigy Union Home Minister Amit Shah and called for unified command (a coordination committee of police, Army and Central forces) to be led by Chief Minister Biren Singh, who is viewed by many as a staunch advocate for Meitei interests.

Meanwhile, the police are concerned about the use of lethal weapons by students in Imphal. Authorities believe that miscreants infiltrated the protests, using students as human shields. Manipur Deputy Inspector General (Range 1) N. Herojit Singh said that protesters were armed with automatic firearms. An officer was injured and the bulletproof vehicles of superintendents of police were damaged in gunfire.

In response to rising tensions, the government imposed a curfew and an internet ban. While the internet ban has since been lifted, a partial curfew remains in place.

After 16 months of ethnic conflict, life in both the valley and the hills remains grim. Students are forced to guard their villages with heavy weapons, neglecting studies. The cost of essential goods has skyrocketed and many are out of work. Thousands of internally displaced individuals are living in deteriorating conditions. With militant groups on both sides taking up arms, law and order has completely broken down, and Manipur is effectively controlled by these armed groups.

Given the range of weapons at their disposal now, any further escalation could spell disaster. Meanwhile, the Manipur Police have obtained MK2A1 medium machine guns and are being trained by the Army. The tension is intense, and the threat of more violence hangs heavily over an already devastated landscape.

engineer-rashid-jamaat-e-islami-alliance-jammu-and-kashmir-polls

Sat Sep 21 12:29:12 IST 2024

The ongoing assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir promise to be a closely fought contest. The National Conference-Congress alliance has momentum, especially in Kashmir and parts of Jammu, but it faces a challenge from new political players such as Engineer Rashid, leader of the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), and the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI). The JeI is backing candidates in seven seats―five in south and two in north Kashmir―while the AIP is contesting 34 seats.

The collaboration between Rashid and the JeI has caused unease in the NC and People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the two main regional parties.Rashid’s appeal has grown a lot after he won the Baramulla Lok Sabha election from jail, defeating the NC’s Omar Abdullah and Sajad Lone of the People’s Conference (PC). The NC and the PDP have alleged that Rashid, who was granted interim bail on September 10, is a BJP proxy released to split the opposition vote. Given the region’s complex demographics, even a small shift in voter preference could affect outcomes in several constituencies.

Although there is no overwhelming wave of support for the NC-Congress alliance, the NC’s leadership and strong organisational structure have helped it navigate the aftermath of the removal of Article 370 better than parties like the PDP. This was reinforced by the party’s performance in the Lok Sabha polls.

As for the Congress, it is buoyed by its increased vote share of 19 per cent, despite losing both Jammu seats to the BJP.

The PDP, though excluded from the alliance because of the NC’s opposition, aligns with the anti-BJP stance. Together, the NC-Congress alliance and the PDP led in 46 assembly segments―the number needed to form government―in the Lok Sabha elections.

Notably, it was the PDP that had previously benefited from JeI support. “The real JeI is behind bars with the ED and NIA targeting them,” said PDP president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti during a campaign in Pulwama. She said JeI schools were banned, members’ houses locked and their orchards seized. “They split it like they split the PDP,” she said, urging Delhi to lift the ban and allow the JeI to rejoin the electoral process.

After PDP and Rashid supporters clashed in Shopian, Mufti questioned AIP’s funding. “Engineer Rashid was in jail,” she said. “How is his party fielding candidates everywhere?” NC president Farooq Abdullah also weighed in, claiming prisoners were being released to divide the Muslim vote. Even Lone questioned the timing of Rashid’s release, hinting at a BJP plan.

Rashid, for his part, has dismissed the allegations of being a BJP proxy. “I got over four lakh votes in the Lok Sabha elections and defeated Omar Abdullah by more than two lakh votes. Yet, I am being accused of siphoning off votes.”

He emphasised that the cooperation with the JeI was aimed at raising the voice of Kashmiris and finding a solution to the Kashmir problem. “We will support the JeI candidates, and they will support our candidates,” he said. “In some seats, there will be a friendly contest, and both parties will field candidates.”

The JeI, too, has defended its decision to rejoin electoral politics. “We stayed away from elections due to concerns about the lack of transparency after 1987,” said Sayar Ahmed Reshi, JeI’s candidate from Kulgam, a stronghold of CPI(M) leader Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami. “Otherwise, JeI is the only organisation that elects all its officials through a consultative system (shura).”

He said that after the recent ‘free and fair’ Lok Sabha polls, they felt they should come forward and provide people with a sympathetic leadership. “Our agenda is peace and development with dignity,” he said.

Dr Talat Majeed, the JeI’s candidate in Pulwama, said the JeI had no role in starting militancy in Kashmir. “Other religious groups also had their militant wings; why single out JeI?’’ he asked. “I think whatever can be achieved is through political engagement.”

Altaf Thakur, the BJP’s chief spokesperson in Jammu and Kashmir, rubbished claims that Rashid was his party’s proxy. “Our opponents have already accepted defeat and that is why these allegations are being made,” he said.

The BJP has fielded candidates for 19 of the 47 seats in the valley. Ram Madhav, the BJP’s election in-charge for Jammu and Kashmir, said his party aims to win 35 seats in Jammu and 10 in Kashmir. “If this happens, those who ruined J&K for years are kept at bay,” he said. However, observers note that the BJP’s chances in Kashmir are slim, largely due to its role in stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its limited autonomy. The party is banking on opposition to the NC-Congress alliance, the PDP, and support from disgruntled candidates running as independents after being denied tickets by their parties. “There are 908 candidates in the fray, and 40 per cent of them are independents,” said a political analyst. “This has led to allegations that most have been propped up by the BJP to divide the vote. Some of them have a good chance of winning because they have won elections in the past and have support in their constituencies.” The BJP is particularly eyeing candidates associated with the JeI.

The party is also facing challenges in Jammu, its traditional stronghold, where many workers are unhappy over the denial of tickets to 10 senior leaders, including former deputy chief minister Dr Nirmal Singh and Kavinder Gupta. To address this, Singh and Gupta were named the J&K election campaign committee chairman and the state election management committee head.

Despite these efforts, some BJP leaders who were denied a ticket have decided to contest as independents. “Tickets have been given to those who have joined the party recently,” remarked a BJP leader. “Those who worked for the party for decades have been dropped.”

The BJP is confident that anger among the workers will not impact its performance due to its strong nationalist and religious appeal to the majority community in Jammu. However, given the surge in the Congress vote share in Jammu during the Lok Sabha polls and the party’s alliance with NC, the BJP’s target of securing a lion’s share in the overwhelmingly Hindu districts of Udhampur, Kathua and Samba, remains a challenge.

can-the-nc-congress-alliance-reshape-the-future-of-jammu-and-kashmir

Sat Sep 14 13:23:02 IST 2024

The forming of an alliance between the Congress and the National Conference (NC) for the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir is a significant development. A similar alliance, aimed at countering the BJP, had shown promising results in the Lok Sabha polls―the NC secured two of the three seats in Kashmir, while the Congress, despite losing two seats in Jammu to the BJP, increased its vote share.

Together, the NC and the Congress won 41.6 per cent of votes in the Lok Sabha polls, and led in 41 of the 90 assembly segments. The BJP, with a vote share of 24.4 per cent, led in 29 assembly segments. The People’s Democratic Party, which was kept out of the NC-Congress alliance even though it was part of the INDIA bloc, secured 8.4 per cent of votes and led in five assembly seats.

Together, the NC, the Congress and the PDP secured around 50 per cent votes and led in 46 assembly segments. Though the choice of candidates and local factors will come into play in the assembly polls, observers believe that the broader contours will be similar to that of the Lok Sabha elections.

There is no overwhelming wave in favour of the NC-Congress alliance, even though it is expected to consolidate anti-BJP votes. With defections having weakened the PDP, the NC remains the only regional party that has weathered the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370. The Congress aims to leverage the NC’s organisational strength to counter the BJP and reclaim its position as an important player, especially in the Hindu-majority Jammu.

The NC-Congress alliance is not without problems, though. There have been concerns about grassroots coordination and disagreements regarding seat-sharing. On August 22, after the alliance was formally agreed upon, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and leader of the opposition Rahul Gandhi addressed party workers in Srinagar, assuring them that an alliance would maintain the “respect of Congress workers”. “The workers have devoted their entire lives to upholding the Congress ideology and advancing the party’s vision. I am aware of the challenges you have faced,” said Rahul.

There was disagreement regarding sharing of seats in Kashmir and Jammu’s Muslim-majority Chenab Valley, which comprises Ramban, Doda and Kishtwar districts. The Congress, sources said, insisted that the seats they had won in the past be allocated to them. The NC, however, opposed it. As the deadlock persisted, the Congress leadership sent two senior leaders, K.C. Venugopal and Salman Khurshid, to Srinagar on August 26 to iron out differences.

After intense deliberations at NC leader Farooq Abdullah’s residence, the parties came to an agreement on seat-sharing just before the August 27 deadline for filing nominations for the first phase of the polls. It was decided that the NC would contest 51 seats and the Congress 32, with one seat each allocated to the CPI(M) and the Jammu-based J&K Panthers Party. Both the Congress and the NC will field candidates in five seats―Sopore (a separatist stronghold won twice by Congress leader Abdul Rashid), Banihal, Bhaderwah, Doda and Nagrota. “It brings us great satisfaction that we have completed the negotiations, and we will jointly fight the elections,” said Abdullah.

State Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra said the parties respected each other’s sensitivities while reviewing constituencies and finally reaching an agreement. “There will be a friendly contest in five seats where we faced difficulties in reaching an agreement,” he said.

Venugopal said the INDIA bloc’s main objective was to save Kashmir, which the BJP was trying to destroy. “That is why the NC and the Congress have come together to form a government that is friendly to the people. When we form government, there will be a common minimum programme,” he said.

Even though the alliance has tried to narrow down differences, challenges remain. The ‘friendly’ contest between the NC and the Congress in five seats could split the Muslim vote in places like Bhaderwah, where the Muslim and Hindu populations are nearly equal. In the last assembly polls, a three-way split in the Muslim vote between the NC, the PDP and the Congress had helped the BJP win the seat.

The problem of vote transfer between supporters of the two parties is also a concern. “That is something we cannot control,” said an NC leader. The alliance also faces the challenge of preventing disgruntled leaders from contesting as independents.

In the Muslim-majority Rajouri and Poonch districts, the alliance faces the test of winning the support of the Paharis, a community that is predominantly Muslim but includes Hindus as well. Five of the nine seats that are reserved for the scheduled tribes are in the region. Last year, the BJP granted ST status to the Paharis and three Hindu castes―Paddari, Kolis, and Gadda Brahmins. It caused discontent among the Gujjars and made the contests in Rajouri and Poonch highly competitive.

The BJP intends to field a few Muslim candidates in the region to bolster its chances. The rationale is that a Muslim candidate will attract both Muslim and Hindu votes, especially in seats where delimitation has altered the population ratio in favour of Hindus. The BJP’s recent induction of Chaudhary Zulfiqar Ali, a prominent Gujjar leader in Rajouri who won the 2008 and 2014 assembly polls, is a case in point.

As the first phase of the election on September 18 draws near, the ability of the NC and the Congress to address challenges and rally their supporters will be crucial. That will not only impact the outcome of the election, but also shape the future of Jammu and Kashmir.

india-has-a-robust-dam-management-system-on-paper-but-inadequate-maintenance-and-climate-change-pose-serious-threats

Sat Sep 14 15:49:56 IST 2024

Mindo, 52, points to her rebuilt verandah, a stark reminder of the floods that damaged her house in Sultanpur Lodhi’s Mandala village last year. As she offers a charpoy and a cup of tea―the warm Punjabi welcome―she recalls how water engulfed her house, even breaching the metre-high porch. “It was a nightmare,” she says. Her son Haroon, who runs a grocery shop to supplement the income from farming, nods in agreement. “We had to borrow money to rebuild, with no help from the government,” he says. Nearby, labourer Santosh Singh, 28, is still repaying the hefty loan he took to reconstruct portions of his flooded home.

The situation is no different in Talwara, about 90km from Sultanpur Lodhi. Says Jigir Singh, a rice farmer from Tadhe Pind: “My farms, spread over 12 acres, were submerged, and the crops completely destroyed.” The 55-year-old remembers seeing such floods more than 40 years ago, indicating changes in the monsoon pattern. Thousands of villages in more than 24 districts in Punjab bore the brunt of the fury of the Sutlej and the Beas; nearly 50 people died.

While in the north, the Bhakra Nangal and the Pong dams overflowed to wreak havoc downstream, the sudden gush of water from Kerala’s Idukki dam in 2018 also pointed to, as the local people put it, a major shift in rainfall. C.J. Stephen, 48, representative of the merchants’ association in Chappath on the banks of the Periyar, says that normally, even if water was released from the Idukki Dam, it would take three hours to reach Chappath. “But that day, the Idukki collector instructed us to immediately relocate products kept in our shops,” he recalls. “We informed the shop owners, but not many took the warning seriously. By evening, water from both the rains and the dam release flooded the village. Many merchants had stocked up in advance for the Onam season. They lost everything.”

In the east, the River Teesta, once said to be benign, is now seen as dangerous. The turning point came last October when a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) from South Lhonak Lake unleashed chaos at the Chungthang 1,200MW Teesta 3 hydropower project in Sikkim, killing 42 people and impacting 88,000 others across the Teesta basin. This unexpected disaster sparked critical conversations about the management and sustainability of hydropower projects across India. “We have been living in a rental home since the GLOF occurred. My house was completely damaged,” says Lakshmi Lama, 52, a resident of Teesta Bazar in West Bengal’s Kalimpong district. “The local administration gave us rent for six months. But now we are on our own. We want our home back.” People claim that the hydropower projects ignore the widespread destruction caused by incidents like the GLOF in Sikkim. “These hydro projects have killed the Teesta river. It now normally flows at the danger level. Thus, when it rains, the water comes to our doorstep,” says Suren Lohar, Lama’s neighbour. “The project authorities have failed to manage the river properly.”

The relationship between monsoons and dam management has always been tricky. Dams, or the “temples of modern India”, as former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru called them, help with flood control, hydropower generation and storing water for dry seasons. A major chunk of water from dams is used for irrigation. Monsoons, however, come with a degree of unpredictability. Despite tech-driven forecasts that help in saving lives and property, critical concerns related to dam safety are emerging because of climate change and increasingly errant rainfall patterns across the globe.

Says Suruchi Bhadwal, director, earth science and climate change, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), “With climate change, there will be a greater number of extremes and higher precipitation in terms of rainfall, and this will certainly result in an increase in risk aspects of dams in many parts of the country.” As Archana Verma, mission director of National Water Mission, said at the annual sustainable water management conclave, “Unlike monsoon patterns in the European and western nations which are usually spread out, India gets 50 per cent of rains within 15 days and in less than 100 hours altogether in a year, which makes storing water a big challenge.”

India, the third largest dam-owning nation in the world after China and the US, acknowledges the threat. As per the National Register of Large Dams 2023, India has 6,281 large dams, of which about 70 per cent are more than 25 years old, 1,034 are between 50 and 100 years old and 234 more than 100 years old. Recent inspections have found that two dams have defects that may lead to failure and 183 dams have defects that require immediate attention. While India’s dam safety standards are comparable to those of developed nations, there have been notable instances of unwarranted dam failures and inadequate maintenance.

In response to such instances, India passed the Dam Safety Act in 2021. It led to the formation of a National Committee on Dam Safety to oversee dam safety policies and regulations, a National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) to look into implementation issues involving states, a State Committee on Dam Safety and State Dam Safety Organisation. The law also calls for comprehensive safety reviews of all dams by independent experts, besides making it compulsory for dam owners to take time-bound safety actions. More importantly, the act mandates emergency action plans and provisions for early warning system (EWS).

Former Union power minister R.K. Singh had admitted that the presence of an EWS could have allowed the Teesta dam’s gates to be opened in time, thereby minimising the damage. Just three months before the Sikkim tragedy, gates of Pong dam in Himachal Pradesh were blocked by boulders, leading to a sudden release of water, inundating areas downstream. Sources say that the dam, managed by the Bhakra and Beas Management Board, lacks hydrological stations to measure water levels.

The sudden release of water from the Sardar Sarovar dam last September is another case in point. A report by the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) states that despite advance information about rains upstream, water from the Narmada river was released at once, flooding the low-lying areas. The NDSA’s preliminary report also found that crucial time was lost in taking preparatory action. The opposition Congress in Gujarat attributed the floods to gross negligence by authorities overseeing the Sardar Sarovar Project. Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator of SANDRP, says that forecast is not unreliable every time. “There have been instances when appropriate action is not taken despite advance warning, and the Sardar Sarovar incident is a clear example,” he says.

An official at the Pong dam, however, pointed at the dilemma faced by the engineer who has to ensure the timely release of excess water to prevent floods, and also see to it that the dam is full by September 30, the last day of the monsoon. “His job is on the line if he is not able to perform either of the tasks,” he says. “And with uncertainty in rainfall and a lack of trust in forecast, this job has become even more difficult.”

Experts believe that the Dam Safety Act has the potential to plug such gaps. The World Bank, which is partly funding India’s ambitious Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP), has prepared a report on the increasing complexity between erratic rainfall patterns and dam safety. “The risks to dams are real and India is on the right path to address them,” says a World Bank official. With financial assistance from the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, India, under DRIP phase II and III, aims to rehabilitate 736 dams in 19 states with a budget outlay of Rs10,211 crore for 10 years.

However, sources say the pace at which early warning systems are being installed does not inspire confidence. Only 220 of 6,281 large dams have been equipped with EWS since the passage of the act. Also, concerns have been raised about the available manpower to implement the act. “Around 200 people from the Central Water Commission (CWC) have been given the additional charge of dam safety work. This shows the lack of manpower to undertake the mammoth task,” says a source.

Moreover, rule curves of dams need to be updated to avoid disasters, says Thakkar. Rule curves are target levels to be maintained in the reservoir during different periods of a year, under different conditions of inflows. Vijay Kumar, whose Jomiso Consulting Ltd designs EWS, seconds Thakkar’s point, adding that “there is also an urgent need for Integrated Reservoir Operation, which entails linking together of operations of all dams on any single river”.

After last year’s breach of Pong and Bhakra dams, a committee headed by the CWC was formed. Although its report is still awaited, the CWC shared a revised rule curve for Pong dam, besides approving eight sites in the catchment to strengthen hydrological observatory. The Central Electricity Authority has issued advanced standard operating procedures for installing EWS and listed 46 dams needing immediate attention.

Experts also underscore the ecological impacts associated with dam construction worldwide, leading to biodiversity loss, disruption of crucial ecosystem services and threats to local communities’ livelihoods. Referring to the damage caused in Sikkim, Subir Sarkar, retired professor of Geography in North Bengal University, says, “Lack of afforestation and unregulated construction in the catchment area are major factors for the situation Teesta has landed in.” Adds Praful Rao of Save The Hills, an NGO that works in disaster management in North Bengal and Sikkim, “Scientists from Hyderabad-based National Remote Sensing Centre had alerted the government on the high vulnerabilities of the South Lhonak lake for GLOF. However, the authorities turned a blind eye and the result is for everyone to see.”

It is that time of the year when fears of deluge loom large. The Teesta region has been on high alert as landslides wreak havoc. Viral landslide videos from the Himalayas trigger memories of the havoc unleashed in Manali last year. The Delhi deluge is still fresh in the minds of people. Areas downstream of Idukki and Mullaperiyar are also on alert. Stephen notes that Chappath has been the focal point of protests demanding the decommission of the Mullaperiyar dam. The reservoir, he says, is situated in a seismic zone and the region is extremely vulnerable to climate change. Fear grips Mindo every time she hears about rains in the hills. Sitting on her charpoy, she prays for the monsoons to pass without breaching her porch.

With Nirmal Jovial and Niladry Sarkar

central-water-commission-chairman-kushvinder-vohra-interview-dam-security-measures

Sat Sep 14 12:01:02 IST 2024

Interview/ Kushvinder Vohra, Chairman, Central Water Commission

CENTRAL WATER COMMISSION chief Kushvinder Vohra, who heads the National Committee on Dam Safety, spoke to THE WEEK on dam management, climate change and inter-state issues. Excerpts:

What are the steps being taken to mitigate the effects of climate change vis-a-vis dam safety?

Some key initiatives include Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) to improve the safety of select dams. Under DRIP, guidelines and manuals for agencies responsible for dam management are issued. In addition to structural measures, impetus on non-structural measures like preparation of operation and maintenance manual, emergency action plan, early warning system for inflow forecasting and timely dissemination of water release information to the downstream authorities are also being implemented…. Risk-based screening of dams has been introduced. Establishment of International Centre of Excellence for Dams to carry out advanced research and development and providing need-based support to the dam owners in addressing complex issues is another step. CWC is also working on modifications in the guidelines for dam designs, considering the potential impacts of climate change such as changes in precipitation patterns and increased frequency of extreme weather events like Glacial Lake Outburst Flood.

What are the changes that have been brought in since the passage of the Dam Safety Act?

The Dam Safety Act 2021 is a landmark legislation that brings a paradigm shift in the way we manage, operate and maintain our dams…. Some of the changes brought about include focus on proper surveillance and robust institutional mechanisms. The formation of the National Committee on Dam Safety, National Dam Safety Authority, State Committees on Dam Safety and State Dam Safety Organisations is a case in point. Besides, the number of pre- and post-monsoon inspections have increased from 1,200 before the enactment of the act to 12,000 annually.

Are there any penal provisions in the act?

The act allows for punishment if a dam operator fails to comply with any provision of the legislation. If obstruction or refusal to comply with directions results in loss of lives or imminent danger, the one responsible shall be punishable with imprisonment up to two years.

Are inter-state issues a hindrance to dam safety?

Dam safety is an issue that concerns all. Hence, no hindrance has been felt on dam safety due to inter-state issues…. Coordination, collaboration and communication between state and central agencies, dam owners, local communities and NGOs are key. The issues are resolved amicably.

dam-and-levee-consultant-eric-halpin-interview

Sat Sep 14 11:58:16 IST 2024

Interview/ Eric Halpin, dam and levee consultant

ERIC HALPIN, WHO WORKED as an adviser to India’s dam rehabilitation project, has only good things to say about India’s Dam Safety Act, 2021. But a lot is riding on its proper implementation as consequences of dam failure are much graver in India than in any other country, says Halpin, who was with the US Army Corps of Engineers for 40 years and is leading its Agency Dam and Levee Safety Programs. Excerpts from an interview:

How real is the impact of climate change on dam safety and management?

The effects of climate change on dam safety can now be directly estimated. All the dams and levees are now not only dealing with changes in rainfall patterns but also rise in sea levels, affecting the performance of the infrastructure. The harder part is the inland hydrology. The storms are now more frequent, intense and of longer durations. There is both too much water and too little water―droughts and floods. It is much harder to estimate spatial and time variability. Dams should now become one of the ways to mitigate the impacts of climate change. We should make them to either store more water in droughts or be more effective in flood control conditions to mitigate the downstream effects of flooding.

How can that be done?

It requires some changes in dam safety. One big challenge is to recognise that operations, particularly in a place like India, need to be more nimble. It means probably going from water operations based on water on the ground to water in the air. In the US, we call that forecast-based operations. It enables you to make early releases in case of a big storm or hold longer for a big drought. For India, the consequences of dam failure are much graver than any other country in the world. India has multiple dams with 10 million or more people living below them. Just a small change in hydrology can have a big effect on the dam’s performance.

What is your take on India’s Dam Safety Act?

India probably has one of the most, if not the most, modern dam safety legislation. There are a couple of reasons for it: One, it is fully risk-informed on par with the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and many countries in Europe. Two, the way the Indian government is engaging with institutions like the World Bank for infrastructure funding and using it as a leverage with the states, nudging them to adopt risk practices. Dams are central to agriculture in India. Set aside the fact that people can be killed by a dam failure, the loss of water for irrigation could be even more consequential. There is a lot riding on what is in the law and what is in practice. The start has been very effective, but there is a tremendous amount of work to be done.

trinamool-congress-rajya-sabha-member-sagarika-ghose-interview-kolkata-doctor-rape-murder

Sat Aug 31 16:49:28 IST 2024

Interview/ Sagarika Ghose, Rajya Sabha member, Trinamool Congress

MAMATA BANERJEE HAS never shied away from a political challenge. But the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata seems to have put her government in West Bengal on the back foot. After a thumping victory in the assembly elections in 2021, her Trinamool Congress Party had performed well in the Lok Sabha elections this year and increased its seat share despite facing allegations of scams, sexual assault and land-grabbing against its leaders.

The Trinamool has always received strong support of women voters thanks to Mamata’s aura and her welfare schemes. But now women also seem upset about her government’s failure to protect a young doctor at a hospital. A barrage of misinformation spread through social media did not help, either. But the Trinamool has now started countering the rumours and setting things right. At the forefront of that mission is Rajya Sabha member Sagarika Ghose. “What happened was social media took off in a certain direction, guided by the BJP IT cell and by certain vested interests, which kept on putting out various fake theories,” she says. “We cannot expect media sensationalism to determine the narrative of a law and order investigation or a criminal investigation.” Excerpts from an interview:

Q/ Did the Mamata Banerjee government and the Trinamool Congress fail to understand the gravity of the situation initially?

A/ I would not agree with that because within hours of the crime taking place, our chief minister was on the scene. She was in touch with the police and the family from August 9, the day the body was discovered. It was all Mamata Banerjee calling for speedy investigation in the case. It was not a case of failing to register the importance. What happened was social media took off in a certain direction, guided by the BJP IT cell and by certain vested interests, which kept on putting out various fake theories. An investigation takes place according to the gathering of evidence, the police procedures, the formal established legal procedures. So, we cannot expect media sensationalism to determine the narrative of a law and order investigation or a criminal investigation. We were not uninformed on the nature and the gravity of the crime, but we were led to counter the fake theories that began on social media, largely because of the operations of the BJP IT cell.

Q/ Do you think the government failed to arrive at a single-point decision on how to deal with the situation? Did the division within the party affect decision making?

A/ There were certain lapses. I won’t deny that. But we have to separate the surround sound from the actual law and order investigation into the crime that took place. The body was discovered on the morning of August 9 in the seminar hall. The police arrived on the scene and a general entry diary was recorded at 10:10am. Unnatural death was registered at 1:45pm. The autopsy was done by a board of autopsy surgeons in the presence of the judicial magistrate, the mother of the victim and five female doctors as per the request made by the family of the deceased. The entire procedure was videographed. Then the body was handed over at night to the family. And at 11:45pm, the police registered the FIR. This was explained to the court when the court asked why the delay in filing the FIR.

The police gave a minute-by-minute account of the day to the Supreme Court. The court asked very tough questions, but in the end accepted the version of the Kolkata police. The police had cracked the case. They had found the accused within 24 hours. DNA testing and DNA matching were done.

The principal (Dr Sandip Ghosh) was transferred (Ghosh resigned on August 12 and was appointed principal in another state-run medical college), but his transfer was revoked. He is now on long leave. There might have been gaps in accountability there. I don’t think it was the chief minister’s decision to transfer the principal. It was done by the health department. It was certainly an accountability lapse on the part of the administration. The principal failed to provide a safe environment at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital. And for that, he should have been held immediately accountable. I don’t think these lapses occurred due to divisions within the party.

The West Bengal government has come up with a programme for women who are working on the night shift called Rattierer Sathi. We have enumerated a list of steps that the government is taking to make sure that women who are working on the night shift have access to adequate restrooms and also can access security helplines through a mobile app that we are developing. A young life has been tragically lost. A daughter of Bengal has been lost. Her dreams have been snuffed out. We are anguished over this. We share your anguish, as women politicians particularly. We feel the best tribute to her is not letting this happen again. We will do our best to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.

Q/ Did Dr Sandip Ghosh’s proximity to Mamata Banerjee affect the investigation?

A/ I don’t think proximity to Mamata Banerjee stops anyone from being prosecuted. We have several ministers of the Bengal government who are currently in jail. You can be known to Mamata Banerjee, but if there are crimes against you, if there are charges against you, you will be prosecuted and jailed. The doctor may have known Mamata Banerjee; I as a senior journalist knew Mamata Banerjee. She used to send me New Year messages also. She is the chief minister of the state. She knows a wide range of people.

The case is now with the CBI. If there is evidence against this doctor, he will be prosecuted. There’s no question about that.

Q/ The protests happening in Bengal have become a movement. What would be the outcome of this movement?

A/ In Uttar Pradesh, if you protest, your home is bulldozed. But in Kolkata, you can protest, you can attack the police, and the police observe restraint. They only reacted when the law and order was threatened. The idea was to provoke the police. The idea was to get the police to do something which would be termed a police excess and then to bring on President’s rule. That is what the BJP wants. They want to dismiss an elected government, recapture lost ground. The Nabanna Abhijan protest on August 27 showed the BJP’s desperation.

But I would make a huge distinction between the BJP’s protests and what has been going on in the rest of the time in Kolkata. Protest is a fundamental right and we feel the anguish of citizens. No protest has been stopped. There have been protests by women’s groups, by specially-abled groups, by mothers, by junior doctors. We are not only allowing these protests to happen, but we are listening to them. These protests will certainly galvanise the Bengal government to take further steps to ensure the safety of women.

Q/ The Trinamool Congress has always swiftly dealt with social media campaigns against it. What went wrong this time?

A/ The social media can often take off in a certain direction. Those who are investigating a crime have to investigate the crime. You can’t expect the police to give real-time tweets on what exactly they are trying to do. Maybe a little bit of time was lost in that lag when all these theories were spinning around. But I think we have covered a lot of ground now. And a lot of this misinformation, rumours and theories are being challenged and set right.

I would appeal to the media to understand what a crime is. It takes a bit of time for a crime to be investigated and for evidence to emerge. But if you are on social media and speculating wildly about all kinds of theories, then you are making life difficult for the police. It was also compounded by the fact that the BJP jumped in and started spewing a lot of fake news from its handles. I think that has been corrected now.

Q/ Women voters in Bengal have always had Mamata Banerjee’s back. Do you think they are upset with her now?

A/ Everybody is angry. It is not just women. Young people are angry, the old are angry. A cheerful young doctor with the whole life ahead of her has been raped and killed at a place of healing. She was going to heal people. And she was cut down by this vicious criminality. So there is a lot of anger. And there is a lot of questions being asked as to why we could not keep her safe.

People are angry, but I think they see sincerity in Mamata Banerjee. She has been talking continuously to the police and to the family of the victim. She has dedicated the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad foundation day to her. And she has also said a big sorry to our daughter and to all women who have suffered at the hands of criminals and who have suffered crimes. She is anguished beyond belief. She is heartbroken. That is why she is asking for capital punishment for the culprit. People will see that Mamata Banerjee has always stood by the victim and is sincere in whatever she is trying to do.

maharashtra-assembly-polls-may-not-be-a-straightforward-mva-versus-mahayuti-affair

Sat Aug 31 12:55:41 IST 2024

On August 23, more than a thousand people gathered at a ground behind the Shahu sugar cooperative in Kagal, near the Karnataka border in Kolhapur district. The sugar cooperative was launched a few decades ago by Vikramsinh Raje Ghatge, the late head of the Kagal royal family. The meeting was convened by his son Samarjeet, who is close to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Samarjeet wanted to decide his future course of action after it became clear that the Kagal assembly seat would go to sitting MLA and minister Hasan Mushrif of the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar) in the upcoming polls.

The Ghatges and Mushrifs are known political opponents. In 2019, Samarjeet had contested as an independent against Mushrif (that time the seat went to the undivided Shiv Sena which was in an alliance with the BJP) and finished second with over 88,000 votes. Now with the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP being part of the ruling Mahayuti along with the BJP and the Shinde faction of the Sena, the BJP is unable to deliver on the promise it made to Samarjeet that he would be the party's candidate from Kagal in the 2024 assembly elections.

Two weeks ago, THE WEEK revealed that Samarjeet, who is in his early 40s, would raise the banner of rebellion and join the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP to contest against Mushrif. He refused to speak to this correspondent back then, but this time, he opened up. “The party [NCP-Sharad Pawar] will announce (Samarjeet’s joining date, which is said to be September 3). It is the party’s prerogative. There is no development in Kagal. We do not have a dialysis centre here. We have to go to Kolhapur or Nipani or Gadhinglaj.” When asked whether Fadnavis had promised to make him an MLC (member of legislative council),Samarjeet said he was not interested. “I am interested in getting elected by the people.” He is in touch with nearly 25,000 supporters through WhatsApp groups. He has also given jobs to nearly 4,000 people through his Shahu group.

Shivaji Magdum, a Samarjeet supporter and former sarpanch of Ekondi village, said the BJP did not do injustice to Samarjeet. “We are not opposed to the BJP, but we are opposed to Mushrif. He is enemy number one for us. Even die-hard BJP supporters in Kagal will vote for Samarjeet,”said Magdum.

Shakila Shane Diwan, a woman supporter of Samarjeet, said Muslims like her would vote for him. “I feel Fadnavis did not do justice to him. The BJP played politics of convenience,”said Shakila.

Kagal’s political history revolves around leaders and not parties. The constituency was represented by the late Sadashiv Mandlik, a close Sharad Pawar aide, for a long time. When Mandlik moved to the Lok Sabha, Mushrif became MLA in 1999. Since then, he has represented Kagal. Samarjeet gave him a tough fight in 2019, despite contesting as an independent. Now his supporters want him to contest once again.

Around 50km from Kagal is Radhanagari constituency, currently held by Prakash Abitkar of the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena. If Samarjeet has raised the banner of rebellion in Kagal, in Radhanagari it is K.P. Patil, a Pawar family loyalist who sided with Ajit when the NCP split. He now wants to return to the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

“In the Lok Sabha elections, we worked for Congress candidate Shahu Maharaj. I have been thinking since then [about joining the MVA],”said Patil, who lost to Abitkar in 2019. He is waiting to see which MVA partner would get the Radhanagari seat and plans to make his move accordingly.

Another leader facing a similar dilemma is Harshvardhan Patil from Indapur. Coming from a Congress family, he first got elected as an MLA in 1995 as an independent. He declared support to the Shiv Sena-BJP government and managed to become a minister of state. He later joined the Congress and remained an MLA till 2014. In 2014, when all parties fought assembly elections independently, Harshvardhan lost to Datta Bharne of the NCP. In 2019, when it became clear that Bharne, a close aide of Ajit Pawar, would retain Indapur, Harshvardhan joined the BJP. It was Harshvardhan who said that after joining the BJP, he sleeps peacefully without worrying about any agencies.

Bharne is likely to contest from Indapur once again and it has put a question mark over Harshvardhan’s future. His supporters want him to rebel and his daughter Ankita has said that he will contest as an independent. But Harshvardhan has not made any public statements so far.

Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule reportedly said that Harshvardhan was a big leader and that he would take a decision that would benefit the entire state. This has led to speculation that he was in talks with Sharad Pawar and could contest as an independent against Bharne. “Media has been discussing all options for Harshvardhan, but has not talked about the possibility of him returning to the Congress. I will not be surprised if he returns to Congress and then Sharad Pawar gives up the claim on Indapur seat so that Harshvardhan can contest on a Congress ticket,”said political analyst Abhay Deshpande.

Such developments signify that assembly elections are not going to be like Lok Sabha elections which was a straight fight between the MVA and the Mahayuti. Deshpande said emerging trends showed that ambitious leaders who controlled about 50,000 votes could either switch parties or contest as independents, giving rise to the possibility of independents getting elected in large numbers like it happened in 1995.

“Everything depends on how seat sharing takes place,”said Deshpande. “There are Ajit Pawar MLAs like Sunil Tingre and Atul Benke who have given the indication that they will return to Sharad Pawar's party. In every assembly election, established second-rung leaders make a switch if they do not see the possibility of getting a ticket. So seat sharing is going to be very crucial for both alliances to keep their flock together and reduce chances of rebellion.”

hema-committee-report-highlights-unscrupulous-trends-in-malayalam-film-industry

Fri Aug 23 16:07:06 IST 2024

Films in the drama genre exploring complex emotions, moral conflicts and psychological challenges tend to do well in Malayalam. The formation of a three-member committee―headed by Justice K. Hema―by the Kerala government to study the issues faced by women in cinema in July 2017, following the abduction and sexual assault of a prominent actress, and the events that unfolded until the partial release of the committee’s report on August 19, have all the hallmarks of such a compelling drama.

Though released in a redacted form to protect the privacy of the respondents, the report revealed alarming instances of sexual harassment and exploitation. Malayalam cinema, it said, was controlled by an all-male “power group”, which wielded significant influence over casting and production. And women feared retaliation or blacklisting if they opened up.

Since the formation of the committee, the government had expressed its commitment to introducing legislation to protect women and to address the undesirable trends in the industry. However, the report remained in cold storage for over four years. The government’s commitment to releasing the report or taking action based on its findings were questioned frequently. “The government could have released the redacted version much earlier,” said political observer and lawyer A. Jayasankar. “It should have acted on the recommendations and introduced legislation for women’s safety in the film industry.”

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, commonly known as the PoSH Act, is a crucial piece of legislation aimed at creating a safe work environment for women. Screenwriter Deedi Damodaran, one of the founding members of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), which played a key role in convincing the government to set up the Hema committee, said the WCC had to pursue legal action to enforce the implementation of the PoSH Act on film sets. “Even after the court’s verdict that the PoSH Act should be enforced, it has not been implemented,” she said.

The PoSH Act mandates the formation of an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) in organisations. In 2022, the Kerala Women’s Commission asked the government to establish a system for internal complaints redressal in the film sector. M. Renjith, former president of the Kerala Film Producers’ Association, said theirs was the first organisation to take steps to exclude individuals involved in criminal cases. “However, many film projects in Kerala are not registered with the association or fall under its oversight.” The Hema committee has recommended to address this anomaly.

The committee also observed that while the PoSH Act protected women in the workplace, women in cinema could face sexual harassment even before they reached their actual workplace―the shooting location. The committee was “hesitant to recommend the constitution of the ICC” as it felt that the industry was under the control of certain producers, directors and actors―all male―who could coerce ICC members to deal with the complaint in a manner they wanted. Instead of the ICC, the committee recommends an independent tribunal under an “appropriate statute”.

Acclaimed editor and WCC member Bina Paul clarified that this was not a discrepancy. “When we requested the ICC, we did not know when the committee report would be published. But we knew that there was a law of the land that was not being applied to the film industry. There are many challenges in applying the law to this industry―it is contractual, short-term and involves many complexities. However, we felt an immediate solution was needed, and that was why we moved court.”

Saji Nanthyattu, general secretary of the Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce, said the organisation set up an ICC consisting members from seven trade bodies in 2022 itself. “We also mandated that each producer must create an ICC [on sets] and submit the list to the Chamber,” said Nanthyattu. “However, not a single complaint has been filed in nearly 500 films made since then. Now they claim there is fear of filing complaints―I don’t understand that logic. Even underprivileged women have no fear of raising complaints. These are people with education and privilege, and they say they fear complaining to the ICC.”

Nanthyattu said there were practical challenges in the successful functioning of a tribunal in the film industry. “If a complaint arises on a location, who will the woman approach? It is easier to go to a police station. So, this could become a farce,” he said of the proposed tribunal. Notably, the Adoor Gopalakrishnan committee, which submitted its report a decade ago, recommended amending the Cinema Regulation Act and establishing a regulatory authority with quasi-judicial powers to address undesirable trends.

The responsibility now lies with the government to implement the Hema committee’s recommendations. P. Sathidevi, chairperson of the state women’s commission, said the commission would make an official recommendation for the implementation of the report. “Our understanding is that the committee has recommended the establishment of a tribunal to address not only sexual harassment complaints, but also issues like work bans, pay disparities and inadequate workplace facilities.”

The culture ministry has set up a committee headed by filmmaker Shaji N. Karun for creating a “film policy” for the state. Karun said the policy would bring “discipline” to the industry and would incorporate recommendations by the Hema committee. The ministry is also organising a conclave in November where stakeholders from Malayalam and other film industries will discuss major issues. The WCC has demanded gender issues to be the key topic of discussion at the conclave. Culture Minister Saji Cherian said all issues relating to cinema and the serial sectors would be addressed.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan did not rule out setting up a judicial tribunal as suggested by the Hema committee. But he hinted that given the financial situation of the state, it could take some time. For the Malayalam film industry, a happy ending seems unlikely at the moment.

national-commission-for-scheduled-castes-chairman-kishor-makwana-interview

Sat Aug 24 15:30:03 IST 2024

Interview/ Kishor Makwana, chairman, National Commission for Scheduled Castes

The Supreme Court's judgment on sub-classification of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes has triggered an intense social and political debate. Kishor Makwana, chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, says it is very difficult to implement it. Excerpts from an interview:

Q. How do you view the Supreme Court's judgment on sub-classification of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes?

A. The system of reservation provided for under the Constitution is meant to ensure that the social strata left behind because of the caste system and the practice of untouchability in the Hindu community should come into the social mainstream. The Supreme Court has said that there should be quota within quota within the Scheduled Castes and scheduled tribes to ensure that some specific sections that have not benefited from reservation should also benefit from it. But what will this lead to? It is essential to assess how beneficial the classification will be. Additionally, it is crucial to evaluate the progress of the most backward sub-castes within the SC community and whether they have received social justice.

Q. The court has also observed that creamy layer concept could be applied to the Scheduled Castes.

A. There is another observation made by the Supreme Court, about creamy layer. Today, any individual belonging to the Scheduled Castes, even if he has become a doctor, engineer, scientist, industrialist, has done well from the economic point of view, when he goes in the midst of the community, how will he be treated? He will not be treated based on his economic prosperity. He will be treated like a Dalit. So creamy layer concept fails here. Hence the suggestion which the Supreme Court has given is not in the interest of the society. Even today, I see in many cities that in the flats or housing societies in upper class areas, even if a person is a doctor, he is not given a house. Discrimination does not get over with economic prosperity. The Constitution too has not made the provision for reservation based on economic criteria. The criteria for reservation in the Constitution is inequality due to caste system and untouchability. There is no harm if those within the SC community who are well-off voluntarily choose to forgo their reservation benefits.

Q. The Supreme Court has said the states can sub-classify SC/ST. Can it be implemented?

A. It is very difficult to implement it. It is everyone's responsibility to ensure that the person at the lowest rung within the SC community does not get left behind.

Q. So you feel that this cannot be implemented at present?

A. It should be left to the Scheduled Castes. Some reflection should happen within the community on ensuring that no section is left behind.

Q. Now, it is up to the states to implement it and some states such as Telangana and Karnataka have said they will implement the Supreme Court judgment.

A. Some states are expected to go ahead and implement it (sub-categorisation). They will do it looking at the state-specific conditions. Some will do it based on political considerations because unfortunately, while the framers of the Constitution had social justice in mind while providing for reservation, in the current scenario, reservations are decided on completely different considerations.
It has become completely political. This is not right. It is also antithetical to the basic values of the Constitution.

Q. The Commission had in the past too opposed the idea of sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes.

A. Yes, twice before the Commission has rejected the idea of sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes. The Commission has stated that the system of reservation for Scheduled Castes should not be tinkered with.

Q. A Committee headed by the cabinet secretary was set up some months ago to study the issue of sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes. Was the Commission consulted by the panel?

A. No, we were not approached by the committee.

Q. The Supreme Court's own view on the matter earlier has been that there cannot be sub-classification of Scheduled Castes.

A. Sometimes, the decisions of the Supreme Court do evoke surprise. Over the past 70 years, there have been discussions about reservation, sometimes in the name of religion and at other times about providing reservation to converted SC-ST individuals. This is against the fundamental spirit of the Constitution. It is a political game. This was not the view point of Bababaheb Ambedkar or other leaders of that time.

Q. Can some legal safeguard be brought by the government on this issue?

A. I am not aware of what the government is thinking on the issue. However, the Prime Minister has given an assurance to the MPs belonging to the Scheduled Castes and scheduled tribes who went to meet him that the government is not in favour of implementing creamy layer for these communities.

Q. But the government has not said anything clearly on the issue of sub-classification.

A. Efforts should be made to help those sections that are still more backward within the Scheduled Castes compared to others.

Q. Any concerns that sub-classification, if implemented by the states, could also be decided based on political considerations?

A. Yes, of course, that concern is there. The states which have said yes, such as Telangana or Karnataka, their motive is political and not helping the most backward castes or because they respect the Constitution.

former-naval-captain-and-author-alok-bansal-interview-gwadar-port-strategic-importance

Sat Aug 24 11:22:33 IST 2024

Interview/ Captain Alok Bansal, director, India Foundation, and author, Gwadar: A Chinese Gibraltar

Captain Alok Bansal’s Gwadar: A Chinese Gibraltar is the result of 18 years of painstaking research. The Gwadar saga stretches back even further.

Pakistan had zeroed in on Gwadar to build a mega seaport in 1964, six years after acquiring it from Oman. The port would have the potential to accommodate super tankers and mother ships. And, that would be vital to attract the transit trade of central Asian nations. Moreover, it would allow Pakistan to keep an eye on the entire traffic to and from the crucial Persian Gulf.

But, work on the port began only in 2001. While the construction is almost complete, various associated projects are still in phases of development, including connectivity by road, rail and an airport. In 2013, the China Overseas Port Holding Company took over the leasing rights of the port and consequently Gwadar became a lynchpin in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Gwadar takes away the maritime advantage India enjoys over China in the Indian Ocean and embeds China in the northern Arabian Sea, thereby threatening India’s maritime security. Also, it adds to Chinese and Pakistani capability to threaten India’s energy security.

THE WEEK spoke to Captain Bansal on Gwadar. Edited excerpts:

Q Why do you call Gwadar a Chinese Gibraltar?

A Gibraltar controls access to the Mediterranean. This has been a British possession on the southern coast of Spain, another country. But Britain, by its presence in Gibraltar, controls any entry or exit from the Mediterranean towards the Atlantic. Similarly, and to some extent even more, because Gwadar is at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, China can control any traffic that is entering or exiting the Persian Gulf. Here we also need to understand that unlike the Mediterranean, which is open at both ends, the Persian Gulf can only be exited from one point―the Strait of Hormuz―and Gwadar is just outside the strait. So any maritime position there can monitor every vessel that is leaving or entering the Persian Gulf.

Q What did it take so long for Pakistan to try and develop it into a major port?

A Gwadar was not part of British India. Gwadar was with the Sultanate of Oman and it continued to be so till 1958. So, it took Pakistan some time to get Gwadar back. Secondly, this part of Pakistan, the Makran coast, is grossly underdeveloped. There is no water. It is a dry, parched land. More significantly, the Baloch never reconciled to being a part of Pakistan and there have been insurgencies off and on. It is only after various reports from international institutions which found Gwadar to be extremely suitable for a transshipment port that Pakistan decided to move.

But, Pakistan did not have the finances or resources required for a mega project like this; it is the biggest infrastructure project that Pakistan has ever undertaken. It was only the Chinese support that enabled Pakistan to build it.

Q Does the Chabahar Port reduce the strategic significance of Gwadar?

A Chabahar could be a competitor for Gwadar because Chabahar is equally well-located and could emerge as an ideal gateway for central Asian states. Being Iranian territory, it could also work as a gateway for the Transcaucasus region or Caucasian states like Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.

However, we need to understand that China is also connecting Chabahar; it is already connecting Iran with Belt and Road Initiative. So, Chinese goods are coming to Iran. In Chabahar itself, some berths have been offered to China.

From Pakistan's point of view, it is a big setback because Pakistan's primary objective is to enmesh China into its security dynamics. This is defeated if Chabahar becomes a commercially viable port. Then the shipping would go to Chabahar. So the economic development which Pakistan has planned and the viability of the CPEC to a great extent, will come under question.

Though both Chabahar and Gwadar are functioning ports, their operability is limited because of limitations of infrastructure and other issues. Gwadar has not yet become economically viable. The depths are not adequate, the infrastructure has really not come up and the hinterland has not developed. Consequently, any goods that are offloaded at Gwadar have to be taken over land to Karachi and then they head north. So that does not make them economically viable. Similarly, in Chabahar, there is a deficiency of cranes, though the road exists, but the ideal connectivity would be when train tracks come to Chabahar and connect them with the Iranian national grid. More importantly, Iran continues to be under sanctions. So these are issues which we will have to look into.

Q To what extent would Gwadar threaten India's energy security?

A It threatens India's energy security to a great extent. A major chunk of India's refining capacity is in the Gulf of Kutch. The sea line of communication, from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Kutch, passes just 40 nautical miles from Gwadar. That means any small boat in Gwadar can interdict a ship which is coming from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Kutch.

As far as India's energy security is concerned, a very large chunk is dependent on the single point mooring located in Gulf of Kutch. The ships bringing crude to the single point mooring pass close to Gwadar.

Q Why do you say that China being guided only by economic considerations is a hollow proposition when it comes to developing Gwadar?

A One of the proposals which the Chinese have projected is that they are developing Gwadar because this provides them energy security; crude can be offloaded here and taken along the CPEC to western China.

China has been trying to project that its role is purely economic, but the actions on ground do not reflect that. The way China has built a new international airport with hardly any traffic.... But, more importantly, Pakistanis have been projecting that there is a security angle to it. They have kept vast land for development of naval base and they are hoping that China gets involved in it.

China has started taking overseas bases. They have already set up an overseas base in Djibouti. And we have seen in the past that China initially denies any such events and when it happens, then they present it as a fait accompli to the world.

So, there is definitely a security dimension. Pure economics does not justify a huge investment like this.

bharat-adivasi-party-is-challenging-bjp-and-congress

Sat Aug 10 13:22:22 IST 2024

A rain-washed day is unfolding and the verdant hills and meadows of Banswara are resplendent in their green finery. Though the humidity makes it oppressively warm, the winding road leading up to the monument of Mangarh Dham is abuzz with a festival-like atmosphere. The monument has immense social and historical importance for the Bhil tribe, and the energy-sapping weather does not stop them from trudging up the hill. Many of them carry decorated bows and arrows. The mood is celebratory as groups of people arrive playing traditional musical instruments and singing joyously.

Banswara is a stark contrast to the arid terrain of Rajasthan. It is also the setting of an intense social and political churn. The mobilisation of Bhils as a group keen to assert its identity is evident as they gathered in massive numbers at the Mangarh Dham, built in remembrance of the 1,500 Bhils who were killed by the British in 1913.

Over a lakh Bhils gathered at Mangarh Dham on July 18 demanding Bhil Pradesh, a separate state for the tribal community that will comprise 43 Bhil-dominated districts in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. It is not a new demand, but has grown louder of late, as a campaign is on in the tribal-dominated districts to mobilise the Adivasis as a socially and politically aware group. The movement has now got an electoral boost, with the Bharat Adivasi Party, formed in September 2023, winning three assembly seats in Rajasthan and one in Madhya Pradesh, and also the Banswara Lok Sabha seat.

“Our main aim is creation of Bhil Pradesh,” said Rajkumar Roat, BAP’s Lok Sabha member from Banswara. “If this demand is accepted, all the issues can be resolved. Minerals are found in tribal areas, but the tax collected is disbursed in such a manner that this region is neglected. Even today, you will come across many schools where children of three to four classes sit together. Malnutrition is common. The tribals have been living in this region since pre-independence times, but they still have not got ownership of the land.”

The districts of Banswara and Dungarpur have been the epicentre of this agitation. What began as an assertion of the tribal identity in student politics took the form of an ideological forum called the Adivasi Parivar. The next step was their entry into electoral politics. The Adivasi Parivar contested the 2018 Rajasthan assembly elections under the banner of the Bharatiya Tribal Party, a Gujarat-based party founded by tribal leader Chotubhai Vasava, and won two seats. Rajkumar, one of the two winners, was the youngest member to get elected to the Vidhan Sabha. In September 2023, however, the Rajasthan leaders broke away from the BTP.

“We first applied for the name National Tribal Party,” said Kantilal Roat, one of the founding leaders of the BAP and the party’s national general secretary. “Governments and the established political parties did not want us to get registered as a political party. We gave other names, and finally the name Bharat Adivasi Party was cleared.”

The BAP was launched in September 2023 at a rally in Genji Ghata village of Dungarpur. It was allotted the symbol of hockey stick and ball, which the BAP leaders say is apt as it acts as a reminder of hockey great Jaipal Singh Munda, a tribal icon. It fielded 27 candidates in Rajasthan and eight in Madhya Pradesh in the assembly elections in December 2023, and won three and one, respectively. The breakthrough, however, was the party’s arrival on the national scene when Rajkumar won the Banswara Lok Sabha seat. He defeated the BJP’s Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya, who had defected from the Congress earlier this year. The cherry on the cake was the victory in the by-election in Bagidora, which had been vacated by Malviya to contest the Lok Sabha poll.

The party has around 2.5 lakh members and is building organisation in eight states―Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Assam, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. “We had been carrying out a social awareness campaign since 2015,” said BAP president Mohanlal Roat. “We were accused of being anti-democratic and were labelled naxalites. That is when we decided we had to take the electoral plunge. We are not going to limit ourselves to raising the issues of the 30 lakh Bhils in Rajasthan. The issues we have raised go beyond the borders of Rajasthan.”

The campaign to counter what was described as Hinduisation of tribals has been central to the BAP’s political campaign and the social movement of Adivasi Parivar. “The RSS has, through lies and allurement, tried to make the Bhils believe that they were Hindu. But lies cannot survive for long. Our gods are different. Our rituals are different. Our religious ceremonies meant to mark crucial life events such as birth, death or marriage are different,” said Mohanlal.

Traditionally, the Bhils are nature worshippers. Also, every village has its own deity. Worship of ancestors is also an integral part of the Bhil faith. Recently, there was a controversy over Rajasthan Education Minister Madan Dilawar’s remarks that Rajkumar should get his DNA checked to verify if he was the son of a Hindu. In protest, a large number of BAP workers marched to Dilawar’s residence in Jaipur holding blood samples.

The cultural distinction of tribals is being emphasised in the new movement. Bhil women, for instance, are encouraged not to cover their faces. They had adopted the ghoonghat (veil) because of the Rajput influence. “Bhil women traditionally had an equal status in society. They were not required to cover their faces,” said Anutosh Roat, district president of the BAP in Dungarpur.

The legacy of the Bhil warrior Rana Punja, whose statues and paintings dot the region, best represents the socio-political campaign to assert Adivasi pride. Bhil leaders claim that Rana Punja, who fought alongside the Mewar hero Maharana Pratap against the Mughals, did so to protect the land and reject the religious angle given to the fight.

The campaign is also about the rights of the Bhils over the resources of the region. “Our fight is for jal, jungle, jameen (water, forest and land),” said Kantilal. “The tribals have the first right over resources. Our constitutional rights due to us are not provided to us.”

The tribal leaders point out that the region scores very low on the human development index. A common complaint is of neglect of schools―most of them do not have the basic infrastructure or enough teachers. Dharti Mata School in Baiyoda in Dungarpur, for instance, functions in a building that has been declared unsafe by the authorities.

Unemployment is another big issue. Many families have their menfolk working in Gujarat or Maharashtra. “My husband has been working in Gujarat for the past ten years,” said Surta Devi, whose husband is a casual labourer in Ahmedabad. She lives with her four children in a modest house in Herata village in Dungarpur. “He has been staying away from his family, his home, his children, but there is no option because we will starve otherwise,” she says.

The success of the party is driven by the youth. Young and charismatic leaders like Rajkumar and Kantilal enjoy massive following among them.

The BAP wants to be seen as equidistant from the BJP and the Congress. While its leaders have been vocal in their criticism of the alleged efforts of the right-wing organisations to diminish the tribal identity, they also say that the Congress has not done enough to address the problems of the Bhil community. The Congress had supported Rajkumar in the Lok Sabha election. “They helped us because of the circumstances,” said Mohanlal. “When the Ashok Gehlot government was in crisis, our two MLAs had helped them. It is like a loan repaid.”

The BAP’s growing influence in the region is not lost on the national parties. In November 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared Mangarh Dham a national monument in the presence of the then chief minister Gehlot at an event held at the hilltop memorial. The defection of Malviya, a tall leader in the region, before the Lok Sabha elections was an attempt by the BJP to deal with the popularity of the BAP. The Congress’s decision to support Rajkumar also has to be seen in the same context.

The newest party is indeed making waves.

bap-founding-member-and-mp-rajkumar-roat-interview

Sat Aug 10 13:18:37 IST 2024

Interview/ Rajkumar Roat, BAP founding member and MP

RAJKUMAR ROAT MADE many a head turn when he arrived for the inaugural session of the Lok Sabha on a camel. “I wanted to convey that in tribal culture, animals have a very important place,” says the first-time MP from Banswara. Roat, 32, grew up in the Sansarpur village of Dungarpur district in Rajasthan. THE WEEK caught up with him at his village home perched atop a hillock. Excerpts from an interview:

Q/ How did your party achieve electoral success so quickly?

A/ We took up the real issues of the people. Funds for schemes for tribals are lost to corruption. Officials have snatched away land belonging to the tribals through illegal means. This is a tribal majority area. Reservation is provided on the basis of constitutional provisions. But the notifications are such that 10 per cent people have benefited from 50 per cent reservation. The Congress and the BJP have only provided us with small schemes for foodgrains or houses or toilets or pension. The people have expressed their anger.

Q/ Hinduisation of the tribal identity has been talked about.

A/ The tribals have their own religious system and rituals. The tribal devi and devta are distinct from Hindu devi and devta. There are tribals who follow the Hindu ways. But in the past ten years, fanaticism has grown, politics is being done in the name of Hindu religion, and the people are being brainwashed and made to fight other communities. Taking this into consideration, we tell the tribals that Adivasis are not Hindu or Christian or Jain or Buddhist. They have their own identity, their own religion. This irks the national parties and they level various allegations against us.

Q/ The RSS has been running schools in this area.

A/ Christian missionaries have been working here and the RSS also runs schools here. In the RSS schools, extreme Hindu views are being inculcated in the children, and anti-Muslim and anti-Christian ideas are taught. May be not today but 20 years from now, it will result in a Manipur-like situation. They are all Adivasis, but one has accepted Christian faith and the other Hindu religion. The divide will get wider, and the situation in Manipur could be replicated and Adivasi will kill Adivasi in the name of religion.

Q/ On the issue of religion, the Rajasthan education minister said your DNA should be checked.

A/ It is our misfortune that we have an education minister of this kind. His statement exposes his mindset, that he wanted to get the DNA of Adivasis checked to find out who their forebears are. Now, he has apologised in the assembly and said he himself was an Adivasi.

defence-technology-startups-in-india

Fri Aug 23 14:16:03 IST 2024

There is this thing about bombs,” says Abhishek Jain. “They shouldn’t explode when they are not supposed to, but have to when they are meant to.” The 44-year-old is in the business of making dumb bombs smart.

Chief business officer of the Pune-headquartered Zeus Numerix, a company that is among the trailblazers in India’s defence startup narrative, Jain’s story began in 2004 when, as a 24-year-old with an MTech in aerospace engineering from IIT Bombay, he began to think what next.

Son of a government defence auditor and hailing from the small town of Mhow in Madhya Pradesh, Jain got together with two of his IIT Bombay laboratory colleagues―Basant Gupta (then 23) and Irshad Khan (27). Along with their mentor Professor Gopal Shevare, they founded Zeus Numerix. Gupta was designated the chief executive officer, Khan the chief operating officer and Shevare became the director. Zeus Numerix was the first company to register with IIT Bombay’s Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

“When we started in 2004, my monthly salary was Rs13,500, low, even then, for an IIT passout,” says Jain. “It was just enough for dal-roti. But we did well and, except for 2009-10, we have made profits.” He shies away from revealing how much he is earning now.

Zeus Numerix now makes smart drone-dropped bombs. After starting with ownership of one software for large-missile aerodynamics, the company ventured into structural design of missiles, guidance and control, electromagnetic and stealth technology.

Jain, chairman of the StartUp Forum of the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM), recounts his company’s high points. “We did critical work in integrating the BrahMos missile with the Sukhoi Su-30,” he says. “The first water tunnel test of the indigenous LCA (light combat aircraft) was done in our laboratory.”

SIDM is the apex body of the Indian defence industry that acts as an enabling link between the government, the armed forces and the industry.

The story is pretty much the same for most startups in India’s defence landscape―young, enterprising minds getting together, pooling resources, operating on a shoe-string budget and scaling heights. No wonder there is such a buzz around them! Says Sameer Joshi, CEO and director of the Bengaluru-based NewSpace Research and Technologies: “The government is trying its best to invigorate the private ecosystem beyond the existing big players like Adani, Reliance, Kalyani, Mahindra, L&T and Tata. These initiatives have kick-started and catalysed the startup ecosystem.”

Established in January 2018, NewSpace made its first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), or drone, by the end of the year. It is now among the biggest names in the defence startup sector, making long-endurance drones, robotic swarms and combat intelligence suites. It supplied the world’s first high-density swarm drone system to the Indian Army and was involved in the design of the HAL’s Warrior Loyal Wingman project.

Bengaluru-based Tardid Technologies began in 2016 from a Café Coffee Day outlet. Says Aastha Verma, Tardid’s COO: “Every day, we would start our work at CCD at 10am. This routine continued for 16 months, until we finally moved into a 12,000sqft space. I still can’t fathom how we managed to do all of this without external support.”

Unsurprisingly, Verma and her team, which has now grown to 60 employees, often found themselves at sea. Literally.

“None of us knew how to swim, yet we were in the middle of the sea with the Indian Navy,” she says. “It was the first trial of our electric on-board motor. We were told that another OBM on trial had failed and were asked to assist in the rescue. Despite our inexperience, we took on the challenge, braving gusty winds, rain and the rough sea.”

Tardid’s products integrate physics and machine learning principles. A key product provides an artificial intelligence-based platform that gives autonomous capabilities to ships and boats, applicable to both surface and underwater vessels.

“Our autonomous surveillance boat, Meglan, has keen interest from global customers like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bangladesh,” says Verma.

A company that has become a role model for startups is Tonbo Imaging. It has equity investments from Artiman Ventures, Celesta Capital, Qualcomm, Edelweiss and HBL Power Systems, and has raised over Rs300 crore to fund R&D. Its products include imaging technologies like gun sights, computer vision, and other intelligent systems. Says its 49-year-old, globetrotting founder-CEO Arvind Lakshmikumar: “We began in 2009. More than 50 per cent of our revenue comes from international customers.”

Apart from the Indian military, Tonbo sells to a few foreign nations, NATO and even to Mossad. Its contract manufacturing takes place in Bengaluru and Mysuru. “I am glad that we could support the Indian armed forces in critical operations like the Uri strike and post-Pathankot surveillance and security,” says Lakshmikumar.

Supplying about 25 products, Tonbo employs around 250 people, most of them ex-servicemen―skilled sharpshooters and snipers. “They know the job best,” says Lakshmikumar. “My employees include former US Navy Seals and former Mossad people, too―people who have been there and done that.”

Another cutting-edge, deep tech startup is Agnit Semiconductors, which is being incubated at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, and is privately-funded. Agnit is making India’s first gallium nitride semiconductor product. Its components are used in wireless electronics systems ranging from radars to jammers to missile seekers to radios. It started operations in 2021.

Says its CEO and co-founder Hareesh Chandrasekar: “By December 2024, production samples meeting military specification requirements will be ready for full system integration and mass production.”

Often, startup ideation has an unusual beginning. Like the Bengaluru-headquartered NimbusParc. Its director, Srinivas Reddi, recounts: “I was doing well in the corporate sector in the US. During drinks one evening in California, some American friends questioned the capability of Indians. It rankled and struck real deep. I decided I will do something on my own.”

Started in 2015, NimbusParc makes cutting-edge technology products in the real-time data transfer space―a key advantage in network-centric warfare. Its products are used by the DRDO.

“During the past few years, we have witnessed exceptional ideas coming from a wide spectrum of individuals and startups,” says Reddi. “It is exciting that monopoly and exclusivity flavoured characteristics of defence technology has been altered to a more participatory and inclusive approach with the private sector, especially startups.”

The growing excitement in defence startups has spawned an ecosystem across India that has spurred about 400 startups that are active in about 350 projects under the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) and in about 100 under the Technology Development Fund (TDF). iDEX and TDF are defence ministry schemes to handhold startups.

In June, the landmark 350th iDEX contract was inked with SpacePixxel Technologies to make miniaturised satellites for the Indian Air Force. Under the TDF, 27 defence technologies have been successfully realised. S.A. Pasupathy, co-founder and director of Coimbatore-based Zeekers Technology, says the iDEX programme offers benefits to startups in terms of IP rights, co-funding and marketing opportunities in India and abroad. Zeekers developed an AI-enabled welder’s helmet (for real-time display of welding parameters that enables immediate corrective action).

The latest to join the slew of government schemes is ADITI (Acing Development of Innovative Technologies with iDEX) to “support the development and acceleration of innovation in critical and strategic deep-tech technologies”which are in the nascent stage of research and development in the country. ADITI will provide startups up to Rs25 crore for defence technology research, development and innovation.

Srijan, a portal, has also been set up for private industry, on which the defence PSUs and service headquarters offer items for indigenisation.

Moreover, several government policies like barring the import of thousands of items and equipments in five “positive indigenisation lists”have helped in bringing more domestic entrepreneurs to the defence market.

Till June 2024, more than 36,000 defence items were offered for indigenisation, of which more than 12,300 items have been indigenised in the last three years. As a result, the DPSUs have placed orders on domestic vendors to the tune of Rs7,572 crore.

Startups have also organically weaved into the supply chain of defence production. In 2023-24, India’s defence production touched an unprecedented Rs1.27 lakh crore―a growth of 16.7 per cent from the previous year. About 79.2 per cent was contributed by DPSUs and other state-owned public sector units, while the private sector (20.8 per cent) also recorded a steady growth. While startups are at a nascent stage, they are the new avenues of promise.

Recently, an Israeli company has inked an MoU with a Surat-based Indian deep tech drone startup, InsideFPV, to buy 10,000 drones. A company source said they would be “kamikaze UAVs”.

The DRDO has recently sanctioned seven new cutting-edge projects to MSMEs and startups under the TDF scheme. They include developing an indigenous toolkit for simulator training of pilots, an underwater-launched UAV and a dual-use vehicle for detection, classification, localisation and neutralisation of underwater objects.

R. Shivaraman, chief technology officer of Chennai-headquartered Big Bang Boom Solutions, says government initiatives are creating an ecosystem that fosters innovation and indigenous manufacturing. “Every week, we engage with the defence ministry and various stakeholders,” he says.

Set up in 2018, the company is into next-generation defence solutions, including upgrades for combat vehicles, anti-drone systems and advanced AI-based solutions. It has secured an order worth over Rs200 crore from the IAF and the Indian Army for its counter-unmanned aerial systems technology in one of the largest contracts the defence ministry has awarded under iDEX.

“The defence ecosystem today is on the cusp of a change similar to that which the space sector underwent three-four years ago, in terms of policy reform and sustained governmental support,” says Agnit’s Chandrasekar. “There has been no better time to focus on defence markets if you are a startup.”

ideaForge, which was established in 2007, has carved out a name in making drones tailored for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance applications. “We started in 2007 as a group of passionate IIT Bombay alumni, including Vipul Joshi, Rahul Singh, Ashish Bhat and myself,” says Ankit Mehta, CEO, ideaForge.

ideaForge has grown significantly, expanding from the innovation cell in IIT Bombay to establish manufacturing facilities in Mumbai. “We dedicate 22 percent of our annual revenue, amounting to over Rs47 crore last fiscal, to R&D,” says Mehta. “Our commitment to indigenous production ensures that imports constitute only 21 per cent of our costs, enhancing our financial sustainability.”

Collaboration is among ideaForge’s strong points. For example, a joint effort with GalaxEye focuses on developing a foliage penetration radar to enhance surveillance capabilities in dense forests.

Startups in the defence sector also grapple with the unpredictability of revenue from the defence and government clients as events like contracts and procurement orders are difficult to predict.

Reddi of NimbusParc says that procurement procedures and systems are not fully in place to welcome startups and MSMEs. “The procedures continue to favour DPSUs and large vendors who can survive the long procurement cycles,” he says.

Sustained funding continues to be a big challenge for startups. “Another issue is the infrastructure needed to develop, test and certify products,” says NewSpace’s Joshi. “While the government is supportive, there is a lack of coordination and availability between the private industries and the DRDO and PSUs.”

Ahmedabad-headquartered Optimized Electrotech makes surveillance equipment for strategic and civilian applications and a series of weapon sights. Started in 2017, its first product came out in 2019. The company’s managing director Sandeep Shah says understanding how to navigate through procurement has been the biggest challenge.

“A longer revenue cycle is a major concern in defence manufacturing sales, although it has been addressed in its majority via the new defence acquisition procedure,” he says.

Tardid’s Verma says startups in the defence sector often face unique challenges such as stringent regulatory requirements, long gestation periods, and the need for heavy investment in R&D. “However, these challenges present opportunities for startups to carve out niches and disrupt with innovation,” she says.

Lakshmikumar of Tonbo points out another lacuna: “The government’s policy and intent is spot on, but there are companies that import knockdown Chinese systems, assemble them and call the product Indian-made.” He adds that a critical policy from the government should be to weed out these companies and separate the wheat from the chaff.

Constrained by several limiting factors, defence startups are tested to the fullest. “The stark fact is that over 60 per cent of these companies fail to complete the first couple of years of existence, mostly because of non-involvement of the end user in a better product definition and sustainment,” says Joshi.

But, there may be good news in store regarding funding. An official of the Chennai-based South Indian Defence Suppliers and Startups Association has requested the Defence Innovation Organisation to relax the funding part. “The startup’s share may be 30 per cent, while 70 per cent comes from DIO (instead of 50-50),” the official says, requesting anonymity.

The official mentioned another challenge that is not being addressed. “One of the important worries for startups is minimum order quantity (MOQ),” he says. “With no guarantee on MOQ, the founders of many startups invest huge amounts. The details of MOQ at the announcement of the project will make the startups work happily on the project.”

Access to testing facilities is also a major problem. “The defence ecosystem in the country has excellent facilities for product development and testing which are not accessible to startups or external users given ‘security concerns’,” says Chandrasekar. “Surely allowing startups subsidised use of niche development and testing facilities would go a long way in speeding up indigenous product development and adoption.”

Encouraging startups is all the more important because, more often than not, these efforts by young entrepreneurs have a nationalistic connect. In their small size lie the critical advantages of flexibility and ability to adapt to any given situation.

B. Krishnamoorthy, special secretary and project director, Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited (which looks after the defence industrial corridor), thinks startups are the engines of future economic growth and technological innovation. “Tamil Nadu is in the forefront,” he says. “In fact, Tamil Nadu has one of the largest number of iDEX winners. We have created centres of excellence in collaboration with major players like Dassault Systems, Siemens and GE Aviation which ensure that the tools and expertise from these majors are available to startups.”

So, while the defence startup sector is abuzz with developments, there is a lot more that can be done in terms of governmental policy, guidelines and schemes. If atmanirbharta in defence technology and production is the destination, startups may well become the highway, one day.

As NewSpace’s Joshi says: “The private sector industry needs to ‘walk the talk’ and support in delivering what is most needed for the defence of our nation.”

drdo-chairman-samir-v-kamat-interview

Sat Aug 10 12:08:03 IST 2024

Interview/ Samir V. Kamat, chairman, Defence Research and Development Organisation

Q How important are defence startups in India’s overarching aim of achieving atmanirbharta in defence production? What role can they play?

A Defence startups are crucial for India's atmanirbharta. India’s defence sector is an important area with an ocean of opportunities for self-reliance.

With large-scale modernisation requirements of the Indian armed forces, India’s vision for Atmanirbhar Bharat has provided further impetus to realise the goal of indigenisation of the defence sector. [Startups] bring innovation, agility and new technologies, helping reduce reliance on imports.

A large startup ecosystem allows India to explore multiple emerging ideas in parallel and assess initial outcomes. The larger industries (including defence PSUs) can then focus on amplifying the success stories in the startup ecosystem.

Q Are there particular areas and verticals where the government wants startups to focus on?

A The government wants startups to focus on deep tech areas like artificial intelligence, robotics, cyber security, unmanned systems, and advanced materials, including dual use technology, where rapid innovation can significantly enhance capabilities.

Q From the government’s point of view, what are the limitations of startups and how is the government planning to overcome these?

A Startups face limitations like funding and lack of experience. Access to finance is particularly relevant for startups with high funding requirements for product development, validation, certification and scaling. The government is addressing these by providing grants, establishing innovation hubs and promoting partnerships between startups and established defence firms.

There are various initiatives of the government that directly and indirectly address the issue of lack of finance to startups. Some of the noteworthy initiatives under ministry of defence schemes are the Technology Development Fund Scheme, iDEX and the Dare to Dream contest.

Q Startups are a critical part of an industrial ecosystem, more so in defence. Why did it take so long for this era of startups to take off?

A The era of defence startups took time to take off because of regulatory requirements, high entry costs, strict quality assurance and certification requirements, lack of test facilities, limited number of users and the presence of already established PSUs. Besides, a level of economic upliftment in general and the demographic dividend in particular was needed to induce bright youngster to eschew jobs and launch startups.

Q Recently, the DRDO has awarded several cutting-edge contracts to startups. What was the thinking behind this move? Is there a plan to award more such projects?

A The DRDO's engagement with startups reflect a strategic shift towards harnessing innovation and speed in developing cutting-edge technologies and to promote self-reliance in the area of defence by providing grants to Indian startups. Enabling government of India policies were a key factor.

More of these contracts will be awarded to suitable startups as per requirements.

Q State-owned PSUs and DPSUs still account for 79.2 per cent of India’s total defence production in terms of value. Private companies have contributed only 20.8 per cent. Is there an ideal ratio the government is looking at?

A The government aims to increase private sector participation in defence production, striving for a more balanced ratio. Future policies will likely support this shift, promoting competitiveness and technological advancements in the sector. However, for a strategic sector like defence, a modicum of direct government control is desirable to deal with unforeseen situations. The ideal ratio will need to be evolved over time.

innovations-for-defence-excellence-startups-india

Sat Aug 10 12:05:30 IST 2024

Kumar is former defence secretary, distinguished visiting professor, IIT Kanpur, and founder chairman, Mounttech Growth Fund

India has the world’s third largest startup ecosystem, but arguably the world’s largest defence startup ecosystem. This amazing transformation happened in the last five to six years. In February 2018, the ministry of defence introduced a draft defence production policy with ambitious goals―triple defence industry turnover to Rs1.75 lakh crore and increase defence exports nearly 15-fold to Rs25,000 crore by 2025. It is in this policy that startups were envisioned to foster an innovation ecosystem.

Very few believed that startups could significantly impact defence needs. Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX) was launched in April 2018 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, marking a significant policy initiative. It established open startup challenges, later termed Defence India Startup Challenges (DISC), aligned with the requirements of the Indian armed forces. Startups were invited to offer solutions and the most promising ones received financial support of up to Rs1.5 crore, contingent on achieving milestones and matched or higher investment from the startups.

Around this time, an unexpected request arrived at the defence ministry from the US embassy―they sought collaboration with an Indian startup specialising in military swarms, a technology they found unique and compelling. This surprised the ministry, accustomed to being the seeker rather than the sought-after, especially with respect to the US. As secretary, defence production, I delved deeper into the matter, consulting with ministry officials and armed forces officers who were equally unaware of this startup and its groundbreaking innovations. My curiosity led me to the founder, who was a retired Indian Air Force officer. He revealed his futile attempts to engage with the ministry and the IAF. Meeting him was enlightening―it reinforced my belief in the potential of startups and their inventive teams to drive India's defence innovation ambitions forward.

The results were beyond even the most optimistic estimates. The startups provided technological solutions that were previously only available through imports, with no prior prospects of domestic development for years. In one of the early challenges of DISC-1, startups were asked to develop a high-resolution, 100-megapixel camera for airborne platforms and missiles. Few countries possessed the capability to create such advanced camera sensors. A startup from IIT-Delhi took on the challenge, mastering the complex chip-design. Within 12 months, they successfully delivered the sensor to general astonishment. Pushing further, they proposed developing a groundbreaking 1-gigapixel camera. Today, this startup collaborates with NASA and Lockheed Martin demonstrating their high competence. An incredible journey indeed!

Startups revolutionised defence innovation with unprecedented speed, scale and cost-effectiveness. Previously, defence R&D projects spanned years or decades, costing hundreds to tens of thousands of crores. Some iDEX startups delivered innovations in just 12 to 18 months, often with grants as low as Rs1.5 crore.

Startups came forward in hordes, partly driven by the thrill of solving military challenges and partly by a sense of national duty, enabling the armed forces to address a multitude of issues simultaneously. In August 2022, a whopping 75 challenges were introduced for underwater technologies, followed by another 75 in October 2022 for space-based technologies. These fields were new terrain for startups, yet the challenges attracted a significant number of participants.

Within a year, prototypes were developed in response to the naval challenges and showcased by the Indian Navy in September 2023. The scale and speed of the startup defence innovation ecosystem was so remarkable that it seemed surreal!

Defence startups have proven their solutions to be on par with, if not superior to, the best. A winner of an iDEX challenge in quantum communication achieved quantum key distribution over 150km on fibre, when the best achieved in the world was 90 km. This breakthrough not only made their solution nearly 60 per cent cheaper but also significantly more efficient. Recognised among the world's top quantum communication companies, this startup attracted interest from global giants like Google and Amazon for integrating their technology into cloud platforms. Following the US government's move to adopt post-quantum cryptography solutions, this startup developed a compatible solution and started offering it in the US.

Several startups stemming from iDEX have already entered international markets or are poised to do so. The surge of defence innovation by Indian startups has been so impactful that the US department of defence collaborated with India for joint challenges. Within a year, two rounds of these collaborative challenges have already been initiated. Indian defence startups are now competing alongside their US counterparts, advancing cutting-edge technologies outlined in these challenges.

The remarkable success can be partly attributed to India's substantial talent and capabilities in digital technologies. But, iDEX’s success is also because of the proactive policy support provided by the government. Major policy decisions like earmarking of 75 per cent of capital acquisition budget for domestic industry and positive indigenisation lists, which banned import of hundreds of platforms and thousands of sub-systems and components, increased the demand for startup-developed products.

Breaking from past norms where the government typically claimed ownership of intellectual property from public-funded research, iDEX allows startups to retain their IP, encouraging them to explore opportunities in civil and export markets.

Given that defence startups operate in a monopsonistic environment―the armed forces being the sole buyers―they needed a procurement mechanism to sell their innovations. The government introduced the Make-2 route within the defence acquisition process to facilitate this. The armed forces' adoption of spiral development and their active hand-holding of startups throughout the developmental cycle have significantly bolstered innovation.

While iDEX provides partial funding to startups, they need to secure the rest from other sources. Efforts were made to encourage venture capitalists to support defence startups at DefExpo 2022 in Gandhinagar. But, few VCs stepped forward.

To address this shortfall, the Mounttech Growth Fund was established. VC has been instrumental in driving innovation globally. If the Mounttech Growth Fund can inspire other VCs to invest in technology and IP creation, it could mark a pivotal moment in India's evolution into a product nation and a developed economy.

parliamentary-affairs-minister-kiren-rijiju-interview

Fri Aug 02 17:54:04 IST 2024

Interview/ Kiren Rijiju, Parliamentary affairs minister

THE FIRST budget of the first Narendra Modi government in 2014 had seen finance minister Arun Jaitley painstakingly replying to questions, winning grudging admiration of the opposition’s floor leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Now with a combative Rahul Gandhi in the saddle and after a decade of confrontations between the government and the opposition, running a smooth house is not an easy task for Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.

Rijiju says his personal interactions with Congress leaders, including Kharge, are cordial, but in Parliament a belligerent opposition is trying to score political points. Helming the crucial task of defending the government’s economic blueprint in the house, he says the budget is important for the implementation of the Viksit Bharat vision of the Modi government. “Its success depends on cooperative federalism, as state governments hold the key to smooth implementation of budgetary provisions,” he says. Excerpts from an interview:

Q How has the Lok Sabha election results impacted parliamentary proceedings?

A This budget session is special because it is the first budget of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic third term. This is an occasion for the democratically elected government to present to the people the progressive steps being taken to realise the vision of Viksit Bharat. It is also an opportunity for citizens to become aware of how they will benefit from the work being done by the government.

India is on the cusp of becoming the world’s third largest economy and Prime Minister Modi is laying a strong foundation to achieve this goal. Therefore, there is a need to debate and discuss the various steps being taken to boost infrastructure, create opportunities and bolster the economy for the welfare of citizens. However, the opposition parties are speaking a political language and not commenting on the budget. If they want to make any substantial contributions to the implementation of the budget, like discussing the Rs11,11,000 crore set aside for building world-class infrastructure or other specific proposals for different sectors for job creation for youth, development of women and children, farmers, health, education and training or special provisions for development of backward and tribal regions, this is the opportunity for the opposition to participate in debates and help us implement these measures.

There is special emphasis on MSMEs for last-mile job creation, support to local entrepreneurship, micro industries, improving exports and production of shrimp and many other substantial budget allocations to different areas that are suggestive of the approach being taken by the government. It is here the opposition can play a key role in helping with suggestions on how to improve its implementation by way of positive engagement.

Q How important is the opposition’s role in the implementation of budget proposals?

A To successfully implement the budget, the state governments play a key role. Therefore, cooperation of state governments is of critical importance from the point of view of cooperative federalism and smooth implementation. A major focus area of the Central government is that each state must work in a competitive way to take the best out of various measures being drawn up for the development of the country. When the states progress, the country will progress and move forward on the path of development. The attempt is to give each state government an opportunity to utilise the budgetary allocations in a productive manner. Therefore, the role of the opposition leaders should reflect these efforts and facilitate the work being done.

Q The budget gave significant funds to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, states ruled by key BJP allies. The opposition has accused the government of discrimination.

A It is not true that only the allies got special funds. Because the prime minister makes allocation for all projects across the country, only a handful can find mention in a budget speech. Therefore, they got attention. But if you see the proposal for three crore houses to be built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana or the Rs11,11,000 crore capital expenditure and push for infrastructure, it is meant for all states and Union territories. Such measures offer an example of the steps being taken for the development of all states and Union territories.

The prime minister has given emphasis to the eastern part of the country―West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh―which are slightly more backward in infrastructure and facilities than the states in the west and the north. Therefore, the east and the northeast were given special attention this time. Why will the opposition have any objection to the development of eastern and northeast regions and being given special attention to bring them at par with states in the south, west and north?

The main problem of the opposition is that it is playing politics and using abusive language against the prime minister rather than discussing the provisions made in the budget. I am appealing to all the opposition parties to talk about the budget and not misuse the platform for scoring political points.

Q Is there a realisation at the Centre that cooperation with states is necessary?

A In the past 10 years, the BJP has been talking about cooperative federalism but the behaviour of the opposition parties has been disappointing, as they are not making any suggestions for better utilisation of funds. Instead, they are using the time allotted to different parties in Parliament to rake up political issues. The prime minister has also made an appeal to devote more time to the nation. He said political parties got enough opportunity during the Lok Sabha elections for politics and the time in Parliament should be utilised to work for desh (country) and not for dal (party).

Q When the BJP was in the opposition, how was the functioning of Parliament?

A During the UPA rule, we used to scrutinise the budget every year and make suggestions. We utilised the time given to us to engage in constructive debates. The reason why the opposition parties talk about the smooth functioning of Parliament in previous years and fondly recall long hours of debates and discussions at times running into midnight was because the BJP not only allowed the house to function but also engaged constructively in all parliamentary proceedings that set high standards for future opposition parties.

Q You met Congress president Kharge and other opposition leaders before the session. How is your relationship with them?

A Whenever I have had one-on-one meetings with the opposition leaders, whether it is Kharge ji or any other leader, it was always cordial. These personal meetings are, in fact, fruitful and engaging. It is out of political compulsions that many of them take contrary positions when they are on the floor of the house where issues are being raised to score political points. I hope the same cordial and helpful attitude shown in personal meetings is reflected in the house so that quality of debates and discussions improves in Parliament and the outcome is more positive.

the-bjd-and-the-ysrcp-political-strategies-in-odisha-and-andhra-pradesh

Fri Aug 02 17:49:22 IST 2024

Protests by political parties are a hallmark of a functional democracy, with their decibel levels often hinting at shifting alignments. On June 28, a day after the president’s address to Parliament highlighting the government’s achievements, the opposition protested inside the house, demanding discussion on the NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) paper leak case. Members of the INDIA bloc entered the well of the Rajya Sabha and even staged a walkout. What might have been dismissed as usual ruckus took an interesting turn when the Biju Janata Dal joined the protest. The party was upset that there was no reference to Odisha in the president’s address.

For the first time in the party’s 27-year history, its members entered the well of the Rajya Sabha. The BJD, led by former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, is known for its disciplined and constructive role in Parliament. The act of defiance indicates the changing political realities in Odisha. At the beginning of the 18th Lok Sabha, the BJD made its political position clear, shedding its NDA-friendly stance of the past decade.

Similarly, the YSR Congress Party, half the BJD’s age and founded by former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, also faces changing dynamics. Both Odisha and Andhra Pradesh had simultaneous assembly and Lok Sabha elections, where the ruling parties were voted out, giving an impressive mandate to the BJP and the NDA. Both the BJD and YSRCP, seen as BJP-friendly in their states, supported the Centre on key issues and helped pass several legislations in Parliament.

The YSRCP, which has 11 members in the Rajya Sabha and four in the Lok Sabha, also held protests inside Parliament over the lack of special status for Andhra Pradesh in the budget, and against post-poll violence in the state, which killed 31 people. The INDIA bloc members joined the protest, bringing the Andhra party closer to their side.

Given their numbers in the Rajya Sabha, the BJD and the YSRCP will play a crucial role when important bills are taken up; the NDA is short of the majority by 12 seats in the upper house.

Though both parties have, in terms of perception, moved closer to the INDIA bloc, they have hinted at a “middle of the road” approach with a pronounced anti-government stance. “As advised by Naveen babu, we will continue to be an independent party,” said Sasmit Patra, BJD spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member. “We will not be part of any alliance. We are fighting the BJP and the Congress equally in the state. We are the main opposition. We feel that both parties, whenever they have been in governments in Delhi, have neglected the people of Odisha.”

The assembly election results―the BJP won 78 of 147 seats―jolted the BJD out of its comfort zone; it had held power in the state for more than 24 years. In fact, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, in his maiden budget, renamed several successful schemes of the Patnaik government to further his party’s connect with the people.

The BJP’s victory has made the BJD reorient its strategy to avoid being subsumed, like in West Bengal, where the left cadre moved to the Trinamool Congress after Mamata Banerjee’s victory. A similar exercise is underway in Telangana, where the Bharat Rashtra Samithi leaders are switching to the ruling Congress.

Since the loss, Patnaik has taken a more active role in deciding the party’s strategy. A special post―chairperson of the BJD parliamentary party―was created for him so that the party’s stance in Parliament has Patnaik’s formal imprint. Within the state, too, Patnaik has been questioning the BJP government as leader of the opposition in the assembly. He has been holding meetings at the party office instead of his residence, which was the functional chief minister’s office before the elections.

Patnaik has signalled to his party members and cadre that they should work for a return. Their next big test is the 2027 panchayat polls. Last time, the BJD won 766 of the 852 zilla parishad seats. “He (Patnaik) said that the BJD parliamentary party should work to ensure that the voice of the people of Odisha is heard in Parliament,” said Patra. “Odisha has given 20 MPs to the BJP. As they are part of the ruling party at the Centre, they would not raise their voice. We are going to highlight the issues of the state; we will be an active opposition.”

The situation is more volatile in Andhra Pradesh, given the post-election clashes between the ruling Telugu Desam Party and YSRCP cadres. Jagan Mohan Reddy faces a challenge from Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, who was jailed during the YSRCP regime, and the Congress, under whose rule at the Centre Jagan was jailed.

“We are not part of the NDA or the INDIA bloc,” said P.V. Midhun Reddy, YSRCP’s floor leader in the Lok Sabha. “It is too early to say and depends on the issues and bills. We are not going to support or oppose the bills blindly. If any bill is against the minorities, we will oppose it, like we did in the case of triple talaq. If they bring the Uniform Civil Code bill, we will oppose it, and anything else that is against our party’s ideology.”

Given the state’s political dynamics, the YSRCP will weigh its every move before it is seen as moving towards one side. Andhra Pradesh faces a peculiar situation―the state Congress is led by Jagan’s sister, Y.S. Sharmila, who has been critical of her brother’s politics, which may hinder a meeting of the minds. “There is a tacit understanding between the Congress and the TDP,” said Reddy. “Y.S. Sharmila supports the TDP. She even put up candidates to help them. Even though we are in the opposition, she speaks against us.”

In the assembly elections, the BJP and the Congress polled 2.83 per cent and 1.72 per cent votes. Both parties need the support of regional outfits to win seats. While the BJP won eight assembly and three Lok Sabha seats, the Congress could not open its account.

The state’s politics is divided between the TDP and the YSRCP, and they will try their best to keep mainstream parties out of the state. This means the YSRCP will look to recover its lost space while negotiating its way between the NDA and the INDIA bloc. “Last time we had a swing, we got 20 [seats],” said Reddy. “This time they did, next time we will.”

The BJD and the YSRCP face a similar challenge. If they are not vocal in their demands and do not play the role of an aggressive opposition, the Congress, which was the third party in the equation in both states, might stand to gain. Both parties paid the price of being seen as NDA allies, and now both face an uphill task to make a comeback.

Incidentally, both parties were votaries of the ‘one nation, one poll’ plank of simultaneous assembly and Lok Sabha elections. They would have realised the pitfalls. If the NDA government moves forward on the issue, it remains to be seen whether these parties will revisit the subject.

chief-minister-shinde-relies-on-freebies-for-women-and-youth-as-maharashtra-steps-into-election-season

Sat Jul 27 13:33:57 IST 2024

PRAMILA PAJVE EAGERLY awaits Rs3,000 that she hopes to receive from the Maharashtra government by the end of August. The 53-year-old, who works as housekeeping staff at a private company, is one of the beneficiaries of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana that aims to pay Rs1,500 per month to eligible women between 21 and 65, whose annual family income is below Rs2.5 lakh.

“Our corporator told my neighbour about the scheme as I was at work, and she asked me to apply,” said Pajve. “But I worry that the scheme will be stopped if there is a change in government. So I will vote for this government to make sure the scheme continues.”

Nisha Naresh Patole from Vasai applied for the scheme after one of her relatives told her about it. Patole, 35, said her experiences in the past with such schemes were not so good, but she hoped this one would work. She, too, wants the Shinde government to continue.

According to an official, around 46 lakh women have enrolled in the scheme, and the government has so far sanctioned Rs46,000 crore. A similar scheme was launched in Madhya Pradesh when Shivraj Singh Chouhan was chief minister, and it benefited the BJP immensely in last year’s assembly polls. “We wanted a similar scheme ahead of the 2019 assembly elections and had readied a plan. But our central leadership was talking about the [freebie] culture, so we did not announce it,” said a Maharashtra BJP leader.

Shinde has also launched the Mukhyamantri Yuva Karya Prashikshan Yojana, known popularly as the ‘Ladka Bhau (dear brother)’ scheme, which provides apprenticeship allowance to the unemployed. Under the scheme, those who passed class 12 are eligible for Rs6,000 per month for apprenticeship, diploma holders could get Rs8,000 and degree holders Rs10,000. The government has earmarked Rs 5,500 crore per year for the scheme, which was announced by Shinde on July 17.

Mahesh Tapase, chief spokesperson for the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, said the scheme showed that the rulers remembered their “brothers and sisters” only at the time of elections. “They have been in power for more than two years now. Why didn’t they announce it earlier? Also, more important, they should explain how they are going to raise money for this,” said Tapase. The overall debt burden of the state, he said, was around Rs8 lakh crore. “What is the government’s economic plan? We have been asking for a white paper on the Maharashtra economy.”

Maharashtra Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant said the government announced the two schemes only because it realised that it was going to lose the assembly elections. “There is no economic planning, these are politically motivated schemes. People have been suffering under this government. There is huge unemployment, farmers are facing big problems. The government will wind up this scheme if they return to power,” said Sawant.

Madhav Bhandari, vice president of the Maharashtra BJP, said the opposition tended to criticise every good decision by the government. “The schemes are getting a good response. There is detailed planning behind them. In fact, Congress legislators and district presidents are putting up hoardings about these schemes in their names,” said Bhandari. He alleged that Congress leaders were getting the forms filled from needy women, but instead of submitting those to concerned authorities, they were keeping the forms with them. “The Congress will then claim that the women are not getting any money and the media will highlight that. This is typical Congress strategy,” he said.

Bhandari said the Ladki Bahin scheme would take at least a year to reach every beneficiary because of the limitations of the system. “The servers crashed when the number of registrations crossed 46 lakh, such problems will have to be resolved,” he said.

Political analyst Nitin Birmal said the schemes could help those who were implementing it at the ground level. “Leaders of the Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) and the NCP (Sharad Pawar) are also getting the forms filled by women. For the beneficiaries, it is all about who are helping them and not about the government that introduced the scheme,” he said. “Whoever is helping them will reap the benefits. But it is true that such schemes have worked for the Congress in Karnataka and for the BJP in Madhya Pradesh.”

with-the-bjp-facing-a-churn-in-uttar-pradesh-yogi-adityanath-finds-himself-in-a-vulnerable-position

Fri Aug 23 08:39:38 IST 2024

UTTAR PRADESH CHIEF MINISTER Yogi Adityanath’s fortunes are swaying even more than the state’s erratic monsoon. On July 22, the Supreme Court stayed his government’s order that mandated shop-owners to display names outside shops on the Kanwar Yatra route.

This was strike three, and it hurt where it should―the unapologetically staunch hindutva stance of Yogi. Strike two had happened on July 17, when Yogi had to assure residents of Lucknow’s Pantnagar and Indraprastha colonies that their homes would not be razed, and that civic authorities had erred in putting red marks on their houses, which meant that they stood on a flood plain. Barely a month earlier, multi-storey houses on a 24.5 acre plot were razed despite sustained protests. The structures had stood for decades on a flood plain. Strike one had happened on July 16, when an order that made digital attendance of school teachers mandatory was withdrawn after statewide protests.

Yogi no longer seems immovable now. Snapping at his heels is Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who met BJP president J.P. Nadda twice in 24 hours earlier this month. Maurya, a popular leader belonging to the Other Backward Classes, considers himself a natural leader in a state that has a significant OBC population.

It helped his case that alliance partner Apna Dal(K)’s Anupriya Patel (another OBC leader) wrote to Yogi asking why was it that posts in the reserved categories were not going to candidates and they were instead being rejected for being “unsuitable”. On July 22, Maurya flagged the issue, albeit regarding outsourced jobs. In a letter to the appointments and personnel division, he said he had sought an answer in the assembly as well, but had got no response.

Is the state BJP on the brink of a churn? Academic Prashant Trivedi said Adityanath still enjoyed the protection of the RSS, which now appears more focused on cutting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to size. But if that tussle gets too rough, Adityanath might find himself in a corner. “For the RSS, political power does not matter. It is the organisation that matters,” said a senior pracharak from Ayodhya.

