Editorials - 30-01-2022

தை மாதம் 10-ம் நாள் (ஜனவரி 23-ம் தேதி, 2022) அன்று காலமானார் இரா.நாகசாமி (91). அவர் ஒரு மகத்தான மனிதர். தமிழிலும் சம்ஸ்கிருதத்திலும் கரைகடந்த புலமை பெற்றவர். கல்வெட்டியல், தொல்லியல், அகழாய்வு, தமிழ் பிராமி, வட்டெழுத்து, நாகரி, கிரந்தம் போன்ற எழுத்துருக்கள், பல்லவர் மற்றும் சோழர் காலத்துச் செப்புத் திருமேனிகள், செப்பேடுகள், நாணயவியல், நடுகற்கள், ஓலைச்சுவடிகள், சிற்பங்கள், ஓவியங்கள் போன்ற பல்வேறு துறைகளில் ஆழ்ந்த புலமை கொண்டு, 60 ஆண்டுகளுக்கும் மேலாகத் தனித்துவத்துடன் செயல்பட்டவர்.

1966 முதல் 1988 வரை 22 ஆண்டுகள் தமிழ்நாடு அரசு தொல்லியல் துறையின் இயக்குநராக இருந்தவர் நாகசாமி. ஆகம விதிகளை நன்கு அறிந்தவர். கோயில் கட்டிடக் கலையில் புலமை பெற்றவர் நாகசாமி. தமிழுக்கு அவர் ஆற்றிய மிகப் பெரிய தொண்டு எதுவெனில், தமிழ்நாட்டில் உள்ள கல்வெட்டுகள், அவற்றில் உள்ள அரிய செய்திகளைப் பற்றி தமிழ்நாட்டு மக்களிடையே விழிப்புணர்வை ஏற்படுத்தியதுதான். அந்தப் பணியை அவர் செய்ய பல உத்திகளைக் கையாண்டார்.

நாகசாமி குறித்து தமிழ்நாடு தொல்லியல் துறை முன்னாள் உதவி இயக்குநர் பூங்குன்றன் இப்படிக் கூறுகிறார்: “ ‘இன்ஸ்டிட்யூட் ஆஃப் எபிகிராஃபி’ என்ற நிறுவனத்தை தமிழ்நாடு அரசு தொல்லியல் துறை மூலமாக நாகசாமி ஏற்படுத்தினார். அதில் சரித்திரம், தமிழ் இலக்கியம், தொல்லியல் போன்ற துறைகளில் முதுகலைப் பட்டம் பெற்றவர்களைச் சேர்த்தார். அவர்களுக்கு ஒரு வருட காலம் கல்வெட்டியலில் மிக விரிவாகப் பயிற்சி கொடுத்து, முதுகலைப் பட்டம் வழங்கினார். பட்டம் பெற்றவர்களை, தமிழ்நாடு அரசு தொல்லியல் துறையில் முழு நேர ஊழியர்களாகப் பணியமர்த்தினார். இந்த ஒரு வருட காலம் படிப்பு வெறும் வகுப்பறையில் நடக்கவில்லை. மாணவர்களை கோயில்கள், மலைகள், மாதா கோயிலில் உள்ள மணிகளில் உள்ள கல்வெட்டுகள் என எங்கெல்லாம் பழங்கால எழுத்துகள் பொறிக்கப்பட்டு இருந்தனவோ, அங்கெல்லாம் கூட்டிச்சென்று, அவற்றைப் படிக்கக் கற்றுக்கொடுத்துக் களப் பயிற்சி கொடுப்பார்.”

பல்லவர், சோழர் காலத்து செப்புத் திருமேனிகளின் வடிவமைப்பு, அவற்றின் நகை அலங்காரங்கள், உடைகள், சிகை அலங்காரங்கள், முத்திரைகள் போன்றவற்றைப் பற்றி மிக நுணுக்கமாக அறிந்தவர் நாகசாமி. அர்த்தநாரீஸ்வரர் (மாதொரு பாகன்) செப்புத் திருமேனியை அவர் விவரிக்கும்போது, கேட்க மிகவும் ஆனந்தமாக இருக்கும். அர்த்தநாரீஸ்வரர் செப்புத் திருமேனிகளில், ஆணின் தோள் திண்மையாகவும், பெண்ணின் தோள் நளினமாகவும், ஆணின் கால் வலுவானதாகவும், பெண்ணின் கால் மென்மையாகவும் இருப்பதையும், திருமேனிகளில் உள்ள உடைகள், அலங்காரம், சிகை அமைப்பு எல்லாவற்றையும் எவ்வாறு வேறுபடுத்தித் தமிழகச் சிற்பிகள் காண்பித்தனர் என்பதையெல்லாம் சுவைபட விவரிப்பார்.