The Sangh’s vocal disapproval of the behaviour of BJP leaders has the party worried about the erosion of all the support it had built in the past few decades. Worse, the party could find itself split.

The RSS worry is more rooted―why did the party not do well despite the Kashi Vishwanath corridor in Varanasi and the building of the new Ram Temple in Ayodhya. And, what has emboldened leaders to openly voice complaints to Yogi? Union Minister Anupriya Patel, for instance, wrote two letters on issues that could have been dealt with more quietly.

BJP leaders themselves had flagged the issue regarding digital attendance of teachers. “To be successful in 2027, our government will have to withdraw this [order regarding] digital attendance,” wrote party MLA Devendra Pratap Singh. “If the government accepts our suggestions, then the BJP will form the government in 2027.”

The attendance issue bought the government to its knees. Rajendra Prasad Mishra, vice president of the Madhyamik Shikshak Sangh, a teachers’ body with around 52,000 members, said. “Teachers are natural allies of the BJP. Despite all our problems, we have stood with the party. Had the decision not been withdrawn, it would have been seen as open humiliation.”

This is the same body, among others, that had lauded the state government for compensating the families of teachers who had lost their lives while on election duty in the local body polls during the pandemic. The government also compensated those who died much later because of Covid-related symptoms.

Yogi seems to be in a weakened position. “Yogi ji has lost the moral right to rule after the result,” said a former MLA. “He might be pitching his brand of hindutva aggressively, but without party support he would not be able to pull it off.”

Said Sudhir Panwar, Samajwadi Party: “If push comes to shove, and Yogi has to leave, it will be like the leaving of [former chief minister] Kalyan Singh. It will not be pleasant.” Singh was removed by the BJP during his second tenure as chief minister. He quit and floated his own party a year later.

Yogi, however, is no pushover. He has already started making preparations for the bypolls in 10 assembly seats. The poll results would be crucial, because failure could well be the deluge that could sweep Yogi away.

dissension-in-up-has-it-s-roots-in-delhi

Sat Jul 27 13:24:54 IST 2024

THE BJP IS A divided house in Uttar Pradesh. The war within the party was out in the open earlier this month, when Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, an influential OBC leader, spoke up against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. His action reflected his antipathy to Yogi, whom he apparently wants deposed.

Maurya has the support of the party’s Brahmin lobby under Brajesh Pathak, the other deputy chief minister. Their common grudge against Yogi is that the chief minister does not look beyond himself and his Thakur community.

If voices against Yogi are getting louder, it could not be happening without Delhi’s blessings. But what turned the BJP’s top brass against Yogi, whom it had anointed as chief minister in 2017?

Yogi was neither Narendra Modi’s choice in the first place, nor could his success stories about “transforming” UP impress the prime minister. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had pushed Yogi’s name in 2017 simply as a compromise candidate in place of Modi’s choice, Manoj Sinha, against whom the powerful RSS leader Krishna Gopal had strong reservations. And it was widely believed that both Modi and Shah had no plans to give Yogi a long stint.

However, backed by the massive following of his ‘Nath’ congregation, Yogi reinforced himself. He played the aggressive hindutva card in which his bulldozer policy came in handy. He retained power in the 2022 assembly polls, emerging as the only chief minister in decades to get a second consecutive term in Uttar Pradesh.

Maurya believed that he had the rightful claim to the top post in 2017, as he had led the BJP to victory as state party president. But in 2022, he even lost his own seat, for which his supporters blamed Yogi. However, Maurya was made deputy chief minister again, despite Yogi’s opposition, largely because the BJP was desperate to woo the OBCs. But Maurya’s frustration rose as Yogi entrenched himself even more deeply in Lucknow. That was disturbing for Modi and Shah, too, as they were against the idea of strong chief ministers, especially in a crucial state like Uttar Pradesh.

Not that Delhi did not try to cut Yogi down to size. Modi’s blue-eyed bureaucrat from Gujarat, A.K Sharma, was made to take voluntary retirement from the IAS and was sent to Lucknow. Speculation was rife that Sharma would build a parallel power centre, but Yogi ensured that Sharma did not get anything beyond a minister’s slot in his cabinet.

Delhi’s next big move was the direct appointment of a chief secretary for Uttar Pradesh. Yet another Modi favourite, Durga Shanker Mishra, was handpicked for the job on the day of his superannuation. Initially appointed for a year, Mishra was granted a full year’s extension, which went against All India Service Rules. The idea was to keep watch on Yogi. When this move also failed to rein in the chief minister, Mishra’s service came to an end.

Realising that bureaucrats were unable to tame Yogi, Delhi entrusted the task to the political class, which began its campaign by holding him responsible for the BJP’s disappointing performance in the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP, which had bagged 62 of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh in 2019, managed only 33 seats this time.

What started as a murmur, soon grew into a full-throated tirade against Yogi at the BJP’s state executive meeting in early July. The party’s national president J.P. Nadda flew down to Lucknow to chair the session. While care was taken to ensure that the deliberations were kept secret, the message that came out of the meeting was that all was not well within the party. Insiders confessed that a sharp divide between anti-Yogi and pro-Yogi factions was quite visible.

Maurya’s supporters spread the word that he would soon replace Yogi, who would be shunted to Delhi. But then came the anti-climax. A decision was taken at the highest level to defer any drastic step until the conclusion of the forthcoming byelections to ten assembly seats in the state. Since the BJP held only three of those seats―the Samajwadi Party had five and the BJP’s allies two―the bypolls might really not be that consequential. Yet, Yogi’s continuance may be linked with the results. Another poor show after the Lok Sabha debacle could be used by the anti-Yogi lobby to ease him out.

The opposition INDIA bloc won 43 Lok Sabha seats in UP by playing the backward and dalit card, so the BJP cannot afford to lag behind. And if the change of guard in Lucknow does not happen now, it may be too late. Surely, the saffron party would not want to risk easing Yogi out close to 2027 when Uttar Pradesh votes again.

Maurya may have his personal reasons to have Yogi out of the way. But Shah sees him as the biggest challenge in the race to succeed Modi, whenever that may happen. After all, Yogi is no less ambitious; in addition to being a hindutva icon, the mantle of being the chief minister of India’s most populous state gives him an added advantage in the succession race.

Sharat Pradhan is an independent journalist and author of Yogi Adityanath: Religion, Politics and Power―The Untold Story.

rebelling-bjp-legislators-put-the-rangasamy-government-in-a-spot-in-puducherry

Sat Jul 20 12:22:35 IST 2024

PUDUCHERRY IS SAID to be the BJP’s Plan B to get a foothold in the Dravida land. But it took a serious hit in the Lok Sabha elections when its candidate in the lone constituency in the Union Territory, home minister A. Namassivayam, suffered a humiliating loss against the Congress’s V. Vaithilingam. And the poll debacle has led to a rebellion within the party, putting the N. Rangasamy-led coalition government in trouble.

In the 30-member assembly, Rangasamy’s All India NR Congress (10 seats) and the BJP (6) are in coalition, which is supported by six independent and three nominated legislators. The DMK-Congress alliance has eight MLAs, six and two each.

Some BJP MLAs and independents have asked to fix accountability for the defeat. A. Johnkumar, his son V. Richards Johnkumar and P.M.L. Kalyanasundaram along with independents P. Angalane, G. Srinivas Ashok and M. Sivasankaran and nominated member K. Venkatesan reportedly called on BJP president J.P. Nadda in Delhi. Apparently, Johnkumar wanted the central leadership to make all of them ministers on a rotation basis, which was promised when Namassivayam and Johnkumar left the Congress for the BJP ahead of the assembly elections in 2021.

“Our intention is not to rebel against the Rangasamy government as projected outside,” said Johnkumar. “We want our leaders at the Centre to honour the commitment made in 2021.”

Two of the BJP’s six MLAs are ministers―Namassivayam and A.K. Sai J. Saravanan Kumar. A third one―Embalam R. Selvam―is the speaker. “The central leadership should either replace Namassivayam and Kumar with those who have been left out or should provide only outside support to the AINRC government. Only then can the BJP come to power in Puducherry,” said a party leader. Johnkumar’s supporters attribute Namassivayam’s defeat to his poor performance as minister.

The BJP, however, is downplaying the development. Nirmal Kumar Surana, who oversees Puducherry, said nobody had complained about anything to him. “The MLAs met the party president and Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda to discuss development plans for the Union Territory,” he said.

But the rebel MLAs say Surana does not understand Puducherry politics. “We have sought an appointment with Home Minister Amit Shah. We will meet him and explain our views on the reasons for the defeat in the Lok Sabha election,” said one of them. The rebel MLAs are also said to have appraised the central leadership about alleged corruption in the Rangasamy government.

Rangasamy, however, dismissed the development as the BJP’s internal issue. “It is their intra-party feud. Let them solve it themselves,” he said. When asked about the poor governance charges made by the BJP legislators, he said the government was “functioning properly”. “We have delivered on our promises,” he said.

Rangasamy believes that the BJP legislators are fighting among themselves for ministerial berths. Sources close to him said that he would not oblige to any request for cabinet reshuffle now.

puducherry-former-chief-minister-v-narayanasamy-interview

Sat Jul 20 12:19:54 IST 2024

Interview/ V. Narayanasamy, former chief minister, Puducherry

Q/ You have been saying that the days of the All India NR Congress-BJP government in Puducherry are numbered. How confident are you of a change?

A/ It is a fact that the days of the AINRC-BJP government are numbered because there is a crack in the alliance. BJP MLAs have no confidence in the chief minister. Therefore, the government may fall any time.

Q/ What worked in favour of Puducherry Congress president V. Vaithilingam, who defeated Home Minister A. Namassivayam in the Lok Sabha polls?

A/ None of the promises made by AINRC-BJP government to the people, such as statehood, additional central funds for development, and inclusion of Puducherry in the Central Finance Commission, was implemented. The total neglect of the state by the Narendra Modi government was one of the factors for Vaithilingam winning the election. Corruption and a total failure of administration put development activities at a standstill.

Q/ What are the corruption allegations you are talking about?

A/ For the past two and a half years, I have been raising the issue of corruption in the excise department, 30 per cent commission for PWD contracts, corruption in the purchase of laptops for students, corruption in smart city projects and corruption in the animal husbandry and civil supplies departments. I will be writing to the prime minister flagging these issues.

Q/ Is the growth of the BJP in the south a worry for the Congress?

A/ Puducherry had Congress governments for a long time and we lost in 2021 because of the misuse of muscle and money power by the BJP government at the Centre. The BJP is not growing in Tamil Nadu or in south India. In the Lok Sabha elections, it got one seat in Kerala and zero in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Of course, it got about 15 seats in Karnataka. The BJP is creating a bogey of its growth in the south. The people of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will not accept the BJP because it is against the minorities, dalits and backward communities. In the 2026 assembly polls, the Congress will come to power in Puducherry.

kejriwal-absence-affecting-delhi-administration-and-major-policy-decisions

Sat Jul 20 12:17:20 IST 2024

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s life behind bars has crossed 100 days, marking an unprecedented chapter in Delhi’s governance and politics. He remains defiant, holding on to his position as chief minister, but it has put the national capital in a situation it has never faced before.

Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party claimed vindication when he was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court on July 12 in the money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate in the purported liquor policy scam. However, Kejriwal’s wait to walk out of jail continues as he is in CBI custody under the Prevention of Corruption Act in the same case.

While granting bail to Kejriwal, the Supreme Court said it was up to him to decide whether he should continue as chief minister. But his legal team is confident that he will get bail in the CBI case as well. “The Centre anticipated that the Supreme Court would grant him bail in the ED matter, so it got the CBI to arrest him,” said Delhi cabinet minister Saurabh Bharadwaj. “The burden of proof is on the CBI. It is just a matter of time that Kejriwal is released.”

Kejriwal’s prolonged absence has raised serious concerns about governance. To make matters worse, the relationship between Delhi Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena and the state government is at its worst. Any public crisis turns into a blame game between the AAP and the BJP. “The people in power are misbehaving and testing the limits of the laws,” said former high court judge R.S. Sodhi.

Delhi witnessed a record-breaking heatwave this summer in which more than 300 people lost their lives. This was followed by an acute water crisis, for which the AAP government blamed Haryana of not releasing the Yamuna waters. Delhi Water Minister Atishi went on an indefinite fast, while the BJP accused the AAP of “colluding with the tanker mafia”. The saffron party also targeted the Delhi government over the revision of power purchase adjustment charges by discoms (distribution companies). Said Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva, “The goal of the Kejriwal government is only to fulfil personal interests.”

Another administrative issue that highlighted the divide between the state government and the LG was an order to transfer about 5,000 government school teachers who served in the same school for over 10 years. The process was halted after Atishi called on the LG to get the order revoked. She cited Article 239AA of the Constitution, which grants the Delhi government authority over matters in the State and Concurrent Lists.

The AAP’s political struggle, however, extends beyond governance issues. With Kejriwal in jail, the AAP attempted to fill the void by having his wife, Sunita, speak on behalf of her husband. However, following the AAP’s disappointing performance in the Lok Sabha polls, the Sunita factor has diminished significantly. Experts contend that the morale of AAP workers has taken a hit. “Senior leaders are in jail. Main strategists are leaving. The cadre is not visible on ground the way it used to be,” said Kubool Ahmed, a Delhi-based political commentator.

The limited boost the AAP received from being part of the INDIA bloc appears to be diminishing as well, with the Congress blaming it for the Lok Sabha debacle. The Congress has also started raising governance issues. “We will raise our voices on matters of public interest and welfare,” said Anil Bharadwaj, chairman of the Delhi Congress’s communication department. The Congress has also made clear that there will not be any seat-sharing agreement for the assembly elections scheduled for February. “The assembly polls will be particularly challenging for the AAP, with a resurgent Congress and the BJP riding on its Lok Sabha success,” said Ahmed.

Meanwhile, questions about how long the capital can be governed with its chief minister in jail are growing louder. “As the chief minister cannot give any written directions from inside the jail, he is verbally passing on messages through whoever comes to meet him,” said Sunil Gupta, who served as a law officer and spokesperson for Tihar jail. There have been occasions when ministers such as Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj have gone to Tihar to take verbal directions. “Recently, when Atishi went to meet Kejriwal he directed her to talk to Himachal Pradesh and other states to ensure that the water crisis did not affect people,” said Gupta.

The fact that Kejriwal is not holding the charge of any ministry enables the movement of files without his signature. Sources said ministers were taking decisions on their own. “The absence of the chief minister is not making much difference to the day-to-day functioning of the government. Ongoing schemes are continuing, but no major policy decisions have been taken since Kejriwal’s arrest,” said a Delhi government official.

Political observers, however, say that signing of files is not the only job for a chief minister. Holding cabinet meetings, meeting the LG and Union ministers and performing site inspections are some other responsibilities that are equally important. No cabinet meeting has been held since Kejriwal’s arrest. Moreover, Kejriwal’s strategy of communicating decisions and messages through his lawyers and his wife also appears to be slackening.

The AAP is fighting a multi-pronged battle, and the more Kejriwal stays in jail, the tougher it gets for the party, not just politically, but also in terms of governance.

if-kejriwal-is-unable-to-perform-his-duties-he-must-name-replacement

Sat Jul 20 12:14:22 IST 2024

THE INTERMINABLE CRISES that have beset Delhi seem to be going from bad to worse. After decades of being administered by the Central government through a chief commissioner and then a lieutenant governor, a 1991 constitutional amendment led to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act. It elevated Delhi administration to the status of a Union territory, with a legislature, a chief minister and a council of ministers, while keeping the lieutenant governor in charge of land, public order and police. The lieutenant governor also ensured that the elected governments did not come into conflict with the Central government.

Right from 1993, the time the first elected government took office in Delhi, there were disagreements, but even so, the atmosphere remained cordial. Two things were non-negotiable. Every chief minister maintained good relations with the Centre, even as the Central ministries remained receptive to Delhi’s needs as the capital of India. While every chief minister had his or her pet priorities, no one doubted the competence and commitment of the officers whose advice was generally listened to and acted upon.

For several years now, however, Delhi’s governance has slipped into a continually belligerent mode. One can blame several factors for the bedlam, but the unwillingness to display maturity has contributed the most. This is not the sort of governance that the citizens of the capital city deserve.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance has been in power at the Centre since 2014 and Delhi has been under the Aam Aadmi Party government since 2015. The difference in the pre-2015 years was that whichever political dispensation held power at the Centre, there was always a shared vision that the country’s capital must shine. That shared vision seems to have been replaced by another goal―to assert supremacy.

The longest serving chief minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit, was credited with several reforms which could not have been achieved without the support of the Central government. Dikshit had no power to make or amend laws made by Parliament, but, at each juncture, the road was cleared–even facilitated―by the Central government. Reforms like the privatisation of power, amendments to the Municipal Corporation Act to change the way property tax was levied and the new cooperative societies law were cases in point.

The Delhi Metro took off when the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government was at the Centre. The introduction of CNG in all public transport vehicles was another success story that reflected a healthy relationship between the two governments.

Dikshit used three strategies to have her way: maintaining good relations with whoever mattered in the Central government, giving officers a free hand to work and by staying close to the entire cross-section of the citizenry. The Central government remained under NDA for six years of her 15-year tenure, but, perhaps, she received maximum support during those years.

One of Dikshit’s successful initiatives was the citizen-government partnership called Bhagidari which accorded legitimacy to resident welfare associations. It became one of the finest examples of participatory democracy and received the United Nation’s good governance award. And ironically, around the same time, it was Arvind Kejriwal―then engaged with an NGO called Parivartan―who taught slum dwellers how to demand remedies for denial of ration, kerosene and electricity, by using Delhi’s Right to Information Act. Given the unending acrimony one is witnessing today, all these sound like a fairytale.

I have no idea how files are moving now between officers and ministers, and between the chief minister and the lieutenant governor. With officers holding triple charges and with the chief minister in jail, one wonders how work goes on. Postings and transfers are integral to the functioning of any organised bureaucracy. These were once managed effortlessly. Officers vied to get a Delhi posting. Today they look to escape. The setting up of the National Capital Civil Services Authority in 2023 by amending the NCT Act “to make recommendations to the LG on transfers, postings” is also not clearly understood. Its continuing non-workability has made the posting of officers chaotic, taking its toll on governance.

From a bureaucrat’s point of view, I cannot overemphasise that the All-India Services are governed by an Act of Parliament and must be used to help formulate policy, secure approvals within the processes laid down and be given the freedom to implement lawful orders, promptly. But to function efficiently, a structure and system must exist. There are examples within India like the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation which did amazingly well during the Covid-19 pandemic because there was a structure in place. But unfortunately, with the prevailing situation, it seems unthinkable for Delhi, especially since the genie of full statehood has been let loose.

Another solution might be to relocate the capital and leave Delhi to be run just like any another state, which is seen to have reduced conflict in some cases, like Washington, DC and Canberra.

For now, the citizens of Delhi have become inured to the ongoing political and legal battles and blame games. With the chief minister being in jail for months, it is unclear how much the governance is suffering. In Jharkhand, the chief minister resigned before his arrest and was reappointed once he was out on bail. When a government servant is arrested, he is deemed to be under suspension and becomes functus officio (an officer or agency whose mandate has expired). In the case of the Delhi chief minister, whatever be the merits of any legal or technical grounds which might not require resignation, when the chief minister is unable to perform his lawful functions, on moral grounds, he must appoint a successor.

―As told to Mohit Sharma.

Shailaja Chandra is former chief secretary, Delhi.

spate-of-terror-attacks-in-jammu-reveals-systemic-problems-and-rattles-the-bjp-allies

Sat Jul 20 12:34:02 IST 2024

IN THE PAST three years, terror attacks in Jammu have killed 48 soldiers. Seven attacks have taken place in the past month alone, the latest being an encounter in which four soldiers were killed in Koti forest in Doda district on July 16. The attackers, like in most cases in recent times, escaped.

The spate of attacks began on July 8, when five soldiers were killed and five were wounded in an ambush on two army vehicles at Badnota in Kathua district. The attackers had grenades and armour-piercing bullets, and they fled when the soldiers retaliated. Subsequent investigations indicated that there was an organised effort to target Jammu after decades of peace.

The Badnota attack had the Army, the police and the Central Reserve Police Force launching a massive search operation deploying drones, helicopters and sniffer dogs. The suspicion is that terrorists hiding in Udhampur’s Basantgarh forest could have been involved. Basantgarh is connected to Machedi forest near Badnota, which in the 1990s were used by infiltrators crossing the Kathua border.

Terrorists have been using the mountainous terrain, especially in Poonch and Rajouri districts, to their advantage. The attacks have highlighted this rising threat, and cast a shadow on the assembly polls, which the Supreme Court had ordered to be held by September.

Security forces have been asked to enforce anti-terror measures in Jammu that are as stringent as those in Kashmir. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged security officials to utilise the “full spectrum of counter-terror capabilities”. The police say terrorists had local support that helped them evade detection. They have reportedly identified a module that provided temporary shelter to terrorists and facilitated their movements. Six members of the alleged module have been detained.

The police have warned that those who support terrorists would be charged with the Enemy Agents Act, which is harsher than that the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. EAA mandates punishments ranging from life imprisonment to death sentence.

R.R. Swain, director general of police, said local people found to be involved in providing shelter, or aiding a foreign terrorist in any way, would be booked under EAA. “The only thing we have to prove is that the person supported the foreign terrorist who came here to destabilise peace and kill innocent people,” he said.

A high-ranking security official said terrorists finding local support was worrying. He said the thinning of troops in the Pir Panjal range because of the Chinese threat in Ladakh was another reason for heightened terrorist activity in Rajouri and Poonch. “Unlike Kashmir, where population density is high, most hilly areas of Jammu are sparsely populated, making it easy for terrorists to move around,” he said. “The number of terrorists active in Jammu’s mountainous regions is higher than earlier estimates.” The estimate earlier was 50.

Outfits such as The Resistance Front (TRF) and the People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), which the police say are Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad in disguise, have claimed responsibility for recent attacks. The use of non-Islamic names by terror groups is a phenomenon witnessed after the abrogation of Article 370. Their tactics, however, remain the same―hurling grenades at vehicles, shooting the driver and spraying the vehicle with bullets. Apart from M4 carbines, terrorists have been using military-grade communication devices made in China. One such equipment was recovered after an encounter in July last year at Sindarah Top in Poonch district.

Thirty-eight quick reaction teams (QRTs) of security forces are being deployed in all 10 districts of Jammu. A high-level meeting of senior Border Security Force and police officials from Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab was recently held in Kathua. The meeting focused on the situation along the India-Pakistan border, strengthening the anti-infiltration grid and sharing real-time intelligence.

Observers say the restoration of the political and democratic process is key to addressing the security situation in Jammu. They believe the political vacuum created in the aftermath of the voiding of Article 370 has alienated people from the government and the security forces. This has allowed forces inimical to peace in Jammu and Kashmir to exploit the situation.

The political vacuum has also resulted in a war of words between Swain and Peoples Democratic Party president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti. Swain had earlier remarked that mainstream and regional political parties in the valley had facilitated Pakistan’s “infiltration into civil society”. Mehbooba responded that the surge in violence in Jammu demanded accountability from officers like Swain. “Heads should have rolled by now,” she said. “The DGP (Swain) should have been sacked by now.”

She has accused Swain of trying to “fix things politically”. “He is more into how to crush the PDP and harass the people,” Mehbooba said.

The situation has even the BJP’s allies in Kashmir rattled. Sajad Lone of the People’s Conference, which supports the BJP, said the Union government should “end this pain” and restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.

“The assembly elections must be held on time,” he wrote on X on July 11. “Let my worst electoral rival be elected. I would prefer that government a million times over an alien government which falsely claims to be stakeholders with political and social sanctity.”

we-need-more-civil-servants-with-values-rather-than-ambitions-and-expectations-k-m-chandrasekhar

Sat Jul 20 12:02:36 IST 2024

IN A LETTER to prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru on April 14, 1948, home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel wrote, “I need hardly emphasise that an efficient, disciplined and contented service, assured of its prospect as a result of diligent and honest work, is a sine qua non of sound administration under a democratic regime even more than under an authoritarian rule. The service must be above party, and we should ensure that political considerations, either in its recruitment or in its discipline and control, are reduced to the minimum, if not eliminated altogether. The Constitution is meant to be worked by a ring of service which will keep the country intact.”

This ideal remained with the civil service for long, although it cannot be said there were no aberrations. We joined young; I was barely 22 and straight from college when I went to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie. A couple of months into my probation, I was tasked to write a paper on integrity. I recall I wrote 26 pages, basically stating that corruption arises when the demand for goods and services far exceeds supply, when the moral fibre is weak and when the political and social framework is riddled with deception and duplicity. The directors and faculty of the academy were also formidable people and exhibited values that a faithful public servant must possess.

I am reminded of how far we have drifted from the ideals we were expected to conform to from the recent story of a probationary officer in Pune. My knowledge is limited to what I read in the newspapers, and I cannot vouch for its accuracy. The facts stated are appalling. A 34-year-old woman gets into the civil service. She gets in because her application says she is mentally and physically disabled and, therefore, entitled to a quota. Six times, she evaded a medical test at All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Safdarjung Hospital. The Central Administrative Tribunal rejected her plea. But she got relief from the Bombay High Court that gave her a chance to appear for a medical test again.

She must have gone through a few months of training at Mussoorie. The faculty would have been able to judge her characteristics and suitability for the IAS. She was posted as assistant collector (under training) to a prize district in Maharashtra―Pune. There, she starts her drama. She asks for a car, a house, an office. An officer on probation is expected to learn, move with the people, and understand the requirements for becoming a good IAS officer. Instead, her focus is on the display of power and authority. Not having got a car, she used her own Audi car, put a sticker on it to show that it was a Maharashtra government car, and forcibly occupied the room of an additional collector in the collectorate. She had been given a room but was dissatisfied with it as it did not have an attached bathroom.

The collector finally wrote to the chief secretary in desperation. She was becoming too hot to handle, and her father, a former civil servant, was constantly exerting pressure. In addition to being “handicapped”, she also stated in her application that she belonged to the non-creamy layer of the Other Backward Class category. At the same time, her father declared his assets as Rs40 crore when he stood for election recently. She is reported to have declared assets of Rs22 crore when she entered the service, many times more than what officers of my generation would possess after four decades of service. The chief secretary gently shifted her to a nearby district, Washim, but in response to media outcry, the government of India has initiated an official inquiry.

The incident took me back to my posting as assistant collector (under training) in the district of Calicut (now Kozhikode) in Kerala. I wrote a letter to my collector, M. Joseph, in an inland cover, saying that I looked forward to working under his guidance. He wrote a polite letter back, welcoming me. When I went to Calicut, a room was reserved for my temporary stay at the PWD rest house in East Hill until I found another accommodation. Someone picked me up in a jeep and took me there.

Once or twice, I called for a jeep to take me to the collectorate. Then my collector called me and said, “We have only two jeeps in the collectorate, and we need them for official work. You must use public transport. You will learn what the people think of the government and the district administration. You will hear from the people and become a better officer.”

I used a bus after that and learnt to eat “meals” from wayside shops, trek across the countryside, and up and down slush and mud, with leeches clinging to my body. My district taught me humility, an ability to get on with junior officials and ordinary people and learn from them.

Indeed, even at senior levels, I never had the perquisites that the young assistant collector wanted. When I came to Thiruvananthapuram as deputy secretary, I had no official car or residential phone. I used to bring food from home in a small lunch box. My peon used to carry it up for me until one day he told me that the “union” had directed him not to. I never had a bathroom attached to my office as joint secretary or secretary in the government of India or as ambassador to the World Trade Organization.

My concern is whether young officers are selected, groomed, and taught values that will make them better officers. I see a lack of coordination between the Union Public Service Commission, the academy and the Department of Personnel and Training. I saw this in another case recently when a disabled candidate was selected by the UPSC and welcomed by the academy but got a posting only after high-level intervention. Successive governments have fiddled with the system, creating a certain degree of chaos. This is no reflection on the civil services, where brilliant and hardworking officers still exist. My shout-out is intended to rethink and rejuvenate the system at the lowest level so that we have more officers with values rather than ambitions and expectations.

The writer is a former cabinet secretary.

the-hathras-tragedy-points-to-a-heady-mix-of-faith-riches-and-power

Mon Jul 15 10:44:46 IST 2024

Rock legend Bruce Springsteen would not have heard of Hathras when he quipped at a concert years ago: “Blind faith in your leaders, or in anything, will get you killed”.

‘The Boss’ could have been talking about politicians. But an Indian godman, with a besotted following in the country’s most populous state, and in the world’s most populated country, is no less a magnet for “blind faith”.

India has always been fertile ground for godmen. But with startling regularity, many of them have been making their way into headlines for, not spiritualism, but for crimes ranging from tax evasion to murder.

‘Bhole Baba’ Narayan Sakar Hari is just the newest guru on the block.

On July 2, in a newly cleared maize farmland in Uttar Pradesh’s Phulrai Mughal Garhi in Hathras―next to the busy National Highway―121 lives (112 of them women) were snuffed out.

Their bodies, later taken out in trucks and tractors, had been crushed under a sea of humanity as a stampede broke out with followers rushing to scoop up the dust where ‘Bhole Baba’ had treaded minutes earlier. The dust was believed to be blessed with curative properties.

Dr Surya Prakash, chief medical superintendent at the Hathras civil hospital, about 30km from the stampede site, told THE WEEK: “Our hospital reported 34 dead. Most of them from asphyxia or suffocation.”

The FIR filed at the local Sikandrarao police station said that while about 80,000 people were expected to attend the satsang (religious congregation), 2.5 lakh turned up. This led to a frenzy, some time after 2pm, as screaming men, women and children tried to get out.

Eyewitnesses said many more than 2.5 lakh had showed up. Kailash Yadav, who has been plying his ramshackle auto-rickshaw in the area for a decade, said: “It must have been about five lakh at least. For three to four kilometres, the highway on both sides of the venue was full of people.”

Inevitably so, from that day, the baba captured the public imagination. News channels, newspapers, websites and YouTube channels have been running stories about his life, lifestyle and connections, with the odd conspiracy theory thrown in.

Originally hailing from a village in Bahadurnagar in the state’s Kasganj district, Bhole Baba, whose real name is Surajpal Singh, joined the state police as a constable, and later became head constable in the local intelligence department called the ‘Special Branch’.

Shalabh Mathur, inspector general (Aligarh Range) told THE WEEK: “He took voluntary retirement while serving in Agra in 2000. We have traced two FIRs in his name. One was in Agra, where the charge against him was on claiming magical powers to cure [diseases]. He was acquitted. The other FIR was from Rajasthan’s Dausa for violating lockdown rules during the Covid-19 pandemic. We are trying to find out if more cases have been filed against him.”

It has been quite a dizzying rise for the former constable. He has gathered immense wealth including landed property, houses and a cavalcade of luxury cars. He has also increased manifold his number of followers, thereby enhancing his clout.

So much clout, in fact, that legal requirements and permissions from local authorities could be ignored. A serving inspector general-level officer told THE WEEK on condition of anonymity: “Basic rules of crowd management were absent. If you see the television visuals and pictures, there were no gangways or any proper segregation. All the management was ad hoc. Even for the police, anticipation of the size of the crowd is a must. If you are giving permission, you have to regulate. Why were the police outside the venue while private security enforced rules inside?”

This private security is a army of sewadars, or helpers. Wherever his cavalcade goes, it is always escorted by a band of sewadars on Bullet motorcycles.

There are several categories in this group―some are dressed in pink, some in commando-style dungarees in black and some in camouflage. But almost all of them are armed with lathis.

Bhole Baba’s setup is managed by his ‘Shri Narayan Hari Sakar Charitable Trust’, which has set up district and lower-level committees that organise the logistics whenever a satsang or similar event is to be held.

While his main base is in the sprawling ‘five-star’, 21 ‘bigha’ ashram called ‘Prawas Ashram’ in Mainpuri, unconfirmed reports speak of several other ashrams in Kanpur, Bahadurnagar, Etah and other places across the state. While his personal preference is said to be a white Fortuner, he maintains a whole range of high-end luxury cars. Also, unlike the flowing saffron robes of other godmen, he wears a white three-piece suit and shoes, along with shades, for his satsangs.

A special investigation team set up to probe the stampede submitted its report to the state government on July 8. According to sources privy to the report, it has blamed the local organisers and pointed to the lack of adequate arrangements by the police. The report has also not dismissed the possibility of a conspiracy and has sought a deeper probe. Interestingly, it also pointed out that the police were prevented from discharging their functions by the organisers of the event.

A new twist in the case came with the Rajasthan connection. About six months ago, a Rajasthan Police team, while conducting a raid on the house of Harshvardhan Meena, found that Bhole Baba was staying there.

Meena is the main accused in the Rajasthan 2020 Junior Engineer Exam (JEN) paper leak case.

Additional Director General of Police (Special Operations Group) V.K. Singh told the media: “In January, we raided Meena’s house in Dausa in connection with the paper leak case. But before we reached, the baba, who was staying there, ran away.”

Bhole Baba had reportedly attended satsangs organised in Meena’s Dausa house.

Said Mathur: “It is too premature to say anything now as investigations are on. But the scope of investigations would look into his (Bhole Baba) wealth status, the kind and amount of property he holds, the money trail, and how funding is taking place. There will also be an investigation into a conspiracy angle on whether the tragedy was pre-planned in any manner or was accidental”.

A point that feeds the conspiracy angle is the fact that while the followers were exhorted to touch the dust where the godman walked, they were then forced back with ‘lathis’ by his private security. “That is a definite contradiction,” said the IG-level officer. “Did they want the people to rush in to touch the dust? [If so, why were they] suddenly forced back by the preacher’s security, creating chaos and mayhem. This should be probed.”

While Bhole Baba’s rise might have been meteoric, he had maintained a low profile for long. He did this by making sure he was not photographed or caught on video.

Said Monu Yadav, a youth from a nearby village who was present at the stampede site: “The sewadars kept a strict eye on anyone trying to record the event on phone. I had tried calling up many of my friends but the phones were not connecting.” The local police denied that phone jammers were used.

A day after the tragedy, the site was found littered with wedding cards ostensibly brought for the baba’s “blessings”, feeding bottles for babies, vanity boxes and women’s apparel.

This was because of the baba’s massive appeal among women. Godmen often tout their own USP in their preaching. In this case, it was Bhole Baba’s much-touted ‘powers’ to cure infertility, women’s diseases and sick children, and to get grooms for unmarried women.

While Bhole Baba’s followers are made up of quite a few dalit communities, they are overwhelmingly Jatavs. A scheduled caste community, Jatavs account for about 10 per cent of Uttar Pradesh’s population and more than half of the state’s 2.25 crore dalits, making them a huge electoral constituency. The baba also belongs to the community.

Burdened by poverty, socio-economic deprivation and a lack of health care, a section of the community is sometimes forced to look for an escape route to solace, emotional comfort and quick-fix solutions for health issues.

Moreover, with the traditional joint family system and close kinship ties giving way to nuclear families even in rural Uttar Pradesh, there is often no socio-economic support system to address problems. These are circumstances ripe for exploitation.

So strong is the belief in Bhole Baba’s magical powers that his parting words before leaving the July 2 satsang―’Aaj pralay aayega (there will be a catastrophe today)’ has been taken as “proof” of his “mystic powers”.

Predictably, Bhole Baba has become a political hot potato, and a blame game has erupted among the state’s political parties. They are accusing each other of linkages and siding with the preacher.

While Bhole Baba might be elusive at the time of this article going to print, he did express his sadness to a news agency and, in the video, exhorted his followers “to keep faith in the government and administration”.

That a news agency could locate the godman while the police keep up their frantic hunt could well be a metaphor for the dark state of affairs. For his devoted followers, it could even be “Baba’s leela (divine play)”.

up-minister-of-state-for-social-welfare-asim-arun-interview

Sat Jul 13 15:40:26 IST 2024

Interview/ Asim Arun, minister of state for social welfare, Uttar Pradesh

Q/ Did the organisers get permission from local authorities to hold a large gathering?

A/They apparently took permission for 80,000 people. The police told me that the organisers insisted they would take care of all the crowd handling. They have their band of volunteers called sewadars. The superintendent of police told me that some cops were deployed inside the venue, but they were predominantly used for traffic management outside.

Q/ What went wrong?

A/As much as I could understand from my interactions with the wounded and the cops there, when the vehicle with Bhole Baba was coming out of the venue, there was a huge crowd also moving towards the road. The road to be taken by such people (Bhole Baba) should have been separate from the road used by the crowd. Then something happened, which we will know only after the inquiry. The question is, why did the cars stop and why did the sewadars use force? I am told they used lathis to scare away people, and old women started falling. Then the stampede happened. The sewadars were not trained to use force and it is a matter of inquiry whether it was sheer negligence or something else.

Q/ What are the existing norms for such gatherings?

A/The norms are not very detailed. The chief minister (Yogi Adityanath) has asked for better norms to be framed under three heads. First, what are the civic amenities that a gathering of a thousand people or one lakh people would require? Second, there could be exigencies that could result in modifications to the programme, for example rain or storm. It needs to be seen whether the organiser is ready for that. And then there could be contingencies that need medical attention. So, the current standard operating procedures are not so detailed. We have to make it more effective.

Q/ Have Bhole Baba and his associates flouted norms in the past?

A/I am not aware of that, but seeing his older videos, one can suspect that similar arrangements were being made in the past.

Q/ The police have arrested some members of the organising committee. How is their role different from Bhole Baba, who has not been named in the FIR?

A/The permission for the event was not taken in his (Bhole Baba’s) name. Those who have been arrested were the ones who organised the event and worked as sewadars in charge of managing events, bringing crowds and collecting funds.

Q/ Is the role of Bhole Baba under investigation?

A/It is very much under investigation. The FIR was lodged against one person (only the main accused was named) and 70 to 80 others. So, the one person is the one who took permission for the function and the others would include the sewadars, and speakers like him (Bhole Baba) and his wife.

lok-sabha-results-prove-that-making-inroads-in-kashmir-remains-an-uphill-task-for-the-bjp

Sat Jul 13 15:03:46 IST 2024

In the recent Lok Sabha polls, the BJP secured hat-trick victories in Udhampur and Jammu constituencies, leading in 29 of 37 assembly segments. But, despite the success, the party’s inability to contest in constituencies in Kashmir and the emerging challenges in the Hindu-majority Jammu could complicate its efforts to win the assembly polls due later this year.

The BJP recorded a notable decline in its vote share in Udhampur and Jammu. The party also lost Ladakh, which was separated from Jammu and Kashmir and declared a Union territory after the voiding of Article 370 on August 5, 2019. The BJP’s allies in Kashmir, the Apni Party and the People’s Conference (PC), also struggled, securing just 4 per cent and 3.3 per cent of votes, respectively. Combined, the three parties received 16.4 lakh votes, or 31.7 per cent of the total votes. On the other hand, the National Conference and the Congress-led alliance that opposed the BJP got 21.45 lakh votes (41.6 per cent).

The NC’s performance, especially, underscores the BJP’s challenges. The NC won the Srinagar and Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituencies, even though it lost Baramulla, where party vice president and former chief minister Omar Abdullah was defeated by Abdul Rashid Sheikh of the Awami Ittehad Party. (Known as Engineer Rashid, Sheikh had contested from jail; he was arrested by the National Investigation Agency in 2019 on money laundering charges.) The NC led in 34 assembly segments across the three constituencies.

The BJP’s reduced vote share narrowed its lead over the Congress from 6.36 lakh votes in 2019 to 2.59 lakh votes in 2024. It highlighted the BJP’s challenges in Jammu, which has been its stronghold. Though the BJP led in 15 of 18 assembly segments, it recorded narrow margins in East Jammu, Nagrota, Ramgarh and Bahu, all of which it had won in the 2014 assembly polls, and lagged in Gulabgarh, Suchetgarh and R.S. Pura.

In the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency, the BJP led in 14 of 18 assembly segments. In Inderwal, Bhaderwah and Banihal, areas with significant Muslim population, the party trailed the Congress. For the BJP to come to power in the Union territory, say observers, the party needs to win seats in Jammu with a sizeable Muslim population.

Kashmir continues to be a challenge for the BJP. The decision to let the Apni Party contest the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency had left the BJP’s local leaders and supporters distraught. The constituency was created by the Delimitation Commission in 2022 after merging the south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Shopian and Kulgam with the Muslim-majority districts of Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu. The Pir Panjal range separates south Kashmir from Rajouri and Poonch, inhabited mostly by tribal communities such as Gujjars, Bakerwals and Paharis. Regional parties had questioned the decision to form a new Lok Sabha constituency that includes districts separated by a mountain range and connected only by a treacherous 127km road, better known as the Mughal Road, which remains shut in winter. The parties had alleged that the constituency was formed at the BJP’s behest.

Sources say local BJP leaders, in a meeting in Srinagar on June 1, had attributed the party’s losses in these seats to the decision to not field its own candidates. A BJP leader in Poonch said most Paharis, who were granted scheduled tribe status by the BJP, would have voted for the BJP candidate if the party had decided to contest elections from Anantnag-Rajouri. “The Paharis were reluctant to vote for the [Apni Party] candidate,” he said.

A BJP functionary in Jammu said the BJP would have done well in Anantnag-Rajouri if state party president Ravinder Raina was given the ticket. “Some people in the party felt threatened by him,” he said. “They felt if he (Raina) was elected from the constituency, he would emerge stronger and [become] closer to the central leadership.”

A BJP leader in south Kashmir also said Raina would have been a good choice. “The BJP has helped many people in Kashmir, including some religious leaders in distress,” he said. “They, too, had committed to supporting the BJP candidate. We would have pulled it off with the support of religious leaders in south Kashmir, Kashmiri Pandits and Paharis. Raina sahab is the only leader who has a good rapport with all the people in Jammu and Kashmir.”

BJP sources told THE WEEK that the party had initially decided to back a serving IAS officer who belonged to an ST community. “It was believed that he would be acceptable to Gujjars, Bakerwals and Paharis,” said a source. “However, the plan didn’t materialise as the BJP was not keen on allotting him the party symbol.”

Sofi Yousuf, vice president of the BJP’s J&K unit, exuded confidence that the party would do well in the assembly polls. “We expect to win five to ten seats in Kashmir,” he said. “We didn’t put up candidates in the Lok Sabha polls in Kashmir, but we know the places where our supporters cast their votes in favour of allies.”

According to Yousuf, the BJP had more than seven lakh members in Kashmir. He said the party would field candidates in all seats in the assembly polls. Said Muhammad Rafiq, BJP leader in charge of Kashmir: “In the assembly elections, our supporters will ensure victory for the BJP in several constituencies like Anantnag, Anantnag West, Sonawari, Habba Kadal, Karnah, and Uri. We are confident of winning all these constituencies.”

intricate-detailing-and-traditional-aesthetics-are-increasing-the-appeal-of-pakistani-fashion-in-india

Mon Oct 28 17:18:48 IST 2024

Faraz Manan is to Pakistan what Manish Malhotra is to India. His designs are fresh, with a Pakistani feel but a global appeal. Perhaps that is what makes him the preferred choice for Indian celebrities. His popularity in India was evident when a host of celebrities, including Alia Bhatt, Hardik Pandya, Shloka Ambani and sister Diya Mehta Jatia, wore his designs at the Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant wedding. It was in 2023, when Pakistani actor Mahira Khan wore a dreamy Faraz Manan outfit for her wedding, that a massive demand for his custom bridal couture was born in India, which was sourced through his store in Dubai either online or offline. Affordable prices, a different appeal, and his signature touch made the bridal couture popular in India.

While Manan remains a top pick, Pakistani designers Iqbal Hussain, Baroque and Mohsin Naveed Ranjha, too, are finding Indian takers. The country’s struggling economy has not weakened its soft power, from art to fashion, in India. This obsession with Pakistani designs goes back a decade. Back in 2014, when Pakistani serials started streaming in India, its fashion also percolated through. The long, loose kurtas, exuding comfort and class, became an instant hit here. Their palazzos made the salwars go out of fashion. Mahira’s simple, traditional look in the popular show Humsafar became iconic.

A decade later, the trend continues. While several Indian brands have drawn from Pakistani designs, the demand for the original remains. Even if that means taking the Dubai route, because there is no direct access to Pakistani e-commerce websites.

The intricate detailing, embroidery, flowing silhouettes and traditional aesthetics in Pakistani designs are often the catch for Indian buyers.

To cater to the demand, Pakistani designers like Manan and Sania Maskatiya are shifting their base to Dubai for greater accessibility to Indian customers. “India has always been a land of rich traditions and diverse cultures, much like Pakistan and Dubai, and we are thrilled to see how the Indian market has embraced our designs with open arms,” says Maskatiya. “There is a growing demand for our styles in India, especially for our signature fusion of traditional craftsmanship with contemporary silhouettes. The cultural similarities and appreciation for intricate embroidery, luxurious fabrics, and artisanal techniques make our collections resonate with the Indian audience. It has been a wonderful journey to see our brand find a home in India, where fashion continues to bridge borders and bring us closer.”

Apart from her Dubai store, one can find Maskatiya’s designs online, with retailers becoming the bridge between the two countries. Nainpreet The Collective is one such Indian retail platform that stocks Pakistani couture by the likes of Mysie by Tahira, Sadaf Fawad Khan and Baroque. Similarly, Ensemble Dubai is the largest multi-brand store in Dubai selling Pakistani fashion. Several such platforms have come up with a promise to deliver Pakistani designs to your doorstep.

In India, Rashi Dongre Khetwani and Simran Shetty’s The Pop Up Story is bringing Pakistani designs home. A startup established last year, they hold pop-ups of global brands in Mumbai and Dubai. “When Sara Ali Khan wore [Pakistani designer] Iqbal Hussain at the Ambani wedding, people immediately recognised it,” they say. “This means that the world is becoming smaller with social media. Pakistani brand Lajwanti’s recent campaign was shot in Jaipur.” They say the competitive pricing of Pakistani designs is what attracts the customers. Their cuts and embroideries are different and look elegant, they believe. “Everyone wants to wear something unique, and that is where the demand stems from,” they say. “There is something for everyone in Pakistan.” At their recent pop-up, the response to Maskatiya’s designs was so overwhelming that they now plan to bring in more Pakistani designers and expand to other parts of the country.

While women’s fashion from Pakistan is highly popular here, men’s fashion is yet to catch up, barring a few celebrity exceptions, with distance and availability being the main hindrances. Still, the impact of Pakistani soft culture is here to stay, whether in art, music, or fashion.

laxmi-panda-the-story-of-netajis-youngest-spy-book-by-savie-karnel

Sat Oct 26 11:14:54 IST 2024

Dilli chalo!”was the war cry of hardened soldiers in the Indian National Army camps in Burma in 1944. The youngest of these soldiers was Laxmi Panda, whose extraordinary tale you discover as you read Savie Karnel’s Laxmi Panda: The Story of Netaji’s Youngest Spy.

Her story shows the struggles of those caught in the crossfire of World War II―stuck between the British, who were ruling India, and the Japanese, who wanted to drive away the Allied powers. The book opens with Laxmi’s family, Indian migrants in Burma, who die in a bomb blast there. Orphaned, hungry and lost, Laxmi and her brother Nakul struggle to survive. They befriend a strange woman who teaches them to catch frogs and steal rice from shops. With freedom fighters, they eventually find a home as well as a purpose.

At 14, Laxmi was the youngest to join the INA’s Rani of Jhansi regiment, but that did not stop her from quickly rising through the ranks. Subhas Chandra Bose even renamed her Indira, apparently to avoid people confusing her with the more famous Lakshmi of the time, captain Lakshmi Sahgal.

Laxmi’s days were filled with rigorous training―running, marksmanship, sword fighting, horsemanship, map reading and even learning Hindustani. As hers was a women-only regiment, Sundays were spent in visiting Nakul in his camp. But this closeness was brief. She quickly developed as a spy and was soon moved to a special services group in Bose’s army. This meant keeping all missions secret, even from Nakul.The book details her first official mission to India, the homeland she never saw but was willing to die for. Karnel digs below the surface to explore the hard realities―like trekking through forests for days―and also writes about episodes where Laxmi showed presence of mind in crucial moments. Her grasp of Nepali helped her forge friendships with soldiers guarding the British garrison in Manipur. Also, her experience in catching frogs earned her the trust of the villagers. She skilfully extracted crucial intelligence about weaponry and enemy plans through casual conversations. With her partner Emily, she copied vital war documents, which gave the INA a chance to launch a surprise attack to capture the garrison. Remarkably, Laxmi evaded capture a number of times, be it through her cunning, luck, or a combination of both.

Laxmi Panda’s story is one to be remembered and revered. Thankfully, authors like Karnel are preserving this vital chapter in India’s history.

LAXMI PANDA: THE STORY OF NETAJI’S YOUNGEST SPY

By Savie Karnel

Published by Red Panda

Price Rs298; pages 224

sandeep-verma-valerie-howling-wolves-cocktail-bar-restaurant-goa

Sat Oct 19 15:20:18 IST 2024

We lost everything.” When Sandeep Verma says this, it is no hyperbole. This was, of course, when Sandeep was better known as Sandy, and was the toast of Delhi’s cocktail circuit. He was the go-to for everything academic about alcoholic beverages in the nascent industry.

But nothing lasts forever. The story of Sandeep and wife Valerie is the stuff feel-good flicks are made of. More than a post-Covid ‘fall and rise’ story, it has lessons in a world where change, natural and technological, is throwing existential challenges at everyone around us. And perhaps, just perhaps, this story of picking oneself up after falling down, and holding close one’s basic tenets of human connection, could resonate in this post-AI landscape.

Their paths crossed while working at Mumbai’s Leela ages ago. Together, they ventured into one ambitious project after another in the heady post-liberalisation days of the late 1990s, when opportunities seemed endless, and theirs for the taking.

Their nouvelle venture was India’s first-ever school for bartending, Institute of Bar Operations, which they opened in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj. Along with a wedding and catering consultancy on the side, the couple also opened a jazz-themed bar in the national capital region.

“We had people from Berklee College of Music coming and performing [but] there weren’t too many takers for that kind of music,” Sandeep says ruefully. “Perhaps we were ahead of the times.”

While ‘Sandy’s Bar & Kitchen’ had to down its shutters prematurely, the bartending school was doing well. That’s when the Vermas decided to spread their wings.

The idea was to capitalise on Sandy’s track record in the bartending scene by scaling up the training school, venturing into ed-tech with courses in bartending and skill development, and tailoring them for the common man with the option of Hindi, too. The aim was for his holding company, Asaan Hospitality, to have agreements in place with hotels and restaurants across the country that needed bartenders and mixologists.

It was a moonshot venture, with the couple opting for investor funding and an expansion at a nearly ten-times scale. They signed their compliances in September 2019 and the first round angel investment of 050 lakh came in―it was spent on getting three buildings on rent, setting up the infrastructure and recruiting staff.

That took them to March 2020, when the next round of investment, Series A, was supposed to come in. But then calamity struck in the form of a virus.

“For the first month, everyone stood by us,” Sandy reminisces, “And by the next month, the investors backed out. The cheque was stopped.”

Left on the launchpad―the initial Rs50 lakh was by then already spent―the timing couldn’t have been worse for the Vermas. “The entire world was in panic mode. For two years, we just didn’t know what to do.”

Money can be quite faceless. There was death and mayhem all around, but there were compliances still to be carried out, investors to be repaid, rent to be paid, and a staff of nearly 100 who had to be helped. “Whatever we had earned and saved in 25 to 30 years, all gone!” says Sandeep.

Even when the world started opening up, it didn’t bring them solace. The original funding firms said they were not interested any more. “Everybody started undercutting each other; people were not paying. For us, [used to a] corporate setup, you cannot go below certain standards of quality. So that was a major hit… [we realised] we were unable to sustain ourselves.”

The couple knew they had a decision to make. They packed their bags, left Delhi behind and travelled around―Kerala, Kolkata and elsewhere. “We wanted to move on with our lives, but had no idea what to do,” says Sandeep.

The couple thought of moving to a smaller city to cut down on expenses. “We stayed in a few places and asked ourselves, ‘Where will we be happiest?’” says Valerie.

The answer was waiting for them in Goa, where Sandy had studied hotel management. The couple had a heart to heart. “More than bartending, my hospitality is my strength. That’s hers also. So we spoke to each other [to decide what to do],” says Sandeep.

They found an unused parking lot off Goa’s Anjuna Beach and converted it, brick by brick, into what is now Howling Wolves, a bar and restaurant with an emphasis on music and more.

It wasn’t easy. The couple had to sell their back-up homes in NCR. One of these was a property they had kept aside to fund their daughter’s college education and wedding. “We were getting private loans at 24 per cent interest,” says Sandeep. “We had the paperwork done and nearly signed it. At the last moment, my heart said, ‘What are you doing? If we work hard and the plan clicks, we can make 10 more houses.’”

With cash at a premium, they got down to building their new labour of love. Sandeep and his team did most of the work themselves as they wanted to cut costs. “The tiles used are those that were left over from the construction of Mopa (North Goa’s new airport).” Sandeep studied lighting and architecture from Google to do much of the work himself, like slitting bamboo to insert wiring and turning it into a lamp. Unused furniture from the bartending school in Delhi was brought in and cut into restaurant tables.

Valerie, who was more at ease in the boardrooms of London and Mumbai where she had worked as a hospitality industry HR professional, rolled up her sleeves and went to work in the kitchen to set up the menu.

Howling Wolves opened its doors in March 2023, and through the next five months that they toiled to make it a welcoming space, Sandeep got a clear idea of what he wanted the place to be. “It’s all about community building,” he says. “We’ll do activities where we bind the community. How do we do it? Through cocktails, through food, through music. It was a conscious effort.”

For example, when local authorities enforced a ban on loud music after 10pm with elections on, the Vermas decided not to break the curfew like many other bars, instead organising group games, singing contests and the like.

More than a year after opening, Howling Wolves already has a buzz, thanks to word-of-mouth (“Not Instagram popularity,” Sandeep points out, “We are old, we don’t even understand it.”) His emphasis has been on giving people a memorable time. “Food is important, cocktails are important, but what will the guests remember? Care,” he says. “They will not remember what they’ve eaten after six months, but they will remember how we made them feel.”

Shashank Singh would agree. The Gurugram-native dropped into Howling Wolves with his girlfriend Swati one evening in 2023 and ended up staying the whole night, even though they had dinner plans elsewhere. “Sandeep and Valerie bring in a lot of personal touch and warmth. You feel nice, you feel wanted,” says Shashank.

Shashank and Swati had just started dating, and they had their first dance there. Inspired, Shashank went back later and proposed to Swati, with the sun setting over the Arabian Sea and the Vermas in attendance (Shashank had coordinated with Valerie to arrange a live band). “They now definitely feel like family!” says Shashank.

The Vermas are offering a new look for this tourist season: the place is filled with blooming flowers, and paintings galore of jazz greats like Billie Holiday done by friends and well-wishers. While it might take a while to recoup investment―a back-of-the-envelope calculation says they have already invested about Rs2.65 crore in the establishment―with the tourist season turning in a profit, the business is definitely on the right path.

Survival worries mitigated, Sandeep’s aspirations are blooming again. The bartending school in Delhi is up and running again, though with the help of former students. A Howling Wolves branch is a possibility, maybe even an outpost in the NCR. Lessons learnt, he is more cautious now, though he admits he is scouting for a partner/investor. “I want people who will add value, those with a long-term vision, not those pushing for returns immediately.”

But for now, Goa is the balm to the couple’s battle-weary souls. After spending the off-season looking after the Delhi bar school, the wedding consultancy is back on its feet. Sandy proudly says he has already done two weddings during the monsoon, and there is hope for more, once the peak wedding season kicks off after Diwali. “Never say, never again,” quips Valerie.

how-a-failed-factory-helped-paul-john-reshape-indias-reputation-in-the-whisky-world

Fri Oct 11 16:37:41 IST 2024

Paul P. John’s first business venture crumbled, quite literally, like a cookie.

“There was a biscuit factory,” he recalls, “owned by a friend’s father that had shut down. I had just finished college, and was looking for something to do. I thought, ‘Why not biscuits? Everybody eats biscuits!’ So I took over and tried to run the factory, but it was a disaster. After two years, I had to close it down.”

That is how John, now a whisky pioneer known for his eponymous single-malt labels, entered the alcohol industry. In the 1990s, when he started out, alcohol was still taboo business. “In movies, especially Malayalam, [alcohol businessmen] were always portrayed as villains,” he laughs. “Back then, country liquor dominated the market―I would say most of the business was focused on that. The business model was… different.”

John’s father, T. John, a former Karnataka minister with roots in Kerala, had interests in plantations and liquor. With his family’s support, John converted the defunct biscuit factory into a distillery, launching the Original Choice whisky in 1996. It became a bestseller, with millions of cases sold, although its popularity was confined to India―long the largest whisky market by volume. Despite the commercial success, Original Choice did not win over the connoisseurs. A European Union trade official visiting India in 2003 said the blurry line separating Indian whisky from rum―both being distilled from molasses―could make for a “nice academic session”.

Even as Original Choice thrived in the late 2000s, John began exploring new horizons. He set up a base in Florida―a move reminiscent of Japanese whisky pioneer Masataka Taketsuru’s stint in Glasgow. Taketsuru was a businessman who, in 1918, had gone to Scotland to study organic chemistry. He apprenticed at several renowned distilleries, returned to Japan and joined a beverages company called Kotobukiya.

“In Florida,” says John, “I started tasting high-quality whiskies, including single malts. I thought, ‘This is something we don’t have back home.’ And that is how I decided to create single malts in India.”

Taketsuru had joined Kotobukiya in 1923 to craft Japan’s first authentic whisky. He went on to establish his first distillery in Yoichi, Hokkaido, a location chosen for its Glasgow-like climate.

In India, John selected Goa as the site for his distillery. “I decided to build the plant around 2005-06, and it took two to three years to complete,” says John. Michael D’Souza, his master distiller (the title often used for the expert who oversees whisky-making), faced unique challenges. “Whisky making is 50 per cent art and 50 per cent science,” says D’Souza. “Goa is hot and humid, so we had to adapt everything―from the pot stills to the process―to suit the conditions,” he says.

The first Paul John single malt was launched in the UK in 2012. “For the first four to five years, I focused on building the brand in Europe,” says John. “After winning several awards and gaining recognition there, I launched it in India.”

Kotobukiya is now the legendary brand Suntory, and Taketsuru is celebrated as the founding father of Japanese whisky. Could John, 57, be considered India’s own Taketsuru, given his reputation as a whisky visionary? He laughs off the comparison: “Taketsuru was truly a visionary.”

India may not have the whisky-making tradition of Scotland or Ireland, but it has entered an era of experimentation. “The Scots have 200 years of whisky-making knowledge. They know exactly what will happen after 25 years [of maturing],” says D’Souza. “We have not reached that level yet.”

Nevertheless, in 2014, Paul John whiskies outperformed renowned Scottish labels in blind tastings across eight UK cities, and they have since earned prestigious awards in London, Glasgow and San Francisco. Indian single malts in general have made their mark. Last year, a collector’s edition of Indri whisky from Piccadilly Distilleries in Haryana was named the world’s best whisky by Whiskies of the World, one of the largest whisky events in the US.

“The whisky market in India has evolved over the past 15 to 20 years,” says John. “Technology has improved the quality of distillation. We have moved from regular column distillation to vacuum distillation, which removes more impurities. Also, our entire plant was built by Indians, using Indian material.”

One challenge remains―sourcing peat, a key ingredient in whisky production. “We still haven’t found peat in India,” says John. “Most peat used worldwide comes from the UK, and we import ours from Scotland.”

Peat is a soil-like material that is formed when water accumulates in boggy areas over thousands of years, delaying the decomposition of grass, moss and tree roots. Its ready availability made it the primary domestic fuel in Scotland, and the peating of barley, which imbues it with the aromatic quality of phenols, gives whiskies its distinct smoky flavour. Peat is a hallmark of Scotch, though many respected whiskies are unpeated.

The global whisky landscape is changing. “Most awards at international whisky fairs are now won by non-Scottish brands,” says John. “Japan has some fantastic single malts, and India is high on that ladder as well.”

Looking ahead, John sees whisky culture spreading in India, with whisky appreciation clubs such as Bengaluru’s Single Malt Amateur Club and Goa’s Dram Club leading the way. Even smaller cities are catching on.

“Most of the action―tasting sessions and exclusive releases―is still in the metros,” says John. “But it’s just a matter of time before it spreads to every level of society.”

nandamuri-balakrishna-completes-50-years-in-the-film-industry

Fri Oct 11 17:28:40 IST 2024

At the Ramoji Film City, the line between reality and cinema blurs. After all, RFC has served as the backdrop for blockbuster films like RRR, Baahubali, and many others.

In one corner of the sprawling complex, under the shade of a tree, Telugu actor Nandamuri Balakrishna, 64, relaxes in a plastic chair. He greets a crew member with a casual “How are you?” Later, he high-fives a young visitor, and then playfully chides a mother and her child: “He doesn’t care about me. He thinks he is the star.”

Between shots, Balakrishna lightens the mood by asking a crew member to read out his horoscope, with a mock warning: “It better be good.” Balakrishna says he does not like it when the set is dull or boring. “I try to infuse life and energy to those around me,” he says. On the day I met Balakrishna, his energy and enthusiasm were palpable. He had begun his day at 2:45am. After an hour of cardio and a shower, he performed his daily puja before arriving on set to shoot an ad.

Recently, Balakrishna completed 50 years in the Telugu film industry. Having acted in 108 films over the years, Balakrishna’s passion for cinema remains infectious. His career began under the tutelage of his father, the legendary actor N.T. Rama Rao, who directed, produced, and starred in Tatamma Kala that released in 1974. Balakrishna, fondly known as Balaiah in Tollywood, made his debut as a bespectacled teenager in the black-and-white film. “There wasn’t a grand launch,” he recalls, attributing his early success to his father’s guidance, which was neither excessively critical nor effusive. One of their most significant collaborations came in Srimadvirat Veerabrahmendra Swami Charitra (1984), based on the life of the Hindu saint Pothuluri Veerabrahmam. Balakrishna recalls a particular scene where, out of nervousness, he hurt himself. “My father did not react much, but after the shot, he pointed out the crowd’s reaction. He told me, ‘Some of them are crying. The scene worked, and that means the film will be a hit.’ That was my father’s dedication to the craft.”

Even today, Balakrishna continues to bring the same dedication to his films, often going beyond his own scenes to ensure that those of his co-stars also stand out. One such instance occurred during the shooting of Samarasimha Reddy (1999), one of the biggest blockbusters of his career. Even after his scenes were over, he stayed on to fine-tune the villain’s performance.

Balakrishna has consistently chosen groundbreaking scripts, from the time-travel narrative of Aditya 369 (1991) to the folklore-inspired Bhairava Dweepam (1994). His 2014 film Legend reasserted his status as a mass action hero, with fans celebrating the film’s success across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Balakrishna’s films are known for the wild, exuberant reactions of his fans, who tear their shirts, hoot and dance in theatres. “I cater to my fans,” he admits. “My fans come to the theatre for a special kind of excitement, and I am proud that my films help spark that energy even among reserved multiplex audiences.”

Balakrishna, of late, has also been at the centre of controversy, particularly regarding his interactions with fans. He acknowledges that some of these moments have been misunderstood, emphasising that his actions were meant either to discipline or protect them. He takes fan feedback seriously and urges them not to spend money unnecessarily when his films release.

Growing up surrounded by epics, mythology and folklore, Balakrishna never formally trained as an actor. Yet, his deep knowledge of these subjects is sticking out a mile. “I don’t get depressed over failures nor am I overly joyful with success. I take it in my stride and move on.” When he feels low, he listens to his father’s songs, especially ‘Mathu Vadhalara Nidra’ from Sri Krishna Pandaveeyam (1966), which comforts him.

Balakrishna strongly believes in the power of intuition and says he doesn’t overthink decisions. One such example is the casting of Bollywood actor Bobby Deol in his upcoming film. “When the makers asked me who should play the villain, I closed my eyes and instantly took Deol’s name. He was signed for the film. It wasn’t because of our friendship. In fact, at the time, Animal hadn’t been released. I felt he suited the role.” And what about his dream role, I ask Balakrishna. “Genghis Khan,” he says, sans second thoughts.

Balakrishna does not prefer large sets and prolonged schedules, and believes in working efficiently. He limits his set to no more than 125 people, and aims to shoot and release several films a year. He has also ventured into OTT platforms, hosting the popular talk show―Unstopabble.

Apart from acting, Balakrishna is the managing trustee and chairman of a cancer hospital in Hyderabad and has served as the legislator for Hindupur in Andhra Pradesh for three terms. He juggles his political and philanthropic duties with his acting career and is preparing to launch his son Mokshagna Teja into the film industry. As for his own career, Balakrishna is iron-willed. Or so it seems. “I will keep playing hero until I introduce my grandson,” he simpers.

the-moon-in-the-lining-of-her-skin-by-kiran-manra

Fri Oct 11 16:28:53 IST 2024

The Moon in the Lining of her Skin’. That’s as good a line as you will get in love poems enlivened by Byronic imagination (it is actually taken from Pablo Neruda). But in any case, the title is a red herring, for this is not the place to look for standard-issue love stories. Here romance, such as it exists, is so star-crossed, so strewn with hurdles, that you will begin to think Romeo and Juliet had a ball. Why would anybody read it then? The honest answer is that when you have had enough of the ‘and they lived happily ever after’ stuff, your taste takes a different turn. You thirst for something different and away from the run of the mills and Boon. Your thirst can lead you to the genre known as ‘dark fantasy’.

Kiran Manral has taken to dark fantasy like a fish to water. There are three female protagonists in the book―all of them equally deep, driven, and at least one of them is carrying on a no-holds-barred dalliance with the devil. They have names like Noor, Rani and Gulab. No surnames, please, they are not of our kind. Forget surnames, I dare say, they don’t even carry Aadhaar Cards. If you can’t tell them apart, worry not. Bewilderment comes with the territory. The characters themselves can barely tell one from the other.

The stories of the three women have sub-stories and further sub-stories until, like a plate of noodles, you won’t be able to tell where one ends and another begins. Holding up the flag for the male of the species is a full-time ‘hit man’, euphemistically called a collector of souls. Such as they are, all of them are borne along swiftly by the dark tide of the prose. There is also a large helping of uncanny simile and metaphor. Witness, for instance: “Like vultures, their thoughts circled over their heads at a distance.”

There are few writers going who can build ‘atmosphere’with the compelling sweep of Manral. And even fewer writers who can make the erotic seem so ethereal. But sometimes there is an unwieldy muchness about the story and its progeny substories. Things are happening no doubt and at multiple levels. They are all rivetingly narrated, but you can step back and ask if it was necessary for so many things to happen.

If this book gets made into an OTT series, they can dispense with the dialogue writer, because throughout the book you rarely hear people converse. Conversation is redundant because everyone seems to know what the other person wants without things being made explicit. The film, if and when that happens, would need arrestingly, or more appropriately, bewitchingly and hauntingly beautiful women. If nothing else, that alone would make the film worth watching.

THE MOON IN THE LINING OF HER SKIN

By Kiran Manral

Published by Hachette India

Price: Rs599; pages: 354

oscar-nominated-filmmaker-pawo-choyning-dorji-says-he-wants-to-bring-back-migrant-bhutanese

Fri Oct 11 16:25:27 IST 2024

When filmmaker Pawo Choyning Dorji decided to capture the delicate balance of values, tradition and modernity in Bhutan through his movie Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (2019), he unwittingly put Bhutan on the global cinema map. The movie earned an Oscar nomination for best international feature film, a first for Bhutan. It shows the world’s remotest school in the Himalayan village of Lunana, which has six students and a nonchalant yak. A young woman brings the yak to the classroom to make the teacher, who is reluctant to serve at the remote location, understand the relationship the villagers has with the animal. Dorji uses it as an example to show how the Bhutanese venerate nature’s cyclic existence.

“We have made two films―one got an Oscar nomination and the other was shortlisted for nomination,” said Dorji. “You make this small film with solar batteries to power cameras, with 70 mules carrying the equipment and ration up to the remotest locations. Then you end up becoming an Oscar nominee. This itself is an amazing journey, right?”

Dorji’s desire to explore the tension between the old and the new has taken him to remote places in the sacred mountains to learn life lessons he could teach the country’s young population. “Bhutan is undergoing change with the migration of its youth. In order to control migration, countries need to have a strong sense of identity, culture, tradition and spirituality,” he said. Many Bhutanese children walk for hours to reach their schools. Every time Dorji walked back to his temporary shelter while shooting his film, he would see a tarpaulin tent on the deserted mountainside. “One day I peeped in and I saw an old lady cooking, and there was this little girl doing homework.” The lady told Dorji that she and her granddaughter were from another village which had no school. She wanted her granddaughter to get an education, so they lived in a tent.

The characters of the film, based on real people, helped Dorji create a buzz around issues close to his heart. “Our stories have mostly been passed down orally. But Bhutan is also a country where visual arts are closely tied to religious and cultural traditions,” he said. Lunana means dark valley in Dzongkha, Bhutan’s official language. “At the end of the movie, we realise through the protagonists’ experience that one can only appreciate the beauty of light by experiencing the beauty of shadow and darkness.”

Dorji’s contribution has been key to Bhutan’s embrace of modern education while preserving its rural traditions as he does not stop exploring the complex realities of his country grappling with modernisation. His second film, The Monk and the Gun, takes this exploration further to explain Bhutan’s transition to democracy through the story of a person who refuses money for his antique rifle, preferring to gift it to a monk. Western producers could not accept the story of giving the gun away for free. It was then Dorji realised that he had to make the film. “Because these are the values of the Bhutanese. In our culture, sometimes you give without expecting anything tangible in return, maybe just a blessing or good karma,” he said.

While change in Bhutan is inevitable, Dorji said the difference was in the way the transition was brought about. And he is confident that Bhutan’s stories are worth telling because the world has started listening.

sharvari-wagh-movies-tv-shows-upcoming-releases

Sat Oct 05 14:48:52 IST 2024

They say if you want to make god laugh, tell him your plans. Rising star Sharvari Wagh knew she wanted to be an actor, but had no idea what was in store for her. Especially in 2024, when Sharvari (she only goes by her first name professionally) surprised herself as well as moviegoers with three films in three months. An unprecedented and unexpected bonanza.

Sharvari was barely a known name when she starred in 2021’s forgettable Bunty Aur Babli 2, along with Rani Mukerji, Saif Ali Khan and Siddhant Chaturvedi. She had starred in a web show earlier―Kabir Khan’s The Forgotten Army – Aazaadi Ke Liye―and then disappeared into oblivion for three years, only to be back with one acclaimed film after another.

Munjya, released in June, was a delightful horror comedy, a folk tale about a child demon looking for his childhood sweetheart. On discovering she was now a toothless old lady, he decided to fall in love with her granddaughter instead. Next up was Maharaj, a Netflix release and a Yash Raj production. The film revolved around a real-life court case against a priest who demanded sexual favours, and a budding, self-righteous lawyer. And finally, this year’s big Independence Day release, Vedaa, saw Sharvari play a young dalit village belle who had to learn boxing in order to survive. All the films have received acclaim and Sharvari has been widely and unequivocally praised.

“I have just kept my head down and worked hard, but 2024 has turned out to be a blessed year,” Sharvari tells me, sitting pretty in her home turf, Yash Raj Films in Mumbai. “The films’ release dates had no one’s hand; it just worked out like that.”

Maddock Films, Dinesh Vijan’s production house that made Munjya, is known for its horror comedies, starting with Stree (Rs180 crore) in 2018, and this year’s biggest blockbuster Stree 2 (Rs616 crore and counting). Munjya, made by debut director Aditya Sarpotdar on a budget of Rs30 crore, ended up raking in Rs130 crore at the box office. “When I heard the story, I thought it would be fun and exciting. It borrows from Maharashtrian folklore and I was greedy to represent my culture. I have grown up watching Marathi films and theatre; they have helped shape who I am today. Besides, Maddock’s horror comedy IP is number one today, so I knew it would be great,” she says.

I tell her I watched her too-sexy item song ‘Taras’ from the film before the film itself, and I am convinced it drove people in throngs to the theatre. “What drives people to theatres, I’m happy to do,” she says with a laugh. “We actually shot the song 10 to 15 days before the film’s release. Full credit to Dinesh Vijan, who thought I could pull it off.”

Her OTT debut was also the film debut of superstar Aamir Khan’s son Junaid. Maharaj received critical success, but it was Sharvari who walked away with the accolades, despite being one of two heroines opposite Junaid. “Maharaj was special because I love comedies, and my character had all the comedic lines,” she says. “My character is a funny, lively girl, but the writer Sneha Desai just wrote such incredible dialogues, I just had to execute them. She had all the wordplay and pronunciations of Gujaratis. Sneha guided me hugely, and then I had two Gujarati friends who I had grown up with. Their mums and I would share voice notes so I could understand the pitch and the tone. After that, I really had fun on the set.”

Her character in Vedaa, the title role, is an emotional tale of a young woman’s survival, courtesy a sports quota, in the backdrop of India’s caste politics and khap panchayats. “I think Nikkhil Advani is among our best directors,” she says. “I thought Vedaa was a story that needed to be told. Even if I could change one person’s mind about caste, it would have been an achievement for me. Moreover, John [Abraham, co-star] is an incredible human being who stands up for the right things, personally and professionally. Plus, the film is so different from what I had played before, and I wanted to challenge myself and surprise my audience.”

It was also a very demanding role. Sharvari had to chop off her hair to a tiny crop for a big part of the film. “I wasn’t apprehensive about cutting my hair. When I read the story, that part was the turning point for me. The character’s desperation at the moment was really disturbing for me, and that was all I was thinking of…. The story demanded that Vedaa cut her hair.”

She is not too perturbed about the film’s failure. “Every film has its own takeaways. I became more confident about pulling off emotional drama with this film, so I came out a winner,” she says.

The actor is clearly now a Yash Raj Films girl, coming from the stable of one of the biggest and most revered film banners in Bollywood. Does Aditya Chopra, producer-director and YRF chairman, offer her advice? “Aditya Chopra believes in me more than I believe in myself. That is huge motivation and encouragement for me,” she says.

Sharvari, 27, has been an actor only four years, and has had four films out already. There are girls, many with famous last names, who are still waiting for their first film or their next film. Does she feel she is lucky? “I had a dream and that’s the only thing I was focused on. I didn’t mind how long it would take to realise my dream, I knew I had to work hard to reach there. I started auditioning in 2014, and Bunty Aur Babli 2 only released in 2021. So there was a long wait for me, too. I used to go to Aram Nagar to audition and hope to get some ad, show or a film. Even after Bunty Aur Babli 2, I had to wait three years for my next.”

The late Shiv Sena leader and former chief minister Manohar Joshi is Sharvari’s maternal grandfather. “I have had a great childhood. I have stayed in Shivaji Park all my life. Everyone in my family is a builder, architect or interior designer. When my grandfather was at his peak, I was just born and didn’t know much about his profession. Our dinner conversation was always house plans and blueprints, where must a bathroom be placed and what sort of fixtures. My sister’s an architect, my mum is an interior designer and my father is a builder, so there is at least one floor plan on the dining table at home every day. I also have a little brother who is still in school. But, the thing is, we have all been big fans of films; we were always renting DVDs,” she says with a laugh.

She cut her teeth as an assistant director to Luv Ranjan (Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2) and Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Bajirao Mastani), two very different schools of filmmaking. “During Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2, I was clueless. I did not know the scale of a film set, the lights, or the number of people it would involve. When I went to the set of Bajirao, I was enamoured by the stars (Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra) and Sanjay sir. I was really living my dream. Then I went back to Luv Ranjan for Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, and I think I learned all my comedy ropes here. I feel like I am still using those bits in my own craft. It also helped that I did not get intimidated by the camera or crowded sets,” she says.

Rumours of her dating Sunny Kaushal, the talented actor from this year’s Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba, remain unabated ever since they met on the sets of The Forgotten Army three years ago. But Sharvari shrugs them off. “There is no acceptance or denial of that. Kabir Khan, Mini Mathur and Sunny are the first friends I made in Bollywood and they are still friends,” she says.

Does she spend a lot of time with Sunny’s brother Vicky Kaushal and Vicky’s wife, Katrina Kaif? “Yes, they are my friends and we hang out a lot. Now we have a big group, so we meet quite often for game nights and dinners,” she smiles.

Her biggest smiles are saved for possibly her biggest film. Sharvari will be Alia Bhatt’s co-star in Alpha, which is part of YRF’s popular Spy Universe franchise (Ek Tha Tiger, War, Pathaan). “Alia is like a masterclass; she is just incredible. A young actor like me has a lot to learn from her,” says Sharvari.

The film is expected to release late in 2025. “It’s such a great time to be in such a film,” she says. “When the audience will see two women be this badass, I’m hoping we can convince a generation of women to believe they can kick ass, too.”

For now, Sharvari the actor is enjoying being a movie star.

a-potterhead-and-a-downton-abbey-fan-remembers-dame-maggie-smith

Sun Oct 06 12:14:11 IST 2024

How do you mourn someone you barely knew but loved enough to ache at their loss?

At 5’5”, Maggie Smith was no tall woman, but tower she did. All thanks to her talent, which was immense and wide-ranging, and personality―imperious yet endearing. She needed no dame in her name to command attention. All she had to do was walk on to a stage or show up on a screen near you.

She sauntered into my life, very cat-like (true to her animagus form), as Professor Minerva McGonagall from the Harry Potter series. The intimidating but kind-hearted Transfiguration teacher didn’t take long to transfix me. Those are the very adjectives her costars and directors used to describe her in their tributes to the British actor who passed away on September 27.

That and her acerbic wit. Her fans got a taste of it in Downton Abbey, where she played Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham. Her caustic comments, accompanied by her withering look and pursed lips, brought her international fame, much more than her two Oscars, a Tony, Emmys and BAFTAs.

While Harry Potter got her a different set of fans―“A lot of very small people used to say hello to me and that was nice,” she once said on the Graham Norton Show―Downton Abbey earned her a sort of recognition that she had never known before, something that she would have rather done without. For someone who described herself as “never shy on stage, always shy off it”, she lamented how she could no longer go catch a play or an exhibition. She didn’t even show up for her first Oscar award ceremony in 1970 for her performance in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie; funny, if you thought she would stop for a selfie. She would have probably told you what she told a little Potterhead when he asked if she were really a cat―“Pull yourself together,” with a glint in her eye.

An intensely private person, she came alive on stage and in front of the camera. Born in 1934, the year Hitler became the Führer, to a pathologist father and a Scottish secretary mother in Ilford, Essex, Margaret Natalie Smith started acting in the early 1950s. She kept at it for more than seven decades. She didn’t falter or fade as she aged, not even when she was diagnosed with breast cancer while shooting one of the Harry Potter films.

That is why, like author J.K. Rowling, who reportedly insisted on Smith playing McGonagall in the film adaptation of her books, I, too, thought that “she’d live forever”. Perhaps, she will. For, if there is one thing that she has taught me, it is: what you love most will keep you alive.

gujarati-cinemas-search-for-identity-continues

Sat Sep 28 15:13:35 IST 2024

If Abhishek Jain’s Bey Yaar (2014), about the relationship of two childhood friends, turned the ignition for Gujarati cinema, films like Chhello Divas (2015), Gujjubhai the Great (2015), Wrong Side Raju (2016) and Hellaro (2019) helped it gain momentum. And then came Pan Nalin’s Chhello Show in 2021, which was India’s official entry to the Oscars. It beautifully captured the wide-eyed wonder of a young cinema lover. And if anyone thought that was a lucky strike, Gujarati cinema did an encore with Viral Shah’s Kutch Express (2022), which won three national awards this year for best actress, best costume design and best feature film promoting national and social values.

Manasi Parekh, who won the best actress award, says she could not believe it at first. Initially, she had even doubted whether the film would be accepted as its narrative―about a female underdog’s entrepreneurial journey―was novel to a film industry not used to “bold and offbeat female-centric” stories. The film was produced by Parekh and her husband, and she says the limited budget for Gujarati films made it a challenging endeavour. “Despite all the limitations, the fact that we have won this award goes to show that newer, bolder and stronger narratives are now finding acceptance in Gujarati cinema,” Parekh tells THE WEEK. There was a suggestion that the film should be made in Hindi to reach a wider audience, but Parekh felt its authenticity would have been lost. A tale about a woman from Kutch should be set in Kutch, and it is this rootedness and realism that won the film accolades.

Still, Gujarati cinema has a long way to go, feels Jain, whose Bey Yaar is the first Gujarati film to have gotten a re-release 10 years after it came out. “Despite wins, if we think we have arrived then that thought process is problematic,” he says. “It would be right to say that the industry is evolving. There is now an increase in the audience size and base, but compared with other regional film industries, I feel we are behind.” He might have a point. For long, Gujarati cinema was inspired by Gujarati theatre, and the predominant genre it specialised in was situational comedy. The real game-changer, feels Pratik Gandhi, a well-known Bollywood actor from Gujarat, was Bey Yaar, which was massively popular “at a time when no one wanted to make or watch a Gujarati film”. “The kind of films that were made before Bey Yaar had a limited audience, and urban youngsters could not relate to them,” he says. His own career received a boost after the film. Until then, he had been busy juggling theatre and a full-time job in Mumbai. Still, he feels Gujarati cinema is at a phase where it is struggling to find its voice.

According to Gujarati screenwriter and lyricist Niren Bhatt, who is currently riding on the success of Stree 2, the audience is ready for more than comedy, but it is the filmmakers who lack the courage to experiment. Even films like Inception or Oppenheimer made in Gujarati would find takers. “If you stay true to your story, the audience is always ready,” he says. “Take the example of a film like Kantara. Nobody expected a Kannada film to [rake in] 0400 crore worldwide. If Kantara can do it, so can a Gujarati film.”

Bhatt is not writing Gujarati films anymore because his returns are less here. He gets paid 20 times more in Bollywood. “I put in equal effort for a Gujarati film like Bey Yaar or Wrong Side Raju as I did for Stree 2,” he says. “At the moment, the budget of a Gujarati film equals my remuneration in Hindi cinema, so they can’t afford me.” Recovering a film’s budget is a major problem in Gujarati cinema. Comparing Gujarati and Marathi cinema, Jain says that the Marathi film industry churns out at least five good films a year, while the Gujarati film industry has only produced five noteworthy films in the last 10 to 12 years.

There was a time, in the late 1990s, when the Gujarati family dominated Hindi soap operas and K-serials like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi on Star Plus. However, their popularity started waning in the early 2000s, when they were replaced by Marwari family dramas like Balika Vadhu. Then, Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah brought the Gujarati family dynamics back into the mainstream. “Somehow, I feel everyone is still trying to crack the code of Taarak Mehta in different settings like UP and Bihar,” says Bhatt. In music, too, remixes of Gujarati folk songs became hugely popular in Bollywood films, like the song ‘Chogada Tara’ from the Bollywood film LoveYatri (2018), which was a remix of a cult Gujarati number often played during Navratri; it has garnered over 800 million views on YouTube. Another example is the massively successful ‘Odhani’ from Rajkummar Rao’s film Made In China (2019), which was again the recreation of a Gujarati garba.

One reason for the low visibility and recall value of Gujarati films is the drain of talent to Bollywood. Many Gujarati actors like Ratna Pathak Shah, Paresh Rawal and Supriya Pathak have moved to Bollywood, even as they continue to work in Gujarati cinema. “Nobody will say no if the script is good, no matter the language. Our problem is that we have been stuck with the comedy genre for too long,” says Supriya, adding that a community that is culturally aware and appreciates good theatre will be able to embrace stories of all kinds. Another problem, according to her, is that many Gujarati films don’t get a proper release. She cites the example of Kesar, her first Gujarati film which was ahead of its time. The film got shelved, but a similar Bollywood film―Badhaai Ho (2018)―did well at the box office. She applauds Parekh for experimenting with different kinds of subjects.

Parekh herself is more optimistic about the prospects of the Gujarati film industry. “About 40 to 45 years ago, Paresh Rawal and his fraternity used to do Gujarati films, but after that there was a total slump and we had very shoddy productions,” she says. “And now, we have the young and wonder-eyed who are taking it upon themselves to bring about a resurrection. Today this language is becoming cool for young filmmakers and this national award is a strong validation of that.”

the-twists-and-turns-in-the-life-of-anveshi-jain-once-the-most-googled-woman-in-india

Sun Sep 22 18:06:55 IST 2024

In January 2019, millions of Indians wanted to know who she was. Promos for the second season of Gandii Baat―an ALT Balaji web series featuring erotic stories from rural India―had just come out, and one of its female leads was already an internet sensation. There were more than three crore searches in just a few hours for Anveshi Jain. She was the most Googled person that month in India.

This long-awaited moment of fame, though, was also one of the lowest points in her life. Reflecting on it now, Jain sees those challenges as life’s way of making her stronger, bolder and wiser.

Recently, her single ‘Banjaare’ crossed one million views on YouTube in its first week. Becoming a musician, in fact, was her first dream. “I was born in a small village near Khajuraho,” she says. “I did not have much exposure to music because my parents were professors, and my father was strict. We had a cassette player, but we were never allowed to use it as he didn’t like music.”

Despite her father’s reservations, Jain began taking part in cultural activities at school. “My mom told him a child needs to be active in various fields,” she says. “I was allowed to take music and kathak classes, but if there was a clash with an exam, I wasn’t allowed to participate.”

When Jain was in class ten, her family bought a car with a stereo system. “I was exposed to the music of Lata [Mangeshkar] ji and Jagjit Singh ji, and I thought, if I ever have the freedom to choose my path, I want to become a singer,” she says.

Acting came into the picture with Titanic. “When I saw Kate Winslet, I thought, ‘How can someone be so beautiful?’” she says. “I thought if I could be anyone in my next life―I didn’t think it was possible in this one―I would want to be an actress. Back then, there were only two career options: engineer or doctor. So, I pursued electrical and electronics engineering.”

By the time she graduated, Jain was certain she didn’t want a salaried job. She moved to Indore, where her brother was studying. “My parents suggested I pursue an MBA before getting married, and started looking for a husband,” she says. “I almost enrolled in an MBA in finance in Indore but realised it would be a mistake―relying on my parents and spending two more years on something I wasn’t passionate about.”

Jain started a small business to prove her independence. She used her pocket money of Rs5,000 to rent a shop near the Sarwate bus stand in Indore. “It was a conceptual store where I sold home decor products and offered design services for cafes and homes,” she says. After a year and a half, she invited her parents to see her shop. They found it too risky and told her to shut it down.

Feeling lost, Jain wrote down her goals, which included hosting events and performing on stage. A friend in event management told there was a shortage of good emcees. “He offered Rs10,000 per event,” she says. “I thought, ‘This is amazing!’” She honed her communication skills, and emceeing began covering her bills. She was so content that she almost forgot about her acting and singing dreams.

Then a fire destroyed her apartment. “I was at an event when I got a call from my neighbours saying I had lost everything―my house, my dog and all my belongings,” she recalls, adding that someone she wasn’t on good terms with was involved. “All I had left was the dress I was wearing and a handbag with 01,800. I called my friends for a place to stay that night, but no one answered.”

Her uncle told her parents to get her married, but Jain decided to move to Mumbai instead―she told her parents more than a year later; they thought she was still in Indore. Incidentally, her acting coach from Indore, Mitesh Shah, lived in Borivali. “He offered to let me stay in his small apartment, not even a 1BHK,” she says. “His family was so welcoming that I ended up staying for about four months.” Shah’s wife, Reena, took her to auditions in Andheri on her scooter. Jain soon started getting emceeing gigs.

But it was after three years of auditions that she got Gandii Baat. “I saw the audition as a potential turning point,” she says. “When I met the show’s creators, they asked if I knew what the show was about. I admitted I didn’t. They told me to watch the show and come back the next day if I still wanted the role. I watched it and cried, overwhelmed that I had been selected, but for this.”

She sought advice from Reena, who put it bluntly: “Yes, it’s risky and controversial, but you’re not a star kid with many options.”

Before the series was released, her mother called. “She said someone who looked like me was doing a bold scene with another girl,” Jain recalls. “I confessed to my mom, but my dad remained unaware. Neighbours showed him videos, claiming I had brought shame to them. When he called, I broke down in tears. He didn’t speak to me for six months.”

Jain wrote handwritten letters to her father, apologising repeatedly. “The only condition that convinced him was my promise never to do a show like that again,” she says. However, all she got were similar roles. “I wanted people to see me as a versatile actress, not just be cast for beauty and glamour,” she adds.

To avoid getting stereotyped, Jain went to the theatre and became part of a play called Gudiya ki Shaadi. “I couldn’t show Gandii Baat to my parents, but when this play aired on television, I did,” she says. “I set up a camera to capture their reactions. They were eating and crying at the same time. That was the moment I had been chasing all my life.... My parents understood that it was all just a body of work and not what defines me.”

In 2020, Jain made her Gujarati debut with the film G, which worked extremely well, and in 2022 appeared in her first Telugu film Commitment. During the pandemic, she launched an app to connect with her fans and hosted an online music show. Fans soon demanded original songs, leading her to record one with composer Viplove Rajdeo in 2021. During the second Covid wave, she put out a poignant song called ‘Jugnu’, which was born out of the pain of seeing her mother hospitalised.

Now, Jain is immersing herself in music while balancing her acting career. Her first Kannada film, Martin, an action thriller starring Dhruva Sarja, is set to release on October 11. Yet, Jain remains reticent about her plans, reflecting on her journey with a sense of quiet resolve. “Sometimes you make elaborate plans and things don’t turn out as expected―something even better might come along.”

wine-writer-jancis-robinson-interview

Sat Sep 21 11:14:39 IST 2024

Interview/ Jancis Robinson, wine writer

The renowned British wine writer and television presenter Jancis Robinson, 74, recently came to Delhi and Mumbai to reacquaint herself with India’s wine industry. This was the Robinson’s fourth visit to India; the last one was seven years ago. On this trip, Robinson and her husband, restaurateur Nicholas Lander, were hosted by the Taj Hotels and Sonal Holland, India’s only Master of Wine.

Robinson was endowed with the Master of Wine title in 1984, becoming the first journalist to earn it. She has advised on the royal cellar at Buckingham Palace for Queen Elizabeth II and continues to do so for King Charles. Her column in the Financial Times completes 34 years (she has been writing about wine for 50 years now). She was ordained the title OBE in 2003.

Robinson also has her own eponymous website, which she recently sold. She has written more than 20 books on wine; the most notable ones are The Oxford Companion to Wine and the co-authored The World Atlas of Wine. Her website and books are bibles to wine enthusiasts the world over. Decanter magazine called her “the most respected wine critic and journalist in the world”. She also appears in a wine show on BBC 2.

Her first evening in India was at Captain’s Cellar at the Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi. The hotel had invited about 50 of their special guests for a tasting of Californian wines.

Next evening, she was at Mumbai’s Masque restaurant, where India’s leading wine producers were invited to showcase one wine from their portfolio. “We called it the Navratna, and all the producers presented their best wine each from any grape of their choice. It was the first time in several years that all the wine producers came together,” says Holland.

Excerpts from an interview:

Q/ What brought you to India after seven years and what did you discover during this trip?

A/ I was invited to Bhutan in my capacity as a member of the advisory board of the new Bhutan Wine Company. To access Bhutan from London you have to go through Delhi. Knowing how interest in wine is growing in India, I thought it would be fun to tag a few days in Delhi and Mumbai on to the Bhutan trip. So I asked my fellow Master of Wine Sonal Holland to organise a few events there. The interest in wine is growing delightfully and the quality of the wine is gradually improving.

Q/ Sonal had curated a selection of wines for you. What did you think about the new wines on offer?

A/ I shall be publishing my tasting notes on them on jancisrobinson.com. I felt I could now assess and score them in the context of wines of the rest of the world rather than as Indian wines specifically.

Q/ If India really wanted to speed-track its success in the global wine industry, what are the hacks you suggest? Should we take part in international competitions or does it take a global critic like you to give an Indian wine 100 points?

A/ We actually use the 20-point scale. In our database of 2,36,000 tasting notes, amassed over nearly 25 years, there are only 150 wines I gave a perfect score to. (18 is a very superior score for us.) Honestly, given the climate constraints, I am afraid I cannot imagine ever giving 20 points to an Indian wine―but I would be delighted to be proved wrong. As for speeding up India’s wine prowess, I think it is just a question of continuing to make better wine, perhaps seeking out some suitable cooler regions?

Q/ What are the new trends in the global wine industry?

A/ Less oak, less alcohol, paler colours in reds, new regions towards the poles, more concentration on vineyards and soil health than on what happens in the winery, an increase in interest in white and rosé―and climate change effects.

Q/ Is climate change affecting wine production or consumption?

A/ Production, in that harvests are getting earlier and weather events such as frost, hail, floods, wildfires and storms are more numerous and unpredictable. [When it comes to consumption], more refreshment is sought in hot summers, hence the decline in full-bodied reds and the rise of light, chillable reds rosés and whites.

Q/ Did you try any Indian sparkling wines like Chandon and Sula Brut? What does India have a better shot at―sparkling, reds or whites?

A/ I was quite impressed by the Chandon sparkling wines.

the-dharma-of-unfaithful-wives-and-faithful-jackals-wendy-doniger

Sat Sep 21 11:11:27 IST 2024

During her long career as a scholar of Hinduism and Hindu mythology, Wendy Doniger has been accused of offending the religious sentiments of Hindus. Doniger, however, has always admired the intellectual depth of Hindu texts and culture. She has been captivated by the brilliant stories in Hindu texts, their symbolic language and the multiple interpretations they offer, particularly when exploring the complexities of dharma.

Thanks to her work, many hidden ancient tales were reinterpreted and brought into contemporary discourse. In her latest book, The Dharma of Unfaithful Wives and Faithful Jackals, she explores fascinating stories from the Shanti Parva and Anushasana Parva of the Mahabharat. The concept of “dharma”itself opens up vast possibilities for interpretation. Doniger admits that she had previously overlooked those sections of the epic which focus primarily on the idea of dharma. “Many of the stories in the Shanti and Anushasana Parvas are about wicked women; a few are about good women; and some of the stories about women are variants of better-known stories that were originally not about women at all,”Doniger notes in the introduction.

In the Shanti and Anushasana Parvas, one witnesses Bhishma offering counsel to Yudhishthira, while lying on his deathbed made of arrows. Doniger uses the discussion as preludes to her stories. Doniger retells 36 stories, applying her distinctive female gaze to narratives where women are often blamed for sexual issues affecting both genders. She, however, points out that the Mahabharat also contains stories that offer a positive portrayal of women.

The interpretation of Doniger’s latest work will vary, depending on the perspective through which it is read. Some may view it as yet another instance of ‘male-bashing’. However, the book offers valuable insights from ancient stories, inspiring discourse and corrective actions for a more equitable future for all genders.