தமிழ் இலக்கியத்தில் மிக்க புலமை படைத்தவர் நாகசாமி. ஆதலால், செப்புத் திருமேனிகளைப் பற்றி அவர் விவரிக்கும்போது, அவற்றைப் பற்றி தமிழ் இலக்கியங்களிலிருந்து மேற்கோள்காட்டிப் பேசுவார். சம்ஸ்கிருதத்திலும் மிக்க புலமை பெற்றவர். அந்தப் பின்புலத்தால் அவரால் சோபிக்க முடிந்தது.

போளுவம்பட்டி அகழாய்வின்போது கிடைத்த, செம்பினால் செய்யப்பட்ட ஒரு எருதினைப் பற்றி, ‘கவின்மிகு சோழர் கலைகள்’ அல்லது ‘Masterpieces of Chola Art’ என்று, தான் எழுதிய நூலில் நாகசாமி கூறும்போது, ‘‘கோவைக்கு அருகில் போளுவம்பட்டி என்ற இடத்தில் நடந்த அகழாய்வில், உள்ளங்கைக்குள் அடக்கக் கூடிய ஒரு சிறிய எருதின் உருவம் கிடைத்தது. அவ்வூர் மக்கள், இவ்வகழாய்வு செய்வதற்கு சில ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்னர், இதேபோன்று மற்றுமொரு எருது கிடைத்தது என்றும், குழந்தைகள் விளையாடியபோது அது தொலைந்துவிட்டது என்றும் குறிப்பிட்டனர். இவ்விரண்டு எருதுகளின் உருவங்களும் ஒரு மரபை நமக்கு உணர்த்துகின்றன. முற்காலத்தில் ஊர்ப்புறங்களில் ஆண்டுதோறும் உழுதொழிலைத் தொடங்கும்போது, ஊர் மக்கள் அனைவரும் கூடி, ஒரு வயலில் முதன்முதலில் உழுவார்கள். இதை விழாவாக எடுப்பார்கள். இதை ‘பொன் ஏர் பூட்டுதல்’ என்று சொல்வார்கள். உலோகத்தால் சிறு வடிவில் ஓர் ஏர் செய்து, அதை இரு எருதுகள் இழுப்பதுபோல் செய்து, அவ்வயலில் ஒரு குழியில் புதைத்து, பின்னர் உழுதொழிலைத் தொடங்குவார்கள். இதற்காகச் செய்யப்பட்ட எருதுகள்தான் போளுவம்பட்டியில் கிடைத்தவை. ஆதலால், உலோகத்தால் இதுபோன்ற உருவங்களும் செய்துள்ளனர்” என்றார்.

கல்வெட்டியலை ஒரு மக்கள் இயக்கமாகவே மாற்றியவர் நாகசாமி என்பதற்கு அவரது செயல்பாடுகளே சான்று. தொல்லியல் துறையில் நாகசாமியின் சாதனைகள் குறித்து, பாண்டிச்சேரி மத்திய பல்கலைக்கழக முன்னாள் பேராசிரியர், கா.இராஜன் இப்படிக் கூறுகிறார்: “அவர் ஒரு தனி மனித சேனை. அவர் அறைக்குள் கிடந்த ஆசிரியர் அல்லர். தமிழ்நாடு முழுவதும் அலைந்து திரிந்து கல்வெட்டுகள், சிற்பங்கள், செப்புத் திருமேனிகள், செப்பேடுகள். நடுகற்கள், ஓலைச்சுவடிகள், நாணயங்கள் போன்றவற்றை ஆராய்ந்தார். நடுகற்களைப் பற்றிய அவரின் ஆராய்ச்சி பல்லவர்களின் சரித்திரத்தை மேலும் ஆராயத் துண்டியது. அதுவரை, பல்லவர்களின் வரலாறு, அரச மரபினரைப் பற்றிய செப்பேடுகள், கல்வெட்டுகள் மூலம் எழுதப்பட்டுவந்தது. ஆனால், நாகசாமியின் அயராத முயற்சிகளால், செங்கம் பகுதியில் உள்ள சாதாரண மக்களால் எழுப்பப்பட்ட நடுகற்கள் மூலம், பல்லவர் வரலாறு, சமூகக் கண்களோடு கூடிய வரலாறாக மீளாய்வு செய்யப்பட்டு எழுதப்பட்டது. இது நாகசாமியின் பெரிய சாதனையாகும்.”