THE DHARMA OF UNFAITHFUL WIVES AND FAITHFUL JACKALS: SOME MORAL TALES FROM THE MAHABHARATA

Author: Wendy Doniger

Publisher: Speaking Tiger

Price: Rs499; pages 224

whether-through-carpets-fragrances-or-home-interiors-indian-couturiers-are-defying-their-own-limits

Sat Sep 14 15:43:34 IST 2024

Ralph Lauren once said that for him, fashion is not just clothes, it is life. “I write through my clothes,” he said. “I am always inspired by the heroine or hero of my movie; whether it is what she or he wears, where they live, the dress or the jacket, the furniture and the art on the walls are all part of the story. I create a world around them―the clothes, the watches, the furniture. It’s a world beyond fashion.” For many Indian fashion designers, this philosophy holds true. Fashion is the lens through which they view life. Where we see what is, they see what could be. Design is programmed into their DNA, and it finds expression in the carpets, home interiors, restaurants and fragrances that bear their signature.

That’s why designer Kunal Rawal wants to create enduring designs that can be passed down through generations, whether through heirloom groom wear or through classic home spaces. He does not want his homes to be mere investments. He wants them to be enduring legacies. He is just one of a tribe of couturiers whose creativity can no longer be dammed within a runway.

At the India Couture Week in July, Rawal gave a teaser of what was coming. There was a rose and a gajra (garland) on each seat, and white cushions with a ‘Bramha-Bee’ printed on them. The ramp was festooned in greenery, perhaps a reflection of his impending switch. He is now designing a branded home space with the luxury living brand BOHEIM. He says he wants to work on this project from scratch, just like he does with his fashion collections, weaving a story around it, planning the setting, backdrop and mood.

While fashion designers have been designing independent housing projects for a while, they are now getting into commercial branded buildings. Samarth Bajaj, founder of BOHEIM, says the concept of branded buildings in the west has existed for more than two decades now, but it is still expanding in Asia, with Dubai being a lucrative market. For BOHEIM in Goa, he has collaborated with Gauri Khan, Abu Jani & Sandeep Khosla, and Rawal. “I want to take the India story global,” says Bajaj. “Indian designers have such aesthetic sensibilities that they bring to their own office spaces and the homes they curate. It was about time we brought them into real estate.” BOHEIM currently has 10 projects in Alibaug, Goa and Hyderabad. Now, Bajaj plans to explore markets in Dubai, Sri Lanka, Africa, and London.

As for designers Abu Jani & Sandeep Khosla, they started designing interiors in 1993. They began with Pratiksha, Jaya and Amitabh Bachchan’s home in Mumbai, and then went on to design the homes of Ritu and Rajan Nanda, Madhu and Chander Verma, and Shweta and Nikhil Nanda. In 2021, they collaborated with Lodha Luxury in Mumbai to design one of India’s tallest apartment buildings―‘Lodha Ciel’ at The World Towers.

This time, when they collaborated with BOHEIM for its project Duo Paraiso in Goa, they combined comfort with class. “We work on very select projects with clients who are ready to invest a large budget and happy to leave the designing to us,” they say. “Over the years we have completed 25 spectacular residential projects in Delhi, Mumbai, Rishikesh, Hyderabad, Dubai and London. We have signed on to design projects in Goa.” They believe, as artists, their creativity has never been restricted to fashion. “Design is in our veins and its expression will spill over to other mediums,” they say. Event and wedding designs are also their forte.

On the design aesthetics of his BOHEIM project, Rawal says that the youth of India is far more progressive than those in first world nations. “They want comfort while maintaining a nomadic life,” he says. “Having elements that are functional is a big factor. In our Goa project, we have bits of Goan influences combined with the ethos of the label Kunal Rawal and BOHEIM.” Rawal plans to launch his candle line by Diwali, which will be part of his BOHEIM home. He also wants to open more stores (he currently has four) in Kolkata and Goa, and is currently working on his upcoming clothing line.

In the past decade or so, Indian fashion designers have increasingly looked beyond the ramp to diversify their businesses. One reason for this is the huge corporate investments into fashion brands. Reliance Brands Limited (RBL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, for example, has a 40 per cent stake in MM Styles Private Ltd, helmed by designer Manish Malhotra, who did the pre-wedding decor at the recent wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant. Reliance also acquired a majority 52 per cent interest in Ritu Kumar’s label, who later branched out into homeware. Designers Shantnu & Nikhil and Rohit Bal launched their perfume lines, Tarun Tahiliani designed a resto-bar and Bal designed suites for The Park Hotel in Hyderabad and Delhi, respectively. Earlier this year, Sabyasachi Mukherjee revitalised Indian Accent’s 110-seat dining space with plush fabrics and vivid wallpapers. Manish Malhotra’s home laminate sheet collection, too, has been a popular addition to his body of work. In February, Anushka Khanna collaborated with Neuma, director-producer Karan Johar’s European restaurant, to blur the lines between fashion and dining through her desserts.

Fashion also sparkled on the carpets designed by Tahiliani, Anju Modi, Anita Dalmia and Ashdeen Z. Lilaowala for Obeetee Carpets’ Viraasat collection. For Tahiliani, visiting Mirzapur with the Obeetee team was a revelation. “The artisans there work with such brilliance and soul, creating an environment that feels idealistic and beautiful,” he says. Modi took 2.5 years to create the five to seven carpets she designed for the collection, each one an imaginative take on what the forests of the Ramayana might have looked like. “I used elements of flora and fauna and soulful colours to bring this vision to life, making it feel as though you have stepped into a palace from 500 years ago,” she says.

These ventures of fashion designers often work as surrogate advertisements for their brands. Take the Armani Hotels & Resorts, for instance, designed by Giorgio Armani, which has come to represent the understated elegance and attention to detail that one associates with the designer. However, not all designers have traversed from the runway to the commercial market. With some, it has been the other way around. Founded in 1837, Hermes, for example, originally produced saddles and riding gear, while Louis Vuitton did luxury chests. Fashion, it seems, is a two-way street, and rush hour is just beginning.

musician-khatija-rahman-about-her-music-appearance-family

Sat Sep 07 11:22:13 IST 2024

It cannot be easy being Khatija Rahman―with all the comparisons with her father, the legendary A.R. Rahman, and the weight of expectation threatening to keel her over. Yet, Khatija’s spine is straight and her sight is fixed. Like her father, music for her too is oxygen, but the comparisons end there. Khatija believes in her own creative spirit and wants to stay independent. “I want my own music to speak,” she says. With her debut as a composer in Halitha Shameem’s Minmini, which released last month, Khatija has proved that her music cannot just speak, it can also beguile. Her compositions in Minmini do not resemble her father’s; there is a softness and silkiness to them. As composer, Khatija has arrived.

Clad in a red salwar, with a mask and a veil partially covering her face, it almost looks like Khatija hides behind her music. Yet, when she walks into THE WEEK’s office in Chennai, there is a spring in her step and a smile in her voice, as she tells us about how her style veers from her father’s, about her love for Lata Mangeshkar’s music, and about her own rise to fame as a singer.

Her tryst with music began when she was in the fourth standard, under her music teacher Gomathi who would come daily to teach the children. Slowly, she shifted from Carnatic to Hindustani classical music, which she says, “are almost the same”. Her debut as singer was at the age of 14, for ‘Puthiya Manitha’―the super-hit title track composed by Rahman in Shankar’s Enthiran, starring Rajinikath. One day, Rahman asked her to come to his studio for a rough recording of the song. But Khatija refused, citing her studies. She did not realise what singing a Rahman song meant for any singer. The next day, when her mother asked her to go, she did, missing her English cycle test in school. That disturbed her more than the appreciation she got for the song. “It was only a rough recording,” she says. “I never knew that my voice would be used in the final version as well.” She sang alongside S.P. Balasubrahmanyam and Rahman. Later, when the song did well, she recorded in Hindi and Telugu as well.

After the success of her first song, Khatija took a break from singing, choosing to focus on learning music instead. From Carnatic and Hindustani, she moved to western classical. “I continue to learn even today,” she says. “Music is always healing, empowering, spiritual and stirs so many emotions.”

Khatija’s style of work is largely influenced by the work she did with composers like Ricky Kej, Hesham Abdul Wahab, Sami Yusuf and Sterlin Nithya. Her single ‘Vizhigal Seraa’ in the Malayalam film Philip’s (2023), with background score by Wahab, is a breezy melody. With Grammy-winning Kej, it was a song on air pollution in September 2020. She also collaborated with the band U2 for the song ‘Ahimsa’, along with her sister Raheema and Rahman. Raised in a multicultural society, Khatija slips easily between different genres of music. An enduring love is of Mangeshkar’s voice. In fact, Khatija’s debut album, Kuhu Kuhu, released in 2023 on Mangeshkar’s 94th birth anniversary, was a tribute to the legend and consisted of five of her classic songs. The album was in collaboration with the Dubai-based Firdaus Orchestra, an all-woman 50-piece orchestra mentored by Rahman. Another album, Farishton (2020), with music composed by her father, was born out of her love for K. Asif’s magnum opus, Mughal-e-Azam (1960), which she watched at the age of 15 on the advice of her music teacher. She was awestruck by composer Naushad’s trailblazing tunes. There is something wistful about her voice in Farishton, as though it is the portal to a fairytale world. Somewhere in-between, it develops a personality of its own; it lulls, soothes and beckons. She transports you because she herself is transported.

And then in 2023 came her super-hit song with rapper Arivu, ‘Sagavaasi’, from Coke Studio’s first Tamil edition. “It was overwhelming, as it was the first time I recorded in another studio,” says Khatija. Her soulful rendition of ‘Chinnanjiru Nilave’ in Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan 2 further catapulted her into the limelight. Now, she is all set to make her international debut as composer with Lioness, written and directed by Kajri Babbar.

Minmini happened when Khatija messaged Shameem to tell her how much she enjoyed her last film Sillu Karuppatti (2019). Then in 2022, Shameem asked her if she wanted to compose for Minmini. Although initially reluctant as she felt she was not ready, she later agreed. “[The film] has resonated very well in the minds of people,” says Khatija. “I am happy. I was really connected with the story.” ‘Iru Perum Nadhigal’―one of the most popular songs in the film―became an earworm for many. Together with Shameem’s visuals and Manoj Paramahamsa’s cinematography, the song is pure alchemy. “Halitha showed the visuals and we had to crack a tune,” says Khatija. “She did the lyrics instantly. I could never imagine anyone other than Sakthisree [Gopalan] singing it.” As the hero and heroine ride their bikes up a high mountain, the song refracts into sensations. “The euphonious singer is a brilliant music composer, too,” Shameem tweeted as she began working with Khatija.

Be it in crafting her music, her image, or her appearance, Khatija has remained fiercely independent, unswayed by the prevalent norms. Once, when author Taslima Nasrin commented on her burqa, Khatija responded by asking her to google the true meaning of feminism. When trolls on social media took up the same refrain, she chose to reply in her father’s style. “Please get some fresh air, cause I don’t feel suffocated,” she stated on social media. “Rather I am proud and empowered for what I stand for.” Just like her father, her faith finds expression in her love for Sufi music, which she says, gives her a sense of connection and ecstasy. The basic thing, she says, is to love everyone. What is the point of calling yourself religious if you are hurting people or breaking hearts? Religion is not about following rituals or traditions; it is about being a good human being. And it is this that she taps into when she composes music. Good music, for her, is the soul rising to meet its maker.

philip-george-believes-in-living-life-dangerously

Sat Sep 07 11:16:29 IST 2024

On August 31, 1957, a five-year-old boy was washed vigorously with Chandrika soap, dressed in a white shirt, new shorts and clean Bata canvas, and bundled off to watch history in the making―it was the day Malaysia won its independence from the British. The sun was beginning to set in the packed cricket ground of the Selangor Club, but for the men, women and children who had assembled there in kabayas, kurungs, saris and western wear, it was the dawn of a new era. The fragrance of the Chandrika soap wore off amid the jostling and the cheering of the crowds, but the heady sensation of being footloose and free remained. It would be Philip George’s strongest early childhood memory.

Philip is the eldest son of K.P. George, an estate manager at the Prang Besar Rubber Estate in Malaysia, and Komatt Kunjamma. They had come from Kerala to Malaysia 16 years apart, and were of Orthodox Malayali Syrian Christian descent. He has many childhood memories of roaming the estate in Japanese flip-flops, watching films on the screen hung between two coconut trees on a huge field, and swinging Tarzan-like from vines. Life was going just fine, with just one blemish: school. Philip was not academically inclined and it was a source of friction between his tyrannical father and him. “You’re only fit for climbing coconut trees,” was his father’s constant refrain.

Philip was interested in everything that did not come in a textbook, whether it was watching Benhur or The Sound of Music after church on Sundays or reading the yearly compilation of the comic magazines The Dandy and The Beano that a friend loaned him. Once, he shocked his teacher when he was the only one in his class to know that the tallest building in the world was the Empire State Building and that it had 102 floors. Perhaps she would have been even more shocked if she knew from where he gleaned the information―the “centrefold discussions” of Playboy magazines with his cousin Rajan and some older boys.

However, he could put his “theory” of love into “practice” only when he left Malaysia for England in 1970, at the age of 18 with only 20 pounds in his wallet. From a nurse at a psychiatric ward to a bank clerk with the National Westminster Bank to a civil litigator at the prestigious English firm Whiteside and Knowles, Philip’s journey―detailed in his autobiography Racket Boy: Where’s My Country?, which he co-wrote with Geetha K.―is nothing short of remarkable. But through all the changes and the challenges, there was one thing that stood him in good stead―his love for badminton.

It began as a child, when his father refused to buy him a racket because he was too young. So, he sawed boards off an old EveryDay milk powder wooden crate and nailed them on to a plank and fashioned his first racket. By the age of eight, all he wanted was to become a world badminton champion. And when the student is ready, the teacher appears, which was the case with Mr Chan, a Chinese badminton coach who agreed to take him on. There was no looking back since then. He started regularly winning tournaments, and when he left for London, he took his winning streak with him, demolishing his opponents at clubs like the Phoenix Club and the Wesley Badminton Club in Sulyard Street, Dalton Square.

His prowess on the court did not just serve to boost his confidence, it also helped him score with the ladies. In fact, even today, at the age of 72 and single after two painful divorces, Philip remains a ladies’ man. “I have got three or four different girlfriends all over the world,” he tells THE WEEK impishly. “One of my English girlfriends is coming here in two weeks. After that, I want her out of here.” He only keeps those girlfriends who are fun to be around. He says he has served many of his girlfriends with “the P45” (termination of employment) for not being so.

His love for “fun” has led him to many mad capers, whether it was being almost mugged by thugs in Barcelona (whom he held down in a three-way tussle), or having a close brush with the Mumbai underworld during a visit to India. Despite the dangers, he has never shied away from an adventure. He remembers the time he travelled to Ecuador to negotiate with Colombian bandits to bring home a client of his who had been kidnapped by them. When the client was killed, he sued the Argentinian oil company for which he worked, for its negligence in allowing him to get kidnapped. Philip won the case for the client’s family and brought his body back to England.

During our Zoom chat, Philip is sitting in his house in Tuscany, Italy, where he moved after 42 years in England, attracted by the country’s Renaissance heritage and architecture, the Latino temperament of its people, the healthy cuisine, and the dolce vita outlook to life. On the computer screen, he is framed against a stone wall and through a window, I can see the sunlight filtering through lush greenery. Beyond the terraced gardens lie the gentle swell and swoop of the hills. It is an idyllic life of church fellowships, coffee meets, Sunday lunches, treks in the wild or opera dates in Castel Nuovo three miles down the valley.

But Racket Boy cannot be pinned down by domesticity. If he feels like going to London for a movie, he will catch the next flight from the Pisa Airport one and a half hours from his home. He will spend a couple of days in London visiting the courts he used to practise in, shopping in Bond Street or Oxford Street, meeting up with old friends, and then fly back to Tuscany. Or he might decide to drive to Switzerland or Monte Carlo. He frequently covers by car the 2,600km stretch from Tuscany to England and back.

He is now past the age when his father died. “My rackets have discharged their duty and I have stretched my life to great limits, which gives me immense fulfilment,” he writes in Racket Boy. His only wish now is to go with his mind and wit intact. But if his maker has other plans, he abides by his faith. He is tranquil.

national-award-winning-cinematographer-ravi-varman-loves-to-experiment-with-techniques-that-others-avoid

Sat Aug 31 11:31:52 IST 2024

The sunlight crashes inside the penthouse of a sprawling high-rise in Chennai like waves against a shoreline. Fitting, since it houses a sorcerer of light―cinematographer Ravi Varman. This year’s national award winner has dominated cinematography in the Indian film industry for the past two and a half decades. He has a unique ability to lend life and colour to the landscapes visualised by filmmakers. From period dramas to romances to action thrillers, Varman has experimented with glare and flare, silhouettes, and out-of-focus frames. The dramatic use of colour in each frame―whether in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela (2013) or in Shankar’s Indian 2 this year―has become his signature.

“I have learnt everything I know from day-to-day life,” he tells THE WEEK, seated on a sofa in a small work room that is crowded with books by the likes of Ci.Su. Chellappa, Thi. Janakiraman, Ashokamitran, Jayakanthan, and Sundara Ramasamy. “It was Chellappa’s novels that shaped my thoughts and gave me an understanding of modern literature.” In a corner of the room is his old Zenith 6 camera, which he bought with his first salary to learn photography.

For someone who arrived in Chennai as a boy of 14 with nary a rupee in his pocket, Varman has come a long way. He was born in a village in Thanjavur, the land of the Cholas. But after the death of his parents, Varman was forced to leave and seek his fortune in Chennai. He spent his first month there roaming the streets, scrounging free meals from temples, drinking from roadside hand pumps and doing any job that was offered. Once, he was arrested for theft and sent to a juvenile home for over three weeks, where he was beaten badly. But he did not mind because of the free meals he got there, satiating his constant hunger pangs. One day, he fainted on the road and afterwards, a stranger got him a job in a hotel. Although the job gave him exposure, he was soon transferred to Bengaluru and then dismissed because of his leftist leanings. Later, he got work as an office boy in a cinema production company where he learnt to operate still cameras and got to work with cinematographer and filmmaker Ravi K. Chandran.

Varman began his cinematography career with T.K. Rajeevkumar’s Jalamarmaram (1999), but attained fame only two years later with Jayaraj’s Malayalam film Shantham (2001), for which he won his first award for best cinematography―the 23rd EMI Third Continent Award. Since then, he has worked with most of the leading directors in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. For many years he wanted to work with Mani Ratnam. He wrote to Ratnam’s Madras Talkies for an appointment, which he got after three months. He had rehearsed a script, but when he finally sat before Ratnam, he could only speak one sentence: “If I work with you my life will be fulfilled.” He did not expect a reply and felt ashamed for wasting such a wonderful opportunity. “I felt like he is such a leading director and I am nobody to stand before him,” he says. But it was because of Ratnam’s reference that Varman bagged actor and filmmaker Revathy’s Phir Milenge (2014), starring Salman Khan and Shilpa Shetty.

And now, 25 years since his entry into Indian films, Varman’s life has come full circle after getting the national award for a film by none other than Ratnam―Ponniyin Selvan:1 (2022). In the period drama, Varman used different colour tones for each character, whether it was Nandini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), Kundavai (Trisha), Arunmozhi Varman (Jayam Ravi), Vanthiyathevan (Karthi) or Aditya Karikalan (Vikram). For Nandini, he used direct lighting. To match Karikalan’s demeanour, Varman used cross lighting to create shadows, contrasts and silhouettes. In some portions, he worked with handheld cameras to capture the grandeur of some characters. “I chose to stick to a theme in the individual scenes of each character,” he says. “But this became tricky when there were combination scenes. I ensured the audience’s attention did not divert from the story.”

Varman was intimately familiar not just with Ratnam’s script for Ponniyin Selvan: I and II, but also with Kalki’s novel, from which the two films are adapted. As someone who hailed from Thanjavur, where the plot is set, he made his surname ‘Varman’ after getting inspired by the stories from there. “The surname ‘Varman’―which means warrior―was bestowed on the Chola kings Arunmozhi Varman and Kulothunga Varman for their valour,” he says with a smile. “Varman is a man who is successful in all the battles he fights. I wanted to be that.”

The ace cinematographer is known for his experimental style. He would use techniques which most cinematographers avoided. Why? “My idea is to never go for the best,” he says. “Because the best is what is obvious and comes easy for everyone. It is tougher to go for the least. I always try out [techniques] that others do not want to experiment with. And I will make it 100 per cent successful.” Being self-taught, it took him a long time to get where he is. Initially, he used to analyse the work of renowned painters to learn about lighting. “I like the colour tones of Rembrandt and the composition of Picasso,” he says. He learnt about ‘glare and flare’ when he bought his Zenith 6 camera. And he learnt about ‘out of focus’ when he took a group photo to a studio to develop. In the photo, his mother was silhouetted in the backdrop, and the man at the studio explained to him that the photo was out of focus. Whenever he looked at his mother’s photograph, his interest in photography grew. Now, he says his mother’s image comes to mind every time he lights up a scene.

Today, he has an impressive filmography, from Shankar’s Anniyan (2005) to Anurag Basu’s Barfi (2012). In Barfi, for example, he used light like a “technical ballet”. In Gautham Menon’s Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu (2006), he captured the vibrant spirit of New York with natural lighting. “It was very difficult to use artificial light in a city like New York,” he says. “One evening, I saw the light and asked Kamal Haasan to do the shot before it went.” In Jagga Jasoos (2017), he imparts a haunting beauty to the landscapes of Darjeeling, Morocco and South Africa. He undoubtedly has a wizardry with light that few can match.

the-scam-that-shook-a-nation-the-nagarwala-scandal-book-review

Sat Aug 31 11:27:36 IST 2024

The head cashier of State Bank of India’s Parliament Street branch received a phone call on May 24, 1971 which set in motion events that seem fantastic and implausible. Ved Prakash Malhotra believed that the voices he heard on the phone giving him instructions to deliver Rs60 lakh to a courier for a secret mission in East Bangladesh were those of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s Secretary P.N. Haksar and Gandhi herself. Shortly afterwards, Malhotra delivered the money to the courier Rustom Sohrab Nagarwala, a former Army officer.

Later that day, Nagarwala was arrested and most of the money was recovered from him. The police said Nagarwala mimicked the voices of Gandhi and Haksar. The matter, it appeared by the end of the day, had been resolved. Only, it wasn’t.

In the years that followed, the case turned into a huge political controversy. It was doubted whether Nagarwala had acted on his own to con the SBI head cashier or if he was a part of a bigger design and whether Malhotra was actually gullible enough to believe that the prime minister had herself called him to withdraw money from the bank for a secret mission. Questions were also asked about the tremendous speed with which the police wrapped up the investigation with the court moving swiftly to hear the case and convict Nagarwala.

The case is largely forgotten now. Authors Prakash Patra and Rasheed Kidwai, through their book The Scam That Shook A Nation: The Nagarwala Scandal, seek to shake the dust off the case files and tell a riveting tale about the mystery that begins with the intriguing phone call and ends with the findings of the Justice Jagamohan Reddy Commission that was set up by the Morarji Desai government to probe the mystery.

The narrative is in the format of a thriller and it is enriched by thorough research, with the authors drawing from police files to documents in the National Archives to the findings of the Reddy Commission and media reports.

Does the book solve the mystery? No. And it may never be solved. As the authors note in the book, their effort has been to tell the story of not only one man who was tried and convicted, but an account where a whole system is on trial, so to speak, in the readers’ consciousness.

THE SCAM THAT SHOOK A NATION: THE NAGARWALA SCANDAL

By Prakash Patra and Rasheed Kidwai

Published by Harper Collins

Price: Rs399; Pages 263

kamal-haasan-a-cinematic-journey-book-by-k-hariharan-review

Sat Aug 31 11:23:52 IST 2024

At the Town Hall hosted by THE WEEK in 2017, actor Kamal Haasan was suave and articulate, as though stardom was second nature to him. The consummate performer in him dazzled, whether through his vast knowledge on everything from cinema to classical music (“I grew up listening to Muthusami Dikshithar’s [Vatapi Ganapatim] hymn as my mother loved Carnatic music”) or through the wit he deployed while fielding certain questions. As a journalist, I had for the last 25 years followed his career in cinema and politics, and his arduous efforts to nail roles which a lesser actor could not have pulled off. Yet, I had not had my fill of Haasan; the more you tried to untangle the enigma that was him, the more tangled you got. That is why I was eager to read a new book on him―Kamal Haasan: A Cinematic Journey―by K. Hariharan.

The book is written in a self-assured style, opening in the town in south Tamil Nadu where Haasan was born. Though Hariharan largely sticks to Haasan’s cinema career, the first chapter begins with his early influences, the dynamics of his liberal family and his mother’s impact on his life. Though not formally trained, Haasan learnt from observing his family, friends and the filmmakers that he admired. He was intent on mastering whatever he put his mind to. His sister Nalini, for example, describes in the book how Haasan was envious of her for listening to Elvis Presley and Nancy Sinatra. He was only 12 then, but was determined to improve his English. Years later, in his film Nala Dhamayanthi (2003), he sang an Indian classical song with Presley-style rock and roll. More than consummate, Hariharan describes him as complete, with an enviable arsenal of skills.

The writer chooses 40 of Haasan’s 260 films, dwelling on their political context and global influences. For example, in Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu (1980), set in the backdrop of Emergency, Hariharan explains why director K. Balachander chose Haasan to play the poet Rangan. The duo made many movies together that encompassed social and feminist themes and progressive thinking, conveyed through a powerful screenplay. “If K. Balachander was his intellectual pillar, director SP Muthuraman was his mass appeal spring board,” writes Hariharan about the director who made Haasan a people’s hero in the 1980s. In another chapter, the author describes Haasan’s views on the “linguistic bigotry committed by some vested interests” during the anti-Hindi agitations in the state, when he was trying to transition from the Tamil film industry to Bollywood. His debut Hindi film, Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981), in fact, looks at the grim north-south divide that existed after Emergency.

There are many anecdotes in the book about the actor who combines the rare qualities of intellectual prowess and popular appeal. There is also a deep soul-searching as the writer tries to arrive at the heart of Haasan’s allure. Perhaps it is the very nature of the chameleon in Haasan to elude definition. Whether as actor, writer, filmmaker or politician, Haasan can metamorphose as well in life as he does for his roles. Kamal Haasan: A Cinematic Journey may not have any earth-shattering revelations; still it succeeds, if not in unmasking the actor, then in describing his many faces.

Kamal Haasan: A Cinematic Journey

By K. Hariharan

Published by HarperCollins

Price Rs699; pages 260

uday-thapar-is-a-master-of-creating-quirky-rides

Sat Aug 31 15:39:12 IST 2024

Aman might be known by the car he drives, but nothing announces you have ‘arrived’ like landing up in an eye-catching double-decker bicycle. Yes, a bicycle. For entrepreneur Uday Thapar, it is just one of the many in his collection of unique modified bikes that turn heads and spark a conversation.

Like another cycle with a reclining, specially designed car seat in place of the standard bicycle saddle. The riding posture is more sofa-chilling than Tour de France-crouching. “It is the most comfortable bicycle I have ever made,” says Thapar.

On the streets of bustling Ludhiana, and wherever he goes, this 40-something’s wheels are a sight to behold. And he has as many as 20 of them. Like the tandem bicycle he crafted, which he co-rides with his wife Divya and daughter Ashmita to explore the narrow bylanes of the old quarter of Ludhiana (There’s even a reverse tandem cycle that he crafted, where his wife will have to sit facing backwards―perhaps useful during a tiff!) Or the uniquely designed cycle trailer to ferry his Labrador Retrievers (he never has a tiff with them) to his farmhouse outside the city. The problem, Thapar quips, was that the doggies love the ride so much that it’s a herculean task to get them out of the trailer.

Thapar’s love for cycles started when his father gifted him one when he was in class four. He used it to extensively explore his hometown as well as the villages nearby. After college, he joined his father’s business of making chain covers and mudguards for cycle biggies, picking up useful expertise along the way. A few years later, he started his own factory to make components for motorcycles and tractors.

It was the year after Covid-19 hit that Thapar started tinkering with cycle designs. “Anything that came to my mind, I started experimenting with,” he says. Some worked, while some flopped, like a quad bicycle where riders can sit side by side.

Even the hit double-decker model took Thapar six months to make from scratch. He welded an additional frame onto a standard cycle to provide extra height. This, even with the staff at his plant telling him, “Sir, so many ready-made bicycles are there in the market! Why are you wasting your time on this funny cycle?”

But seeing the public reaction, Thapar feels it was worth the pain. He has installed a speaker in the front and two panniers and a sticker with his Instagram handle at the back, and takes the cycle out for a spin in the evenings. Curious locals follow him in cars and bikes, taking photos and videos. Pedestrians wave at him, some shout out “balle balle”, while some have been known to drive alongside and quip, “Paaji, how is the weather up there?”

“Bicycles do not have a window glass or a barrier like cars have, so you connect with people on the roads easily,” he says. Thapar also has compact, foldable bikes which he has taken on trips abroad. Once, on reaching Beijing, his tour operator had arranged a bus from the airport to the city. Thapar, however, simply unfolded his cycle and reached the hotel himself, tasting some local cuisine along the way and doing some sightseeing on his own.

With all the one-of-a-kind cycles in his collection, Thapar laughingly admits he finds it “extremely difficult to maintain all of them”. Not that it will stop him―he recently added three electric bicycles to his stable, and is already dreaming of custom-building a caravan on a cycle to do self-sustaining tours across the country with Divya. “Life is good on a cycle,” he says.

chinar-book-festival-at-skicc-in-srinagar

Sat Aug 31 11:14:54 IST 2024

On the banks of the Dal lake, books found an anchor in the Chinar Book Festival at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre in Srinagar. Organised by the National Book Trust (NBT) from August 17 to August 25, the festival offered a rare opportunity for writers, poets and artists to engage with like-minded people outside the region, fostering intellectual exchange and cultural discourse.

Noted Kashmiri writer and poet Satish Vimal said that the festival “proved a trigger for intellectual stimulation in Kashmir as hundreds of people from all walks of life, including (Hurriyat chairman) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, visited the festival”. Vimal, known for his anthology of Hindi poems like Kaal Surya and Khoye Hue Prishth, highlighted the importance of such gatherings in promoting the literary and cultural heritage of the region. “Such events should be held regularly as they provide a platform for authors, poets and intellectuals to mingle and share their thoughts about the world of books, art, history and culture,”he said.

What took Vimal by surprise was the impact the festival had on youngsters. “It was heart-warming to see youngsters thronging the stalls and picking books of their choice,”he said. Agreed renowned Kashmiri literary figure Shaad Ramzan: “I thought Kashmir’s young were not keen on books and literature,”he said. “But after seeing youngsters attending the festival in good numbers, I am happy that interest in literature and books is still alive.”

Ramzan pointed out that works of Kashmiri writers had few buyers in the region owing to their price, but the festival had made these available at reasonable rates, encouraging greater participation. He praised the festival’s diverse offerings, which included discussions and poetry sessions covering topics such as Kashmiri sufism, language, history and culture. “The organiser, Amit Wanchoo, had a discussion with me before the event was held,”said Ramzan, who was honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2014 for his poetry collection Kore Kakud Pushrith Gome. “This festival has helped disseminate information about what Kashmir has to offer to the outside world in terms of literature and culture.”

The festival, a first of its kind in Kashmir, reignited the passion for books in a digital age. It featured more than 200 book stalls, representing more than 1,000 publishers across languages like Hindi, Urdu, Kashmiri, Dogri and English. Additionally, the event included a Children’s Corner with storytelling sessions, interactive workshops and a photo exhibition covering themes like ‘Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh Through the Ages’, 25 Years of Kargil Vijay Diwas’and ‘National Space Day’.

After the event, Yuvraj Malik, director, NBT, India, thanked the people of Kashmir for their overwhelming support. “The Chinar Book Festival evolved into a vibrant celebration of art, culture and literature, drawing in students, families and book enthusiasts from across the region,”he said. “We are thrilled with the remarkable response and take pride in our mission to make books accessible to every reader in Kashmir.”

The festival was a reminder that, despite the challenges, the literary and cultural pulse of Kashmir remains vibrant.

designers-abu-jani-and-sandeep-khosla-crave-the-complex-the-multi-layered-and-the-divinely-detailed

Fri Aug 23 15:52:12 IST 2024

Perhaps Radhika Merchant’s most sought-after look at the recent Ambani wedding was the handpainted lehenga she wore for the blessings ceremony, created by Abu Jani & Sandeep Khosla (AJSK). According to the duo, the idea for using an artist to hand-paint the lehenga came from film producer and celebrity stylist Rhea Kapoor. The designers commissioned artist and sculptor Jayasri Burman to create a 12-panelled painting with human figures sitting under pink huèd clouds, surrounded by flora and fauna. “Jayasri painted for eight to ten hours a day for a month to create her magical work on Italian canvas,” Abu and Sandeep tell THE WEEK in an exclusive interview. “So engrossed was she that her brush began dancing on the canvas. Our atelier then took over. We embroidered the entire lehenga in lavish zardozi set alight with thousands of sequins. The blouse was entirely embroidered in multicolour resham.”

Ever since the Ambanis bought a 40 per cent stake in MM Styles Ltd, which owns Manish Malhotra’s eponymous fashion house, in 2021, and a 51 per cent stake in AJSK the following year, they have been making use of their investment. At Anant and Radhika’s wedding, many of the guests, along with the Ambanis themselves, were wearing outfits designed by Malhotra and AJSK.

In the past, Abu and Sandeep have also designed for the weddings of the other Ambani children―Akash and Isha. The planning and conceptualisation of the Anant-Radhika wedding began 18 months ago. “Every garment was a masterpiece, created with total dedication and absolute love,” they say. “And each outfit was unique and stood apart. It took between eight and 24 artisans, and up to four months to make each outfit.”

Each AJSK creation was exceptional. Shweta Bachchan stunned in a crushed, multi-panel real tissue ghagra adorned with real gota. She wore it with a Byzantine blouse layered with a maximal jadau neckpiece. (This was not the first time Shweta was making a statement in an AJSK creation. Back in the 1990s, when wearing white for your wedding was frowned upon, she wore a hand-embroidered white chikankari sari designed by the duo.) The pieces for Isha Ambani’s jadau-encrusted blouse were sourced from her personal collection and from Gujarat and Rajasthan. Radhika’s hand-embroidered wedding lehenga was Abu and Sandeep’s interpretation of ‘panetar’―the Gujarati tradition of brides wearing red and white saris gifted by their maternal uncles.

Who would have thought that an Independence Day brunch on August 15, 1986, would blossom into one of the most successful collaborations in Indian fashion? When Abu and Sandeep met at the brunch, they immediately hit it off. On their first meeting itself, they knew they were meant to be together in their artistic journey. “It has been 39 years of betting on each other,” they say. “The best decision of our lives. Through all the ups and downs, the blood, sweat and tears, what we have is pure alchemy. One cannot even imagine working or living without each other.”

Abu comes from an affluent family in Mumbai while Sandeep was born to a Punjabi family in Kapurthala. Initially, Sandeep joined his family business of garments and leather, while Abu as a young designer had been offered a boutique in Juhu by a client. He was hesitant to sign the contract alone, but with Sandeep onboard, there was no looking back. The two opened their first boutique, Mata Hari, barely five months into knowing each other.

So when two creative masters join forces, is there bonhomie or a battle of wills? Sandeep says there is no division of roles apart from the fact that, unlike him, Abu is an artist and a master sketch maker. “We are both creative heads at AJSK,” he says. “Our sensibilities and aesthetics are the same. We revere crafts and embroideries, luxury fabrics and textiles. We have different personalities and are highly sensitive with strong likes, dislikes and opinions. Each of us engages in an attempt to persuade the other, and if that fails, we respect each other enough to agree to give in.”

While some may choose maximalism as a seasonal trend or flavour of the year, Abu and Sandeep are maximalists to the core. “Our sensibilities and aesthetics crave the complex, the multi-layered, the divinely detailed,” they say. “More is always more.” Chikankari and mirror work have been their signature for years. Their tryst with chikankari began in Lucknow, during a visit to Sandeep’s aunt. “We were familiar with chikankari’s Mughal legacy and its intricate and regal past,” they say. “By the 1980s, chikan had become casual wear. The stitches were now crudely expressed and the outfits lacked finesse. We were determined to revive and reinvent the craft. We went on a hunting mission throughout Lucknow to find ancient chikan printing blocks, printers and artisans.” They then gently retrained the artisans to “discover the finesse and joy of creating fine fabrics like muslin, chiffon and georgette”. It took two years of rigorous R&D and experimentation before they created their debut collection which was exhibited at The Oberoi in Delhi. It was a sellout. Today, if you see a chikankari creation rendered in shades of white with intricate designs, you can be sure it is an AJSK. Such is the popularity of their craft.

Among their muses are some of the biggest divas of Bollywood and Hollywood, from Deepika Padukone and Sonam Kapoor to Gigi Hadid and Judi Dench. They are proud that they are today dressing the daughters of film stars whom they have been dressing for almost four decades. But no ramp is long enough to contain the effervescent energy of the design duo. In 1993, they began their work in furniture and interior design, beginning with Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan’s house in Mumbai―Pratiksha. Over the years, they have completed 25 spectacular residential projects in Delhi, Mumbai, Rishikesh, Hyderabad, Dubai and London.

“As artists, our creativity has never been restricted to fashion,” they say. “Design is in our veins and its expression will spill over to other mediums. Apart from interiors we also work in event design and wedding design. We see endless possibilities to expand our work in all three.” Now that Reliance has invested majorly in their brand, they plan to launch stores in new locations. Some of their labels include Asal by Abu Sandeep and Mard by Abu Sandeep. Gulabo, an e-commerce pret label, has captured the imagination of a new generation. Their appeal, it seems, transcends time and age.

actor-vikrant-massey-on-globalising-indian-cinema

Thu Sep 26 13:37:26 IST 2024

Indian cinema, including Bollywood and regional films, have lately got a lot of recognition and appreciation. They are striving to better their art forms to make films that represent the times that we live in, while also entertaining audiences. Post pandemic, we had seen a dichotomy between regional cinema and Hindi cinema. There was a perception created, especially in the media, about who is outdoing the other. I hope we can look beyond that in the next five years. I hope all of us can collectively work towards making meaningful cinema. That said, make your blockbusters, entertain all forms of people, and strive to compete globally. I hope, collectively, all of us, as creators, storytellers, will continue to make good, meaningful cinema.

Technology has played an important role, and the change is there for all to see, especially post pandemic. The kind of content consumption that has taken place, and the kind of content made especially for OTT platforms, are phenomenal. The lines are getting blurred. Theatrical and community viewing experience are going to change with time, considering OTT is concomitant with theatre releases, and also keeping in mind satellite and digital rights. A lot more content will be consumed on mobile phones, which is already visible now. Having said that, we are also heading to an area, which is uncertain now, with censorship on OTT platforms. I am not for censorship on OTT platforms. I think we can take a leaf out of Hollywood’s book and consider age-appropriate certification, rather than censorship. That gives us, the artistes, the liberty to go out there and express ourselves with a little more freedom. Also, let us have faith in our audiences to pick and choose what they want.

As actors and filmmakers, I think we need to go out there and compete on a global level. We have the bandwidth, we have the skill sets, we have the stories, we have everything. What was, say, 10 years ago, is not the case today. In fact, most of the visual effects and post-production technical aspects are outsourced to India today. And some of the major studios in India are working with Hollywood. The one thing that I hope changes is the cost-effectiveness of it. With Hollywood hiring our own facilities, the demand for them has gone up, which is a huge punch to the producers. So if it becomes a little more cost-effective, we can go out there and make good films on a par with Hollywood and world cinema.

We have all the skills that are needed to compete globally, commercially, and even in festivals. And also to go out there and capture the global imagination. The audiences are smart enough to consume all forms of content on their phones. If we are giving them the freedom to choose what they want, why shouldn’t the same be applicable to the film industry, which is such a huge revenue generator for the government?

Also, I hope the National Film Development Corporation will see a revamp. I know there is a lot of work happening, but I think its quality has taken a sharp dip over the years. You don’t really see a large budget being allocated to the NFDC. If that is done, we can see a lot more newcomers, and probably even semi-established and established filmmakers, collaborating with the government, and making really good cinema. Restructuring the NFDC is a must.

Film subsidies provide financial support to production companies and studios. The Union government needs to take a call in tandem with respective state governments about providing subsidies and facilities for the crew, with certain infrastructure being looked into. Lately, we have seen Hollywood crews coming to India and shooting here. I firmly believe that we can amp up our infrastructure to provide world-class facilities to Hollywood studios if we can be in tandem with the respective state governments and the facilities they provide, the infrastructure they provide. There should be more incentives.

There should be a one-stop shop in collaboration with world cinema. I think there are certain industries that are already working towards it. You see a lot of Indo-French, Indo-German collaborations. But, having said that, they are very small in terms of investments, and in terms of most of the things. I think we can better that with time. When a film is shot in a particular state, there are certain prerequisites for the film or the producer to avail the subsidy, the rebate. And that also increases local employment.

―As told to Anirudha Karindalam.

indias-first-sunken-museum-at-humayuns-mausoleum-in-delhi-will-transport-you-back-to-the-mughal-era

Sat Aug 24 10:42:53 IST 2024

Over 500 years ago, in 1519, young Humayun was sent from his home in Kabul to serve as the governor of Badakhshan, a northern province of Afghanistan. The future Mughal emperor had just entered his teenage years, and he would govern the region for a decade before, eventually, ascending the throne.

Stories of Humayun’s adventures abound. During his lifetime, he travelled 34,000km as a warrior, crisscrossing present-day India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran―exploring more of the world than any other Mughal emperor. According to Ratish Nanda, noted conservation architect and project director of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Humayun’s travels were three times more than those of Marco Polo, the famous Venetian explorer and merchant.

These fascinating tales are among the many details that adorn the walls of India’s first sunken museum at Humayun’s mausoleum, which was inaugurated on July 29. As we step into the 100,000 square foot facility, we are transported back several centuries to the Mughal era. And as you move from one artefact to another, history comes alive, offering a vivid glimpse into that time.

One notable work features Amir Khusrau, poet and singer. The gallery―Icons of a Sacred Landscape―includes Khusrau’s exhibit alongside other iconic cultural figures from the Nizamuddin area of the 14th century, such as Sufi Saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, Rahim, who was Akbar’s commander-in-chief, and Dara Shikoh, who translated the Upanishads into Persian.

Descending into the gallery block through stone ramps, visitors encounter a 40-foot-wide 3D illustration and finely crafted architectural models that highlight several World Heritage monuments along the Yamuna. Delhi’s 2,500-year history is communicated through a map, and artefacts here narrate the stories of the dynasties.

The decision to build the museum underground was driven by a desire to preserve the views of the monuments. The underground space also serves as a bridge connecting the Humayun’s Tomb complex with the adjacent Sunder Nursery complex. The entrance zone offers access to an immersive gallery where visitors are provided a virtual tour of the monuments and gardens of the World Heritage Site. Animated films illustrate the evolution of the site over 500 years, showcasing the tile patterns that once adorned Humayun’s tomb chamber. The principal gallery―Where the Emperor Rests―focuses on the architecture of Humayun’s mausoleum and his personality, brought to life through stories of his travel, governance, deep interest in reading, astrology and the arts, as well as his patronage of architecture.

The museum houses over 500 previously unseen artefacts from the collections of the National Museum, Archaeological Survey of India and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. Among them is the original 18-foot golden finial that crowned the dome of Humayun’s tomb, which came crashing down during a severe thunderstorm in 2014. After years of meticulous restoration by traditional coppersmiths, a replica now adorns the dome, while the original is displayed in the museum. “While looking for its restoration, we found that it was made of gold and had stood the test of time for several centuries,” says Nanda.

Humayun’s deep interest in astronomy and astrology is highlighted in the museum with contemporary sculptures depicting him in clothes appropriate to the planet of the day―black on Saturdays, white on Mondays, red on Tuesdays, violet on Wednesdays, and so on. Also on display are astrolabes and celestial spheres crafted by a family invited to India by Humayun from Samarkand.

Other notable exhibits include coins from each of the 18 Mughal emperors and the throne of the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, who took refuge at Humayun’s mausoleum. Among the coins, the most valuable is that of Akbar, which bears the inscription ‘Allahu Akbar’ on one side and ‘Ram’ on the other. Said Nanda, “Akbar created a whole series of Ram Sita coins, out of which only three survived. They can fetch up to Rs30 crore today. We view them not just as coins but as great pieces of art.”

The museum also features Mughal miniatures, manuscripts, significant architectural elements from the Humayun’s mausoleum and other monuments in the complex, contemporary art and craft pieces, and metalware. Miniatures of Sufis, including one of Dara Shikoh, sacred texts on stone inscriptions and paper, calligraphy, Khusrau’s manuscripts, Rahim’s portrait bowing to Lord Vishnu, Dara Shikoh’s handwritten calligraphy, and a 14th century Quran narrate the stories of these legends. Handcrafted architectural elements, such as the marble and the sandstone enclosures of the Dargah of Nizamuddin Auliya and Khusrau, and a 12-foot long wooden canopy inlaid with mother-of-pearl in lacquer, are some of the most striking artefacts in the Icons of a Sacred Landscape gallery.

The deep connection between the Mughals and the sacred Sufi landscape of the Nizamuddin area is vividly conveyed through the museum. Nanda said the museum was created in response to a UNESCO recommendation that interpretation centres or site museums be provided at the entrance of significant World Heritage Sites to offer visitors cultural context and significantly enhance their overall experience.

a-new-docuseries-on-scriptwriters-salim-javed-reveals-the-untold-story-of-their-partnership

Fri Aug 23 15:36:26 IST 2024

One can perhaps say that the ‘angry young man’ of 1970s Indian cinema was the metaphorical love child of writers Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, popularly known as Salim-Javed. Mostly essayed by Amitabh Bachchan in several films written by the duo, the angry young man was a reflection of the growing dissent of the time, sparked by the impending Emergency, street protests, political turmoil and rise of the middle class. He was the ultimate hero who fought the system. With a problematic past, he would grow up to avenge his mother or himself in films like Zanjeer (1973), Deewar (1975), Trishul (1977), Kaala Patthar (1979) and Shaan (1980).

However, what was translating onscreen was the trajectory of Salim-Javed’s own story. They were the quintessential angry young men, with a will to fight for what was right. That is why when Zanjeer―one of the biggest films of their career―was about to release, they demanded credit for their work on the posters. It was a rarity those days for screenwriters to be mentioned on a film poster, so they decided to take matters into their own hands. The night before the film’s release, they hired someone to print their names on all the film posters across the city. On some posters it was done on the heroine’s face, and in others, on the villain Pran’s, but the message was clear: they knew their worth and wanted to be known for their work.

In Amazon Prime Video’s recent three-part docuseries Angry Young Men, directed by Namrata Rao, Akhtar says it was Khan’s idea to print their names on the posters. It was a risky gamble, but they pulled it off because having them onboard almost guaranteed a blockbuster. Of the 24 films they did together, 22 were hits. Their cinematic excellence peaked with Sholay (1975). Most of the dialogues they wrote for the film―Kitne aadmi the? (How many men were there?) or Ye haath mujhe de de Thakur (Give me those hands, Thakur)―remain evergreen.

The docuseries reveals the untold story of their partnership, what really transpired during their closed sittings, and, of course, the ultimate split. Featuring Khan’s sons Salman and Arbaaz, and Akhtar’s children Farhan and Zoya, along with others like Hrithik Roshan, Reema Kagti, Helen and Honey Irani, the series keeps one hooked as years of their association are unravelled, anecdote by anecdote.

Going beyond their creative endeavours, the series also throws new light on their failed marriages. Khan reveals how he fell in love with Helen on the sets and had his children sit down with him to explain the situation. Akhtar, now married to Shabana Azmi, says he felt guilty about his failed marriage to Irani. “I helped him win in rummy and he proposed to me,” says Irani with a laugh. “I should have known gambling never pays.” Irani further says that the overwhelming success of the duo made them arrogant and thus, failure was sure to follow.

And it did. When the era of the angry young man came to an end, so did the appeal of their scripts. When Akhtar decided to explore his craft independently, it broke Khan. It also impacted Akhtar to the extent that he contemplated leaving Mumbai. But their mutual respect remained and they never spoke ill of each other. As the two return onscreen once more, the magic is recreated and their past turns electric. The series, however, does not delve deep into their personal lives. As the veterans narrate their professional journeys, much about their personal lives remain unsaid. Salman is guarded and his mother Salma, Khan’s first wife, opted out of being a part of the docuseries.

the-four-purusharthas-ikigai-authors-francesc-miralles-and-hector-garcai-turn-to-india-in-their-new-book

Sat Aug 17 14:46:59 IST 2024

There is something deeply common between Shashi Tharoor and the writer duo of Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia. They draw from the same well of liberal religious philosophies. Perhaps it was this that drew them close when the authors of Ikigai―the international bestseller―headed to India in search of the secret to a happy life

In his foreword for their new book The Four Purusharthas: The Path to Happiness, Success, and a Meaningful Life, the author of Why I Am A Hindu questions what being a Hindu means. “My Hinduism is a lived faith; it is a Hinduism of experience and upbringing, a Hinduism of observation and conversation, not one anchored in deep religious study,” Tharoor writes.

Growing up, liberal instincts made Miralles and Garcia look beyond their cultures. “Visitors to India are surprised to encounter such cultural diversity in a single place: colourful Hindu temples, churches in Goa and Kerala, sublime mosques like the one in New Delhi and the Islamic mausoleum of the Taj Mahal,” they write in their book. “One gets the impression that the entire world, at least as far as spirituality goes, is here.”

Garcia’s Catholic parents did not stop him from exploring new ideas. “I started reading science books and developed a scientific temperament, but was also interested in learning about new cultures,” says Garcia. “Living in Japan, I became acquainted with Shintoism and Buddhism. I have now also come to learn about Hinduism. I like finding commonalities in human beings and their beliefs.” His book on Shintoism is likely to be published next year.

For Miralles, who went to Catholic schools, exposure came through his extensive travels. “I believe in Jesus as a philosopher,” he says. “I don’t believe in an afterlife. So, I take Jesus as a great thinker and a great moralist. I like his idea of giving and sharing. And psychologically, I consider myself a Buddhist. I think that Gautam Buddha was the first psychologist in history because he was talking about how the mind works and how to find happiness.”

The geography of happiness

Like Ikigai did with Japan, The Four Purusharthas is set to present the world with ancient Indian secrets on living a meaningful life. Asked about their own spiritual and personal growth after writing such books, Garcia says that when he goes back to home country Spain, people say he has changed. “The Japanese way of thinking is very different from my upbringing in Europe,” he says. “I like doing comparative anthropology. There is one chapter in our new book in which we compare how Indian and the Japanese cultures are similar.”

The Four Purusharthas, which will release later in August, focuses on a key concept from Hinduism―purushartha. It can be translated as “the objective of human beings” or as “the purpose or goal of a human being”. To have a fulfilling life, says the book, one must cultivate four areas: Dharma (what makes the universe exist, the right way of living, or the eternal nature of reality), Artha (what you need to do to sustain your life; like bringing prosperity to yourself, your family and your community), Kama (pleasures of the senses) and Moksha (self-realisation, liberation and freedom).

Curiosity about new cultures wasn’t the only reason the writers looked to India. It was in 1999 that Miralles first landed in India for a long trip. His life changed forever and he came back more than 10 times. His debut book Perdut a Bombai (Lost in Bombay) came out in 2002 and he decided to never return to his job (as a publisher) again.

“My idols were Jiddu Krishnamurti and Ramana Maharshi,” he says. “I have always been attracted to ancient Indian philosophy.” He travelled the length and breadth of the country, exploring, meeting people and attending literature festivals.One of the key publishers in Spain―Salvador Paniker’s Editorial Kairos―traces its roots to Kerala. Paniker’s son, Agustin, also an author, is the publisher of one of Miralles’s books.

For Garcia, India came through extensive research and reading, including about 10 books of Tharoor. “It’s difficult to find books about Indian culture written in English. His literature helped me a lot,” says Garcia.

A farrago of cultures

To use a word from Tharoor’s vocabulary, a farrago or mix of cultures is what excites the authors. Their interest in Asian philosophies, they say, has been reproduced in print with utmost respect.

But, could their western perception stereotype Asia and could they be accused of ‘cultural appropriation’? “That is a very modern concept,” says Miralles. “We never criticise. That is one of our rules. We only talk about things that we admire and that we think the rest of the world should know.”

Garcia seconds him. “If you don’t mix cultures, you will never create new things. If you isolate cultures, cultures will die. Beautiful things in life happen when you mix ideas.” Referring to Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha and English writer Alan Watts’s fixation with Hindu philosophy, they say that some of the best representations of Indian culture have come to the west through western authors.“

In Europe, we believe in one God but when you come to Asia, you have many spirits and find life everywhere,” says Garcia. “One finds spiritual powers in trees and even rocks.”

Outlining the culture shock, Miralles recalls, “During my first trip to India, I was at a restaurant in Rameswaram when I saw a Japanese [person] shouting and screaming out of panic. Japan is quieter even in the subway, in the trains, in public places. And then you come to India and life is pure chaos. People don’t queue up at the railway stations or anywhere else, which is quite opposite to the Japanese culture where everything is organised.”

Yet, he says Japanese culture draws heavily from ancient Indian wisdom. He also points out how in the US and Europe, people are individualistic whereas in Asia, ‘us’ is more important than ‘me’, and that families and friends are consistent.

In The Four Purusharthas, they also talk about the popularity of the Japanese concept of Ikigai in India. “Our book has been the bestselling title two years in a row [in India]. This led us to travel to the subcontinent, the cradle of spirituality, to speak, attend festivals, and give interviews,”they write in the book. “Indian culture is the wellspring from which many Japanese traditions emerged a long time ago. It seems that people in both Japan and India consider the purpose of our lives to be of utter importance.”

Miralles says he has fallen in love with Indian food, especially dal, which he calls a ‘perfect meal’. He also loves tandoori delicacies. For Garcia, Three Idiots and Slumdog Millionaire are his windows into Indian cinema.

He also draws from Indian health practices like yoga and tries to incorporate them in everyday life. They are also fond of Rupi Kaur’s poetry and hail the impact she has had on the youth.

In search of finding more meaning to life, the authors are likely to head to South Korea next, inspired by the Korean culture wave that has taken over the world.

Finding Ikigai

The authors found their purpose when they embarked on their writing journey together. Miralles lives in Barcelona; Garcia has been in Japan for 20 years. Books became the bridge. Miralles was aware of and impressed by Garcia’s A Geek in Japan (2008). Back then, Garcia, an engineer, was more into photography, writing and journalism, while Miralles was a philologist and an author.

They met from across the world through a common friend and co-authored Ikigai, which Miralles calls a product of a friendship. “I think it was during my third visit to Japan that we were talking in a park in the centre of Tokyo when he (Garcia) mentioned the word ikigai for the first time,” he says. “I said, we have to do a book about that.” Garcia told him about a village in the north of the island of Okinawa, known for the long lives of its people. “Suddenly, we had a big interest in learning about them, travelling there, and doing field work as anthropologists,” he says. “This was the beginning of Ikigai.

“We come from different fields, but our characters and our styles combine well. Hector is like the scientist, I am the narrator. It has been a very beautiful process to see him grow in a different way of writing, not only non-fiction, but also fiction.”

Garcia adds that their curiosity about new things drives them to write together.

Asked about how they manage to co-write living far away, Miralles says they meet every week for an hour to talk about their work. “Every week, we are completing one chapter. So we need many, many weeks to complete a project,” he says.

Garcia sums it up: “If you focus only on happiness, you might have it only for a while. You have to think about life’s purpose as the foundation. That is ikigai.”

THE FOUR PURUSHARTHAS

By Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia

Published by Penguin Random House

Pages: 208; Price: Rs460 (hardcover)

the-sherpa-trail-throws-light-on-the-arduous-and-often-heroic-lives-of-the-mountain-climbers

Sat Aug 17 14:30:49 IST 2024

Ajournalist once asked Ang Tsering how much he had earned per day on the 1924 Everest expedition, his first. The Sherpa replied, “Twelve annas, that’s three-quarters of a rupee.” At the time, a rupee could buy 15 kilos of rice. Tsering would otherwise make ten rupees a week as a woodcutter. Asked why he went to Everest for less money, he replied, with a grin, that the work as a Sherpa was easier.

In their latest book The Sherpa Trail―Stories from Darjeeling and Beyond, authors Nandini Purandare and Deepa Balsavar describe Tsering in a way that could be representative of the Sherpa community of the past: “Always smiling in photos, his crinkly eyes and creased brown-paper skin indicating a life in the sun, hearty kindness scribbled everywhere.”

The authors, the former a writer and editor of the Himalayan Journal and the latter a writer and illustrator of children’s books, recount gripping tales about the life and times of porters. The community that is often relegated to the background as a supporting act finds itself front and centre in the book. It is a compilation of many untold stories, narrated by eminent Sherpa Dorjee Lhatoo and other Darjeeling-based members of the community.

The book is divided into three parts―while the first is dedicated to the understanding of the history of mountain porters, the second focuses on Sherpas and their stories. There is a chapter titled ‘Bedrock’, about Tenzing Norgay, who made front-page headlines in 1953 as the first man, alongside Edmund Hillary, to ascend Mount Everest. A year later, then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling, hoping the school would produce “a thousand Tenzings”.

Part three talks about ‘The Great Indian Dream’, ‘The Lost Legacy’, and how ‘In every home is an Everester’. This is a book about young Sherpas and expedition workers, their stories of triumphs and failures. There are nail-biting moments in some of the most inhospitable conditions as they climb in thin air with loads “as heavy as human bodies”.

“The seeds of this project were planted in early 2012 in a remote area of Arunachal Pradesh in the eastern Himalaya,” note the authors. “We were hiking with our old friend and trekking companion Harish Kapadia when he told us a fascinating story about the legendary climber Pasang Dawa Lama of Darjeeling―jumping naked into the icy waters of a Nepali river to advertise his having slept with one hundred women―that ignited our imagination about the community of Sherpa climbers in that hill town. We wanted to know more and that’s how it all began.”

Expeditions, write the authors, meant work and money for the Sherpas. A good performance on the mountain would be noticed and ensure employment next time; upon returning, one could also sell equipment.

But there was also fear. For four or five months, it would be left to the women to keep the family going until the men returned. And then there was always the looming fear of the men not returning; and if they did, would they be frostbitten? Would they have lost a finger or a toe, making them incapable for the next assignment?

What makes the book especially interesting is the first-person narration by the authors who actually met the Sherpas. They provide a detailed account of their experience with the Sherpas, their families, the way the homes are structured and decorated, and the way the medals are preserved and memories cherished. There is rarefied air in the pages, and more than a peek into a lot of peaks.

Edmund Hillary loved us...

Excerpt:

Once, said Ani Daku, a sick tourist left at basecamp wanted an omelette, but Daku did not speak English. The tourist made signs to start the stove, then said, “Cock-a-doodle-doo.” Ani Daku finally understood, and made the omelette. “He gave me a beautiful new sweater. And he also gave me five rupees!” she recalled. Ani Daku’s job was also to make the porters’ tea: “I would wear gloves and a feather coat and break ice with an axe. Then I put the ice in big buckets, put wood together, and lit it with kerosene to heat the ice and make water. That was my work,” she told us.

Ani Daku married in 1955 at age thirty. Marriage brought with it dreary everyday struggle. Her husband ran a business selling butter, the yak cheese churpi, ghee, and eggs in Darjeeling. They then moved to Sikkim, where for fifteen years they supplied ghee to the king’s household. When her husband died, Daku took over running the shop along with raising their children. Daku never went back to carrying loads, but she missed that life. “It was so much fun to roam around!” she told us. “What’s there in staying at one place? You feel better when you travel, don’t you? You don’t feel bad about carrying loads, if you get to travel!” Daku remembered returning to Kathmandu with a triumphant team after the conquest of Everest in 1953: “When we arrived at Nepal, there were many people and flowers to celebrate. We rode an elephant. We queued to meet the king. I was given documents after this and a notebook by The Himalayan Club. But it was left at Tenzing Sherpa’s house.”

Hillary gave her a badge and a watch too, but that was more than six decades ago and she has no recollection of where they ended up. Ani Daku recalled, “Hillary was very tall, very fair, and had a long face. Very handsome. And he used to put his arm around my shoulder when I was tired. He loved us.”

As evening approached, Daku’s daughter told us, “Our mother regrets that she’s not educated. She told us not to be like her and worked hard to educate all five of us.” We asked whether Ani Daku had a message for the younger Sherpas of Darjeeling. “I pray that they get the best. That people may have no suffering!” she said. We left with the realization that Ani Daku, despite not having gone to school, was far more learned than most.

THE SHERPA TRAIL: STORIES FROM DARJEELING AND BEYOND

By Nandini Purandare and Deepa Balsavar

Published by Roli Books

Pages: 352; Price: Rs695

culinary-experiences-get-intimate-and-interactive-with-innovative-initiatives

Sat Aug 10 11:58:11 IST 2024

Long before the pandemic distanced people socially, home chefs were opening their kitchens to strangers to dine or cook with them. The pandemic, however, effectively ended this, only for it to be replaced by supper clubs, like the House of Mala by Prachi and Saloni Gupta in Mumbai or Juniper Club by Srikant Suvarna in Delhi for gin lovers. According to market research firm Market Data Forecast, the global peer-to-peer dining market was worth $6,390 million in 2023 and is anticipated to reach $7,411 million by 2029, with an annual growth of 2.5 per cent from 2024 to 2029.

However, such intimate experiences are no longer limited to exclusive clubs. Taking a cue from them, hotels are now opening their kitchens to guests. By allowing guests to dine in the kitchen, take cooking lessons and even go shopping with the chef, they are making sure food experiences are no longer just about plain dining.

According to a study by India Brand Equity Foundation, the market size of the hospitality industry in India is projected to be approximately $24.61 billion in 2024 and is anticipated to reach $31.01 billion by 2029. The fast growth of the hospitality, travel and wellness sectors has been linked to the post-pandemic demand for rich travel and dining experiences. These innovative initiatives are the hotels’ way of catering to the same.

‘Tadka’ for the senses

Guests at Delhi’s Taj Palace can don an apron and witness the hotel’s slow-cooking methods. Taj’s table-side service also allows guests to see the finishing touches applied to their meal at their table. Take the magic of ‘tadka’ (tempering), for instance. Once the dish is prepared, it is brought to the guests’ table-side and the tempering added, which can be customised according to the guests’ preferences. The idea is for the dishes to appeal ‘visually’ before the taste comes into play. Dishes like dal ki chaat, raan-e-jirga, dal jakhiya, and multani gobhi can all be ‘finished’ at one’s table-side.

“From the large copper cauldrons or steel ‘peepas’ used for slow-cooking to the traditional sil-battas for pounding spices and lentils, it is our endeavour to showcase these time-honoured cooking techniques and undiscovered culinary traditions as a core part of the dining experience,” says Taljinder Singh, senior vice president & brand custodian, IHCL. To make sure the cooking process is visible, they have a glass wall in their kitchens at Loya in Taj Palace, Delhi, and Taj West End, Bengaluru.

Taste buddies

While the cooking process is becoming transparent, navigating the menu is often a task with the dishes’ creative and complicated names. Take, for example, the pasta ‘papardelle con ragu di cordero’, served at Sevilla, the Spanish restaurant in The Claridges, Delhi. So, the hotel introduced a culinary concierge to help one understand the menu and select the best dishes. The food and beverage concierge will also help guests to find popular dining spots in the city.

“At the heart of the service lies a commitment to personalised assistance,” says Varun Yadav, executive assistant manager of F&B at The Claridges, who conceptualised the service in May. “Whether seeking the perfect spot for a romantic dinner, a hidden gem for authentic cuisine, or an exclusive wine-tasting experience, the experts will curate tailored recommendations that cater to preferences and occasions. The concierge will assist with reservations, organise dining experiences, and address any special requests, ensuring that every interaction exceeds expectations and leaves guests with unforgettable memories. A follow up is also ensured.”

Kitchen confidential

While table-side preparation seems interesting, the Taj Mahal, Delhi, went one step further to launch in-kitchen dining. The ‘Kitchen Party’ allows guests to dine with their family and friends inside the hotel kitchen as they instruct the chefs on how to customise their meal.

In fact, the hotel has a string of unique initiatives like ‘Cooking-Up-A-Tale’, where an intimate group of family, friends, corporate guests or gourmands can have the chef cook exclusively for them, says Chef Arun Sundararaj, director of culinary operations at the hotel. For biryani lovers, too, Taj Mahal’s restaurant Varq organises masterclasses on how to cook biryani.

Memories on a plate

At SeleQtions Hotels, one can plate one’s memories. If an in-house guest has a memory related to food, they can re-create the dish in the hotel kitchen. The dish could be something personal―maybe one of your mother’s recipes―or something associated with a fond memory. This recipe is then included in the hotel’s list of ‘memories on a plate’ recipes for other guests to try. Recently, their guest Agnes Balassa made stuffed pancakes infused with flavours as part of the service, while Prajakta Govilkar and her daughter Eera made their signature kadhai paneer to celebrate their family traditions.

Chef at your service

At Kochi’s fine-dining restaurant Aah in The Postcard Mandalay Hall hotel, which specialises in contemporary Kerala cuisine, one can cook with the chef if one wishes so. “Over the past six months, we have been proactively offering these sessions due to the high level of interest from our guests,” says Renjith R. Nair, resort manager at The Postcard. “In the process, the chef will either cook while the guests observe or guide them, depending on their preference. Typically, guests join in immediately, as we encourage a hands-on approach. After the session, guests receive a copy of the recipes and cooking methods.”

The Leela Hotels, too, is following suit by offering culinary masterclasses to their guests.

From pan to plate

There is no greater joy than having piping hot food served straight from pan to plate. That is why Andaz Delhi introduced the ‘Pan to Plate’ buffet concept in June at its restaurant AnnaMaya. Mayank Bajpai, food and beverage manager at Andaz Delhi, says the fact that guests can see their food being prepared before them, rather than being pre-plated in a traditional buffet setting, provides a more interactive and engaging dining experience. It also ensures maximum freshness, quality and room for customisation. “The variety of live cooking stations also allows the guests to sample a diverse range of cuisines and cooking techniques. This also turns out to be entertaining and [provide] value for money,” he says.

poor-economics-for-kids-book-by-esther-duflo

Fri Aug 02 16:34:18 IST 2024

It is a sultry evening in Delhi and we are at the Alliance Francaise de Delhi for the launch of French-American economist and Nobel winner Esther Duflo and illustrator Cheyenne Olivier’s latest book, Poor Economics for Kids, consisting of stories that aim to sensitise children to the world around them. Duflo, dressed simply in a red kurta, has an effervescence about her as she endeavours to answer the questions of her young audience. Like that of a boy of around 12, who refers to her Nobel speech about wanting to make people understand poverty. “By writing this book, have you achieved it?” he asks. Duflo is patient yet encouraging, smilingly explaining that the job of eradicating poverty can never be fully over, and so she will continue to write more books and work towards it.

But the question that really intrigues her is one by a librarian in the back. If one has not experienced poverty, how can they connect with the story? It is a good question, one which harks back to Duflo’s own childhood. She never knew poverty, for she comes from a privileged background. Her parents―a paediatrician and a maths professor―raised her in a western suburb of Paris. All her knowledge of the underprivileged came from her mother, who volunteered across the world and worked closely with children who were victims of war. “I was amazed and somewhat awed by my luck: how come I, Esther, get to be born in this middle-class, intellectual family, with loving parents, decent schools, and all the food and books I need, while some other kids are born in Congo, in the middle of a war, and are forced to carry a Kalashnikov to fight?” she asks in an essay written when she won the Nobel Prize for Economics, along with her husband, Abhijit Banerjee, and colleague Michael Kremer, in 2019.

She attributes her confidence to a quirk of nature―being tiny as a child. She only learnt to read at six, but since she looked like a four-year-old, adults thought she was really smart, which then worked like a self-fulfilling prophecy. In fact, even becoming an economist can be put down to fate or fortune, rather than any well thought-out plan. When she got admission to the Ecole Normale Superieure, an elite higher education institution in France, she was unsure about what subjects to take, being a “jack of all trades”. She chanced to encounter the professor of economics, who was then recruiting students for his department. He convinced her to give economics a go. Later, she almost did not make it to MIT, because an admissions officer initially put her file in the reject pile. As luck would have it, she came to work under that officer when she got admission, and many years later, he would become her life partner. They would go on to win the Nobel for their “experimental approach to alleviating global poverty”.

In fact, her current book, too, draws from one that she co-wrote with Banerjee in 2011: Poor Economics: Rethinking Poverty and the Ways to End It. “Kids are the best readers,” she says. “As a child, I wanted to write for children. I have many unfinished stories from back then. But growing up, I realised it is not easy to write for them.” Duflo―who is currently the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at MIT’s Department of Economics―visited India, Africa, Indonesia and Latin America to research the book and develop the 60 odd characters in it.

The book, which has been beautifully illustrated by Olivier, tells the story of Nilou, a young dreamer, and her friends Afia, Imai, Najy, Neso and others. Rather than directly tackling the issue of poverty, Poor Economics for Kids approaches it from the periphery, dealing with a host of issues like climate change and health care. In one story, for example, Afia is sick, but her pharmacist father is helpless. Having previously purchased cheap drugs to save money, he mixes and administers them to his daughter. If only Afia had been vaccinated and, as a rule, doctors treated the disease instead of pandering to the demands of the patients and their families, all would be well. In many cases, the poor suffer because they are unaware of the government’s provisions and policies.

As Banerjee says in the foreword, “Sometimes, it is also because no one bothered to explain to the poor how the system functions, what their rights are, who to go for questions, whom to complain to if need be. Understanding this is very important, because too much of the discussion in the world about the poor is wrong-headed. It ignores just how hard it is to be poor and therefore blames them for the problems of their own lives.”

Chiki Sarkar, founder of Juggernaut Books which published Poor Economics for Kids, says that the best part of publishing Duflo’s work is that she approaches the subject from a human perspective, and not as the “exotic other”. “She tries to get in the head of people, looking at their behaviour, and why they do what they do,” says Sarkar. “Empathy is at the heart of Esther and Abhijit’s work always.” In fact, this concern for others is the one thing that has always driven Duflo, right from helping her classmates with homework in school to helping out in soup kitchens to volunteering in a prison for a year in college.

The names of the characters and the places in the book are deliberately kept vague so that the stories are universal and can be read by anyone of any age. “Chiki asked me to have some Indian names for the characters,” says Duflo with a smile. “I said ‘not at all’. It was not our job to make characters look like real-life persons, but to discuss the economic ideas behind poverty. I wanted to bring the understanding that the lives of kids living in poverty can be similar in some ways and different in other. I wanted to set the story in an imaginary place.”

However, Duflo did ensure to get feedback from a very important person in her life―her 11-year-old daughter Noemie. “She would share her comments with us when we were all stuck inside the house [during the Covid lockdown],” says Duflo. So, how do two Nobel laureates in economics divide up unpaid labour at home? posed The New York Times during a 2021 interview. Household chores are divided equally, with Banerjee taking care of all things culinary, including menu-planning, shopping and cooking, while she does all the logistics: paying the bill, fixing stuff and paying taxes. If one glimpses a reversal of gender norms here, it is probably incidental. For a girl who wanted to be a boy when she was young, Duflo has certainly proved that girls can do everything boys can.

Poor Economics for Kids

By Esther Duflo and Cheyenne Olivier

Published by Juggernaut Books

Price Rs999; pages 345

the-girl-with-the-seven-lives-book-by-vikas-swarup-want-alia-bhatt-to-play-my-new-novels-heroine

Sat Jul 27 11:32:29 IST 2024

After her life turns several hairpin bends, Devi―the protagonist of diplomat-turned-writer Vikas Swarup’s latest book, The Girl With The Seven Lives―lands up in a beauty salon in Mumbai. The tician is described in much detail. “I found myself gaining focus and confidence as I washed and dried her feet, cut and shaped her nails, used a pumice stone to exfoliate the rough patches on the soles of her feet, and massaged her calves with a rose-scented lotion, losing myself in the rhythm of the strokes and the soothing music playing in the background,” says Devi.

There is perhaps some irony in the former spokesperson of the external affairs ministry and former High Commissioner of India to Canada writing about how to “tweeze, wax, thread, tint and apply makeup with finesse and artistry”. Swarup laughs when I point it out to him during a Zoom chat. “I have never set foot inside a beauty salon, so I had to do a lot of research,” he says. “I read many articles and watched YouTube videos to understand how exactly these manicures and pedicures are done…”

And therein lies Swarup’s wizardry as a storyteller―making fiction fun. Even as he deals with heavyweight topics, his writing bears just a touch of the outlandish so that you know you are in a made-up world. Living inside Swarup’s imagination is a little like playing a high-octane video game. There is the slightly off-kilter feeling of not knowing where you are headed or how many detours you will be made to take. All you can be sure of? One heck of a ride.

From serving as a muse to a millionaire banker in Delhi to living in an observation home for girls to volunteering at a dera run by a fake godman, to working as a nurse in Pune to becoming a beautician in Mumbai, Devi’s seven lives move along at a rollicking pace and are tied together by a gunman who holds her captive and forces her to recount her past. Bizarre? Maybe. But boring? Not even close.

“What I love most about fiction is that it allows you to go wherever you want to go,” says Swarup. “So, if tomorrow I want to write a novel set in Ecuador without ever having set foot in Ecuador, I could do that, with the help of Google Maps, and by learning about Ecuadorian history, politics, culture and society.”

Currently, however, he is not in Ecuador. He is very much at home enjoying retired life with his artist-wife Aparna and preparing to enter the publicity circuit for his fourth novel, which comes after a break of 10 years. “When you are in a regular job, you treasure your weekends. Now every day is like that,” he says with a smile. “Sometimes you don’t even know if today is a Saturday or a Monday.” He is also experiencing the empty nest syndrome, with both his sons having left home and being busy with their careers. He says his younger son Varun, who studied music at the McGill University in Montreal, has inherited his and his wife’s creative gene, while his older son Aditya, who invests in startups, has a more logical bend of mind.

Behind him on the computer screen, I can see a huge book shelf that dominates the room. He says his love for books developed because he had nothing else to do in his childhood. He grew up in Allahabad in the late 1960s, when there was no internet, cable television or Play Station. Books were easily available as his grandfather had a 10,000-book library. Swarup initially binged on thrillers and mystery novels by Agatha Christie, Alistair MacLean and Irving Wallace, but soon progressed to classics by Ernest Hemingway and Franz Kafka, among others.

Currently, he is reading Ray Kurzweil’s The Singularity Is Nearer, on artificial intelligence. Which is fitting since OpenAI has used all three of his previous books to train its models. Perhaps what is most appealing about his books―from Q&A, which was adapted into the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, to The Girl With The Seven Lives―is the light touch with which he handles heavy topics like corruption and bribery. There is a jauntiness to his writing, and an ease with which the story flows, as though he birthed it whole, instead of fitting it together piecemeal. This, of course, does not mean he is not trying to make a point. There are pithy shots of wisdom. In Six Suspects, for example, when a rich girl falls in love with a poor boy, the boy quips, “I don’t know whether to thank God or Bollywood for this remarkable turnaround.” Or take this one from Q&A: “The one conclusion I have reached is that whiskey is a great leveler. You might be a hotshot advertising executive or a lowly foundry worker, but if you cannot hold your drink, you are just a drunkard.” Then there is the tagline of The Accidental Apprentice. “In life, you never get what you deserve: you get what you negotiate.” The best thing about Swarup? He can see the satire in life’s greatest solemnities.

In his latest book, it feels like one is flipping through a newspaper, as Swarup takes a dig at every evil in Indian society, from honey-trapping and sexual abuse to poverty and educational fraud. He has set his stories in India precisely because of this. “I have always wanted to write something closely connected with my country,” he says. “That’s why all four of my novels are rooted deeply in the Indian milieu.”

It is the country’s sheer diversity that attracts him, the fact that there are “a billion Indians in India, each of them having a billion stories, and you can choose any story that you want”.

That is why he never runs out of ideas. And that is why each of his previous novels has been adapted into movies or OTT series. And if this one were to be made into a movie, who would he want to play Devi? “I can’t think of anyone better than Alia Bhatt,” he says. “Not the glamorous Alia, but the deep Alia of Udta Punjab.” Going one step further, if they were to make a movie on him, who would he want to play him? “I think I’d like to play myself,” he says with a laugh. “I could dye my hair and de-age myself using AI.”

THE GIRL WITH THE SEVEN LIVES

By Vikas Swarup

Published by Simon & Schuster India

Price Rs499; pages 401

ty-ty-smith-dj-lyan-shabz-naqvi-desi-trill-music

Sat Jul 27 11:27:56 IST 2024

“Ty mama died, I was there, my nephew died, he was there

He in my house more than I be there, more than Bey there”

IN 2018, WHEN music’s power couple, The Carters (Jay-Z and Beyoncé), released the song ‘FRIENDS’ as part of their joint album EVERYTHING IS LOVE, it served as a massive shout-out to their friends who had been there for them through thick and thin. Tyran ‘Ty Ty’ Smith had a special place in the song.

Ty Ty has known Jay-Z since the age of 14 and played a crucial role in the billionaire rapper’s life and career. Ty-Ty, who co-founded the entertainment firm Roc Nation in 2008 with Jay-Z, has also been instrumental in cultivating many of today’s top artists, like DJ Khaled, J Balvin, J. Cole, Rihanna, and Shakira. Now, he is scouting talent among brown communities worldwide, and taking them to international fame.

To achieve this, he has initiated a new genre of music and a label, Desi Trill, along with Shabz Naqvi, an Indo-British artist and repertoire (A&R) executive at Roc Nation and a member of the hip-hop collective So Solid Crew. The duo promises that all songs released under Desi Trill will combine elements of hip-hop, R&B (rhythm and blues), and South Asian music from different regions.

Naqvi was born and raised in the culturally diverse backdrop of south London. His parents were born in Uttar Pradesh and moved to London in the 1960s. His musical journey began at 16 when he discovered his passion for producing music on his elder brother’s equipment. This love for music production eventually led him to join forces with childhood friends to create So Solid Crew.

The initial idea behind Desi Trill came to him about five years ago. “Back then, I realised that my nephews and nieces growing up in the UK had no real representation,” he told THE WEEK. “I approached Ty Ty, saying, ‘Ty, I need your guidance, man. I want to do something in the music business to bring light to the Indian diaspora globally and their love of music and hip-hop.’ Instantly, Ty Ty responded, ‘No, I’m not going to guide you. I want to do this with you.’ And that was the birth of Desi Trill.”

Ty Ty said: “I have known Shabz for over 20 years. It is not like we met a couple of years ago and decided to do this; we have been very close friends for a long time. I have been around his family and friends from India. When he came to me with his idea, the first thing I thought was, ‘Man, that makes sense.’”

Ty Ty told THE WEEK that his thought process revolved around Naqvi’s daughter, Noah, whom he considers his niece. “Like, who’s Noah’s Taylor Swift? Who’s Noah’s Beyoncé? Who’s her Rihanna? I was like, how is it possible that I do not know of a big South Asian artist that can walk in a room anywhere in America, anywhere in the world, and everyone knows who that is?”

And, an antithesis to these questions in the minds of both Ty Ty and Naqvi emerged in the form of the slogan “Brown’s Everywhere”. “We are going to go hard, and we are going to break this thing and we are going to break it globally,” said Ty Ty. “You know, that is why our slogan is Brown is Everywhere.” He said the one demand he had was that the artists being signed under the label “have to sing in their mother tongue, they have to be true to who they are”.

“I told Shabz that whoever we sign as an artist has to sing the way I hear you speak with your friends and family,” he said. “There aren’t any rules with music. I said, ‘There is a lot of gatekeepers that are not going to understand what is happening, but the fans, once you get to them, they are going to be the ones that dictate what is happening.’”

The result was evident in May, when Desi Trill released its EP (extended play), Brown is Everywhere―every track had a musicality that resembled a conversation. The EP featured Yung Sammy, Subhi, Natania, Shalmali Kholgade, Naisha and DJ Lyan, Juss Nandhra, Khushi K. and Mumzy Stranger.

Naqvi, who grew up in a household that loved Indian musical legends from Muhammad Rafi to A.R. Rahman, noticed that Indian music is rich in melodies. He said he has always taken creative inspiration for melodies from Indian rhythmic sounds and has brought them to hip-hop. Naqvi adds that the Desi Trill team also aims to use its expertise in augmenting the process of a consolidated hip-hop culture and a music industry in South Asia. Ty Ty said that, above all, the label’s efforts aim to inspire young people from even remote areas to be dreamers and to help them become world-renowned artists.

Both Jay-Z and Ty Ty grew up in Marcy Houses, the 28-acre public housing development in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighbourhood. Developed in 1949 by the New York City Housing Authority to house the city’s low-income residents, Marcy was in a dangerous state of disrepair when Jay-Z and Ty Ty were growing up there. “I grew up listening to R&B and a lot of different music, but when I first heard hip-hop as a kid, it just hit me,” said Ty Ty. “Jay-Z started rapping because we knew another guy who was rapping and even had a music video on TV. We were amazed. Jay-Z kept rapping, and I was a huge fan. I believed in him. We followed through with our dreams; no one could tell us it was not going to happen.”

Ty Ty was road manager to Jay-Z, before he co-created Carter Faculty―a joint label deal with Def Jam Recordings, and later became senior vice president of A&R at The Island Def Jam Music Group. Though he said he had been the “worst road manager ever”, his passion and the belief he had in Jay-Z’s music is evident.

“All I ever wanted was for other people to hear what I was hearing when Jay would rhyme,” he said. “Because I would talk about it all, I mean, I would just be like, ‘You gotta hear his raps, you know?’ And we followed it through, and, you know, it was a lot of, it was a fight, right? People did not believe it and all that stuff, but we just kept going. So, you know, and I’m bringing that same energy here with Desi Trill.”

much-like-his-father-aamir-junaid-khan-prefers-to-let-his-acting-do-the-talking

Sat Jul 20 11:10:12 IST 2024

The 1980s were an uncertain period in Indian cinema. The anger of the 1970s ‘Angry Young Man’ had fizzled out, and filmmakers did not know what to replace it with. Some of them continued to churn out films of vengeance and violence half-heartedly, only to face the wrath of audiences. Finally, it was a few star kids like Sanjay Dutt and Sunny Deol who gave the film industry a much-needed facelift. Both were launched as romance heroes in the films Rocky (1981) and Betaab (1983). But the romance of the 1980s really came of age with two other youngsters―Aamir Khan in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) and Salman Khan in Maine Pyar Kiya (1989). The Angry Young Man’s gunshots had been drowned out by Aamir’s guitar as he sang ‘Papa Kehte Hain’ to an adoring Juhi Chawla.

Years later, many things have changed, but what has not? Star kids being launched through love stories, like Janhvi Kapoor in Dhadak (2018), Ananya Panday in Student of the Year 2 (2019), Suhana Khan, Agastya Nanda and Khushi Kapoor in The Archies (2023). Even as Aamir set the ball rolling with Qayamat, it took his son Junaid to break with this tradition. Junaid did not debut with romance, instead going for the hard-hitting crime drama Maharaj, based on true events. In it, he plays Karsandas Mulji, a 19th-century journalist who exposes how the religious leader Jadunathji Maharaj sexually abused the wives and daughters of his devotees. This resulted in the Maharaj Libel Case of 1861, when Maharaj filed a libel suit against Mulji. In the end, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Mulji.

“I don’t see Maharaj as an out-of-the-box film,” says Junaid, 31, on why he did not debut with the ‘safe’ genre of romance. “Yash Raj [Films] is one of the best studios in the country today. I loved the story the moment I heard it. I also love Siddharth’s (Siddharth P. Malhotra, director of Maharaj) body of work. So, I immediately wanted to be a part of it.”

Junaid was selected when Aditya Chopra, chairperson of YRF, came across his screen test for another film and found him to be perfect for the role of Mulji. “He told me to take a couple of weeks to think and prepare,” says Junaid.

Ever since Maharaj dropped on Netflix on June 21, Junaid has been getting rave reviews for his performance. Comparisons with his father, however, were inevitable. Even though they debuted in different genres, Junaid brings to screen the same purity to his art. Their acting styles might be different, but there is something about the way their eyes speak that makes one feel that the son is carrying forward the father’s legacy.

“There are similarities and differences,” says Junaid. “As an actor, I don’t know if I will be best-suited for the roles he did and vice versa. But I love his body of work.”

It was 15 years ago, when he was 16, that Junaid confessed to his father that he wanted to be an actor. Aamir was supportive. In college, he acted in several plays and worked behind the scenes in production. He later enrolled at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Since 2017, he has been auditioning for films. According to Aamir, his son never sought his help to make it in the industry. He spoke on The Great Indian Kapil Show about how Jackie Shroff asked for his help to launch his son Tiger in the industry, while his own children never did. Junaid, instead, decided to hone his skills in theatre before appearing on the big screen, proving that he inherited his father’s perfectionism. He also got his father’s love for taking risks and exploring diverse topics.

It is probably no surprise that Junaid wanted to become an actor; cinema is in his blood, after all. It is his filmmaker uncle who launched Aamir’s career, his mother Reena Dutta is a film producer, and his step-mother Kiran Rao is a filmmaker. Asked if cinema is the main subject of their dinner conversations, Junaid says they are a very “easy-going” family. When together, they hardly discuss cinema. “Everyone has different opinions, but we are open to different points of view,” he says. He describes his upbringing as “modern”, where he was given full freedom to make his own choices.

In fact, both his parents visited the set on the first day of Maharaj’s shoot and were pictured hugging him. He says Aamir did not really give him any feedback after watching the film. “Papa is a very easy audience,” he says. “He is a sensitive person and tends to like most things. My mom is a much harder audience. My grandparents loved the film, too.”

Except for the chiselled features, Junaid might not resemble Aamir physically, but perhaps that is because both love to undergo physical transformations. Although he shed many kilos for his lean look in Maharaj, Junaid says his weight loss journey began much earlier. Aamir, too, has undergone drastic transformations for his roles. “Papa has an experience of 40 years,” says Junaid. “So, there is a wealth of knowledge on how to go about it in a healthy way.”

Junaid is currently doing a project with Aamir’s production banner and a play called Strictly Unconventional, out in September. “I don’t think I will ever direct films but I have already produced a film, which will be out soon,” he says. I am also continuing to do theatre and loving it. I just want to be a part of good stories, no matter the medium.”

Quiet and camera shy, he prefers the stage to social media. Unlike his contemporaries, one would hardly see Junaid getting papped at celebrity events or outside swanky restaurants. It is more likely to find him leaving the theatre still in makeup, with no thought to his ‘image’. Recently, he was photographed outside Prithvi theatre still dressed as his character Shikhandi in the play, with his hair parted midway and eyes rimmed with kohl, wearing a black T-shirt and shorts. He humbly smiled at the media. You could tell that he cared more about being an actor than a star.

director-shankar-s-films-are-visual-spectacles-with-tightly-knit-plots-and-technically-sound-screenplay

Sat Jul 20 11:04:33 IST 2024

Tucked away on the outskirts of Chennai is director Shankar Shanmugam’s home. The huge brown gate opens to let me in. Much like his films, the front hall is a picture of grandeur, with comfy sofas, colourful flower vases and bamboo fixtures. As I climb the stairs to his room, I spot Chitti―the humanoid robot in his Enthiran film series―standing tall in a black leather suit, as though he had walked out of his fictional world into the real one. I have still not taken my eyes off Chitti when Shankar arrives. Clad in a blue shirt and jeans, he looks calm as he awaits the release of his magnum opus, Indian 2. “Don’t you feel the pressure?” I ask him. “It is all a part of life,” he says with a shrug. “I am used to it.”

Since the first edition of Indian released in 1996, every time Shankar read about corruption and bribery in the newspaper, he felt that Indian thatha (Kamal Haasan’s character of Senapathy, an anti-corruption crusader in the film) should return. The thought was always in the back of his mind. “But the circumstances did not match,” he says. “I had the one liner. But I was still looking for the story.” Finally, it took shape during the lockdown, which Shankar calls a blessing because it gave him time to write the script. With Kamal onboard, there was no looking back. However, the one question he had to address was what Senapathy’s age should be in the film. In the first part, he was 71. If he were to make Senapathy return in the second, he would have aged, but how much? In the end, Shankar kept Senapathy’s age as 106, inspired by the 118-year-old Chinese kung fu master Lu Zijian.

This time, however, Senapathy had outgrown his appeal. In 1996, Kamal’s character had become a cult figure for his complexity. He sacrificed for the sake of the larger good, yet was no stoic who did not grieve. His checkered past coloured his present and his inner conflict gave him a persona that was strong yet vulnerable, unflinching yet not unfeeling. This nuance is missing in the Senapathy of Indian 2. His moral non-ambiguity and self-righteousness make him a caricature, instead of a charismatic leader.

“The original Indian was made 28 years back and many things have changed since then,” says Sreedhar Pillai, writer and film analyst. “Between Baahubali 1 and 2, the difference is only 18 months, but between Indian 1 and 2, it is nearly three decades. The audience has totally changed. Shankar’s format and style of filmmaking should also change. This does not, of course, mean that Shankar is no longer relevant. Every director has a set format. If you ask me, Shankar’s 2.0 that came out in 2018, was his last good film. [Indian was made during] the golden age of commercial cinema and Shankar is the longest-serving commercial director. We have to watch his next, Game Changer, before we judge him.”

Thirty-one years since he made his debut in the Tamil film industry with the film Gentleman (1993), Shankar remains a powerhouse. He first popularised the concept of pan-Indian films. His films are visual spectacles with tightly-knit plots and technically sound screenplay. Born into an affluent family in Tamil Nadu’s Kumbakonam, Shankar was a quality control supervisor before entering the film industry. He initially came to Chennai to become an actor. His films are flashy, incorporating the latest technologies. For Enthiran, he went all the way to the US to study animatronics. Stan Winston Studios there handled the animatronics for the film, as well as the special makeup for its star, Rajinikanth.

In Gentleman, he took up the subject of fraud in medical education. The film, with an evergreen theme that still resonates with medical students and their parents, opened to thunderous applause. Thus was born Shankar’s vigilante hero who fights the system and takes on corrupt leaders. The epitome of this would be Senapathy himself, who in the first edition of Indian kills his own son for the sake of the larger good. “He considers everyone to be part of his family. That’s why his crusade against corruption continues,” says Shankar.

Although the fight against corruption has remained a mainstay of his films, he has often dealt with it with restraint and without moralism. He says he has learned how to balance both the demands of his story as well as the desires of the audience. In the superhit Vikram-starrer Anniyan (2005), for example, Shankar ensured the viewers did not overdose on his brand of social justice. That’s why, he says, the film still stays relevant. “You cannot call it outdated,” he says. “After Anniyan, I have seen people stop when the traffic light turns yellow.” Ask him why his heroes always combat social ills and he replies, “I am a common man. Like everyone, I, too, want to express my angst against the system and question the wrongs happening around me.”

But going by the response to Indian 2, his filmmaking might need a serious update. It’s too early, however, to write him off. With a near 100 per cent success rate, Shankar is a behemoth of the industry who has only one-upped each of his previous efforts. Here’s hoping that his next film, Game Changer, will truly prove to be a game changer for him.

dutch-chef-jacob-jan-boerma-wants-a-michelin-starred-restaurant-in-india

Sat Jul 13 11:47:39 IST 2024

Every successful person has a story to tell. For Dutch chef Jacob Jan Boerma (pronounced Yakub Yan Boerma)―whose restaurants have earned five Michelin Stars―it was licking dishes for flavours while working as a dishwasher in his early days. Growing up, his parents would take him to Michelin starred restaurants across Italy, Spain and France. This ignited a passion for food. When Boerma came across the French Michelin Guide in his family car as a child, he dreamt of owning a restaurant with three Michelin stars.

Boerma’s dream came true with his fine dining restaurant, De Leest, located in Vaassen in the Netherlands, which went on to earn three Michelin Stars. “Before starting my own business, I gained experience both domestically and internationally, working with leading chefs such as Dieter Müller, Roger Souvereyns, and Wulf Engel.” However, he gave it all up at the peak when he shut down the restaurant, in 2020, to spend more time with his then four-year-old son.

In an industry where even the chef’s role is viewed through a gendered lens―cooking professionally is largely considered a man’s job while cooking domestically is seen as a woman’s job―stepping back from a successful career redefines masculinity. It also tells a lot about his confidence in his art. “I was 14 and I had already been to a Michelin restaurant with my parents,” he says, “I started loving food. It wasn’t easy to dream of cooking and owning a three Michelin starred restaurant. But after gaining some experience, I opened my restaurant and ended up cooking there for almost 20 years.”

Boerma knows his art well. When he opened The White Room in Amsterdam and Fine Fleur in Antwerp―both earned Michelin Stars within months. Boerma delights his customers thrice with his intricately prepared dishes: first comes the visual beauty of his presentation, then the aroma, and, finally, the burst of flavours.

According to Boerma, the taste of a chef is his or her identity. Flavouring your personal touch and respecting the ingredients make you stand out, he says. “De Leest was my home and its kitchen was my living room. I was at work for 14-16 hours a day. I quit to spend time with my son and also to change my style of working,” he says. He ran the restaurant with his wife. They stepped down to raise their child together. In his new restaurants, Boerma has given a platform to younger chefs and has stepped aside from working extensive hours.

In India, to headline Culinary Chronicles―Rendezvous by The Chambers, a series of intimate and immersive culinary events at The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai and Taj Mahal, New Delhi, Boerma served his signature preparations―crispy shrimp, lamb loin miso, burnt sweet pepper, open ravioli of eggplant, Indian curry flan and more. With each course, the chef paired champagne, chardonnay, wine rose and red wine, respectively.

Boerma has a knack for blending global influences with locally sourced ingredients. In India, he worked with local chefs to recreate his popular dishes. “This is my first visit to India. I have already met so many talented chefs. Their stories and their love for cuisine is so inspiring. We are from different places but we share the same passion,” he says. He calls the experience one-of-a-kind as the Indian chefs working with him knew nothing about Dutch cuisine and he knew nothing about Indian cuisine.

Boerma says India is rich in flavours and has a strong street food presence. He says he would love to bring more fine dining experiences to India. “There are no concrete talks yet, but who knows? I would love Indians to celebrate fine dining culture,” he says, while making a point for having a Michelin starred restaurant in India.

Boerma is constantly travelling and preparing food across continents. Wherever he goes, he loves to experiment with the local ingredients. “My culinary philosophy revolves around enhancing nature with new ingredients, new flavours, or new discoveries that form the true foundation of my food philosophy,” he says, “The exceptional quality of local ingredients in India forms the base for creating successful dishes. The kitchen teams here have provided me with so many fresh options, and it is truly great to work with them.”

Boerma often draws upon his global experiences, including his travels to Asia and Scandinavia, to create cosmopolitan and innovative dishes. “The chefs at The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, have made me try different local dishes―they are filled with flavours and aroma,” he says, “At Taj Mahal, New Delhi, I am looking forward to dining at Varq for modern Indian food and tasting Indian wines and tapas at Captain’s Cellar―the new wine bar.”