நாகசாமியின் அகழாய்வு சாதனைகளைப் பற்றி தொல்லியல் ஆய்வாளர் சுப்பராயலு நம்மிடம் பேசினார். “செங்கம் பகுதியில் உள்ள நடுகற்களையெல்லாம் ஒன்றுதிரட்டி, அவை தந்த செய்திகளை அச்சில் ஏற்றியதும், பூலாங்குறிச்சியில் உள்ள வட்டெழுத்துக் கல்வெட்டுகளும், விழுப்புரம் அருகில் ஜம்பையில் கண்டுபிடிக்கப்பட்ட அதியமான் நெடுமான் அஞ்சி பற்றிய தமிழ்–பிராமி கல்வெட்டுச் சொற்கள், கங்கைகொண்ட சோழபுரம், கோவலன்பொட்டல் போன்ற இடங்களில் நாகசாமி செய்த அகழாய்வுகள் என்று அவரது சாதனைகள் பெரும் பட்டியலாக நீளும். பற்பல தமிழ்–பிராமி, வட்டெழுத்துகள் பொறித்த கல்வெட்டுகளைப் படித்து அவற்றில் உள்ள செய்திகளையெல்லாம் வெளி உலகுக்கு எடுத்துக்கூறியவர் நாகசாமி” என்றார்.

பல பெரிய, சிறிய நூல்களையும், நூற்றுக்கணக்கான ஆராய்ச்சிக் கட்டுரைகளையும் தமிழிலும் ஆங்கிலத்திலும் எழுதியிருப்பவர் நாகசாமி. அவர் எழுதிய ‘மாமல்லை’, ‘ஓவியப்பாவை’, ‘உத்தரமேரூர்’, ‘கலவை’, ‘கவின்மிகு சோழர் கலைகள்’, ஆங்கிலத்தில் எழுதிய ‘Masterpieces of Early South Indian Bronzes’, ‘Tamil Nadu’, ‘The Land of Vedas’, ‘Tarangampadi’, ‘Gangaikonda chozhapuram’, ‘Kailasanatha Temple’ (காஞ்சிபுரம்), ‘Mirror of Tamil and Sanskrit’ உள்ளிட்ட ஏராளமான ஆராய்ச்சிக் கட்டுரைகள் அவரது வியக்கத்தகு பன்முகப் புலமையை என்றும் பறைசாற்றும். நாகசாமி, புகைப்பட நிபுணரும்கூட. தான் எழுதும் நூல்களுக்குத் தானே புகைப்படம் எடுப்பார். ஆவணப்பட ஒளிப்பதிவுக் கலைஞரும்கூட. இந்திய விமானப் படையில் பணியாற்றியவர். விமானத்தில் உள்ள தொழில்நுட்பக் கோளாறுகளை அதிலும் ‘டைகர் மாத்’ விமானத்தில்கூட சரிசெய்வார். கடினமான யோகாசனங்களையும் அநாயாசமாகச் செய்வார். பல நாட்டிய நாடகங்களை நடத்தியவர். ஆர்மோனியம் வாசிப்பார். வரைபடம் வரைவதிலும் வல்லவர்.