What makes a restaurant qualify for Michelin Stars is the taste, says Boerma, “They must always respect the ingredients and ensure the flavours shine through clearly in each dish. As a guest, you should feel the chef’s passion on your plate, which forms the foundation of exceptional cuisine. Without a good foundation, there is no chance of achieving three stars.”

Boerma says the quality of the food is the foundation of success. “I am known for my great cooking skills and subtle combinations, as well as my elegant refinement, especially in light sauces and vinaigrettes,” he says.

copy-editors-oxford-commas-and-other-pestilences

Sat Jul 13 11:41:14 IST 2024

SOMEONE TOLD ME years ago that J.K. Rowling, author of all that Harry Potter nonsense, had her first manuscript rejected eleventy-six times before becoming a sensational bestseller. Well, dear Joanne certainly had far greater stamina, tenacity and perseverance than I do. My patience and optimism ran out after my magnum opus was rejected by three publishers. But, before throwing in the towel (and my typewriter after it), I thought I would make one last attempt. And voila! The fourth publisher accepted the manuscript and made me sign a contract undertaking to publish my masterpiece in a matter of a few months. Then I heard nothing for more than three years.

Suddenly, last month, the editorial team of the publishing house wrote to me to get my manuscript ready for publication. “But wait!” I wrote back. “What do you mean ready for publication? Haven’t I already given it to you? So, publish the damn thing!”

But no, that was not to be. I was then educated by some underling with an unimpressive designation about the procedure that would be adopted to actually publish my bestseller. I had expected someone with a grand-sounding title―like the Supreme Principal Editor in Chief―to call me up and beg me to come to their office to collect humongous royalties. Instead, I had got an email from a lowly assistant co-editor named Hrisha who claimed that she would find mistakes (not errors) in my masterpiece. I was offended! By Jove, was I offended!

Then followed a series of most infuriating and frustrating email exchanges. The assistant co-editor was clearly uneducated, if not IQ-impaired. There also seemed to be a generational gap between that sweet young thing and the dirty old man that I am. Hrisha had very firm ideas about psycholinguistics and philological propriety. According to her, body-shaming was a no-no! Sexist remarks were to be eschewed! Words indicating bias were to be omitted! And she considered many terms that are an integral part of my colourful vocabulary to be homophobic.

“Sir, such words show that you are prejudiced!”

“Of course I am, stupid!” I wanted to retort, but I let it pass.

I was certain that in respect of many words, she kept saying ‘no’ merely because she had said ‘nyet’ once. I kept offering alternate words―many of which she still found offensive. We haggled over semantics the way delegates at the United Nations do while considering a particularly tricky resolution.

She also stumbled and tripped over almost every reference to classical literature. She had heard of Shakespeare but was blissfully innocent of almost every soliloquy or quotable quote. “What does ‘methinks he doth protest too much’ mean?” “Shouldn’t the name be Alfred J. Prufrock, rather than J. Alfred Prufrock?” “Are you sure there was an author named Coal Ridge?” “Why do you refer to George Eliot as ‘she’?”

We disagreed about use of lowercase letters and the articles. I insisted it was ‘an hotel’ while she said that such usage was at least a hundred years old. I declared that numerous objects could be counted as lebenty-nine and digity-two, but she said those were made up words.

“You just can’t make up words!” she declared.

“Well, bad luck! I just did! If umpteen can mean a large number, why can’t slepenteen?”

We then crossed swords over punctuation. She primly informed me that they follow ‘in house’ rules of punctuation. ‘In house’ rules of punctuation? Whatever does that mean? It is only the Queen (bless her) who may tinker with colons and apostrophes. The Queen and Wren and Martin. But no one else! No, not even the King! But here was this sweet young thing telling me that her publishing house has rules of their own! I could not immediately think of the exact equivalent of ‘ghor kaliyug’, so I merely remarked that the end of the world was nigh. Which again got me rap on my knuckles―the word ‘nigh’ was struck through and replaced by the word ‘near’.

Hrisha informed me in a rather snooty manner, “We do not use the Oxford comma”. I assured her that I did not use one either, and further that I had been unaware that universities could lay claim on punctuation marks. Just imagine, there could be a Hindu College semicolon or a Mission College umlaut! I had always believed that rules of punctuation were universal, but here was Hrisha, brazenly suggesting the use of single inverted commas where I and the rest of the world would have used double quotation marks!

It was after a particularly nasty exchange of emails that Hrisha took umbrage at my use of the term ‘sweet young thing’. “It is so sexist”, she remarked. I asked her not to take it personally, but Hrisha calmly informed me that ‘she’ is in fact a man and not a girl! The deceiver, Hrisha, then poured salt on my wounded ego. “Don’t forget, Sir, the readers of today are young like me―quite happy to ignore your abstruse literary references, your poetic licence and your obstinate opposition to contemporary punctuation rules. It is time you stopped swearing by your Wren and Martin, whoever those gentlemen might have been, and learned―not learnt―to write proper English.”

Well, that was the final straw! In future I will never approach publishers with my creative works. I will consider self-publishing everything― without giving any copy editor with androgynous names access to what I write. Maybe a better solution would be to altogether give up writing?

Verma was the director of Research & Analysis Wing

best-actress-award-winner-at-cannes-film-festival-winner-anasuya-sengupta-interview

Sat Jul 06 11:09:04 IST 2024

Interview/ Anasuya Sengupta, best actress, Cannes Film Festival

Anasuya Sengupta is still coming to terms with her historic achievement. The 37-year-old recently won the Un Certain Regard Prize for Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival for her remarkable performance in Bulgarian director Konstantin Bojanov’s The Shameless. In the film, Sengupta portrays the lead character of Renuka, who escapes from a Delhi brothel after killing a cop.

Sengupta is still figuring out what the honour truly means for her. One thing is certain. The sudden international fame, she says, will not change what she essentially is―a Kolkatar meye (daughter of Kolkata) whose athletic build belies the fact that she still relishes Kolkata biryani and mishti doi.

In an interview with THE WEEK, she looks back at her extraordinary journey―from playing a minor role in director Anjan Dutt’s Madly Bangalee in 2009 to the red carpet in Cannes.

Excerpts:

Q\ How do you describe your journey from Kolkata to Cannes?

A\ Growing up in a regular Bengali family in Kolkata, [I always had an] inclination for arts…. In Jadavpur University, I got active in the theatre scene. It was through [my college theatre group] Tin Can that five friends and I got cast in Madly Bangalee.

But I had started working behind the scenes as far back as 2008. I was the most junior person in the team of an Indo-Australian feature film called The Waiting City, where I had been the DA [director’s assistant]. At that point, the 21-year-old me decided that [it was] enough ammo to move to Bombay.

I was the most junior person in the art department of Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children. Very soon I also became production designer. I have been very lucky in working with not just people who I respect and admire, but also people who I was able to forge excellent friendships with.

But I still really wanted to act. I wanted to find newer avenues to express myself. It was then that I started making illustrations. Soon I realised that I wanted to leave Bombay, which was frightening because you can’t walk away after 10-12 years in the industry. But I relied on my gut. The growing community of artists in Goa gave me confidence to see life a little bit differently. I have been living in Goa for about four years now.

Q\ How did you get to know Konstantin Bojanov and how did Renuka happen?

A\ That’s a fun story. Konstantin and I had been Facebook friends for years because of mutual filmmaker friends from Kolkata. I was familiar with his name because he liked almost all of the art that I posted. In 2020, I found a message from him on Facebook Messenger, asking me to play the lead part in his film. It completely caught me off guard. I tried to convince him not to do this. But he insisted that I read the script and, thank God, I did.

Q\ Renuka is a very political character. How similar are you to her?

A\ Both similar and dissimilar. Very dissimilar, in some ways. Renuka [has] a sense of freedom, a sense of hope; [she] stands up for herself and other people, especially women. Renuka is a lone wolf. [She] had a very difficult life, and hardship after hardship. I, on the other hand, have had an extremely supportive circle of friends and family.

But I also found common ground. Her revolutionary spirit spoke to me. It tied in with the kind of artist that I like to see myself as.

Q\ You dedicated your award to marginalised communities across the world. Whom do you consider as marginalised in today’s world?

A\ Any community or any group of people who are being denied their basic rights to exist the way they want. People who are being denied freedom, who are being oppressed by communities or other groups that are more powerful in number, influence or authority. I dedicated the award to queer communities all over the world and other marginalised communities.

Q\ What was your experience in Bollywood as a production designer for 10 years?

A\ I lived in Bombay since I was 21, and [I have] done a range of work. I don’t even know what would strictly be considered Bollywood or a little bit outside of Bollywood. I actually loved my entire production design career. What appealed to me the most, and what I learned the most, is that you cannot be a production designer without dozens of people. That, for me, has been the most valuable lesson in my life―that you work with a range of people like makeup artists, artisans, karigars, carpenters, painters and electricians.

Q\ You are based in Goa, but you still identify yourself as Kolkatar meye. Why did you leave Kolkata?

A\ I always say that I did not leave Kolkata. It was more like I went to another place, to another city. It is a big world, and I want to see more and learn more, and meet different kinds of people. [I don’t want to] limit myself. That is important to me. [I went to] Bombay, and then I left Bombay, but I still don’t see that as leaving Bombay. It was more like finding a newer pasture, finding a newer way to think. [It was about] giving myself an environment where I can challenge myself differently. There are so many ways of thinking and looking at the world, and so many different lenses that we can have. So I don’t think I ever left. I hopefully will keep growing and keep going places. But this [Kolkata] is always home. This is where I will always come back. My family is here.

Q\ How many offers have you received after the award?

A\ It is just an exciting spell of reading and choosing now. Hopefully, you will know soon what the exciting stuff is.

refugee-chefs-from-sri-lanka-myanmar-and-bangladesh-showcase-their-country-s-cuisine-at-oorum-unavum-chennai

Sat Jul 06 11:04:03 IST 2024

Rajeshwari Noyal, 46, arrived as a refugee on the shores of Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka in 1990, when the conflict between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government was at its peak. The 14-year-old did not fully understand what was happening, except that all 11 members of her family would have to sail by boat to reach a safe zone. Other than their national ID cards and a few sets of clothes, her mother only packed around 15 maida rotis and sambol, a traditional side dish of Sri Lankan Tamil cuisine. The maida rotis were meant to stay fresh for at least four days. The sambol was prepared without coconut or tuna, its usual ingredients. But upon reaching Rameswaram, the family had to throw away all the food, because the high tide had made them soggy and inedible. Rajeshwari was so hungry she was even prepared to eat the soggy rotis. However, when they got off the boat, they were served upma by officers of the Indian coast guard. “That was the first time I ate it,” she says. She was so hungry she did not even register the taste.

And now, 34 years later, Rajeshwari lives in a refugee camp in Chennai’s Puzhal, and is one of the celebrated Sri Lankan refugee chefs there. She can cook Indian and Burmese delicacies, having learnt the latter from a Burmese colleague at a health centre in Chennai, where she used to work. Along with her neighbour Nilavani Kamleswaran, 50, she runs a small restaurant in the camp.

She and Nilavani are among the 50 or so chefs participating in the third edition of a refugee food festival organised by the UNHCR in Chennai from July 5 to 7. They will serve appam, masi (tuna) sambol and katta (spicy) sambol. The festival―Oorum Unavum (cities and food)―is aimed at improving the perception of refugees in their host country. Taking place at Annasalai in Chennai, it will feature the rich culinary traditions of Sri Lankan Tamils and Rohingya Muslims from Bangladesh and Myanmar.

“It is nice to bring people together around the question of immigration in a more positive way,” says Prema Rajani Devendram, 46, a Sri Lankan refugee from Jaffna who will prepare red rice idiyappam, sothi (a kind of watery gravy), coconut sambol, red rice puttu and chicken pirattal (another gravy) at the festival. Rajani, unlike Rajeshwari and Nilavani, is used to south Indian cuisine. She was first introduced to it in the 1980s by the personnel of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF)―the military contingent sent from India to Sri Lanka to promote peace between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government. Rajani’s house was close to the IPKF camp in Jaffna. “We used to get chapati and soup packets, millets like ragi, lentils and rice from the soldiers,” says Rajani, who now runs a food truck in Chennai. When she first landed at Rameswaram as a refugee in 1999, the Indian cuisine tasted just like the food prepared at home. “The coast guard gave us chapati and biscuits. The only difference was that this chapati was not hot like the ones served by the IPKF,” she says with a smile.

Unlike the others, Paramanathan Ravichandran, 49, came to India from Sri Lanka on a tourist visa two years after the war in which he was badly hurt. He runs a Sri Lankan bakery in Chennai, which serves kothu roti, veg and chicken rolls, and types of triangular buns called kombuvan, sangilivan and fish van. He came to India after spending two years in the camps for the internally displaced in Sri Lanka, and started his business by selling rolls and tea at the Koyambedu market from 2am. Everyone there used to call him ‘Roll Ravi’. Later, in 2000, he registered with the refugee rehabilitation department and launched his own bakery with his savings.

While the Sri Lankan refugees can adapt to life in Tamil Nadu because of similar culture and language, it is much more difficult for the Rohingya Muslims like Thosalima Mohammed Yusuf, 28, who migrated from Bangladesh and has been living at a government-run camp in Chennai for the past 12 years. She says she is yet to adapt to Indian food and culture. There are over 18 families and 90 Rohingya Muslims living in the camp. “I am not particular about food, even when we have our own traditional cuisine,” she says in broken Hindi, adding that it does not matter when they do not have a country. Thosalima and her neighbour Shaji Begum, 22, will cook dhoofida (made with rice, coconut and jaggery) faasfida (a traditional vegetarian snack made with wheat flour, coconut and jaggery), lapasu (a salad prepared with green chilli, onion, cucumber, tomato and oil) and sana (another salad made with potato, onion, tomato and noodles). The two work as home chefs at the camp. “The men are mostly daily wage labourers. The women also go out to work sometimes. So we help them by taking orders from home,” says Thosalima.

She explains that Rohingya recipes mostly revolve around fish, vegetables, rice, milk and chilli. One of the mainstays is gura fira, a sweet rice pudding that is consumed in the morning before prayer and during religious festivals like Eid. But the most important Rohingya dish might be durus kura, a whole-fried chicken curry that is prepared on special occasions.

For Thosalima and the other refugee chefs, the food festival offers an opportunity to connect with other members of their community from across India. After all life, much like food, is meant to be shared.

alia-bhatt-debut-childrens-book-ed-finds-a-home-has-many-subtle-lessons

Sat Jul 06 11:35:37 IST 2024

Like good wine or a bright mind, children's literature has matured with time. Scheherazade is no longer weaving stories with a moral, she is telling those with a message. It might be one of gender equality, abuse, single parenting, racism, bullying or climate change, but writers no longer sugarcoat or dumb down the truth for children. The intent is that, in the kind of world we live in, they must be acclimatised to the realities of life. Sooner or later, ignorance has to be uncoupled from innocence.

This is not new. As early as the 1980s, children's writers were chipping away at tough topics. Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown’s 1986 book Dinosaurs Divorce: A Guide for Changing Families described to young readers why divorces happen and how to adapt to a new family. Virginia Ironside’s 1996 book The Huge Bag of Worries dealt with mental health when it was still veiled by stigma. However, it is only in the last decade that such children’s stories are becoming best-sellers, and the world is waking up to their allure.

Actor Alia Bhatt's debut children's book Ed Finds a Home fits this mould. She has strewn crumbs throughout her story, tutoring her young readers in environmentalism, sustainablity, kindness and gender equality. (Ed Finds a Home is one of the first picture books in the country to be printed on FSC paper, sourced in a sustainable and environment-friendly manner.)

In the small brown house in which Bhatt's progragonist―a little girl cheekily named Alia―lives, it is her mother who works and her father who cooks, subverting conventional gender norms. Alia has a deep connection with nature. Her superpower enables her to talk with dogs and crows, and communicate her feelings to trees.

“Of course, we can (talk)! People just don’t know how to listen,” says Ed, an abandoned dog that Alia finds. The easy-to-read book is a compelling page-turner for young readers. It ends on a paw-sitive note, with a budding friendship between Alia and Ed. “You are Ed, and now I am your mamma,” laughs Alia. “So together we are Ed-a-Mamma.” Ed Finds a Home is the first in the series The Adventures of Ed-a-Mamma. Incidentally, Ed-a-Mamma is the name of Bhatt's conscious clothing brand for children. Apart from books, the brand is also branching out into toys, baby care and more.

“Ed-a-Mamma was born with the intent to inspire children to fall in love with nature and create a generation of ‘mini-planeteers’ who feel responsible for protecting the environment. But I also believe that to protect, we must connect. That's why my first step was to encourage children to spend more time outdoors and explore the wonders of the natural world. And what better way to do this than through the power of storytelling,” says Bhatt about her debut book, which has been written by her along with Vivek Kamath and Shabnam Minwalla. The illustrations are by Tanvi Bhat.

Sohini Mitra, publisher (children’s), at Penguin Random House India, says, “By weaving themes of friendship and sustainability together, the book not only entertains, but also educates children about the importance of caring for our planet and the creatures that inhabit it.”

As Alia and Ed set out to save the planet, one small step at a time, their adventures have just begun. But then, one small step for them might just be a giant leap for mankind. Who knows, we might soon be living in a planet salvaged by a little girl and her canine companion. And captained by their enterprising creator.

Ed Finds a Home

By Alia Bhatt

Illustrations by Tanvi Bhat

Published by Puffin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House

Price Rs299; pages 40

the-rajiv-i-knew-and-why-he-was-india-s-most-misunderstood-prime-minister-book-by-mani-shankar-aiyar

Sat Jul 06 10:55:20 IST 2024

The Lok Sabha election has rekindled interest in the Congress and the Nehru-Gandhi family, especially Rahul Gandhi, who has been enduring below-the-belt attacks for a decade and more. But critics of the family have left out Sanjay Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, who was an ‘accidental’ prime minister and a reluctant politician before that. Memories of that generation are coloured by the Bofors scandal and the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) disaster in Sri Lanka.

Mani Shankar Aiyar’s latest book―The Rajiv I Knew, And Why He Was India’s Most Misunderstood Prime Minister―is a personal note on the prime minister, under whom he was a joint secretary. The book is lucidly written, and Aiyar’s frankness in not wanting to claim ownership or first-hand knowledge of what he was not officially part of comes through in every page of the book.

According to Aiyar, Rajiv, who was at the centre of difficult developments, was not fully informed about the Bofors deal. Not just that, he was not briefed enough on the Shah Bano case, or, for that matter, on the overnight opening of the locks of the temple in Ayodhya―all of which showed him up as naive, and cost him and his party dear as the 1989 Lok Sabha poll result proved. For Ayodhya and Shah Bano, Aiyar puts the blame on Rajiv’s cousin Arun Nehru. And the IPKF disaster? General Krishnaswamy Sundarji was to be blamed, says Aiyar. Aiyar’s arguments are simple―straight from the heart, and mostly convincing.

Aiyar gives credit to Rajiv for multiple peace accords that he had signed with political and militant groups in the north and the northeast. He praises Rajiv for giving Constitutional protection to the Panchayati Raj system, especially with 33 per cent reservation for women. In fact, it was Aiyar who drafted the amendments required and did much of the paperwork and propagation even while continuing as Rajiv’s official speech-writer.

Aiyar also commends Rajiv’s contributions to the cause of nuclear non-proliferation. Aiyar’s book is worth a read, and possible re-read, especially if you were a fan of Rajiv when he was alive, or a critic, then, and since.

The writer is a policy analyst and political commentator.

THE RAJIV I KNEW, AND WHY HE WAS INDIA’S MOST MISUNDERSTOOD PRIME MINISTER

Author: Mani Shankar Aiyar

Published by Juggernaut

Price: Rs548; pages: 323

roshan-mathew-decided-to-act-in-paradise-after-a-five-hour-conversation-with-it-s-director-r-prasanna-vithanage

Sat Jul 06 10:49:51 IST 2024

In 2022, there was no food, fuel or electricity in Sri Lanka. Poor, hungry and destitute, the people became desperate. The economic crisis tipped into political instability and there were widespread protests. Once again Sri Lanka burned, but this time, with a fire from within. It is in this backdrop that Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage set his film Paradise. After all, paradise is what the main characters―Kesav (Roshan Mathew) and Amrita (Darshana Rajendran)―were after when they travelled to Sri Lanka, unaware of the tensions simmering there. They did not know that when they planned to celebrate five years of marriage in a burning country, they risked their love going up in flames.

It was a five-hour chat with Vithanage that convinced actor Mathew to take up the film. “There is a certain sense of simplicity and minimalism in his filmmaking, which I admire,” says Mathew. “I saw that in his films With You, Without You, Gaadi and Paradise. It was an illuminating experience to work with him.”

Although Mathew was initially hesitant to do Paradise because his film Choked had followed a similar relationship trajectory, he got enthused after meeting and speaking with the filmmaker. Vithanage wanted the actors to go to Sri Lanka without any preconceived notions to experience the situation firsthand. In the film, the couple visits the country for its beauty and affordability.

Paradise―presented by filmmaker Mani Ratnam's Madras Talkies and produced by Newton Cinema―won the Kim Jiseok award at the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea and the Prix du Jury Lyceen at the Vesoul International Film Festival in France. It released in India on June 28 to much acclaim.

Referring to independent and non-commercial films like Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light (which won big at Cannes this year) and Paradise attracting audiences on OTT instead of theatres, Mathew says, “There is a certain responsibility to ensure that the diversity in cinema remains, and for that we must go to watch these films.”

Mathew has worked in Malayalam, Hindi and Tamil films. His international project Poacher was produced by Alia Bhatt. He says that while Tamil and Telugu films are becoming pan-India hits, he is happy that Malayalam actors and films, too, are getting attention, especially after the pandemic. The actor is keen on trying different genres, especially those he has never explored before, like his upcoming film, Ulajh, a spy thriller co-starring Janhvi Kapoor. “I take up a project if the character excites me or if the people in it do, or if it is multilingual,” he says. “It is high time we embrace all languages in cinema.”

Poacher was his second collaboration with Alia Bhatt, after the comedy-thriller Darlings (2022), which starred her along with Mathew, Shefali Shah and Vijay Varma. “Who would not want to work with Alia?” he asks. “She is at the top of her game, doing some incredible work, and evolving as an artiste so beautifully. I was lucky to be able to work with her. Even now, if there is a discussion about a project with Alia, I get excited.”

Mathew says he is agnostic of the medium he works in, whether it is OTT or the big screen. As an actor, all that matters to him is that he does his work well.

the-prince-the-turbulent-reign-of-justin-trudeau-book-by-stephen-maher

Sat Jun 29 13:01:14 IST 2024

When Justin Trudeau took over as the 23rd prime minister of Canada in November 2015, Vogue featured him on its cover as the new young face of Canadian politics. He was the prince charming who could do no wrong. He revived the nearly dormant Liberal Party, once dominated by his father Pierre Trudeau, infused an earnest optimism and a youthful enthusiasm into the staid, monochrome portals of Canadian politics. And he made governance fashionable.

But all that seems in the distant past now. Somewhere along the way, Trudeau lost his mojo. Multiple scandals took the sheen off the Trudeau brand of politics. His personal appeal is in free fall. The economy is flirting with recession, housing and food prices have gone through the roof, inflation remains high and the foreign policy is a mess. A survey found him the worst prime minister in over 50 years.

If elections were to be held today, Trudeau’s conservative opponent Pierre Poilievre could wipe the floor with him. In fact, many Liberal MPs and party insiders feel the prime minister should step down and let someone else lead the party. In The Prince: The Turbulent Reign of Justin Trudeau, journalist Stephen Maher looks at Trudeau’s rise and fall and concludes that the Trudeau magic may have run its course, although it may be foolish to write him off.

Maher’s use of the word “prince” is illuminating. It shows two sides of Trudeau’s personality: a practical political operator, just like the one described in Niccolo Machiavelli’s 16th century treatise, The Prince, and at the same time a modern prince, who grew up with a sense of entitlement. When Trudeau was seven, his mother publicly referred to him as a prince. And that sense of entitlement never seems to have left him.

On December 31, 2016, the eve of Canada’s 150th anniversary celebrations, Trudeau was at the Aga Khan’s $100 million island in the Bahamas spending Christmas holidays, and he took a private aircraft to get to the island. Canada’s ethics commissioner conducted an inquiry and found that Trudeau had violated at least four sections of the Conflict of Interest Act, the first prime minister to do so.

Maher’s book is not a chronicle of Trudeau’s failures, it also gives him credit where it is due. The way he dealt with Donald Trump’s protectionist tendencies while renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, his genuine concern about climate change and his steadfast belief in the primacy of democracy are adeptly woven into the narrative. However, as mentioned in the title of the book, its underlying theme is the turbulence that marked the unravelling of the Trudeau regime.

The way Trudeau operates with a cabal of close advisors, keeping everyone else out from his inner circle, and the propensity to hide behind a mask have all contributed to his downfall. Maher also identifies many other missteps, such as his flagrant attempt to influence his minister of justice Jody Wilson-Raybould to abandon the prosecution of Montreal-based construction giant SNC-Lavalin, deputing a rookie minister to deal with the critical issue of electoral reform, the unnecessary foreign policy faux pas involving India and his inability to act on intelligence inputs that China was meddling in Canadian affairs.

In conclusion, Maher feels that Trudeau’s future looks like a lost cause. Last December, the Trudeaus took yet another expensive vacation, staying at the Frankfort Villa at Ochos Rios, Jamaica, a stately two-storey manor located in a famously grand former slave plantation, which rents for $7,000 a night. “With so many Canadians counting their pennies in the grocery line, it seemed selfish,” wrote Maher. “The trip confirmed everything Poilievre and other critics were saying about Trudeau―that he is out of touch and disconnected from the struggles of ordinary Canadians.”

A prince, indeed.

THE PRINCE: THE TURBULENT REIGN OF JUSTIN TRUDEAU

By Stephen Maher

Published by Simon & Schuster Canada

Pages: 385; price Rs899

extracts-from-the-prince-the-turbulent-reign-of-justin-trudeau

Sat Jun 29 18:19:34 IST 2024

In 2016, during a successful meeting with Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne in New Delhi, Modi had urged Trudeau to visit India to promote trade. In January 2018, after India imposed import duties on chickpeas, peas, and lentils, hurting Canadian exporters, a visit seemed an excellent idea―not to mention the photo opportunities!

It was not a good idea―and it got off to a bad start. Modi, who is famous for hugging world leaders, didn’t even show up at the airport to greet Trudeau and his family, instead sending a secretary of state for agriculture in his place. The Trudeaus then began a tour of the most photogenic sights in India, showing up at each with different Indian outfits, smiling and making the namaste gesture. They were photographed at the Golden Temple, the Taj Mahal, and the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple, ticking off boxes for Sikh, Muslim, and Hindu voters in Canada. It was too much. Although the greetings on the streets were positive, Indians started making fun of the Trudeaus and their elaborate costumes. Omar Abdullah, leader of the National Conference party, found the whole spectacle excessive. “Is it just me or is this choreographed cuteness all just a bit much now?” he tweeted. “I thought it was a little too Indian for Indians,” said Indian fashion designer Anand Bhushan on Indian TV. “A little tacky in terms of sartorial choices. He looked like a complete backup dancer for a cheap Bollywood movie.” Back in Canada, Louis-Alexandre Lanthier, Trudeau’s former executive assistant, was watching it go badly and thinks he knows why it went awry. “When Justin goes to Park Extension in his riding, and he’s surrounded by the Indian and the Pakistani community in the parade, and he is wearing the garb, they love it. They go totally nuts for it. But then when you show up in India and you do the same thing, it’s like, ‘Is he mocking us?’ ”

The trip was not a disciplined business mission with a photo op or two thrown in. It was set up like a royal tour, as though Justin and Sophie were Will and Kate. The Trudeau people should have seen the reaction coming. The week before, British journalist Piers Morgan had described Trudeau in his column in the Daily Mail as “the worst kind of hectoring, bully pulpit smart-ass; dripping with virtuous self-aggrandizing sanctimony”―and it had gone viral globally. The progressive poster boy was starting to irritate people like Morgan, and they were ready to attack. Trudeau had lived by the photo op. Now he would die by it. There are moments in the evolution of a brand when the people running it have to change their game. Trudeau had reached that point but did not realize it, and he was suddenly a figure of fun, with comedians around the world making jokes about his outfits. Overnight, he set a new global threshold for cringe.

****

Trudeau had tense exchanges with Modi during the G20 [held in India in September 2023]. Modi publicly chided Canada for allowing “continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in [the country]. They are promoting secessionism and inciting violence against Indian diplomats, damaging diplomatic premises, and threatening the Indian community in Canada and their places of worship.” Trudeau responded that he had talked to Modi about foreign interference, without mentioning the assassination of [Hardeep Singh] Nijjar. It was a frosty exchange, the lowlight of a difficult trip. Trudeau tried and failed to ensure that the closing communiqué included a mention of Ukraine. Then the Canadian plane broke down and the delegation had to wait until a replacement could be flown in from Canada. It was another terrible visit to India for Trudeau, and he didn’t even get to dress up.

****

India reacted swiftly, declaring the allegations “absurd and motivated,” and again complained that the Canadians were sheltering Khalistani extremists. It was a full-on row, with worrying implications for the relationship. There are about two million Canadians of Indian origin, and about 300,000 Indian students in Canadian schools. Canada expelled an Indian diplomat. India responded by expelling one Canadian, then stopped issuing visas, and finally expelled forty-one Canadian diplomats. Nationalist Indians were furious with Trudeau and took to social media to denounce him. Tellingly, they did not deny that India had killed Nijjar. It should not have been necessary, in their view, if Canada had cracked down on Khalistani separatists. Sushant Sareen, a senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, put it this way on Twitter: “If we did it, it was right; if we didn’t, you were wrong.”

Excerpted with permission from Simon & Schuster India

indian-actress-ananya-panday-interview

Sat Jun 29 12:48:29 IST 2024

Interview/ Ananya Panday, actor

ACTOR ANANYA PANDAY was the guest of honour at THE WEEK’s first-ever Salon, an exclusive, closed-door event that invites thought leaders, artistes, ideators and newsmakers to have an intimate and intelligent chat with our senior editors. In the audience were some of our special guests, longtime subscribers and persons of interest. The first Salon was co-hosted by THE WEEK’s chief associate editor and director Riyad Mathew and senior journalist Namrata Zakaria.

This edition of Salon took place at the stylish Four Seasons hotel, Mumbai, and was sponsored by South Indian Bank, with Enso Group as special partners.

Ananya Panday is a talented young actor with much critical acclaim to her credit. Some of her upcoming work is a series on Amazon Prime called Call Me Bae, and films such as Vikramaditya Motwane’s Control and Shankara, opposite Akshay Kumar. She endorses as many as 22 leading brands.

Panday delighted the audience with her candour, warmth and repartee. Excerpts from the interview:

Q/ Congratulations on Kho Gaye Hum Kahan. Such a lovely, lovely film. And such a nuanced role for you, followed by so much praise and acclaim. Do you feel you have finally landed as an actor?

A/ Honestly, I feel like everything happens at the right time. And I feel like I wouldn’t be the person or the actor that I am today if it wasn’t for everything that happened to me before that. So, I am obviously very, very grateful for all of the love that I got in the film. My favourite kind of movies are the ones where I feel seen and understood. Like when I was younger, I used to feel like Poo and Geet; they were like my spirit animals. I wanted to be as confident as them. So, if I can do anything that touches the life of a young boy or a young girl, then that’s like the job done for me. And I got so many messages from people after that film saying they feel represented. So that’s my biggest win more than anything. And yeah, I feel like people see me in a different way, which is always good.

Q/ Is Ahana, your character in the film, close to who you are as a person? I mean, you pretty much live a fishbowl existence.

A/ Everyone has been Ahana at some point in their life. For sure, I feel the pressure. Especially when I started out, I didn’t understand why everything that I was saying was like going completely the opposite. I don’t think before speaking, everything just comes out of my mouth. My mom said to me, ‘Count till 10 before you say anything.’ But now I am like, I don’t care anymore. When I was a little girl, this is all I wanted to do. I wanted to be on a big screen and I wanted everyone to recognise me everywhere I went. Sometimes, I just wish I could do this one thing where no one was taking my photo. But my dad always says, ‘The moment someone doesn’t ask you for a picture will be your saddest day. So, just enjoy every single picture.’ I think my dad is my biggest inspiration in that way because I have seen him get up from meals, go out of his way to interact with his fans and give people so much love. I want to be able to be that as well.

Q/ Do you think you missed out on a college education abroad?

A/ I don’t think I missed out on it. I think for me and the field that I have chosen to be in, the best education I could have gotten was to physically be on a film set. I have been very fortunate to start out with someone like Karan Johar, whom I learned everything from. I got to work with Shakun Batra, Zoya Akhtar and now Vikramaditya Motwane. I am in the best film school possible.

Q/ Your father, Chunky Panday, was such a big superstar. A whole generation of women was in love with him until Shah Rukh, Salman and Aamir came along. It really took the three Khans to dismantle Chunky’s popularity. What lessons have you learnt from him? And from your mum―the businesswoman and reality star Bhavana Panday?

A/ I inherited the thick skin from my dad, just taking everything with a smile. He is all heart. And he always cracks the joke on himself first. He is like, every Friday is like a cricket match, you either hit a six or you are gonna get out. But there will be another ball after that. He never gives up. He has done films in regional languages, in Bangladesh. He jumped onto the OTT wagon before anyone else did. He has done negative roles, comedy roles, lead roles, smaller roles. But he hasn’t stopped working. And somehow he knows everyone in every corner of the world. From my mum, I get my normalcy, just my balance. She is like a moral compass. She inspires me to be very kind every single day.

Q/ What do you feel about Indian designers versus western designers? Does Indian fashion hold up in the west?

A/ Sandeep Khosla is in the audience, and I have had the most fun walking for Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla. But whenever I travel I see people give respect to Indian fashion and style. I am only inspired by Bollywood. When Zendaya did that Rahul Mishra sari, she looked really hot in it. Every time Naomi Campbell wears an Indian designer, she looks super hot, too. Fashion houses there realise how big the market is. They need us, I think, a lot more than we do.

Q/ You really held your own against Deepika Padukone in Gehraiyaan, despite a smaller role.

A/ Every time you see Deepika, you are just stunned by her beauty. But I learned so much from her, like hard work and commitment. She came for every single workshop, like a student with her notebook. I learnt to prioritise oneself on a film set, to ask for those 30 seconds before a take to just have silence. She is an inspirational female superstar. I have been very lucky to work with very giving co-stars―Bhumi Pednekar, Kartik Aaryan, Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ishaan Khattar, Adarsh Gourav.

Q/ Your first film came out when you were 20. It is far too young for someone to have that sort of fame and success. What prepared you?

A/ I knew I wanted to be an actor the moment I popped out of my mother. I was always performing for the handycam. They just had to nudge me and I would start singing and dancing, I was like their jukebox. But nothing prepares you for the industry other than the industry itself. You can grow up in it, and around it, but being in it is a different ball game. I just deal with fame differently on different days. I can read a comment and howl on one day and read something similar and find it funny the next day. It was my biggest dream to be a Dharma heroine and work for Karan Johar. I was 18 when I auditioned for Student of the Year 2. I cried when the Dharma tune played before the film was shown.

Q/ Suhana Khan, Shanaya Kapoor and you are good friends, but also competitors of sorts. How does that work?

A/ I don’t think we feel any competition between us. We are all the same age, but we are like sisters honestly. They are like those cousins that I cannot get rid of, even if I try really hard. They are always going to be in my life and I love that. We used to do these acting things when we were growing up―play ‘mother mother’ and imitate our moms! But for me I am living the dream with my best friends. There is a lot of support and understanding between us. I feel really understood and safe with them. We discuss boys, clothes, everything… rarely films.

Q/ Everyone in the movie industry has had a nip, tuck or filler. But you are AI-pretty without any of them. And you endorse 22 brands, the most among any actor.

A/ My mom does face yoga and so do I (laughs). Honestly, I believe you do you. Whatever makes you feel confident, you should do that. I wish I could go and shake every person and be like, you are so beautiful, you don’t need to do anything. The brands are all thanks to my team. I only promote brands that align with me and with what I stand for as a person.

Q/ There are two issues that are very prominent in the west and which I want to get your reaction on. One is, of course, LGBTQIA+ rights, and the second is climate change.

A/ I am a huge ally, and love is love for me. It is all about equality for me and hopefully we will get there. There is hope of equality, and I started my digital social responsibility idea ‘So Positive’ to take on online trolling and bullying. Climate change? It is so hot. We can physically feel the climate change, and it is very scary. I don’t know what more proof people need to understand that climate change is real.

Q/ Are you political? Did your candidate win?

A/ For me, women’s safety in India and the education of children, especially girls, are very important. It is a topic I want politicians to talk about. I am not going to disclose who I voted for (laughs).

Q/ You have just bought yourself a house at the very young age of 25. I love what a young successful, working-girl vibe that has.

A/ I have been very privileged and cushioned growing up. But it was important for me to live on my own and kind of make my own decisions and see what I am like as a person. When I am sad, I usually go to my mom’s room and she fixes it for me. But I need to be more self-reliant, I need to figure things out myself. I think I was having a quarter-life crisis.

chandu-champion-ushers-in-a-mature-kartik-aaryan-one-who-is-ready-to-shoulder-the-weight-of-an-emotional-meaty-narrative

Sat Jun 22 15:24:57 IST 2024

An Indian soldier, who took nine bullets in the 1965 war and lost both his legs, went on to win his country its first ever medal at the Paralympics in Heidelberg, Germany, in 1972.

Murlikant Petkar was awarded the Padma Shri in 2018, but not many people outside the Indian Army knew of him. Chandu Champion, starring Kartik Aaryan, tells his story buried in the dusty pages of history. Its director, Kabir Khan, could hardly believe a man of this grit and calibre could even exist. “It was shameful that we as a nation did not know of this man who had done us so proud early on after independence,” said Khan. “I drove to his residence in Pune to see him in flesh and blood. I was convinced that his story had to be told.”

Khan had directed 83, the story of Kapil Dev’s cricketing glory, but the soldier story posed a different challenge. Unlike with the Indian captain, there was no real video record of Petkar’s past. Khan gave Aaryan notes of his meeting with Petkar, and the actor transformed himself. So poignant is Aaryan’s depiction that our lasting memory of the unsung Petkar is the actor himself. He, in fact, met Petkar only after the shoot was done.

Aaryan dives into the role literally―swimming in cold, deep waters―and figuratively, and breaks free from his own image as a romantic, comical, lovelorn guy. In Chandu Champion, there is no trace of the funnily chaotic Rooh Baba (Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2), the aimless lover boy Sattu (Satyaprem Ki Katha) or the goofy and childish Bantu Nanda (Shehzada).

Chandu Champion ushers in a mature Aaryan, one who is no longer reliant on monologues or his toothy grin, but is ready to shoulder the weight of an emotional, meaty narrative. It is his first biopic.

The film has reportedly had a slow start, and a reason for that, Khan said in an interview, was that fans are still coming around to this new Aaryan. The actor agreed. “This film is a sort of shifting of gears for me,” he said. “The most difficult aspect in the making of this film was to deconstruct ‘Kartik’ because people have a certain reference point of me, and I did not want them to see me in the film. I think the breakaway from my chocolate boy image is happening on its own. I think my audience is excited with this newness in me.”

I met Aaryan at producer Sajid Nadiadwala’s office in Mumbai. He was dressed formally, with a sand-brown suede jacket over a lemon-yellow T-shirt and blue trousers. His sharp jawline and gelled hair were complemented by his perky energy. “It (the film) has taken a lot from me both mentally and physically,” he said. “I really do hope people embrace it with love.”

Despite the flops over the years, Aaryan has now reached a point where he is the ‘Rs50 crore per film’ star. He laughed this off―he uses humour as an armour against tougher questions―and cheekily added, “But my expenses, too, have risen.”

“I think I have come to a point in my journey where I just want to enjoy and work with people I enjoy working with,” he said. “Thankfully, I am now at a point where I can make a choice. A couple of years back, I did not even have the liberty to choose the work I wanted. With all the failures and controversies I have been through so far, I hope I have seen the worst. But I am really proud of the fact that I could reach where I am today, with no help at all.”

There is something delightfully no-nonsense about him. In the past 13 years, he has been in 17 films, some of them creating ripples in the mainstream. It is tempting to compare Aaryan’s journey as an outsider from Gwalior to Shah Rukh Khan’s journey from Delhi. “Yes, I feel my journey comes quite close to his but, then again, my path is my own. Whenever you think you have arrived, your departure flight is just about to take off,” said the 33-year-old son of a doctor couple, who live with him in Mumbai.

Scalded by several “controversies” early on, Aaryan is now afraid he might say the wrong thing. He even refused to say which recent movie he thought should have come to him. He has had to stick up for himself to stay put. And for that he needs attitude, which he has in spades. Despite his alleged fallout with Bollywood’s big daddy Karan Johar during the filming of Dostana 2 three years ago, and the never-ending rumours about his co-stars and his love life, Aaryan is now more self-assured than ever.

But now that he has done a more serious role, how would he balance commercial and more cerebral cinema? “I am greedy for scripts, not money,” he said. “I want to do different things and prove that I can shoulder them well. For instance, had they made La La Land in India, I would have loved to do something like that.”

how-stories-from-the-panchatantra-which-recently-got-unesco-recognition-became-timeless-tales-with-universal-appeal

Sat Jun 15 11:39:42 IST 2024

Stories know no bounds. Throw the rules governing time and space at them, and they would probably guffaw in unison.

While traces of knowledge exchange between continents remain debatable, striking parallels found in Indian and Greek epics stun readers to this date. One such significant export of knowledge from the Indian subcontinent remains that of the Panchatantra tales, which has been translated from Sanskrit to Middle Persian or Pahlavi, Arabic, other eastern and western languages over the years.

The Panchatantra’s time- and space-travelling ability was the running theme of the exhibition titled ‘From Kalila wa-Dimna to La Fontaine: Travelling through Fables’at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Open since March, the exhibition traces the journey of the animal fables from their ancient Indian origins to their Arabic avatar―Kalila wa-Dimna―and the French version―Jean de La Fontaine’s Fables.

Moreover, this May, the Panchatantra―reportedly written between 200 BCE and 300 BCE by Vishnu Sharma―got UNESCO recognition. The Panchatantra, Ramcharitmanas and Sahrdayaloka-Locana were included in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Register.

Author and literary translator Rohini Chowdhury, who translated the original text to English in 2017, says the Panchatantra is not just a work for children. “It is, rather, a masterly treatise on politics and government and a manual for conducting our daily lives with wisdom and common sense,” she says. “It was devised to educate the three foolish sons of a king in the ways of the world. Where traditional methods had failed with the princes, the fables of the Panchatantra succeeded―by teaching them practical wisdom, and by awakening in them a curiosity about the world. Much of the wisdom contained in the Panchatantra is relevant today. The stories resonate with people of all ages, at different levels, in different ways, everywhere.” The translation was published by Puffin Classics, the children’s imprint of Penguin Books.

According to Chowdhury, there are more than 200 versions of the Panchatantra across the world, in more than 50 languages. While translating the text, her intent was to correct the belief that the Panchatantra stories are meant for children and to keep its story-within-a-story structure intact. So it took two decades for her to finish the translation.

Chowdhury shares that the Panchatantra was first translated into Pahlavi by Barzoi in the sixth century BCE. This translation became the source for the first Syriac translation of the Panchatantra in 570 CE. Some two centuries later, Barzoi’s Pahlavi version was translated into Arabic―Kalila wa-Dimna―by Abdullah Ibn-al-Muqaffa. Extremely popular, this translation gave birth to more translations, including a later Syriac version (c. 1000), another Persian version (c.1130), Hebrew (c. 1250), eastern Turkish and Greek (between the 11th and the 13th centuries), Latin (1480), German (1483), and Italian (1563) versions. The work thus became well known in both Muslim and Christian literature. In Europe, it became known as the Fables of Bidpai, and its influence can be seen in Arabian Nights, as well as in the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. The stories also travelled to Indonesia in both oral and written forms.

One would think the animal fables would be a tad travel-weary by now. Not really. Sohini Mitra, publisher, children and young-adult, Penguin Random House, says that the Panchatantra stories always sell as parents find it “useful and important”to transmit that magic of ancient wisdom and life lessons to the younger generation. “The illustrated editions of Panchatantra are popular, especially for gifting, and these are also sold as bedtime stories,”she says.

Mitra says that retellings of the classic are popular among younger readers who may not have the attention span to read the original longer piece of work with its frame stories. “We have published our translation from the original Sanskrit text, maintaining the structural integrity and form,” she says. “We wanted this to be the go-to edition for literature lovers who seek to read the work in its original form with the context in place.”She calls the text “complex and multi-layered, much like life itself, and full of practical wisdom that also sparks curiosity among the youth―the reason for its enduring appeal”.

The reason why the Panchatantra remains a timeless classic is the fact that the universal animal stories teach basic acts of kindness and morals relevant for every generation. They do so by giving voice to the voiceless, agency to the ‘othered’ beings, using them as subjects to impart important life lessons. One such story is that of a flight of pigeons trapped in a net, flying together to lift it and escape. It teaches one that there is strength in unity.

Reena I. Puri, editor-in-chief, Amar Chitra Katha, does not fear the essence of the ancient fables being lost in translation; rather, it adds more value to the text, she says. “The Ramayan has various versions, yet the original text remains the most popular. So, stories are never lost,” she says.

In India, the Panchatantra stories are extremely popular in regional languages, adds Puri. “They sell really well in Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra,” she says. “We publish in local languages based on demand.”

Puri also says that the way the Panchatantra stories are written have undergone changes with each passing decade and author. “The language is more contemporary today in order to resonate with today’s generation,” she explains. “Each author brings her own perspective and style.”

Keeping up with technological advancements, Amar Chitra Katha has also moved the Panchatantra stories to their digital platforms, and the animated versions remain popular.

beyond-the-hype-book-by-fiona-fox-review

Sat Jun 15 11:33:17 IST 2024

Science knows the truth, but cannot tell it convincingly. The media knows half a truth, although it would like to pretend it knows it all. Along come the activists. They may not know the truth, but they speak persuasively and scarily, and for them that’s half the battle won.

Where amid all this do the patients and the public stand―fearful, suspicious and wondering who to ask? Well, Beyond The Hype: Inside Science’s Biggest Media Scandals From Climategate to Covid tries to provide some of the answers. Author Fiona Fox comes with impressive credentials. She has reported extensively on science for the international media, has been honoured with an Order of the British Empire, and most relevantly, has founded the Science Media Centre in the UK―a unique Y-shaped bridge between scientists and journalists, with members of the public standing at the end of the vertical.

Beyond the Hype lifts the lid on cases where overheated rhetoric alarms the uninformed. The cases range from the scare induced by genetically modified food, the ethical controversies kicked off by research on animals, and by extremists on both sides of the climate change debate. Although we can sense where Fox’s sympathies lie, she is a self-appointed third umpire and plays that role with forensic care. All claims come backed by evidence and quotes are duly acknowledged.

No book about science and communications would be complete without a mention of Covid-19―as fertile a field as any for controversies to flourish. The author had finished the manuscript before Covid struck and subsequently made amends before publication. Unfortunately, the virus and its vaccine move faster than the publishing world. Recent press reports said that manufacturers have admitted that their vaccines could cause blood clots in rare cases. This does not find mention in the book, of course (the reports came in just a month ago), but there is plenty else that is covered, and much of it is riveting stuff.

The book should be of interest to many. We may not all belong to the medical profession, but we all want to know what is coming to us under the label of medicine. Also, since many of us cannot help pronounce big pharma guilty until proven otherwise, the book provides evidence to offset bias. It is in cases where Fox tackles social issues (rather than purely medical matters) that it turns a tad parochial. She devotes 20 pages to the catastrophic consequences of a sexist joke cracked by a scientist (and Nobel Prize winner to boot). But few in India have heard of the controversy or the original joke that got the good doctor into hot water.

There is many a slip between ivory tower research and the sick bed. And more slips between research and what appears in the newspapers. Fox’s comments about them are balanced and spoken in a mature tone. Best of all, she stops short of making up our mind for us. I vote that we do that for ourselves.

Eons ago, a wise man had asked what is truth, and did not wait for an answer. We cannot walk away, unfortunately. It is our lives and the lives of our families that are on the line. If we must wait longer to find the truth, we gladly will. And while we are at it, Beyond the Hype should help.

BEYOND THE HYPE: INSIDE SCIENCE’S BIGGEST MEDIA SCANDALS FROM CLIMATEGATE TO COVID

Author: Fiona Fox

Publisher: Elliott & Thompson

Price Rs399; pages 309

f-n-souza-the-archetypal-artist-essays-collection-review

Sat Jun 15 14:09:04 IST 2024

Janeita Singh's The Archetypal Artist opens with a subtle warning, urging the reader to be prepared for a high-voltage zone. It is the unconventional realm of renowned modernist painter―Francis Newton Souza. We stumble into an alternative universe of liberated women and men thriving in a world stripped of its hypocrisy and norms.

Armed with over 130 images of Souza's artworks, Singh's 21 essays unravel the mystique that Souza was. Singh delves deep into Souza's works, which she believes are mined from his soul. Singh analyses how they reflect the human psyche. As we delve around Singh's feminist reading of Souza, it is imperative to understand how mammoth a figure he remains in the art world.

In 1947, just months after a new India was born, a radical change shook the country's art scene. Six diverse artists from different parts of the country formed a collective―the Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group―seeking to reject the nationalist Bengal School of Art (a movement dominated by Indian imagery). They embraced the west and its techniques, but with influences from traditional Indian art. So they were immediately ostracised. But the progressive movement thrived, redefining Indian modern art. Souza's role in ushering in the Indian avant-garde with his visceral and provocative works was monumental. But Souza’s works, which were dominated by Catholic elements (from his Goan upbringing), nudity, and grotesque figurines, also made him an outcast in India. So much so that, Souza left India for Britain in 1949, after he faced obscenity charges for a seven-foot-tall nude self-portrait.

Souza, whom M.F. Husain called his mentor, remained shrouded in relative obscurity in his birth country for a long time. However, as the art sphere began to view modernism beyond the borders of the west, there was a renewed interest in modernist painters like Souza. In March this year, on his 100th birth anniversary, Souza's iconic work―The Lovers' (1960)―was sold for a record-breaking Rs40 crore at Christie's New York.

Singh's research offers an assessment of Souza's work, predominantly his representation of women and their sexuality. An academician-turned-art-critic, Singh preps the reader for the ride. “The book will help the readers embark on a quest to understand the human body and sexuality, and the power vested therein―a subject of stigma for centuries due to incessant friction with our social and spiritual values,” she says.

Singh perfectly anchors her analysis on Souza's standing as a feminist icon who, in liberating women sexually, liberated himself. His art rallied against the collective conscience, mocking the morals of civilised society. Souza did it in many ways―by blurring the lines between the virtuous and sinful ones, and by exploring the human psyche and the beast within us.

Souza took inspiration from Indian classical temple art to bring back the grotesque, a form of primitive art, to modernism. His work―US Senator on Time Cover (1962)―invokes horror while mocking authority, while Nude Queen (1962) illustrates an unconventional nude woman. His Prakriti Yoni (1984) leaves a similar impression.

The brilliance of Singh's essays is that they let us slowly soak in the multiple layers of Souza's art. And the result: we confront everything we sought to repress for the fear of social shame and stigma.

F.N. SOUZA: THE ARCHETYPAL ARTIST

By Janeita Singh

Published by Niyogi Books

Price: Rs4,500; pages: 320

four-kashmiri-fashion-labels-that-want-to-put-the-troubled-region-on-the-international-style-map

Sat Jun 08 11:26:44 IST 2024

There is always so much talk in fashion about the great strides Indian designers have made―both in India as well as internationally. Stalwarts such as Tarun Tahiliani have launched highly profitable joint ventures with Indian corporates, masters like Sabyasachi are reaching a milestone after another financially, and young guns such as Dhruv Kapoor and Rahul Mishra have taken over Milan Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week by storm.

It makes one wonder about how much talent must the rest of the country, those outside our megapolises or even in more far-flung politically troubled areas, possess. Like Kashmir, the land of immense beauty that has inspired everyone, from ancient Greeks to Sufi saints to even Bollywood.

“Kashmir is called the Valley of the Sufis. We are highly spiritual people,” says Tariq Dar, “Craft for us is akin to spirituality.” Dar, 46, and his label Pashmkaar, is one of the valley’s upcoming fashion labels that aims at selling across India and internationally as well. “I come from an artisan family. My father was 12 years old when his father died, and he was forced to be the breadwinner. His first salary for making an embroidered shawl was 25 paise,” Dar recounts. “But before getting married, he decided he would sell his shawls himself, instead of working for others. He started a small unit of his own. I was thus born into colour and embroidery, into craft and culture.”

Dar founded his label in 2011, taking the name from its Persian origins (‘Pashm’ means the finest silk in Persian, and ‘kaar’ means ‘work’). Pashmkaar makes the finest embroidered shawls out of Kashmir, but also saris in pashmina, pherans (the traditional tunics of the state) in velvet, silk and wool that Dar says even clients in New York are crazy about, and jackets in aari work. “Our aari, sozni and tilla work are the finest. We are expensive, but the masters of the craft,” he reasons.

What is it like living and working out of Kashmir? “Operationally it is very difficult,” says Aadil Masood, 35, who launched his label Cilwana in 2018. “It is very tough to run a successful business here. Political issues have slowed us down. Our work culture is also not as efficient as New Delhi’s,” he explains. What Aadil and his designer wife Nusaiba, 33, decided to do was keep the craft as local as possible instead. “We have kaarkhanas (workshops) in many Indian cities,” he says, “For example, we do our chikankari in Lucknow, our embroidery in Bareilly, and our jootis (Indian mules) come from Punjab. This way we use the best artisans from across India. We used to have a factory here that employed 80-100 people, but this is a better model as it respects the workmanship of local artisans. There are no shortcuts.”

Masood and his wife had a corporate existence in Dubai―he worked for Nestle and she for Citibank―before they moved back to Srinagar. “My father was being treated in a New Delhi hospital and we had moved there temporarily. Nusaiba did a fashion designing course at the Pearl Academy. We launched an online brand and were sold out immediately,” he recalls. Masood says his model of sourcing locally instead of buying from wholesale has held him in good stead.

Tul Palav is one the most beautiful bridal labels in India, and yet one that is relatively unknown to much of the country. It was founded by Iqra Malik, 32, nine years ago, a long-cherished dream of being in fashion as a young child. “There were no fashion schools in Kashmir at all, maybe a couple of courses, but nothing that gave you a degree,” she says, “I had to pursue the arts stream. But after my master’s, I was interning at Red Cross when I realised I couldn’t stay away from design any longer. I didn’t know much, but I came up with the name ‘Tul Palav’. It’s a very common Kashmiri proverb “Tul Palav, Vat Salav”, which means pick up your clothes and get going.

The Kashmiri populace connected with the name immediately. Moreover, Iqra was known as always being well-dressed among her friends. “I launched Tul Palav on Instagram with just 20 items. Within 30 minutes all of them were sold out,” she adds.

Iqra married Rameez Malik, a software engineer from Chicago and moved to the US. “But I couldn’t run my label long-distance. Eventually both of us moved back. He now works with Tul Palav, he handles marketing and the business end of the label. This was, of course, so controversial in Kashmir,” she laughs.

Tul Palav is a “proudly Kashmiri brand”, Iqra says. “Our embroidery is purely Kashmiri. We will bring in elements of Afghan or Lucknowi work, but the soul of Kashmir is evident in everything we do.” Tul Palav’s pherans are highly regarded bridal pieces for Kashmiri women, as every local bride has a pheran in her trousseau. Soni Razdan and Kiran Rao have also shopped at her Srinagar store.

Who knew Kashmiri jewellery used to be a highly coveted item? “All this political upheaval has really taken a toll on Kashmiri arts. Some have survived, like shawls, papier mache and walnut wood. But jewellery has not, we just could not compete with Jaipur,” says Nane Mohammed Mubashir Kathwari, 51, of Corals Gems and Jewels.

Kathwari specialises in Kashmiri hand-crafted silver jewellery and gemstones, with one of his two Srinagar stores in an ancient 150-year-old house, Bait ul Meeras. The Kashmiri chinar, or maple leaf, is a recurring motif in his jewellery as well as cases for combs, watches, spectacles, trinkets and the like. Corals mostly sells contemporary jewellery as Kathwari says, “Limited people like traditional jewellery. Only tourists like traditional jewellery.”

The beautiful Shazia Bashir, 42, moved to Srinagar from New Delhi just a few years back and is blown away by the fabric, colours and crafts of Kashmiri fashion. “Everything is fully handcrafted. But there’s also a mysticism to their work. The shawl makers and embroiderers sing hymns and chat while they work, so a pheran is not just a pheran, it’s a prayer,” she says. Bashir now hosts pop-ups in Srinagar and in New Delhi allowing for a design exchange.

Kashmiri labels are finding ways to reach the world. Tul Palav has 96,000 followers on Instagram, and has begun to participate in exhibitions in New Delhi and Dubai. They are opening a men’s store next month and expanding their bridal store, too. Pashmkaar has 78,000 followers on Instagram, but Dar takes his shawls everywhere from the US to the UK (he has returned from a pop-up at London’s chic Browns hotel). Cilwana has three stores in Srinagar―including one at the airport―and are soon launching their own store in Dubai. They have participated in over 30 exhibitions. Corals works via word of mouth, as Mubashirbhai says he is a one-man show. But Rekha Bharadwaj is a fan as is Kiran Rao. He loaned some jewellery for Bharadwaj’s filmmaker husband Vishal Bharadwaj’s Haider, shot here, a few years ago. He has also showcased at handloom legend Laila Tyabji’s Dastkaar in New Delhi, and with Radhi Parekh, at Artisan’s Centre in Mumabi’s Kala Ghoda.

Kashmiris are the soul of each label here. “Everyone all over has heard of pashmina, but until I had shown them the real deal, they had no idea how extraordinary it actually was. So many brands sold shawls as pashmina, but they were cheap imitations. I wanted to give the world a genuine pashmina brand that would be recognisable internationally. I want to preserve Kashmiri craft and bring dignity to the craftsman. There are 12 steps to making a pashmina, so one shawl gives employment to 12 people,” Dar says.

Iqra agrees. “Things were different for women in fashion, families would not allow them to get into designing thinking the girls would become runway models, as if that was a bad thing,” she laughs. “Earlier we had few Kashmiri women working for us, now there are more. Women have been stitching for years. It is time they take ownership of their skills and become entrepreneurs.”

for-heeramandi-male-lead-taha-shah-road-to-success-was-paved-with-flops

Sat Jun 08 11:15:40 IST 2024

Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali knows everything about our hunger for something larger than ourselves. Humdrum ordinariness is what we are stuck with, while grandeur is what we are made for. Bhansali recreates in reel the reality we are striving for―in the form of grand sets, extravagant costumes, larger-than-life characters, and passionate romance. In this game of thrones, he can turn a pawn into a king, and a striving actor into a royal nawab. And that is exactly what he did for Taha Shah, who once danced behind Katrina Kaif in the film Baar Baar Dekho (2016). From there to being the male lead in a Bhansali project―Heeramandi (which dropped on Netflix on May 1)―Shah has come a long and winding way. Heeramandi has been a new lease of life for him. “When you find success after 15 years in the industry, you know its value,” says Shah, who portrays the nawab Tajdar in the series. And since its release, fame has left its calling card with the actor. He has even been dubbed the ‘national crush of India’ on social media. “It feels a little awkward, but I am overwhelmed by the response,” he says.

Shah had debuted in 2011 with Shraddha Kapoor in the romantic comedy Luv Ka the End. He signed on as it was produced by Y-films, a subsidiary of Yash Raj Films. Although his role was appreciated, the film did not do well. Around the same time, the production company had launched another new face in Band Baaja Baaraat (2010)―Ranveer Singh―who went on to become a star. “Ranveer did an amazing job in the film,” says Shah. “Also, the target audience was much larger. The film's hyper-localisation [with its Delhi slang and locations] changed the way films were being made.”

He recalls running behind Karan Johar’s car once for an audition. “He saw me, stopped the car and offered some water. He called me the next day to audition for the film Gippi (2013) by Dharma Productions. That’s how I got the role,” he says. Gippi, too, did not make his career. This was followed by a string of flops, like Barkhaa (2015), Baar Baar Dekho (2016) and Ranchi Diaries (2017).

All these years while Shah was still finding his feet in the industry, his mother was his constant support, both financially and emotionally. She would often reassure him that he would become a big actor one day, even when his brother advised him to quit acting. “She just wanted me to work hard and not give up,” says Shah. “Now she calls people and tells them about me. I find her secretly searching for articles on me on her phone. I am glad I could bring a smile to her face.”

But good things will always come to those who wait. And to those who chase filmmakers out of hotels, as Shah did with Bhansali around 10 years ago. Although he could not speak to him then, he managed to land a small role in Heeramandi. That's when Bhansali told him, “You've done a lot of work, yet no one knows you.” Around three weeks later, he got a call from the filmmaker's office, informing him that he had been selected for the role of the male lead. Shah was ecstatic. “He (Bhansali) said he saw something in my eyes,” he says.

Shah says that Bhansali is very particular about the way dialogues are delivered and about how an actor captures a character’s mannerisms. “The advantage for me was that I was well-versed with Urdu, because I have been reading it for a long time. So I was familiar with the accent.” The series, entirely shot in Urdu, has brought the language back to the Indian big screen after a long time. “He (Bhansali) wanted Tajdar to be reserved, but also someone who stands up for [his values],” says Shah. “As I spent more time with him, I realised that Mr Bhansali is Tajdar. He was a mix of Devdas and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’s Salman Khan. He taught me Tajdar’s gestures and eye movements.”

Now that the actor has proved his mettle, he feels people’s attitude towards him has changed. He was once written off by the industry and second-guessed himself. “It feels like a rebirth to me,” he says. “Anyone who makes a mark is praised. Earlier my performance might not have been up to the mark, but I have gotten this platform through Netflix and Mr Bhansali. I don’t have any complaints.”

In the last few years, unconventional actors from outside the industry have shone on the big screen, be it Vikrant Massey, Kartik Aaryan, Ayushmann Khurrana or Rajkummar Rao, and more recently, the entire cast of Laapataa Ladies (2024). Filmmaker Payal Kapadia winning the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, too, has reiterated the fact that both independent filmmakers and new actors deserve a platform to showcase their work. Shah seconds this. All superstars in the industry have always been outsiders, he says. He also feels aspiring actors from non-film backgrounds get fewer chances to prove themselves. “But that’s how the industry functions,” he says. “Any businessman would like to hand over their business to their own family members and not to outsiders because they are more talented.”

The actor was recently at the 77th Cannes Film Festival to network with veterans from the entertainment industries of other countries. He also launched the poster of his upcoming film, Paro. “I met around 400 to 500 people from different countries,” he says. “It would help me improve my business acumen and expand my connections if someday I plan to produce a film. People from Spain, Italy, Australia, Pakistan and Norway recognised me as Tajdar. It was an extremely positive experience.”

Next, he would love to be a part of romantic films and films based on the armed forces. Until then, he will soldier on, buoyed by his hard-won success.

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influential-pelosi

Sat Aug 31 18:00:36 IST 2024

hasina-appeared-sincere

Sat Aug 24 12:24:59 IST 2024

us-presidential-elections-kamala-harris-donald-trump

Sat Oct 26 15:54:01 IST 2024

Washington, DC, Iowa and Minneapolis

As one drives along the 169-mile-long St Croix river, a tributary of the Mississippi that connects Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz’s home city Minneapolis to the politically fractious swing state of Wisconsin, the motifs announcing support for Kamala Harris are gradually outnumbered by billboards of Donald Trump, illustrating the hard combat the Democrats face in the November 5 election, despite their slender, yet persistent lead in opinion polls.

Economy and border security remain pressing concerns for voters, animated as many of them are with Trump’s nationalist rhetoric relayed in his big rallies and raucous television bytes. According to Trump, the people’s economic hardships, especially the skyrocketing food prices, are a fallout of, among other factors, unwarranted spending on immigrants’ settlements. He has attempted to seize people’s economic frustrations and optimise human tragedies brought about by Hurricane Milton to lend a coat of credibility to his portrayal of the American society beset by “fleeing jobs” and “criminals pouring in” from outside the borders.

“They [Democrats] stole the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) money, just like they stole it from a bank, so they could give it to their illegal immigrants...,” Trump told a public meeting in Michigan on October 10. Congress allocated $650 million in the 2024 fiscal year to fund a programme that helps state and local governments house migrants, but there is no data to support Trump’s charges that FEMA disaster assistance money was diverted to house immigrants.

There is no dearth of voters who approve of Trump’s everyday vilification of illegal immigrants. “Where is all the money going?” asked Steve, a 30-something from Iowa. He questioned the Biden administration’s spending on immigrants, alleging that “criminals from Venezuela are infiltrating the US”. He said he was dissatisfied with Biden’s handling of the economy, and would vote for either Trump or a third party candidate, but “not Democrats”.

In terms of numbers, Biden’s record on the economy is not dismal. For the last two years, the unemployment rate has been under 4 per cent, a record in the past five decades. But public perception has been scathing in the face of soaring food prices.

Harris, the first woman of colour to win the presidential nomination of a major party, has pioneered a vision pivoted on what she describes as an “opportunity economy”. She has promised to pursue many of Biden’s stated objectives and public policies, such as providing tax credits to middle-class and lower-income families and lowering drug costs.

Harris is limning her image as a leader who battled economic odds to rise to prominence. In the presidential debate with Trump on September 10, she said: “I grew up a middle-class kid. I was raised by a hardworking mother, who like so many people across our nation, had big dreams and aspirations for her children…. I believe when the middle class is strong, America is strong.” She has promised a tax break for more than 100 million Americans.

Audrey, a storekeeper at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, is an enthusiastic Harris supporter. “Trump has never gone to a departmental store to buy essentials. He can’t relate to our livelihood issues. He is a business guy,” she said. Visibly apprehensive that “another Trump presidency could perfect his ‘otherisation’ of the African-Americans”, the community to which she belongs, Audrey said she would make sure that Democrats in her neighbourhood would vote on November 5.

A firefighter from Washington, DC, who wanted to remain anonymous, echoed Audrey’s revulsion at Trump’s anti-immigrant messages. “It hurts people, and it’s dangerous. But the best way to extinguish people’s negative rhetoric is to ignore, and not let these negative emotions circulate in the election season,” he said. During the presidential debate on September 10, Trump said of Haitian immigrants: “In Springfield, they are eating the dogs. The people that came in, they are eating the cats.”

However, the impassioned exhortations building a case for Harris may be limited to the ‘Never Trump’ constituency rather than representing the sentiment of undecided voters. She faces several impediments that make the race arduous for her.

One of them is the vexing debate on how people perceive leadership. Trump has perfected an idea of leadership that initially seized on people’s economic frustrations and attracted them with quick-fix solutions, but later focused on waging a full-scale harassment campaign against immigrants and political opponents, while portraying political opponents to be in collusion with the “outsider”. This allowed him a conducive pitch to roll out, pursue and strengthen his commitment to placing the social and political interests of the majority on top, the white Americans to be precise. In a frenzied environment where politicisation of national security issues outweighs other issues including the question of survival of democracy, culminating in an animating personality cult, the idea of a woman in charge may not click with lower-income groups without a college degree, who are the zealous flag-bearers for Trump.

Jake Vincent from New York admits that there is an undercurrent of misogyny, which, along with the blighted economy and fear-mongering on border security, is the reason why Trumpism continues to resonate at a time when Trump’s felony conviction should have rendered him unfit to run in the court of public opinion. He describes the US as a “business enterprise” and argues that “Trump, despite his many flaws of character, is an efficient businessman. He is the best bet for the US at a time when many people are losing faith in its success story.” Vincent had been an operational trainee course instructor in the US Navy in California. He jeers at the thought of a Harris presidency. “She showed no character as vice president; she will be a rubber stamp to the military-industrial complex which runs this country,” he said.

Worryingly for Harris, Vincent’s views are upheld by an increasing number of male black voters under 50. Trump registered an uptick in approval, at 21 per cent, among young black men, according to a recent study by Howard University. Even Muslim immigrants like Zain, a taxi-driver from Pakistan this reporter spoke to at New York’s 5th Avenue, said Trump evoked more confidence because “he speaks of America first, and he can do something for the lower income groups”.

Trump talks of creating an environment to “steal” manufacturing jobs that have moved overseas. To this end, he has pledged to lower the corporate tax rate from 21 per cent to 15 per cent for “those who make their product in the USA”.

Despite Harris underlining the urgency to safeguard democracy from Trump’s authoritarian ways, there is apprehension that the anger against inflation might affect her campaign. A recent research from Empower, a financial planning enterprise, outlined: “Some 78 per cent [Americans] are using more of their budget on essential items, and 27 per cent have hit a pricing limit, and aren’t willing to pay anything more for many grocery staples, or will cut the items from their shopping lists.”

Trump is exploiting that faultline by circulating a notion that Harris plans to tilt the US to the left. “Kamala went full communist… she wants to destroy our country,” he said at a public meeting in Wilkes-Barre township in Pennsylvania in August. He has since repeated the charges, often deriding her opponent as “comrade Kamala”.

Harris’s campaign managers have clarified that she has moved away from several of her left-leaning stances from her 2020 presidential run, such as her interest in a single-payer health insurance system and a ban on fracking.

Israel’s intensifying conflict with Gaza could also be a problem for Harris as it alienates Arab Americans. The Biden presidency’s steadfast support for Israel despite the mounting civilian casualty in Gaza has disillusioned the Muslim populace. On September 19, the Uncommitted National Movement announced that it will not endorse Kamala Harris for president, as she did not oblige the movement’s request that she discuss a ceasefire in Gaza. Kaitlan Collins, a renowned broadcast journalist, told this reporter that “though Harris expresses concerns about Gaza, people know her policies are the same as Biden’s. They don’t want to hear the argument that she is better than Trump.” Collins is afraid that Harris might lose Michigan if Arab-origin voters decide to sit at home.

That would complicate her path to the presidency. Pennsylvania is another decisive swing state. In 2020, Biden won it by a mere 80,000 votes, despite his extensive childhood connection to the state. If Trump reclaims Pennsylvania, Harris will have to depend on North Carolina and Georgia, which are right-leaning.

Trump has prioritised Pennsylvania and Georgia. And he is spending $17 million in North Carolina. According to a Wall Street Journal opinion poll released on October 11, Harris and Trump are neck and neck in the seven battleground states. The poll showed Harris with marginal 2 per cent leads in Arizona, Georgia and Michigan, while Trump was up by six points in Nevada and one in Pennsylvania. The two are tied in North Carolina and Wisconsin.

However, Trump’s anti-abortion stand has allowed Harris to aim at building a coalition of women voters. In 2022, three supreme court justices whom Trump nominated during his presidency were part of a majority that overturned Roe v. Wade, the ruling that had protected abortion rights nationally for nearly half a century. The new decision allows individual states to restrict or permit abortions as they see fit. Harris has pledged that she would support the Congress to pass a federal law protecting abortion rights.

David Schultz, a distinguished professor at Hamline University in Minnesota, said economy, immigration and abortion are the three big issues that people in the US would use to decide their vote. He emphasised that “not everyone ranks them in that order”. But if they did, it would not be easy to write an epitaph on Trumpism.

author-and-donald-trumps-nephew-fred-c-trump-iii-interview

Sat Oct 05 15:03:53 IST 2024

Interview/ Fred C. Trump III, author and Donald Trump’s nephew

In his book, All in the Family, Fred C. Trump III, reminisces about the night when Donald Trump decided to run for president for the first time. It was the 2011 annual White House correspondents’ dinner and president Barack Obama, who was clearly miffed about Trump’s repeated questions about his place of birth and his eligibility to be president, was in the mood to take him down. As Obama brutally trolled Trump, the room erupted with laughter. But Fred remembers that it made his uncle really angry. “That is what made him run for president. I could feel it in my bones,” writes Fred. “Obama just made a big, badass mistake.” In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Fred says Obama woke up the sleeping giant that night. As Trump continues to dominate American politics, taking over the Republican Party and running for a third time to become president, Fred says he plans to vote for Kamala Harris and gives his reasons. Edited excerpts from the interview:

In your book, you have written about one of the most shocking exchanges you had with your uncle, Donald Trump, which involves your son, William. Trump told you that you should just let William, who suffers from a major disability, die. But he also supported you financially for taking care of William.

Yeah, it's a more complicated story than that. When William was born in 1999, a day after we buried my grandfather, he started having intense seizures, hundreds of seizures a day. He was at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, literally walking distance from either of my aunts or uncles at the time, Trump included. No one came to visit William. William subsequently went to two other hospitals for a total of seven weeks before he finally came home on very intense seizure medications. About a week after that, I received a letter from Trump’s attorney saying that my sister Mary and I were taken out of my grandfather's will. My grandfather's original will had cut it into five portions for his five children. My father unfortunately passed away in 1981. Trump was in very bad financial situation back then. His companies were bankrupt. It was so embarrassing to him that he was put on an allowance by the banks. So, he hatched this scheme to take Mary and me out of my grandfather's will. When this all was happening, my grandfather had dementia. So, Trump took advantage of his father at that time. We settled the case a year or so after. I don't want to make this a William story, although he has given me the opportunity to advocate on behalf of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. William's wheelchair bound. He's 25 years old now. He needs assistance with everything he does, but he is the most courageous and inspirational person I know.

[Trump has] no empathy. He doesn't want to be seen around people like my son, who are disabled, or members of the military who have been injured or killed. He feels he is above all else. And those who don't measure up to his standards are deemed losers, somebody he just does not care about or want anything to do with.... That is why I am voting for and will campaign for Kamala Harris. I have already been on several Zoom calls with a group, Disabled Americans for Harris. If you look at Project 2025 (a controversial, 900-page policy wish-list for the next Republican president), the disabled community and the minority communities will be pushed aside. [In Kamala, you will have] the first black woman president, the first president of Indian heritage, and that's great. And it drives him absolutely nuts that is who he is running against. She is terrific. I understand the enthusiasm for Kamala, and that is why I am supporting her.

This must be one of the craziest elections in the history of the United States. A sitting president got replaced on the ticket by his vice president, who did not win even a single primary. There were two assassination attempts against Trump, and his debate performances have swung between two extremes. And the race looks really tight.

Oh, it is very tight. And the debate [with Harris] was a complete embarrassment for Trump. But debates don't choose presidents. It was Kamala's opportunity to get to know millions of people because she literally has not had that great opportunity being a vice president. We all know the jokes about the vice president in America. She is coming on strong. But this is a very, very close race and it could go down either way.

The Trump campaign appears chaotic, while Harris is running an efficient campaign. She also has a significant fundraising advantage. So, why is the race still a tight one?

Trump has a base that is going nowhere. I don't know why some people really follow him. But he has this incredible ability to make people forget. People forget how the fourth year of Trump's term was, when hundreds of thousands of people were dying because of his negligence on Covid. I watched an interview the other day. Trump was saying inflation and gas prices were the lowest [under him]. It [remained low] because people couldn't go anywhere. People just love to feel good about the things he says. It makes them feel great about themselves. Unfortunately, that's at the expense of other people who he consistently demeans. He calls Kamala stupid. That's the way he operates. People just buy into it. The Harris campaign needs to pick off the margins, the independent voters.

Will Trump concede if he loses narrowly in November? We all remember the Capitol riots of January 6, 2021.

He will not give in. Already, local election boards in certain states are saying that if Trump loses, they are not going to certify the election. And it will be another round of the judicial process. It went the right way in 2020. It's going to be bad [this time]. I hope no violence occurs because there's no place—I say this after the attempted assassination attempts against Trump—for violence in our country. It will be easier in the future if there's no MAGA (Make America Great Again) wing of the Republican Party.

How do you look at the future of the Republican Party?

The Republican Party has to wash itself off this very venal wing (MAGA) that has formed over the past eight years. I hate MAGA because it insinuates that this country isn't great. This is a great country. We have our faults. There is no doubt about it. But that's why a potential future president Kamala Harris will help work on those, as did Joe Biden, who deserves kudos for the work he did.

How would you assess Biden’s record as president?

Biden was coming in through the turmoil of those months after the 2020 election. [The only negative thing I would say about him is that] he gave a pass to the Republican Party and to Trump. He didn't explain why the economy was in such a bad shape. And he's taken the hit for it. Inflation had been way too high. But the reason for that was that the world had shut down. The Biden administration did not explain that well enough. Biden had to heal this country. And he did that. I believe in policy over politics all the time, but there is a political side to everything. Biden underestimated the need to take on the MAGA crew.

What about immigration? The entire immigration policy collapsed during the Biden administration.

A lot of it is messaging. Think of how many jobs Biden has created. But a lot of people feel uneasy about the economy as inflation affects pretty much everybody. But 10 million people had lost their jobs during Covid. They have been rehired, and the economy is technically in good shape. It's just that people are not feeling it. I hope Kamala will be able to give that sense of positivity to what is happening and what will continue to happen under her administration.

Why do you think Trump is fascinated by strongmen like Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un? During the debate, he cited praise from Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, who is also known for his dictatorial style.

Trump has always wanted to be the tough guy. I don't know if he's ever been in a fight in his life. He's been coddled his entire life. We both grew up in Queens, New York, which is kind of a rough place. Believe me, I got into my fair share of scrapes back in the day. But I don't think Trump ever did. His father was a very tough guy. And Trump has always had that in him. It is impossible for Trump to admit mistakes, or that he is weak in any way. So he looks towards people like Putin and Kim Jong-un and Orban. That's what he is, and he's never going to change.

Your book speaks about the Trump family history of dementia. And in one of your interviews, you mentioned that Trump, too, has shown symptoms.

I am not a physician, but I have had two grandparents who had dementia. Trump's first cousin John [Walters] had dementia. I know what it looks like. Trump forgets or misnames people all the time. I have definitely seen a decline in Trump. He just looks tired. But I get it. I am one of the few people alive who knows him from the time he was a young guy. I know how hard he works.... It is starting to affect the way he talks and the way he acts.

You mentioned in your book that there was an incident when Trump used a racial slur after someone damaged the roof of his favourite car. Is he really a racist?

I was there. I remember it exactly. He used the N-word twice, but what's really troubling to me is that he continues to do it. He didn't actually know who slashed the roof of his car. He just assumed it was black people. If you go forward in the book, I tell a story very close to the time of that incident when three young black kids about my age stole my bike. The police called and they found one of the kids that took it. My mom asked Trump to go to the police station with me. He was adamant about having this kid thrown in jail. I can't have a kid my age, 10 years old, thrown in jail for doing something stupid. Unfortunately, Trump wasn't. But then, and I don't know how much you all know about the Central Park Five, but it was a group of young black men who were arrested for allegedly raping a jogger in Central Park. Trump took out a full page ad, I believe it was in the New York Times, basically saying that these guys should die. Sounds familiar? Now, is he a racist? I can't say if he's a racist, but the people he associates with, the neo-Nazis, like this guy Mark Robinson who is running for governor in North Carolina, say terribly racist things. And Trump supports him. In fact, Trump almost created this guy. He will use that for his endgame, which is victory.

Coming back to this election, how do you compare the two vice presidential candidates, J.D. Vance and Tim Walz?

I think Governor Walz is a genuine kind of guy, a Midwestern guy. My mom came from Kalamazoo, Michigan, so I know that area of the world pretty well. J.D. Vance is basically a sycophant. He'll say whatever it takes to please Trump. And look, I know Walz, too, wants to win. But to compare the two, I think it's a real stretch. I could hang out with Governor Walz. With Vance, I'm not so sure. And what Vance is doing right now in Springfield, Ohio, with the Haitian community, is just disgusting. Many of my son William's aides are Haitian Americans. And they are decent, hardworking people who have helped make my son, the young man that he is today. So if Trump or Vance goes to Springfield, Ohio, I'm going to go, too. And I'm going to speak on behalf of that wonderful community who are in this country legally.

If I ask you to give me, say, three positive things about Trump, what would those be?

He taught me how to play golf. He can be charming, there's no doubt about it. I think he genuinely loves his family. So I'll give him that.

I remember reading in your book that you got front row seats for Trump’s inauguration in 2017. You were treated very well. So that kind of a bond still exists between you and Donald Trump.

We went through a very contentious lawsuit in 2000, and he came back to me and we buried the hatchet. I don't know if he'll be able to do the same again. I have my advocacy work. If he becomes president again, it would be hypocritical of me not to reach out to him.

ALL IN THE FAMILY: THE TRUMPS AND HOW WE GOT THIS WAY

By Fred C. Trump III

Published by Simon & Schuster UK

Pages 352; price Rs899

anura-kumara-dissanayake-sri-lanka-marxist-leader-president

Sat Sep 28 11:51:24 IST 2024

Two weeks before the presidential election in Sri Lanka, members of the island nation’s business community gathered at the Monarch Imperial hotel in Colombo to listen to Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who was the surprise frontrunner. The businessmen were probably concerned about a Marxist leader taking over as president. Anura spoke for about an hour, trying to assuage their concerns and explaining his plans for the economy.

As he was leaving, this correspondent tried to ask him a few questions. “We will win,” he said. But he was in no mood to talk further. “Please share your contact number. I will call you.” He kept his word.

A fortnight later, when the votes were counted, Anura won a clear mandate, beating key challengers like Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya and Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party. He was sworn in on September 23.

Sri Lanka’s new generation voters expect Anura to combine his hardline Marxist principles with pragmatic reforms. “The people wanted a change in the political and the economic systems. We want to make that wish a reality,” said Anil Jayantha, a prominent member of Anura’s political coalition. “Our leader has the education, competence, skills and vision. All these years, the people’s mandate was used to serve private interests and the elites. He will use it to uphold public interest.”

Anura leads the National People’s Power (NPP), a coalition of leftist political parties and socialist groups. He also heads the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the leading party in the coalition. Born on November 24, 1968, in Anuradhapura district to a daily-wage worker and a homemaker, Anura was a rebel during his student days. The murder of his first cousin, a JVP member, and the torching of his house after the JVP insurrection in the late 1980s, furthered his resolve to become active in politics. He was appointed to the central working committee of the JVP in 1995, and three years later, he made it to the party’s political bureau. When Chandrika Kumaratunga’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party formed the government in the early 2000s, he was part of it as agriculture minister.

However, it is not going to be an easy road for Anura as president, as the people impatiently wait for action against corruption and a solution to the economic mess. He was forthcoming in his first social media message after taking charge. “I’m not a magician.... I have abilities and shortcomings. My first task is to make use of people’s talents and know-how and make better decisions to lead this country,” he said.

There is also a sense of uncertainty as the JVP is completely inexperienced in governance and administration. “His coalition has minimal experience running a complicated state like Sri Lanka. They will also struggle to implement their many promises in a challenging economic environment and may struggle to achieve a majority in the parliament. This election is sure to raise eyebrows in many foreign capitals,” tweeted Erik Solheim, former Norwegian peace ambassador to Sri Lanka, who was a key mediator between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE.

The JVP’s troubled past and its militant character continue to haunt many people. “They might be more pragmatic and have a mainstream approach now. But within their ranks and their regimented culture, there is no democracy,” said a senior member of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, the political party of the Rajapaksas.

Anura’s work will be hampered if the JVP and the NPP fail to win enough seats to run the parliament. On September 24, he dissolved the 225-member house in which his coalition had just four MPs, including himself. Fresh elections will be held on November 14, almost a year ahead of schedule, and the new session will start on November 21. Anura appointed JVP MP and former academic Harini Amarasuriya as the new prime minister, who would share ministerial responsibilities with two other JVP parliament members.

The JVP will face a major challenge if Premadasa’s SJB and Wickremesinghe’s UNP join hands. Sources say Wickremesinghe has decided not to contest the parliament elections and would act as an adviser to the party, while UNP deputy leader Ruwan Wijewardene wants the opposition parties to form a grand alliance against the NPP.

On the foreign policy front, Anura’s victory could alter the existing geopolitical realities in the region, as he is considered close to China. His idea of renegotiating the IMF economic programme and his threat about cancelling the Adani Group’s wind power project point towards a radical reorientation of the existing policies.

From its inception, the JVP has been anti-India. Its insurrection in the late 1980s came against the backdrop of the possibility of Tamil autonomy in the Northern and Eastern Provinces and the presence of the Indian Peace Keeping Force. The party once denounced hill country Tamils as a “fifth column instrument of Indian expansionism”. Anura has been opposed to Sri Lanka’s Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with India, which opened up possibilities for greater trade and investment between the two countries. He has also opposed all attempts to return the Katchatheevu island to India.

However, in his exclusive interview with THE WEEK ahead of the election, Anura was positive about engaging with India. “Our approach to India will reflect its close proximity and significant role in geopolitics. We will ensure that our sea, land and air space are not used in ways that threaten India,” he said. “We are committed to maintaining our sovereignty and will not become subordinate to any power in this geopolitical race.”

indian-americans-coming-together-under-the-democratic-umbrella-could-get-harris-over-the-line-in-key-battlegrounds

Mon Sep 23 12:32:02 IST 2024

Just as most watchers of American politics started thinking there cannot be any more twists this election season came reports about a second assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump. The Republican candidate was at a golf course in Florida on September 15 when a lone gunman was seen about 500 metres from him. The would-be shooter fled after the Secret Service opened fire, but was soon arrested.

Trump later said he was being targeted repeatedly because of “rhetoric” against him by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate. The incident, five days after the Harris-Trump debate in Philadelphia, could give a lift to Trump, whose debate performance was uninspiring.

It was clear to the 65 million people who tuned in that Trump was unprepared, while Harris had facts at her fingertips. He glowered, and was always belittling his opponent. At times, Harris was in full prosecutor mode, and at other times, when Trump’s pronouncements were over the top, she looked bemused, as if her rival were a child.

Most media handed the winner’s title to Harris, though with a challenging neck-and-neck race in many swing states and Trump’s Teflon personality, anything is possible in the elections.

Among the Indian-American community, Harris holds sway with the majority. This is especially true with younger voters and is the result of a well-planned canvassing process, from phone banks to social media to word of mouth. At the heart of it all is the matter of representation and the wave of recognition which sweeps over many Indian-Americans when they look at Harris―she is one of them.

Neha Dewan, co-national director of South Asians for Harris, recalls that when she showed a photo of Harris to her two daughters, aged five and two, they immediately piped up: “She looks like mommy!” Immigrants who were children when they came to the US and are now parents are seeing the possibility of a president who looks like them. They have realised the strength of numbers and many are unifying with other immigrants under the Democratic umbrella.

The focus is on swing states Georgia and North Carolina, where Harris has narrowed the gap with Trump. Efforts include targeting the youth and women. The importance of down-ballot candidates, who influence decisions on key issues like gun control at the state level, is emphasised.

According to the Indiaspora Impact Report, recently released in conjunction with the Boston Consulting Group, Indian-Americans comprise about 1 per cent of the voters and show increasing influence in swing states, with potential to shape outcomes in close contests. The demographic trend in recent years shows a significant rise in the number of Indian-American voters. This voter base is actively participating in the electoral process and many in the community contribute significantly to political campaigns and are involved in policy advocacy, focusing on areas like immigration reform, civil rights and bilateral relations between the US and India.

Although Indian-Americans are traditionally Democrats, some support the Republican Party, too, for its stance on taxes and immigration. The diversity of the diaspora was demonstrated by the prominence of two contenders in the 2024 Republican primary (Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy).

While representation is important to immigrant voters, it is rare that you have Indian connections on both sides―this year could end with an Indian-American president or an Indian-American second lady, in Usha Vance. “It’s an incredible happenstance that two women of Indian origin feature on either side of the aisle, although in roles that are not comparable,” says Sanjeev Joshipura, executive director of Indiaspora. “That said, it’s apparent that this situation is no fluke. Our community’s contributions in the US public service arena are rising.” As per the Indiaspora report, over 150 officials of Indian origin hold senior positions in the current administration’s executive branch―a growth of 150 per cent in 10 years.

As Joshipura points out, apart from the two serious presidential candidates on the Republican side, on the Democratic side, five members of Congress are of Indian background, and there is a good chance that the November elections will yield one or two more. “I’ve witnessed a tremendous surge of excitement among our community in reaction to the news about Kamala Harris running for president, and to a lesser but perceptible extent, the potential for Usha Vance becoming second lady,” he says.

Surveys continue to show 70 to 80 per cent of Indian-Americans voting Democratic, but the steadily increasing political engagement and financial clout of the diaspora in the US incentivises both parties to take the community seriously. There are wealthy Indians in tech and finance who are fiscal conservatives and support the Republican Party.

Trump has his Indian-American supporters, too. A prominent one being Dr Sampat Shivangi, who appreciates the former’s pro-India and pro-Hindu stance. Shivangi has been an official Republican delegate six times, from the time of George W. Bush, and has supported Trump in all three of his runs for president. Shivangi was a Democrat, but became a Republican during the Bush years because of the president’s support for India’s nuclear proliferation treaty and pro-India stance. He is a founding member of the Republican Indian Council and the Republican Indian National Council. Over the past three decades, he has lobbied for several bills on behalf of India. He believes that Harris does not see herself as Indian and largely identifies as black―perhaps as that is the larger voting bloc.

Dr Shobha Agarwal, a cardiologist who is the president of the Georgia chapter of the American Hindu Coalition, feels that there is a shift in the community towards the Republican Party because of issues like border security and family values. She also mentions anti-Hindu resolutions and the need for better representation for Hindus in politics and for them to be engaged and to speak up: “If you’re not at the table, you end up on the menu.”

“My job in Georgia has been to educate Indian-Americans because the registration is in dismal numbers in our community, and we are 1,73,000 Americans in the state of Georgia,” she says. “We want to change that. We invited the Georgia state president [of the Republican Party]―he was so down to earth and approachable and blended in with our community.”

Out in Georgia, the Democrats are also hard at work. Sonjui Kumar, an attorney, is the national board chair for South Asians for Harris which in the 2020 cycle was known as South Asians for Biden. She says: “I’m very active in Georgia and we’re really focused on both Georgia and North Carolina. These are two states which were not considered swing states a month ago. So, this has been a quick calibration on our part, as both these states came back into play after President Biden withdrew.”

In 2020, Biden won Georgia with a small margin and North Carolina went for Trump. “In the 2024 cycle, polling was showing a 13-point gap between Trump and Harris in Georgia,” says Kumar. “That is now a dead heat. So, in one month, Harris took away the Trump advantage in Georgia.”

Kumar believes this change is because of the youth and gender vote and also Harris being the candidate. “I think with Biden, as much love and gratitude as the party had for him, it was hard for us to get people engaged,” she says. “And you know, the 18 to 25 voter is like almost too young to even remember Joe Biden.”

With the clock ticking, it is especially important to get the Indian-American voters galvanised in the swing states and to support down-ballot candidates like Ashwin Ramaswami, who is running in Johns Creek, north of Atlanta, which has a large Indian population. The 24-year-old is the first Indian-American Gen Z candidate to run for the Georgia state senate.

As Kumar notes, nothing has changed after the debate―things have become more intense in the key battleground states―including Michigan and Pennsylvania―where south Asian voters can be the decisive margin of victory for Harris and other Democrats down the ballot.

As in everything else in life, there is also the inevitable WhatsApp chat group―the Desi President group―to bring Indian-Americans together in this most important election in the United States.

Lavina Melwani is a New York-based writer for several international publications and blogs at Lassi with Lavina.

modi-zelensky-meeting-key-highlights

Sat Aug 31 11:50:20 IST 2024

Until there is a just peace, Ukraine and India shall have to work together. This can be the shortest summary of the shortest visit to Kyiv by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 23. There is no peace in sight. Russia made 200 missile and drone strikes August 25 and 26, and Ukraine’s Kursk campaign goes on unabated, its Palyanytsia drones striking 900km inside Russian territory.

The historic visit, the first visit by any prime minister, coincided with the Day of the Ukrainian Flag on the eve of the 33rd Independence Day of Ukraine, the underlying message being of support to the sovereignty of Ukraine, something that Russia is trying to destroy.

Loaded with euphoria of desis and Ukrainian India lovers, the visit had created an ambience of expectations long before it took place. Questions such as these were at the top: Will India mediate? Will it have an out-of-the-box solution to stop a war that has lasted more than 915 days?

Modi’s visit to Moscow in July, and the contrasting optics with President Vladimir Putin and the simultaneous missile strikes of a children’s hospital had caused embarrassment sufficient enough to announce a visit to Ukraine.

Optics matter in any visit, even if they bely the nuances of protocol, which only professionals can fathom for interpreting the real essence. In this sense, the optics were pre-arranged. Well-dressed Indians from all Ukrainian cities flocked to the Hyatt Regency Hotel to greet Modi, who appeared at 8 o’clock. The night before was not quiet in Kyiv; till 1:30am there were sirens of ballistic missile threats.

Modi greeted leaders of the diaspora, without any formal discussion with them unlike in Moscow or in Warsaw, and then paid homage at the Gandhi statue at the Botanical Gardens. He had another meet-and-greet while leaving Ukraine, just walking in the lobby and waving goodbye to those present. The diaspora had yearned for more and could have shared their stories from the ground. Such a meeting would have been a healing touch for the Indians here, who keep the dignity of India and the tricolour high even when New Delhi’s policies make them vulnerable to criticism.

Modi had short interactions with children learning Hindi at the Kyiv Oriental Languages Gymnasium, as well as with indologists and academicians. With President Volodymyr Zelensky, he visited an exhibition dedicated to the children killed in the war. It was a poignant moment.

The major part of the visit was in the Mariinsky palace, where, in the White Hall, Modi wrote in the guest book: “On behalf of 1.4 billion people of India, I pray for peace, progress and prosperity for the friendly people of Ukraine.” Then started the negotiations that were planned for half an hour but lasted for more than two hours.

Four memorandums of understanding were signed: on humanitarian aid for community development; on agricultural products; on drugs and control over narcotics; and on cultural cooperation. In each of them, there are competitive advantages to both sides. It is these win-win options that enable Ukraine and India to walk hand in hand and be equal partners. India and Ukraine made concrete practical steps towards lifting up the political relations. These can perhaps take their relations to a new level.

What was left out was the heavy issues of nuclear security and Zelensky’s ten-point peace plan. The two sides need to crystallise their positions. Issues of ambiguity are India’s purchase of Russian oil, India’s relations with Putin’s regime and India’s role in the peace negotiation process. The presence of the national security adviser and the external affairs minister in the Indian team indicated that discussion of these issues must have been held without any final commitments and obligations. So, precisely these issues were raised by Indian journalists at the press meet by President Zelensky at the end of the visit.

Zelensky was frank, answering in Ukrainian, sometimes in English. He said India should not enable Russia in any way and could do more to support Ukraine. He explained the real intent of Russia to wage the war and the rationale of Ukraine’s Kursk operation, without going into details.

He said: “I want to know more about India. To know the country you need to know its peoples. I need to talk to Indians and learn more.” There is no doubt that people to people connections among our nations are the focus of both Ukraine and India. Zelensky understands that perfectly.

Media and expert feedback on Modi’s visit were extraordinarily warm, almost all showing a stark break from the usual stance on India, ranging from hesitant and vague to suspicious and negative. This by itself is a victory, albeit small, for Indian diplomacy in its ropewalk between Russia and Ukraine.

Therefore, until Zelensky visits India, as invited by Modi, there is a lot of work to do for both the sides to understand each other better.

The author, formerly with the UN, is associate professor of international relations at the Kyiv Mohyla Academy.

pm-modi-about-india-hosting-the-peace-summit-russia-ukraine-conflict-mridula-ghosh-kyiv

Sat Aug 31 11:47:59 IST 2024

IT WAS WHILE answering questions from THE WEEK at the press meet that Zelensky said he had told Modi about India hosting a peace summit.

I asked him: During your discussions (with Modi) did you touch upon nuclear security? What part of your 10-point peace plan have you discussed? Will there be a future peace summit? Have you discussed whether Russia will participate in that summit? Could you comment on the possible involvement of India in the release of children abducted by Russia? Any condemnation of Russia’s actions forcing or tricking Indian citizens into participating in the war?

Zelensky: I will start with the last question. Prime Minister Modi said he condemns that and will ensure that Indian citizens do not fight for the Russian army. I perfectly understand him. I just can’t understand how you could enrol foreign citizens. Forcibly or not, I don’t know. How could it happen otherwise? It is indeed bad.

I truly believe that the second peace summit has to take place. It would be good to hold it in one of the global south countries. We are very open on it. There are countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar or Türkiye or even Switzerland, but that is a different direction. We are currently talking to these countries about hosting the second peace summit.

I fully support, and I told this to Prime Minister Modi, if we could have the global peace summit in India. It’s a big country. It’s a great democracy, the largest one. But I want to be frank. This is related not only to India, but to any state which will have a positive attitude to host the second peace summit. But we won’t be able to conduct a peace summit in a country which until now has not joined the communique of the last peace summit. I guess you understand this. Nobody is exerting any pressure, but that is logical.

We have discussed all matters related to the communique, including issues of security. Yesterday, there was an online meeting on energy. There was a big elaboration meeting after the first summit.

The teams have started to work on nuclear security… By November we want to have the whole plan on all the points and that is why we wanted the countries to join that cause. If they want to have additional points or clauses or they disagree with something, then we may discuss them at the level of NSAs through working level meeting. Let them do their work and we are ready to work with you on the matter. Who knows, maybe we will. Energy is something we’ve discussed and this includes nuclear energy.

Frankly, we didn’t have enough time to have a detailed conversation on nuclear security, even though we raised all three questions just as we dealt with food security as well as children.

Regarding children, there are some countries willing to help in this matter, and you know the number of countries helping in this will never be enough and we would be happy if India would join that part of the formula, the return of the children that is the humanitarian aspect.

From the standpoint of the neutrality of your status, I would like to underline that none of the points in the peace plan or those discussed at the summit has anything to do with weapons or armaments. So, I think India can choose from these points and join the respective initiatives, proposing its own vision and additional ideas. We are prepared for an open and honest dialogue.

pm-modi-ukraine-visit-india-s-strategic-goals

Sat Aug 31 11:45:20 IST 2024

IN DIPLOMACY, timing is key. India’s moment could be here and now.

Back in Delhi from his trip to Ukraine on August 23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had two important telephone conversations. On August 26, he spoke with US President Joe Biden, and the next day, it was Russian President Vladimir Putin who was on the other end of the phone. In both exchanges, the key topic would have been Ukraine.

India shares a ‘Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership’ with Russia and a ‘Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership’ with the US. Modi was in Moscow in July for the 22nd India-Russia annual summit. While India-Russia ties have a long history, relationship with the US has been a chequered one, although it has been considerably warm in recent years, particularly after China’s dramatic rise as a global power. Just a day before Modi made his trip to Kyiv, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh landed in the US for a four-day visit.

In the joint statement after his Ukraine visit, Modi “reiterated India’s willingness to contribute in all possible ways to facilitate an early return of peace”. So is India leveraging its ties with Russia and the west to position itself as a mediator?

D.B. Venkatesh Varma, former Indian ambassador to Russia, said India’s capability to broker peace in Ukraine was quite low because of the nature of the conflict. “It is not amenable to mediation at this point of time. Both sides believe they can win. So why will they compromise? Military exhaustion has to set in, and that has not yet happened.”

Experts, however, believe that Modi’s visit to Kyiv was keenly watched globally and that it enhanced India’s prestige. “One-to-one meetings with both Putin and Zelensky within a month and a half underline India’s acceptability to both warring sides,” said former diplomat R. Dayakar. “But the road ahead is not an easy one as there is no meeting ground between Russia and Ukraine. So there is perhaps more than meets the eye in Modi’s meeting. We will have to let things unfold.”

The Ukraine visit has thrown open the question whether India has effected a subtle shift in its strategic posture by aligning more closely with the west. Historically, India has been known for its pro-Russia stance on global issues. For instance, although India attended the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland on June 15 and 16, it refrained from signing the joint communique as the Russian point of view was missing. Russia was not invited to the summit.

Modi visited Moscow on July 8, the same day that a Russian missile devastated a children’s hospital in Kyiv. And it took place just a day before the US hosted leaders of the 32 NATO countries and the leaders of the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea to discuss the Ukraine crisis. It, however, did not stop Modi from embracing Putin warmly, giving the beleaguered Russian leader a major public relations victory. But India took note of the fact that it was kept out of the Ukraine conclave held in Washington, DC.

The US also expressed disappointment about Modi’s Moscow visit, but India said it was only expressing its freedom of choice. “In a multipolar world, all countries have a freedom of choice. It is essential for everybody to be mindful of and appreciate such realities,” said Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the ministry of external affairs. By invoking its “freedom of choice” and “strategic autonomy”, India has been trying hard to maintain cordial ties with Russia and to ensure that the western opprobrium did not push Moscow further into the Chinese orbit.

Said Varma, “The Ukraine situation is in a flux, so we have to be engaged with both sides. It is good that the prime minister is engaging with both sides, despite Ukraine being a complicated issue. It is a courageous step in Indian diplomacy. And one must remember that not all diplomatic efforts give instantaneous results.”

The Indian position on the conflict in Ukraine has several aspects. India believes that its ties with Russia and Ukraine are not ‘zero-sum games’ and wants to chart a substantive and independent path with both countries. Second, India still believes that diplomacy and dialogue can resolve the conflict and can lead to enduring peace. Third, as Modi has made clear, a lasting solution to the conflict cannot be found on the battlefield.

However, with no end to the Ukraine crisis in sight, India could be trying to balance its ties with Russia and the west and it could seriously challenge Indian diplomacy. As the US defence establishment gets closer to India, more questions will be asked about its ties with Russia. The Rajnath visit to the US has yielded a key pact, the Security of Supplies Arrangement (SOSA), which encourages the defence industrial ecosystems of both countries to work together. It also enhances supply chain resilience. It follows a slew of foundational agreements already in place between the two nations that seek to integrate military services, assets and technologies. These include the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (2016), the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (2018) and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (2020).

At the same time, India has benefited immensely by buying discounted Russian oil since the Ukraine conflict started in February 2022. Moscow now accounts for 42 per cent of India’s total crude oil imports, compared with just 2 per cent before the start of the conflict.

On the military front, too, dependence on Russia cannot be overlooked as 65 per cent of the Indian arsenal is of Russian origin. Yet, India has been moving away from Russia on defence supplies by roping in more sources like the US, France and Israel and also by adhering to the ‘Atmanirbharta’ (self-reliance) policy. Interestingly, no new weapon deals were inked during Modi’s Moscow visit, quite a rarity in bilateral ties. But Modi did reiterate the all-weather nature of India-Russia ties: “The temperature sometimes falls below zero in Russia but the temperature is always above zero in India-Russia relations,” he said. “Russia remains India’s trusted friend in any weather.”

assassination-attempt-eases-trump-s-path-to-the-white-house

Sat Jul 20 11:49:16 IST 2024

On July 14, the front pages of American newspapers splashed a riveting photograph: a combative Donald Trump, with blood running down from his right ear, pumping his fist in defiance after an assassin’s bullet nearly killed him. The American flag forming the backdrop of the former president’s bloodied face gave the moment an added context. The contrast with President Joe Biden’s debate debacle on June 27―the world saw on live television a frail, diminished and barely coherent candidate―could not have been starker.

Even Trump’s critics acknowledged his presence of mind, which helped turn a crisis into an opportunity. Despite the possibility of death at the hands of a lone gunman who fired at him during a campaign event at Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, Trump displayed admirable political instincts and situational awareness by getting back in charge seconds after an initial loss of composure. Trump knew the world was watching and he made sure that the image of his feisty response, which even the perennially unfriendly New York Times called “an incarnation of defiance”, would be what the voters will remember about the fateful evening. The shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by a Secret Service sniper. A voluntary firefighter who tried to shield his family, too, was killed in the attack.

“Without a doubt, the attempted assassination helps Trump and further diminishes Biden. It sets up a sharp contrast for many voters between a courageous and defiant challenger and a weak and indecisive incumbent,” said Sadanand Dhume, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute based in Washington, DC. Republican strategists will continue to drive home the point that while Trump beat back a semiautomatic rifle, Biden finds it hard to take even a flight of stairs. The president now enters Air Force One through the rear using the shorter stairs there, and avoids the 18-foot climb at the front.

Clearly, the shooting and Trump’s response could determine the voting preferences of at least a section of the independent and undecided voters. “Such incidents can make people more concerned about safety. Voters could start caring more about national security and law enforcement,” said Venugopal Gopalakrishna-Remani, who teaches at the University of Texas at Tyler. “It could influence their voting choices.” Even a marginal pro-Trump swing in key battlegrounds such as Pennsylvania, where the shooting took place, could have disastrous consequences for Biden. The latest New York Times opinion poll from the Keystone State (taken after the presidential debate, but before the shooting) gives Trump a 4 per cent advantage over Biden (48 per cent to 44 per cent). In 2020, Biden won the state’s 20 electoral votes by just 1.17 per cent.

The shooting may help Trump deflect criticism that he is a threat to democracy. It allows him to paint himself as a victim of extreme political rhetoric. Almost immediately after the shooting, the far right social media space was getting swamped with allegations that it was orchestrated by the ‘deep state’ or even the White House. Already, the Secret Service faces questions about security lapses during the July 13 rally. “If the Secret Service is shown to be guilty of flagrant mismanagement of the event, that could rebound against Biden,” said Donald Camp, adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC.

The attack has already taken away a powerful campaign tool for the Democrats as Trump allies point out that it is their candidate who is, in fact, the victim of extreme political rhetoric and vilification campaigns. And, nothing stops them from using the July 13 attack as a counter narrative to the January 6 Capitol Hill riots in 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters disrupted a joint session of the US Congress convened to certify the 2020 presidential election results.

The shooting has forced Democrats to recalibrate their attacks against Trump. As the Republicans take the moral high ground, the Democrats are being forced to put their campaign on hold temporarily as they work to cool the political temperature. “Much of the campaign against Trump has hinged on characterising him as a man of unscrupulousness and violence, a convicted felon, and a threat to democracy. But it will now become much harder to communicate these charges to the public―especially to swing voters,” said Mohamed Zeeshan, foreign affairs researcher and author based in Washington, DC. “You cannot foulmouth a man so easily after he has just escaped an assassination attempt. As Biden himself has said, they will have to lower the temperature.”

Speaking to Lester Holt of the NBC News on July 15, in his first interview after the Butler shooting, Biden expressed regret about some of his political rhetoric targeting Trump. He said it was a mistake to say that he wanted to put Trump in a bullseye―a comment he had made during a private call with Democratic donors a week before. “The shooting has definitely complicated the Democrats’ plan. The Biden campaign has already pulled down attack ads against Trump,” said Zeeshan. “It is unclear when or how they are going to be able to go back to attacking Trump.”

The argument that Trump represents a unique threat to democracy is unlikely to stop. But the rhetorical excesses used to make the point would be toned down, said Dhume. “Overblown comparisons of Trump with Hitler will become less acceptable to the American public,” he said.

Ironically, the attack has given Biden a respite from the growing calls from within his own party to step down. As the Democrats try to project an image of national unity, it is unlikely that they will push for an upheaval, at least for the next few days. Even a brief pause in the “remove Biden campaign” works in the president’s favour. “The longer he remains the presumptive nominee, the harder it will be to dislodge him,” said Camp. “With attention focused on the attack on Trump, it will be difficult for the Democratic dissidents to achieve their goal of replacing Biden, and it will be easier for him to run out the clock until the Democratic convention in August.” And that works perfectly for Trump as he prefers to battle it out with Biden, instead of having to reorganise his campaign if a new Democratic nominee comes up.

Finally, the shooting completes Trump’s takeover of the Republican Party. All prominent holdouts, including Nikki Haley, his final major challenger in the primaries, have fallen in line. The Republicans appear completely united behind Trump, while the Democrats are unable to even agree on their presidential candidate.

On July 15, Trump made a triumphant entry at the Republican national convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he was formally anointed as the official presidential nominee of the party. Earlier in the day, a federal judge dismissed the case against him on mishandling sensitive government documents, giving his campaign a major relief.

Trump capped his perfect day by naming Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate. He picked the right moment to anoint his ideological successor who could take forward his brand of politics and his populist legacy. Trump’s surging popularity offered him the luxury to discard two other candidates on his shortlist―Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota―and choose Vance, despite him being a fierce critic in the past. The 39-year-old now operates with the zeal of the convert, and his selection is likely to energise the Trump base even further.

As vice presidential candidate, Vance leads the generational shift in the Republican Party. His wife, Usha Chilukuri, is the daughter of Indian immigrants, and his elevation could offer India yet another friendly voice in Washington. “Given Trump’s affinity for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both men should be willing to overlook some of the two countries’ differing perspectives,” said Camp. “Trump would almost certainly downplay American concerns about India’s continued relationship with Russia. He would focus on confronting China and further cut commercial ties, benefiting India. New Delhi may not want to applaud Trump’s more extreme anti-China policies publicly, but they could well be privately pleased and rubbing their hands in glee.”

ADVANTAGE TRUMP

* Surviving the shooting augments his image as a fighter

* Improves standing among swing voters

* Hampers Democrats from vilifying him

* Helps neutralise his fascist image

* Aids takeover of Republican Party

* Helps him by keeping Biden in the race

* Worsens Biden’s image as a weak president

uk-prime-minister-keir-starmer-is-an-uncharismatic-leader-but-an-efficient-manager

Sat Jul 13 15:13:09 IST 2024

Sometimes, small changes herald big revolutions. The makeover of a black-and-white tiled Edwardian toilet proclaimed a momentous transformation in Britain. The urinal was removed and feminine hygiene products were placed in the private toilet of the incoming chancellor (finance minister) in Whitehall, Britain’s seat of power. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer appointed Rachel Reeves his chancellor, making her the first woman in the post since the office was created 800 years ago.

Starmer’s cabinet is as historic as his landslide with the Labour Party winning 412 seats in the 650-member parliament. Yet he struck a humble but significant note: “Public service is a privilege. Self-interest is yesterday’s politics.”

Starmer’s decisions are based on data and evidence. He appointed Patrick Vallance, nicknamed “Dr Doom” for his dire warnings during Covid, as his science minister. “Keir practises politics exactly the way he practises law,” said Lord Ken Macdonald, Starmer’s predecessor as director of public prosecution. “Process matters. There are no fireworks, but he won cases with quiet persuasiveness, command of facts and attention to detail.”

Starmer is interested in fixing problems, not winning TV ratings. Rising crime was a huge election issue. British prisons are so overcrowded that authorities are releasing prisoners who should be in jail. Starmer appointed James Timpson, the owner of a key-cutting and shoe-repairing firm, as the new prisons minister. Timpson’s firm employs former convicts since 2008, re-training them with skills useful for society.

Starmer inducted experienced Labour ministers from the past to run the education and business ministries. He also appointed many first-timers who grew up in poor households. Labour luminary Jonathan Ashworth said it was the most working-class cabinet of all time. Starmer himself grew up in a working class family. His father was an undemonstrative factory toolmaker, his mother a bedridden nurse and their home phone was once disconnected because of unpaid bills. But Starmer studied his way into Oxford.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner grew up in government housing, left school with no qualifications and became pregnant at 16. Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s ancestors were slaves. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson was bullied in school for being poor and was brought up on government benefit allowances by her single mother. Health Secretary Wes Streeting is the gay son of a single mom, whose grandfather was a convicted robber and grandmother jailed for assorted crimes. He went on to graduate from Cambridge.

Critics say Starmer lacks vision. They see his flip flops as unprincipled and opportunistic. Arguably, this “flaw” could be self-designed to give himself manoeuvrability when difficult choices must be made. His decisions are pragmatic, not ideological. In his first address from 10 Downing Street, Starmer said his prime ministership would be “unburdened by doctrine”.

Unsurprisingly, Starmer quickly reversed Labour’s long-standing policy on Kashmir. By referring to Kashmir as a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan and stressing that India’s constitutional issues should be decided by the Indian Parliament, Starmer opened gateways of friendship with the India lobby in the UK and pathways to optimise business potential with New Delhi. On foreign policy, British governments maintain continuity, though Starmer must repair relations with allies, including Europe.

Starmer is a man of contradictions: an anti-monarchist knighted by the queen, a one-time editor of a Trotskyite magazine who now talks like a Tory about wealth creation. “I always found him extraordinarily rational,” said Dominic Grieve, the former Conservative attorney general. Starmer devoted his legal career to fight for the rights of abused women in Britain and political prisoners in Northern Ireland and he supported environmental activists in their fight against McDonald’s. As prosecutor, he pressed charges against both Tory and Labour politicians for misusing expenses, oversaw the first British prosecution of Al Qaeda terrorists and saved 400 innocent prisoners from death sentence in Uganda, which he calls his biggest achievement. His activism earned him the nickname “lefty lawyer”.

Starmer is a public figure, but a privacy-conscious citizen and a committed family man. His wife Victoria is a nurse, his cat’s name is JoJo, but his children’s names are not public. He is an atheist, while his wife is Jewish, and the family observes the sabbath supper every week. Grounded and serious, Starmer is a good listener, prone to contemplation. As election results poured in, aides caught him gazing out of his window into the garden, deep in thought, watching children play. When he won, triumphalism and flamboyance were singularly absent.

Starmer appears stodgy, but he defended―and won―the rights of a British oddball to visit the Stonehenge heritage site during the summer solstice. The rational Starmer knew ex-biker Arthur Pendragon’s claim to be a “Druid”― descended from the mythical king Arthur―was absurd. But good lawyers believe in upholding every citizen’s right to legal defence.

“He was always looking 10 miles down the road at how a seemingly unwinnable case could be won on appeal to the Supreme Court or the European Court of Human Rights,” said lawyer Mark Stephens, one of Starmer’s former colleagues. He took steps towards his goal methodically. Said his friend, Baroness Jenny Chapman, “Keir seeks power for purpose. He is the kind of person who only wants to do a job if he can deliver.”

Starmer joined politics nine years ago, at age 52, unlike the elite Oxford Union debaters who, from birth, are ordained for politics. Working-class Starmer had to break barriers, but he was ambitious and determined. “He is very, very driven, and quite relentless,” observed Tom Baldwin, his biographer.

Starmer took over Labour after its 2019 election debacle, promising change. He delivered, using the lawyer’s fact-based, ideology-excised methodology. Setting his eyes on winning the 2024 elections, Starmer systematically and ruthlessly eliminated rivals from the party. He did not spare toxic demagogues, activists, anti-Semites and radical leftists, including his deputy Jessica Long-Bailey and former party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

It worked. Labour became acceptable again. “Keir took all the left out of the Labour Party. He has come with a brilliant set of values, principles and ways of growing Britain in complete alignment with my views as a commercial capitalist,” said billionaire businessman John Caudwell, previously a big Tory donor. “Steely Starmer” achieved change without an upheaval.

Now Starmer promises to change Britain. He will need much luck and ruthlessness to do that after 14 years of Tory governments. The economic mess is shocking: the worst decline in living standards since the 1950s; lowest wage growth in peace time since the Napoleonic wars; lowest productivity since 1826; and public debt at 90 per cent of the GDP. Bankrupted local councils have resulted in uncollected garbage, closed libraries and squeezed medicare.

Social divisions, inequality between people and regions, institutional decay and increasing elderly and child poverty are alarming. One study found half the British population is poorer than people living in poorer parts of Europe and the US. While bankers, lawyers and consultants thrived, significant classes of the population, such as farmers, workers, teachers, doctors and ordinary consumers are suffering from a severe cost of living crisis. Said outgoing Tory minister Robert Jenrick, “We didn’t have a good enough diagnosis of just how broken our public services were.” “Richie Rich” Tory prime minister Rishi Sunak was doomed by the widespread perception that he was “out of touch”.

Brexit, Tory scandals and economic meltdowns have scarred and scared the nation against the Tories. “The party that has dominated Britain for 200 years has imploded,” said Irish scholar Fintan O’Toole, who teaches at Princeton University. Swooping like a vulture over the Tory near-carcass is Reform Party’s Nigel Farage, the “father of Brexit”. His party won 14 per cent of the votes, but only five seats. The far-right leader seems ready to stage a MAGA-style takeover of the Tory party. The rise of Reform, Greens and Liberal Democrats reveal the fragmentation of the British electorate.

Given voter anxieties, Starmer’s priority is revitalising public services like state hospitals, schools and welfare. He must fix the housing mess; reduce legal and illegal migration, which people blame for job losses and housing shortages; settle strikes to kickstart the nation; decarbonise electricity to mitigate climate change that is causing intense and frequent floods and heatwaves; fix the drainage system (privatised by Margaret Thatcher) that shamed the nation by emptying untreated sewage into rivers and ponds. The list is long.

In addition to his ministers, Starmer also has two “weapons of mass traction” to tackle these challenges. Sue Gray, his seasoned chief of staff and former civil servant, has prepared a dossier for immediately addressing the problems. And there is the “data-nerd” and campaign manager, Morgan McSweeney, who has already started a data-heavy review of the party’s election performance to find pathways to win the next election in 2029.

Starmer plans to shepherd a “decade of renewal”. Government oversight will be back on issues ranging from political ethics to housing, football to brushing teeth―experts complain that the state of children’s teeth is “appalling”. Starmer is an uncharismatic leader, but he is an efficient manager. He converted Labour’s spectacular defeat in 2019 to a landslide in 2024. Labour’s vote share increased by only 1.5 per cent, but it bagged an extra 210 seats.

“Keir has the workaholism of Harold Wilson, the intense seriousness of Clement Attlee and the qualities associated with that great liberal reformer, William Gladstone,” said lawyer Geoffrey Robertson, who gave Starmer his first job, comparing him with stalwart prime ministers. “That should terrify the Tories.”

joe-biden-s-debate-debacle-forces-democrats-to-contemplate-alternatives-us-presidential-elections-2024

Sat Jul 06 12:03:03 IST 2024

This was not going to be a joyful presidential debate by any measure, but neither were Americans expecting it to be the waking nightmare it turned out to be. The United States and the world had gathered around their television sets on the night of June 27 to watch two opponents whom they were not particularly excited about, but instead found themselves in a chilling scenario: President Joe Biden, usually feisty, statesman-like, and wise, was barely audible and unable to deflect his opponent’s barrage of barbs; former president Donald Trump was in his element. He was confidently shooting from the hip―taunts, insults and lies about Biden’s record and his own. Civility was dead, but more than that, the election itself seemed to be in death-throes. Was Biden just having a bad day and a bad cold? Or was age finally catching up?

Everyone from ordinary Americans to the world media, including The New York Times, jumped into the fray. The verdict of the Times editorial board was scathing: “At Thursday night’s debate, President Biden appeared the shadow of a great public servant. The greatest public service he can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election.”

Media across the US and the world has been equally tough on Biden. But he recovered a day later and gave a strong performance in Pennsylvania. So, was it just an aberration or something which will worsen with the passing months? After all, Biden will be 86 at the end of his second term. And yet, age is just a number, and some older adults are still going strong into their 90s. Biden has had a long and illustrious career and has the gravitas and experience to pull off difficult decisions.

As California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote in a fundraising letter for the Democratic National Committee, “I was at the debate last night. I watched it. I tried to keep track of Trump’s lies as it went on and I ran out of paper. On the substance, Joe Biden won the debate last night. That’s what matters to me. Don’t look at 30 minutes. Look at the last three and a half years under Joe Biden. It’s been a masterclass: 15.6 million jobs created―eight times more than the last three Republican presidents combined.”

On the other side is Trump who has been the king of chaos with everyone left bruised and hurting, except for his special band of followers. The country is truly polarised between these two men. According to a latest survey by the Pew Research Center, voters are divided on so many issues. A quarter of Americans hold unfavourable views of both Biden and Trump, making them the least-liked pair of major-party candidates in decades. The survey found only 39 per cent of Americans view Trump favourably, while just 37 per cent have a positive opinion of Biden.

After Biden’s performance in the debate, many voters are anxious to see him step down in favour of a candidate who has a winning chance against Trump, as the alternative is too dangerous to contemplate; Trump has clearly shown that he wishes to rule like an autocrat and democracy will be dead in the world’s oldest democracy. It is late in the game, but many voters think that an infusion of fresh blood into the Democratic campaign may yet save the day.

However, the decision rests solely with Biden. As political columnist David Lauter wrote in the Los Angeles Times, “To be clear, no Democratic Party official or combination of officials has the authority to force Biden out. He won the party’s primaries. The nomination is his to claim; he can renounce it, but only if he so chooses.”

When Biden was inaugurated four years ago, he had said that he planned to be a one-term president and pass on the mantle to a younger leadership. One does not know when or why his thinking changed but it would have been best to have a succession plan with the many strong young Democrats in the party and remain as elder statesman and mentor.

According to Axios, “Dr Jill Biden (the first lady); his younger sister, Valerie Biden; and 85-year-old Ted Kaufman, the president’s longtime friend and constant adviser; plus a small band of White House advisers, are the only Biden deciders. This decades-long kitchen cabinet operates as an extended family, council of elders and governing oligarchy. These allies alone hold sway over decisions big and small in Biden’s life and presidency.”

It may have been a private decision, but after the debate debacle, it has become a public matter and all Americans have become vocal on who should run for president. Now whether he wants to or not, Biden may be compelled to write a different ending to his White House story as voters discuss viable candidates.

So who are the possibilities? Vice President Kamala Harris has, at times, struggled to define her role at Biden’s side, and is regarded somewhat of a political liability. There are a handful of other good contenders, including governors Newsom of California, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania. Other possibilities include Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. There were also reports about former first lady Michelle Obama as a candidate, but after Biden’s debate disaster, Barack Obama issued a forceful statement supporting the president.

Many voters are also furious that Trump, as usual, has got away scot-free in spite of being a felon and having so many charges against him. Will his Teflon persona last?

As Biden told a rally in North Carolina after the debate: “I don’t walk as easy as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to,” but, he added, “I would not be running again if I didn’t believe with all my heart and soul I can do this job.” To which he added, “I don’t debate as well as I used to. But I know how to tell the truth.”

Just two days after the debate, Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey hosted a private fund-raising dinner for the president at his home, raising $3.7 million for the campaign. Calling Biden “America’s comeback kid” Murphy said: “It was acknowledging that they had a tough night and also acknowledging that we’ve got to remember that this has been a heck of a run the past four years, and we’ve got to keep it going. They have to hit the gas pedal hard.”

Chintan Patel, director of Indian American Impact, a pro-Democratic group, and his team sent out an email to supporters about the two competing visions seen on the debate: “From protecting reproductive freedom and voting rights to fighting health care costs and the global climate crisis, the Biden-Harris administration is ready to act on the issues that matter most to us. And as the fastest growing voter bloc in many states, Indian and South Asians have the power to decide who represents us and the future of our country.”

As this nail-biter of an election moves toward its unknowable finale, the world watches and waits. Americans are going about their daily lives, but the upcoming elections are never far from their minds, and a matter for stress and gloom. As the stand-up comedienne Zarna who is Indian and American piped up on social media, in ‘puja-mode’ to the music of Kabhi Khushi, Kabhi Gham, “Tonight’s a very difficult night for America and I’m inviting you all to pray for America.”

―Lavina Melwani is a New York based writer and blogs at Lassi with Lavina.

tibetan-politician-penpa-tsering-interview

Sat Jun 15 13:09:00 IST 2024

Interview/ Penpa Tsering, president, Tibetan government in exile

PENPA TSERING HAS been closely watching China’s military drills in the Taiwan Strait, renaming of villages in Arunachal Pradesh and the aggression in Ladakh. The president of the Tibetan government in exile in Dharamsala has trashed China’s claims over Indian territory, citing the 1914 Simla Agreement that defines the border between India and Tibet to which Tibetans were signatories. “Tibetans are happy with that,” he says. Excerpts from an interview:

Q/ China’s military drills in the Taiwan Strait have spurred concerns about a potential armed conflict in the Indo-Pacific region.

A/ Some years ago, when China announced air defence identification zones, I told our American friends that if the Chinese can claim the air they will claim anything underneath that. This is exactly what is happening, and it is not just the endeavour of reunification or invasion of Taiwan. Look at the whole of South China Sea or East China Sea, alongside Japan and Taiwan. China is giving Chinese names to all these territories. This is to redefine history, remove the historical background and claim these territories as its own. Though China denies territorial hegemonic ambitions, the world knows better.

But I tell the Taiwanese that China is not ready to attack them yet. Xi Jinping keeps moving the generals and commanders from one place to another in a very short period of time. There is no time for the generals to build relations with cadres. A general and the second-in-command do not trust each other. Then there are political commissars who oversee their work and they also do not trust each other. It is good for Xi to ensure that there is no military coup against him, but it is not enough to fight a war. You need synchronisation among the cadres and also between the different arms of the military.

China is the only country that spends more money on internal security than external security threats, which demonstrates the deep distrust between the rulers and the ruled.

These are serious vulnerabilities aside from the economic wars that China is going through and the pivoting towards the Global South, which is also a huge competition for India. The question is how much purchasing power does the Global South have? And if China floods all the Global South countries with cheap products, it will kill all their small and medium-scale industries. Many already have realised the impact of Chinese investments in their countries. For example, all the African countries are now restructuring their loan repayment. And the level of debt economies that China has created around the maritime Silk Road and the taking over of strategic locations are known to people who understand China. Unfortunately, the Global South still has to learn more. They have very little understanding of China’s motivation.

Q/ How do you assess the border dispute between India and China?

A/ Way back in 1949, just after communism took over China, it invaded Tibet. Now, it claims parts of the Indian territory as southern Tibet and Arunachal Pradesh. But we Tibetans were signatories to the 1914 Simla Agreement that defines the border between India and Tibet through the McMahon Line. We are happy with that. But China’s claim over all these territories in Arunachal Pradesh or in Ladakh is based on what it claims to be Tibet’s territory. It has now started renaming all territories, including those in Arunachal Pradesh. Therefore, the question now is whether the Tibetan interest and the Indian interest aligns or not.

India has been following the One China policy for decades. The only change now is that India does not keep repeating it. And, as I always say, India knows best. We also understand that India or any country will not leave aside its national interest for the interest of Tibet. But I think India tried its best to reach out to China, create a better atmosphere, both in political and business relationships. Unfortunately, China is pushing India more towards the west because of its behaviour.

Q/ Should India be worried about China’s ambitions?

A/ The question is whether China needs India and the western world more or the democratic world needs China more. As long as you keep giving more business to China, it will keep growing. And right now, there is no sign of China attempting to make a move towards more openness and becoming a responsible partner in the global community. Particularly in Europe and America, you get this feeling that you cannot make China more powerful than what it already is. Chinese investments are growing in space technology, military, quantum computing, artificial intelligence and the Belt and Road Initiative, and creating debt economies around the world. So maybe it is time for India to recalibrate its position on China. Beijing respects only strength, not weakness.

Q/ The US Senate has passed the Resolve Tibet Act, urging the Chinese government to engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama or Tibetan leaders to resolve the China-Tibet dispute. How significant is this development?

A/ We have been working closely with the US Congress over the past two years to move this bill called the Resolve Tibet Act, which talks about countering China’s disinformation on Tibetan history. And we are almost there. The bill was passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee in November 2023, and this February it was passed on the House floor with 392 votes in favour. In April, it was unanimously moved in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and it recently went through the Senate. When it becomes a law in the US, it will become an important tool for us to reach out to other governments to counter China’s false narrative that Tibet is part of the People’s Republic of China.

We follow a non-violent approach to resolve the China-Tibet dispute through the Middle Way policy espoused by the Dalai Lama, which can only be understood if we understand the polarities that exist. One polarity is to understand the historical status of Tibet as an independent state, and the other polarity is the present situation of Tibet under the repressive communist government. The historical status has not been pushed as much as we would have liked to and China, on the other hand, has been asking every country to say that Tibet is part of PRC. That is why the law is important to explain to governments that if they keep parroting what the Chinese want them to say then it is against the law because if they support negotiations between Representatives of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government, then they cannot contradict themselves by saying Tibet is part of PRC, because that removes the very ground for negotiation.

Q/ The Dalai Lama turns 89 next month. As the political head of the Tibetan government in exile, what is your focus today?

A/ I have been travelling a lot to visit all the Tibetan settlements over the last two years. I promised my people that I would visit every single community two times in five years. We created a platform called the Voluntary Tibet Advocacy Group, where every Tibetan can join in advocating for Tibet. And this has been gaining ground now. One of our challenges is to prepare our younger generation for future leadership. Another challenge is to identify future challenges and make sure that those challenges are not there even before we reach there. Even though His Holiness keeps reassuring us that he will live for another two decades and more, we have to keep the community together, communications going on and reach out to the international community. I tell our Chinese friends, let us see whether Chinese Communist Party outlives the Dalai Lama or His Holiness outlives CCP.

Q/ Do you think it is time the Indian government openly declared that the Dalai Lama’s successor will be chosen by the Dalai Lama himself or the Tibetan government in exile?

A/ To some extent it is taken for granted as to where India stands on this, whether it says it vocally or not. I am sure the Indian government is concerned about these issues and developing its own strategy. I believe that it is not going to happen during my tenure. His Holiness will definitely live long. But, at the same time, just as every government has its protocols, we are also preparing protocols. Whenever that eventuality happens, it will be revised by successive Sikyongs or Kashag (cabinet) members at that time.

I am sure that the Indian government will also be seriously thinking about this even though I have not had concrete conversations about this. But I think it is understood that these are definitely matters of concern. Fortunately for the Tibetans, because of His Holiness’s leadership, we enjoy bipartisan, bicameral support on Tibet in the US. Even in the Indian Parliament, we have an all-party Indian parliamentary group for Tibet and all the successive governments have followed similar policies on Tibet. Of course, they are more vocal when they are in the opposition and less vocal when they are in government, but they all have the same thinking and support for Tibet.

how-a-governor-of-andamans-influenced-the-barbados-programme-of-action-for-small-island-developing-states-in-1994

Sat May 25 14:15:21 IST 2024

In February, the effortlessly elegant Indian permanent representative to the United Nations, Ruchira Kamboj, presented a cheque to the ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda as contribution for hosting the fourth global conference for Small Island Developing States from May 27-30. It was a reaffirmation of the support India had extended to SIDS from the very first conference 30 years ago, which put small islands on the map of global responsibility and saw a pivotal contribution by an individual who might otherwise have been considered an unlikely presence on the multilateral diplomatic stage.

The ministry of external affairs had proposed that India’s delegation to the 1994 conference, held in Barbados, be led by one of its ministers of state. Prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, in whose office I was working at the time, was not enthused. “This is not an expression of altruism,” he remarked. “It is a question of self-interest, of our identity as a nation that has 1,300 islands within the geography of our union. The problems that are being discussed, and the solutions that may be attempted, are not external affairs.”

He paused, reflected a moment, and instructed: “Let me speak to Purushothaman.” I was used to the telegraphic quality of Rao’s instructions and understood he wished to be connected on the phone to Vakkom Purushothaman (VP), then lieutenant governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. (I should say “largely used to”; there was an occasion in 1992 when he said, “Let me speak to Narayanan”, meaning K.R. Narayanan, then member of Parliament, and I mistakenly connected him to M.K Narayanan, director of the Intelligence Bureau, who was bemused to hear the prime minister congratulate him on his nomination as the Congress party nominee for the vice presidency of India.)

In any event, after a ten-minute conversation, Rao called me in to tell me VP had agreed to lead our delegation to the conference. “Tell Sreeni to contact him and tie up details,” he added, a reference to T.P Sreenivasan, our deputy permanent representative to the UN, who was leading the officials' segment to the conference. “Purushothaman wants to know how best to update himself on our foreign policy priorities; please get him our last three speeches in the UN General Assembly which I have told him are the best resource.”

VP had read the speeches thoroughly by the time he reached Delhi a few days later; he was particularly moved by a reference in the 1993 speech to the “inviolability of the individual as one of the profoundly humanistic traditions of Indian civilisation,” a truth he felt, and with which the prime minister agreed, should be central to our contribution to the conference, affirming that change derived from the ideas and actions of the person and, cumulatively, the people.

It was something he himself fervently believed in; on the very day he left Port Blair for Delhi, April 23, the panchayat system came into being in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, flowing from the 73rd constitutional amendment piloted in Parliament by the Rao government the previous year. VP brought his pen to the announcement which noted that Panchayati Raj “confirms the belief in the people of the country …that they are capable of formulating their own plans for material prosperity, social upliftment and economic independence.”

When VP arrived in Barbados, he found a country whose excitement at hosting its first global conference was tempered with the disappointment and disbelief of the upset loss by the West Indies cricket team to England at the Bridgetown Test ten days earlier, a match made legendary by the two centuries thundered by English captain Alec Stewart. “He showed us yet again that the brilliance of a team depends on the brilliance of each player,” Barbados prime minister Lloyd Erskine Sandiford remarked to VP at the opening reception that evening. VP beamed. He may have found a kindred spirit.

He recalled Sandiford’s remark the next morning, when he found himself, at the coffee break, at a table with the prime minister and the conference’s precise yet imaginative coordinator, senior UN official Miles Stoby. He took the opportunity to suggest to Sandiford that, in that spirit, the conference “outcome” document should focus on the potential unleashed by individuals and in their collective identity and centrality as peoples.

“But, Governor, we have affirmed that in our opening paragraph,” Sandiford responded. He leafed through the folder he carried and found the draft. “Here it is. In fact, we have taken it in entirety from the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development adopted two years ago. ‘Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.’”

“But that is precisely my point, Prime Minister,” VP responded. “This portrays human beings as beneficiaries of entitlement, not as the source and agent of change. I myself have found the best ideas for what government and administration can do comes from conversations with thinking, reflective individuals.”

“How do you have those conversations, Governor?” Sandiford asked, as Miles Stoby recalled to me some months later.

“Walks,” VP replied.

“Walks?” Sandiford queried.

“Walks,” VP replied. “Every morning, I walk through the streets of our capital, Port Blair, and talk to people. Some have particular problems, which we try to resolve. But most of them have ideas and many of those ideas can be implemented. You get so much from idle talk.”

“Idle talk?” asked Sandiford. “What is that?”

“What you and I are having now,” said VP equably, wincing a little as he took a sip of the cheerlessly chicory-less coffee. “When we speak without purpose or agenda, often our best ideas come from that.”

“Well, this idle talk has certainly yielded one,” Sandiford replied. “Miles, we should rework our opening. Governor, we will continue to draw upon your guidance.”

“Mine is a simple approach,” VP replied. “We have to focus on environmental dangers, development assistance, lack of freshwater resources… all these must find mention in our document. But the people, and the person, come first.”

“We also sometimes forget the cultural dimension”, VP continued, “but it is the most personal attribute of the human being and one we must respect if our islands and their peoples are to flourish but, even more importantly, simply survive.”

The spirit of VP’s counsel was well received by delegations as they finalised the “Barbados Programme of Action,” although he was careful not to take public credit for it. And its eventual opening affirmation could be seen to derive directly from his conversation with Sandiford.

It read: “The survival of small island developing states is firmly rooted in their human resources and cultural heritage, which are their most significant assets; those assets are under severe stress and all efforts must be taken to ensure the central position of people in the process of sustainable development.”

As Sandiford read the plan of action aloud for unanimous adoption by the conference, Miles Stoby recalled, his eyes left the script at this paragraph and seemed to focus on a distant point in the room. In fact, they were meeting VP’s eyes and an unobtrusive touch of right hand to forehead conveyed his gratitude and appreciation.

Once the conference concluded, Sandiford came up to VP. “Vakkom,” he said (they were now on first name terms, or at least what Sandiford, unfamiliar with the complexities of Kerala nomenclatures, considered a first name), “let me show you our symbol of the central position of people.”

They got into the prime minister’s car and drove a short distance. “This is an institution with which you are familiar, Vakkom,” Sandiford said. “Our parliament’s House of Assembly.” They were now in the chamber and Sandiford walked up to the front. “And this another symbol you know well: the Speaker’s chair.”

VP paused before it. “It is magnificent,” he said.

“It should be,” Sandiford said quietly. “It is made of the finest Indian teak. It was a gift from your government to us when we attained independence in November 1966.”

VP knelt before the chair and placed his forehead on the floor. Without the least trace of self-consciousness, Sandiford did so, too. They rose a moment later and left the chamber quietly, in companionable silence.

At VP’s hotel, where Sandiford dropped him, the two men shook hands. They both knew it was a goodbye, but left the word unsaid.

Hilary Beckles, vice chancellor of the University of West Indies, has written of Caribbean small islands as “adamant enough to say to the mighty ocean that seeks to engulf and erase them ― “if you want to pass, go around!” VP brought a measure of adamance to the Andamans, too; while an assertive adamance, it was not combative, but a measure of the confidence its people possessed as an entity of their own, “a great chain of being,” in Sandiford’s phrase, a part of the great and vast country which was their home.

Sandiford and VP passed away less than a year ago, within weeks of each other. In the wealth of their lives, the Barbados conference was just one punctuation point, but a point whose imprint was embedded in time and in heart, with its legacy of a swift friendship that brought an enduring transformation in the way nations regarded their peoples, from beneficiaries to creators of change.

A nonresident senior fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, New Delhi, and former IFS officer, the writer served at the UN for three decades.

campus-protests-continue-in-us-as-students-demand-realignment-of-israeli-ties

Sat May 18 15:41:21 IST 2024

More than 35,000 people have lost their lives and around 80,000 have been injured in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza since Hamas launched a dreadful attack on Israel last October 7. An entire population of refugees is now stranded in their own territory, starving for food and lacking medical supplies. Yet lightning bolts of weaponry continue to rain on the beleaguered Palestinians. And Israel does not seem to stop its retaliation against Hamas, which killed around 1,200 Israelis and took hundreds hostages.

Events in Gaza have triggered a reaction in many parts of the world, particularly among the youth. The pro-Palestine protests, which have erupted across American campuses, have transfixed the world. The students, forsaking education and regular campus life, have set up encampments on the greens and even barricaded themselves in buildings. Thousands of students have been arrested, their tents torn down, and yet they stand undeterred, insisting on an end to the war in Gaza and for colleges and universities to divest funding of the war, which means eliminating investments in businesses that operate in or otherwise support Israel.

Yet, nothing is simple regarding the protests or the cause. It is a complex, many-layered conflict which has come to a head through many, many generations. Nothing is black or white―it is a grey area where there is right on both sides, a complex morality play.

Today’s youth have no idea of Israel’s past, of how it was birthed from the inhumane injustices to the Jewish community through the ages and how it struggled for selfhood and survival, after the Nazi pogroms. The Palestinians also have their own stories of loss, struggle for their lives and homeland.

This young generation of protesters, which has been maligned as being of no consequence, is trying to enter into a global conversation about good and evil in how the world operates. In fact, the pro-Palestinian protests first started at Columbia University in New York when the students stormed the Hamilton Hall, which was the site of a historic protest against the Vietnam War in 1968.

In spite of Columbia’s long history of student activism over the years, the new president of Columbia, Nemat Minouche Shafik, called in the police to tear down the encampment. After that, protests sprung up in universities across the US, including Yale, MIT, the University of Southern California, George Washington University and Emory University.

Another conflict on these campuses is the ongoing counterprotests by Jewish students who are a visible part of many universities across America. Antisemitism is the unacknowledged elephant in the room, and for months, Jewish students have faced threats and even physical assaults on campus and these have escalated in direct response to the events of Gaza.

A new survey conducted for Jewish groups found that antisemitism is a threat for Jewish students, with one in three students personally experiencing antisemitic hate directed at them. In the last academic year, incidents on college and university campuses spiked by a staggering 321 per cent to 922 incidents, most of which occurred after the October 7 attacks.

There are also a number of Jewish students taking part in the pro-Palestinian encampment, but they are a minority. Pew Research data shows that a majority of American Jews are emotionally supportive of Israel, but support differs among generational divides, with younger Jews less supportive.

The education committee of the US House of Representatives has been investigating campus antisemitism for the past few months, focusing on how universities are combating hate. The committee held a hearing in December questioning the presidents of Harvard, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania about antisemitism. The testimony was so disastrous that within weeks, the presidents of both Harvard and UPenn had to step down.

All this is happening against the backdrop of the upcoming presidential elections, and how President Joe Biden handles America’s long-established pro-Israel stance in the light of the Gaza war. The president told students: “Dissent is essential for democracy, but dissent must never lead to disorder. There is the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos.” As the war continues, Biden faces an erosion of support from students and also from Arab Americans and Muslim Americans, who formed a key support bloc for him in the 2020 elections. It could hurt him in key battlegrounds such as Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Biden’s Republican rival Donald Trump favours police action and the ejection of protesters from campuses. He said it “was a beautiful thing to watch” NYPD officers raiding a Columbia University building occupied by pro-Palestinian students. Trump asked officials to crack down on campus protests across the United States. The staunchly pro-Israel New York mayor Eric Adams is convinced of an outside hand in the protests, and readily sent in the police to fix the situation. The mayor as well as the administration insisted that bad external actors had infiltrated the protests and so it became a crime scene, raising the temperature and causing protests nationwide. From a peaceful protest it turned into something much more menacing.

THE WEEK spoke with political theorist Mahmood Mamdani, who was named by the Prospect Magazine as one of the world’s top 50 thinkers in 2021, about the ongoing crisis. Having been exiled from Idi Amin’s Uganda, he is well-versed in the history of protest. A professor of anthropology at Columbia University, Mamdani conducted teach-ins and participated with the faculty in forming a circle around student protesters, just before the police arrived. “The students are overwhelmingly motivated by moral urgency,” he said. “This protest followed October 7, and what was happening in Gaza, and it followed the inquiry and determination by the International Court of Justice that what was happening in Gaza was plausible genocide and the students were motivated by a moral conviction. That was the event to which everybody needed to have a response and their conviction was that the university had to make sure that it was not connected with anything that supported the genocide, and therefore the demand for divestment.”

With the heightened security at Columbia, it would not have been possible for outside forces to infiltrate the campus. “The protest was itself a site of education,” said Mamdani. “I gave the first teach-in, and I was asked to talk about the origin of the divestment movement in relation to South Africa, and we showed short videos on previous protests―there was intense education going on.” He rejected the suggestion that outside agitators were needed when the students went through days of intense sleep and food deprivation to stand up for what they believed in.

The testimony of the student council representative to the university senate, which was published in the student newspaper, Daily Columbia Spectator, too, was on similar lines. “These are not people who are presumed to be mindless, that something has to be fed from the outside,” he said “They’re not infants. These are supposed to be the brightest kids as the current system determines brightness. So, it’s an insult, frankly, to find people asking this question.”

Rather than bad actors, the protesters outside the campus gates are often regular folks trying to raise awareness about the Palestinians’ plight. Manolo De Los Santos, an organiser with The People’s Forum, a Manhattan-based activists’ group, said those joining the protests alongside students were just “ordinary New Yorkers”. “The power of this moment is that it’s everyone coming together. It’s health care workers, it’s teachers, it’s city workers. It’s ordinary people who feel so strongly.”

In this crisis, student journalists at the college newspapers have shown great integrity and strength in documenting the true story in papers from Columbia University’s Spectator to the UCLA’s Daily Bruin. Some student journalists are battling exams even as they report on protests. Student-run news websites at Yale and the University of Texas-Austin cover the action with innovative live blogs. The Daily Trojan’s print editions have stopped for the semester at the University of Southern California, but editor-in-chief Anjali Patel is keeping a reporter and photographer available at all hours to cover the protests. All during final exam season. “We are still students at the end of the day,” said Patel. The Pulitzer Prize Board took the unusual step of commending the bravery of these student journalists.

At Princeton, a dozen students took the drastic step of going on a hunger strike and were joined by history professor Gyan Prakash who fasted for a day with them. Prakash was one of more than 120 faculty members who signed a letter last week condemning the “criminalisation, gross mischaracterisation and harassment of nonviolent student protesters,” and calling for the “immediate resignation” of a vice president whom they viewed as largely responsible.

At Brown University in Rhode Island, the students negotiated and reached an understanding with the administrators. They ended the encampment and the university agreed that five students would be invited to meet with members of the governing body to present their arguments to divest Brown’s endowment from “companies that facilitate the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory”.

So, the facts change every day in this fast-moving tale on American campuses which is so closely linked to what happens on the world stage, and how America reassesses its support to Israel and how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responds.

Looking at the larger picture that the US has traditionally been pro-Israel, how are Americans responding to the Gaza situation? Mamdani said the real opposition was not in the Congress or elsewhere, it was within the Jewish community. “Since October 7, the big division in Columbia was inside the Jewish community–Zionist and anti-Zionist, war and anti-war,” he said. “Indeed, this is the big division in America, affecting Americans and the wider Jewish community in the US. It is a generational divide, questioning the relationship of Judaism and Zionism and discovering the anti-Zionist tradition within Judaism, which was very strong in the 1940s.”

Empathy is perhaps the most transformative and game-changing emotion there is, and the protesting students seem to be driven by it. It could be a coming of age of American youth, trying to discover a legitimate role for themselves in a crisis-torn world.

Lavina Melwani is a New York-based writer for several international publications and blogs at Lassi with Lavina.

south-asian-community-in-the-us-have-widely-different-opinions-about-the-upcoming-elections

Sat May 11 16:18:31 IST 2024

How can one understand what motivates South Asian Americans to vote, or not to vote? I tracked the species in their natural habitat—the temples, storefronts, and the chai and dosa eateries of Queens, in New York City.

Jackson Heights, called Jaikishan Heights affectionately by desis, is the mother of all South Asian neighbourhoods, a melting pot of many different cultures. They may be cultures which often bicker in Asia, but on these streets, you find signposts which tout Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi groceries all in one store; you have Bangladeshi, Chinese and Thai cuisine, all in one restaurant. Another ambitious eatery promotes Nepali, Bangla and Indo-Chinese food on its signboard.

The worshipers who stream into the Satyanarayan Hindu Temple on Woodside Avenue are from many diverse towns and communities in India, Nepal, Bhutan and the Caribbean islands. They share the same gods and gather together on the temple’s carpeted floor to chant the holy bhajans. They also share many of the same foods—the spicy samosa and the sugary sweet gulab jamun are loved by all these communities.

Yet, when it comes to politics and the upcoming elections, they have widely differing opinions and feelings. Having come from countries where politics is often regarded as a dirty game, many are indifferent to it or just plain apathetic, believing their participation will have no real impact on the outcome. Others, who have lived here longer, know that there is strength in numbers and their vote can make a difference.

Meena Kashyap, who is from India, has seen this community up close. “Ever since I became a citizen, I have always voted,” she said. “After my retirement, I often work for the election commission. During elections, we tell them where to go to vote, and how to register themselves. Voting in the local elections is even more important because when you put the right people locally, you are sure whatever is happening on top is trickling down. The right people are there to see that everything works.”

Kashyap, whom I have known for many years, accompanied me on this informal reportage mission. We ate plates of spicy chaat and aloo tikki and had enormous glasses of mango lassi. We talked to servers and staff. We then moved on to sari shops, beauty parlours, boutiques and mithai stores. Everywhere, people were polite and friendly—and reluctant to disclose too much about their voting patterns. At a beauty parlour, they were happy to chat, but not on camera. Unlike the youthful Instagram generation, they were uncomfortable about their names and photos being published.

As a reporter, it was awkward not to be able to record people’s names or photos, until I realised that, that I was part of the story. One of the reasons for their reticence is that many of them are newcomers, not entitled to vote. We had stumbled into a surreal world, down a strange rabbit hole of both new immigrants and people who had been here for years—but were still mired in their quest for papers. Many of them would make ideal citizens, but were not there yet.

As one young, earnest Nepali worker explained, he would love to vote, but his papers were still in submission stage. I got the same reaction from a few Bangladeshi workers at fast food carts. Indeed, the audacious possibility of American citizenship is what had brought many to this country and many were still in limbo, waiting to accomplish that. The manager at a supermarket observed that once people became citizens, they generally would be able to go for better paying jobs and would not remain blue-collar workers in an ethnic neighbourhood.

At a longstanding popular sari store on 74th Street, the tenor was a little different. In the calmer environment, the owner, who is Indian American, told me that he always voted, but was a New Jersey resident. His manager said he did not always vote because of time constraints, but his daughters always voted. It was, however, the Bangladeshi female staff, who were most enthusiastic about talking about their voting experience. Samiha Chowdhury, who spends her days showing saris and kurta pieces to clients, has worked in the store since 1997. She said that she had voted for the past 28 years. Her whole family used to vote in Bangladesh and she has carried on that tradition here.

Keya Khadija, also from Bangladesh, has been here just one year and her papers are being processed. She is here with her husband and children and recalls they always voted in Bangladesh. She said, “The Bangladeshi community is very active in voting and I will also vote because there is inflation and also unemployment.”

The South Asian community is not a monolith. And it is made up of many different people who respond in different ways. There are many who are born here, who have been educated here or have been living here for years. For them, voting is commonplace and their story differs from that of the people who are just getting their bearings and who are still part of the ‘strugglers club’. Perhaps to make a stronger voting community, these voiceless people need to be nurtured and given training in what makes good citizens.

Sudha Acharya is the founder and executive director of South Asian Council for Social Services (SACSS), whose mission is to empower and integrate underserved South Asians into the civic life of Queens. “We have citizens, we have green card holders and we also have people who have no papers at all,” she said.

The organisation has a multi-armed approach to the community. There is a food bank, legal clinic, civic engagement, health clinics, workforce development and language access. “We connect them to benefits like health insurance and food stamps and make services available to them. We also make them aware of their civic responsibility and how they are part of the whole political structure. We encourage them to vote.”

During elections, SACSS volunteers do phone banking to hundreds of thousands in the community. Said Acharya, “I think there should be support for this population that is culturally sensitive and language-based. I would support any candidate who is for these things, for diversity.”

An organisation which is involved with GOTV (Get Out the Vote) efforts is Adhikaar, a human rights and social justice group, based in Jackson Heights. It is a women-led group, and its policy manager Tsering Lama gave an optimistic picture of the civic health of the South Asian voter community: “There is definitely a big South Asian population that is voting. We specifically work with a Nepali speaking community from countries like Nepal, India, Bhutan, Tibet and Burma. Since our communities are newer, we want to make sure that our members vote and have access to the voting information.”

Adhikaar gives those who are not yet eligible to vote the right tools to become future good citizens. “Civic engagement for us is not just through the narrow lens of people who can or cannot vote,” said Lama. “It is really about being able to be in this country and being able to be civically engaged. And that can be through any form of advocacy and being involved in campaigns and to really better their own lives.”

Lavina Melwani is a New York-based journalist who writes for several international magazines. She blogs at Lassi with Lavina.

bilateral-trade-between-the-uae-and-india-has-grown-almost-sixteen-per-cent-year-on-year

Sat May 04 15:47:20 IST 2024

The strategic partnership between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and India has never been stronger. At the heart of the flourishing relationship lies the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). This week marks the second anniversary of the implementation of an agreement that has bolstered bilateral trade and investment by slashing tariffs, streamlining cross-border trade, broadening market access for services, instituting dispute settlement mechanisms, and safeguarding intellectual property rights.

The numbers speak for themselves. Bilateral trade has reached historic highs, growing from $72.9 billion to $84.5 billion between the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 fiscal years—an almost 16 per cent year-on-year increase. The UAE has also emerged as India's fourth-largest foreign investor, with $3.3 billion in FDI inflows during the 2022-2023 fiscal year. This remarkable progress is a testament to the shared vision of our two nations to harness the power of economic integration to deliver mutual prosperity.

Building upon this success, the two nations have elevated their collaboration by inaugurating the UAE-India CEPA Council (UICC) this year. This high-level body brings together government officials and private sector leaders from both countries to identify new avenues for collaboration and ensure the agreement continues to deliver tangible results. The council's work has already yielded dividends, with several Indian companies engaging with key stakeholders from the UAE to address business issues and establish a presence to leverage our strategic location as a global hub.

The UICC has emerged as a pivotal driver in fostering closer ties and fortifying the partnership between the two nations. Looking ahead, the potential of the UAE-India economic partnership remains vast. Both countries are committed to harnessing innovation, sustainable development, and advanced technologies to drive future growth. Emerging sectors, including renewable energy, agri-tech, and digital services hold immense promise and will be a key focus under the CEPA framework.

The integration propelled by the agreement has made it easier for businesses to operate across borders and has boosted trade, as evidenced by initiatives such as the India-UAE rupee-dirham direct trade agreement and the launch of Bharat Mart. The Bharat Mart project, a flagship project conceived under the CEPA framework, is poised to become a significant distribution hub for Indian enterprises in Dubai. Leveraging the UAE's strategic location and top-tier logistics infrastructure, Bharat Mart is empowering Indian firms to tap into new markets and expand their global footprint. Similarly, the India-UAE rupee-dirham direct trade agreement has played a pivotal role in facilitating seamless and cost-effective transactions, thereby strengthening the export capabilities of Indian products.

A prime illustration of how the CEPA is fostering transformative and future-focused collaboration is evident across the food and renewable energy sector, where the UAE and India are already engaged in ambitious projects. Most recently, during the Gujarat visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the UAE, several MoUs covering a range of sectors were exchanged between the UAE and India, reflecting the nations’ shared commitment to fostering collaboration and achieving ambitious goals.

The MoU in food park development emphasised the importance of the India-UAE food park project, aimed at enhancing food security by strengthening food supply chains and promoting trade in food and agriculture between the two nations. The MoU on investment cooperation in the renewable energy sector highlighted the potential for joint efforts in implementing renewable energy projects. Earlier this year, our two nations unveiled a groundbreaking agreement to establish a large-scale green hydrogen plant in the Emirates—a venture that will capitalise on Indian expertise in renewable energy technologies and the UAE's exceptional infrastructure and natural resources.

The significance of the UAE-India CEPA extends into broader realms beyond the economic sphere. By introducing transparent competition and facilitating smoother cross-border transactions, the CEPA fosters an environment conducive to cultural exchange and social integration. It builds on the UAE's unwavering devotion to pluralism and India's multiplicity, strengthening people-to-people connections through deepened economic ties.

Cultural and social integration has always stood as a cornerstone of this robust partnership, stimulating synergies and producing the conditions where diverse communities thrive. The UAE's commitment to creating a welcoming space for varied cultures echoes India's age-old tradition of honouring its rich diversity. The seamless experience for Indians travelling, conducting business, and thriving in the UAE underscores the mutual trust and respect shared between our nations. This mutual embrace of pluralism has become a defining element of the UAE-India relationship, encouraging an atmosphere where innovative ideas, entrepreneurial vigour, and collective prosperity flourish.

The success of the UAE-India CEPA is a tribute to the depth of our strategic relationship, and the power of economic integration to drive broader societal and geopolitical transformation. And the journey ahead is an exciting one. By unlocking the full potential of the CEPA, the UAE and India not only realise their own economic ambitions, but also set a global standard for how nations can collaborate to create a more integrated, innovative, and sustainable world.

In the years to come, the UAE-India partnership will continue to grow from strength to strength. By deepening our economic ties, we will also strengthen the cultural, diplomatic, and people-to-people connections that have long defined this relationship. Together, we will forge a new era of progress, innovation, and global influence—one that benefits not just our two nations, but the entire world.

The writer is the UAE ambassador to India.

former-presidents-barack-obama-and-bill-clinton-appear-together-with-president-biden-to-bolster-his-sagging-re-election-campaign

Sat Apr 06 16:32:38 IST 2024

You could call it a pilgrimage for the darshan of three presidents: thousands on foot, pushing against each other in New York City in cold, rainy weather under umbrellas, moving inch by inch to reach a mysterious blue tent. All well-dressed, many coming straight from work, with one mission―to reach the Radio City Music Hall in midtown Manhattan, through heavy security and blocked streets on March 28. It took a few hours, but no one was complaining: the goal was nothing less than to see and listen to three well-loved American presidents, Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, live on stage together.

This was a Democratic fundraiser for the Biden reelection campaign and, in fact, it was said to be the largest fundraiser ever, for even before the evening began, it had already raised $26 million. Tickets were from $225 to $5,00,000 each, and the 6,000-seat venue had sold out. An opportunity to have a photograph with all three presidents taken by the noted photographer Annie Leibovitz was $1,00,000 each. For the biggest power donors, there was also an after-event reception with the presidents and celebrities.

That New York is a ‘blue city’ and that the support for all three presidents is strong was evident in the massive crowd which still had to contend with airport-like security once they got to the theatre. The reward was finally to watch celebrities like Lizzo, Queen Latifah, Cynthia Erivo, Lea Michelle and Ben Platt perform before the three presidents came on. First Lady Jill Biden received a standing ovation as she said, “Nearly 50 years ago, Joe asked me to marry him. After I said yes, he said something that I will never forget. He said ‘Jill, I promise you, your life will never change’. Well, that, of course, turned out to be wildly untrue. Life has changed and our journey together has given us a beautiful family and extraordinary unforgettable experiences like tonight. Not in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I will be standing on stage at Radio City Music Hall in front of thousands of people to help re-elect my husband as president of the United States.”

House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries thanked everyone for their commitment to democracy. “Every single thing that we care about is on the ballot in November.” He referred to the economy, social security, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, climate crisis, gun safety legislation and reproductive choices for women. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer listed the many accomplishments under Biden’s leadership, which included the largest infrastructure bill in decades creating hundreds of thousands of good jobs, the Public Safety Act and the legislation for environment and climate change.

Noted Indian-American actor and producer Mindy Kaling who was the host of the evening, said, “I don’t normally get asked to host political events like this.... It is such an honour to be in this room with so many rich people, people who paid up to $5,00,000 to be here. And I love that you are willing to spend money to reelect a president who has openly promised to raise your taxes!” There was wild applause as she added, “There are three living presidents in the building. If you say, ‘Mr President’, three people will answer.”

The Late Show host Stephen Colbert moderated the conversation with the three presidents. “This is such an exciting and rare occasion, three presidents have all come to New York, and not one of them is here to appear in court,” said Colbert.

There was standing ovation when the three presidents appeared on stage together, all dressed in suits and tie-less. “I think our democracy is at stake. It is not a joke,” said Biden, citing all the changes made by his immediate predecessor Donald Trump. “I think democracy is literally at stake…. A lot of things he is doing are so old, and out of shape. But I am really hopeful because I think we could fly this election and we are in a position where we can set the course for the next four or five, six decades. We are at an inflection point.”

Obama and Clinton talked about Biden’s many legislative and economic successes, given the difficult stage he had inherited from Trump. “Well, it is not just the negative case against the presumptive nominee on the other side, it is the positive case for somebody who has done an outstanding job,” said Obama. “The point is, our passions get stirred by what we are up against, and Joe is absolutely right, that we have got not just a nominee, but frankly, a party and an entire infrastructure that increasingly seems unconcerned with the essence of America, the idea of self-governance and the possibilities of us all cooperating and bridging our differences and moving forward. But we also have a positive story to tell about the future. And that is something that Joe Biden has worked on.... I expect him to continue to do that for the next four years, eight months.”

Even in the festive mood of the evening, the Palestinian crisis was quite evident in hundreds of protesters outside the theatre, and the proceedings were interrupted by hecklers who had to be removed from the theatre. All three presidents addressed the issue. Biden said the Arab countries, including Egypt, Jordan and Qatar, are prepared to fully recognise Israel for the first time, but there had to be a post-Gaza plan and also plans for a two-state solution.

“One of the realities of the presidency is that the world has a lot of joy and beauty, but it also has a lot of tragedy and cruelty and there is history there,” said Obama. “And you don’t start from scratch. And you don’t have neat, easy answers to really hard problems. And I think people... want to feel a certain purity in terms of how those decisions are made, but a president does not have that luxury. And so when you look at a situation like we are seeing in Gaza and in Israel and your heart breaks, initially for a massacre of unbelievable cruelty. It is also possible for us to say we unequivocally support the people of Israel and their ability to live and raise families and so forth. That is not an easy process. So here is the thing, you cannot just talk and not listen. It is important for us to understand that it is possible to have more clarity, and have deeply held beliefs, but still recognise that the world is complicated, and it is hard to solve these problems.... [Biden] has moral conviction and clarity, he is willing to acknowledge that the world is complicated. And then he is willing to listen to all sides in this debate.”

Clinton agreed with Obama’s views. “I believe that this is one of the most important reasons to reelect President Biden. Because he genuinely cares about preserving the existence of Israel and about giving the Palestinians a decent state of self-governance and the support they need for self-determination.”

Throughout the evening, Biden never mentioned the name of his presumptive opponent Trump, but almost every statement he made was a rebuttal to what life would be like for Americans if the former president returned to the White House. It was ironic that on the day of the celebratory fundraiser, he was the fourth president visiting New York, having come to a slain police officer’s funeral and to underscore the difference between himself and Biden. While Biden’s fundraiser raised $26 million, and his overall war chest is $155 million, the Trump finances are at $74 million. Again, while the Democratic fundraiser showed the unity and camaraderie among Biden and his two Democratic predecessors, the Republican Party appears divided. None of the past leaders of the party like former president George W. Bush, Trump’s own vice president Mike Pence or his cabinet colleague Nikki Haley support Trump, although he has a solid supporter base.

The Biden fundraiser ended with all three presidents donning Biden-type sunglasses and waving to the crowd. There is going to be a lot of action, all the way to November.

A day after the fundraiser, I spoke to Raj Goyle, who was one of the first Indian Americans to get elected to public office. He was a member of the Kansas house of representatives and a cofounder of the Indian American Impact Project. “It is going to be a very challenging environment for everyone, but the fundamentals of the electorate and the debate favour President Biden. As you look at the half a dozen battleground states, the president is well positioned to bring those voters home,” said Goyle. “For those in India, it is also important to note that this administration has been quite forward thinking on the bilateral relationship between US and India, and moreover, has been a thoughtful partner about how to achieve security and peace across the world, given the grave challenges we face.”

Lavina Melwani is a New York-based journalist who writes for several international magazines. She blogs at Lassi with Lavina.

donald-trump-s-anti-nato-rhetoric-could-force-europe-to-set-up-its-own-military-industrial-complex

Sat Feb 24 11:55:18 IST 2024

THE RUSSIAN WIDOW stood at the podium―bold, beautiful and brave in bereavement. Her husband, 47-year-old Alexei Navalny, a relentless opponent of President Vladimir Putin, lay dead in a freezing Siberian gulag. Instead of comforting her traumatised children in Moscow, she chose to speak to western leaders and generals attending the Munich Security Conference, the “Davos of Defence”. They gave a standing ovation before and after her impactful speech. Trembling with grief and fury, she said “I want Putin, his entourage, to know they will pay for what they have done. That day will come very soon.”

The curse of widows and orphans come true, so it is said. But geopolitics is such that Yulia’s wishes, however fervent, are unlikely to materialise anytime soon. Western leaders quickly blamed Putin for Navalny’s untimely death―many of Putin’s other opponents met untimely deaths, poisoned or “falling off” buildings. But piling more punishment on Putin is arguably pointless. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the west had imposed sanctions―spanning 18,000 measures―frozen assets worth $300 billion and amputated Russia from the global financial system. The west’s tool box of sanctions is emptying, but Russia’s war machine grinds on.

Oil at $80 a barrel fuels Putin’s war in Ukraine. This protracted war favours Russia, which has commandeered its heavy industry into domestic weapons production. Russia enjoys economic independence and manpower, the shortage of which is Ukraine’s big challenge. With over six million Ukrainians fleeing the country and nearly four million internal refugees, 25 per cent of Ukraine’s population is displaced. Russian occupation hampers Ukraine’s grain and steel exports. It also delays, if not aborts, Ukraine’s accession into NATO and the European Union.

Ukrainian stockpiles of artillery, aircraft and missiles have dwindled because of the west’s war fatigue and the Republicans thwarting the $60 billion aid to Ukraine in the US Congress. “The world has got rougher,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a staunch Ukraine supporter. Though wars rage in Gaza and Yemen, she meant Russia and the scary spectre of the United States as an undependable ally, more so if Donald Trump is re-elected president.

Trump’s bombast from a recent election rally shook Europe. He said he would “encourage Russia to do whatever the hell they want” with NATO members who fail to spend 2 per cent of their GDP on defence. He has neither retracted nor apologised for shredding a foundational principle of NATO: the US must protect a NATO ally from attack.

In his first term as president, Trump had threatened to withdraw from NATO. He has now brazenly invited an attack on an ally. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned that Trump’s comments undermined “all our security, including that of the US”. President Joe Biden called it dumb, shameful, dangerous and un-American. Critics, however, would argue that it is rather American to let down partners.

British journalist Alec Russell warned that Europeans would have to start planning for war without America. Von der Leyen announced Europe’s plans to do just that: “subsidise our own defence sector”. The world now confronts the birth of a second military-industrial complex (MIC), as if the one in the US has not done enough global damage. To build the MIC, the same emergency taxpayer model deployed to manufacture Covid vaccines will be used. Some European countries may oppose the plan, but defence manufacturers like France and Germany will push for it. So will east European NATO members who fear neighbouring Russia.

Last year, military experts mocked Russia’s decrepit war weaponry. Now there is a drumbeat of competitive scaremongering about an imminent “Russian attack” on a NATO country. It mimics the American MIC’s pressure tactics to invest more in defence. Said Andrew Cockburn, who authored a book on the American war machine, “It is no coincidence that we are now suddenly hearing about what terrible threats Russia and the Chinese hypersonic missiles are. They whip up fake threats.”

Citizens dislike diversion of government spending on health care, education and pensions into defence. After the Cold War ended, global defence expenditure fell. The funds earmarked for defence were spent on welfare, laying the foundation for Europe’s superb quality of life. But as taxpayers’ money is needed for developing the MIC, people need to feel the fear.

Real or perceived, threats enable governments to spend money on defence, as in Japan and Germany. Faced with a rising China threat, the “pacifist” Japanese government announced a five-year plan to increase defence expenditures by 60 per cent. Germany pledged an extra 5 per cent of its GDP to modernise its forces. Currently, Germany is the world’s worst-performing big economy and weak growth has pushed Germany, Japan and the UK into “technical recession”. Still, Germany, Britain and France are now in the forefront of weaponising Ukraine’s military.

Trump’s anti-NATO bluster is serious, but not catastrophic. Of 31 NATO countries, 18 will meet the 2 per cent defence expenditure target this year. Trump may be reelected, but the US has already signed agreements with Arctic-Nordic-Baltic countries, securing access to 35 military bases close to Russia’s border.

Northern Europe is the springboard for any confrontation between NATO and Russia. With its nuclear arsenal, the US remains Europe’s ultimate security guarantor. But the recent arrangements anticipate a future where north European countries assume greater responsibility for their own defence, enabling the US to shift its focus on containing China’s rise.

Announcing her decision to seek a second term from Munich, Von der Leyen said she would consolidate and fortify the EU’s defence industry. Business is big. Navalny’s doomed life ended, so did the applause for his grieving widow. Delegates returned to 21st century realpolitik: war is back! Half a century of peace that brought immense prosperity flickers like a blip in history.

political-analysts-in-russia-believe-that-alexei-navalny-s-death-would-not-tarnish-putin-s-reputation

Mon Feb 26 10:54:36 IST 2024

Alexei Navalny, probably the most famous critic of the Kremlin, died on February 16, in a high-security penal colony nicknamed ‘Polar Wolf’, located in the Yamalo-Nenets region, north of the Arctic Circle. Navalny was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism since August 2023. Before his final incarceration, he had to face several other legal cases, sentences, home arrests and an episode of alleged poisoning in 2020.

Navalny led the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which he set up in 2011. The group was known for its videos on social media on the alleged riches of Russia’s top officials and billionaires. Russia designated it as an extremist organisation in 2021 and it was liquidated by the Moscow City Court. In 2022, when Navalny was already in jail, he announced the relaunch of the foundation, now international, with a funding of €50,000 that he got from the Sakharov Prize awarded by the European parliament.

While Navalny was popular across the world, it was different in his home country. His personality and views, his entire political career―something that skips the eye of outsiders―turned many people off in Russia. As a Russian journalist noted, “He was certainly far more popular and loved abroad than in Russia.”

Navalny was born in 1976 in the Moscow region to an army officer hailing from Ukraine―a village near Chernobyl―and a lab technician. He got his law degree from the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia in Moscow, and in 2001, he got a degree in finance from the Finance Academy under the Russian government.

Navalny entered politics in 2000 with the then vibrant, liberal Yabloko party. While at Yabloko, he met several activists who would later become prominent faces of Russian opposition, such as Ilya Yashin and Nikita Belykh. A year later, he was elected to the council of the Moscow branch of the party.

In 2007, Navalny founded the national-democratic movement called Narod, along with writer and former member of the National Bolshevik Party, Zakhar Prilepin (who was severely injured last year in an assassination attempt that Moscow has blamed on the United States and Ukraine), and former member of the Saint Petersburg legislative assembly, Sergey Gulyaev. One of the sponsors of the movement was Stanislav Belkovsky, once a mid-level Kremlin adviser and now a popular commentator for western media outlets, living in Israel. Navalny was soon expelled from Yabloko “for causing political damage to the party, in particular for nationalist activities”.

During this time, two notorious videos of Navalny campaigning for gun rights to fight Muslim migrants from former Soviet republics―he compared them to “cockroaches”―and advocating for deportation of “non-Russians” appeared. Narod’s activities soon came to a stop, but Navalny’s graph continued to rise. He chose an indirect political route by purchasing shares in state-owned companies and subsequently leveraging his shareholder status to raise concerns about mismanagement and corruption. Speaking to the Kommersant-Dengi magazine in 2009, Navalny explained his interest in politics: “Old opposition leaders are so irrelevant that a smart, young person will be noticed right away.”

Navalny’s career took a sharp turn in 2010. Upon the recommendation of three people who are some of the most prominent critics of the Kremlin (and are based outside Russia)―economist Sergei Guriev, journalist Yevgenia Albats and chess grandmaster-turned political activist Garry Kasparov―Navalny joined a six-month course at Yale University under the Yale World Fellows programme. “Alexei was a Yale World Fellow from the class of 2010, who embodied the ideals of the open society and dedicated his life to the pursuit of a better Russia,” wrote Emma Sky, director of the International Leadership Centre, Yale University, after Navalny’s death.

Navalny returned to Russia after the course. Months later, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in what the western media labelled as the “biggest protests of the Putin era”. The Bolotnaya protests, which denounced what demonstrators deemed as a flawed electoral process, represented a crucial juncture for both Russia’s opposition movement and the government’s stance towards street demonstrations. These protests would shape the trajectory of Russian politics for the following decade. That was also when Navalny began to gain attention from western leaders and media. To be sure, that was also the time when he would be noticed by Russians – polls showed awareness about Navalny increased from 6 per cent in April 2011 to 48 per cent in September 2014.

The timing of Navalny’s alleged killing―for which Russia and the west blame each other―appears suspicious. It came hours before Ukraine announced its withdrawal from the strategic eastern city of Avdiivka after several months of fighting. It also coincided with a US congressional vote on a $60 billion military package to Ukraine and with the Munich Security Conference where world leaders discussed Russia’s threat to the world, while keeping Moscow out. Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, was in Munich, and she was swiftly given the stage to deliver a speech condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin. Two days later, she said she would continue her husband’s work and called on his supporters in Russia to join her in fighting Putin. She also said that their team knew why Navalny was killed by Putin, how it was executed, and that they would reveal the details.

The news of Navalny’s death came just a few days after American political commentator Tucker Carlson published his interview with Putin, making the Kremlin’s point of view accessible to western audiences. While Navalny’s death and the west’s reaction to it remained top news, many other important things were largely ignored by the world media, such as the trial of whistleblower journalist Julian Assange which began in London on February 20. Ahead of the hearing, Assange’s wife, Stella, said her husband would die if he was extradited to the US. The death of US-Chilean journalist, Gonzalo Lira, which took place in January, too, did not find much mention in the west. Lira died in an Ukrainian prison where he was kept after trying to flee to Europe.

Political analysts in Russia believe that Navalny’s passing, which came just a month before the elections in March, would not shift the political landscape in Russia or tarnish Putin’s reputation. This assertion is grounded in the perceived limited relevance of Navalny or any other liberal opposition figure in contemporary Russia.

Hours after Navalny’s death, a video surfaced online. It was first released by Russian security services in 2021. In the clip, allegedly taken in 2012, a person who looks like Navalny’s right-hand man Vladimir Ashurkov can be seen talking to a British intelligence officer. “If we had more money, we could expand our opportunities, of course. If somebody would spend a little money… $10 million-$20 million a year on supporting this, we would see a different picture,” he can be heard saying.

We may perhaps never know what happened in ‘Polar Wolf’, or who actually backed Navalny, but what he embodied was an image of the ‘ideal’ opposition leader―young, handsome, bold and supported by a loving wife and children. For some people, it was undeniably an attractive image.

But in reality, the complexities of Russia, its geographic, economic and geopolitical realities, require not just an image, but also a vision, a programme and skills, and also support from the established political system. Russia is not a marginal regional player where candidates can be placed, tried, and replaced at will. It is a nuclear power able to influence the global military, economic and strategic balance, even though the west still prefers to deny it.

While in jail, Navalny used to communicate with his supporters through social media posts delivered through his lawyers. His irony-filled posts on his life in prison encouraged people to not give up on making Russia a better place―a message relevant to many, irrespective of their political preferences. However, neither Navalny, nor the collective opposition, articulated the vision for Russia based on today’s realities that are different from those of 2021 and particularly those of 2011.

Navalny’s brand will remain alive long after his demise, but the alternative acceptable to Russia of 2024 and beyond has to emerge from within.

Ksenia Kondratieva, a journalist based in Saint Petersburg, works as India editor at rt.com.

artist-cum-scientist-priyanka-das-rajkakati-opens-up-about-her-interactions-with-modi-and-macron

Sat Feb 03 14:55:13 IST 2024

She is known to possess an empathetic mind of remarkable maturity that is far beyond her years. Priyanka Das Rajkakati, who is in her early 30s, remains rooted despite rubbing shoulders with the world’s best scientific minds. She was twice part of French President Emmanuel Macron’s team during interactions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She says Macron is very warm, with a sharp wit and a great sense of humour. Having observed Modi and Macron from close quarters, Priyanka feels they share a sense of mutual trust, which has been a vital ingredient in the growing India-France bilateral partnership. The artist-cum-aerospace scientist―she loves the dual identity―gave Senior Special Correspondent Sanjib Kr Baruah an outsider’s ‘insider perspective’ of India-France relations.

My childhood was spent in Delhi, where I attended The Mother’s International School, immersed in Indo-French culture. It only felt natural to move to France in 2013 to pursue higher studies. I also had another agenda for choosing France: the freedom to chart out a career in both arts and science. Now, a decade later, French President Emmanuel Macron knows me by my name and is familiar with my work―an immensely validating experience as a cross-cultural, nomadic artist-scientist.

I was privileged to be seated close to President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the dining table during the Bastille Day celebrations in Paris last July. Then, this year for the Republic Day in India, I was grateful to have been invited back to be a part of an event with President Macron in Jaipur on January 25.

Meeting heads of state is always an interesting experience, like having the fourth wall broken in a film. As a scientist, while I do have to adopt a neutral, dispassionate stance, as an artist, I suppose I can permit myself to share my perspective of the human beings behind such positions of responsibility. Up close, President Macron is indeed very warm and seemingly curious about you, with a sharp wit and a great sense of humour. He offered to introduce me to Prime Minister Modi last year during the state dinner, and then proceeded to take my photo with the prime minister. It is a much-treasured possession.

In Jaipur this time, my role was to facilitate his interaction with a select group of bright students learning French and aspiring to go to France, and hearing him speak about me as someone who has charted out a successful career for herself in France was a very humbling experience. In fact, he not only remembered me from last year’s dinner, but also remembered the painting I had presented him then. Of course, on both occasions, I had made it a point to wear the traditional Assamese ‘mekhela saador’, which not only helped me represent my Assamese roots, but also helped me stand out.

Having seen from close quarters the president and the prime minister interacting with each other, one can easily sense their mutual trust, which has been a vital ingredient in the rapidly warming India-France bilateral relationship. Even the attitude of the French people towards India and Indians has changed dramatically in recent years. If it was all about India’s poverty in the past, now it is about the vibrancy of a youthful India receiving its due at the high table of the comity of nations.

This is especially important for people like me, trying to keep a foot in my country of origin and another where life has led me. It has not exactly been easy, to establish myself as an artist with a scientific background, but the challenge has indeed taken me to some interesting places. Being a part of some prestigious institutes has opened many doors for me. Hence, I am grateful for my education. After graduating in physics from St Stephen’s College in Delhi, I joined Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, where I studied computer science, and then finished with a PhD from ISAE-Supaero in aerospace engineering, both premier institutes in France.

On the side, I continued exploring projects through technology. I have been an artist in residence at space conferences, converting scientific research into tangible pieces of art, which can also be used by scientists as engaging, visual representations of their work. I have sent a piece of my artwork to space as part of the Moon Gallery project, with the aim of provoking thought about which earthian aspects should interplanetary societies of the future take with them.

Currently, I am working on an art-science initiative called RiVeins, where the hypothesis of my research is that merely developing technologies, such as for flood warning, is not sufficient if we do not consider the vulnerable human aspect in their design, and that art can be the perfect medium to close this growing gap between cutting-edge science and society. I am also working as the head of special projects for a French company called vorteX-io, which is developing an innovative and intelligent river forecasting service. I am leading the WHYLD (Worldwide Hydrological Large-scale Database) project, and I hope to eventually partner with entities in India to adapt such a system back home, especially in Assam. My parents are from some of Assam’s most flood-prone districts.

So basically, I am now at the crossroads of three identities―French, Indian and Assamese. And I am glad that India-France bilateral ties are at their best now.

former-high-commissioner-to-pakistan-ajay-bisaria-interview

Sat Jan 27 12:06:09 IST 2024

Exclusive Interview/ Ajay Bisaria, former high commissioner to Pakistan

AJAY BISARIA HAD just 72 hours to pack his bags and leave Islamabad. The Indian high commissioner to Pakistan was expelled by the host country in 2019―the fallout of India repealing Article 370, ending the special status for Jammu and Kashmir. The only other Indian high commissioner who had to leave Pakistan in a hurry was Vijay K. Nambiar, after the attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001. But Nambiar could even manage a round of golf before his departure. Bisaria did not have such luck. The difference, he writes, was that Nambiar was withdrawn by India, while he had his marching orders from the Pakistani government.

Bisaria’s book, Anger Management: The Troubled Diplomatic Relationship between India and Pakistan, is well researched and is full of interesting anecdotes. He reveals how G. Parthasarathy, the then high commissioner, had to answer prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s questions on old Hindi hits which were being belted out by the Punjab Police band in Lahore during the famous bus yatra by prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999. There is also the advice by former diplomat Satinder Lambah to never discuss Kashmir in Pakistan after 6pm. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Bisaria speaks about the book, his experiences in Pakistan, Indian foreign policy and world politics. Excerpts:

Q/ Why the title Anger Management?

A/ It is a playful title. There is a serious undercurrent. There is a lot of anger, passion and hatred―from the time of partition, and its aftermath. [There is] anger about the four wars, about Kashmir, about territory, about Bangladesh, about Siachen. There is India’s anger about terrorism and Mumbai. The management is often in writings on Pakistan, on policy. People say it is about managing the relationship, which means there is no grand strategy to resolve this conundrum. What you really have is perhaps a way of tactical adjustments, so that it does not get worse, rather than a strategic reset, which says we can be like Germany and France. We do not talk of that model at all.

Q/ Can you describe your last few days in Pakistan?

A/ We did not anticipate this overreaction. We thought there will be a lot of anger, there will be a lot of rhetoric [over the abrogation of Article 370]. But it just seemed to run over. On August 7, 2019, we heard that they asked to close down the high commission. As I mentioned in the book, we were not sure that day whether they would say, ‘Let us break off diplomatic relations’, or ‘Shut down the mission and ask the Indians to leave’. Or they would simply downgrade the mission and throw out 50 per cent of our people. In the end, asking the high commissioner to leave was the least disruptive choice. The only question then was, how much time do I have? I had two chefs and a house, and my wife was not in town.

I had 72 hours, just about enough time to do some analysis and to pack up and leave. My whole exit was also something that had to be choreographed and planned because I did not want to end up being on the Wagah border, and a grandstanding happening about being allowed to leave or not. I just left quietly, taking a flight.

Q/ Do you feel that Imran Khan could have solved the problem if he did not overreact?

A/ Absolutely. Leadership matters―how leaders react, what they do, how they handle a sensitive issue, it matters. Imran Khan could have taken that view and not bang that door shut. Because at the same time, they were talking of geoeconomics and trying to find a modus vivendi with India. Imran’s phase was a wasted opportunity, because the army seemed to be going through a rethink about the India relationship. The army was telling us or was giving us the impression that Imran had run away with those talking points. He was taking them to such levels of public statements that it became very hard for anyone to roll back.

Q/ You also talk about a tipoff about an attack in Kashmir.

A/ It was from an ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) source about a possible Al Qaeda attack in Kashmir. This was related to Zakir Musa, a terrorist who had been killed. I mentioned this incident to illustrate the point that strange things have happened in this relationship. This is not for the first time that either of these (Indian and Pakistani) agencies would have informed each other [about]some bit of live intelligence of relevance. But also, with what happened at that point of time, we can only speculate that they did not want another Pulwama. They were trying to improve the atmospherics with India, particularly in the context of a possible meeting in Bishkek between Imran and Prime Minister Modi. I just use this episode to illustrate that not everything is one little narrative of complete hostility.

Q/ You talk about an incident where Manvendra Singh, former MP from Barmer, asked your help to transport the body of an old lady who had gone to visit her relatives in Pakistan and how you contacted the Pakistani civil society.

A/ What it represents is the latent goodwill in the relationship, which stems from these people-to-people connections, what we often call cultural intimacy. I also caution that we should not overstate the case, because we find public narratives and people-to-people relationship also often get poisoned by the official narrative, of extreme hatred. We should park it in our mind as an asset, something that can be deployed, because there is still a good deal of cultural intimacy even among people who don’t share the partition links.

Q/ Do you think that India and Pakistan can be like France and Germany someday?

A/ If you look at very long term, there is certainly a nonzero probability of the relationship becoming like France and Germany. But there are many hurdles. It can become way better. Or, worse? We could just muddle along, as we have been doing. Leadership is important and diplomacy is important. We need to be very consciously understanding this issue and creatively dealing with it.

Q/ You suggest a model where India engages the Pakistan army.

A/ I would certainly advocate policy where we followed twin tracks of active defence―where we have a lower tolerance of terrorism―and deal with it kinetically, in the sub-conventional space. We have an answer for it and we make the costs so high that the Pakistan establishment abandons what is called the strategic culture of jihadism. But accompanied by that we need flexible, creative and calibrated engagement. For instance, right now is not the right time to talk to Pakistan, because we don’t know whom to talk to till the elections are held. Within that, it is important to triangulate anything that we talk with the civilians, with the army, through whatever means―direct or indirect. We have seen the precedent of Sharif, [going it] alone. He [was] with Vajpayee on the Lahore bus yatra, and had invited Prime Minister Modi. But the army was not on board. So he could not deliver, and get the other stakeholders on board. This is the reason why I look at 2024 with some cautious optimism. We could have a political configuration starring Sharif, who would be backed this time by the army. If both Prime Minister Modi and Sharif are in their legacy terms, they might prefer to leave a legacy of peace, than one of war.

Q/ How do you look at Pakistan elections? Sharif has a starring role, but do you think that the army has fixed everything else with Imran so that it can possibly look at Sharif winning with legitimacy?

A/ They are certainly moving in that direction. But it is not an easy task. They like to do election engineering, but they have to do industrial scale management. If Imran’s cadres are to be believed, there is a 70 per cent to 80 per cent wave in his favour. That makes it harder to manage those election results.

They do typically some pre-election engineering, like they will have a few parties suddenly folding in and supporting Sharif. But their worry at this point is that Sharif has not captured the imagination [of the voters] even in Punjab the way they would have expected. There is a certain conversation going on, on postponing the elections. The mood generally is to have them done. [The process] to manage those elections so that the PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) and Imran are extinguished completely and [to launch] project Nawaz has begun.

Q/ What is it about Imran? How do you explain his popularity?

A/ Imran was too good to be true. He had charisma. Three successive army chiefs believed that they were wasting their time on Sharif and the Pakistan Peoples Party. [General] Bajwa believed in this project in the beginning very strongly. The problem is that Imran could not deliver on governance. On economic governance, he was quite a failure. Even on foreign policy, he created a big mess from their point of view, which made them want to step in. But most important, he pushed back on the army in its internal management of who would become the director-general of the ISI. All that added to the army saying that this was a mistake.

I recall when Imran was coming in, there were a lot of younger army officers apparently saying, ‘Be careful. He will, in a couple of years, develop a mind of his own, and he may want to take the country in a different direction.’ That was exactly what happened.

Q/ One of the factors that is going to affect the India-Pakistan relationship is geopolitics. The big power game has begun again. How do you see that panning out, especially with a belligerent China and the US?

A/ Major powers have always played a role. The current geopolitical challenge for Pakistan is happening against the backdrop of a severe economic crisis, accompanied by a security and political crisis. They are facing a global crisis with the US-China standoff, and [looking at] how to balance the two powers. They need both for economic sustenance. China can give direct loans and the CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) investments. But the US is required for IMF loans. Since August 15, 2021 [and] the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, their geopolitical rents have dried up. [The rent for their] strategic location, which they used to earn through the Cold War, the Afghan war and the war on terror, has suddenly dried up. Pakistan is floundering. The central problem for them, apart from the Afghan crisis, is this need to balance the US and China.

Q/ Pakistan has always claimed strategic depth in Afghanistan. There is also the proxy war of the Khalistan in Canada.

A/ Afghanistan is certainly the bigger challenge, the biggest for Pakistan in a security sense. In the two years post August 2021, Pakistan’s central objectives were not met. The opposite happened. What did they expect with the Taliban? One, they recognise the Durand Line (Pakistan-Afghanistan) border and respect it. Second, they would control the TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan) and not let them attack Pakistan. And third, keep the Indians out. On all three fronts, the Taliban has done the opposite. India has the coordination mission. They are not really throwing India out. From our point of view, Pakistan’s whole relevance to Afghanistan has gone down.

The Khalistani separatism and Pakistan’s support is well known, right from the 1970s. They use a low cost option of going to the diaspora communities and trying to radicalise them. A lot of them are invited to Pakistan. This is something that Pakistan does and will continue to do. We are aware of it, we need to keep watching it very carefully. In Canada, it also plays into the internal politics, less than, say in the US, Australia, Germany or the UK.

is-france-now-india-s-most-important-supplier-of-military-equipment

Sat Jan 13 12:43:08 IST 2024

On May 11, 1998, prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee gave the world a shock by announcing that India had exploded the nuclear bomb again. The tests were conducted in Pokhran, in the deserts of Rajasthan, where India tested its first nuclear device in 1974 under Indira Gandhi. The west, led by the United States, was furious and sanctions followed. But there was an exception. French president Jacques Chirac went against the western consensus and chose to pursue closer ties with India.

Cut to the present, when US President Joe Biden expressed his inability to attend the Republic Day celebrations as chief guest, there was no real panic in the corridors of the South Block. Because Indian diplomats knew that they could bank on the ever-dependable French. And Jawed Ashraf, the Indian ambassador in Paris, sprung into action.

Soon and sure enough, on December 22, President Emmanuel Macron took to X to confirm that he would be attending the Republic Day celebrations as chief guest. Less than seven months ago, on July 14, it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was the guest of honour at the Champs-Elysees in Paris during the Bastille Day celebrations, which, as the French national day, commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789 during the French Revolution.

That day, as Rafale fighters from the Indian Air Force flew overhead, Macron, with Modi at his side, said, “[India] is a giant in the history of the world which will have a determining role in our future.” Apart from telephonic interactions, the two leaders have met several times in the last two years―in Paris on an official visit by Modi in May 2022, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in November 2022, in Hiroshima in May 2023 during the G7 summit and during the G20 summit in New Delhi in September 2023. “With this new―and somewhat last-minute―visit to India, Macron intends to show his personal commitment to the bilateral partnership as well as the staunchness of France’s engagement with India,” said Isabelle Saint-Mezard, associate research fellow at the French think tank IFRI (French Institute of International Relations).

In the burgeoning India-France relationship, it is the defence vertical that leads the way, with France being a traditionally important supplier with a vibrant military production ecosystem on continental Europe and an increasingly aspirational India being a prominent buyer. The numbers speak for themselves. A March 2022 SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) report says that India’s share of arms import from Russia came down to 46 per cent in 2017-2021 from 69 per cent in 2012-2017. France, meanwhile, recorded an eleven-fold growth during the same period, making it India’s second-largest arms supplier after Russia.

Supporting the French quest to secure a key presence in the Indian market is the legacy factor. The state-of-the-art Rafale fighters follow a long line of French exports. There is the Mirage 2000 multirole fighter aircraft from the Dassault stable, the Chetak, Cheetah and Cheetal helicopters that have their origins in the French Alouette and Lama helicopters, the Scorpene submarines, diesel engines for submarines and ships, anti-submarine warfare sonars, radars and the Milan anti-tank missiles.

France was the first major western power to ink a long-term strategic partnership with India in the multipolar context, finalising the deal in 1998. Now French strike weapons like the R.550 Magic air-to-air missiles, Exocet anti-ship missiles, the MICA missile system, SCALP air-launched cruise missiles and the Hammer air-to-surface missiles are at the frontline of the Indian offensive armoury. India has recently placed orders for 26 naval variants of the Rafale fighter and three Scorpene class submarines. The new fighter jets will be for the naval air fleet onboard the aircraft carriers INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya.