முன்னாள் முதல்வர் கருணாநிதிக்கும் நாகசாமிக்கும் இடையிலான நட்பு குறித்து இந்தியத் தொல்லியல் துறையில் பணியாற்றிய தியாக.சத்தியமூர்த்தி கூறும்போது, “சங்க காலத்தைச் சேர்ந்த இடங்களைத் தெரிவுசெய்து, நாகசாமி அகழாய்வு நடத்தினார். குறிப்பாக, கரூர், கொற்கை, அழகன்குளம் அகழாய்வுகளைக் குறிப்பிடலாம். முன்னாள் முதல்வர் கருணாநிதிக்கு நாகசாமியின் அருமை நன்கு தெரிந்திருந்தது. தொல்லியல் விஷயங்களைப் பற்றி நாகசாமியிடம் அவர் அடிக்கடி ஆலோசனை கேட்பார்” என்றார். இதேபோல், தமிழ்நாடு அரசு தொல்லியல் துறையிலிருந்து ஓய்வுபெற்ற அதிகாரிகள் கூறும்போது, ‘‘கருணாநிதியும் நாகசாமியும் நல்ல நண்பர்கள். இருவரும் மகிழ்ச்சியுடன் மணிக்கணக்கில் பேசிக்கொண்டிருப்பார்கள். இருவரிடத்திலும் நல்ல புரிதல் இருந்தது” என்றனர்.

- டி.எஸ்.சுப்ரமணியன், ஃப்ரண்ட்லைன் இதழின் முன்னாள் உதவி ஆசிரியர். தொடர்புக்கு: cholamurals@gmail.com



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அண்மையில் காலமான தொல்லியல் அறிஞர் டாக்டர் இரா.நாகசாமியைப் பற்றி, மூத்த கல்வெட்டு அறிஞரும், தமிழ்நாடு அரசு தொல்லியல் துறையில் பணியாற்றியவருமான சு.ராசகோபால் பகிர்ந்துகொண்ட நினைவுகள்...

கோடைக்காலக் கல்வெட்டுப் பயிற்சியை ‘கல்வெட்டுப் பாசறை’ என்று நடத்தினார் இரா.நாகசாமி. மாணவர்களுக்கு வகுப்புப் பயிற்சி தவிர, பேருந்து ஏற்பாடு செய்து பல ஊர்கள், கோயில்களுக்கு அழைத்துச் சென்று, நேர்முகமாக ஒரு வார காலம் விளக்கம் சொல்வார். அதன் தொடர்ச்சியாகக் கல்வெட்டுப் பயிற்சி நிறுவனம் ஒன்றை 1974-ல் தொடங்கி, தானே வகுப்பெடுத்தார். முதல் ஆண்டு மாணவர்கள் நாங்கள்தான். தினமும் எழுத்துருக்கள், தமிழ் - பிராமி, வட்டெழுத்து, கிரந்தம், நாகரி எழுத்துருக்கள் பழக்கமாகும் வரை 40 பக்கங்களாவது எழுதச் சொல்வார். நன்கு பழக்கமாகிவிடும். சோழர் மெய்கீர்த்திகள், கலிங்கத்துப் பரணி, மூவருலா, சோழர் வரலாறு சொல்லும் கண்ணிகள், வேள்விக்குடி செப்பேடுகள், தமிழ் வருடங்கள் எனப் பலவற்றையும் மனப்பாடம் செய்யச் சொல்வார் நாகசாமி.

கோயில்களின் கல்வெட்டுகளில் குறிப்பிட்ட பகுதியைப் படிக்கச் சொல்லி எங்கள் மனப்பாடப் பகுதியில் தொடர்புபடுத்தி இராஜேந்திரன், இராஜராஜன், குலோத்துங்கன் என்று நாங்கள் சொல்வதைக் கேட்டு ஆனந்தக் கூத்தாடுவார். சோழர் வம்சாவளி, பாண்டியர் வம்சாவளியையெல்லாம் ஒப்பிப்போம். சில சமயங்களில் மெய்கீர்த்திப் பகுதிகளை நடுவிலிருந்து கேட்பார். பயிற்சி முடிக்கும் முன்பே எஸ்.ஆர்.பாலசுப்பிரமணியம் மகன்கள் மூலம் பதிவு அலுவலர் பணிகளை ஏற்படுத்தி, கல்வெட்டாய்வாளர் என்று அந்தப் பணியை உயர்த்தி, எங்களுக்குக் கல்வெட்டாய்வாளர் வேலை பெற்றுத்தந்தார்.