As India is on a mission to broad-base its military sourcing, France, with its dependability, warm bilateral vibes and its arsenal of powerful and time-tested military systems, is an obvious choice to be a strategic partner. This is especially true as Russia, which has been New Delhi’s traditional partner for decades, is experiencing a major turmoil caused by the Ukraine war. India is also concerned about the burgeoning Sino-Russian ties, which have strengthened during the war.

India needs more platforms where nuclear systems can be mounted. With Sino-Indian ties at an all-time low, such systems are needed urgently for deterrence. Rafale jets can be made nuclear-weapons compliant more easily than US platforms as Washington often imposes restrictive clauses on using its platforms. India is also concerned that despite the growing ties with the US, Washington remains cagey about supplying its most modern platforms to Delhi. Not offering the F-35 fifth generation stealth fighter aircraft to India―when many countries across the world operate it―is just a case in point.

Following the mega military deals, India expects French support on critical geopolitical issues, including New Delhi’s long-pending demand for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Finally, India believes that strong ties with France offer it more space for pursuing a policy of ‘strategic autonomy’.

France, meanwhile, has recognised the evolving nature of the global order, which mandates a shift from the traditional focus on the Atlantic theatre to a bigger role for the Indo-Pacific. The US has already made the Indo-Pacific its key strategic priority in an attempt to check the growing Chinese influence in southeast Asia and the Pacific rim. India’s geographical position is of pivotal interest to the French in its quest to retain global relevance. “France sees India as a major partner at the bilateral, regional and global levels,” said Saint-Mezard. “At the bilateral level, the two states have built a high degree of mutual trust over the years. Their cooperation covers different areas, including that of military equipment and technology, which is deemed critical from a French point of view.”

The French economy is in bad shape. Macron hopes that an abiding relationship with the world’s biggest importer of weapon systems and one of the most promising economies in the world would offer a panacea from the economic woes. In that context, Macron’s visit―which is based on a realistic assessment of his country’s strategic, business, cultural and political interests―may be a harbinger of a much deeper French connection for India.

french-ambassador-to-india-thierry-mathou-interview

Sat Jan 13 12:40:03 IST 2024

Interview/ Thierry Mathou, French ambassador to India

How do you look at President Macron’s visit to India?

It is a historic visit that demonstrates the special character and deep mutual trust of India-France friendship. It comes a few months after Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Paris as guest of honour of France’s national day and will mark the sixth participation of France as guest of honour on India’s Republic Day―the highest for any nation. President Macron’s visit will also seal the ambitious renewal of the India-France strategic partnership that the two leaders decided on July 14 in Paris and give further impetus to our common goals under the three pillars of the Horizon 2047 Roadmap―partnership for security and sovereignty, partnership for the planet and partnership for the people.

India considers France a dependable friend. How does France view India?

France and India have always stood by each other, in good times and bad. This unwavering solidarity, combined with our common quest for strategic autonomy in a multipolar world, is what makes the time-tested relationship so unique. France sees India as a major, responsible power that has a key role to play in bridging divides and advancing solutions to global challenges. That is also why France has always supported a permanent seat for India at the UN Security Council.

Do you think there could be more areas of military convergence?

Defence cooperation is a long-standing pillar of our strategic partnership. France is committed to being India’s top partner in developing its strategic autonomy and working together on the technologies and capabilities of the future. The operational cooperation between our armed forces is also outstanding, with regular joint army, navy and air exercises that raise our level of interoperability and demonstrate our capacity to act together as net security providers in the Indo-Pacific.

why-maldives-has-much-more-to-gain-by-keeping-india-on-its-side

Sat Jan 13 12:36:05 IST 2024

THE MUIZZU GOVERNMENT in the Maldives seems to be getting into hot water as far as its relationship with India goes. Even before assuming office as president, Mohamed Muizzu was unambiguous about his alignment with China and his disdain for India. The relationship between the Maldives and India has since headed consistently southwards.

The latest in the series of overt contempt for India has been the derogatory comments made by three Maldivian deputy ministers against Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he visited Lakshadweep. To its credit, the Muizzu government promptly distanced itself from the comments and suspended the ministers. This was surprising, so I think there may have been some strong signalling by India.

The mocking ministers may have perceived Modi’s visit as part of an effort to develop Lakshadweep as a tourist destination rivalling the Maldives. Perhaps an insecurity complex kicked in, since development of Lakshadweep would have the potential to dent the tourism economy of the Maldives. While that would be some distance away, if India seriously applies its mind to develop world-class tourism in Lakshadweep, nobody can stop it from doing so, least of all the Maldives. There has been discussion about this in the past as well, but ecological considerations and concerns of the local population have held India back. It must be done soonest as it will transform the lives and economy of the Union territory.

Rewind a few weeks. Ever since Muizzu took up his presidency, there has been a clamour that Indian troops and military detachments leave the Maldives. The Indian military presence there is minimal, restricted to skeleton diplomatic staff, naval Dornier and advanced light helicopter (ALH) detachments, and a support team for the patrol craft gifted to the Maldivian Coast Guard. These can be pulled back very easily.

The Maldives has an exclusive economic zone of 9,23,322 square kilometres, and has neither the capability nor the capacity to monitor these vast sea areas. Hence, it was at the request of the Maldives that these bilateral security measures were adopted. It is also a manifestation of India’s ‘neighbourhood first’policy, which seeks to develop capability and capacity of smaller maritime neighbours to bridge their capability gaps and address their security concerns.

The Maldivian Coast Guard has learnt the ropes primarily from the Indian Navy. Till the time India gifted them a patrol craft, they operated only small inter-island speedboats that had very little capability to detect or intervene in an EEZ violation. Even with the availability of a patrol craft, violations further out to sea went undetected, resulting in blatant violation of the EEZ by poachers and trawlers of extra-regional countries. With joint patrols by the Maldivian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy, such violations started getting detected.

India also helped the Maldives to set up a coastal radar chain. Obviously, entities indulging in illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing did not like to be called out. It is my guess that these entities may have had a role to play in influencing Muizzu and his ilk.

It is no secret that China is deeply entrenched in the Maldives in various ways. The Chinese strategy of assisting small countries with mega projects and extracting long-term leverages is known as much to the Maldives as it is to other recipient nations. If such a system is acceptable to the recipient nations, India should have no problem, in principle.

To give the devil its due, China is known to deliver efficiently on promises and negotiate effectively with political dispensations on mega projects. Maybe India could take a page from the Chinese book as a lesson in efficiency. Trust-building is quite another thing, on which India places a premium. As an independent nation, the Maldives must make its choices; and these choices need not result in a zero-sum game between India and China.

There are three things that the Maldives government, whatever the political dispensation, would do well to recognise. First, the India of today is a different country. It is already the fifth largest economy in the world and on its way to becoming the third largest by the middle of the next decade. Its political, technological and economic heft will increase and create opportunities, not just for itself but also for its neighbours and partners. India’s rich and famous could easily be one of the largest sections of tourists visiting the Maldives and the number of American and European tourists could reduce over time.

Second, India is the most capable country in the region with every kind of facility that is lacking in our smaller neighbouring countries. Nationals from neighbouring countries flock to India for tourism, education, employment, medical care and pilgrimage. India has always been welcoming and open to such foreign nationals, but this open-heartedness must not be seen as a weakness. It takes just a piece of paper to create barriers to availing facilities in India. As mentioned earlier, this new India is quite a changed nation-state. The Maldives must weigh its options carefully.

Third, India is the closest maritime neighbour to the Maldives to its west. Male is an hour and a half away by air from Kochi. The distance by sea is less than 400 nautical miles, which is less than a day’s steaming distance by ships of the Indian Navy. In the case of a natural calamity or any other kind of crisis, India will always be the first responder. Ships, aircraft and people of the Indian armed forces will be the first to come to the aid of Maldivians.

Remember the December 2014 drinking water crisis in Male? It was the Indian Navy that ensured that Male did not run dry, while their distillation plants were being repaired. Should there be an emergency requiring relocation of climate refugees, where will the Maldivians go? And who will accept them?

Much thinking needs to be done before policy decisions are considered in India-Maldives relations. The Maldives has much more to gain by keeping India on its side―and much more to lose by queering the pitch.

The author is a former commander-in-chief of the Eastern Naval Command.

china-is-trying-aggressively-to-influence-the-outcome-of-the-january-13-elections-in-taiwan

Sat Jan 06 13:46:58 IST 2024

Vincent Chiang, 58, a marine officer-turned tour guide, has not explored the unique abundance of mighty mountains and pristine beaches dotting Taiwan’s coastline. Instead, he puts his visitors on a musical bus that plays Enigma’s ‘Return to Innocence’ (based on a native Taiwanese chant), taking them to ultra urban destinations like Taipei 101 that light up the island’s skyline and produce as many microchips that can power every iPad, iPhone and MacBook in the world.

The joyride is broken intermittently with Vincent pointing towards a big map inside the bus. “Even though Taiwan is full of mountains and beaches, those were out of bounds for a long, long time under martial law,” he said. “A lot of people of my generation can neither swim nor go hiking even today. Isn’t it ridiculous?”

As a boy growing up in Tainan, the oldest city on the island, Vincent promised family elders that he would neither swim nor hike lest he is mistaken for a dissident trying to flee. He kept his promise, but some others did not. In 1979, Justin Yifu Lin, who was doing his mandatory military service on Kinmen island, just off the mainland, dived into the sea and dramatically swam 2,000 metres to reach China. He wanted to escape the oppressive Kuomintang (KMT) regime founded by Chiang Kai-shek who retreated to Taiwan after his army’s defeat in the Chinese civil war in 1949. Building a new life in Beijing, Lin grew to become a chief economist at the World Bank. His story of defection continues to be a living example of the deep cross-strait divide and the claim of the islanders that China and Taiwan don’t belong to each other.

Lin can never return to Taiwan after he openly defected to the “enemy”. The Taiwanese defence ministry opts for a court martial and even death penalty for such acts. Taiwan remained under martial law for over three decades, the longest in the world (after Syria) under the KMT regime, till 1986. The period is known as the ‘White Terror’ with mass arrests, human rights violations and tales of suppression. Freedom came only in 1996 when Taiwan had its first democratic elections to make Lee Teng-hui, the first president to be born in Taiwan and the first to be directly elected. The people of Taiwan called him Mr Democracy. Since then, political choices of the islanders oscillate between two distinct identities―mainlanders and native Taiwanese.

On January 13, when Taiwan elects its new president and parliament amid rising threats about unification, the choice of the people will once again determine whether Taiwan can remain independent of Xi Jinping’s China. Identity remains an important issue in these elections, a three-cornered contest between the two established political parties―the Democratic Progressive Party and the KMT―and a new entrant, the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP).

“Dissimilar degrees of attachment to the island exists even today,” said Mumin Chen, a professor at the National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan, who now works at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in New Delhi. “Earlier China wanted to earn the goodwill of the people of Taiwan. That is why it had a policy of appeasement when the KMT was in power between 2008 and 2016. But things have changed as the Chinese government under Xi feels that unification is a goal to achieve as soon as possible. China is losing patience and this has changed the nature of the relationship.”

Since a majority of Taiwan’s residents now consider themselves Taiwanese instead of Chinese, it becomes critical for the island to find a better way to coexist peacefully with China. “The DPP does not want a war with China, but it is keen to prepare itself to defend against any aggression. It feels that regional security and stability is its responsibility,” said Chen. “The party wants the global community to recognise Taiwan as an independent and a sovereign country.’’

The election campaign reflects the mood of the people. The islanders want to build their own submarines to defend against any military action that can take them back to Gestapo-style rule. Placards and billboards showing young Taiwanese on submarines have flooded the DPP campaign, creating a buzz in physical and online space.

“With Xi stating that resolving the Taiwan issue is an important goal, no matter which party is elected, it must face China’s powerful combination of military and political oppression,” said Shen Ming-sheh, acting deputy CEO of Taiwan’s Institute for National Defence and Security Research. “There must be sufficient high tech weapons and joint combat capabilities. If the number of submarines can be increased, it will be of great help in countering the blockade [of the Taiwan Strait].’’ Currently, Taiwan has a fleet of four submarines―two of them built in the 1980s by the Netherlands and two World War II vintage ones from the US. It is now building a series of indigenous submarines.

The DPP’s presidential candidate Lai Ching-te (also known as William Lai) has put defence preparedness on top of his list of priorities. The party is banking on the United States to augment Taiwan’s military prowess. The US has supplied at least 66 F-16Vs and is expected to send more advanced training fighter jets and 108 M1A2 tanks as part of an extensive military modernisation drive against the backdrop of the looming Chinese invasion.

There is a growing realisation that Taiwan’s own forces need to be combat ready, not just in sheer skill, but also in size. “If China invades on a large scale, it may mobilise three lakh to four lakh soldiers. Taiwan’s current military strength is insufficient, so the number of standing and reserve troops must be increased,” said Shen.

Military conscription is the key to Taiwan’s security and survival and it has become an important electoral issue. Lai wants to increase the mandatory military service from four months to a year. But the KMT presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih, a burly ex-police officer who serves as mayor of New Taipei City, has opposed the idea, saying war mongering can be dangerous. “We speak the same language and share the same history. Most of the people in Taiwan came directly from China in 1949. So, the relationship has never been cut off,” said Huang Yi-teng, director general of the KMT’s Evaluation and Discipline Committee. “The two areas are one cultural region in many ways.”

If the KMT takes pride in its leaders having “good neighbourly ties’’ with China that can benefit the people of Taiwan, the DPP boasts a winning combination of Lai for president and former de facto ambassador to the US, Hsiao Bi-khim, as his second-in-command. Hsiao is popularly known as the “cat warrior’’ who can counter China’s “wolf-warrior’’ diplomacy, with her delicate balancing act. “William is a heavyweight in Taiwan politics who rose from the ranks, while Hsiao was a diplomat in the US with a rooftop view. After her US posting, she returned to work at the grassroots level to build herself up in Taiwan politics,” said Andrea Yang, deputy secretary general of the DPP. Hsiao, who is a cat lover, is said to have mastered her political strategy by watching her four favourite feline pets. “They tread softly, but they are able to find the right positions of defence,’’ she was quoted as saying.

Huang said Taiwan’s historic relationship with the US had been beneficial, but also pointed towards the shift of power from the US to China. “The Americans are getting weaker and China has become more powerful. It is not a threat, but an opportunity for Taiwan,” he said. “We are neighbours, we ought to talk.” But Yang said China’s rise, which was not peaceful, was a threat not only to Taiwan, but to the entire Indo-Pacific region. “We need to continue to deter it,” she said.

The need for stability is driving the polls, and the next president’s primary task would be to maintain Taiwan’s tenuous “status quo’’ as much as possible. The islanders are in no mood to cut themselves off from the rest of the world by incurring China’s wrath. The memory of former US speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit in August 2022, which provoked China to send its warships and fighter jets across the strait, is still fresh. Though Lai and Hsiao are pragmatic leaders, they are seen as more pro-independence than incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen. This can be a trump card for China as it may find an excuse to ratchet up tensions if the DPP wins again. The worry within the DPP camp is that even if it wins the presidential elections, the KMT may get a majority in parliament, making it difficult to execute its flagship defence projects. The psychological warfare by China has impacted DPP’s political fortunes. While the party won a thumping majority in 2020, the KMT is giving it a tight fight this time. Both parties are wooing the diaspora voters as well, sending delegations to foreign countries with significant Taiwanese population.

Taiwan’s elections can be a case study of how campaigns in technologically advanced countries have moved to online spaces where mass propaganda of warring political parties can shape voters’ choices. “China is using TikTok to spread fake news and influence voters. We believe there is a cyber army behind it,” said Yang. But the KMT has a counter. “We see false information coming from many places all the time. It could come from mainland Chinese sources or our own citizens here in Taiwan,” said Chen-Dong Tso, foreign affairs adviser to the KMT presidential candidate.

But there is more to this than meets the eye. Lieutenant General Rajesh Pant (retd), former national cyber security coordinator to the Indian government who recently joined experts from the US and Taiwan in a trilateral initiative to deal with cyberattacks on democratic systems, said democracies in the Indo-Pacific region needed to effectively counter Chinese propaganda, manipulation of public opinion and disinformation, besides dealing with threats to critical infrastructure from cyber armies. This becomes particularly important in the run-up to the general elections in India and the US this year, he said.

What is novel about Taiwan’s polls this time is the presence of the new party, the TPP, launched four years ago by Ko Wen-je, a doctor who served as mayor of Taipei from 2014 to 2022. The fatigue with the two-party system is quite evident, and Ko is seen as a dark horse who is ambitious and opportunistic. “The TPP has beaten even the KMT in online campaign. Ko is trying to offer the best of both worlds and young voters are watching his online campaign without blinking,” said Rohan, who works at an Indian restaurant in Taipei.

Tien-sze Fang, deputy director of the Centre for India studies at the National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan, however, said that the position of Ko’s party was highly uncertain. “While advocating closer ties across the strait, he also mentions about adhering to the DPP’s policies, making his stand hard to predict,” said Fang. The KMT and the TPP might join forces to defeat the DPP, but both have refrained from revealing their cards.

“Transparency and fight against corruption are the key issues this time. The ruling party is [swamped by] corruption scandals and fake news. I am not saying that the TPP can wipe out corruption, but it will bring checks and balances. Ko is stressing on integrity to save democracy,” said Rong-I Arthur Hong, Ko’s adviser on security and defence issues.

China’s influence on Taiwan’s polls can be gauged from the fact that Terry Gou, the billionaire founder of the tech giant Foxconn, withdrew from the presidential race after initially opting to run. With entrenched business interests in China, Gou developed cold feet at the last moment. Beijing also sent tax authorities after him when he talked about his independent business policy. Others say he withdrew after failing to bring the KMT and the TPP together. Meanwhile, the KMT and the TPP have not ruled out a post-poll alliance to form the first coalition government in Taiwan’s history in case they can defeat the DPP.

China, meanwhile, seems to be going ahead with its plan to ratchet up tensions in the Indo-Pacific. After breaching the median line in the Taiwan Strait a hundredth time, it is picking up fights in the Philippine Sea as well. Recently, Chinese soldiers used water cannons on Philippine boats, prompting Manila to ask for F-16 fighter jets from the US.

Raoul Manuel, a young parliamentarian from the Philippines, said the Chinese presence had strengthened in the South China sea and its ships were blocking the movement of his country’s ships. “It has been established that the West Philippine Sea belongs to the Philippines and we have the right to sail our ships in our area,” he said. “China is even calling the Philippines an aggressor, when it is the other way around. The strategy of the Philippines is to address these concerns by implementing the Hague tribunal’s South China Sea ruling (which found that Chinese claims in the region lacked legal foundation) and the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).”

Seventy per cent of the world’s commercial shipping passes through the waterways around Taiwan. India, which has a border dispute with China, has military and geostrategic interests in deterring the dragon, making Taiwan its natural ally. “A threat to Taiwan means a threat to the entire Indo-Pacific, because it will have a ripple effect,” said Namrata Hasija, research fellow at the Centre for China Analysis and Strategy, New Delhi. “If China invades Taiwan, two things will happen. First, it will be able to break this first island chain, and it is not going to stop there. If the US supremacy no longer exists, it will give China direct access to all its Pacific bases. It can aim for the East China Sea, then India, and then the whole region is Beijing’s.’’

It sounds a far-fetched proposition, but it remains a looming danger, nonetheless. Fang said upholding democracy in Taiwan would contribute to the formation of an ideal alliance between like-minded democracies such as Japan, India and Taiwan against any potential regional dominance from authoritarian regimes. “Economically, the partnership can help build a more resilient supply chain,” he said.

The democratisation story of any country is an example for the global community. More so, when it is the only Chinese-speaking democracy in the world bold enough to reject communist dictatorship.

taiwan-has-continued-to-uphold-democratic-principles

Sat Jan 06 13:03:27 IST 2024

Taiwan’s presidential elections have garnered international attention, not only because of their potential implications on the future of the country itself and the region, but also because of the inspiration they provide to the world. The democratic consolidation in Taiwan serves as a beacon of hope, showcasing the resilience of democracy in the face of geopolitical challenges and in the pursuit of a progressive and inclusive society.

Some 19.5 million Taiwanese voters will head to the polls on January 13 to elect their next president and 113 members of the Legislative Yuan, the highest lawmaking body in Taiwan. In the past 30 years, having held seven free and fair direct presidential elections, Taiwan has matured into a fully democratic country well recognised around the world.

Taiwan’s resilience in the face of external pressures also serves as an inspiration. Standing on the frontline against expanding authoritarianism, Taiwan has continued to uphold democratic principles and has resisted attempts to compromise its sovereignty in spite of longstanding diplomatic isolation and constant threats from an assertive neighbour. In the meantime, Taiwan has strived to strengthen its defence capabilities and democratic resilience while confronted by increasing threats like grey-zone campaigns, military intimidation, cyberattacks and information manipulation. As a consequence, the international community has come to appreciate how Taiwan’s citizens remain steadfast in their commitment to democratic values.

It is important to note that China’s ambitions, by no means limited to Taiwan, have expanded on the India-China border, in the Indian Ocean, South China Sea, East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

Taiwan is renowned both as a crucial hub for international transport and for the pivotal position it occupies in the global semiconductor supply chains. More than 50 per cent of the world’s freight passes through the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan produces 90 per cent of the advanced semiconductor chips used around the world. If Taiwan comes under attack, the global economy and security will likely suffer.

In recent years, China has used several pretexts to militarily intimidate Taiwan, posing a serious challenge to cross-strait and regional security and putting the international community on high alert. This year, a series of joint communiqués issued at bilateral or multilateral meetings such as the G7 summit, the US-Japan summit and the US-Japan-ROK (South Korea) summit at Camp David have all underscored the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

As such, we remain deeply appreciative of President Joe Biden’s reiteration that the US opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in California on November 15. President Biden emphasised that differences should be resolved peacefully as it is in the international community’s best interest to keep the region peaceful and stable.

As a responsible stakeholder in the Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan will continue to work with all like-minded countries to defend the rules-based international order and ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific. I can therefore guarantee that the new administration after the January election in Taiwan will not deviate from the fundamental policy of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Over the years, Taiwan and India have nurtured a natural and reliable partnership. Ever since both countries established representation in each other’s capitals in 1995, bilateral relations have undergone massive transformation. Bilateral trade has grown more than nine-fold from $0.93 billion in 1995 to $8.4 billion in 2022. A total of 220 Taiwanese enterprises have set up business operations in India with an accumulated investment value of $4.2 billion. In the area of educational cooperation, 31 Taiwan Education Centres have been launched across Indian university campuses, attracting over 8,000 Indian students to take up Mandarin courses and to pursue further studies in Taiwan. In addition, Taiwan and India have made great strides in the field of science and technology, with 136 joint research projects successfully implemented since 2007.

I am also glad to note the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Mumbai is scheduled to open as part of our ongoing efforts to facilitate bilateral exchanges with west India. Moreover, three retired Indian service chiefs visited Taiwan in August to take part in the Ketagalan Forum to discuss defence and security issues in the Indo-Pacific.

I am pleased to highlight External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s remarks in November recognising Taiwan’s achievement in electronics and semiconductors as well as India’s substantial technology, economic and commercial relations with Taiwan. It is clear that our two countries can jointly make greater contributions to a free, open and resilient Indo-Pacific region.

Taiwan’s elections are not only a critical watershed choice of resilience of democracy versus autocracy, but are also likely to have a significant impact on the future dynamics of Taiwan-India relations. The shared commitment to democratic values, economic collaboration and strategic cooperation make our two nations natural partners in the evolving global landscape.

―The author is Taiwan’s representative to India.

andrea-yi-shan-yang-taiwan-democratic-progressive-party-interview

Wed Jan 10 12:53:43 IST 2024

As the world faces two major conflicts―the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas war―Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is worried about the possibility of a third one, with China's constant threats against the island. Speaking exclusively with THE WEEK, the DPP's deputy secretary-general Andrea Yang said it was time Taiwan built its own weapons and military equipment to defend itself. Excerpts from the interview:

Q Are this year’s elections a choice between war and peace in Taiwan?

A Taiwan never really supports any military action with China. It is always China that is using military reasons to jeopardise bilateral relations. The Kuomintang (KMT) is a traditionally pro-China political party, so it says that voting for the DPP is equivalent to going to war. But we continue to emphasise the importance of open dialogue and communication. China, however, wants to implement the so called “one country, two systems’’ model in Taiwan, just like it did in Hong Kong. But we are a sovereign country and we try to uphold our democracy. The Taiwanese people demonstrated this in the 2020 presidential elections when they voted to protect our sovereignty and democracy. Once again there is the need to tell China and the rest of the world that upholding democracy in Taiwan is important.

Q Have election campaigns have moved more into the online space rather than physical?

A It is definitely a trend and we believe that more and more people would not rely on information from traditional mass media. So, the modern politicians really need to learn how to communicate effectively with the users, the voters and their supporters online. And this is something that we all sort of knew can happen (with advancement of technology) but we didn't know how quickly it will change. We could not really predict how fast it's moved around.

Q There are concerns about Chinese interference in the elections.

A China has tried to intervene in Taiwan's elections ever since our first presidential elections in 1996. But their strategy is changing. They are trying to use disinformation and misinformation to influence people's understanding towards China and cross-strait relations. Taiwan is a free country and we cannot ban apps like TikTok. Our younger generation relies on the Chinese app for entertainment. Political messages are being inserted on such platforms and those are also being spread through different chat groups. If you are not careful, you would be easily manipulated by sensational messages, such as the DPP is encouraging people to arm themselves and prepare for war.

Q Is the DPP open to having a dialogue with China and will be it based on the 1992 Consensus?

A Of course, we are open for a dialogue with China but there shouldn't be any preconditions set. The 1992 Consensus is actually a “created” consensus made up by the KMT, and both the KMT and China have different versions of it. This is very confusing. If there is a consensus, there shouldn't be multiple versions, not to mention there is no written document in this case. So, it's almost like a phantom above Taiwan's politics when it comes to cross-Strait issues. The KMT has been using the 1992 Consensus as a convenient excuse and in our belief the original version of 1992 Consensus is that Taiwan and China, or Republic of China and People's Republic of China - doesn’t matter what term we use - both have an understanding of what one China should be. There is a room for discussion. But China's version of 1992 Consensus is that there is only one China and no room for Republic of China.

Q The world is worried about a third war breaking out in the Taiwan Strait after the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas war.

A The two wars have shocked people who were optimistic about world peace. Yes, there is worry about whether the Taiwan Strait would be a third place for war. And that is why we are attracting so much attention from different countries. But the big question is, is it good for China to initiate military action against Taiwan? I think the consequences will be huge for China because the free democratic world will go against it. So if Xi Jinping wants to be the enemy of the entire world, then he would do that. But it is unlikely that he would choose to initiate irrational action at this point, given the economic downturn in China. When Xi met Joe Biden in San Francisco in November, he denied having any knowledge about the timeline of an invasion or war in 2027 or 2049. Some reports even suggested that Xi got emotional, claiming that he never heard of such a thing. It seems Xi is trying to be a great leader for China, but his ambitions have slowed down. Neighbouring countries like Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Australia are not happy with China as they are worried about its potential irrational actions. At this point, we feel Xi will really need to evaluate the consequences of initiating a war that he will not be able to end.

Q What kind of defence strategy does Taiwan need to prepare itself against possible Chinese invasion?

A In terms of external relations, incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen outlined four commitments - that the Republic of China and People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other; upholding free and democratic constitutional system; resisting annexation or encroachment upon sovereignty and the future of Taiwan being determined by Taiwanese themselves. She has tried to maximise the interest of Republic of China and also Taiwan.

The presidential candidate of DPP, Lai Ching-te (William), has brought out four pillars for Taiwan’s security. He has said that firstly we need to strengthen our defence capabilities; strengthen our democracy and improve our economic security. We are also open to dialogue with China. So, we are emphasising the importance of keeping ourselves secure by increasing our defence budgets, making our own weapons and military equipment, including submarines.

While we purchase weapons from countries like United States, there is a need for self preparation to show the world that we are willing to protect ourselves. Of course, we cannot survive without other countries' help and need to have close relations with like-minded countries. In recent years, both US and Japan are emphasising on stronger ties with Indo-Pacific countries. The Biden administration invited South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines to Washington D.C this year. President Biden also visited Vietnam. So, if we see the efforts made by these countries and the historic rise in their defence budgets, it shows the worry of China’s unpeaceful rise and ambitions and we need to continue to deter it.

We are also telling people about Taiwan’s important strategic and geopolitical position and that no one in the world can afford to lose Taiwan to China. More than 50 per cent of the commercial ships go through Taiwan Strait and this place is full of economic interest to the world. So, if China attacks Taiwan, the entire world will suffer.

communist-system-should-not-be-applied-to-taiwan

Wed Jan 10 12:37:46 IST 2024

There is excitement in the Kuomintang party (KMT) about resuming dialogue with China and improving the situation in the Taiwan Strait. Chen-Dong Tso, foreign affairs adviser to KMT presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih, told THE WEEK that the party had prepared a blueprint for resuming the peace process. He said the KMT was committed to protecting Taiwan's sovereignty and its democratic system. Excerpts from the interview:

Q What are the KMT's plans to manage tensions with China?

A During the DPP rule under President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan has been on the brink of war and we have seen a constant increase in Chinese military provocation. Chinese fighter jets and warships crossed the median line and also entered Taiwan's air defence identification zone. Chinese military exercises and provocations have raised eyebrows around the world as they indicate that a war is becoming imminent. Of course, the KMT politicians understand that the tensions are caused by Chinese provocation, but at the same time, there can be certain factors that aggravate the problem, especially as both sides do not have an open line of communication under the DPP rule.

On the other hand, KMT presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih has a plan to restart the cross-strait dialogue on a model of “mutual non-recognition of sovereignty and mutual non-denial of authority to govern”. We are hopeful that tensions across the Taiwan Strait can be lowered and both sides can find ways to avoid accidents and any conflict in the future.

Q What will be the basis of the cross-strait dialogue?

A In November 1992, the Taiwan government and China government came to the final stage of negotiation on how to express the concept of “one China’’. There are written documents of the 1992 Consensus in the form of exchanged letters. The ROC government then proposed to verbally express the concept of “one China’’, saying that both sides adhere to one China but have a different understanding of what it means. So, the 1992 Consensus definitely has a role to play when both sides decide to restart dialogue. It worked during the previous administrations when both sides continued dialogue for 16 years. So, I think it can still work. The KMT presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih has said that he supports the 1992 Consensus consistent with the ROC constitution. This is very important as I feel the ROC constitution can function as the basis for both sides to shelve differences and seek common ground.

Q How do you see the future of Taiwan under the KMT? There is speculation about a soft merger with China.

A The approach that our candidate Hou takes is to lower the temperature across the Taiwan Strait step by step. He hopes that the official dialogue can be resumed, but he also understands that it is not possible to immediately return to the era of former president Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT. The goal can be to enhance people-to-people exchange and cultural, religious as well as academic ties so that both sides understand each other better. The third step would then be to restart functional cooperation by expressing goodwill for each other and building confidence in each other. This is what the candidate calls the de-escalation stage. Hou cherishes the common culture, language and shared history with China and it is our hope that both sides can find ways to solve the differences.

Q You talked about similarities. But how is Taiwan different from the Chinese system?

A Taiwan has a political system which is democratic and protects personal freedom. I think there is a high degree of consensus among Taiwanese people that the communist political system of mainland China should not be applied to Taiwan. Candidate Hou stays committed to protecting the sovereignty of Taiwan and its free and democratic system. He opposes China’s attempt to absorb Taiwan under the formula of “one country, two systems” and upholds the view that Taiwan’s future will be determined only by its people.

Q What is the KMT’s approach towards the security of the Indo-Pacific region in the face of growing threats from the Chinese expansionist policy?

A Candidate Hou is looking at the possibility of including the Indo-Pacific as a pillar of foreign policy to build a common vision and a good neighbourly policy with countries like Japan, South Korea and India. Ma Ying-Jeou was the last Taiwanese president to visit India. I hope that KMT leaders can pay a visit to India in the near future after the elections.

Q The KMT has been sending delegations to China, and even as we speak, KMT leaders are in China. What is the agenda?

A All parties, including DPP, have sent delegations all over the world calling overseas voters to come back to Taiwan to vote. In the 2020 presidential election, the administration even provided some incentives for the overseas Taiwanese to return home to vote. So, you can see how every vote counts. This is the reason why KMT also sent delegations all over the world, including mainland China. For Taiwanese people residing in mainland China, it takes just two hours or even less to travel back home. So, if they can come back, you can imagine the number of voters could be higher than those from US and Europe.

Q Do you agree a misinformation campaign is being run by China to influence the polls in Taiwan?

A We see false information coming from many places all the time; it could come from Mainland Chinese sources or our own citizens here in Taiwan. What worries me is that our government sometimes uses Mainland Chinese fake news as an excuse for their shoddy handling of issues of public concern. So, we all have to be careful not to allow any actions that can destroy the public's trust in the government. We need to be careful before we label any fake news as Mainland Chinese propaganda. As far as the US is concerned, it is their stated position that it will not interfere in Taiwan's election and it has also said it wants all stakeholders not to interfere in the elections.

taiwan-network-information-centre-ceo-kenny-huang-interview

Wed Jan 10 13:47:24 IST 2024

On December 12, representatives of India, the United States and Taiwan met in New Delhi, for closed-door discussions on the challenge of cyberattacks on democratic systems, as the three countries are holding general elections in 2024. Eric Garcetti, the US ambassador to India, said technical collaboration was essential to safeguard cyberspace in all three countries. Kenny Huang, CEO of the Taiwan Network Information Centre under the ministry of digital affairs in Taipei, has been on the job ever since. Huang is trying to cement the collaboration between the three countries to defend against a common threat factor―China’s covert cyber warriors.

Being cross-strait neighbours, Taiwan holds the key to some secrets of China, not so well known to militaries in other countries. One such secret is the swift advancement of the People’s Liberation Army in developing advanced cyber weapons that can ‘seize control’ of enemy satellites and threaten to disrupt global communication, navigation and surveillance systems. “The consequences may extend to the manipulation or disabling of crucial infrastructure, including GPS navigation, weather monitoring, communication networks and compromising military surveillance,” said Huang in an exclusive interview. Excerpts:

Q What kind of cyber threat is Taiwan facing from China?

A China poses a significant cyber threat to Taiwan across its military branches. China has developed advanced cyber capabilities in the air force, navy, ground force and rocket force. These capabilities target communication systems, intelligence networks and command structures, potentially disrupting air, naval and ground operations. In the rocket force, cyber tools may aim to secure and disrupt missile defence systems. China integrates cyber capabilities into its broader military strategy, emphasising information warfare. This comprehensive approach includes both offensive cyber operations and defence against potential cyber threats. Taiwan must prioritise cyber security measures to protect against these persistent and sophisticated cyber threats from China. Enhancing defences across air, naval, ground and rocket forces is crucial for safeguarding Taiwan’s military capabilities in the face of evolving cyber challenges posed by China.

Q What do you know about Unit 61398 of the PLA?

A Unit 61398 is a covert cyber unit within the PLA, suspected of participating in cyber espionage and attacks. It is situated in Shanghai’s Pudong district. Specifics about the unit’s strength are undisclosed because of the secretive nature of its operations. However, it reportedly consists of experts involved in hacking and technical operations.

The unit is implicated in stealing sensitive information, conducting economic espionage and launching cyberattacks with potential geopolitical consequences. One extensively reported case involves its alleged participation in cyber intrusions, notably against entities in the United States. These operations are aimed at extracting intellectual property, sensitive data and proprietary information, linking the unit to attacks on sectors like technology, defence and health care.

Q When did China setup the covert cyber unit and what kind of operations has it conducted worldwide till now?

A Established in the early 2000s, Unit 61398 has been connected to various global cyber operations. Noteworthy instances include cyber-espionage campaigns targeting governments, corporations, and critical infrastructure. The unit is implicated in stealing sensitive information, conducting economic espionage, and launching cyber-attacks with potential geopolitical consequences. One extensively reported case involves the alleged participation of Unit 61398 in cyber intrusions, notably against entities in the United States. These operations aimed to extract intellectual property, sensitive data, and proprietary information, linking the unit to attacks on sectors like technology, defence, and healthcare. Unit 61398's operations highlight the changing landscape of state-sponsored cyber threats and emphasise the strategic importance of cyber capabilities in geopolitical affairs.

Q There is worry that China has the capability to jam communications and intelligence satellites.

A In case of military strikes on Taiwan, reports suggest that China might employ tactics to disrupt communication and intelligence satellites. This could involve jamming signals, rendering communication systems ineffective, and impairing intelligence-gathering capabilities. Additionally, there are concerns that China might target ballistic missile early warning satellites, which play a crucial role in detecting and tracking missile launches. These actions align with a broader strategy to disrupt the communication and surveillance infrastructure that is vital for military operations. Disabling satellites could hinder Taiwan’s ability to coordinate defences, share critical information and monitor potential missile threats. As such, safeguarding satellite capabilities and developing countermeasures against potential interference would be crucial elements of Taiwan’s defence strategy in the event of heightened tensions or military actions in the region.

Q What kind of chaos can be expected if China ‘seizes control’ of enemy satellites?

A If successful, this could disrupt global communication, navigation and surveillance systems, impacting both military and civilian operations. The consequences may extend to the manipulation or disabling of crucial infrastructure, including GPS navigation, weather monitoring and communication networks. In a worst-case scenario, these cyber capabilities could be exploited to interfere with essential services like financial transactions, air traffic control and emergency response systems. Such control over satellites could also jeopardise national security by compromising military surveillance and intelligence-gathering capabilities. This highlights the urgent need for international collaboration and robust cyber security measures to safeguard satellite infrastructure, ensuring the continued functioning of critical systems on a global scale.

Q Taiwan has accused China of information warfare ahead of presidential elections. What kind of threats have you faced?

A Taiwan faces a range of cyber threats, primarily emanating from China, ahead of elections. These threats include phishing attacks, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, and advanced persistent threats (APTs). Phishing attempts often target political figures, government officials, and organisations, seeking unauthorised access to sensitive information. DDoS attacks aim to disrupt critical online infrastructure, while APTs involve sophisticated, long-term infiltration for intelligence gathering or influence campaigns. The frequency of cyber attacks varies, and tracking an exact daily or monthly count can be challenging due to the evolving nature of cyber threats. Monitoring and incident response teams are actively engaged in identifying, mitigating, and analysing these attacks. Continuous vigilance is essential, and collaboration with international cybersecurity entities is crucial.

Q What lessons can be drawn from the Russia-Ukraine war, the first hybrid war the world has seen?

A It teaches us valuable lessons about the effectiveness of hybrid warfare, combining traditional military actions with cyber operations and information warfare. It underscores the need to address both conventional and non-traditional threats in modern conflicts. The war showed that countries should be ready to handle a mix of military, cyber and information threats. The lessons emphasise the importance of being resilient against different kinds of challenges, such as cyberattacks and misinformation. It also highlights the need for nations to update their military strategies to adapt to the changing nature of conflicts in today’s world. The Russia-Ukraine war serves as a contemporary example that prompts countries to take a more comprehensive and flexible approach to national security.

Q In what way can China discredit the democratic process?

A There is a real worry about China trying to influence Taiwan’s elections either by favouring a specific party or spreading misinformation to discredit the democratic process. China’s motives seem quite complex. One possibility is that China wants a party in Taiwan that aligns with its goals, like supporting reunification. By influencing the election in favour of such a party, China could advance its own interests. Another concern is that China might aim to undermine trust in the democratic process itself. This could involve spreading false information, casting doubt on the fairness of the elections, or questioning the legitimacy of candidates. The goal here is to create instability and shake people’s confidence in Taiwanese politicians and the democratic system.

why-ukrainians-must-win-the-war-before-holding-elections

Mon Jan 08 14:00:22 IST 2024

ZOYA PAVLIVNA SOKOLENKO, a 61-year-old mathematics teacher and director of a secondary school in Kharkiv, Ukraine, exclaims: “Elections? Are you serious?” I had just asked her what she thinks of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s statement in August that Ukraine could hold elections in 2024, provided that the money for it does not come from the war budget.

Zelensky wanted to not just dispel the assumption of his opponents that he would hold on to power using the war as a reason, but also prove his determination to win the war. Presidential elections are due in March, and parliamentary polls in autumn 2024. But martial law, which is now in effect in Ukraine, does not allow elections to be held. Article 83 of the Ukrainian constitution prohibits the dissolution of parliament when martial law is in effect, and Article 64 restricts certain rights and freedoms.

“There is a full-scale war going on,” Zoya Pavlivna tells me. “More than eight million Ukrainians have fled their homes. Tens and thousands have been killed in 600-plus days of war. Missiles and drones can strike any corner of Ukraine any moment. Almost 20 per cent of the territory is occupied by Russia. Organising elections demands, first and foremost, peace.”

And this is the time of war, not peace. “Oh! Hear the siren? Let’s go to the shelter,” says Zoya Pavlivna. “Will Ukraine be the first country to hold elections in bunkers?”

According to a recent poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, 80 per cent of Ukrainians are against holding elections when the war is still on. So why the fuss at the top level? Because, during his visit to Kyiv last August, American senator Lindsay Graham said Ukraine needed to show that it was different by holding wartime elections. Interestingly, the Republican senator, accompanied by his Democrat colleagues Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal, made the statement during a briefing from a bunker in Kyiv.

In response, Zelensky said he agreed with Graham, but he would not take the money for “weapons and give it to elections”. Let the US and Europe take full financial responsibility, he said. Observers, he added, should be sent to the trenches to ensure that soldiers fighting to protect Ukraine’s democracy could exercise their fundamental right to vote. A candid and befitting response, certainly.

Zoya Pavlivna’s life has been in tandem with elections since she started working at the Kharkiv school in 1999. In Ukraine, elections are usually held on school premises and halls on Sundays. After she became the school’s director, she took on greater responsibilities―tidying up the rooms, arranging furniture, setting up polling booths, organising people, coordinating with the territorial representative of Ukraine’s Central Election Commission and ensuring secrecy of ballot.

Zoya Pavlivna says she was proud of working to “honour the choice of the people”. Today, Russian missile attacks have left her school in ruins. She was evacuated to Romania, where she worked as a babysitter, but returned to Ukraine. Today, she teaches mathematics in a school in Chernivtsi.

“We Ukrainians have changed presidents five times since 1991, while Belarus has had the same president for the past 30 years, and [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin has been holding office since 2000, except for a short gap from 2008 to 2012. People like to have their say in Ukraine,” she says.

As a UN observer, I have seen many elections, including special polling stations, such as prisons, hospitals and military barracks since the late 1990s. Indeed, Ukrainian elections are epoch-making, bringing serious changes, catapulting new faces into politics, although imperfections in party formation, functioning, equal access to media and electoral funding remain.

The rebirth of Ukraine as a sovereign state started with a referendum on December 1, 1991, in which 92.3 per cent of Ukrainians voted for independence and elected Leonid Kravchuk as president. In the 1994 presidential polls, Leonid Kuchma beat Kravchuk. The 1998 parliamentary polls saw the emergence of a multi-party, but oligarchic, system that was consolidated by Kuchma, who was reelected in 1999 amid concerns of rigging. The president’s need for a loyal parliament led to the managing of parties through oligarchs. The degree of presidential control, however, had been decreasing over the past decades gradually.

Russia never missed any opportunity to have a candidate loyal to the Kremlin in Ukraine. “The poisoning of presidential candidate Victor Yushchenko in 2004, and the subsequent massive rigging of elections, were covert operations of the Kremlin,” says Zoya Pavlivna. “Putin congratulated his favourite, Victor Yanukovych, even before the results were announced. People rose in protests and forced the authorities to ensure a fair election.”

Since then, brazen rigging is not usual in Ukrainian elections. In 2010, Ukrainians voted Yanukovych to power. Though seen as a pro-Russian, he pledged to sign an association agreement with the European Union. But he backed out under duress from Putin, and faced another uprising―the Revolution of Dignity. He abandoned office and fled to Russia in 2014. For Russia, the stakes became so high that it occupied Crimea and started covert warfare in Donbas.

The presidential and parliamentary elections in both 2014 and 2019 were freer and fairer than previous ones. The crucial point is, Ukraine remains a democracy committed to free speech and choice.

But attempting elections now would be unfair. More than 100 organisations recently signed a petition against holding wartime elections. Said Olha Aivazovska, author of the petition and Ukraine’s top election expert: “Ukrainians are very sensitive to double standards. Polls now will neither be free nor fair, and will destabilise the country and offer ways for Russia to be more aggressive.” Ukrainians are more worried about Russia organising its presidential elections on the occupied territories of Ukraine, intimidating and using people as electoral fodder.

Listening to many others like Zoya Pavlivna, I saw solid unity on this issue. When politicians across the world think of winning elections, politicians in Ukraine are, in unison, thinking of winning not the elections, but the brutal, genocidal war on their country.

Mridula Ghosh, formerly with the UN, is based in Kyiv, and teaches at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy.

nepal-s-first-same-sex-marriage

Fri Dec 15 19:26:11 IST 2023

“We want to invite the rainbow community in Nepal to come out in the open and join our steps to get married as same-sex couples. We also want the global rainbow community to visit Nepal,” said Maya Gurung and Surendra Pandey, the couple that made history on November 27 by registering the first same-sex marriage in Nepal. Taiwan is the only other country in Asia that has legalised same-sex marriage. Returning from their honeymoon, the couple said they were promoting same-sex marriage not only for Nepalis, but for the rainbow community all over the world with the help of an NGO called Mayako Pahichan (identity of love).

Born Ram Bahadur Gurung to Harimaya and Kul Bahadur Gurung in 1985 in the picturesque district of Lamjung in western Nepal, Maya returned 38 years later as a trans woman to register her marriage with 27-year-old Surendra. Several glass ceilings were broken in this marriage, including gender, caste and age and the local community accepted it and celebrated it with a lot of fanfare.

In the Gurung community there is a traditional folk dance called Maruni in which men dress as women. “I always used to be selected as a Maruni dancer and was taken to perform in Kathmandu, and while dancing I felt like I was a woman. But I realised that I was indeed a woman only after I ran away during one of the performances,” said Maya. She now identifies as a trans woman, but has not changed her gender on official documents. Before becoming Maya, she worked in several restaurants in Kathmandu, making tea and washing dishes. Finally, at the age of 13, she started meeting people who had similar feelings as her and this was when she confirmed her identity as a trans woman.

Maya met Surendra, eight years younger, in Kawasoti, Nawalparasi district, in 2015. Surendra was born a male and identifies as gay. After losing his parents at the age of six, he grew up in an orphanage and had to stop his education after grade 10. “I grew up without love and care, and when I met Maya, we shared a lot of difficulties life had thrown our way. I fell for her,” said Surendra, who works as a plumber. He said he had known about the transgender community, watching them perform during the Biswokarma puja, but came to realise about his identity only after meeting Maya. They rented a room in Kawasoti and stayed there for eight months before moving to Kathmandu. As Maya was known for her activism for the sexual minority in Kathmandu, they had support from the community there.

Two years after their meeting, Maya and Surendra got married in a religious function at a temple with the help of friends. The wedding took place on October 13, 2017, which coincided with Maya and Surendra’s birthday. They tried to register their marriage at the district court in Kathmandu, but got rejected despite the Nepal supreme court’s order that directed the government to register such unions. They continued to seek legal sanctity to their marriage and, finally, on November 27, their marriage was legally registered at the Dordi rural municipality office at Lamjung.

“Although marriage is still defined as a union of male and female in the civil court, Article 18 of the constitution of Nepal guarantees equal rights to the sexual minority in the country and Article 18(3) mentions that the state can make special provisions for them based on which the supreme court gave a verdict in 2007 to recognise same sex marriage,” said senior advocate Dinesh Tripathi. He said the registration of the same sex marriage was legally binding and, although laws regarding such marriages were not yet formulated, Article 16 of the constitution guaranteed all citizens a life of dignity. There could be issues related to adoption, divorce and property rights, for which laws have to be amended. Tripathi said right to equality was among the cardinal principles of human rights, and as Nepal was a signatory to several human rights treaties, it was now the government’s responsibility to ensure the rights of same-sex couples who had registered their marriages. The constitution recognises the status of the third gender and allows Nepali citizens to identify themselves as male, female or other. Nepal is one of the few countries to have this option at the airport while filling in visa and immigration forms.

Supreme court lawyer Vishnu Basyal said that while Nepal had made progress towards equality, the country had a long way to go in accepting same-sex unions. “As the same-sex marriage that was registered recently still could not come out of the binary notion and terms, the married couple was represented as bride and groom/husband and wife,” she said. Civil society activism and proactive decisions of the supreme court have played a crucial role in introducing gender sensitive policies in Nepal, said Basyal, who also teaches at the Nepal Law Campus.

Nepal became a secular state in 2008, which was an outcome of the people’s movement and the Maoist uprising. Before that, it was the only Hindu country in the world. Therefore, Hindu culture, tradition and values are deeply embedded in the people’s mindset.

Beena Poudyal, former head of the central department of Nepalese history, culture and archaeology at Tribhuvan University, said that overall, the registration of same-sex marriage in Nepal was positive and should be welcomed, but warned that its acceptance in a society which was predominantly Hindu would be difficult. “Inter-caste marriage is not new in Nepal; however, it is still not done openly and there are many families that hide the caste of their children’s spouses. Therefore, acceptance of same-sex marriage will not happen overnight,” said Poudyal.

For people to come to terms with the fact that same-sex marriage has been legalised will take a long time. “Science has progressed and children can be born through different ways now, but in a society where religious, traditional and cultural values have strong roots, there will be several challenges that need to be addressed for same-sex couples to be accepted.”

Ananta Maharjan, one of the few certified male beauticians in Nepal, was sympathetic towards the rights of all, but said that he was not aware that people from the same sex could actually get married to each other. He said he had many questions regarding the children of such couples as that was the essence of marriage, in his view.

Bishwaraj Adhikary, Nepal’s first ‘Mr Gay Handsome’, who runs a gay restaurant called Inclusion Galaxy in Kathmandu, said that with the registration of the first same-sex marriage, organisations working for the cause of the sexual minorities should come together to make sure that their rights were ensured. He expressed confidence that such couples would be accepted by society, although many gay and lesbian couples were still not comfortable coming out.

“I am positive that our struggle will succeed. The registration of same-sex marriages is our big achievement and we will continue to lobby to get laws formulated to support same-sex marriages like [laws on] adoption, divorce and property rights,” said Sunil Babu Pant, founder of the Blue Diamond Society. Pant, who is also a former MP, said he was confident that the Nepali society would accept same-sex couples, despite its Hindu heritage. “Fundamentalism in India and Nepal is totally different,” he said. “In Nepal, people are very tolerant and are welcome to change. Therefore, we are now promoting tantric tourism walk and promotion of Nepal as a destination for LGBTQ communities as a touristic destination for same-sex marriage.”

marie-eve-breton-royal-canadian-mounted-police-canada-interview

Sat Dec 09 16:26:30 IST 2023

Interview/ Marie-Eve Breton, head of National Communication Services, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canada

THE STORM IN INDIA-CANADA ties refuses to abate with rising threats from pro-Khalistani extremists on Canadian soil. New Delhi is upset with Canada’s inaction, while Ottawa continues to blame “Indian agents’’ for the June 18 killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil. The past few months have seen exit of diplomats from both countries, threats to Indian missions and diplomats in Canada, and a sharp rise in warnings about terror attacks on Indian soil. The latest was the open threat against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Indian leaders by the US-based lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, adviser to the banned Sikhs for Justice organisation.

THE WEEK asked Marie-Eve Breton of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police about the rising threats by pro-Khalistani extremists and about action to ensure the safety of Indians as well as Canadians. Breton said the RCMP was working closely with its Five Eyes partners (the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand) to respond to all threats to national security. Excerpts:

Q/There is worry among Indian diplomats in Canada about their safety after repeated threats by pro-Khalistani radicals.

A/For embassies and consular offices, Canada has the responsibility under the Vienna Convention to ensure the inviolability of foreign missions in Canada. The response to, and investigation of, any criminal acts or public order matters that occur in the vicinity of missions would fall to the local police of jurisdiction. RCMP protection is extended to select foreign diplomatic personnel residing in Canada, as per Article 22, based on assessments of threat and risk. For the safety of those we protect as well as our members, and to ensure the integrity of our operations, the RCMP does not disclose information about specific protective measures.

Q/Is not Sikhs for Justice founder Gurpatwant Singh Pannun a risk to public safety after he threatened Hindus on Canadian soil and also issued threats against Indian leaders and Air India passengers?

A/RCMP investigations target criminal activity of any individual(s) who threaten the safety and security of Canadians. The RCMP is committed to working in partnership with both domestic and foreign agencies to keep Canadians safe and secure, and to protect Canadian interests at home and abroad. We remain vigilant about potential threats and take appropriate measures to ensure the safety and security of Canadians.

Q/What steps are being taken in view of repeated threats being made by Pannun against Hindus in Canada?

A/The safety and security of our citizens, regardless of their background or beliefs, remains a top priority for the RCMP. We have strong relationships with Canada’s security and intelligence community and law enforcement agencies around the world. In particular, the RCMP works closely with its Five Eyes partners to respond to, and maintain, situational awareness of all threats to national security. We are committed to working in partnership with both domestic and foreign agencies to keep Canadians safe and secure, and to protect Canadian interests.

Any threats made towards Canadian citizens are taken seriously and investigated as warranted. The RCMP enforces the Criminal Code of Canada, and provincial or territorial and municipal statutes where it is the contracted police of jurisdiction. In parts of the country where the RCMP does not have primary jurisdiction for policing, municipal or provincial police services hold the mandate. We will not tolerate any form of intimidation, harassment, or harmful targeting of communities or individuals in Canada.

Q/Are there concerns in Canada about misuse of religious places to raise funds to fuel separatist activities in India?

A/The RCMP does not investigate movements or ideologies, and will investigate the criminal activity of any individuals who threaten the safety and security of Canadians.

Q/Are you working closely with Indian security agencies to address concerns of weapons trafficking, drug trade and criminal activities in both countries?

A/The RCMP does not comment on potential or ongoing investigations here in Canada, or in other countries. We work closely with our international partners and maintain strong relationships with law enforcement agencies around the world. The RCMP’s assistance in international matters is always conducted with due diligence and in accordance with established policies and procedures in Canada.

Q/India has approached Interpol for action against Pannun. A Red Notice is already issued against gangster Goldy Brar who is in Canada.

A/In order to assist any foreign authority, the RCMP must first receive an official request and supporting documentation through the appropriate channels. Interpol is the first point of contact for many countries pursuing an international investigation. A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and potentially effect the provisional arrest of a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action. A Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant. The individuals are wanted by the requesting member country. Member countries apply their own laws in deciding whether to arrest a person.

Once the RCMP is made aware of an individual through those channels, it will use a number of assessment tools to determine whether there is any indication of criminality, whether the criminality is within our mandate and what risk they may pose. Due to privacy concerns, we cannot comment on individual cases. The RCMP is aware of the reports involving Brar and will not provide any further comment at this time.

the-pannun-case-will-remain-a-mere-blip-in-the-surging-india-us-ties

Sat Dec 09 16:22:33 IST 2023

AFTER MONTHS of speculation, the United States department of justice formally charged an Indian national, accusing him of working for the Indian government to carry out the planned assassination of a Sikh separatist leader and US citizen, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, in New York. The concerned person, Nikhil Gupta, has been charged with conspiracy and murder for hire. Emphasising that it was “contrary to government policy” to pursue extraterritorial assassinations, New Delhi described the case as a “matter of concern” and underlined that it would be “guided” by the results of a high-level inquiry committee it had set up.

The US charges came weeks after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were “credible allegations” linking the Indian government to the killing of another Khalistani activist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Canada in June. New Delhi strongly rejected Trudeau’s claims and accused Canada of providing shelter to “Khalistani terrorists and extremists”.

But the Indian response to American accusations has been serious. This is partly because the US has presented actionable evidence and the matter became public only after the investigation was completed. Moreover, the US government, while expecting accountability from India based on the results of New Delhi’s investigations, has been in no hurry to dismantle the relationship. Jonathan Finer, principal deputy national security adviser, suggested that there were many “difficult issues” that remain in the relationship, but he said that there was a bipartisan view in the US that both countries should seize some important opportunities on offer, both geopolitically and economically.

This is what makes this moment in India-US relationship a unique one. In the words of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, “there is structural soundness in the India-US relationship” and it is “certainly proofed against political check”. The world’s two major democracies are getting better at riding through the bumps in their relationship as they are being driven by a singular strategic logic. It is now a strategic imperative for the two to work closely to maintain a favourable balance of power that advances their key interests and sustains their values. This is particularly true as the centre of gravity of global politics and economics has shifted to the Indo-Pacific and the rise of China has allowed for new challenges to emerge.

The US has understood that a sustained focus on the Indo-Pacific is needed, but it will have to be buttressed by strengthening old partnerships and building new ones. The Cold War era of ‘hub-and-spokes’ alliance framework is no longer the only game in town. Even as the US works with its traditional allies like Japan, Australia and South Korea, it will also have to work with newer partners like India which may never enter into formal alliances. Informal, ad hoc coalitions will have to be built to ensure that convergences can be exploited and divergences managed. This will also require shedding older inhibitions about sharing critical technologies, given their centrality in shaping the 21st century balance of power.

Yet this change and its acceptance across both sides of the political spectrum could only happen because India, too, has evolved in the last decade. Throughout the Cold War, New Delhi understood nonalignment as an instrument to achieve strategic autonomy by shunning close partnerships. Today, that understanding is being turned on its head. Strong partnerships are deemed by Indian policy makers as imperative means to enhance strategic autonomy. Issue-based coalitions are the norm in India’s external engagement today. India today is no longer non-aligned, but is willing to align on the basis of issues. This alignment does not mean formal alliances, but it is a significant shift in Indian foreign policy discourse and practice.

The dramatic resurgence of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue―the Quad―is the strongest manifestation of this new reality. The Quad is important and innovative, not because the US, Japan and Australia are its members; they have been close partners for decades now. The Quad’s real meaning lies in bringing India into this trilateral fold. As a non-alliance partner of the US, it is New Delhi that brings the real oomph to this platform and makes it more than the sum of its parts. China’s real discomfiture with the Quad comes from India’s participation in it and America’s acceptance of this new arrangement.

It is this newfound confidence that has allowed Indian policy makers to take ownership of ties with the US and the west more broadly. Jaishankar recently made it clear that when it comes to technology, India’s natural partners are the western economies.

Ever since the end of the Cold War, changing structural realities have propelled India-US relationship forward. Despite divisive politics at home and the predilections of individual leaders, the trajectory of these ties has continued to maintain an upward trend. More recently, the Ukraine war has underscored the divergences between the two nations. But institutionalisation of this partnership as reflected in the 2+2 arrangement has continued apace, allowing for the two nations to work through their differences “in a constructive way without derailing the broader cooperative agenda”. And it is this remarkable convergence that makes this perhaps the defining relationship of this century.

―The author is vice president, studies and foreign policy, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi.

palestinian-american-writer-sharif-s-elmusa-says-the-occupation-has-brutalised-israel-as-well

Sat Nov 04 12:04:26 IST 2023

In order to retain ownership over my distant sky,

I must not own even my very skin.

―Mahmoud Darwish
A Soldier Dreams of White Lilies

IT IS LATE evening in Boston. Far away in Gaza, it is yet another dark night, after another day of nonstop Israeli attacks. Palestinian-American poet Sharif S. Elmusa says what is happening in his homeland is the continuation of the long struggle that started with the British colonial regime taking over Palestine. For him, it is almost like watching a rerun of history.

“Britain helped settle [the Jewish people] in Palestine, and it suppressed all our hopes,” says Elmusa. “We revolted in 1936, before India [became independent]. We were very small people, there was just about a million of us. The British sent 20,000 troops from Europe to crush them. They almost left because of our resistance. But we lost eventually, like everyone else. We are the last people who are not freed from colonialism.”

But it is a battle that is far from over. And there are no winners.

In his essay “Portable Absence: My Camp Remembered”, Elmusa writes that Britain sends expats to other lands, India immigrants, and Palestine exiles. It is in this exile that he continues to remember, and refuses erasure. “It is the dispossession of everything,’’ he says. “Once you lose your country, apart from the material losses, the house, the land and everything, you also lose your historical memory. You are cut off.” That is what Israel is doing to Palestine, he says. “Israel tries to redraw everything. It is the biggest archaeological site in the world. Everyone there is an amateur archaeologist, trying to redraw everything. And our history is being wiped out.”

Elmusa, 76, spent his whole life searching for home. As Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish writes, “I have learned and dismantled all the words in order to draw from them a single word: Home.” Elmusa would know. He grew up in a refugee camp, which he says looked like a version of the streets in American cities. He realised it when he first went to New York. “I understood that the camp is really a modern contraption. It was like the well-organised streets in an American city. The UN used to come every month, and gave people food and stuff. That was the most humiliating thing for my father, and for us.” He stopped going as soon as he grew up.

In a piece he wrote for the Indian Quarterly, Elmusa talks about an opportunity he got to work in Gaza with the United Nations Development Programme and telling his father about the assignment. “[My father], who always praised the last meal he ate as the best, singled out the guavas of Khan Younis as the most delicious guavas he ever had. He was living in Amman, Jordan, at the time where the Elmusas ended up after the 1967 war, during which Israel occupied the rest of Palestine. Fortunately, late summer and early fall is the time when guavas ripen; and I was delighted to be able to send him a whiff of a taste that had lodged itself so deeply in the recesses of his palette, and to have him enjoy for a moment a palpable connection to a land he never again could step into after 1948.”

Elmusa once got a chance to return to the site of the camp in the West Bank where he grew up, the only home he says he knew, even if it was not real. He found that it was all gone, erased. “All had been melted into dusty air.... The houses were all gone. Their whitewashed mud brick walls did not purr when we lived in them, and perhaps had already looked like ruins to outsiders, but they sheltered the private pleasures and agonies of many families, and stood as testimony and symbol of our expulsion in 1948. Now they were not even rubble that one could gaze at and try to reconstruct in the mind’s eye, or reanimate with the lives that once filled them.”

For Palestinians, the erasure was brutal. It was systematic, savage, relentless and complete. And yet, it is constantly denied. “When people were first driven out, they thought they would go back, because most refugees think they would go back,’’ says Elmusa. “This is why Israel destroyed our villages, so that we forget about the idea of returning.”

And to erase the past, even the landscape was changed. The olive tree―quite the symbol of Palestine―was replaced by the pine. Elmusa spent much of his life trying to create biographies of these erased villages, like obituaries to remind people that they existed. “But nature is stronger than we are. The Israelis wanted to make an Israeli landscape because they came from Europe. They had all these pines. They thought it will bring rain to the region, because Europe has this rainfall. But the pines turned out to be a fire hazard. And they accuse the Palestinians of starting the fires.’’

Writing is a form of protest for the Palestinians, but it is also a resistance against erasure. Keeping alive the memory of the past at a time when Israel is trying to rewrite history to wipe out Palestinian claims to the land through reinterpreting archaeology is political as well as personal for the Palestinians. A poem is perhaps “the silence in which the stranger wraps himself to preserve memory, to resist the gravity of the new abode.” It is survival.

And so in the poem “We Never Left”, Palestinian-American writer Susan Abulhawa says, “We persist. We exist. We are one nation, one history, one heritage, one people. Determined and destined to go home.”

Elmusa believes that the only way forward is to accept that. “What I know and what I would like to see is whether Israel will finally realise that it cannot live by the sword. That they have to come to accommodation with the Palestinians and stop this for everybody,’’ he says. “It will destroy everything. It has destroyed us. But they also have been brutalised. The people who were put into concentration camps are putting other people in concentration camps and killing them.”

indian-jews-in-israel-advocate-peaceful-coexistence-with-neighbours-of-different-faiths

Sat Nov 04 16:29:51 IST 2023

NEVATIM, AN idyllic moshav (cooperative agricultural settlement) dominated by Cochin Jews located on Israel’s border with Gaza, was recently called the “living bridge between the two most ancient civilisations’’ by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The first Indian Jewish Heritage Centre in Israel is coming up in Nevatim, which is expected to be a meeting point for Indian Jews in Israel, numbering around a lakh. Indian Jews comprise diverse communities such as the Arabic speaking Baghdadi Jews with roots in Mumbai and Kolkata, Cochin Jews from Kerala, Bene Israel from Maharashtra and B’nei Menashe from Manipur and Mizoram.

Established in 1946 along with 10 other villages in the Negev desert as part of an initiative to create a barrier separating Israel from Egypt and Gaza, Nevatim continues to play a pivotal role following the recent upsurge in violence. As the conflict intensifies, trapped inside the moshav are families of Cochin Jews even as they pray for peace at their beautiful synagogue, adorned with relics from their hometown, located in a green compound where neem, tulsi and ashwagandha grow.

“We are peaceful, hard-working people who built this amazing country. We want to live in safety and peace,” says Dr Nehemia Sahaf, chairman of the Cochin Heritage Centre in Nevatim. “When the [October 7] attacks started, we were in the synagogue for Saturday prayers. It was very difficult to tell people to stop praying and go home to the shelter,” he says. The gatherings have since extended to daily prayers for peace. “Our streets are empty of civilians. The only vehicles moving around belong to security and emergency services.”

Avner Isaac, chairman of the Indian Jewish Heritage Centre, says his dream is to see Jews of Indian origin embrace values of acceptance and peaceful coexistence with neighbours of different origins and religions. The Bene Israelis, the largest group of Indian Jews, are martial men, and their ancestors were part of Chhatrapati Shivaji’s army. “If India is our motherland, Israel is our fatherland,” says Avner. “I came to Israel when I was nine months old. So, all my memories of India are as an adult. As I grew up, I realised that Jews were able to live freely in India without [fearing] anti-Semitism. They have always lived there in peace and harmony with their neighbours. The only time they faced any threat was during the 2008 Mumbai attacks on the Chabad house and other locations.’’

Avner’s father, David Isaac, 91, went to a school in Sassoon docks in Mumbai in the 1940s. It was at the bustling, picturesque dock established by Jewish industrialist Sir Albert Sassoon where he learnt the tools and the trade to become an engineer on merchant ships, setting sail to faraway shores in 1963. As he sits in a bomb shelter today, with sirens going off every few hours, David is, thankfully, saved the trouble of understanding that he is in the midst of a war.

The Jewish population in India has shrunk over the years with most of them emigrating to Israel. But in wars and in facing terror, Jews in India and in Israel have always joined hands. Marian Sofaer, whose mother emigrated to Israel when she was 12, is proud of her links in both countries. She is married to Abraham David Sofaer, an American attorney born in Mumbai. “We found our roots together. I feel we must educate our youth about our diverse heritage,’’ said Marian, who refurbishes old synagogues to put them on the world map.

The deep cultural embrace is fulfilling for many. Ruth Greenfield, 62, daughter of the famous architect Joshua Moses Benjamin, credits her father for instilling in her the values of contributing to the welfare of the community. Benjamin, chief architect of the government of India in the late 19th century, was a key pillar of the Indian Jewish community. He designed the Parliament Annexe building and many other important buildings like the Delhi High Court and the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade. He also designed several embassy and consulate buildings for India. Ruth has memories of visitors walking into their home in Delhi every day. The Jewish community in Delhi was vibrant those days, she says, and Jewish people from across India used to visit Benjamin.

Such bonds are strong even today. Isaac Thangjom, project director of Degel Menashe, an organisation that works for the B’nei Menashe community in Israel, is passionate about India and visits his hometown Imphal often. “Identity forms a very important part of every person. We want to inculcate a sense of pride in our younger generation and an insight and understanding of who they are,’’ he says.

Nearly 5,000 B’nei Menashe Jews in India were planning to make their journey to Israel when the conflict broke out on October 7. Their plans may be on hold at the moment, but the pursuit of peace by Jews of Indian origin continues. In Nevatim, they are joined by their Israeli friends. Ofra Bar Gil grew up in a community surrounded by Indian Jews and got deeply influenced by the ideals of peace and coexistence. “I am an ayurvedic practitioner. To learn more from India is my mission,” she says, waiting for Nevatim to open its gates once again to peace.

pakistan-s-decision-to-deport-afghan-refugees-raises-questions-about-ethics

Tue Oct 31 10:25:32 IST 2023

ON OCTOBER 3, PAKISTAN Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti announced that illegal immigrants in the country should leave by November 1. The caretaker government warned that they would be deported, if they failed to comply. The order has hit unregistered immigrants from Afghanistan the hardest, forcing the United Nations to weigh in. Said Qaiser Khan Afridi, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), “We have seen disconcerting press reports about a plan to deport undocumented Afghans and we are seeking clarity from our government partners. Any refugee return must be voluntary and without any pressure to ensure protection for those seeking safety.”

Since the move has been seen as targeting Afghan migrants who number around 37 lakh, Pakistan’s foreign office clarified that the order applied to all foreigners without valid documents. A foreign office spokesperson said Pakistan’s policy towards Afghan refugees “remained unchanged” and the ongoing operation was against individuals who had either overstayed their visas or did not have valid documents. Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghan refugees since the Soviet Union’s invasion in 1979.

There are about four types of Afghan refugees, according to journalist Azaz Syed. The first category has been in the country since the time of the Soviet invasion. A lot of them still remain undocumented despite the group being in Pakistan for at least three generations. The second group got themselves registered in 2007, and got a document called proof of registration (PoR). This was done with the help of the UNHCR. The third category comprises people who registered in 2017 through the Afghan Citizen Card (ACC). Those with the PoR and ACC number around 22 lakh.

The fourth category, numbering around seven lakh, came to Pakistan after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August 2021. Most of them are in ‘transit’, as they want to leave for a third country. They are spread across cities such as Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore and Karachi. The UNHCR and some countries are supporting them. “A large number of Afghans have become an integral part of Pakistani society. Some of them have also sneaked into the system and got Pakistani citizenship and passports,” said Syed.

A distressing situation has unfolded in Karachi, where over a thousand Afghan refugees were arrested by the local police, said Moniza Kakar, a lawyer. “Police say they are undocumented, but a majority of them possess valid identification cards,” said Kakar. “The wrongful arrests and detention of documented refugees have raised serious humanitarian concerns. These individuals have fled from conflict and instability in Afghanistan, seeking refuge and safety. Their unjust incarceration not only puts their wellbeing at risk, but also highlights the need for a closer examination of the situation.”

Aman Ullah, a PoR card holder, told THE WEEK that after the announcement about illegal immigrants was made, even PoR card holders were not spared. Often, their cards are snatched and destroyed by the police. “Wherever the police see an Afghan, it happens. More than 2,000 Afghans with PoR or ACC cards are in jail, apart from those who do not have papers. Afghans are worried and are going back home,” he said. “Things have improved a little after the interior minister’s announcement that seized identity documents should be returned. Some courts in Karachi have given relief to card holders, but others have not. Those Afghans who have businesses like restaurants in Karachi are being told by building owners to vacate.” Most Afghans are scared to venture out of their homes.

“Refugees fleeing war and turmoil have a moral right to seek refuge in another country and to be treated with dignity and empathy,” said Harris Khalique, secretary general of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. He said the HRCP was lobbying the government to reverse the blanket decision to ban all migrants, as it would affect vulnerable groups, including women and children.

Khushal Khattak of the National Democratic Movement (NDM), a Pashtun nationalist political party, told THE WEEK that following the caretaker government’s announcement, Afghans were arrested in hundreds and raids were being conducted in their places. “This is why it seems that this is directed at the Afghans.” And, in the case of valid document holders, many of them are let off after bribes are paid. In recent weeks, some Afghan settlements in Islamabad have been razed. “These are poor people. There is also a fear within the Afghan community that if they are arrested, the bail process is very problematic and difficult,” said Khattak.

NDM chairperson Mohsin Dawar introduced a bill for the protection of refugees, but it was not allowed to be on the agenda. “There is a lot of uncertainty and fear within the Afghan community. Human rights activists and Pashtun parties are talking about it. Unfortunately, mainstream voices are missing,” said Khattak. “There is a danger to some of these Afghans from the Afghan Taliban and it would be difficult for them to go back. Also, there is no state in Afghanistan at the moment. What are they supposed to return to? This is a humanitarian crisis. There needs to be more voices so that the government reconsiders this policy.”

Former lawmaker and senior politician Bushra Gohar said the Afghans were being forced out because of the Doha deal between the US and its allies and the Taliban. “The unending cycle of pain and suffering of the displaced Afghans has been exacerbated by Pakistan’s caretaker government with its announcement of forced eviction and deportation. Giving a deadline to leave and threatening to check DNAs of Afghans is meant to add to their sufferings and is in violation of human rights.” She said it was not the first time that such knee-jerk reactions had been taken by the government against vulnerable Afghan refugees to divert attention from its failed Afghan policies.

“Those who came much earlier and have legal documents are also facing harassment and extortion. Homes in Kutchi (an Afghan nomadic group) settlements have been razed before the announced deadline. Such reactions are in violation of universal human rights and international conventions. Pakistan with a large refugee population does not have a coherent policy and law for refugees. A private member bill was tabled in the previous National Assembly but it was obstructed and not allowed to be debated,” said Gohar. She asked the government to facilitate registration of families, especially women and children forced to leave Afghanistan to avoid persecution by the Taliban. Gohar said terrorising the vulnerable Afghan population to build pressure on the Taliban must end. “Finally, it is not the mandate of caretaker governments to take such policy decisions with serious human rights, security and foreign policy implications.”

Zebunnisa Burki, a senior journalist who focuses on humanitarian issues, said it would be cruel to send back scores of refugees to a country devastated not just by war, but also by a regime that did not care for its people. She also spoke about the devastation caused by the recent earthquake and the impact of the western sanctions. “Why are we sending them back now? If the government wants to crack down on smuggling and other activities, it should be done, but sending the Afghan refugees back by giving them a deadline is sheer cruelty.”

The government, however, pushed back at the criticism. Interior Minister Bugti told THE WEEK that the new policy was not specifically against Afghans. “It is not aimed at any specific ethnic group or any specific country,” he said. “Anyone who is here with a refugee status or a transit status are our guests. We are only asking illegal immigrants―those who have illegal businesses here, those who have breached our security data to make illegal identity cards, be it Afghans or people of any other nationality―to leave.”

israel-s-retaliation-against-hamas-could-lead-to-a-wider-conflict-in-the-middle-east

Sat Oct 21 16:54:55 IST 2023

On the walls of the National Digital Centre in Sderot, a small city in southern Israel, there are pictures of nearly 90 hostages, now believed to be in Gaza. According to Israeli officials, the youngest hostage is just nine months old while the oldest are above 80. It is yet another painful reminder of the Hamas attack on October 7, which left nearly 1,500 Israelis dead and more than 3,000 injured.

“If the United States had its ‘9/11’, this is ‘7/10’ for us. A date we will never forget,” said Amir, a 42-year-old Israeli travel operator. “Ours is a tiny country with a small population. Imagine what will happen if some 50,000 people are massacred in a day in a similar attack in the US and the reactions that it will generate.” Like everyone else in Israel, Amir, too, has had his share of national service. The Israel Defence Forces has not yet recalled him because of a health condition. “I am very angry. I am also worried because I have children. Who can murder women, children and the elderly? You have to be a criminal of the worst sort to do this kind of thing,” said Amir. “I was in the army so I can understand a soldier killing another soldier. We will not let even our coming generations forget this.”

The road from Tel Aviv airport to Jerusalem is usually chock-a-block with traffic, even on Friday nights, just before Sabbath. But as THE WEEK team took the road, it looked deserted as Israelis preferred to stay indoors, feeling worried and afraid. Also, most mobilised reservists have already left to join their units.

Israel has mobilised more than three lakh reservists. Among them is Naomi, a 20-year-old girl from Sderot. At an age when she should be studying, Naomi is carrying an M16 automatic rifle. “Nobody should face what we are facing,” she said, pointing towards vehicles full of bullet holes.

Ronen, a 45-year-old first responder from Sderot, recalled the first distress call which came at 6:30 in the morning on October 7. “It was about a rocket hit on a building. As we were rushing there, the mayor summoned me to the command centre. He said terrorists were shooting everywhere and had killed 41 victims in Sderot alone. I pulled an injured officer aside from the road, picked up his M16 and started firing at the terrorists. I got hit by two bullets on my left shoulder,” said Ronen, a former soldier. “Hamas is Islamic State. Today it is us, tomorrow it will be you. Recognise this evil and destroy it,” he said.

Shira, a shy eight-year-old girl from Sderot, was trying to reach her father, Ofir, all through the day. Ofir was busy fighting and rescuing people. “Dozens of bodies were lying on the streets. I think over a thousand terrorists attacked that day and many of them had come equipped to stay here for long. We fought them off,” said Ofir.

Dafna Rousso and her family members from kibbutz Kfar Aza, five kilometres east of Gaza, woke up to the sound of sirens on October 7. She and her husband Uri could hear indiscriminate shooting from very close quarters. “Our three daughters were sleeping in safe rooms and my husband left quickly. When my daughters asked me about him, I told them that daddy never went anywhere without saying goodbye, so he would be back. Although I sent him a text message, there was no reply,” said Dafna. She then went to the head of the community brigade in the kibbutz, but he did not have any answers for her. “Upon hearing the firing outside, my initial thought was that it was the IDF trying to protect us. Only later did I realise what was really happening,” she said.

Dafna’s sister then messaged her that Hamas killed her mother-in-law and injured her son Netta. “The kid is so close to me. It was at this time that I realised that something very bad was happening to us,” she said. Dafna and her daughters were locked inside their house till the IDF arrived. Along with help, however, came some very bad news. The IDF told her that Uri lost his life in the battle with Hamas. “The army returned his personal weapon and six bullets were missing. They told us that there were six dead people around him. So he managed to kill at least six terrorists. I told my daughters that their father was a hero. He did whatever he could to keep everybody safe,” said Dafna, holding back tears. “I want my daughters to remember how much their father loved them and how he wanted the best for them.”

Nani and Avital are an elderly couple living in kibbutz Magen in northwestern Negev near Gaza. When rockets started raining in, they went into the shelter inside their house, along with their daughter Nil and her husband and three babies. Nani and Avital have another daughter, Rimon, who lived in kibbutz Nir Am. “Rimon texted Nani that terrorists were outside her window and were firing indiscriminately. By around 8:30am Nani and Avital lost contact with Rimon,” said Shani, Rimon’s cousin. “When they went to look for her, they found the house riddled with bullets and covered in blood.”

Nani returned to her house and the family was forced to defend themselves for nearly 30 hours. Help came only by the night of October 8. Nil was evacuated to the Dead Sea region along with her husband and three children, while Nani and Avital were taken to a hospital in Tel Aviv. Rimon and her husband are still missing, most probably taken to Gaza as hostages. “Rimon is 36, she takes care of animals that no one wants. She also loves music and flowers. Why would someone do this to her?” asked a weeping Shani.

Kibbutz Be’eri, located in Negev desert near the eastern border with Gaza, looks like a ghost community now. There are signs of destruction all round. Charred houses, destroyed vehicles and broken toys are everywhere, and the entire area reeks of burning smell. Roads are strewn with bullets from automatic weapons; there are abandoned RPGs, unexploded munitions and other weapons. More than 100 Israelis were killed in Be’eri on October 7. “It was a peaceful residential community till that morning. Terrorists massacred everyone whom they could target. We know that 54 police officers were killed, as they tried to save civilians,” said police spokesperson Dean Elsdunne.

Air raid sirens can be heard across Israel, as Hamas continues to fire rockets and Israel’s air defence systems intercept them. As sirens go off, one has to lie down quickly, with the response time being just about seven seconds. Sirens sounded twice when we were in Be’eri and there were explosions lasting about five minutes each.

“The battle in Be’eri went on for hours. Hamas came into our houses, took hostages and shot many people, forcing other family members to watch the massacre. They raped women and beheaded children. Then they sat down, and had food. The world needs to see this monster. Israel has every right to defend itself,” said Elsdunne.

The woes of affected areas like Be’eri are felt across the country, including Jerusalem, Judaism’s holiest city. Jerusalem, which has a significant presence of Palestinians and Israeli Arabs, is on edge. We saw the arrest of one of them. His car was intercepted by a six-member security team. He was asked to get out, the car was searched thoroughly for weapons and then his hands and legs were cuffed. He and his car were then taken away by the police.

A woman who was present at the scene told us that such things happened routinely to Arabs and Palestinians. “For us, it has always been like this. Sometimes I feel whether Israel wanted this attack to happen so that they could retaliate heavily and could also get aid and more military supplies from the US,” said the woman, who works as a customer relations executive.

An Arab hotel owner whose family has been living in Jerusalem for more than four centuries echoed similar sentiments. “We have been suffering in silence for long. My ancestral house in the Old City is almost 400 years old. The Israeli army is very mean to us, they beat up our people every day. We have to be brave and patient,” he said.

There are many more people in Jerusalem with similar tales to share. A Palestinian taxi driver who grew up in Jerusalem said the city was beautiful and had a rich history, but the constant strife and tensions had made it unappealing for people like him. “I studied electrical engineering, but during the second Intifada in 2003, I was arrested by Israeli forces just because I had gone to fix some electrical appliances at a Jewish citizen’s house. I was only 22. My career was over in a matter of days and I had to take up the job of a taxi driver,” he said.

As Israel intensifies its efforts to dismantle Hamas, the threat of ground war is growing by the minute, despite the arrival of US President Joe Biden in Tel Aviv. As we drove from Ashkelon to Netiv HaAsara on the Gaza border, we saw the full mobilisation of the IDF with tanks, armoured personnel carriers and artillery guns lined up on both sides of the road. Camps of soldiers are everywhere. They do not say much, except asking journalists not to take photos. Overhead, we could hear IDF jets raiding Gaza unchallenged, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction.

The Israeli government has vowed to finish off Hamas once and for all. Tal Heinrich, spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, replied to a query of this correspondent that the IDF would make sure that each and every perpetrator of the October 7 attacks would be dealt with severely. Israel says it will not negotiate with terrorists and has demanded the unconditional return of all hostages. Qatar, which hosts key Hamas leaders, is said to be trying to ensure the safe return of the hostages.

The entire Middle East is worried that the Israel-Hamas war could escalate into a wider conflict, forcing major world powers to step in. With no end in sight to the war in Ukraine, yet another major conflict will have devastating consequences not just for the Middle East, but for the world.

the-biggest-casualty-of-the-israel-hamas-war-is-the-new-middle-east

Sat Oct 21 15:32:17 IST 2023

THE ROAD TO hell is paved with good intentions. This was never truer for US President Joe Biden than it is now. Preparing for a re-election bid, he is watching the new Middle East turning into ashes. And he has a task that only Agent Ethan Hunt in a Mission Impossible movie could pull off―find a solution for the messiest problem since the 1940s, the Israel-Palestine conflict. And on a deadline.

“The situation is dire,” said Kabir Taneja, fellow at Observer Research Foundation. “This has pushed the question of Palestine, for long on the back burner, now to the front and centre.”

Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7 put an end to the dreams of a new Middle East. The subsequent bombing of Gaza by Israel has ensured that the humanitarian crisis in the region will only become worse, and the pressure to find a fix will only mount. From both sides.

Backing down now will not be an easy choice for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, especially because he is facing corruption charges. For the rest of the Middle East, which was determined to find a better economic situation by sweeping the Palestine question under the carpet, the killing of the civilians in Gaza needs a response to satisfy the domestic audience.

Any American attempt to douse the fire has been met with resistance. Even Biden’s quick visit did not change the situation. Earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a tough time lobbying for a stronger position on Hamas by Arab nations. Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, reportedly kept him waiting for hours, setting the tone for what followed.

The redrawing of the Middle East―using economics to gloss over the problems―with the Abraham accords and the normalisation of Israel-Saudi Arabia relations is now back to square one. The civil nuclear deal and the weapons that Saudi Arabia wanted from the US will no longer be an incentive good enough. “Saudi Arabia cannot even think of flirting with Israel,” said Talmiz Ahmad, former ambassador of India to Saudi Arabia.

If October 7 was a turning point for Israel, the attack on the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City on October 17 could well be another one for the conflict. It has added another level of complexity to the mix, forcing Jordan―the second Arab country to sign a peace deal with Israel in 1994―to cancel a summit with Biden. The summit was a desperate attempt to keep the balance in the region that is a powder keg. That Jordan cancelled it at a time when it could have helped the country become a leader in the region and kept it in the good books of the US shows how emotive the issue is. About three million people of Palestinian origin are there in Jordan.

Diplomacy apart, the bigger challenge will be dealing with the fallout of the crisis. Gaza has been demolished, and rebuilding it will be a herculean task. The Arab nations that are offering solidarity have refused to take in any refugees. So far the border with Egypt remains closed. Jordan, too, is unable to cope with more refugees. “That is a red line, because I think that is the plan by certain of the usual suspects to try and create de facto issues on the ground. No refugees in Jordan, no refugees in Egypt,” said King Abdullah of Jordan at a news conference after a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin. The Palestinians, too, do not want to leave Gaza, because that will amount to ceding their land to Israel. How this will play out in the near future remains to be seen.

What makes it more tricky for the US is that China has already made inroads in the region. President Xi Jinping may not have the answers―certainly not the right ones―for the problems, but he has already taken a pro-Arab position. For now, the problem is very much Biden’s. And he won’t be the first American president to fail at it.

israel-will-have-to-fight-in-the-terrain-of-hamas-s-choosing

Sat Oct 21 15:29:35 IST 2023

NOT JUST ‘SMOKE on the water’ and ‘a fire in the sky’―there will be an inferno in the netherworld, too, in the event of the war that Israel is gearing up for. On the face of it, there seems to be absolute asymmetry between the military might of Israel and Palestinian militias. But, it is not as overwhelming as it appears. Because this is to be an unconventional battle.

The entire Gaza enclave is perched atop an intricate and complex network of concrete tunnels. The tunnel construction work, believed to have begun in 1999, had picked up pace after Hamas seized power in the Gaza Strip in 2007.

On March 5, 2014, Israel’s navy intercepted a ship carrying weapons destined for Gaza. It had rockets, mortar shells and ammunition, and, another strategic commodity―cement, from Iran; about 100 containers (more than 2 million tonnes) of it. A report by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA), a leading think-tank, says that by 2014, Israel had “discovered 100km of tunnels in Gaza, one-third of which stretched under Israeli territory”. In fact, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) undertook Operation Protective Edge in 2014 with the prime intent of destroying the tunnel network, but only about 30 tunnels that ran into Israel were discovered and destroyed.

The issue for Israel is that the tunnels will facilitate full-blown urban guerrilla warfare, street by street and lane by lane. Israeli battle tanks rumbling through streets can be targeted by guerrillas wielding shoulder-launched anti-tank weapons. An IDF post says: “Hamas’s tunnel network is in fact a vast underground city with dozens of access points located throughout Gaza. Hamas uses these tunnels as weapons caches, bunkers, command centers and a concealed transportation artery for terrorists and weapons, including rocket launchers.”

By lying deceptively low while Israel focused more on the much-larger Hezbollah, Hamas has built tunnel networks much beyond Gaza and well into Egypt’s Sinai and into Israel. Hidden from satellites and drones, these well-camouflaged tunnels crisscross underneath residential quarters, schools, public buildings, open areas and are well-lighted, ventilated, and big enough for free movement of men and material. Over the years, several operations by the IDF aimed at destroying the Hamas tunnel infrastructure have only served to expand it.

The new extensive and deeper tunnels also serve as operational bases, weapons manufacturing units, arsenals, jails and places to trap the enemy, apart from being entry and exit points for operations. It is a terrain whose layout only the Hamas knows.

Aware of the threat, the IDF set up its own tunnel warfare unit―the Yahalom. Its mandate is to “discover, clear, and destroy terror tunnels”. It is divided into the Yael or the unit engineering reconnaissance force; the Sayfan, for the handling of non-conventional weapons; and the Samur, specialist tunnel fighters.

Apart from tunnels, Hamas has also honed its weapons manufacturing ability. A JCPA report in August 2021 concluded that Hamas had developed enormous capability to produce its arsenal and was no longer fighting an asymmetrical war. It warned that Hamas was developing “drones and unmanned underwater vehicles, engaging in cyber warfare, and on the cusp of graduating from unguided rockets to precision, GPS-guided drones and missiles”.

There is also the spectre of the war spilling into multiple fronts. The omnipresent Hezbollah threat is already beginning to manifest into the opening of a new front. And, the US-led west will soon have to divide its weapons supply between Ukraine and Israel.

All these factors mean that Israel faces a serious tactical and strategic dilemma. No wonder Tel Aviv blamed a thick cloud cover for the delay in its ground offensive. It is still waiting.

arab-world-wants-it-s-dignity-back

Sat Oct 21 16:48:34 IST 2023

GAZA IS FACING A catastrophe as Israel is determined to uproot Hamas and other armed groups in the enclave. The heavy bombs are being dropped to reach the tunnels. Common people are paying the price for the Hamas attack on Israel. We are seeing massive displacement of Gazans―we fear a third of the total 2.3 million people will be displaced. Most of them are refugees from Palestine―from Jaffa, Haifa and Jerusalem. They are third and fourth generation refugees who are getting displaced again.

As Israel continues its Gaza operation, the normalisation of its ties with other Middle Eastern states will be delayed, because under these clouds of war, Saudi Arabia will be reluctant to shake hands with it. In any case, Saudi Arabia will not give Biden this electoral card ahead of the elections. It will try to postpone the process as much as possible and give this to Donald Trump or any other Republican.

This operation could mark the end of Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan is gaining now, as it is trying to ride the tide of people’s massive solidarity with Hamas. And it is not just about Hamas, it is about resistance against the occupier. For people in the Arab world, it is not that they want the death of Israelis. They want their dignity back. They feel that they have been crushed all the time by the Israeli occupation in the West Bank and in Gaza. They want justice, fairness, and dignity.

Officially, most of the Middle Eastern countries spoke about the need to save civilians and about the need for restraint, but they did not condemn Israel directly because the US was very stern when it said that all countries should condemn Hamas. But had they condemned Hamas, the streets in Amman and in Cairo and in other places would have gone up in flames because of the anger and despair, and the solidarity they feel with the Palestinian cause.

Syria, Iran, Lebanon and Iraq, meanwhile, condemned Israel unequivocally as they follow Iran. The Iranian foreign minister visited Beirut and Damascus to discuss future plans. But if they open a front against Israel, Iran will definitely be under attack. That is why the US is sending a second aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean. From Damascus, the Iranian foreign minister went to Doha, which is home to Hamas high operatives like Khaled Mashal. The US secretary of state was also in Doha, for mediation and for exploring the possibility of prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas, and to lessen Gaza’s destruction.

A major casualty of this conflict would be Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing ministers. They will face many questions. After the conflict ends, he will be blamed for what happened. There will be a committee like the one that was formed after the 1973 war. Netanyahu’s popularity is at its lowest now. Benny Gantz, who is his partner in the unity government, has seen his popularity rising tremendously. So we are heading towards punishment for Netanyahu, but not right now. We are talking about early next year―when things would be clear in Gaza, and Hamas would be crushed.

Hattar heads News Roya Media Group, the largest privately owned media company in Jordan.

―As told to Ajish P. Joy.

the-best-time-to-visit-russia-amidst-conflict

Sat Oct 07 17:45:18 IST 2023

Russia is undoubtedly an unconventional choice for a holiday destination in 2023. Visiting a country in the throes of war, and deemed an enemy of the west, seems like walking into the lion’s den. Surprisingly, it was quite the opposite, not least because Russia, being the aggressor, has contained the war to within Ukraine. Barring a few drone attacks, there has barely been aggression on Russian soil.

Thus, after getting assurances from contacts in Russia that life in the two largest cities, Saint Petersburg and Moscow, was carrying on as normal, a long pending trip, cancelled multiple times for various reasons, came to fruition in August.

Before the pandemic, Russia was a much sought-after destination, and flights and hotels were quickly booked up during the summer months, when the weather is warm and at its best. For a large part of the year, the country experiences sub-zero temperatures, hence the weather window to enjoy the sights and outdoors is short. Americans flocked there in droves and an increasing number of Indians were visiting year-on-year.

A country with a fascinating history, beautiful buildings, meticulously maintained museums, numerous monuments, monasteries and churches, grand palaces, breathtaking gardens, and rivers bustling with activity, there is simply so much to see and do in summertime Russia.

While its streets were bereft of international tourists this year, Russian tourists were aplenty. With travel sanctions imposed upon them because of the war, Russians have chosen to travel within their own vast country this summer; so instead of a week in Spain, it is a week in Sochi, and those from Sochi are visiting the sights of Saint Petersburg.

As New Delhi has taken a ‘neutral’ stance on the war, Indians are very welcome. In fact, because of the overall reduction in tourists, hotel rooms are plentiful, tickets to sought-after sights are easily available, streets and museums are less crowded, and because of the falling rouble, eating out, accommodation and entertainment has never been cheaper.

In Saint Petersburg and Moscow, you would be hard-pressed to tell that this was a country at war. Streets and sidewalks were bustling with musicians, artists and teens making dance videos for TikTok, diners were enjoying long, languorous lunches alfresco, parks were swarming with people making the most of the glorious summer weather, and rivers, lakes and waterways were teeming with boats and water sports.

Theatres and dance performances were in full swing. We saw a new production of the The Nutcracker ballet at Saint Petersburg’s famous Mariinksy Theatre. There were no signs of any war-time austerity; the sets and costumes were spectacular, and the production pulled out all the stops.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, many international companies pulled out of Russia; some remained. When multinational fast-food chain McDonald's pulled out, a Russian firm took over their restaurants, using a different name and logo but serving the same fare. Burger King, however, is still very much around. There are coffee shops that looks exactly like Starbucks, with a slightly different name and logo. Many international fashion brands, too, shut shop. Their withdrawal meant a plethora of empty shop spaces in prime localities. This led to the burgeoning of local fashion brands, some of which are now thriving.

After the war began, many Russian banks were banned from the SWIFT international payment messaging system. Major international credit card companies like Mastercard, Visa and American Express, too, withdrew their services from Russia.

Some hotels, however, are still accepting Visa or Mastercard credit cards issued in India. To pay for other travel expenses, the only way is to change dollars or other currency into roubles. This can be easily done at several banks and money exchanges that are open around the clock, seven days a week.

In many countries in Europe these days, pickpocketing and homelessness is rampant. Moscow and Saint Petersburg, however, did not have either of these. Streets were safe and spotless, thanks to the government-sponsored cleaning system that works like clockwork.

While we entered Russia with trepidation, cautious not to discuss sensitive topics such as the war in Ukraine or President Vladimir Putin, we found that our tour guides were happy to discuss these factors openly and were unafraid to express their opinion. Professional, licensed tour guides in Russia are highly educated, knowledgeable and articulate since they need to pass multiple exams to qualify and are required to frequently update their licenses.

Our guides in Saint Petersburg and Moscow, all of whom spoke excellent English, were unanimous in their opinion that Russia was a resilient country and would be able to withstand external pressure or sanctions. “If you stop selling us Parmesan cheese, we will make our own Parmesan cheese,” said Julia, 46, a tour guide in Saint Petersburg, as we walked towards the renowned State Hermitage Museum.

The war, however, has gone on longer than anticipated, and both Russia and Ukraine have lost a large number of troops. “The war has lasted so long because Russia is fighting not only with Ukraine, but also with the US, Europe and the UK,” said Aitan, 48, a professional tour guide in Saint Petersburg who took us on a tour of the magnificent Peterhof Palace and its exquisite gardens.

“The price of human life was never high here; group interests always dominated personal ones, for better or worse,” said Svetlana, 49, a teacher and tour guide in Moscow, as she walked us through the Red Square, adjacent to the Kremlin. “Russia has substantially high resources of people, minerals, and incredibly gold reserves. It seems like Russia is quite ready for long-term military operations. Ukraine’s harsh resistance was unexpected, and its military readiness was underestimated.”

As the war drags into its 19th month, Ukraine’s allies and neighbours are getting weary. On September 20, amid growing tension between Kyiv and Warsaw over a dispute regarding grain exports, Polish Prime Minster Mateusz Morawiecki, said that Poland would no longer be supplying weapons to Ukraine. Recent polls have shown that the American public, too, are growing weary. Republicans are opposed to President Joe Biden’s latest request to Congress for $24 billion for additional aid to Ukraine.

Russians, in general, have strong feelings about American influence on the war and in world politics. “America influences most of the world to favour itself,” said Aitan. “It gets whatever it wants by exerting pressure on other countries.” Added Svetlana: “In general, there is a strong opinion that the US influence keeps many countries from helping Russia or trading with it.”

Their views, however, were varied on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “He was a comedian and I don’t take him seriously; he doesn’t have the education to rule the country,” said Aitan, as we discussed the war on the drive back from the opulent Catherine’s Palace on the outskirts of St. Petersburg. Svetalana said that though many Russians view him as western pawn, she did not, and felt sorry for him and the position he had been put in. Her friend, Lana, 53, who is also a tour guide in Moscow, too, is supportive. “Zelenskyy is the democratically elected president of Ukraine,” she said. “Russian propaganda works hard to persuade people that he is a puppet of the US and NATO.”

Do they think NATO will admit Ukraine? “Whatever Russians think about the Americans, we don’t consider them stupid enough to do so,” said Svetalana. “Americans are used to fighting with others’ hands.”

In spite of difficulties faced in recent times, opinion polls show that Putin remains the most popular politician in the country. In August, his approval rating stood at 80 per cent, higher that before the invasion of Ukraine, according to the Levada Centre. “Many people will say they like Putin, but many will refuse to say anything,” said Lana. “Russians are very cautious about expressing any criticism towards the president.” Who do they think will succeed Putin? “We are used to our leaders appearing from nowhere,” said Svetlana, as we view one of the Stalinist-era buildings in Moscow. “Who expected [Mikhail] Gorbachev, the youngest of all politburo members, to succeed [Konstantin] Chernenko? Who knew Putin before he was appointed by [Boris] Yeltsin? Russian history is full of surprises. Let us see.”

What do they think about Indians and India?

“Russians find Indians friendly, kind, and happy people,” said Lana. “They consider India a fast-developing, beautiful country with rich history and culture.” Svetlana said that Russians from older generations “still cherish warm memories of the once-strong and warm ties” with India. “Hindi movies used to be very popular in Soviet Russia,” she said. “In my mother’s generation they all knew Raj Kapoor’s song from Awaara by heart. In my youth, we were crazy about Mithun Chakraborty’s Disco Dancer.

Surnames of tour guides have been omitted to protect identity. All opinions expressed are personal.

the-effects-of-canada-s-liberal-immigration-policy-and-weak-counter-terrorism-laws

Sat Oct 07 12:41:05 IST 2023

On the outskirts of Castlegar, a little town in British Columbia, a statue of Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy stands tall in the garden of the Doukhobor Discovery Centre. Much before Khalistani terrorists brought a culture of guns and gangs to British Columbia, the province became synonymous with the nonviolent and pacifist ideals of the Doukhobors. A small ethno-religious group of Russian origin, the Doukhobors fled to Canada in the 1890s, fearing persecution from the Russian church and state. Tolstoy is said to have assisted in their mass migration, and his statue stands testimony to his efforts and Canada’s tradition of welcoming refugees.

Canada has come a long way since. Today, it has become the go-to place for migrants from across the world, including refugees from conflict regions. But among them, a number of terror operatives, ranging from the Islamic State (IS), Palestine’s Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah to Sri Lanka’s Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and Pakistan’s Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, have also found a safe haven for clandestine activities.

“Canada is hesitant to admit it, but the threats from immigrants is very palpable as it has also attracted terrorists, criminals and extremists,” says Wyatt Claypool, senior Canadian journalist. He cites the example of the 2018 Danforth shooting. “The police identified the gunman as Faisal Hussain, son of a Pakistani immigrant,” he says. “While some reports claimed that Hussain may have visited Pakistan before the shooting and that the Islamic State claimed the attack, there seemed to be a lot of hesitation to delve into the Islamist links to the incident. It was blamed on mental health issues finally.”

Moreover, Canada has been carrying out multiple repatriation operations for its nationals who were IS fighters following the dismantlement of the IS’s caliphate, a key priority of the United States. Ottawa was even lauded by Washington for its gesture. “We saw the IS fighters returning with no problem whatsoever,” says Claypool.

But what troubles Canadians more than terrorism is money laundering by front groups of extremist organisations. Recently, there were calls within Canada’s House of Commons to proscribe the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for its alleged links with global drug syndicates and money laundering activities of the Hezbollah, says Claypool. The Trudeau government was asked to take aggressive action, especially after the downing of Ukraine International Airlines flight 752, which took off from Tehran in 2020, killing all 176 passengers, including 55 Canadian citizens. “But the government has put the IRGC on some sort of immigration ban list, which does not mean anything because no IRGC member wants to move to Canada, except to use it as a base for clandestine activities,” says Claypool.

New Delhi’s charge that pro-Khalistani terrorists are using Canada as their base to carry out terror and criminal activities on Indian soil is no different. “There is this kind of assumption that you would be labelled racist or xenophobic or bigoted if you say anything about the Khalistan issue,” admits Claypool. He also agrees that Canada will not call them out and people are getting away because of its weak counter-terrorism policies.

India is not alone. For the last two decades, Dhaka has been asking Ottawa to extradite Nur Chowdhury, the self-confessed assassin of Bangladesh’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Its foreign minister A.K. Abdul Momen even said that Canada was ignoring their plea in the name of human rights.

Extraditions are not easy from Canada, especially when death penalty is possible or where a case can be made out that the individual is unlikely to receive fair trial. “There are potential complications in a few cases like the Hassan Diab case,” admits Ward Elcock, former chief of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Diab, a Canadian citizen, was extradited to France in 2014 and tried in the 1980 bombing of a Paris synagogue. In April, a court in France sentenced him to life; the Trudeau government vowed to stand up for Canadians and their rights.

“Reluctance to act in national security matters can sour relationships with friendly countries looking for cooperation and collaborations in countering global threats like terrorism and financial crimes,” says Colombo-based international security expert Rohan Gunaratna, who wrote the foreword to Stewart Bell’s Cold Terror: How Canada Nurtures and Exports Terrorism Around the World.

Sri Lanka, too, has expressed concern over the clandestine activities of the banned LTTE in Canada to raise funds, procure weapons and even influence the vast diaspora of Sri Lankan Tamils.

Likewise, India has been trying to achieve a common ground with Canada on the Khalistan terror issue under successive prime ministers. Vaishali Basu Sharma, a strategic analyst at New Delhi-based Policy Perspective Foundation, said former prime minister Manmohan Singh during his 2010 trip to attend the G20 summit in Toronto had asked Canada “to stop people from using religious places to promote extremism”, a decade-long concern that has now led to the souring of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Ottawa’s ties with Beijing are also strained, albeit for a different reason. Thanks to its liberal migrant policies, Chinese nationals, originally from Hong Kong, have found easy entry into and access to acquire assets or invest in Canada, says Jonathan Berkshire Miller, director of foreign affairs and national security at Ottawa’s Macdonald-Laurier Institute. China is probably the country most active in ‘foreign interference operations’in Canada. “There is absolutely a problem when Beijing-connected Chinese individuals come to Canada, not for the purpose of setting up legitimate businesses and operating them but basically for making Canada more reliant on the Chinese government,” says Claypool.

Srikanth Kondapalli, professor in Chinese studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, said Chinese interference in Canada was well-documented. There were fireworks between Beijing and Ottawa when Huawei heiress apparent Meng Wanzhou was detained in 2018 at Vancouver airport on a US warrant for alleged bank fraud and business dealings in Iran. She was allowed to leave the country later. In another instance, Kondapalli recalled how two Chinese scientists, researching the zoonotic virus from camels at the Winnipeg laboratory, travelled to Wuhan before the outbreak of Covid-19. “The case led to an investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and demands for discussion in the House of Commons amid concerns of Chinese espionage. But the outcome of the probe isn’t known,”says Kondapalli.

Domestically, the migration problem is being compounded by thousands of asylum seekers entering Canada from the US every day from Roxham Road border crossing. “It has been a bit of a scam, bringing immigrants on the promise of jobs and happier lives as authorities turn a blind eye,” says Claypool. “The problem is we are overstocking our country and outpacing our level of home building. The dangerous outcome is that Canada is fast becoming a playground for Mexican drug cartels. The fentanyl crisis, especially in areas like Toronto and Vancouver, is out of control with number of deaths rising exponentially.”

In the same way, illegal firearms and gunrunning have given way to a new Canadian gun culture that was nonexistent at one point. Even as the Trudeau government is talking about a full ban on firearms, illegal firearms are making their way to pro-Khalistani groups.

It may do well for Trudeau to revisit Tolstoy’s wise words―“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”

professor-and-author-rohan-gunaratna-interview

Sat Oct 07 12:38:42 IST 2023

As a specialist in global security affairs, Rohan Gunaratna believes that international security and intelligence services should shift from counter-terrorism cooperation to collaboration. “The key is to build common databases, exchange personnel, conduct joint training and operations….” says Gunaratna, who has authored more than 30 books, including Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday Massacre: Lessons for the International Community (2023). At a time when India and Canada are at loggerheads over the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, leader of the Khalistan Tiger Force, his advice for countries is to resolve their differences behind the scenes, rather than fight. Excerpts:

Q/ How has Canada earned the tag of an immigrant country?

A/ Canada is the world’s most favoured country for migrants…. Immigrants compensate for labour shortage, an ageing population and declining birth rate. They make up more than one-fifth of the Canadian population―more than 8 million of the 36 million Canadians―and non-permanent residents add almost another million. As per the 2021 census, more than half (4.3 million) had migrated from Asia, with India, the Philippines and China leading the way. About two million migrated from Europe, a million from North and South America and more than eight lakh from Africa (led by Morocco, Nigeria and Algeria). The recent immigrant population of over 1.3 million people shows a trend towards more immigrants of Asian and African descent. The immigration from the Americas, Europe and Oceania is on the decline.

Q/ There are concerns over inimical elements from various countries entering Canada over the years.

A/ Canada hosts people from around the world, including from conflict regions. The migrants mostly live in ethnic and religious enclaves. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has steadfastly expanded immigration, which has enhanced his popularity and electability. Under Trudeau, immigration has increased to four lakh new residents per year, and Canada plans to welcome five lakh permanent residents each year by 2025. About 40,000 asylum seekers entered Canada through irregular border crossings from the US alone in 2022. Like all governments, Canada is screening all the applicants. However, due to the sheer volume of applicants, a few thousand former terrorists and criminals have infiltrated. The Canadian intelligence and law enforcement agencies need to work in close collaboration with foreign counterparts to prevent acts of terrorism and crime.

Q/ What are Sri Lanka’s concerns over LTTE activities on Canadian soil?

A/ The LTTE clandestinely raised funds in Canada and procured weapons from the US, Ukraine and North Korea, which were then used to bomb the Central Bank in Colombo in 1996. The bombing killed 91 people and injured 1,400 people…. It is not too late to trace and prosecute the masterminds and fundraisers, but Canada and Sri Lanka should work together on this case to send a clear message that terrorism will not be tolerated. The largest Sri Lankan population outside the island is in Canada. The Sri Lankan Tamil community migrated to Canada in three stages: before, during and after war. Most migrants have become Canadian citizens and they lead respectable lives. A few hundred are supporting the LTTE in an attempt to revive the group. Over the years, the Sri Lankan government is working closely with Canada. Despite some issues, it is vital for Colombo and Ottawa to maintain cordial relations.

Q/ The 9/11 terror attack was a wake-up call for the United States. Do you think all countries need to recognise terrorism as a global threat?

A/ The 9/11 attack by Al Qaeda on the US soil demonstrated that terrorists can operate across borders and strike their enemies at will. The US mounted operations overseas to find, fix and finish their enemies. After 9/11, the US also created a new architecture to protect its homeland. Otherwise, the US would have suffered gravely. For instance, the department of homeland security spent billions of dollars to create fusion centres and shared intelligence [with other countries]. Unless governments learn and adapt to the new and emerging threats, their countries will continue to suffer.

Q/ What is the way forward?

A/ With the global reach of threat groups increasing, international security and intelligence services should shift from counter-terrorism cooperation to collaboration. The key is to build common databases, exchange personnel, conduct joint training and operations, and share information, resources, experience and expertise. Rather than fight, they should resolve their differences behind the scenes.

canada-pm-justin-trudeau-sacrifices-ties-with-india-to-save-his-sagging-political-career

Sat Sep 23 17:55:25 IST 2023

If only you knew the power of the dark side. Or so said Darth Vader to Luke Skywalker just before he outs Star Wars’ biggest twist―that he is Skywalker’s daddy. It is a lesson that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seems to have taken from his favourite movie. Doing quite badly in opinion polls, Trudeau hopes that the power of the idea of Khalistan will power his revival.

Trudeau’s big statement von the floor of the Canadian parliament that “security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the Government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar’’ and the subsequent expulsion of an Indian diplomat have pushed the India-Canada relationship into permafrost. India has come out all guns blazing, calling the allegations absurd and summoning the Canadian high commissioner to South Block for a dressing down. India also announced the expulsion a Canadian diplomat.

“This is a very complex state of affairs, one that goes far beyond the Indian lens,’’ said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Washington-based Wilson Center. “For Canada, there is a strong emphasis on rule of law, due process and freedom of speech. It means that Ottawa is not only unwilling to crack down on Sikh activism in Canada, but also that it will always condemn in the strongest terms the assassination of a Canadian citizen on its soil, no matter India’s contention that Nijjar was a terrorist.”

The expulsion of diplomats was only round one. Both countries have issued travel warnings for their citizens. “Government of India needs to take this matter with the utmost seriousness. We are doing that, we are not looking to provoke or escalate,” said Trudeau. The issue will continue to simmer, especially at the UN General Assembly session. A quarter century ago, Canada had registered a complaint against India over the nuclear tests. So, there is a history of using the UN as a platform to make a point.

On the Nijjar issue, no evidence has been shared so far, but Trudeau reached out to US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron. The episode could cast a shadow over India’s ties with countries such as the US, the UK, Australia and France―as all of them have expressed “concern’’ over Trudeau’s allegations. However, none of them would want to risk their ties with India, especially in the prevailing geopolitical context. “We are deeply concerned about the allegations referenced by Prime Minister Trudeau,’’ said Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the US National Security Council. “It is critical that Canada’s investigation proceed and the perpetrators be brought to justice.”

While Trudeau has not backed his charge with proof, he has counted on it taking away from India’s G20 success. It has come at a time when he is on the back foot domestically. Trudeau has been facing the toughest summer of his career yet. “Anyone but Trudeau is the mood in Canada,’’ said Munish Ohri, a Canadian businessman. The economy has not recovered from the blow dealt by the pandemic. “In the past two years, interest rates have jumped from 2.5 percent to 7 per cent,’’ he said. Those who survive on salaries are facing foreclosures.’’

Radio show host Jasbir Romana, too, pointed towards a political angle. “Trudeau has been lagging behind his opponent (Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre) by 10 per cent in latest opinion polls. His visit to India was botched up. So he has been on a spree pushing for more housing facilities and taking on grocery chain owners in a rude, un-Canadian manner.” The Nijjar episode, meanwhile, has ensured that the opposition has no choice, but to back him. And, for now, his numbers have started becoming better. “There have been no arrests,’’ said Harsh Pant of the Observer Research Foundation. “This is all about distraction. Trudeau has pushed the Conservatives into a corner. They have no choice but to back him as one cannot espouse another country’s interference in internal affairs.”

Trudeau’s father, Pierre, too, was notorious for his soft handling of Khalistani terrorists. When the Indira Gandhi government approached him in 1984 for the extradition of Khalistani terrorist Talwinder Singh Parmar who was accused of killing police officers in India, he refused to cooperate. Parmar was later implicated in the 1985 Kanishka aircraft bomb attack in which 329 people lost their lives. Trudeau Junior chose to accuse India on the floor of the parliament. “If you look at the way he did it,’’ said Pant, “it almost looks personal.” He said the US, the UK and Australia, too, faced the Khalistani protest issue, but they handled it differently. For instance, when the Indian consulate in San Francisco was targeted by Khalistani terrorists, Eric Garcetti, the US ambassador to India, said his country was doing everything to ensure the safety of Indians with the help of law enforcement agencies.

The uneasiness regarding Canada’s handling of Khalistani extremism has been brewing for a while, but the Nijjar killing has made the situation worse. Trade talks between the two countries that were seemingly on track were suddenly called off on September 16. Earlier this year, Trudeau’s national security adviser Jody Thomas identified India as top source of foreign interference in Canada, along with Russia and Iran.

The challenge before both India and Canada is to keep the bilateral relationship going despite the animosity being at an all-time high. There is a lot at stake. Beyond the people-to-people connection between the two countries fuelled by the 1.8 million strong Indian community in Canada, there are also other ties. The Canadian pension funds have cumulatively invested around 55 billion dollars in India. The foreign direct investment from Canada now is around 4 billion dollars. The continuing tension could hurt business and economic ties. Said Kugelman, “Ominously, we are seeing long-standing tensions over Sikh issues steep into areas of relationship that withstood tensions.”

canadian-sikh-politician-gurmant-grewal-interview

Sat Sep 23 12:42:12 IST 2023

GURMANT GREWAL was a member of the Canadian parliament thrice and was the first Sikh to hold the position of the deputy house leader of the official opposition of Canada. Grewal and his wife, Neena, were the first couple to serve in the House of Commons of Canada at the same time. When India-Canada bilateral relationship hit rock bottom in 1998 following India’s nuclear tests, he served as a bridge between the two countries. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Grewal speaks about the Nijjar murder controversy and its likely impact on India-Canada ties. Excerpts:

Q\ How do you look at the latest crisis?

A\ I hope we can move forward and address the issue. In 1998, when India conducted the nuclear tests, Canada complained to the United Nations. Diplomatic relations were broken and Canada imposed sanctions on India. After Stephen Harper was defeated in 2015, it has been a roller-coaster ride. I think the lacuna has been in communication, transparency and planning. The values of India and Canada are the same―democracy and freedom of expression. In Canada, the separatist side has to make their voice heard in a peaceful manner. The Quebec referendum in 1996-1997 was held in the same way. They are allowed to be heard, be it the Uyghurs or even the Khalistanis, if they do it in a peaceful manner. I believe a better communication channel is required. No country will like it if there is a killing on its soil. We don’t know the details, but we need transparency.

Q\ There are questions about how Nijjar was granted citizenship.

A\ In my opinion, once he became a Canadian citizen, his papers would have gone through the scrutiny of the process, and his background is irrelevant.

Q\ Prime Minister Trudeau’s ratings are low. Could the latest crisis be a political move, rather than a diplomatic one?

A\ Trudeau’s ratings are lower, but the official opposition party did not oppose his statement. They also said that the evidence should be made public.

Q\ Do you think this might affect trade ties?

A\ Both India and Canada said that trade negotiations should be concluded this year. But those are on a pause.

Q\ Canada has accused China of interfering in its internal affairs.

A\ In 1998, I was privy to documents on China’s interference. A committee has been formed to look at the interference of China with a new chairman and it is expected to start work soon. There are allegations against North Korea and Russia. I fear that they will investigate and include India, too, in the list.

india-g20-summit-declarations-success

Sat Sep 16 12:54:23 IST 2023

In the end, the success of a gathering is determined by an afterparty. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ensured that the G20 summit in Delhi will have one. A virtual G20 summit will be held in November before the presidency is passed on to Brazil. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has already assured his presence. Meanwhile, Modi’s millet menu passed the G20 test at the specially curated summit lunch. And Akshata Murthy went back with a Banarasi stole. The gifts were customised to suit the sensibilities of the guests and to reflect the relations that India has with each country.

India’s presidency has changed the composition of the G20, opening the doors for Africa and its 1.4 billion people. “The expansion to include the African Union is quite momentous,’’ said former ambassador Rajiv Bhatia, who authored a report on India-Africa relations. By 2030, every fifth person on earth will be African, so the continent’s inclusion has come at an apt time. “The inclusion of the AU changes the dynamics of the room,’’ said Harsh Pant of the Observer Research Foundation. “It shows India’s ability to lead and to move from ideas to action.” It is a tangible win for Modi’s efforts. Despite Covid and the global economic slump diverting some attention from India’s efforts to woo Africa, it opened 18 new missions on the continent. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has made six trips to Africa just this year. And the efforts are all set to continue.

“From 2002, when India launched the Focus Africa Programme, the funds have grown from $2 billion to almost $100 billion,’’ said retired ambassador Gurjit Singh, who heads the CII task force on the Asia Africa Growth Corridor. India has moved on from providing lines of credit to African countries to a foreign direct investment model. The summit lauded the rescheduling of the debt burden of Zambia, Ethiopia and Ghana under the Common Framework for Debt Treatment, an initiative endorsed by the G20. “India has emerged as the leader of the Global South,’’ said Singh.

For Modi, the successful summit has turned out to be the perfect launch pad for the Lok Sabha elections. Even pollution stayed away, ensuring a blemish-free summit. From a diplomatic perspective, however, the biggest takeaway has been bringing the world on the same page on contentious issues. “On Ukraine, India forged a middle path,’’ said Bhatia. It was a Herculean task, which took more than 200 hours of negotiations. But India proved to be the glue that could bind together disparate opinions on the issue.

“India has become the interlocutor between G7 and the Global South,’’ said Singh. That was why there was nothing much about Russia in the joint statement; it was not an issue for the Global South. “It is this trilateral cooperation that we are witnessing. The new connectivity project between the Middle East, Europe and India is very much a result of this cooperation,” said Singh.

While G7 members may have wanted stronger language on Russia―evident from their news conferences on the sidelines―they did not want to be on the wrong side of history. The softer language, which refrained from condemning Russia, was significant, as it may signal a new thought process about the future course of the war. So far, the only country to criticise the declaration is Ukraine.

The collective assent to the Delhi Declaration is not only a display of team spirit―which India displayed in ample measure by joining hands with South Africa and Brazil―but also a celebration of carefully crafted bilateral relations India has with most countries, very much like the curated gifts that went back with each leader. “There is a new dynamic in play,’’ said Pant. “India has demonstrated, especially to China, that it has excellent relations with the west, something which Beijing can only dream of.”

At a time when China had counted on the absence of President Xi Jinping at the summit being interpreted as a major snub to Delhi, producing a joint statement was a major success. It has made Beijing uneasy, especially with a Belt and Road Initiative summit coming up. Italy has already conveyed to China that it wants out. Meanwhile, the India-Middle East-Europe project has demonstrated India’s ability to bring together reluctant friends like Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman along with European leaders and US President Joe Biden. “India is venturing into the Middle East where China enjoys good relations,’’ said Pant. “It is doing so using America’s heft and by leveraging partnerships.”

The Delhi Declaration is quite a defining moment for G20’s future and it shows India’s influence on a range of issues including digital public infrastructure and climate action. “No conversation without India can be possible on DPI or climate change,’’ said Syed Akbaruddin, India’s former permanent representative to the UN. The need for further reform in the global governance structure is very much at the heart of the declaration.

“It is natural law that persons and institutions that do not adapt to change lose their relevance. With an open mind, we have to consider why many regional forums have emerged in recent years and are proving to be effective,” said Modi at the closing session of the summit. “But the number of permanent members in the UN Security Council stays the same. The world has changed in every respect. Whether it is transport, communication, health or education, every sector has undergone a transformation,” said Modi. “These new realities should be reflected in our new global structure.”

inclusion-of-african-union-in-g20-interview-vincent-magwenya

Sat Sep 16 12:50:27 IST 2023

THE G20 SUMMIT has opened the doors for a continent with the inclusion of the African Union. The move has tilted the balance in favour of the Global South. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Vincent Magwenya, spokesperson for the president of South Africa, speaks about the distortion that has been corrected with the AU’s inclusion and how it augurs well for the world. Edited excerpts:

Q/ How do you view the inclusion of the African Union in the G20?

A/ South Africa has been advocating for the inclusion of Africa in G20. Beyond that, we have called for the inclusion of the Global South in various processes that seek to reshape the global agenda on development. It was always a myth that such platforms could exclude a continent of more than 1.4 billion people. That distortion has been corrected. It augurs well, in terms of solidarity and in terms of a collective approach. We would like to see the resolution of the many challenges that the world confronts. From a security point of view and from a climate change mitigation point of view, there is going to be greater solidarity and collaboration.

Q/ With the inclusion of the African Union, it seems that the conversation is being really shaped by the emerging economies.

A/ The Indian government and Prime Minister Modi have done fantastically well in ensuring that this summit is focused on the inclusion of the Global South. Going on from here, it is going to be very difficult for any multilateral platform to ignore the Global South. You are going to see an accelerated push towards the reforms that we have been seeking in other multilateral forums, like the UN Security Council. We will be looking for a more equitable share of resources. What this summit has done is to give more impetus to that advocacy.

Q/ There seems to be a perception that South Africa is caught between India and China.

A/ We certainly do not feel that we are caught between India and China. We have seen a great deal of cooperation between India and China, especially within BRICS. When President Cyril Ramaphosa was engaged with various BRICS members, he sought consensus on the shape and format of the BRICS summit. He also sought consensus in terms of the expansion of BRICS. Our experience is different from the commonly espoused position of rivalry between these countries.

Q/ You talked about restructuring global financial institutions. How difficult is that going to be? Also, your views on climate justice?

A/ It is a process that is going to take time. But it is a process that is necessary and cannot be wished away. We had the first step at this G20 summit with respect to the inclusion of the African continent. What is going to follow from here on is an acceleration of the reforms that we are seeking.

With respect to the Just Transition (greening the economy in a fair and inclusive manner), in South Africa we have reached a consensus with all areas of society in terms of our roadmap to decarbonise our economy. The focus is going to be how we fund that process. Funding has been pledged by developed countries. Let us see those commitments.

Q/ How does South Africa look at India’s presidency?

A/ India has sought to define this summit around the theme of inclusivity. That has been well achieved. The signature moment is obviously the inclusion of the African Union, but from the onset we were fully aligned with India’s vision.

g20-plans-to-triple-renewable-energy-capacity-by-2030

Sat Sep 16 12:46:43 IST 2023

BUYING A CAR these days is not just about the brand or the mileage. It is increasingly about which variant to buy―petrol, diesel, CNG or the latest craze, the electric and the hybrid models. The world has realised that opting for an electric vehicle is yet another step forward in the fight against climate change, which was set out eight years ago at the Paris agreement.

Climate change and global warming are clearly at a tipping point. Unrelenting floods in Asia, sweltering heat in Europe, terrible drought in the Horn of Africa and wildfires in North America are all harbingers of the deadly reality. The 2015 Paris plan is to keep the rise in global temperature below at least 2 degrees centigrade, the ideal level being 1.5 degrees. The preferred method to achieve this goal is a structural shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy. That costs money.

A recent report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) says the transition requires at least $4.4 trillion annually. It is here that the G20 countries―which together account for more than 85 per cent of the global GDP―have to play a pivotal role. Mapping out an ambitious goal “to triple renewable energy capacity globally… by 2030”, a hallmark of the G20 Delhi declaration, the emphasis is on reforming the global financial institutions and the debt structuring system. The aim is to make funds affordable and available in a fair manner so that the developing nations can meet their climate obligations. To put up a robust fight against climate change is, therefore, also about the availability of low-cost financing to combat the rising heat and deteriorating climatic conditions, particularly against the backdrop of rising interest rates.

Arunabha Ghosh, CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, says India alone will require over $10 trillion in investments to reach net zero by 2070. “The New Delhi declaration supports the imperative of securing trillions of dollars to benefit the billions of people in the Global South through the Green Development Pact. Our research shows that the role of multilateral development banks is crucial, and the declaration highlights blended finance and risk-sharing mechanisms,” he says. “If we can devise methods to consolidate projects and narrow the gap between the perceived and actual risk of investing in emerging markets, we can reduce the cost of financing and encourage private investment in projects that focus on mitigation, as well as those that do so on adaptation efforts.”

The efforts to use renewable and sustainable forms of energy are being taken forward on multiple fronts. With solar energy systems and onshore wind technologies having achieved considerable maturity and competitiveness, newer verticals like offshore wind, hydrogen electrolysers (an apparatus that produces hydrogen) and energy storage are emerging, especially in the developing world. Meeting the high costs is a challenge. The greater usage of these new verticals is essential to move to the next phase of energy transition.

Bhupinder S. Bhalla, secretary, ministry of new and renewable energy, says access to low-cost capital will play a significant role in financing energy transition projects for G20 countries and beyond, while collaboration between public and private sectors will help catalyse institutional capital flows. “To achieve the 1.5 degrees centigrade goal of the Paris agreement, the overall share of renewable energy in the primary energy mix will need to rise to as much as 75 per cent, requiring an annual investment of over $4.4 trillion. To enable an energy system aligned with this target, investment in energy transition technologies needs to scale up considerably, complemented by a simultaneous redirection of investment away from fossil fuels.”

In the Indian case, low-cost climate finances make for a more compelling argument. Already the world’s third-biggest energy guzzler, India will see its energy requirements going up considerably. The International Energy Agency says India’s demand will see the highest jump in the next two decades.

The G20 declaration of September 9 called for “an ambitious, transparent and trackable New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) of climate finance in 2024, from a floor of $100 billion a year, taking into account the needs and priorities of developing countries in fulfilling the objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the implementation of the Paris agreement”.

The good news is that the promise of the developed countries of mobilising $100 billion a year for the developing countries may be met for the first time this year itself. But there are also questions. Vibhuti Garg, director, South Asia, Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, says there is no further commitment on increasing the availability of finance to developing countries beyond $100 billion. “The net zero target needs much higher investment and if that commitment is not enhanced, it will be difficult for countries in the Global South to achieve their climate goals.” She says the role of blended finance and multilateral development banks needs to be further fleshed out and also the issues on green taxonomy.

The Delhi declaration underlined the vital role of private climate finance in supplementing public funds and encouraging the development of financing mechanisms. According to the IRENA report, the bulk of the investment will need to focus on renewable energy, energy efficiency, electrification and enabling infrastructure. It says capital needs to be mobilised urgently from domestic and international resources of the private sector.

To be fair, India has not done badly. The IRENA report says India’s renewable energy sector has seen unprecedented growth. The country ranked third on the Renewable Energy Attractiveness Index in 2021, and its solar and wind power base is the fourth largest in the world. “The country’s capacities are some of the fastest growing among the top five countries promoting and advancing renewable energy,” says the report. That is a great achievement, but there is still a long way to go.

yevgeny-prigozhin-s-wagner-empire-may-cease-to-exist

Sat Sep 02 13:02:57 IST 2023

Makeshift memorials for Yevgeny Prigozhin and commanders of his private army, Wagner PMC, mushroomed across Russia much before they were officially confirmed dead in a jet crash on August 23. From Rostov and Belgorod bordering Ukraine, to Tobolsk and Perm in Ural and Krasnoyarsk in Siberia, people of all ages came to lay flowers and light candles.

In Saint Petersburg, the birthplace of both Prigozhin and President Vladimir Putin, the memorial was in front of the former Wagner PMC office at Zolnaya Street. The makeshift memorial was filled with flowers and flags, icons and Wagner stripes and even soft toys. “He was the real patriot, he did a lot for Russia,” a man in his 40s said as he placed fresh carnations. For youngsters, the memorial quickly turned into a selfie point.

Prigozhin was among the 10 people on board the Embraer 135BJ Legacy 600 business jet flying from Moscow to Saint Petersburg that crashed over the Tyumen region. Several Wagner commanders died in the crash, including Dmitry ‘Wagner’ Utkin―whose call sign is believed to have given the private military company its name―and Valery Chekalov, Sergei Propustin, Alexander Totmin and Yevgeny Makaryan.

Commenting on Prigozhin’s demise even before it was officially confirmed by Russia’s investigative committee on August 27 (after DNA tests), Putin noted that the Wagner chief was “a man with a complicated life path” who “made serious mistakes” but also “delivered results”.

Many officials echoed Putin’s assessment of Prigozhin’s personality. Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the Chechen Republic in southern Russia, said achievements “cannot be denied”. But he was quick to underline that “in recent times” the Wagner chief “failed to see or refused to see the greater picture”. Kadyrov claimed he urged Prigozhin to drop personal ambition. “But that’s how he was, Prigozhin, with his iron character and desire to get his way right here and now,” he said.

Leonid Slutsky, an MP from the Russian nationalist LDPR party, who had lashed out at Prigozhin during the Wagner mutiny, calling him a “traitor” and suggesting he was being used by the west to weaken Russia, said, commenting on the deadly plane crash, that while their views differed at the time, the head of Wagner “did a lot to achieve the goals of the special military operation.”

While the Kremlin denied any involvement in Prigozhin’s death and pro-Kremlin political commentators suggested the hand of Ukraine’s intelligence, many in Russia did see it as “revenge” for the rebellion. But, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said: “I know Putin. He is a calculating, very calm and even slow person, making decisions on other, less complex issues. Therefore, I cannot imagine that Putin did it, that Putin is to blame. It’s too rough, unprofessional work.” He also noted that he had received information about a possible attempt to assassinate Prigozhin. He passed this information to Putin and FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov. Later, said Lukashenko, Prigozhin told him he had received the information from Putin.

Prigozhin also told Lukashenko he would die a hero.

The fact that Prigozhin was not punished, but rather spared and only “exiled” to Belarus, showed he was “dear to many”, political commentator Alexander Morozov told Prague-based Current Times, which is run by a media organisation funded by the US government. As political analyst and senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center Tatyana Stanovaya pointed out, people close to the Kremlin believed people like Prigozhin did not deserve such death. At the same time, she said, Putin no longer needed Prigozhin.

“Wagner’s infrastructure in African countries and Syria can either be transferred under the control of state structures, or it can find a new loyal boss,” she said. “And the tools of foreign information campaigns and sabotage (such as Prigozhin’s troll factory) have long been actively mastered by the Russian special services.” She noted that the conservative section of society (and power elites) saw Prigozhin’s death a well-deserved outcome.

Prigozhin had no illusions. Ksenia Sobchak, TV celebrity-turned-journalist and daughter of Putin’s mentor and former Saint Petersburg mayor Anatoly Sobchak, revealed shortly after the plane crash that she had requested Prigozhin for an interview days before the crash. In what she claimed was a screenshot of their correspondence, he responded that now was not the time as he would get “arrested”, and added that if he had agreed to give the interview when she had requested him earlier, he would have been “finished”.

After the rebellion, Prigozhin’s influence on domestic policy was rigorously suppressed. Earlier in 2022, there were talks of Prigozhin starting his own political party or gaining partial control of the A Just Russia party. Following the uprising, the rumours ceased abruptly. A larger network of organisations, activists and media personalities, including some foreign-language bloggers, that were indirectly associated with Prigozhin and his media empire―Patriot Media―reduced or refocused their activities. In general, those associated with Prigozhin were advised to be cautious as they would not be spared, unlike the Wagner chief and his fighters.

The big task for the Kremlin now is how to deal with Wagner. A few days after Prigozhin was confirmed dead, Andrey Kartapolov, head of a parliamentary defence committee, said legislators would continue to work on a bill regarding the status of PMCs in Russia. He added that work was ongoing and it was too early to say anything concrete.

The push to regulate PMCs had been criticised by Prigozhin, who said in March that such a law was not needed and the PMCs had been “performing tasks” in Africa, Asia and other countries “according to the [local] laws”. This remark would be interpreted differently in the context of the mutiny he staged months later. And the renewed push to adopt the law regarding PMCs was made immediately after the rebellion was called off.

According to a popular political channel Ne Zygar, a series of focus groups in three metropolises after Prigozhin’s death showed that opinions on the Wagner Group and the concept of PMCs were divided. For many, the concept of PMCs is seen as relevant, but, according to the study’s participants, they should not engage in direct confrontation with the ministry of defence. Interestingly, the same poll showed that there were quite a few supporters of the theory that the plane crash was staged and Prigozhin had “stepped out of the game” and gone underground, perhaps to Africa.

Western media has claimed that Russia could lose its grip on Africa after Prigozhin’s death. The reality might be different. Russia recently hosted a grand Russia-Africa summit, attended by delegations from 49 countries. Putin spent three days interacting formally and informally with African leaders, underscoring Moscow’s intent to play a much bigger role on the continent as the erstwhile Soviet Union did. While Prigozhin reportedly made a brief appearance on the sidelines, with a photo of him shaking hands with an African official doing the rounds on social media, he was not seen at the main venue.

Yevgeny Minchenko, the president of the International Institute of Political Expertise, said it will be difficult to replace Prigozhin in Africa. “In international relations, a lot is based on personal chemistry and communication. If an outsider comes now, he may not be effective.”

But Andrey Zaharov, Russian investigative journalist and former BBC correspondent who wrote extensively on Prigozhin’s “troll factory” and the US elections (he is among many journalists and activists labelled foreign agents by Kremlin), claimed the process of squeezing Prigozhin out from Africa had started before his death. Russia had been trying to hamper Wagner’s operations, for example, convincing local authorities not to allow their planes to land, Zaharov shared on his Telegram channel. He said, citing sources, that this was happening despite Putin having personally assured Prigozhin that he could continue “dealings” in Africa and Syria.

On August 22, a Russian delegation headed by Deputy Minister of Defence Colonel General Yunus-Bek Yevkurov arrived in Libya for the first official visit by a Russian military delegation to the African country. Some media reports suggested Yevkurov visited Syria and several African countries where Wagner had been operating.

The complicated but charismatic Prigozhin was buried at Porokhovskoe cemetery in Saint Petersburg. It is certain that his death would not influence the 2024 presidential polls. A section of society is largely supporting Russia’s actions in Ukraine and will continue to do so as long as the conflict burns. For them, Russia emerging victorious is the priority―no matter who moves the pieces.

first-iit-campus-outside-india-in-zanzibar

Sat Aug 19 11:57:21 IST 2023

THE ISLAND OF ZANZIBAR, known for its spices and azure beaches, has been on the map of Indian, Persian and Arab sailors since first century CE. Zanzibar was a base for voyages between the Middle East, India and Africa. With its historic centre, Stone Town, Zanzibar is best described as an East African coastal trading town, influenced by an eclectic mix of disparate elements of African, Arab, Indian and European cultures. These have truly made it an Indo-Arab-African city that, while embracing the new, subtly mixed it with elements of the old. With its cobbled streets, chaotic traffic, an overhanging smell of spices and sights at every turn, this UNESCO heritage city has a soul of its own. Zanzibari doors are a typical example―decorated with knobs, each with their own style, whether Arab, African or Gujarati.

Originally inhabited by the Bantu speaking people, Zanzibar saw Swahili merchants starting operations as agents for traders from India and the Arab world from ninth century CE. Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama’s visit in 1498 marked the arrival of European influence. Zanzibar became part of the Portuguese empire in 1503 and remained so for almost two centuries. The Portuguese presence was relatively limited, leaving administration in the hands of pre-existing local leaders and power structures. In 1698, Zanzibar came under the influence of the Sultanate of Oman. The sultans controlled a large portion of the Swahili coast known as Zanj, which included Mombasa and Dar es Salaam.

From 1886, European powers, especially Great Britain and Germany, started to move in. The control of Zanzibar passed into the hands of the British empire in 1890. This transfer was formalised by the 1890 Heligoland–Zanzibar Treaty, in which Germany recognised the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba as a British protectorate, while Germany got the archipelago of Heligoland, situated in the North Sea. The protectorate was terminated by the United Kingdom in December 1963, making Zanzibar a constitutional monarchy within the commonwealth, under the sultan. Within a month came the Zanzibar Revolution that deposed the sultan. In April 1964, the republic merged with mainland Tanganyika, creating the United Republic of Tanzania, within which Zanzibar now remains an autonomous region.

Till the 19th century, Zanzibar was the last outpost of the known world before the vast ‘Terra Incognita’ of Africa started. It, therefore, continued to be the trading post for the riches of Africa–ivory, gold, and more infamously, slaves. The last permanent slave market of East Africa was in Zanzibar, until it was closed in 1873. At the centre of Stone Town stands a church, at the site of the biggest slave market of Zanzibar. The construction of the cathedral was, in fact, intended to mark the end of slavery. The altar is said to be at the exact place where the main “whipping post” of the market used to be. Outside the cathedral is an artwork: life-size statues of slaves bearing original chains―a reminder of the ignominious past.

Zanzibar is 99 per cent Islamic. Today, there are about 50 Hindu families living there, almost all from Gujarat. The island is home to three temples. The Ram temple established in 1959 is the main one. There is also the Arya Samaj temple established in 1906 and the Shree Kuttchi Swetamber Jain temple, which is said to be the first Jain temple outside India.

One of the main attractions of Zanzibar is the Freddie Mercury House. The parents of the British singer and songwriter―born Farrokh Bulsara in Stone Town in 1946―were Parsis from Bulsar (now Valsad) in Gujarat. The family had moved there for work; Zanzibar being a British protectorate, Farrokh was born a British Indian subject. When he was eight, Farrokh was sent to study at St. Peter’s School at Panchgani, Maharashtra. It was at St. Peter’s that he began to call himself “Freddie”. In February 1963, he returned to Zanzibar and the family fled to England after the revolution in 1964. In 1970, he formed the Rock band called “Queen” and the rest is history, with him delivering hits such as “We will Rock You”, and recording sales of over 300 million records.

The visit of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to Zanzibar in July saw the signing of the MoU for setting up the first IIT outside India. It was signed in the presence of the president of Zanzibar and was welcomed by everyone. The nomination of Preeti Aghalayam, from IIT Madras, as the founding director of IIT Zanzibar also shattered a glass ceiling, as she would be the first ever female director of an IIT. Classes are likely to start by October, and the campus is expected to become the hub for higher education in critical streams of science, engineering and innovation, not just for Tanzania, but for the entire continent of Africa.

The institute, designed to be pan-African in nature, corresponds to the vision laid out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the Ugandan parliament in July 2018, where he outlined 10 principles for India’s engagement with Africa. “We will build as much local capacity and create as much local opportunities as possible,” said Modi. “We will harness India’s experience [to] extend education and health [and] spread digital literacy.” The National Education Policy 2020 facilitated the export of ‘Brand IIT’ outside India and it now offers the potential to extend Indian soft power across Africa, while providing the much-needed capacity building for African countries. Over 25,000 African students study in various universities across India, but this will be first time that an Indian institute will cater to the requirements of Africa on African soil itself, a strong reflection of India’s commitment to the Global South. The setting up of the IIT is truly an ode to the spirit of the sailors and traders who went across the Indian Ocean to trade and spread the warmth of Indian knowledge and culture in that part of the world.

The author is joint secretary, ministry of external affairs. Views are personal.

pakistan-political-crisis-imran-khan-future-situation-analysis

Sat Aug 12 18:13:23 IST 2023

Pakistan is entering yet another phase of political uncertainty with former prime minister Imran Khan sent to prison and the National Assembly completing its term. Under the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly on August 9. Senator Anwaar-ul-haq Kakar was named as caretaker prime minister on August 12.

The Sindh and the Balochistan provincial assemblies were also dissolved. Provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were dissolved by their Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) governments, in January. Elections have not taken place in these two provinces, despite the constitutional requirement to hold elections within 90 days and the directives of the supreme court. Many observers are, therefore, sceptical whether national elections will take place on time or not.

The next elections will determine the political future of the PTI and its chairman, Imran Khan. Imran was arrested on August 5 after an Islamabad court found him guilty of “corrupt practices” in the Toshakhana (state gifts) case. He was sentenced to three years in jail and a fine of one lakh rupees and has been barred from politics for five years. The court said Imran “cheated while providing information about gifts he obtained from Toshakhana which later proved to be false and inaccurate” and that his “dishonesty has been established beyond doubt”.

Political analyst Asma Shirazi said Imran's political future was on the line after his conviction. “His party has voters and supporters on the ground, but the PTI itself is in disarray as some leaders left after the May 9 attacks (riots by PTI workers targeting government and military establishments following Imran's arrest) and some are in hiding. Imran does not have much trust in his own party and he has kept decision-making to himself while in jail,” said Shirazi. One of Imran's lawyers said on a talk show that decisions taken by the PTI core committee would be communicated to him through his lawyer and would be subject to his approval. “The PTI's future does not look too bright because of technical issues,” said Shirazi. “The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) has issues caused by rising inflation, but the PTI is facing its own problems.”

Complicating matters further is the decision by the Shehbaz Sharif government to conduct the next general elections on the basis of the 2023 census. Once a census is approved, it is mandatory for the election commission to carry out a delimitation exercise to determine new electoral districts. Shirazi said holding elections under the new census was seen as an excuse to delay the process and that it was unlikely that the polls would take place this year. “From delimitation and other things, it will take a few more months. But it is also important that the next general elections are held before the senate elections in March 2024. How long will the caretaker setup stay is a question that looms large over Pakistan's political horizon, but it is quite clear that we cannot see elections at least till March.”

Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, president of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency, said that normally, new census results would require a constitutional amendment and a delimitation of constituencies. But he said the provincial share of population in the 2023 census was the same as it was in the previous census, so a constitutional amendment was not needed. “My view is that the results of the new census may not require fresh delimitation and therefore no extension in the date of election beyond 90 days be needed. This, however, has to be decided by the election commission and conclusively by the supreme court, if the election commission's decision is challenged,” said Mehboob.

The PTI is suspicious about the government's manoeuvres. Farrukh Habib, the party's west Punjab unit president, told THE WEEK that under the constitution, it was mandatory to hold the elections within 90 days of the dissolution of the National Assembly. “Unfortunately, the government did not implement the supreme court’s verdict in this regard when it came to the Punjab and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies. The court had made it clear that it was the election commission’s duty to hold elections, but it failed to do so. And now, in the name of holding elections as per the 2023 census, delaying the elections will be mala fide.” Habib said the issue would go to the supreme court if the elections were delayed. “We will see whether the next chief justice (Qazi Faez Isa) will uphold the constitution and rule of law. Delaying elections has no constitutional basis. It will only lead to more uncertainty and will worsen the economic crisis. The people of Pakistan must be allowed to exercise their right to vote and their mandate should be respected.”

Habib also spoke in detail about Imran’s conviction and disqualification. He said the whole process started in April 2022 with the vote of no confidence against him. “There are around 200 cases against Imran. He survived an assassination attempt in Wazirabad last year, but the investigation was sabotaged. His house was attacked by the state. The way the judge sentenced him is for everyone to see—Imran did not get a fair trial. Justice died a silent death during his trial as he was not even allowed to present his witnesses.”

Habib said the entire process was “pre-planned” under what Imran calls the “London plan”. PTI supporters say a plan was hatched by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in London to keep Imran out of politics. The party has already challenged Imran's sentence in the Islamabad high court. “Imran will contest the next elections,” said Habib. He highlighted the fact that after Imran's arrest, a relatively unknown candidate from the PTI won a Peshawar local government byelection, and that, too, from a seat the party had lost in the past. “Whoever gets PTI tickets will win the elections. Imran's voters are with him and they stand by his vision and ideology. The commitment of the people of Pakistan to Imran and his commitment to them stand intact.”

The PML(N), too, said that it wanted elections to be held on time. Senior leader Ahsan Iqbal told THE WEEK that the decision to hold the next general elections under the 2023 census was taken by Imran when he was in power. “The constitution requires new delimitation after a census is notified. The election commission has to give the election schedule. We hope that the elections will be held at the earliest, according to the constitution,” said Iqbal. He said the PML(N) saved the Pakistani economy from bankruptcy and also revived key development projects. “People know that inflation is caused by the conditions of the IMF agreement signed by the PTI government.” He added that Nawaz Sharif would return to Pakistan once the election schedule was announced.

Shirazi said Nawaz would lead the PML(N)'s campaign. “Nawaz will not return before the announcement of the elections. It may well happen in December once it is clear that elections will be held.”

The caretaker government which will run the show till the elections are held cannot conclude new agreements or contracts, but can only exercise its powers related to ongoing projects. Mehboob said the outgoing government had tried to grant much wider powers for the caretaker government by amending the Elections Act, but was forced to abandon the plan following widespread opposition in parliament. “The passed amendment has a narrow scope and the caretaker government will be able to make decisions only in the case of ongoing projects,” he said. “The scope is limited and it will not impact the election in any meaningful way

descendants-of-rulers-of-mayurbhanj-are-now-empowering-the-tribals-of-the-area

Fri Oct 11 17:34:18 IST 2024

By Niladry Sarkar/Mayurbhanj, Odisha

Sandhya Rani Tudu’s dreams found wings this year. The 19-year-old travelled to France to represent India in the FISU World University Championships Rugby Sevens.

Sandhya was born in the quaint village of Radhikasole in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj, a tribal district bordering West Bengal and Jharkhand. Her rugby journey began when she was in class six. All Sandhya wants is to make it to the senior national team and land a state government job. She knows it is no lofty dream; her elder sister Jyotsna excelled in swimming and secured a state government job.

The Tudu sisters may seem an exception in a tribal hamlet, but they are just one among the several success stories at Future Stars Sports Academy (FSSA) in Baripada, the district headquarters. This hub, under the patronage of Dibyaranjan Das, is one of the few centres in Mayurbhanj that offers training in rugby, archery and swimming to spirited teenagers.

Das, who was a physical trainer at a government school, founded the FSSA in 2017 at the Mayurbhanj Law College ground with just five students. He had one goal―engage children across Mayurbhanj, where 58 per cent of the population belongs to the scheduled tribes, in sports. Athleticism was in their genes, he realised; all they needed was proper training and diet to excel at rugby, a body contact sport. Eventually, he introduced archery, which is traditionally associated with the tribals of the region, and swimming. Over the years, many of his students, including those from other communities, have excelled in national and international competitions. Take, for instance, Kartik Soren from Jhilirbani village. The 20-year-old started training in archery only two years ago and has already competed in three state-level tournaments and the National University Games, representing North Odisha University. Today, more than 50 athletes are training at the academy. “I wanted to give children who came from an underprivileged background an opportunity to make their lives better through rugby and other sports,” said Das, 32, a former student of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences.

But then, he was blindsided by Covid-19. And, the future of his Future Stars Sports Academy itself appeared bleak. In 2022 though, FSSA got a leg up from the Mayurbhanj Foundation, run by the royal family of the erstwhile princely state of Mayurbhanj. The foundation began supporting FSSA by covering the travel expenses for athletes like Tudu, who were competing outside the district and state. Now, it offers monthly financial support to the academy.

“The FSSA is supporting many boys and girls, some of whom have gone on to represent India. We thought it was important to support the academy because they are also encouraging girls to come forward,” said Rashmi R.L. Bhanj Deo, 55, wife of the 47th (titular) king of Mayurbhanj, Praveen Chandra Bhanj Deo. Rashmi cofounded the foundation with her third daughter Akshita M. Bhanj Deo, 31. Akshita is a national-level equestrian sportsperson, and it was her interest in sports that laid the foundation to the royal family’s association with FSSA.

The Bhanja dynasty had been ruling Mayurbhanj since 697 CE and remained rulers of the princely state till Maharaja Pratap Chandra Bhanj Deo decided to merge with Odisha in 1949. The royal family has a chequered past―even as it worked towards the betterment of its tribal subjects, there were also multiple instances of oppression, sometimes tragically resulting in fatalities. But the current generation of royals, particularly Akshita and her sister Mrinalika M. Bhanj Deo, 33, have resolved to harness their resources for the upliftment of the local communities, especially artisans.

It all began with Mrinalika opening up their royal residence―the Belgadia Palace―to the public. Guests from across the world visit the now luxury boutique hotel and witness the rich artistic and cultural heritage of Mayurbhanj’s tribal communities. “The idea was to create a fund to support artisans,” said Rashmi. “It is not just a part of our corporate social responsibility, but we feel this is our duty to give back to the society.”

Just like with FSSA, it is lending a helping hand to organisations that are already working with local artisans. One such artisan is Deeptirekha Deo, a member of the Badsole Sabai Production Group. On most days, one will catch Deeptirekha, a mother of three, earnestly weaving a cupholder or another item from sabai grass. Crafting goods from sabai grass is a traditional art form in Odisha and West Bengal. These eco-friendly crafts demand immense patience and intricate skills from the artisans.

The Badsole Sabai Production Group is an all-women self-help collective that came into being in 2014. The Odisha government trained the women to transform the humble sabai grass into exquisite handicrafts. In the initial days, the group depended solely on the Odisha Rural Development & Marketing Society, an autonomous entity under the state’s panchayati raj department, for orders. Now, they also have a patron in the Mayurbhanj Foundation, which connects them with foreign tourists visiting the Belgadia Palace. Moreover, the foundation encourages women artisans to venture beyond Odisha to attend exhibitions and fairs, funding their travel expenses. It has also helped expand their range of products to flower vases, shopping bags, mats and wall hangings.

“Maharani has also taught us how to use smartphones,” said Deeptirekha, who earns around 06,000 per month. “Today, we receive orders on WhatsApp. We send our buyers photos of the product and they place the order and even make payments online.”

The foundation also works in collaboration with other heritage hotels, especially from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, where the royals have family connections. It connects the artisans with the hotels, facilitating orders and ensuring that the quality of the products are not compromised and they are delivered on time.

“Quality is very important,” said Rashmi. “Someone might make a one-time purchase for charity’s sake. They will return if the quality is good. We also work with the self-help groups by sharing with them design ideas and colour combinations from across the world and ask them to make the products accordingly.” She also draws inspiration from the West Bengal government, which, under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has been a leader in empowering women sabai grass artisans through self-help groups.

The Mayurbhanj Foundation also supports the Dhokra art form, a venerable tradition of the Dhokra Damar tribes, that harks back to the Bronze Age. In this ancient craft, artisans create a sculpture from cow dung and red clay, coat it with wax and pour molten metal. Once cooled, the clay is gently removed, revealing detailed brass or bronze sculptures.

The art form was severely hit during the pandemic for lack of buyers. “People are not taking up this work because it doesn’t pay us as much. Earlier, most of the households in my village used to practice Dhokra. But now only 15-20 families do so,” Gopal Dhokra, an artist from Kuliana village, told THE WEEK. The foundation initially came to his village to provide food during the pandemic, he recalled. “Now I get occasional orders from the palace,” he said. “Sometimes, guests visit us in our village. It has given us some kind of financial backing.”

But Mayurbhanj’s most celebrated art form is its rendition of the Chhau dance. The semi-classical dance, with a beautiful blend of martial and folk traditions, is distinguished by three separate styles, each named after its place of origin: the Purulia Chhau of West Bengal, the Seraikella Chhau of Jharkhand and the Mayurbhanj Chhau of Odisha. The Mayurbhanj version stands apart from the other two as it is performed by dancers without masks.

The dance was transformed into the traditional Ramlila performance during the reign of Maharaja Jadunath Bhanj Deo (1823-1863). It flourished further under Maharaja Krishna Chandra Bhanj Deo (1868-1882). The dancers were divided into two troupes, the ‘Uttar Sahi’ (north colony) and the ‘Dakshin Sahi’ (south colony). The grand spectacle of Chhau during the Chaitra Parva festival became a beloved tradition as the gates of the Belgadia Palace would be open for all during the festival days.

The subsequent rulers kept nurturing and developing the art form, weaving themes and storylines from the Ramayan, Mahabharat, Krishna cult and the Puranas. After Mayurbhanj became a part of Odisha, Chhau’s prominence declined because of the loss of royal patronage. In 2018, Project Chhauni, an initiative of the Mayurbhanj district administration, identified 212 organisations and 12,000 dedicated artistes to rekindle the lost splendour of Chhau. Mayurbhanj Foundation partnered with Project Chhauni and hosted cultural programmes at the Belgadia Palace. And that has helped artistes like Sachin Dhada, an autorickshaw driver by day, who hails from a family of Chhau dancers. “For every show at the Belgadia Palace, dancers like me earn Rs800,” says the 35-year-old. “During peak season, which is in the winter months, we do 10-12 shows a month.”

Dhada recalls how the dance form was passed down to him by the elders in his family, who knew it in their hearts that it won’t sustain his family of nine. But he dreams of a future where his children can proudly wear their art on their sleeves.

americas-cia-and-indias-intelligence-bureau-set-up-listening-devices-to-monitor-china-at-khardung-la

Sun Oct 06 10:05:42 IST 2024

In 1978, a 23-year-old Indian Air Force pilot, flying his single-engine Chetak helicopter, noticed a strange contraption near the 17,982 foot Khardung La pass. It was virtually in the middle of nowhere, and it fired his curiosity.

“It was right on top of the Khardung La ridge,” Manmohan Bahadur, who retired as air-vice marshal, told THE WEEK. “If you are at Leh, and if you look towards Khardung La, the antenna was located about 400 metres east of the pass, and bang on the ridgeline. My seniors in the IAF told me that it possibly had something to do with intercepting Chinese broadcasts or radio transmissions. It became a point to watch out for while flying over the ridge.”

Bahadur later commanded a helicopter unit in Leh, from where he would fly sorties to places in the Nubra Valley, Daulat Beg Oldie and Thoise, and would notice the device regularly.

“It was only after I retired from service that I found out what its real purpose was,” he said. “It was a listening device to detect signals from Chinese missile tests and nuclear devices in their Lop Nor desert.”

From up in the helicopter, the contraption looked like a television antenna, with three-four horizontal poles and another three-four vertical ones, all fixed on a single big pole. Next to the structure was a hut. “The hut might have housed a power generator because it was dark and possibly covered with soot, and there were traces of oil spillage,” said Bahadur.

From the hut there was a band of cables that took off downhill.

“For all one knows, the structure may still be there. It will all be junk now with the important equipment taken out,” he added.

From Leh town, a narrow mountain trail snakes its way up to Khardung La. About a one-hour walk later, we reach a point from where we get a good 360 degree view of Leh. What catches our eye, almost in the middle of nowhere, is an old circular cement ring, about 12 feet in diameter, with small bolts attached to it. This ring―much closer to Leh than to Khardung La―was set up as part of a joint India-US effort to mount listening devices at vantage points to detect Chinese nuclear activity in the late 1960s. Those days, satellites did not have the kind of effectiveness they do now.

Sonam Wangyal, then with the Intelligence Bureau, had led the team to install the device―part of which was the antennae that Bahadur saw―at Khardung La. He told THE WEEK: “The device was installed under my watch. It was connected to a data collection device near Leh (of which the ring was a part) as the scientists and technicians found it difficult to climb to operate, repair and maintain the device.”

After Leh, Wangyal was posted to Sikkim, and does not remember details of when the device was removed. A bad bout of Covid battered the hardy mountaineer. Now 85 and hard of hearing, Wangyal said: “Covid was bad. I lost 32kg.”

It all started in 1964, when China took the western world by surprise by testing a nuclear bomb in Lop Nor in the western province of Xinjiang. Till then, the west believed that China did not have the technology to do so.

The following year, the CIA wanted a listening device at about 25,000 feet near the Nanda Devi peak in Uttarakhand to detect more Chinese nuclear tests. The device was powered by plutonium capsules with a half-life of about 100 years.

Renowned mountaineer Captain M.S. Kohli, then with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, led the CIA-IB-Indian forces team that went to plant the device on the Nanda Devi glacier. A blizzard, however, forced the team to step back; they buried the device in the snow a few hundred feet before the summit.

The Indian team included Wangyal, Kohli, Sonam Gyatso, Harish Rawat and G.S. Bhangu, many of whom were from the newly raised Special Frontier Force or Establishment-22. Most of the members were trained in a CIA facility at Mount McKinley in Alaska.

In 1966, a team that went to recover the device found that the power generator was missing. There was panic as the seven nuclear-powered capsules placed at the core of the generator had half the power of the nuclear bomb that exploded over Hiroshima. An estimated 5kg of plutonium 238 and 239 was stored in the generator to power the sensor.

Captain Kohli had then said: “We worked very hard for three years to locate the lost device but in vain. I was posted at Tapovan for three years along with a scientist who tested the waters of the Rishi Ganga river every day for traces of radioactivity.

“After some years, I was called by the chief of the Atomic Energy Commission in Bombay. I told him that the generator with the seven capsules was quite hot and may have dug into the glacier after melting the about 30 metres of snow and may have hit rock bottom. We agreed that there was no possibility of recovering the device. We thought nothing would happen. When the story became global, prime minister Morarji Desai summoned me from Sydney, where I was working with Air India. I presented a 30-page confidential report to the PM and suggested that the device may have sunk in deep.”

The government appointed six scientists―Atma Ram, Homi Sethna, M.G.K. Menon, Raja Ramanna, V. Ramalingaswami, and A.K. Saha―to investigate the case of the missing generator. The report they submitted remains a secret.

Dr Anil Kakodkar, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and former director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, said: “I joined BARC in 1964, but in subsequent years I remember there was a lot of talk about listening posts to keep an eye on China’s nuclear tests, of which the ones at Nanda Devi and Khardung La may have been a part of.”

Many Americans those days believed that Indian agents and scientists might have retrieved the capsules to study them. They connected it to the fact that India exploded a nuclear bomb on May 18, 1974, in the Pokhran desert of Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district, without any external help, in an operation code-named ‘Smiling Buddha’. The rest is history.

Notably, the device at Khardung La was not nuclear-powered; as per Bahadur’s version, it was gas-fired.

Pointing at the cement ring just above Leh town, leading mountaineer and Padma Shri awardee Chewang Motup told THE WEEK: “There was a prominent white dome here. A thick black wire used to run from here to the foothill. We were then told that this is some kind of a listening station that was connected to one just close to the Khardung La Top on the old traditional route, not the present route. Earlier we used to cross Khardung La to walk from Nubra to Leh to go to school.”

Looking at the nuts and bolts that have not yet caught rust after so many years, Motup added: “The people here say that once upon a time, a lot of foreigners would come and work on these devices. We already know that the CIA with the cooperation of the Indian intelligence and security planted several devices on high-altitude locations. We know about the one at Nanda Devi peak, Nanda Kot, and so this is the one at Leh-Khardung La.”

The white dome-like structure above Leh, of which the cement ring was a part, was connected by thick wires to a nearby complex a few hundred metres below, at Taqski-Thang, where raw data was collected and collated at the office of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), the force now mandated with the security of India’s borders with Nepal and Bhutan.

An SSB officer who was posted in Leh at the time told THE WEEK on condition of anonymity: “Leh at that time was not a tourist destination. But a lot of English-speaking foreigners would come in a Beechcraft aircraft, land in Leh and then proceed to work with the listening posts at Leh and Khardung La. The aircraft belonged to the Aviation Research Centre (which is under the Research and Analysis Wing).”

The nuclear story of Nanda Devi remains an unsolved mystery, but the Khardung La chapter adds even more intrigue to India’s intelligence operations and its relationship with both the US and neighbour China.

what-makes-parsa-s-a-favourite-in-kashmir-valley

Sat Sep 14 12:15:17 IST 2024

The world wide web is often tangled in Kashmir. But Javid Parsa wove success regardless. The 36-year-old has created the largest restaurant chain in the valley―with 38 franchisees―by quitting his corporate job and leveraging his popularity online.

It started when he was studying in Hyderabad. Javid took a liking to Lamakaan, a cultural centre there that hosts plays, seminars and other social gatherings, while also catering to the taste buds of patrons. He would often go there as a student activist and help with the setup when there were Kashmir-related events.

Javid wanted such a space in his home state, where there would be food for belly, and thought. And so, in 2017, he started Parsa’s in the heart of Srinagar, about 60km from his home in Bandipora. It was launched as a place where artists, writers and poets come together, show their work, hold discussions and grab a bite.

The idea came from home. Born in a family steeped in Urdu literature, and with a poet great-grandfather, Javid pursued an MBA in Urdu at Maulana Azad University in Hyderabad. “After my graduation, I applied for a job at Amazon,” he said. “During the interview, my choice of Urdu was questioned, but my extensive networking experience as the founding general secretary of the university students’ union impressed them.”

Using his savings from a two-year stint at Amazon, he put in Rs7 lakh to create Parsa’s. “The name Parsa, my great-grandfather’s pen name, felt perfect,” he said. The modest 200sqft eatery, on the top floor of a mall at Jehangir Chowk, is airy and offers a great view. Great to sit with a book and a drink. In fact, they have their own library of more than 2,000 donated books, arranged in wooden shelves opposite the entrance. “Once you donate a book, you gain access to all books, one at a time for 15 days,” said Javid.

Authors Shahnaz Bashir and Ayaz Rasool have launched their books at Parsa’s and, recently, the launch of Those Who Stayed: The Sikhs of Kashmir by Bupinder Singh Bali drew quite the crowd.

As for the food, the menu at Parsa’s features mostly non-Kashmiri items such as dum biryani, kathi rolls, kebabs, tikkas and shakes. “In Kashmir, mutton-based recipes, especially wazwan, is a staple,” said Javid. “We wanted to treat our customers to delicacies that people enjoy outside.” For its outlets outside the valley, though, the menu includes wazwan.

Speaking of outlets, Parsa’s was not Javid’s first step in the food business. In 2014, he got the Jammu and Kashmir franchisee for Kathi Junction. There, he learnt the tricks of the trade that would help him start his own chain.

He sought more creative control and wanted to build a team of passionate youngsters. The journey was tough, not least because of the place he was in. Kashmir was devastated by floods when he was starting the Kathi Junction franchisee. In 2016, when he wanted to launch Parsa’s, the valley had come to a standstill after the killing of militant Burhan Wani. He got it off the ground the following year and began talks to set up the first franchisee, in Ladakh, days into launching the Srinagar one. “A customer approached me, expressing a desire to open a similar joint in Kargil, with a similar ambience and aura,” Javid recalled. “This sparked the expansion across Kashmir and beyond.”

Each Parsa’s outlet has a similar interior theme―the walls are white and yellow with green borders, and there is a lot of Kashmiri influence in terms of patterns and designs on the walls. Javid had studied interior design, and growing up had spent a lot of time in his carpenter father’s workshop.

On the food side, the different outlets share their recipes and arrange chefs, sometimes bringing a few from outside Kashmir. It is this collaboration that has helped the chain tide over tough times, including the Covid pandemic and the lockdown following the abrogation of Article 370. During these times, Javid paid his staff’s salaries from his savings. Taking on the role of a provider, he brought his younger siblings into the business.

The community that Javid created has only grown. There are now outlets in parts of Jammu, Delhi and Bengaluru, and franchisees like the one in Pampore, in Kashmir, have opened multiple branches. On its first anniversary in July 2022, the Pampore Parsa’s featured rabab maestro Noor Mohammad, who captivated the audience with his performance.

This was just one of the many cultural events that Parsa’s hosts. Others include hajj and umrah training and music sessions. On Sundays, young therapist Faiqa Zargar holds art therapy sessions at the Srinagar outlet. “After struggling for two years to find space to start a mental health support group, I posted a message on Instagram,” she said. “Javid bhai messaged, suggesting Parsa’s as a venue.” In a small hall at Parsa’s, she helps participants express their inner feelings using art.

Building and expanding his community is important to Javid, and the success of Parsa’s has drawn a lot of youngsters to his cause. Take, for instance, Iqbal Ahmed Mir. After completing his master’s in biotechnology, he started a dairy farm in Baramulla. But, it did not succeed. In 2021, he took on a Parsa’s franchisee and his luck turned. “Alhamdulillah (thank God), we are doing very well,’’ he said. “We have 70 tables and most remain occupied throughout the day.” He said they adhere to Parsa’s protocols to maintain quality and provide free accommodation to their staff whose homes are far away.

Another young man, Furqan Yousuf, along with his friend Khalid, a management graduate, started a franchisee this June at Shalteng on the busy Srinagar-Muzaffarabad highway. “We are doing well,” said Yousuf. “Being on the highway ensures a steady stream of customers, and Parsa’s is a well-known brand in Kashmir.”

Parsa’s was also among the first restaurants in the region to employ women, one of whom is now a manager at a leading airline. In May, Asmat and Sabreena, two teenage girls from a remote village near the Line of Control, joined Parsa’s to support their education. “There were no vacancies, yet they appointed us,” said Asmat, who works as a waitress; Sabreena works in the kitchen. Despite societal challenges, they feel safe and valued at Parsa’s. “Some of our customers tried to discourage our female staff from working,” said Javid. “But we stood by them. My own sister is part of the staff.”

Parsa’s organic growth has been fuelled by word of mouth and social media engagement. With 45,000 followers, Javid is one of the most popular Instagram personalities in Kashmir, and also a sought-after motivational speaker on the college circuit. His message, as is Parsa’s―food for all.

In a region often defined by adversity, the Parsa’s story is one of hope. And a reminder that food can not only fill stomachs, but also forge lasting bonds.

the-week-goes-searching-for-spiders-and-geckos-alongside-wildlife-researchers-in-maharashtras-amboli-forest

Sat Sep 07 11:36:46 IST 2024

It had been 48 hours since we began looking for the elusive trapdoor spider. Four of us, including scientist Akshay Khandekar, were crouched on the ground littered with dry leaves, staring at a mound of soil under a tree. Silence was key. We were in Amboli forest, a protected reserve in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district, some 700m above sea level. This area falls under the jurisdiction of the Sawantwadi forest department. Mercury was at 34 degrees Celsius. Sticky heat.

As we closed in on 20 minutes on our haunches, Khandekar inspected the soil under the bark of a tree with his little finger, very lightly, as if caressing a newborn. Nothing happened. We moved on.

In 2020, this was the very spot where Khandekar, 31, discovered the first trapdoor spider species from the Western Ghats. That moment was historic and rewarding, but the search had been frustrating and time-consuming, as it was now. Then, it had taken him three months to find one specimen of the spider―he named it Conothele Ogalei, after his friend and fellow researcher Hemant Ogale.

Khandekar, a field biologist and taxonomist, had read that there are about 35 species of the trapdoor spider spread across south, central and northeast India, but the genus Conothele had never been found in the Western Ghats. He decided he was the man for the job.

But that is the problem with trapdoors; they are not meant to be found. These elusive creatures dig into the ground and, at the entrance of the burrow, build silken-hinged trapdoors. They feed by quickly opening the door and grabbing insects passing by. You cannot accidentally find these spiders. Khandekar knew this; he poked several surfaces gently, peeped into deep crevices and, at times, was flat on his belly. And finally, there it was―a nearly perfect cylindrical hole on the ground, the entrance to a burrow. He took out forceps from his backpack, and pulled out the stubborn creature by its legs. He put it in a plastic container with holes, and the door and the attached mud in another container. Box ticked.

It was two nights ago that we began this expedition to see how scientists go about discovering new species, especially reptiles and amphibians. That first night, at around 10pm, we set out on a walk to look for nocturnal geckos in the reserve. The gear: two layers of clothing, full sleeves, headlights, mosquito repellent, sports shoes, backpack with forceps, plastic container, a bottle of pure alcohol (to preserve the specimen). We had walked for miles, from the busy highway into pitch darkness and silence of the jungle. Crickets and our own footsteps were our soundtrack. We were scared. Khandekar had shown me a video of how his left leg was completely swollen with coagulated blood after a horde of leeches sucked on it. He was in the Koyna sanctuary in Maharashtra and realised the damage only two hours later. Usually, researchers apply salt, diluted Dettol and tobacco when they head into leech-infested areas. That day, Khandekar only had some salt.

What was just an anecdote to Khandekar was a terrifying warning for me. About a kilometre or two inside the forest, Khandekar pointed to a scorpion that glowed when his UV torchlight hit it. Just then, as the light fell on the nearby pile of leaves, I found a leaf that was exceptionally beautiful, long and curvy. Tempted, I tried pulling it, but it would not come off. Khandekar pushed me back and the leaf fell with a thud. It was a venomous pit viper, camouflaged in the green of the trees. Had it bitten me, we would have had nowhere to go; there was no clinic for kilometres. My heart would race again the following night. We were walking by the stream and I kept looking over my back with each step. I had been told that tigers and panthers often came to the stream for water. If we did see them, I was told, it was wise to stay put, be quiet and point the torchlight to the creatures’ side. I suddenly heard a noise and froze. “Must be a tiger,” said Khandekar. He and his colleague Swapnil Pawar were calm. As was Pawar’s ten-year-old son. After a few minutes of tension, Khandekar began walking ahead. “It must have returned,” he said. “Don’t worry, tigers of the Western Ghats aren’t as fierce and wild as those in the other parts of the country. They will not harm you unless you threaten them.”

Back to the first night. After the snake encounter, I was on my toes. We kept going. Khandekar soon spotted a female, sub-adult prashadi―a spotted gecko named after zoologist Baini Prashad―on a decrepit boundary wall. She was alert and bit him as he grabbed her. He wanted to pull away as she continued to prick his arm, but he calmly examined her before letting her go. He had a red patch on his arm for his efforts, and it kept itching for a long time. We found about 10 geckos that night, almost half of them with at least four eggs each. “Interesting,” said Khandekar. “So this means if they lay eggs now, the juveniles will hatch just before the monsoon and will have plenty of food to eat.” This became the subject for his next research paper.

“With taxonomy around bigger mammals and birds having received quite a bit of attention, more scientists and researchers are now paying attention to lesser known taxa like amphibians and reptiles, and they have discovered hundreds of new species that were not known before,” said Rahul Khot, deputy director, Bombay Natural History Society. He looks after the oldest natural history collection in South Asia with more than 1,50,000 specimens.

“Take, for instance, the fan-throated lizard,” he added. “Earlier, they were thought to be a single species, but scientist Deepak Veerappan, a herpetologist from Chennai who pursued a PhD on this subject, showed us that fan-throated lizards consist of at least 15 species in India. But, at present, India is way behind in terms of identifying new species.”

The field study of discovering this lesser known taxa, say researchers, is “mind-boggling” and most often a matter of chance. It is all about being patient, persisting and looking at the right place. But, foremost is an undying interest in biodiversity and a certain madness for your subject, said myrmecologist Himender Bharti, professor of zoology and environmental sciences. Popularly known as the ‘Ant Man of India’, Bharti has discovered a number of new species of ants from the Shivaliks, northeast Himalayas and the Western Ghats. In fact, he has named ant species after his daughters―Mermica adrijae and Mermica urvijae.

Talking to THE WEEK on the phone, Bharti said researchers were mostly enamoured by birds or butterflies, but just clicking pictures, downloading information and sharing it on social media added nothing to science.

Bharti, who is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature group for the protection of Asian ants, recalled an anecdote when he found himself lost deep in the jungles of Indonesia. “At Mount Gede, I, along with two other friends―one from Germany and the other from England―reached the summit at 4pm,” he said. “So, by the time we started the descent, it was already getting dark. Along the way, my shoes tore and I lost my way. As Mount Gede is a tropical rainforest where snakes abound, I was sceptical about making it back to the cottage safely. Treading cautiously, I took my cues from the ant lines along the pathway because, in the thick leaf litter, that was an indicator that there is ground. Also, snakes generally keep away from ant-infested areas, so I was safe.”

This courage to venture into the unknown is what sets wildlife researchers apart. An abandoned palace might be a no-go for city dwellers like me, but it is a treasure trove for the men we were accompanying. And that is where, on the second day, we scouted for spiders, legless amphibians, scorpions, geckos, crabs and eels. Thankfully, it was too hot for snakes to venture out. We were safe. Barely two kilometres away was a valley, a thriving green lung around a flowing stream, from where Hemant Ogale published data of 123 different species of butterflies. A mechanical engineer, he left his job in Mumbai to set up a cottage in Amboli. This was our home for the trip.

At the stream, we saw the Papilio polymnestor, the Maharashtra state butterfly, in all her regality. As per the Wildlife Protection Act, the punishment for catching and killing the butterfly is the same as killing a tiger (seven years in jail), except that in the area we were in, nobody would have known if we had done so. “Here, nobody checks,” said Ogale. “We entered the reserve without bags and instruments, no questions asked. It is sad.”

We walked barely a kilometre from the valley and reached the stream where the damselflies lay their eggs (20 to 30 at a time). Ogale had trained himself to spot the flies; I struggled to see even one. “This is the most ideal location to spot, discover, identify and collect damselflies in the entire Sindhudurg district,” he said. “All you need do is stay quiet, lie on your stomach, keep the camera steady and simply observe. When you have to catch them, you throw a net and collect them in an envelope. Then you dip them in ethanol to preserve their bodies before placing them on a board to evaluate their morphological data.”

I asked him if there were undiscovered species of butterflies or damsel/dragon flies in the area. No was the answer. “I have spent a lifetime observing them day in and day out,” he said. “I think Amboli is covered now.” In the past four years, Ogale has found ten new species of dragonflies and damselflies in Amboli. “It all happened within 100 square kilometres really. I would just keep venturing out to the pastoral land every single day and pen down my observations.”

Such observations go a long way in documenting the lives of these “creepy crawlies”. “Unlike tigers and bigger mammals, these species are hardly given any attention by the authorities,” said Abhijit Das from the Wildlife Institute of India, who has worked on reptiles of the northeast for decades. “This is why not many scientists are taking up research of these smaller invertebrates, even though it is crucial for the sustenance of the entire ecosystem.

“What struck me was how little we know of our biodiversity. It is because these species are less charismatic, [and there is] the huge problem of funding considerations for research. For these kind of species, you need to go to the ghats and islands. Tiger reserves get funding from the Central government every year, but there is no money for biodiversity documentation within tiger reserves. Another challenge is that for most of these species, you need to go into the forest at night, for which special permissions are needed. Also, to see frogs and snakes, one needs to venture into specialised habitats like fast flowing streams, slippery boulders and marshy habitats, especially during monsoon. This is not the time when big mammals or birds are surveyed.”

One of these “less charismatic” creatures we saw on a road near the jungle was the Amboli toad, a Schedule 1 species in the Wildlife Protection Act, which means it needs rigorous protection. It was dead, but its brown and yellow stripes were still striking. “You will find hundreds of them dying on the road during monsoons. Nobody cares,” said Khandekar. “Imagine if just one tiger was killed that way, they would cause a ruckus.”

As we wound up our time in Amboli, I had gained a new perspective on these creatures. When I had first seen a gecko on this trip, on the porch of the cottage, my immediate reaction was a shriek. “Don’t fret, you need to fall in love with them and show them you care,” said Khandekar. “They are emotionally sensitive and understand touch.” Thankfully, it was early in the morning and the cold-blooded gecko was still warming itself; it wasn’t too active. In time, I warmed to it, too. I picked up the little guy and it stayed on my hand, seemingly at peace.

My time with these researchers had made me see beauty in these creatures. I was a convert; the world could use many more.

telugu-community-in-bangladesh-faces-multiple-challenges

Sat Aug 31 11:40:53 IST 2024

Every year, Dhaka resident Trinath Baurusetty retraces the steps his forefathers took nearly two centuries ago. The 27-year-old embarks on a journey to India from the Bangladesh capital. After crossing the international border into West Bengal, he takes a train from Kolkata to Visakhapatnam. His destination is Etikoppaka village, renowned globally for its traditional toys. The village holds a geographical indication (GI) tag for its handicrafts. For Baurusetty, the place connects him to his Telugu roots.

“From a very young age, I was curious about my identity. I asked myself many questions about who I was. This quest has led me to make regular trips to Andhra Pradesh,” said Baurusetty in fluent Telugu. According to the information he gathered, his great-grandparents or the generation before them had migrated from Etikoppaka to Dhaka during British rule. People from many dalit families on the Andhra coast were taken for manual labour in the 1850s and later employed in tea plantations or as cleaners and scavengers in the railways and the Dhaka municipality. Today, Baurusetty is part of the 30,000-odd Telugus in Bangladesh.

K. Suryanarayana, professor emeritus at Andhra University in Visakhapatnam, said the trend was the result of cheap labour exploited by the East India Company. “The tea, teak and coffee plantations required labour, and the East India Company used workers from the area stretching from Rajahmundry to Ichapuram. They migrated to countries like Myanmar, which were considered Suvarnabhumi. In fact, in the 18th and 19th centuries, those who migrated to work in those countries earned a lot and were treated as rich foreigners by the locals. But some of them had to return without making much money and had to be rehabilitated by the governments.”

Although he was born and raised in bustling Dhaka, Baurusetty loves the quiet of his ancestral village in Andhra Pradesh. “I really like exploring the fields and looking at the greenery. My relatives in the village take good care of me.”

At the Telugu community colony in Dhaka where Baurusetty lives, it is common to see vivid depictions of Telugu traditions, rituals and food. Telugu is still taught in a nearby school. People still draw muggu (traditional drawings near the entrance of the house) during festivals. Idli, sambar and dosa for breakfast, or pappucharu (lentil soup) for lunch are common.

Telugu culture is kept alive also through devotion to Dhaka Thalli, a local deity whose name translates to “Mother Dhaka”. She bears a strong resemblance to the village goddesses worshipped in rural Andhra Pradesh. In Anakapalli district where Etikoppaka is located, the local deity Nookalamma is highly revered. Every year, during Ugadi―the Telugu new year―thousands flock to the month-long festival at the temple in Anakapalli. According to community members, a low-key festival on a much smaller scale is conducted around the Dhaka Thalli deity.

Baurusetty remembers attending the festival during a visit to Andhra Pradesh. “I post photos of my travels in Andhra Pradesh on social media, which helped me connect with people in the state. One such virtual friend invited me to his village for a festival in 2021. I stayed with his family, and they arranged lunch and dinner for me. I enjoyed their hospitality. After that, I regularly meet my Facebook friends whenever I travel to Andhra Pradesh,” he said. Baurusetty loves Telugu movies and is an Allu Arjun fan.

The Telugus in Bangladesh count themselves among the vulnerable minorities. Following the coup that ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, they were worried about violence. “For about a week, we were scared as we heard of attacks on minorities and the looting of their properties. Since the police were branded as Hasina's supporters, they were also targeted and were not seen on the ground. With the army taking over, we hope the law and order situation will be under control,” said Baurusetty. And the community has high hopes from the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.

Despite being a vulnerable minority, the Telugus in Bangladesh do not enjoy any special privileges, like reservation. It puts people like Baurusetty, who dreams of a government job, at a disadvantage. Another youngster, Mikha Piregu, wants this to change. His ancestors also came from Andhra and were employed on the tea estates of Shamshernagar in northeastern Bangladesh, where he grew up. Unlike Baurusetty, Piregu has never travelled to Andhra Pradesh and is not sure of his ancestral village. He is among the few in the Telugu community who have taken up a leadership role. A student at Jahangirnagar University in Dhaka, he serves as the central vice president of the Bangladesh Student Union, one of the largest student bodies in the country. He advocates for the official recognition of his community so that they become eligible for quotas and reservations in education and jobs.

“The dalit Telugu community faced discrimination in the past,” he said. “It is indigenous in structure, but is not officially recognised as such by the government. We have been demanding for the past 10 years to be identified as indigenous so that we could receive development support through reservations. But the government is hesitant to help us.”

Piregu is hopeful that the new government will listen to the pleas of the community. He is part of a student volunteer group that patrols certain areas and streets, especially at night, where Hindus and Christians reside, to ensure extremists do not harm them. “It is a difficult situation as Islamist groups are trying to take advantage, so we are being careful. We want to ensure there are no massacres or acts of vandalism. We are also campaigning to raise awareness on this issue within the Telugu community.”

The Telugu community in Bangladesh has suffered through the horrors of partition in 1947 and the 1971 revolution and war against Pakistan which led to the establishment of Bangladesh. They have also suffered during the multiple coups which have been part of Bangladesh’s political history. And the latest political upheaval has brought its own set of challenges.

“A few days ago, some members of opposition parties met with us and asked if we were supporters of the ousted Awami League. We clearly told them that we were not politically inclined. They left without causing any trouble, but we are unsure about the future,” said B. Dayanandam, who runs the Telugu Association of Bangladesh. He is a dalit who belongs to the Mala sub-sect and has roots in north coastal Andhra, near Visakhapatnam. His family, like many other Telugus, converted to Christianity. Dayanandam is also actively engaged in human rights work. The 33-year-old has made multiple trips to Chodavaram, a thickly forested tribal region in Andhra Pradesh, to visit relatives. After spending a month in India, Dayanandam often finds himself overwhelmed by a desire to return to Andhra Pradesh. “I want to live in my own place, among my community members. But I know it is not possible.”

With the plan to return to India not working out, Dayanandam has a request to the new government in Bangladesh. He said the Telugu community members had been living in houses allotted by successive governments, but without ownership. “There are no proper facilities or houses for us,” he said. “One day, we hope to have permanent homes of our own. We have been living in government colonies and in houses we cannot truly call home.”

dr-ramana-rao-has-been-running-a-free-sunday-clinic-near-bengaluru-for-51-years

Fri Aug 23 15:59:00 IST 2024

A left turn about 30km from Bengaluru on the National Highway linking the Karnataka capital with Pune leads to Dr Ramana Rao Road in Byadarahalli village. On Sundays, it is common to find a large number of men and women on the road, patiently waiting to be examined by Dr Ramana Rao, the 73-year-old cardiologist who runs a free clinic, ‘Bhanuvara Grama Chikitsalaya’ (Sunday village clinic).

Rao’s sprawling farmhouse comes alive on Sundays when specialist doctors from Bengaluru drive down to treat patients from neighbouring villages and districts. Many of the patients would leave their homes the previous day and spend the night in the shelter outside the clinic, which has been running uninterrupted for the past 51 years. It has treated almost 18 lakh patients, setting a benchmark in rural service.

Choudamma from Doddaballapura and Sulthan Bi from Gauribidanur are among the many women who have been visiting the clinic for the past 30 years. “I get treated for all my ailments as it is free and the medicines always work. Like me, many women suffer from age-related illnesses, weak bones, leg pain, body ache and weakness,” said the 55-year-old.

Pushpamma of Basapura village suffers from osteoporosis. “We work as daily wagers, domestic helps and farm hands and we also do our household chores,” she said. “But our livelihood depends on hard work. We get our daily dose of medicines and self-care kits, blankets and walking sticks. The clinic is part of our life.”

In the men’s queue, Mohammad Pasha, 56, a stone quarry worker, embraces the doctor, who asks about his abdominal pain. “For the past 15 years, I have been attending the clinic for my abdominal pain and gastric problem. The doctor has saved me and many poor patients who cannot afford to go to the city hospitals. I have had bitter experiences with them. Once a hospital performed a surgery on me for a simple stomach ache. Another time, I was admitted for fever and they told me it was malaria and gave me a bill for Rs40,000,” said Pasha.

At the consultation area, doctors are busy attending to a stream of patients, while the referral desk hands out coloured tokens as directed by the doctors. The patients carry the tokens to collect their medicines at the pharmacy and then, if needed, get directed to different specialists―cardiologist, endocrinologist, dental surgeon, dermatologist, ophthalmologist and nutritionist―for further examination.

When a middle-aged woman who can hardly walk because of her leg pain slumps into a chair, Rao, noticing her gait and facial expression, examines her knees. He diagnoses it as a case of osteoporosis after examining the creaky knee and the fluid accumulation. “There is no strength in the bones,” he said, prescribing pain killers.

With an increase in life expectancy to 70 years, villages today have elders who are unable to walk because of age-related issues or a bad fall. “We started distributing free walking sticks to help prevent falls and fractures. The old patients suffer from arthritis, hypertension and diabetes and require frequent monitoring and proper medication. At the village clinic, we help them manage the diseases and help them live with dignity,” said Rao.

At a different desk, Rao’s younger son, Dr Abhijeet Bhograj, examines a patient who says her hands keep shivering so much so that she is unable to hold even a glass of water. The doctor suspects it is the early stages of Parkinson’s disease and educates the patient on nutrition and mobility and how to prevent a fall. The next level of treatment would follow at a referral centre.

Byadarahalli panchayat president B.T. Ramachandra, who has been part of the Sunday clinic since his childhood, spoke about how Rao touched the lives of ordinary people. “It helps the locals as the nearest government health clinic is some distance away and the private hospital is not affordable. The doctor has also helped the nearby schools and temples get clean drinking water.”

The idea of a free clinic in the village was a dream nurtured by Rao since his childhood. “In 1956, my father was working for the Tungabhadra dam project. Whenever they blasted rocks, people got injured and my father used to drive them to hospital in his jeep. When I asked him about reducing their pain, he told me that I could do so by becoming a doctor. The day I got my MBBS degree, my father inaugurated this free village clinic,” said Rao, who did his MBBS from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal (1973), and MD in medicine and cardiology from Bangalore Medical College (1980).

“Medical education should be put to good use by treating a large number of patients, especially in the underserved areas. In rural areas, there is a dearth of doctors, medicines, facilities and manpower,” said Rao, who is assisted by his wife, Hema, his two sons―Dr Charit Bhograj, an interventional cardiologist, and Dr Abhijeet, an endocrinologist, and daughters-in-law Dr Santini and Jahnavi, along with a big team of volunteers.

The clinic runs on funding from donors and organisations through the Raj Prakash Trust set up in 1973. Once a month, it runs an eye care camp and free cataract surgery is performed on 30-50 needy patients at partner hospitals.

“My husband never travels on weekends as he does not like to miss the Sunday clinic,” said Hema. An economics graduate from Delhi University and daughter of an Army officer, she found her life partner through a common relative. “I started assisting him in his clinic, answering calls and driving emergency cases to the nearest hospital as there were only a few ambulances those days,” said Hema. “The clinic was always in the house and never separated from my personal space. Our boys grew up by themselves and have been involved with the clinic since childhood, just like how my grandchildren are taking an interest now.”

Abhijeet remembers how he and his brother helped in running the clinic as children. “We used to organise the queues and hand over tokens. My father never asked us to become doctors. But once you see the work, it changes your perspective and you realise what you can do for society,” said Abhijeet, who usually screens patients for diabetes and thyroid issues. “Diabetes is no longer the disease of the rich as food habits in rural India have changed drastically and the use of refined food is rampant, leading to obesity,” he said.

Abhijeet’s wife Jahnavi compliments his work by serving as a nutritionist. “As a clinical dietician, I look after the nutrition programme. We provide a balanced meal. We don’t force patients to change their diet plan, but gradually help them inculcate healthy eating,” said Jahnavi.

Dr Charit, who works in a corporate hospital, also runs a software startup called Tricog. Said Rao, “When I do an ECG at the clinic, it can be transmitted to a corporate hospital where cardiologists can diagnose the condition and recommend the course of treatment. It eliminates the element of distance. This was what I had dreamt of decades ago for my village clinic.”

Dr Santini has seen patients with skin allergies, which are occupation-related. The use of pesticides and chemicals in the farms has made people vulnerable to diseases. “We see fungal and bacterial infections caused by hygiene issues. When you treat rural patients, you don’t simply treat the disease, but explain to them how to use the medication and educate them on lifestyle modification,” she said.

Hema attributes the success of the Sunday clinic to her husband’s disciplined life and dedication. Rao wakes up by 6.30am and goes for a walk. He feels it is important to maintain the body weight and metabolism. “Every day, you should spend at least 30 minutes walking or cycling to keep good health. I keep away from smoking, oily food and sweets and sparingly drink alcohol,” he said.

Rao believes that heart care starts with proper nutrition and exercise. “Listen to your body and never over-exert. Avoid junk food as it leads to the clogging of blood vessels. Stress is a common factor in our life. But one should master the art of shrinking, and shrink the number of things you want to accomplish in a single day,” said Rao. “Avoid getting angry as it shoots up the systolic blood pressure and results in stroke. Lack of exercise leads to obesity and puts more pressure on your knees and back as the wear and tear is more. Vaccines, including Covid vaccines, are lifesavers, but with mild side-effects. But benefits outweigh the side-effects. At the same time, rational use of medicines will save us from developing drug resistance.”

A recipient of the Padma Shri, the Karnataka Rajyotsava award and the B.C. Roy award, Rao is popularly known as “Rajkumar’s doctor” as he was the personal physician to the legendary Kannada actor, the late Dr Rajkumar. “I was part of his family, not just his family doctor,” said Rao. “In 1995-96, I was at my Sadashivnagar clinic in Bengaluru and Dr Rajkumar had sent word that he would like to see me. A few moments later, my assistant told me that there was a “godly” person standing at the gate. I bent down to touch his feet, but he pulled me up and hugged me. He insisted that he would wait for his turn as there was a long queue of patients. We offered him a cup of coffee and after finishing it, he said it was excellent and wanted to have another cup.”

That was the beginning Rao’s association with the Rajkumar family. “Dr Rajkumar was fit as he was very disciplined and exercised regularly,” said Rao. The dining hall at the Sunday clinic is named after the superstar.

Rao is also a nature lover and a gardening enthusiast, who is proud of the tree park, the fruit orchards and the green lawns at his farm house. He loves talking about the ‘heritage tree’ in his park. “Almost 30 years ago, I transplanted a 223-year-old tree that was uprooted for highway work. Its trunk has a diameter of 27 feet. The tree has survived for more than three decades and is expanding,” he said.

Of Rao’s four grandchildren, Anjana, who is in class seven, and Ram, a plus one student, appear to be keen on carrying forward the family tradition. Both of them volunteer week after week at the clinic. “I know the medical profession is a tough one and it takes almost 11 years of professional education. But my grandfather says it is easy,” said Anjana. “People ask me if I am being forced to become a doctor. I tell them that I am inspired to become one.”

the-next-five-years-are-going-to-be-crucial-for-india

Sat Aug 17 16:10:47 IST 2024

The Congress session of 1929 was a pivotal moment in our struggle for independence, as it marked the decision to demand Purna Swaraj (complete independence) from British rule. Amid growing tumult and brutal crackdowns across British India, the call for full autonomy resonated with those who yearned for an independent nation. This aspiration was finally realised, 18 years later, at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947. Just as 1929 laid the groundwork for 1947, 2029 could well lay the foundation for 2047. Many believe that in 2029, India will be on the cusp of significant transformation.

Yes, over the years India has emerged a significant economic and geopolitical power. However, there are challenges that must be addressed before the country becomes the world’s third-largest economy within the next five years, en route to a developed nation.

As we move toward the goal of a developed India, the next five years are going to be crucial. While 2047 might seem distant, the drive and commitment needed to become a developed nation must begin in earnest over the coming years. If the political dynamics in Patna and Amaravati do not disrupt the process, 2029 will also mark the culmination of Narendra Modi’s third term as prime minister.