நடுகற்களைப் படியெடுக்க எல்லோரையும் ஊக்குவித்துக் கருத்தரங்கு நடத்தினார். முதலமைச்சர், அமைச்சர்கள் அன்புக்குப் பாத்திரமாகி நிதி ஒதுக்கீடுகளை நாகசாமி பெற்றுத்தருவார். மாணவர்களான எங்களுக்குக் கரூர் அகழாய்வில் வாய்ப்பளித்தார். கூடவே, அருகில் உள்ள புகளூர், கொடுமுடி, திருச்சி, நாமக்கல் பகுதிகளுக்கு எங்களை அழைத்துச்சென்று விளக்குவார். எளிமையாக எங்களுடன் பயணிப்பதும் உணவருந்துவதும் அவர் பண்பு.

ஒரு மாணவர் (அறிவுமதி) குற்றாலத்தில் திரிகூடராசப்பக் கவிராயர் குடும்பச் சுவடிகளைப் பெற்று வந்ததை முன்னிட்டு, சுவடிகள் படிக்க, சேகரிக்கத் தொல்லியல் அலுவலர் பதவியை ஏற்படுத்தினார். கீழ்த்திசைச் சுவடி நூலகமும் தொல்லியல் துறையில் இணைந்தது. ஒரு மாணவர் செத்தவரை கிராமத்தில் பாறை ஓவியம் பார்த்த பிறகு, பாறை ஓவியங்கள் ஆய்வுகளை நாகசாமி முடுக்கிவிட்டார். வரலாற்றுக்கு முற்பட்ட காலத்தை ஆய்வதற்குத் தொல்லியல் அலுவலர் பதவியை உண்டாக்கினார். பொங்கல் சமயத்தில் நிகழும் சுற்றுலாக் கண்காட்சியில் அரங்கு அமைத்து ராஜராஜன் வரலாறு, குடவோலை முறை இன்னும் பல கல்வெட்டுகளைக் காட்சிப்படுத்தி பொதுமக்களிடம் தொல்லியலை எடுத்துச்சென்றவர் நாகசாமி. மாணவர்கள் படி எடுத்த காஞ்சி அம்மன் கோயில் பாடலை மீண்டும் மீண்டும் படித்து, மு.அருணாசலத்துடன் விவாதித்து, அது காளமேகப் புலவரின் பாடல் என வெளிப்படுத்தினார்.

பூலாங்குறிச்சி கல்வெட்டைக் கண்டபோதும் கெம்பை கல்வெட்டைக் கண்டபோதும் வேலஞ்சேரி செப்பேட்டைப் படித்தபோதும் அவருக்கு ஏற்பட்ட மகிழ்ச்சியும் நெகிழ்ச்சியும் நேரில் பார்த்தவர்களுக்குத்தான் தெரியும். சிவராமமூர்த்தி, கார்ல் கந்தராஜா, நொபுரு கராசிமா, எஸ்.ஆர்.ராவ் எனப் பலரும் சென்னைக்கு வரும்போதெல்லாம் அவர்களைத் துறைக்கு அழைத்துவந்து சொற்பொழிவுகள் நிகழ்த்தச் செய்வார். திங்கள்தோறும் ஒவ்வொரு மாவட்ட அலுவலகத்திலும் அலுவலர்களாகிய எங்களைக் கருத்தரங்கக் கட்டுரைகள் படிக்கச் செய்வார். அவரும் ஒரு கட்டுரை படிப்பார். கங்கைகொண்ட சோழபுரம் அகழாய்வை மேற்கொண்டபோது இராசேந்திர சோழன் விழா நிகழ்த்தி, பத்மா சுப்பிரமணியத்தின் நாட்டிய விழாவை நாகசாமி நடத்தினார். சிதம்பரத்தில் திங்கள் கருத்தரங்கு நடத்தியபோது ‘நாட்டியாஞ்சலி’ விழா உருவாகிச் சிறப்புப் பெற்றதை நாங்கள் நேரில் அறிவோம்.