In the following pages, distinguished Indians from various fields share their thoughts on where India is heading over the next five years.

india-on-the-threshold-of-a-great-possibility-but-there-is-a-gap-from-reality-by-sadhguru

Sat Aug 17 18:14:38 IST 2024

India has come a long way since 1947, making significant strides in health, industry, scientific achievements, and, most importantly, lifting millions out of poverty. Yet, the nation faces many challenges. Overcoming them will require responsible and conscious action from the leadership and citizens. While we cannot change everything overnight, fundamental issues have to be addressed urgently.

One of the most pressing issues is the condition of our people. Nearly 40 per cent of India’s population is malnourished. Many solutions have been suggested, but the most effective way forward is to grow the economy. With a $3.7 trillion economy for 1.4 billion people, the resources are simply insufficient. I am encouraged by the government’s aim to grow the economy to $10 trillion by 2030. Achieving this will allow citizens to live reasonably well, with at least basic nourishment.

As we work to patch up the economy, we must not lose sight of ecology. When people talk about ecology, they focus on plastic, air pollution and water quality, which are important. However, the most critical aspect is the condition of our soil. Once the soil deteriorates, everything else follows. This is the danger we are facing today in India. For soil to be healthy, it must contain at least 3 to 6 per cent organic matter. Currently, India’s soil has only 0.68 per cent organic matter. If one were to fly across the country, apart from the Western Ghats and the northeast, much of the land looks like a brown desert. Agriculture, which occupies 85 per cent of the country’s usable landmass, is the primary culprit for soil degradation. Having said that, it is unfair to expect poor farmers to shoulder the responsibility of saving our ecology. We need policies that enhance the life of the farmer and the health of the soil. A simple way to reverse soil degradation is to incentivise farmers to maintain a minimum of 3 to 6 per cent organic matter in their agricultural soil.

Next comes education. India does not have the land, mountains, forests, rivers, or even sufficient sky for 1.4 billion people. Our greatest resource is our people. If we leave them uneducated, unfocused, uninspired and unskilled, we are marching towards disaster. However, if we elevate people’s capabilities, competence, and functionality, we could unlock a miracle of human potential. Unfortunately, our education system is failing. It is producing too many educated individuals who do not know what to do with themselves. For example, while we produce five lakh engineers annually, fewer than 50,000 are employable. Many lack the practical skills to work or create something on their own because their education has not taken them beyond the classroom. We need to restructure our education system to address this gap.

Beyond the economy, ecology and education, another critical issue for India’s future is the management of Hindu temples, which should be returned to the Hindu community. Hindu temples were not originally designed as mere places of worship but as shakti sthalas and moolasthanas, which are basically centres of energy and transformation. People did not visit these temples to pray to a specific deity but to transform themselves and turn inward. For thousands of years, people lived in modest homes but built grand temples because they recognised the importance of hastening human evolution. Today, these temples are being managed by government clerks who lack the passion and devotion needed to maintain them. The temples are being systematically ruined because those in charge have no connection to them. Why are the temples under government control? The answer is simple: wealth. During colonial rule, the British looted whatever they could―shiploads of jewellery, gold and diamonds. And then politicians took whatever remained. For me, it is not the gold and diamonds that matter. These temples must be kept alive; not just as monuments but as living spaces―for future generations to benefit from them. If we preserve these places, they will benefit not just Hindus but also every human being, and every living creature on this planet. Time is running out for us to act.

India is on the threshold of a great possibility. The whole world recognises it, but, then, there is a gap between possibility and reality. It is time for every individual, regardless of their sphere of life, responsibility, or influence, to stand up and make the vision a reality. This cannot be done by the government or a few leaders alone. Every citizen must take action.

Sadhguru, ranked among the 50 most influential people in India, Sadhguru, founder of Isha Foundation, is a yogi, mystic, visionary and bestselling author. He is also the founder of the world’s largest people’s movement, Conscious Planet―Save Soil, which has touched the lives of over four billion people

* Address malnourishment and condition of our people

* Elevate people’s capabilities, competence, and functionality

* Restructure our education system

* Hindu temples should be returned to the Hindu community

* Reverse soil degradation and incentivise farmers

india-should-have-it-own-space-station-in-coming-years-former-isro-chairman-g-madhavan-nair

Sat Aug 17 16:03:36 IST 2024

I am extremely proud and happy to note that India’s space programme has made significant progress in evolving into a resonant, self-reliant ecosystem, with all the latest research and technological advancements. Chandrayaan and Gaganyaan are our flagship missions. We became the first country to land a spacecraft near the unexplored south pool of the moon. The crewed Gaganyaan mission will be launched soon, and I am sure there will be many more of such crewed missions in the years to come.

There are reports on ISRO collaborating with NASA for a mission to the International Space Station, which is a fine example of international cooperation. This is just the beginning. In fact, we should have our own space station in the years to come.

ISRO is looking at many ambitious plans like having an Indian astronaut on the moon, which is good. We have improved on our cryogenic engine. ISRO recently accomplished a major milestone in the human rating of its CE20 cryogenic engine, which will power the cryogenic stage of the human-related LVM3 launch vehicle for Gaganyaan missions, and its use in important test flights later.

In the coming years, we should have launch vehicles that can put 25-tonne payloads in orbit, from the present 10 tonnes. Development of high-thrust semi-cryogenic rockets will enable this.

The Indian space sector is recognised for cost-effective satellite launches, and we are taking hundreds of foreign satellites to space. We are bound to enhance our share in the global space economy quite significantly in the next five years.

India is in a leadership position as far as space technology is concerned, and we can help many of our neighbours who need our help when it comes to space-based services. We are already sharing fruits of our technological advancement with them, and should continue to strengthen that. We should take a lead role in international space cooperation.

There are opportunities opening up to expand commercial space. With privatisation and liberalised rules for the space sector, it will generate employment and allow private companies to take up a major share of manufacturing and marketing.

India has emerged as a global player in space, striving to maintain a leadership position in space.

* Need our own space station

* Launch vehicles should put 25-tonne payloads in orbit

* Support our neighbours who need help

* Continue international cooperation

* Enhance our share in global space economy

india-s-vision-2029-is-ambitious-yet-achievable-sambhavi-choudhary

Sat Aug 17 17:59:11 IST 2024

As I envision India’s progress by 2029, I see a nation that upholds the principles of equity, sustainability, and compassion. These are not only aspirations, but guiding principles for policymaking and social transformation.

Gender equality

By 2029, India will strive to achieve true gender equality, ensuring men and women have equal opportunities across sectors. Key policies will include enforcing equal pay legislation to eliminating wage gaps, implementing gender quotas to increase women’s representation in leadership roles, and introducing comprehensive sex education in schools to foster gender sensitivity from a young age. Strengthening measures to combat gender-based violence will be paramount.

Social justice

India will seek to become a more inclusive society by addressing socio-economic disparities and promoting social justice for the marginalised communities. This includes expanding affirmative action policies to ensure equitable access to education, employment and health care for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes, and economically weaker sections. Land reforms will be crucial in providing ownership to the landless and marginalised communities, while universal health care initiatives should aim to ensure access to health care in rural areas. Legal reforms will expedite justice delivery and ensure equal access to legal recourse for all citizens.

Sustainability

Sustainable development is the cornerstone of India’s vision for 2029. The nation is committed to balancing economic growth with environmental stewardship. India will scale up investment in renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Strengthening environmental regulations and promoting sustainable waste management practices, including recycling and waste-to-energy technologies, will combat air and water pollution. India has pledged to uphold international climate agreements, focusing on mitigating climate change impact and building resilience against environmental challenges.

Compassion

India will aspire to foster a compassionate society where empathy and social cohesion thrive. Initiatives will include promoting community engagement through volunteer and service programmes, integrating moral and ethical education in school syllabus to instil values of compassion and respect for diversity, and expanding mental health services to reduce stigma and provide support to those facing mental health challenges. Policies will be needed to ensure dignity and support for senior citizens through health care, social services, and recreational activities.

Youth empowerment

Empowering young people to become leaders and innovators is central to India’s vision for 2029. Enhancing educational infrastructure and curriculum to emphasise critical thinking, creativity, and practical skills will prepare young people for future job markets. Initiatives promoting entrepreneurship through startup incubators, funding schemes, and mentorship programmes will foster innovation and job creation. Expanding digital literacy programmes will equip youth with essential skills for the digital economy, while promoting youth leadership.

Youth engagement is important, too. Encouraging the participation of young people in civic activities, supporting youth clubs focused on advocacy and community development, and organising youth forums to amplify their voices on policy issues will foster a culture of inclusivity and diversity.

Youth wellbeing must be top priority. Addressing mental health challenges through accessible services, promoting gender sensitivity and equality through education, and introducing financial literacy programmes are vital to supporting youth wellbeing. Initiatives to improve nutrition and overall health will equip young people with essential life skills.

Digital engagement

Expanding internet access and digital infrastructure in rural areas and promoting responsible use of social media will bridge the digital divide and empower young people with equal opportunities in the digital age. Encouraging the involvement of young people in technological innovation to address social challenges will drive sustainable development and social progress.

India’s vision for 2029 is ambitious yet achievable, driven by commitment to equity, sustainability, compassion and youth empowerment. These policies are not just aspirations but crucial steps towards realising this vision. By implementing them and fostering a culture of inclusivity and innovation, India will pave the way towards a prosperous and inclusive society.

* Introduce comprehensive sex education in schools to foster gender sensitivity

* Curriculum to emphasise critical thinking, creativity and practical skills

* Balancing economic growth with environmental stewardship

* Compassionate society with empathy and social cohesion

* Encouraging the involvement of young people in technological innovation

india-needs-independent-judiciary-with-more-meritorious-and-socially-aware-judges

Sat Aug 17 17:54:39 IST 2024

As a person born into a family of lawyers and judges, before taking that route myself, my undying faith in the Indian judicial system is, in a sense, unshakeable. It is a faith that was instilled in me through my years of working the legal system, first as a lawyer for slightly over two decades, and then as a judge in the decade that followed.

Over the years, I have come to realise that our governing document, the Constitution of India, holds immense potential to find solutions to the myriad sociopolitical conflicts that arise frequently in our pluralistic society. Indeed, if the document is worked by judges committed to the cause of justice—social, economic and political—our country can truly aspire to be that “heaven of freedom” envisioned by our great poet Rabindranath Tagore. To achieve that goal, however, we need to introspect on some vital issues.

In the years since our Independence, the judiciary in India has been fortunate to have had some of the best legal minds appointed as judges at different levels in the judicial hierarchy who, with their commitment to the cause of justice, have been able to guard the citizenry of this country against legislative and executive excesses, while zealously guarding the fundamental and other legal rights of individuals in society.

While there have been instances of justice having suffered on account of the inaction of ‘timorous souls’, our judges have, for most part of history, demonstrated themselves to be ‘bold spirits’ when it comes to nullifying unconstitutional state action. And, it is this trend that will continue to guide us in the future. However, we have to adhere to a procedure for recruitment and promotion of judges that is not only primarily merit-based, but one that pays due deference to social requirements such as class representation, so that there is an eclectic mix of erudite judges at all levels in the judicial hierarchy. Their numbers must also increase, for it is only then that we can reduce the delays that plague our system and tackle the huge backlog of cases. A fact that is often overlooked by our policy makers is that the judge-population ratio in India is around 21 judges per million. In Europe and the US, it is 210 and 150, respectively. Despite the Law Commission of India recommending a ratio of at least 50 judges per million, no such steps have been taken.

Granville Austin described the Indian Constitution as being a social document. We have accordingly recognised and treated it as an organic document, the interpretation of which is susceptible to change in line with societal changes. Axiomatically, our judges are trained to keep in sync with the changing notions of social, economic and political justice in contemporary society, while working the constitution to resolve conflicts. In recent times, however, we have had to consider a break with tradition while discharging our judicial functions.

Judicial tradition insists on a judge remaining aloof and far removed from the realities of social life, so that he/she may render justice, ‘without fear or favour, affection or ill will’. A continued adherence to such traditions may not augur well for a future that requires a judge to be aware and constantly updated of social attitudes and choices made by individuals, such as with regard to their physical autonomy or intimate relationships. There is a growing need to bridge the ‘knowledge gap’ faced by our judiciary. We can perhaps achieve this by employing innovative, interdisciplinary methods of continuing judicial education at the national and state judicial academies.

Another aspect of concern is that of judicial independence. Although under the Constitution, a strict separation of powers between the legislature, executive and judiciary is not envisaged, we do have a functional separation that is controlled by a system of checks and balances. The check on the judicial branch is often achieved through a forced dependence on the executive for the implementation of its orders, and inadequate funding. Freedom from executive dependency in the matter of implementation of judicial orders can perhaps be achieved, to a limited extent, by enlisting a legally trained police force that would function under the direct control of the judicial wing. The general allocation for the judiciary in most annual budgets, at the national and state level, is less than two per cent. To build a ‘futuristic’ judiciary that will have the necessary infrastructure, the state executive must loosen its purse strings.

I believe that if we take these urgent measures, we can transform our judiciary into a futuristic one by 2029.

The writer is a judge at the Kerala High Court.

* Improve judge-population ratio

* Freedom from executive dependency

* A legally trained police force under the control of judiciary

* Increase allocation for judiciary in budget

* Employ innovative methods of education in judicial academies

a-multifaceted-strategy-can-make-indian-health-care-fastest-growing-sector-in-5-years

Sun Aug 18 17:01:44 IST 2024

Some weeks ago, one story that went viral on social media was of a US vlogger, Mackenzie, whose boyfriend, Keenan, fell seriously ill while travelling in India. Having lived in the US and the UK and weary of the long waiting list for tests and appointments, Mackenzie was apprehensive about the time and cost of treatment. She was pleasantly surprised to know that there was absolutely no waiting time for the diagnostic test. The pathology laboratory she contacted sent the nurse home, and the results were out the next day. Keenan completed tests, doctor’s appointment and medicines within 24 hours, and it cost them only $14 (approximately Rs 1,400)! Floored by the time, the cost and efficient treatment, Mackenzie said in a video, “I was completely blown away and now I know how India kept its 1.4 billion people alive.”

While these young tourists might have been fortunate for such proactive action, it is true that in the Indian health care system less is more. Modest fees, less turnaround time for lab tests and less waiting time in clinics, are a fact of life even in satellite towns. India ranks 112 out of 191 countries on the World Health Organization's ranking of global health care systems and there is tremendous potential for this ranking to improve.

In the last five years the Indian health care sector has been streamlined for the better and experienced rapid expansion. There have been several innovations and policy introductions to support this. To name a few, the setting up of the National Health Mission has improved the availability of medical equipment and devices. The availability of affordable generic medicines, affordable access through Ayushman Bharat to 55 crore Indians: almost 40 per cent of the population in the lower economic segment, providing coverage of upto Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisations are some of the other significant measures.

Recently, the government announced its decision to extend health insurance to all Indian citizens above the age of 70, raising the bar on health care equity.

Digitalization of health care is another major step where telehealth has transformed health care delivery making it accessible to people who are challenged by traffic, self-mobility and remote locations.

All these services have helped India leapfrog into being a leader in health care. With the expertise of doctors and state of medical facilities offered by top hospitals, India has also emerged as a leading medical tourism destination bringing in the all-important revenue to make health care a growth driving sector.

With government efforts to increase the number of medical and nursing colleges and available seats, the number of doctors and nurses have also significantly gone up. According to National Medical Council (NMC) there are 13 lakh+ allopathic doctors, 36.14 lakh nurses and 5.65 lakh Ayush doctors. Given our population size, these numbers are not enough to provide a decent doctor: patient and nurse: patient balance, however with continued efforts by the public and private sector this gap is likely to shorten significantly over the next decade.

In the next five years, beginning with 2024, there is little doubt that health care in India is going to be one of the fastest growing sectors, poised for exponential growth and progress. There are many reasons for this.

Statistical data shows that the average life expectancy at birth in India has increased by approximately three years in the last decade. The Indian government spent two per cent of India's gross domestic product (GDP) on health care in financial year 2022 and is forecast to reach over 2.5 per cent of the GDP by 2025. We are hoping that this would be increased to five per cent of the GDP over the next five years.

In the financial year 2022, the government of India allocated approximately Rs 860 billion to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in the Union Budget.

The health tech sector in India secured private equity and venture capital investments worth nearly 1,740 million US dollars in 2021. India's health care sector was worth about $280 billion in 2020, and it was estimated to reach up to $372 billion by 2022. The country's health care market had become one of the largest sectors in terms of revenue and employment, and the industry was growing rapidly.

From 2022, the health care funding by the Central and state governments increased substantially to $74 billion from $34 billion in 2021. Since 2020, it is mandatory for private sector employees who are not affiliated to the employees’ state insurance to receive a government regulated (through the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority health insurance regulator) health insurance plan through their employer while employees of the public sector receive it through the Central Government Health Plan.

India’s burgeoning start-up sector and health-tech innovation is also revolutionising the way health care is accessed by the mass population, all aimed at making care accessible and affordable. This also has the potential to plug some of the key challenges that the sector is facing. With the right talent and health tech interventions, India is creating the right intersection to generate the needed impact and progress. India has everything that is needed to emerge victorious in the health care space.

Having said that, one cannot ignore the shortfalls and deficiencies. If India wants to be a leader in health care and fulfill the promise of health care equity as enshrined in United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of leaving no one behind by dispensing social justice, it needs to bridge many gaps.

The public health care infrastructure is poor and tilted heavily in favor of cities, while primary and tertiary care in rural areas remains largely neglected. While public health care cost is lower for every Indian resident this sector encompasses only 18 per cent of total outpatient care and 44 per cent of total inpatient care. This is where strong public-private partnerships can help.

The private sector can be encouraged to build hospitals and clinics in rural areas and follow the template of a hub and spoke model. This would mean designated one hospital in a satellite city among a cluster of small towns as the main hub with each cluster having a large nursing home/clinic. The centralised administration from such a regional hospital can help run the clinics and link them up via digital and telemedicine to form a cohesive model. People from these rural areas may not require migrating to cities for health care but travel to the main regional hub.

The second most crucial and dire situation is the shortage of doctors, nurses and allied healthcare professionals. India is one of the 57 nations with a clear shortage of health resource shortage. The WHO recommends 44.5 doctors, nurses, midwives per 10,000 inhabitants, whereas the national density in India was found to be 20.6 per 10,000 inhabitants.

The private sector can play a proactive two-pronged role in carrying out a recruitment drive from the large pool of high school or higher secondary pass men and women, empowering them with skills in subjects such as emergency, first aid, CPR, midwifery, wet nursing and the like. Tapping into the large population and upskilling them will not only resolve employment issues but help bridge the shortage of healthcare staff. Introducing stringent training will also help improve clinical governance standards, which, at present, are not streamlined.

Strategy for tackling with serious health care challenges

India is currently grappling with a high incidence of communicable and non-communicable disease. The communicable such as HIV, Tuberculosis spread owing to population density and a lack of adequate awareness drive on hygiene and sanitation. The non communicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and cancer are on the rise owing to more dispensable incomes, wrong eating habits, lack of proper fitness routines and use of oral tobacco and smoking.

Prevention is the best medicine

Preventive health care is not really practiced as people visit doctors only when sick. The concept of health checkups monthly or quarterly is almost not present in the community. Health care needs to be made more accessible by investing in mobile clinics, initiating public awareness campaigns on diseases such a breast, cervical and lung cancer, preventive screenings for these, plus stronger immunization drive against communicable diseases to provide a level of herd immunity to the community.

The government also needs to encourage the use of telemedicine for mental health awareness and to increase its reach for monitoring the health of people in villages. India has a large pool of alternative medicine practices such as ayurveda, unani, naturopathy, siddha and homeopathy where people are less apprehensive of taking treatment. Insurance companies can provide coverage to the recognised stream of medicines, and this can encourage some form of preventive screening.

Apart from this, there is a need to launch awareness and educational campaign in all communities to transcend cultural, language, gender barriers and social biases and undertake preventive measures.

The hospital sector in India was valued at Rs 7,940.87 billion in FY21 in terms of revenue and is expected to reach Rs 18,348.78 billion by FY 2027, growing at a CAGR of 18.24 per cent. Over the next 10 years, National Digital Health Blueprint can unlock the incremental economic value of over $200 Bn for the health care industry in India.

These and many more gaps in the health care system pose a tough challenge but there is nothing that cannot be overcome with a multifaceted strategy comprising policy interventions, greater investments, and thorough reforms.

The story of India’s health care sector is a progressive one, one that has tremendous potential to set benchmarks for the world to follow. It is only through collaboration and collective efforts that we would be able to maintain the momentum for health care to be the fastest growing economic sector in India.

we-should-have-mixed-gender-tournaments-like-in-tennis-by-mithali-raj

Sun Aug 18 11:44:31 IST 2024

Over the last few years, India has worn the crown in different sports, but there is so much more that we can do to achieve excellence in multiple sports events by 2029 and beyond. First and foremost, our population, across the length and the breadth of the country, should have access to high-quality sports infrastructure and resources, which, I believe, is a work in progress. There is no denying that sports infrastructure has to be strengthened across schools and colleges. For enriching sports culture, grassroots development is necessary. That there is a steady rise in gifted athletes from small towns and villages proves that we are on the right track.

I am happy that we are seeing more women entering different sports. In the 1990s, sports was a man’s domain but that is no longer the case today. Women are liberated today, and they can successfully build a career in sport, which is great. I have always believed that sports can provide young girls with leadership skills.

By 2029, we will have more Indian women play the sport of their choice and excel in it big time. When I started playing cricket, I had to fight at every step―for resources, facilities, sponsorship or even getting opportunities to play overseas. But today’s players don’t have any such problems.

The Khelo India Mission, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream project, is working wonders. Having said that, we still have a long way to go. It is also important to inculcate a sense of fitness among all. In schools and colleges, sports should be made compulsory. Science proves that sports has contributed to excellent academic performance and it even enhances leadership skills. Playing sports can tackle depression and shun negativity. It also promotes a spirit of sportsmanship, even outside the field.

To attract young people to sports, the authorities should set up stadiums in every village, where different sports can be played on a rotational arrangement.

Just like classroom activities, sports has to be a continuous process. I have seen many urban young couples venture out on weekends to watch films, or stay in a resort. There is nothing wrong with that, but they should also consider getting together friends and relatives, and together play team sports the whole day. We should also have mixed-gender tournaments. In fact, boys and girls should play together right from school days, like how it happens in tennis. It should reach a stage where people will look at it as a natural phenomenon. In some sports the best in girls comes out when they compete with boys.

It is wrong to say that other sports will not grow in the country as long as cricket rules the roost. There is space for every sport to grow. Cricket became India’s passion only after the 1983 World Cup triumph. So, as we do well in world championships across different sports, those sports are bound to get even more popular.

By 2030, with determination and everything else in place, I feel we can be among the top 20 sports nations in the world, and by 2047, we should be among the top five in the world.

We are more than 140 crore, and it shouldn’t be tough to find a champion in every sport.

Jai Hind.

* Sports infrastructure to be strengthened across schools and colleges

* We should have mixed-gender tournaments in all sports

* There is space for every sport to grow

* Be among the top 20 sports nations in the world by 2030

* Play team sports with friends and relatives the whole day on weekends

how-a-madrassa-going-muslim-boy-became-a-memory-keeper-of-cochin-jews

Sat Aug 17 15:00:37 IST 2024

It was a Saturday evening in 1999. Thoufeek Zakriya, a 10-year-old madrassa-going Muslim boy, held his father’s hand as he entered the storied Jew Street at Mattancherry in Kochi. Zakriya had been to many alleys in the city, but never one as distinctly pretty as the Jew Street, with its yellowish lights, old buildings and antique shops.

At the end of the street was the Paradesi Synagogue, first built in 1568 and reconstructed and built up over the centuries. In Malayalam, paradesi means foreigner; the synagogue had served many generations of Sephardic Jews who had migrated to Kochi from Spain, Portugal and West Asia.

But it was not the stories of exiled Jews that had Zakriya’s curiosity piqued, but rather the troops of tourists that streamed into the synagogue. When Zakriya and his father reached the synagogue, though, the gatekeeper said it had closed for the day. His father told the gatekeeper that his son had a burning desire to see the synagogue. Hearing him, a light-skinned man wearing a kippah (Jewish skullcap), who was lighting a lamp inside, came out and let them in with a smile.

As Zakriya took in the wall writings in Hebrew and an exquisitely carved Torah chest inside the synagogue, the man resumed what he was doing. Zakriya approached him, and the man said he was lighting the lamp to commemorate the death anniversary of a relative.

“If I close my eyes, I can still live that memory,” says Zakriya, now 35.

Zakriya’s life changed in ways he could not have imagined in the decades after his visit to the synagogue. He is now an internationally acclaimed calligrapher in, among other languages, Hebrew, Arabic and Samaritan, and a researcher on the history of the Cochin Jews. He learned Hebrew, a difficult language to learn, all by himself. In 2020, Zakriya, who is now based in Dubai, had the opportunity to present one of his calligraphic works to Israel president Reuven Rivlin.

Learning new languages and practising calligraphy have been Zakriya’s passion since his school days. Growing up in the culturally syncretic neighbourhoods of Fort Kochi and Mattancherry in Kochi so helped him that by the time he reached Class 10, he had created a set of characters that resembled Chinese which became a secret communication tool among his friends.

It was his exposure to Arabic in madrassa that helped spark his interest in Hebrew. “In madrassa, I learned the basics of Arabic to read the Quran, and heard many stories about Prophets Ibrahim, Ismail and Ishaq,” says Zakriya. “Later, at the convent school [where I studied], I learned the biblical stories of Abraham, Ishaq and Ismail. How the story of the same patriarchs [was told] from different perspectives fascinated me. It was then that I became curious about a third perspective, or the first perspective―the Jewish perspective. I asked people about the Jewish community in Cochin, of which I knew little. Soon I heard about Hebrew, their special language, which is similar to Arabic, written from right to left. This intrigued me.”

It was a Gideon Bible that had him learning Hebrew. “When I was in [Class 11], I saw a Gideon Bible in the school library,” he says. “I asked my teacher if I could take it, and she happily gave it to me. The preface had a verse from the Book of John in 25 different languages, [including] Hebrew… The English version had the word for God in it. I wanted to know the Hebrew word for God―that started my Hebrew-learning journey.”

Zakriya began by copying Hebrew letters. “I was practising calligraphy, although I didn’t know it was an art form at the time. I used pen, quill and bamboo sticks to copy text,” he says. In a shop that sold second-hand books, he found a volume that had Hebrew on one side and English on the other. “I couldn’t read Hebrew, but there was a prayer called the Kaddish at the end with a transliteration in English,” he says. “That was my Rosetta Stone.”

As he gradually improved his skills, a turning point came. “My friends and I used to spend time in the synagogue, simply enjoying the ambience. One day, a group of people, including the wife of an election commissioner, came visiting. Joseph Hallegua, a community leader, accompanied them. He opened the altar, the Heichel, and showed the Torah.”

Someone in the group said the Torah appeared to be upside down. Zakriya knew that Hebrew script can sometimes give that impression, so he spoke up: “No, no, it is correct.” The response was quite loud. Hallegua looked at him and asked how he knew. Zakriya replied that he had taught himself Hebrew.

As the visitors left, Hallegua asked Zakriya more about his interest in Jewish culture. Joy, the caretaker of the synagogue, suggested that he speak to Hallegua’s brother Samuel, a “walking encyclopaedia” on the history of the Cochin Jews and the synagogue’s gabbai (warden). Thus began Zakriya’s education in Jewish history.

But he received a jolt on the formal education front. “I failed my [Class 12] exams, even though my aggregate mark was above first class. I had failed in mathematics. It was depressing.”

Zakriya started learning Hebrew and Arabic with more vigour. “I used my old notebooks to practise my calligraphy. I also got acquainted with Samaritan, Syriac, Aramaic, Coptic and Greek. What I learned in that one year was not in any syllabus or curriculum. I was the teacher, student and principal of my own institute,” says Zakriya.

As an undergraduate, Zakriya studied hotel management, as his family was in the food business. “My father and paternal grandfather were in seafood export. On my maternal side, my great-grandfather had a borma (brick-oven bakery) and was known as Biskutakaran Musaliar for selling biscuits and being a learned Muslim priest,” he says.

Another reason for studying hotel management was that his father’s business was in decline. “I was a decent cook back then,” says Zakriya. “I referred to old recipes and practised cooking. After tasting my biryani, my father decided to send me to a hotel management school.”

For the final-year project of his four-year course, he focused on Jewish cooking traditions. He also continued calligraphing. In 2009, Zakriya took a friend to visit Jew Town in Kochi. He brought along ten different designs of Birkat HaBayit―a Jewish prayer often inscribed on wall plaques and displayed at the entrance of Jewish homes. At his friend’s instance, Zakriya showed it to Sarah Cohen, a venerable matriarch of the Jewish community in Kochi.

Cohen was taken aback. “She was quite surprised to see a Muslim writing Hebrew so well,” recalls Zakriya. “She repeatedly asked me, ‘Are you a Jew?’, and I told her, ‘No, I am a Muslim.’” The Birkat HaBayit plaque thus marked the beginning of a ten-year friendship that lasted till 2019, when Cohen died at the age of 96.

“She used to call me ‘aashane’ (a Malayalam word that means ‘master’, but is used to address friends); she was more like a grandmother to me,” says Zakriya. “Whenever I came visiting, I would bring her favourite snacks, achappam and kuzhalappam.”

Cohen used to host Zakriya for Passover Seders and introduce him to members of the dwindling Jewish community. On occasions, he cooked for her friends adhering to kosher rules.

“One day, she took me to the synagogue when prayers were about to start. Almost the entire Jewish community in Kochi was there. She took my family and me inside to show us the synagogue in its all glory. She said, ‘This might be the last time the synagogue is well decorated. I may not be able to show you next time.’ Nobody in the community said a word about bringing non-Jewish people into the synagogue during the service,” said Zakriya. “That was the respect she commanded.”

Having developed his unique calligraphic style, Zakriya began accepting requests from people abroad. One of his earliest patrons was a Ukrainian millionaire who presented him with a challenge. “He wanted a Hebrew scripture to be written in Arabic style,” says Zakriya. The result: a unique calligraphic work in the ancient Kufic Arabic script.

One of his most “emotional” works so far, says Zakriya, was for Juliet Hallegua, wife of Joseph Hallegua, who passed away in 2012. “She asked me to design his tombstone, and I did it,” says Zakriya. “As a tribute, she allowed me to examine the centuries-old Jewish Copper Plate (an artefact inscribed with privileges granted to the Jewish community by local rulers in Kerala).”

Over the decades, Jews in Kerala have mostly migrated to Israel, and Zakriya has become a keeper and chronicler of Jewish memories and artefacts. In July this year, when an ancient tombstone with Hebrew inscriptions was discovered on a coconut farm in Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu, Zakriya was called in. He was the first to decipher the inscriptions, which he dated to around 1225 CE. “This means that it is older than the Sarah Bat Israel tombstone in Kerala’s Chendamangalam, considered the oldest Hebrew tombstone in India,” says Zakriya.

Zakriya runs a blog and Facebook page named ‘Jews of Malabar’. Incidentally, it was a post on the page that led to his meeting with Rivlin in 2020. “[The post was] about the history of an 18th-century Hebrew Quran―which was the result of a work commissioned by a Jewish community leader in Kochi,” says Zakriya. “President Rivlin’s father, Yosef Yoel Rivlin, had also translated the Quran into Hebrew. Someone tweeted the [frontispiece] of that Quran, which was different from all previous versions of Hebrew calligraphies I had seen. So I made a small replica of the design, and posted it as a tribute. Rivlin saw it and wanted to meet me. Fortunately, just weeks before this happened, the UAE and Israel had established full diplomatic relations. This helped my journey to Israel.”

As a Muslim artist deeply connected to Jewish history and culture, Zakriya has faced questions regarding his stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict. He insists that he firmly supports universal brotherhood. “I believe everyone in this world deserves to wake up to a bright and beautiful day, to have a happy day, and to sleep peacefully,” he says. “Without any doubt, I stand with all those who suffer in this world; they all deserve peace.”

the-week-takes-a-peak-into-the-future-to-paint-a-picture-of-india-at-100

Sat Aug 10 13:15:12 IST 2024

With all its contradictions and diversity, India has fascinated many. British economist and Indophile Joan Robinson, who observed India around the time the republic turned 25, remarked: “Whatever you can say rightly about India, its opposite is also true.” The statement appears to have stood the test of time as we celebrate the 78th Independence Day. It may still hold true when India turns 100 in 2047.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had coined the term Viksit Bharat to nudge the country’s policy-making and political narrative towards building a developed nation and becoming the next superpower by 2047. A country with US$30 trillion economy by 2047, with a per capita income of US$18,000 per annum.

To meet the ambitious $30 trillion target, the GDP would have to grow nine times from today’s $3.36 trillion, and the per capita income would need to rise eight times from the current $2,392 per annum. Experts believe that it is a political target that would require deft manoeuvring and some big reforms. India, which has overtaken China in terms of population earlier than estimated, would overtake the US to become the second largest economy if it hits the GDP target.

India’s transition from the middle income to higher income group would require sustained growth in the range of 7 to 10 per cent for 20 to 30 years. Only a few countries have managed to do so in the last 70 years. “India has the potential, and aims to be a high-income country by the centenary of its independence in 2047. However, being a developed nation―a Viksit Bharat―cannot be reduced to a single monetary attribute. It would have to signify a good quality of life for individuals and enable a society which is vibrant, culturally rich and harmonious,” says NITI Aayog in its approach paper on 2047. When Modi unfurls the tricolour from the Red Fort for the 11th time (Jawaharlal Nehru unfurled it 17 times; Indira Gandhi, 16 times; and Manmohan Singh, 10 times) he is again likely to refer to his Viksit Bharat vision, which he first referred to in his speech on August 15, 2022, cajoling people to work towards that goal. His directive to his cabinet colleagues is to envision plans and policies towards the 2047 goal. This was reflected in the recent Union budget, which focused on “jobs, skilling, scaling up infrastructure and promoting resilience in agriculture and manufacturing”.

Independence Days are time to reflect on the past and plan for the future.

India’s strength lies in its demographic dividend. With a population of 144 crore, India is one of the youngest nations with a median age of 29 years. This accounts for nearly 20 per cent of the world’s total young population. This enormous opportunity is likely to last till 2047, before the population starts greying. People above 60 constitute 10 per cent of the population now. The figure will double by 2047, posing fresh challenges on the health care and social security fronts.

Half of India’s population is below 25. They have no memory of the time when India celebrated its 50th anniversary, in 1997, when two prime ministers―H.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral―lost power as allies withdrew support. At midnight of 14-15 August that year, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi sang ‘Vande Mataram’ and Lata Mangeshkar, ‘Saare Jahan Se Aacha’ to replicate the spirit of India’s Parliament, where Nehru had made his ‘Tryst with destiny’ speech 50 years ago. Marking the high point of the 50th anniversary celebrations was a boisterous march down the Rajpath on August 15 evening―telecast live by Doordarshan, with many traveling from abroad to be part of the celebrations.

The 50th anniversary brought hope and despair. A message that resonated in 1997 was the survival of Indian democracy with all its contradictions, and the need to stem out corruption, alleviate poverty and empower women. The message still resonates, as the resilience of the Indian Constitution is so inbuilt that even a murmur of changing it led to electoral reverses for the ruling party in the recent Lok Sabha polls. For the world’s largest democracy, which Modi calls the ‘mother of democracy’, the commitment to the Constitution is the only way to ensure an inclusive and harmonious society.

What has changed since then? The 1991 economic reforms had unleashed a consumerist society. It was difficult to imagine in 1997 how the country would look 50 years later. The hesitancy of the 1990s gave way to confidence in the 21st century, and the decades that followed brought political stability and the focus shifted to development. The vision now appears much clear.

There is a confidence now that India would advance in spite of who is in power. But the road to developed India would require sustained interventions from the Central and state governments to improve standards of living for people in urban and rural areas, ensure affordable health care and literacy of 100 per cent, and reduce infant mortality to 2 per 1,000 live births from the current 28.

Let us look at the positives. By 2047, 112 crore people will be part of the labour pool. There are now 1,168 universities, around 45,000 colleges and 12,000 independent institutions (up from 20 universities and 500 colleges in 1947), and a talent pool of 20 lakh STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) graduates created every year, more than 43 per cent of them women. The number is the largest in the world, and it is only set to increase. But these graduates would need skilling to prepare them for the global job market.

Are there enough local jobs? It is an area that needs government intervention and participation from industry leaders and entrepreneurs. The female labour participation is merely 37 per cent, it would need to go up to 70 per cent in 2047. India is currently ranked 122 in gender equality; it needs to be part of the top 10 to be a developed country.

The policymakers are also looking at the Indian diaspora, which is also the world’s largest. They account for $111 billion in remittances. “Indian-origin CEOs are now ubiquitous across the MNC world. This diaspora is the source of our strength, and can be leveraged to generate investment, attract technology, and create knowledge for India,” said NITI Aayog’s paper.

A big challenge would be to reduce the urban-rural income gap, increase the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector, reduce energy dependency, and prepare our cities to deal with the increasing influx of people. More than 50 per cent of the population would be staying in urban areas by 2047.

There are many challenges for India to become a developed nation by 2047, but it is a welcome start to even dream of that outcome. The journey would be the key. The idea of 2047 as a developed nation would flourish once it is framed as people’s idea so that they take ownership of it, rather then confine it as a political dream.

The idea would gain a life of its own when it is embraced by the people. THE WEEK invited some of the finest minds to imagine India in 2047, the challenges and the opportunities. They present a much granular picture of a nation in transition.

In the next two decades, our lives would have changed dramatically. Artificial intelligence has unleashed an energy that has made change inevitable. Climate change poses dangers like never before. Will the ‘developed’ or ‘superpower’ tag mean that inequalities perpetuated by caste, religion, gender or economic status would be eradicated automatically? Or would it require a much more concentrated effort and political will to eradicate those imbalances? Would Robinson’s words still be relevant in 2047? Time is upon us to reimagine the future.

To become a superpower, a country has to be self-reliant and capable in food security, energy sufficiency, defence, space and even sports. India’s bid for the 2036 Olympics showcases a confidence that may help in creating a sporting culture currently skewed in favour of cricket.

The success of democracies lies in improving the quality of life of their citizens. As futurist Alvin Toffler said, “Our moral responsibility is not to stop the future, but to shape it… to channel our destiny in humane directions and to ease the trauma of transition.”

india-can-learn-a-lot-from-developed-nations

Sat Aug 10 16:36:32 IST 2024

As India embarks on the Viksit Bharat journey to become a developed nation by 2047, it has five countries to look up to―China, Japan, Germany, Singapore and South Korea. The road to becoming a developed nation essentially means transformation in the economy to bring overall development.

China might have been a tricky neighbour, but there are many things that India can learn from it. The recent Economic Survey pointed out that it may not be possible to replicate or replace China in the manufacturing sector, but India can look at getting Chinese FDI as part of the China plus one strategy. This strategy involves finding alternatives to China in other emerging economies like India, where one can find cheap labour and accommodative trade policies.

China stands out due to its massive investment in infrastructure and the manufacturing sector. This gave a proportionate boost to labour productivity. China’s investment in infrastructure ranged between 10 per cent and 20 per cent of its GDP. Despite India trebling its expenditure on infrastructure in the past three years, it remains 3.3 per cent of the GDP, at Rs11.11 lakh crore. India needs to create an enabling environment to attract more FDI from across the globe as China appears to have slowed down and the west, especially the US, is looking for alternatives. With a workforce availability of 112 crore by 2047, India should focus on enhancing their skills.

Japan, Germany and South Korea also did ‘miracles’ to transform their economies after the wars. Japan underwent a massive transformation in the 1950s and 1960s with its rapid economic growth. It came about as the country focused on industrialisation despite the lack of natural resources. The Japanese ‘work ethic’ and female labour participation of more than 70 per cent have been its major contributing factors. India currently has 37 per cent female labour force participation and hopes to take it to 70 per cent by 2047.

Similarly, Germany’s economic trajectory changed between the 1950s and 1970s. After Wirtschaftswunder or ‘economic miracle’, Germany has remained one of the largest and most competitive economies owing to its “strong manufacturing base and technological prowess”, notes a paper by NITI Aayog.

The ‘Miracle on the Han River’ took place in South Korea as it emerged from being a war-torn, agrarian country in ruins in the 1950s to an economic powerhouse. The high-income country is now home to some of the world’s leading tech and automobile companies. It focussed on export oriented free-market economy to take a leap forward. The country further gained momentum with the 1988 Olympic Games.

The NITI Aayog also looked at the Singapore model as the country transformed from being an impoverished one to a highly developed one through the 1960s and 1970s. The country shifted from being predominantly an entrepôt (port city) economy to a rapidly industrialising and export-oriented one.

“These are nations which knew the importance of a turning point and used that occasion to become economic giants,” says the NITI Aayog paper. “India too is at the cusp of such an opportunity which, if seized and acted upon, can transform the nation to become a Viksit Bharat.”

india-must-first-knit-its-neighbours-together-in-a-web-of-interdependencies

Sun Aug 11 13:53:00 IST 2024

GREAT POWER AMBITIONS

IT IS A FORTUITOUS coincidence that the NITI Aayog has just released its approach paper on a “Vision for Viksit Bharat@2047”, the year marking the 100th anniversary of India’s independence. In exploring what India’s international role and status would be in that year, one may note certain key assumptions and projections contained in the paper.

The “Vision” sets the goal of our national endeavours at becoming a developed nation, for which “we need to strive to be a $30 trillion economy by 2047 with a per capita income of $18,000 (Rs15 lakh) per annum. The GDP would have to grow nine times from today’s $3.36 trillion and the per capita income would need to rise eight times from today’s $2,392 (Rs2 lakh) per annum.”

The paper declares: “In a Viksit Bharat, the economy will be a leading global economy, a driver of global economic growth, a magnet of global talent, trade and capital. Its cities and markets will be among the largest and top-most business and financial centres of the world.” Further, there will be “Indian-origin Global Business Champions in manufacturing, services, agriculture, R&D and innovation, technology and scale.”

These projections would make India the third largest economy in 2047 behind China and the US, but what would be the gap with these two powers? It is the relative equation which matters. The Indian economy may end up half as large as China’s, and two-thirds of the US. Projected to grow faster than both China and the US, India would have shrunk the gap with both countries and this will bestow greater agency on it in the shaping and management of the international order by mid-century.

For geopolitical heft, the size of the GDP matters, but what may matter even more is how globally engaged the economy is, for example, in terms of the volume of foreign trade as a percentage of global trade and, likewise, in terms of the volume of inward and external investment flows. Over the past few years, India’s foreign trade as a percentage of global trade has been falling after a period of steady increase. It is now less than 2 per cent. As the world’s fifth largest economy, India ought to be its fifth largest trading nation. It is the ninth. Its ambition should be to match its third ranking status in global GDP by becoming at least the third largest trading nation by 2047. China is the largest trading nation in the world, constituting 15 per cent of all trade flows. It is likely to retain this rank well into mid-century. It is the largest trade partner for virtually all east Asian and southeast Asian countries. It is the leading economy in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and has applied to become part of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), both large, Asia focused regional trade and investment arrangements. India walked out of the RCEP and shows no signs of exploring the CPTPP membership. Without a strong economic pillar to buttress its political and security profile, India is unlikely to leverage its large GDP in 2047 to achieve greater influence in its own extended neighbourhood.

The next two decades must see the formulation and execution of a strategy which denies China its ambition to be the dominant power in Asia. India is the only country which has the potential to match China in terms of area, population, economic potential and scale, military and force projection capabilities and significant scientific and technological capabilities. Most countries in Asia and beyond recognise this and hope that India will step up to the plate. But India is seen as a reluctant partner.

India cannot aspire to a larger regional role in Asia, much less the world, unless it gets its own periphery right. It must take the lead in regional economic integration of South Asia. Before becoming “a driver of global economic growth”, it should become the engine of growth for all its south Asian neighbours, including Pakistan. The self-confidence that it displays in pursuing its global ambitions must first be directed towards knitting its neighbours together in a dense web of interdependencies. Here the very asymmetry of all round power that India enjoys vis-à-vis all its neighbours in the subcontinent is an asset. If India were to open its markets to all its neighbours, allowing access to its large and expanding market to whatever they produce and sell, this would be a tiny fraction of the total volume of India’s trade. If India were to become the transit country of choice for its neighbours to trade among themselves or with the outside world there would hardly be any load on India’s rapidly expanding transport network. India could also encourage two-way investment in the region, creating mutual stakes in each other’s prosperity.

South Asia is also a single ecological space, sharing mountains, forests, rivers and the seas. An effective response to the twin challenges of climate change and ecological degradation is possible only through collaborative efforts of all the south Asian countries.

India can indeed become a “magnet for global talent, trade and capital”, but this requires more liberal visa policies, less restrictive employment conditions for foreign talent and opening up the country to a flourishing exchange of scholars, students and civil society communities. Security imperatives act as a dampener on such mutually beneficial international exchanges. India’s ambition to emerge as an intellectual hub is not compatible with security-driven barriers on such exchanges.

The approach paper sets the goal for India to be “an inclusive and democratic development role model”. India’s influence will be not determined only by the raw sinews of its power, but more effectively by the power of its example. India has been admired across the world as a successful example of a multiethnic, multireligious, multilingual and multicultural plural democracy. It is a vibrant and living example of democracy being not only compatible with development but, in a real sense, ensuring that development stays focused on the empowerment of the people rather than the state which must remain accountable to them.

The goal of India’s external engagement must be to create and sustain an external environment conducive to enhancing the welfare of the people. India needs a much larger corps of skilled negotiators, combining domain knowledge with diplomatic acumen. Major events such as the 2023 G20 summit are important. They showcase India’s accomplishments and manifest the country’s enhanced international profile and status. Their outcomes create opportunities for India to advance its interests in several fields. However, opportunities can translate into substantive benefits only in the negotiating processes which follow away from the public glare. India needs to be fully represented in these negotiating forums to uphold the country’s interests. There are simply not enough trained and experienced negotiators to represent India at such fora. For shaping the future global political and economic landscape, this human resource constraint must be addressed urgently.

We are living in a world where the salience of cross-national and truly global challenges is increasing relentlessly. Whether it is climate change or public health challenges such as pandemics, nuclear proliferation or cyber security, regulation of space-based assets or artificial intelligence, they all demand global and collaborative responses delivered through multilateral processes and empowered international governance institutions. Without a sense of common humanity and international solidarity, multilateralism will not work. This is where India could play the role of “a catalyst for dialogue and peace”, which the NITI Aayog paper refers to, by drawing upon its unmatched record of multilateral activism and contribution to peace-keeping. Representing the concerns and interests of the Global South would add heft to India’s global role. It is important to seek permanent membership of the UN Security Council, despite the odds, because this remains the marker of great power status.

Indian democracy has demonstrated its success in managing immense diversity. The people of India are innately cosmopolitan and comfortable as global citizens. These attributes may be more consequential in charting its trajectory to great power status in 2047.

Shyam Saran, former foreign secretary

efforts-for-military-modernisation-in-india-by-2047

Sun Aug 11 10:33:15 IST 2024

MILITARY MODERNISATION

I LOOK BACK with pride on the day in 1962 when I joined my first squadron at Ambala. It was a welcoming sight to see half a dozen shining Hunters neatly parked on the tarmac. Will I get a chance to fly those was the first question that came up on my mind. The Hunter-56 was one of the fastest fighter planes of that time in the IAF. My training to get operational on the aircraft went on at a slow pace and often we faced spare parts crunch. (No such difficulties exist in the IAF these days).

Post the 1962 war with China, there was a sense of fatigue all around. Yet, the attitude was positive―wondering about the next round. From then on, our military changed course steadily in the ways that they were organised, equipped, trained and fought. The 1965 war came a bit too soon―we were woefully short on military hardware and munitions. Our tactics were ancient, our aircraft lacked sensors and we had never even heard of Electronic Warfare Suit. My first air-combat was totally visual and our basic communication system gave me trouble.

In the 1970s, the government struggled to get the economy in order. The Pakistanis had the US supplied F-104 fully operational, whereas the MIG-21s of the IAF were newly inducted and their numbers were small. Our military fought gallantly in the 1971 war, defeated the Pakistanis and liberated Bangladesh.

In the mid 1990s, India changed gears on all fronts. Science and technology were given due space and importance. Yet, India remained a major importer of weapons. In the 2000s, the nation was yet to absorb the importance of self-reliance. Lack of skill combined with the urge to get government jobs made our work-force ineffective. Manufacturing sector was not given due importance. Probably it was the right time for the government to spell out its strategy of atmanirbhartha (self-reliance).

In a couple of decades, the Indian manufacturing machinery will be well established to cover the military segment as well. A positive connect has been established between the PSUs and the private sector to work on defence projects. This may encourage foreign designs and their production facilities making a back-door entry into the private sector. But we expect atmanirbhartha to stabilise gradually. It is necessary to ensure seamless integration of work between PSUs, the Defence Research and Development Organisation, military engineering facilities like Air Force BRDs (base repair depots), naval dockyards, EME (electronics and mechanical engineers) workshops and the like.

The military taking on repair and production was initiated in the 1960s to cope with the lack of suitable facilities or capacity in the private sectors or PSUs. These decisions were taken during the early days of industrialisation. A large number of civilian employees work in the repair/refurbish and production facilities headed by the military. To improve the overall output and quality, we could consider ‘civilianising’ some of these military engineering establishments. That could help in reducing the number of men in uniform.

The Indian military is man-power intensive. Their teeth-to-tail ratio is poor compared with western countries. The western military calls themselves as ‘expeditionary force’―the US alone has about 1.33 million men and women in uniform with a global commitment. India, on the other hand, has 1.4 million uniformed personnel, with the single objective to defend our country. There is scope to keep Indian military lean and mean. A target to keep manpower under a million would be worth exploring.

By 2047, India’s GDP is expected to reach $30 trillion. Besides weapon systems, there would be a compelling need to induct modern material handling equipment and advanced integrated logistics management. The military should avoid using the term ‘technology’ in a loose sense. They need to specify technology in detail for application in a specified area, the purpose and functional objective.

Tri-service integration would call for wider usage of weapon systems by the three services. A soldier in the field should be able to directly talk to fighter jets in the sky and guide them to the target. It should be feasible to take control of a missile launched from air by a ship or a tank in the battlefield. This calls for integration at all levels and groups of the military. Command, control, communication, computers and intelligence would commonly be shared by all the combat forces on a specific mission. We expect sensor-to-shooter time to compress to seconds from the current standard of minutes or even hours. If this can be done, there is a possibility that we can pull out troops from a few inhospitable areas. We need to find technology solutions to monitor in all-weather conditions and avoid placing troops 24x7. We expect global peace-keeping will take greater importance than defending one’s own territory. Over the next two decades, we expect multiple countries to get involved in joint planning and execution to prevent local wars. This would call for aero-space effort for movement and towards launching operations that would impose considerable stress on command, control and communication among nations.

India also wants to enhance its interest and capabilities in space which is most exciting. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Japanese Space Exploration Agency have joined hands on the Chandrayaan-4 mission. The Indian lander design will be able to deliver 350kg payload on the moon’s south pole. The SPADEX docking experiment by ISRO will have three crew on board to work out modalities for future experiments. Besides, ISRO will collaborate with NASA in developing and operating space stations for commercial purposes.

Other than space, the altitude band of 20km to 100km termed near-space holds extraordinary interest. This band will have the effect of gravity and the air will be too thin for jet engines to function. Most of the communication satellites operate in the near-space zone and such networks are essential to support space programmes. NASA has already established near-space network that is essential for communication between earth and space. India would need to create a suitable network for this. It is also feasible that a manned or unmanned combat aircraft to be placed in near-earth orbit to be called up to perform missions on earth at very short notice.

Many uncertainties prevail when we explore programmes that should be in place 20 years from now. India could not predict disasters like Covid-19 or the twists and turns in international relations, like the Ukraine and Gaza wars. And there have been surprises like the evolution of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), which India missed. The changes in our defence acquisition process were essentially a blow to the existing procurement chain. But it will take a long time for atmanirbhartha to bring the benefit to India, which badly lacks the knowledge of the art of design, know-hows and know-whys. These can accumulate only with experience that can take years.

To overcome current deficiencies in indigenous capabilities, many defence manufacturers, in the private and public sector, collaborate with design and production facilities abroad. In effect, critical work packages are being outsourced, but the cost risks are taken by Indian establishments. But it is not unusual. The US defence department has funded development programmes with the UK, France, Sweden and Israel and their defence industries. Of course, those partnerships are between institutions with near-equal capabilities. We sincerely hope that our own capabilities improve substantially. We have not been able to overcome the problems in developing an indigenous jet engine or operationalise UAVs that have been under design and development at the DRDO for the last 25 years.

Relatively, India’s space programmes have done better. ISRO and NASA are cooperating on developing a synthetic aperture radar. India runs space collaborative agreements with 61 countries and five multilateral organisations, which are moving smoothly.

Air Chief Marshal S.Krishnaswamy (retd), former chief of air staff

indian-economy-expected-growth-and-developments-by-2047

Sat Aug 10 16:28:14 IST 2024

ECONOMY

ON AUGUST 15, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a long-term view of the Indian economy by outlining an ambitious vision―India to be a developed economy by 2047. The last time an Indian prime minister had outlined a long-term vision was in 1956 when the ambitious, unrealistic, insular and disastrous second Five-Year Plan was unveiled for India’s futuristic development (a state directed investment plan later christened as the Nehru-Mahalanobis licence raj model).

This Five-Year Plan was to bring in more curtailment of economic freedom, a ‘plan’ which ended with the extinguishing of both economic and political freedom with the announcement of the Emergency in 1975. Six years earlier, in 1969, Bank nationalisation was introduced; and by 1991, India was in a severe debt crisis, pledging gold to the IMF. The year also marked the beginning of a strong reversal of the past―economic reforms and economic growth, and the dismantling of the licence raj model was to be the new future of the Indian economy.

That new and productive future is the essence of Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat. It has its deficiencies as it is currently implemented―it is hoped that the ambition will correct the current economic policy mistakes. The determinants of growth suggest that the 2047 goals are realistic.

At the time the vision was outlined, the BJP had just recorded its second straight big victory in the elections in Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state. The Indian economy had also recovered strongly from the Covid shock. Although there was great uncertainty about India’s expected growth rate over the next 25 years at that time, that uncertainty is less today. For the third year running, India has recorded the fastest GDP growth rate among the world economies (upwards of 7.5 per cent a year) and the IMF estimates India will retain the top spot at least until 2029.

But what does it mean to be a developed economy? An essential feature is the prevalence of political and economic freedom. Absence of poverty is another necessary attribute. India has eliminated extreme poverty, but according to the lower middle income line, we have approximately the same level of poverty (10 to 20 per cent) as the most developed and richest economy, the US, has at its own poverty line. The obvious point here is that per capita income is the best summary statistic for defining a developed or rich economy. It has its drawbacks, all indices do. But to paraphrase what Winston Churchill said on democracy, it is the best measure that we have.

And that is what the Aam Aurat around the world has accepted as a definition of whether a country is developed or not. In January 2023, I was invited by NITI Aayog to talk to government officials about the definition and prospects of India being a developed economy by 2047. That request led to a search for a country which was not “developed” earlier but became developed over time. In 1996, South Korea was invited to be a member of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), a signal that its level of per capita income was befitting of a developed country. The South Korea reference benchmark has now also been used by the World Bank.

In 1996, South Korea had a per capita income level of 19,411 PPP 2017 dollars (the purchasing power parity of the won per dollar at the GDP level in 2017). The median income of an advanced economy was PPP$ 48,000 and the 10th percentile economy was South Korea (the value in a set of data that describes the point below which 10 per cent of the data falls). The two poorest rich economies were Latvia (PPP$ 9,186) and Lithuania (PPP$ 10,510). The fifth percentile per capita income level in 1996 belonged to the Slovak Republic (PPP$ 15,664). In 2023, India’s per capita income level was PPP$ 7,640.

We can now attempt to make an educated ‘guess estimate’ of what it would take for India to be considered a developed economy by 2047. The calculation is straightforward―an annual per capita growth rate of 3.1 per cent over the next 24 years will take India from 7,640 to 15,664 (Slovak Republic); an annual growth rate of 3.9 per cent will take it to 19,411 (South Korea).

How realistic is the possibility of per capita income rising at an average annual growth rate of at least 3.1 per cent? Between 1991 and 2023, India’s per capita growth rate averaged 4 per cent a year. It is well known (convergence, possibilities of a middle income slowdown) that the future will not be a replica of the past! But it does provide a guidance estimate; more evidence is needed about India growing at a minimum of 3.1 per cent per capita per year to achieve developed country status by 2047.

A World Bank publication, South Asia Development Update, 2024, uses the example of South Korea’s economic performance during its 1960-1980 growth phase as an “illustration” of how difficult it will be for South Asian countries, especially India, to replicate Korea’s long-term growth performance. The document provides evidence on the important parameters of employment and productivity growth.

“As an example, consider the Republic of Korea, which in the 1960s had per capita incomes that resembled those in 2022 of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. The convergence of the Republic of Korea’s per capita income toward those in advanced economies, completed by 1987, was marked by a combination of labour productivity growth and increases in its employment ratio. Thus, between 1960 and 1980, labour productivity growth averaged 5 per cent a year and the employment ratio increased on average by 0.4 percentage points a year”.

Korean development pattern is a high standard for all countries, and as per the guidance of the World Bank document, it is useful to compare India’s development indicators with that of Korea. Our first “informative” test about India is to compare productivity growth in Korea from 1960 to 1980 and India from 1999-2000 to 2022-2023. Regarding Korea, Penn World Tables (PWT) records its total factor productivity (TFP) growth for 21 years (1960-1980) at an average of 1.39 per cent a year. For India, for the 21 years (1999-2019), India’s TFP growth was near identical at 1.36 per cent. The results for labour productivity growth are also broadly comparable. Korea 6.1 per cent a year and India 5.3 per cent a year.

Further, Korea’s female labour force participation rate (LFPR) under 25 years of age in 1984 (the year when it had the same per capita GDP level as India in 2022-2023) was 41.7 per cent, and the aggregate average LFPR was 63 per cent. India’s LFPR according to the usual status definition: female LFPR 41.9 per cent and aggregate LFPR 65.1 per cent in 2022-2023.

The results are pleasantly “shocking” since the accepted wisdom is that Korea, at the same stage of development as India in 2022-2023, was considerably ahead of India. It was not. The growth performance profile (the essence of developed country potential) for Korea then and India now is very similar.

The inputs to this performance are also encouraging. The march towards faster growth and developed-country income levels is a function of the determinants of growth. Capital formation is a big input. Today, the ratio of nominal investments to nominal GDP is around 30 per cent, much lower than the 36-38 per cent level during India’s earlier high-growth phase between 2004 and 2011. Will this not detract from the convergence path? No, for the simple reason that the nominal ratio misrepresents actual capital formation. Like all economic variables, it is only the real that matters. The real investments to real GDP ratio is today back to the levels which prevailed in the highest growth phase experienced by India. That level―between 34 per cent and 36 per cent of GDP―will likely generate 7.5 to 8.5 per cent GDP growth.

On human capital formation, there is a revolution of aspirations associated with female education expansion in India. This expansion is an important X factor in the march towards convergence. There are more women in college in India today than men, and women in STEM disciplines (about 43 per cent) are among the highest in the world (32 per cent in the US). Given the evidence on female education and STEM (two strong correlates of labour force participation), it is reasonable to expect that Indian female LFPR will reach at least 55 to 60 per cent over the next two decades.

Surjit S. Bhalla, former executive director of IMF for India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka

healthy-life-expectancy-should-be-taken-as-the-prime-measure-of-national-development

Sat Aug 10 16:17:40 IST 2024

TRANSFORMING HEALTH CARE

IN THE SONG of Solomon, Nobel laureate Toni Morrison wrote, “If we do not create the future, the present extends itself.” As we envision India’s health in 2047, we must take stock of our present health status, evaluate the progress made since independence, anticipate the changes in population health needs and health system capabilities over the next quarter century and draw upon the distillate of that analysis to design a path to the future we seek.

India is now the most populous country. The demographic dividend of a young population, available for the next 25 years, demands investments to keep the population healthy and productive as it ages. The United Nations Population Fund forecasts that the number of persons aged over 60 years will grow from 153 million now to 347 million by 2050. Can we ensure healthy ageing, where people will remain fit and functioning rather than frail and feeble? Otherwise, we will have a cascade of chronic non-communicable diseases and mental health disorders.

Health threats posed by climate change, environmental pollution and loss of biodiversity will escalate over the next quarter century. Our health system has to withstand this fusillade. Future pandemics are high probability events. Microbial surveillance must now extend across several species. New vaccines and drugs must be developed within the country owing to the fragility of global supply chains during public health emergencies.

There will be remarkable advances in science and technology, which will transform many aspects of health care. Artificial intelligence is just beginning to demonstrate its immense potential, from drug discovery to diagnostic and treatment algorithms. Molecular biology is opening up the human cell for engineered interventions. We must develop health system capability to critically evaluate and appropriately adopt such innovations. Besides advancing multidisciplinary research for discovery and development, we need an efficient health system to effectively deliver those interventions to intended beneficiaries. Our health information systems will have to provide accurate, representative and timely data.

WHERE ARE WE?

Many of our key health indicators have improved since independence. Maternal mortality ratio has fallen from 2,000 per lakh live births to 97 in 2022. Similarly, infant mortality rate has declined from 145 per 10,000 live births to 27. Total fertility rate has now fallen to 2 from 6 in 1950. Hidden behind these aggregate national indicators lie marked inter-state disparities and wide variations between different social groups. IMR was four in Kerala and 47 in Madhya Pradesh in 2020. Such disparities within India need to be bridged.

India’s life expectancy at birth grew impressively from 32 years in 1947 to 70.4 years in 2022. However, three caveats limit the scope of celebration. First, our life expectancy is currently lower than that of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, despite those countries achieving less rapid economic growth and also experiencing considerable civil unrest in recent decades. India did not achieve health gains commensurate with our rising GDP. Second, our healthy life expectancy (HLE) is much shorter at 67.7 years in 2022. There are several years of life where disease and disability detract from full enjoyment of a healthy and productive life. Third, there is a huge disparity in key health indicators across different states, between urban and rural areas as well as across income, education, gender, religion and caste categories.

India aspires to attain the status of a fully ‘developed country’ by 2047. Along the way, we have to achieve the health and wellbeing targets set by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of 2030. We did overcome the Covid-19 challenge through a concerted national effort. But attention to the health agenda has subsequently drifted, as evidenced by the Union budget of 2024 and scant reference to people’s health as a policy priority and public duty in the campaigns for state and national elections which preceded it.

How should we measure development? It is now widely agreed that gross domestic product is a poor measure of assured and equitable human development. It is also clear that wide-ranging income inequalities are a formidable barrier to achieving good health. Social disharmony hampers efforts to foster health. As we chart the path for a developed and healthy nation by 2047, we must create a more equal society based on commitment to social justice and active engagement of informed communities.

As health is the best summative indicator of success across all SDGs, we should identify HLE as the prime measure of national development, adding equity as a defining feature. A median HLE of 75 years by 2047, with the range of disparities between different socio-demographic groups no wider than 10 years, is a goal we can set ourselves for experiencing pride as a developed nation.

We have committed to achieve universal health coverage by 2030. This has two measures: financial coverage and service coverage. Financial protection is assessed by three indicators: out-of-pocket expenditure on needed health care, catastrophic health expenditure (usually precipitated by a serious health event) and percentage of population impoverished by health care expenditure. Service coverage measures access to needed health services across a variety of health conditions. India has much ground to cover in both these areas.

CREATING THE FUTURE

Political commitment to building a healthy nation must be demonstrated by higher public financing for health system strengthening and provision of needed health services. Public financing of health has stagnated close to 1 per cent of the GDP for several decades, despite policymaker assertions that the goal is 2.5 per cent. Out-of-pocket expenditure remained above 60 per cent for many years. While recent estimates show it has come down to 45 per cent to 50 per cent, both the World Health Organization and World Bank state that, for universal health coverage to be achieved, out-of-pocket expenditure should not exceed 20 per cent of the total health expenditure. Higher levels of public financing on health are needed from Central and state governments. Between 2024 and 2047, we must chart a progressive rise in public financing for health alongside a progressive decline in out-of-pocket expenditure. An early impact on out-of-pocket expenditure can come from reducing the cost of drugs and diagnostics, which account for a large fraction. Essential drugs and diagnostics should be available free at all government facilities. A pooled procurement system can become the norm for both public and private sectors for markedly reducing the cost of medicines.

We need to enhance efficiency gains for the money we spend on health by prioritising where we spend and the way we spend. Primary health care is the foundational basis of a well-functioning health system. Both rural and urban primary health care systems must be strengthened to provide at home or close-to-home services that are comprehensive, continuous, combine acute and chronic care components, are connected bidirectionally to higher levels of health care and draw on active community engagement. To provide advanced care for serious health conditions, district hospitals and medical college hospitals need to be strengthened. Private sector may be engaged to support and supplement public health care services, as per need and availability, through well-defined and clearly accountable pathways of partnership.

The biggest challenge to the delivery of needed health services comes from across-the-board shortages in skilled health workforce. WHO says that a health worker density of 44.5 doctors, nurses and midwives per 10,000 people is essential for achieving the health targets of SDGs, especially the service coverage component of the universal health coverage. From laboratory technicians in primary care centres to specialists in district hospitals, shortages are many. They are particularly severe in central, north and northeastern states. Doctor-population ratio ranges from 42 per 10,000 in Kerala to 4 per 10,000 in Jharkhand.

Prioritising primary care, we must train and deploy higher numbers of technology-enabled ASHA workers, nurses and mid-level community health officers. District hospitals should be upgraded to become training centres for undergraduate and postgraduate medical and nursing students as well as various categories of allied health professions.

All of these initiatives will have to be designed and delivered, while respecting the federal structure wherein our Constitution has assigned complementary roles to Central and state governments. There has to be energetic engagement of a well-informed community in each area. India@100 should celebrate freedom and good health in a democratised health system, which features people-partnered public health and digitally enabled decentralised decision-making at district level.

K. Srinath Reddy, former president of Public Health Foundation of India

role-of-human-capital-in-the-development-of-india

Sat Aug 10 16:16:13 IST 2024

HUMAN CAPITAL

THE PRIME MINISTER’S vision for a Viksit Bharat by 2047 is a mandate for inclusive growth, ‘Sab ka saath, Sab ka Vikas’. This clarion call implies that we will leave no one behind in our quest to become a developed nation by 2047, when every citizen will enjoy a life of dignity anchored by fulfilled basic human needs.

The focus of the media coverage of Viksit Bharat has mainly been on infrastructure development, expanding manufacturing (Make in India), and exports and skill development. However, the focus should be on the citizen because Viksit Bharat requires every citizen to be a Viksit Bharatiya. This vision has three aspects: economic, human, and social, each of which requires a rapid transformation in the next decade. We focus on the individual citizen and her family (household) to indicate the policy reforms required now to enable each transformation.

ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION

As per the World Bank’s classification of high-income countries in 2023, the minimum per capita income level was $13,200 (about Rs10 lakh) per annum. This would require income levels in India to increase about five times by 2047, implying an annual growth rate of about 7.5 per cent for personal incomes, which translates to approximately 8.5 per cent annual GDP growth. To achieve this, the organised sector, which generates only 15 per cent of jobs in India at present, will have to grow tremendously to provide high-wage jobs for about 80 per cent of the working population. This implies a growth rate of formal employment at about 10 per cent per annum. In 2023, the organised sector provided only about 85 million jobs for about 640 million workers in India. How can the organised sector expand and create high-wage jobs for a Viksit Bharatiya?

First and foremost, the jobs must come from the manufacturing sector. This requires a lot of public investment. We suggest that investing in 1,000 to 1,500 Viksit Bharat manufacturing clusters (in all 788 districts) with plug-and-play factory facilities, which accommodate about 200 SMEs every year, will create about four to six million manufacturing jobs annually.

Second, tourism hubs can be created in at least 2,000 locations (two to three in each district) over a decade, with about 750-1,000 hotel rooms each. This would create about 5,000 jobs at each hub, which is about 10 million jobs. This will require investment of about Rs32 lakh crore ($400 billion) over a decade, most of which will come from the private sector. Capital expenditure for infrastructure development always creates jobs, first in manufacturing and construction, and then in areas with increased demand for goods and services. The government is already ramping up capex in a big way. The third stream of job creation would be the government’s increased capex. Studies reveal that for an additional government capital expenditure of Rs10 lakh crore per annum, about one million jobs are created annually.

Further, private investment in higher education will also create high-wage jobs, as will investment in transport, logistics, trade, insurance, banking and health care.

AUGMENTING HUMAN CAPITAL

Three main demand-side factors will promote organised sector jobs in India: sustainability, new travel trends, and rapidly changing consumer preferences. These drivers of job growth will propel the development of skills, organisations and markets in India for the next decade, creating high-wage jobs.

On the supply side, there are three positive factors. First, the much-talked-about ‘demographic dividend’ is both an opportunity and a threat. On the one hand, it will lead to a rapid increase in the workforce for another two decades. However, improving the quality of young workers entering the workforce also requires massive investments in the education sector. Whereas primary school education is essentially the responsibility of the government, significant investments in higher and vocational education will have to come from the private sector.

Second, the growth of enterprises across all sectors in India is creating new market dynamics that open up investment opportunities, create jobs and satisfy consumer needs. Capital market and legal reforms are required to build a culture of trust that enables confidence in long-term contracts. A culture of equity capital must also replace traditional family sources of capital to unleash the entrepreneurial capacities of young Indians from diverse backgrounds.

Third, research and development, innovation and diffusion of new technologies must grow beyond high-tech sectors by fostering a Temper for Innovation, Creativity and Knowledge (TICK). Our education system has focused on structured learning for far too long. The contemporary landscape demands a paradigm shift: the education system must equip learners with a broader set of skills centred on knowledge acquisition, critical thinking, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation. By doing so, we empower individuals not only to thrive in the current landscape but also to shape the future through their ingenuity and adaptability.

Another important issue that merits serious attention is that only some universities in India conduct frontier research. Vast and consistent public investment in basic research is required to spur scientific and technological advancement. The obvious question is, where do we garner these resources from? We suggest that the higher education cess on income tax, currently about Rs70,000 crore per annum, can be ring-fenced and dedicated exclusively to basic research so that at least 400 research universities of national importance are provided significant research grants of Rs150 crore to Rs200 crore each per annum.

BUILDING SOCIAL SECURITY

Rising income and wealth inequality have been a concomitant of rapid economic growth in most developing countries, including socialist systems like China. The trends in India are no different. This has led to an increase in popular demands for income transfers and social security, which have been reflected in our political discourse over the past two decades.

However, these programmes do not coalesce into a comprehensive social security net that provides for basic human needs. Under current circumstances, it may not be possible for India’s Central and state governments to provide for the liberal social security benefits seen in developed economies, which typically account for about 20 per cent of the GDP and over half the government budget expenditure. However, it is necessary to provide a livelihood with dignity for every Indian (woman) head of household to ensure each member of her household has a decent, healthy and productive life. This would include following five basic human needs: nutrition, health care, school education, habitat and access to utilities (water, sewerage, waste management, energy and telecom). We recommend that about 2 per cent of the GDP be dedicated to this cause.

To illustrate this, let us suppose these basic human needs cost a woman head of household Rs1.32 lakh annually, and her household income is only Rs90,000. In that case, the government will provide an income gap support of Rs42,000. This is a reverse income tax, which flows from the government to each citizen/household that is below the dignity line (atma samman rekha). We argue that for a household of four persons, an income level of about Rs1.32 lakh per annum (Rs11,000 a month) is the minimum required to define the dignity line. For four persons, this is only about 15 per cent of the average per capita income of India, which is estimated to be about Rs2.10 lakh in 2023. We estimate that about 35 to 40 per cent of households would fall below the dignity line.

The finances for this will have to come from rationalising and re-targeting the existing subsidies for food, fertiliser, electricity, fuel, etc. Even after accounting for these existing subsidies, which amount to about Rs4 lakh crore per annum, additional resources in the range of Rs2 lakh crore will be required. This annual transfer of 06 lakh crore can be achieved over three to five years. A portion of this requirement can be met by collecting all corporate social responsibility funds (estimated to be Rs60,000 crore per annum) into a national pool.

EVERY BHARATIYA MATTERS

To bridge the inevitable outcome gaps caused by rapid progress, we require investments in physical and human capital, market reforms and policy coordination between the Central and state governments. The most immediate transformations will be necessary in the government itself. It will have to allocate adequate resources and craft new policies to drive economic, human and social development to build a Viksit Bharat with a Viksit Bharatiya!

Views expressed by the authors are personal

Singh and Tewari are former chief secretaries of Punjab

a-fictional-piece-on-the-past-present-and-uncertain-futures-of-an-india-where-the-bjp-has-long-reigned-supreme

Sun Aug 11 13:06:59 IST 2024

THE ZEITGEIST

HIS NAME WAS Siddhart Ghosh. In literary circles, he was known as Poltu. Poltu was a well-known name in the sci-fi cabals that served as an opposition to the BJP regime. It was Poltu who vouched for the story I am going to narrate.

It was 2047, the anniversary of the Indian republic now greying quietly. In 2044, the BJP has dismantled some of its history study centres and set up an equivalent ‘futures’ group. People were surprised because the future was an official anathema to the BJP. The future as an idea hinted at the possibility of alternatives and it was the plurality of alternatives that made the BJP uneasy. It was a world full of surprises.

The linear history that the BJP proclaimed behaved like a regiment correct and predictable―evoking all the right symbols. I remember a discussion with the futurist Rajni Kothari. He told me confidently in 2003 that not one party saw a future as a dissenting possibility. You won’t find your Sakharovs and Linus Paulings in that entity. He smiled mischievously. What froze time into a linear concept was an official idea of security which legitimised and brought into being the official idea of surveillance. What threatened security was the prospect of diversity. Diversity is swarmed with dissent and the BJP was obsessed with cleaning up the past. It saw itself as a rectifier of the past rather than a predictor of the future. The future―even the well-behaved future―was mainly the present interpolated into a different time. The BJP was mechanical, Poltu explained.

The first change in the regime’s attitude came with economics in 2041―a finance minister, now a greying liberal, received the Edward Goldsmith award. He had abolished the NITI Aayog a month earlier for supporting an expensive and outdated economics. Economics in India hardly had any sense of obsolescence. In that context, Poltu said, “Gandhi was a real science fiction hero” who talked of pollution, obsolescence and iatrogenesis as expert-induced ailments.

The BJP tried to twin security and sustainability together. Corporations loved the marriage and held seminars from day 1 denying the possibility of divorce. The BJP forgot that sustainability was not an affluent world. It anchored subsistence economies, not conspicuous consumption. The cracks appeared quickly. Worse, the twinning of concepts necessitated multiple histories and marked their way to futures thinking. Poltu added that, while the finance minister’s family was proud of his award, the official ideology of the party dismissed futures thinking as wishful thinking. Poltu noticed that whether it was thinking of budgets or history, the BJP was getting weaker.

What was coming next was an interdisciplinary disaster―a clash of knowledge systems which the government did not know how to anticipate. Ecology as a mindset did not share the mentality of the two other disciplines. It was a search for a futuristic common.

Already, movements were expressing new ideas. NGOs inspired by the Chipko movement were planting fruit trees all over the city. Poor eucalyptus was out of fashion. The informal economy insisted that ecology was new patriotism.

It was at this time that sociology departments revolted. Patrick Geddes, the founder of the informal city, became an icon. The university changed radically and became a natural den for the opposition. Ecological researchers quoted Geddes to say that the university was built around dissenting academies. The BJP desperately tried to brand the movement leaders as urban Naxals but failed.

Suddenly ecology and futuristics became key disciplines and a new syllabus had out-argued the party ideology. The BJP was shamefaced because it felt it had tamed the universities by emasculating the Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Other phenomenon began to emerge outside the country. The coconut cult, which looked Hindu, swept the country. Its high priests recited the 420 uses of the coconut. It was an attempt to show that employment could be generated where the manufacturing industry had failed. Unemployment became the bane of the regime.

Suddenly, Indira Gandhi’s books edited by Jairam Ramesh became bestsellers. Payment bookshops sprouted the new literacy. If nature changed, the body cannot be far behind. Mental health became a threat to the regime which confused it with law and order and a more subtle social science was called for. The regime was playing to the drumbeat of nuclear energy and genetics. Research had to now accept a social science built around the informal economy. Agriculture and a return to agriculture was seen as ethically healing. Collecting traditional seeds became a popular hobby―more popular than stamps. The farmers of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana hailed the university as a life-giving body. Ecology, Poltu said, was seen as satyagraha. The youth had found an answer. Poltu said it was strange that a new syllabus should be an answer to a new politics.

This essay is a fictional piece Poltu made me write. He lit his anti-ecological bidi and smoked his ideas in glee.

Shiv Visvanathan, Social scientist

a-just-equitable-and-inclusive-transition-is-essential-to-meet-india-s-climate-targets

Sat Aug 10 15:47:39 IST 2024

ENERGY INDEPENDENCE

INDIA STANDS AT the threshold of significant economic growth. By 2047, the country aims to transform into a $30 trillion economy, achieving the status of a developed nation and attaining energy independence. The nation’s GDP is projected to double from the current $3.6 trillion by 2030, and another 200 million people are expected to be added to the current 1.4 billion in the next three decades.

To support this growth and enhance the standard of living for its citizens, India is making substantial investments in energy, transportation and urban infrastructure. However, this transformation is unfolding against the backdrop of global climate change, necessitating sustainable, resilient and inclusive development strategies.

In 2021, India ranked as the 7th most vulnerable country to climate change and, in the same year, suffered losses of  $159 billion due to extreme heat. As many as 17 of 20 Indians are vulnerable to extreme hydro-meteorological disasters. A disproportionate amount of this burden is borne by vulnerable communities―49 per cent of urban Indians live in informal settlements, with unequal access to basic services, decent work and safe, healthy environments. The annual monsoons, on which the country’s agrarian economy is largely dependent, have become unpredictable, impacting food production and nutritional security, especially of small and marginal land holders.

TRANSITIONING TOWARDS CLEAN ENERGY

More than 745 million people globally still lack access to electricity. At the same time, energy is responsible for 73 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Driven by falling renewable energy prices, rapid transformation in the energy technology landscape, and climate change considerations, India’s energy sector is undergoing a transition towards an increased reliance on renewable energy. World Resources Institute (WRI) India’s modelling estimates suggest that India’s energy demand will increase three- to fourfold by 2047. India’s commitment to ambitious and progressive targets, like meeting 50 per cent of its electricity requirements from renewable energy by 2030, is significant for the global fight against climate change.

The exponential growth in renewable energy, increased battery storage systems and green hydrogen production in future will allow us to decarbonise heavy industries producing aluminium, cement, steel and chemicals, and the transport sector. However, the transition is unlikely to be straightforward or linear.

A system-wide energy transition will require preventing lock-ins to fossil-dependent technologies, managing the transaction costs, and minimising the pressures on natural resources. Simultaneously, the transition will also be characterised by increased decentralisation of generation sources, digitalisation of processes and increased market operations.

THRIVING RESTORATION AND AGRICULTURE ECONOMY

Rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns and extreme weather events like floods and droughts have burdened India’s food systems. From 2015 to 2021, India lost 33.9 Mha (million hectares) of cropped area to floods and 35 Mha to droughts, underscoring the urgent need to climate-proof its food production systems. Nearly 30 per cent (96.40 Mha) of India’s land is threatened by desertification, which is a critical issue as 70 per cent of rural households depend on agriculture for their livelihoods.

Sustainable agricultural practices such as agroforestry, multi-cropping, nutrient cycling for soil health, climate-resilient and traditional/indigenous crop varieties, soil health management, water management and renewable energy use can make Indian agriculture more sustainable and climate-smart. Crop diversification from rice and wheat to other crops like sorghum and millet, especially in low-yield areas, can improve nutritional quality and reduce inputs and emissions.

Initiatives such as planting native trees on farmlands (agroforestry), protecting or regenerating forests, focusing on watershed management, and promoting urban and peri-urban agriculture can address high urban food and nutrition demand and alleviate pressure on rural land and agriculture. An entrepreneurship-driven approach should also be considered to advance this agenda. The ‘Restoration Opportunities Atlas for India’ (developed by WRI) shows that over 100 million hectares of India’s total land offer a potential for forest protection and landscape restoration. This presents an opportunity as it can sequester three to 4.3 gigatons of above-ground carbon by 2040, while improving local livelihoods and incomes, securing resource rights, enhancing food security and nutrition for people in the country, as well as improving the flow of ecosystem services.

WELL-PLANNED, LOW-CARBON AND NATURE-FOCUSED CITIES

India is urbanising rapidly, with 34 per cent of its population living in urban areas as of 2018. This number is projected to rise to nearly 53 per cent by 2050. Cities contributed 63 per cent of India’s GDP in 2011, and this figure is expected to reach 75 per cent by 2030. Indian cities are already experiencing urban floods, cyclones, harsh winters, and oppressive heatwaves with increasing frequency and intensity. Beyond the loss of human lives, these events place severe strain on municipal infrastructure, livelihoods and the overall economic well-being of municipalities.

Several major national programmes are providing over $100 billion to India’s cities to enhance basic services such as clean water, solid waste management, sanitation and affordable housing, making them more resilient, sustainable, and inclusive. Additionally, India is investing close to $100 billion in improving public transport in cities.

Indian cities must employ effective planning to manage urban expansion strategically. This includes stronger financial management to ensure that national programme investments in infrastructure are well-designed, implemented effectively, and can help attract additional financing to address infrastructure gaps. Integrated land use and transport planning should be prioritised to maximise the value of large transport investments.

THE WAY FORWARD

Public awareness and engagement are key to driving behavioural change and garnering support for climate policies. Additionally, with a growing youth population, India will need to create nine million to 12 million jobs a year, both in urban and rural landscapes, while growing its economy. India’s low-carbon transition can create one million to three million jobs per year in electricity, manufacturing, construction and services, but potential workers will need skilling to work effectively in these sectors.

Enhancing disaster risk reduction efforts is critical for minimising the impact of climate-related disasters. This includes improving early warning systems, strengthening emergency response capabilities, and investing in disaster-resilient infrastructure. Community-based initiatives can also play a vital role in building local resilience and preparedness. Adaptation strategies are essential for managing the impacts of climate change and building resilience. India should develop comprehensive adaptation plans that address key vulnerabilities, such as water scarcity, extreme weather events and coastal erosion. These plans should involve stakeholders from various sectors and levels of government to ensure that adaptation measures are effective and inclusive.

A just, equitable and inclusive transition is essential for meeting India’s climate targets and fostering long-term sustainable development. Special attention must be given to vulnerable and marginalised communities to prevent the exacerbation of existing iniquities and to ensure that no group is left behind in the journey towards a sustainable, greener and more resilient future.

Views expressed by the author are personal.

Madhav Pai, CEO at WRI India

ai-is-going-to-make-our-jobs-easy-and-increase-productivity-but-is-far-from-replacing-humans-entirely

Sun Aug 11 13:08:11 IST 2024

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

IT IS 2047, in a remote village. A farmer wakes up and hears the tractor in the field. Sowing, harvesting, or replanting as needed. He walks around with his smart device that continuously assesses his crop health and places orders for fertilisers and plant treatment automatically. It also recommends where to ship the next harvest and what to plant the coming season. The farmer then discusses the recommendations with the device and decides the final course of action.

Later in the day, the children in the house sit with their personal tutor―a smart device that is tuned to their individual learning needs and style. The classes are created on the fly by the tutor for the stage of the learning, that day’s level of alertness and engagement, and performance in the past few sessions. The classes are periodically reviewed by a parent or an expert. When the farmer feels unusually tired later in the day, he puts on his medical consultant―a device that evaluates his vital signs and recommends the course of action. If he needs attention, the device will set up a consultation with a medical expert on a remote platform, which can also escalate to a human doctor. Any medicine is delivered autonomously by a drone from the nearest health centre.

Artificial intelligence is a generational technology. All the above scenarios and more will be made possible, in part, by advances in AI. These examples not only require AI but related platforms and technologies, such as drones and autonomous vehicles. AI acts as multiplier and allows us to achieve far greater impact with these technologies. AI started in the 1950s with the goal of understanding human intelligence well enough so that you can write programs to mimic it.

The goal was not to create thinking machines that would compete with humans. One of the pioneers of AI, Alan Turing, wondered whether a machine could act indistinguishably from the way a thinker acts. This side-stepped the question of what constitutes intelligence and gave a behavioural target for AI. Over time, the field has evolved. The technology used today by ChatGPT is quite different from what was used to build Deep Blue that beat chess champions in the 1990s, though both are called AI. Whenever a significant success of AI happens, tremendous buzz starts building up. This is true especially in popular imagination―recall the Terminator movies and fears of killer robots. Often, these predictions of what AI can do far exceed their capabilities due to a lack of understanding of the limitations of the technology. As we understand their shortcomings better, we typically scale back our expectations. This has led to many seasonal variations in the AI hype cycles and we have experienced at least two AI winters (a period of reduced interest and funding) in the past.

While the current upswing of interest in AI started about a decade ago, the advent of ChatGPT and similar models has boosted expectations significantly. Even seasoned veterans are claiming that the AI singularity, or the point where AI systems exceed human intelligence, is only a few years away. In reality, we are still trying to understand the limitations of this generation of AI systems. The correction to the expectation will come in the next few years.

Given the changing nature of the technology and our understanding of it, it is hard to predict what the future will bring in 20 years. The scenarios described at the beginning of this article are achievable in the next few years, at most a decade. The current state of technology is sufficiently advanced and can support these and more truly futuristic scenarios.

AI is going to make our jobs easy and increase productivity, but is far from replacing humans entirely. AI assistants/avatars/co-pilots will become commonplace―these would be agents built to help with various functions that a human is called on to perform. AI will then become an augmenting intelligence. The cases described at the start are merely scratching the surface. AI will scale almost every aspect of life in ways unimaginable currently. Language, for instance, will no longer be a barrier for communication, and Babel fishes (a creature from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy that allows one to understand any dialect) will become a reality. What will take time is the productisation of these technologies to the extent that they can be used widely and marketed in a profitable manner. Especially in the Indian context. There are many AI services that are being provided in India already. But we need to improve the digital infrastructure and access to technology to see impactful results.

For India to participate and lead the AI revolution, the government needs to improve investment in AI infrastructure and fundamental research. The private sector, too, should invest much more. The government should provide the right commercial and regulatory environment for this to happen. Many powerful tools are being built. They probably would change the way society operates, both in good ways and bad. Skills that were valued a while ago, that needed tremendous practice to get right, might fade away. Creativity would still be prized, but the ability to translate imagination into a song or into a painting might be much easier with AI tools. The capacity to produce very realistic mimicry will lead to erosion of trust in interactions over social media/telecommunications. Even a video call might not be trusted, and one might have to resort to more complex methods to verify identity. If your mother calls, put the phone down and call her again to ensure that is truly your mother calling! Law enforcement will become very challenging as will maintaining security of borders. More powerful forms of identity theft will evolve, as will verification methods. Like nuclear technology, both benefits and misuse of AI will abound. We need to develop nuanced regulatory structures that permit innovation to thrive while minimising the ill-effects. Given the versatile nature of AI, these will impact all walks of life. Just as a person from the 18th century would struggle to adapt to today’s society, we might struggle to adapt to 2047!

Prof B. Ravindran, Heads the department of data science and artificial intelligence at IIT Madras.

dining-at-the-edge-of-the-space-with-chef-rasmus-munk

Sat Aug 03 11:19:31 IST 2024

Consider this for a meal: rarefied albino caviar, golden in colour and result of uncommon mutations―eggs of the sterlet, a small species of sturgeon (fish) from Eurasia, native to large rivers that flow into the Black Sea, supple and velvety, plated with white asparagus and pastry bread. Another course has a mousse of lamb brains and foie gras served in a bleached lamb skull, garnished with ants and roasted mealworms with a drink containing bioluminescence extracted from jellyfish, glowing beautifully in dim lights. There is also a human brain on the table―the cavity of a realistic, life-size model of a man’s head―a theatrical spectacle for an immersive experience. These mind-blowing mouthfuls of food are central to Alchemist, a two Michelin-starred restaurant in Copenhagen. Helming this creative innovation is chef and co-owner Rasmus Munk, known for making Alchemist a holistic cuisine restaurant that normally charges upwards of Rs50,000 a head and offers 45-plus courses in six-hour-long tasting menus.

At 33, Munk has already aced his recipe for running a restaurant that is famous as much for its imaginative dishes as for its “politically charged” messages served on the side. At Alchemist, both visual appeal and earthy tastes are equally significant and neither can overshadow the other. Take, for example, the red cherry glazed lamb brain, poached and sliced surgically in front of the diner, or the pigeon breast served dangling from its feathered head. Even its location seems to be carefully picked―a relatively remote part of Copenhagen known for its industrial buildings and an old shipyard. Perfect plot to forge fantasy and food! Even the “two-tonne-heavy bronze” doors have a dramatic air about them, with “decorations reminiscent of Narnia or Middle-Earth”, wrote the World’s 50 Best Restaurants that adjudged Alchemist as the eighth best restaurant in the world this year. Inside, the dining experience takes place under a planetarium dome with graphic sceneries that change with the dishes served.

“The recipe for running a successful restaurant, I think, is having the right people working with and for you,” Munk tells THE WEEK over Zoom from Copenhagen. “A good team creates the content. The content is what gets the attention for both the food and the design. What makes Alchemist different from other restaurants is our approach to storytelling and creating an experience. We are looking beyond the plate, the design on the cutlery. The mouthfeelings, the textures, the sound, the activism―you try to convey through your dishes. In that way, it is more of an experience. I think I treat Alchemist more as an art form than a restaurant and that’s what made the difference.”

So, what’s next on his list? To cater to diners at the edge of space, at 1,00,000ft above sea level, and watch the sunrise over the earth’s curvature. Sounds too far-fetched? Well, the rough model of what the dining room would look like is all ready! Towards the end of 2025, six select guests―wealthy, discerning and adventurous―will embark on a six-hour journey to the stratosphere aboard Space Perspective’s Spaceship Neptune off the coast of Florida. The spacecraft in question is a pressurised capsule that will be lifted gently by a SpaceBalloon, and not a rocket. Each of the guests will wear made-to-measure designer outfit by French fashion house Ogier. And, Munk will serve them “an experience like no other”―all for $4,95,000 (Rs3.84 crore) per person.

“What now seems like once-in-a-lifetime opportunity could become a normal, regular feature years down the line,” says Munk. “Once we return to earth, this journey will become a historical precedent recorded in scientific journals on the what and how aspects of taking fine-dining into outer space. It will be a showcase for the gastronomical industry. We are at the brainstorming stage at the moment; they are still test-flying the capsule.”

So, how did this seemingly novel and wildly ambitious idea come into being? “We were approached by this US-based company, Space VIP, a luxury space travel group,” says Munk, who measures his words and uses a range of expressions to convey his thoughts. “The CEO of the company, Roman [Chiporukha], was talking a little bit about the food and doing a dinner in space and we both were quite excited.” What brought the chef and the CEO together more than food was storytelling. “Food is more like a medium that we use to cultivate our stories,” says the molecular gastronomist. “We are very much driven by the storytelling. And I think that was probably what really enhanced this collaboration because he is (Chiporukha) kind of the same. So we want to have some impact with this project and talk about issues that matter and not just serve a jellyfish dish in space. The publicity that goes into this project is quite enormous. Also in the next two years, research is going to be amazing because we actually have the financials to do it. This project is carbon neutral. So the flight doesn’t require motors or anything, which is exactly the way we want it to be.”

At the moment, Munk is in talks with different corporate partners to collaborate on technology, design and new ways of growing ingredients that can be taken to space. He is already collaborating with Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers on food for space travel. “We are developing the menu and the whole concept around it, like plates and designs, the way you will get your tickets, [how we will] transport guests from wherever they are in the world to the location, the experience when they come down to earth again and land in the sea, the way we pick people up in boats and provide them a novel boating experience. So all these experiences that are part of this expedition are very interesting.”

And, all you need is money (lots of it, we agree) to be part of this novel experience. No fitness certificates will be needed, except from those with heart conditions. “The only thing is you shouldn’t gain 100kg, so as to avoid any problems up there,” says Munk. “But it is not like a zero-gravity flight. This flight is accessible for most people, except for the ticket price right now. There is all the possibility for even someone with a bad heart to go up there; the restrictions are similar to ones applicable in a flight inside a normal airplane.”

Food, says Munk, will complement the experience of seeing earth from above and not take the focus away from it. In a way, it is exactly how he runs his restaurant―he promises an experience rather than just dinner. He has already taken social messaging to gastronomical heights, like the edible ashtray dish to talk about lung cancer or the rainbow-coloured seahorse popsicles to show solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ cause. And now he plans to take it to space.

Munk and his team are looking at serving a menu that consists of 15 to 20 edible bites. “We will draw inspiration from space exploration and innovations that took place in the last 60 years,” he says. “Even if we are not in zero gravity, we would like to try to work around some of the storytelling there is with zero-gravity food and try to approach that in a new way. For example, you use liquid salt and liquid pepper in space. We will try to revolutionise food and nutrition catering for space travel in the future. The team is also looking at addressing the issue of space junk by making some ‘edible satellite pieces’. So the food will be ‘conceptual storytelling’.

At the moment, Munk is working on the lightest material in the world―aerogel. Though not edible, “we are trying to make it edible as we turn it into a cloud,” he says. “And then the idea is to have a jellyfish protein that we use in the restaurant right now, where it glows in the dark. So, could you create these glowing stars on the cloud and maybe turn off the light in the capsule…. That’s one of the ideas we are working on,” he adds, with a childlike excitement. “One thing is for sure, though, we will definitely serve wine on board.”

Unfortunately, even if you can afford the trip, you cannot embark on it if you are vegan. “I think being vegan is not possible on this trip,” says Munk. “Because there will be too many textures we would like to create where we require some fish proteins or animal proteins that are hard to get in vegetables and plant-based products. We could accommodate pescatarians, but not vegans.” Will the food be served in paper plates, cans and tins or packaged in rehydratable containers and aluminium tubes? Nuh-uh. This is going to be more like a restaurant affair, says the forward-thinking chef. “We have the luxury of serving food on plates without anything flying around from us, but with very innovative, new servings,” says Munk. “It requires a lot of technology and finance to create it. But for six guests, it is possible.” And, 3D printed coffee cups will be used to make sure there is no spill.

For Munk, the biggest challenge right now is to find the right partners among the many who have reached out to collaborate. And then there is the execution part. “For example, turning the light off in the capsule, making a glowing cloud an edible aerogel, making a helmet that a guest can put on to create a zero-gravity effect―these things seem more challenging,” he says.

While convincing people to travel to space may not be a challenge for him, convincing his girlfriend to travel to India with him sure is. Munk has been trying to persuade her for the last two years. “I want to do it,” he says. “It is on top of my bucket list.”