எல்லோரையும் நூல்கள் எழுதச் செய்து துறை அச்சகத்தில் அச்சிட்டு வெளியிடுவார் நாகசாமி. மாணவர்களிடையே கோயில் ஆய்வு உருவாக வித்திட்டவர் அவர். இராமநாதபுரம் அரண்மனை ஓவியம், செங்கம், அழகர் கோவில், ஸ்ரீவில்லிபுத்தூர், தஞ்சை அரண்மனை என்று பல இடங்களிலும் ஓவியங்களின் சிறப்பை வெளிப்படுத்திய பெருமை உடையவர். ராமாயண ஓவியங்களுக்காக ஒரு கருத்தரங்கையும் நடத்தினார். காசுகள் பற்றி அறிந்ததை உடனுக்குடன் பகிர்ந்துகொள்வார். காசுகள் பற்றிய நூல்களும் வெளியிட்டார்.

சிறிய 16 எம்எம் கேமராவில் மாமல்லபுரம் பற்றிய ஆவணப் படத்தை நாகசாமி எடுத்தார். தஞ்சை, கும்பகோணம், தாராசுரம் ஆகியவையும் ஆவணப் படங்களாயின. நடுகற்களையும் ஆவணப் படம் எடுத்தார். தான் எடுத்த படங்களைப் பெரிய அளவில் அச்சிட்டுக் கண்காட்சிகள், உலகத் தமிழர் மாநாடுகள், பொங்கல் சுற்றுலாக் கண்காட்சிகள் போன்றவற்றிலும் வைத்தார். குடந்தை ராமசாமி கோயில் ரகுநாத நாயக்கர் சிற்பத்தைப் பெரிய அளவில் பிரிண்ட் செய்து டென்மார்க் கொண்டுசென்றார். தரங்கம்பாடி டேனிஷ் கோட்டை, ராமநாதபுரம் அரண்மனை, திருமலைநாயக்கர் அரண்மனை, தஞ்சை அரண்மனை என அவரது முயற்சியால் பல்வேறு சின்னங்கள் பாதுகாக்கப்பட்ட சின்னங்களாக மாறின. கோயில், கல்வெட்டுள்ள பாறைக் குகைகள் என்றெல்லாம் பாதுகாக்கப்பட்ட சின்னங்களின் பட்டியல் பெருகியது.

நாகசாமியின் முன்முயற்சியினால் பழம் பொருள்களைப் பாதுகாக்க ரசாயனக் கூடமும் உருவாக்கப்பட்டது. கிராம/ ஊர்வாரியாகக் கல்வெட்டுகளை ஆய்வுசெய்து, படியெடுத்து அச்சிடும் பணியும் நடந்தன. மாவட்டம்தோறும் தொகுதிகள் வெளியிடப்பட்டன. நாகசாமி முன்னெடுக்கும் எல்லாத் திட்டங்களும் அலுவலர்களுக்குத் தெரிந்து, அவர்களை ஈடுபடுத்தியே மேற்கொள்ளப்பட்டன. குறைந்த அரசு நிதி ஒதுக்கீடு, குறைந்த அளவிலான ஊடகங்கள் என்ற கடினமான பின்புலத்தைக் கொண்டே தொல்லியலை, அறிஞர்களிடமிருந்து மக்களுக்குக் கொண்டுசென்றவர் என்ற பெருமைக்குரியவர் இரா.நாகசாமி.



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Coomi Kapoor writes: Small wonder that when Narendra Modi took the decision to install Netaji Bose’s statue, he wasted no time in argument. He made the surprise announcement after the graphic model was already prepared by the Ministry of Culture.

For over 50 years a succession of governments waffled over what should be done with the empty canopy at Rajpath after King George V’s statue was removed to the Coronation Park in 1968. The debate as to which great icon’s statue should be placed at the premier spot continued endlessly.

Most felt that Mahatma Gandhi was the rightful choice, though some Congresspersons suggested a memorial to Pandit Nehru and later even Indira Gandhi’s name was mooted. During Morarji Desai’s Janata Party rule, the CPWD commissioned sculptor Ram V Sutar to create a Gandhiji image in proportions which would fit the vacant pedestal and have high visibility on Rajpath. By the time the massive 16-foot-high bronze statue of Gandhiji sitting in lotus position was complete in 1993, the Congress was back in power. Some ruling party MPs voiced objections claiming that it was inappropriate to place the apostle of simplicity under a royal canopy. The CPWD changed its mind and handed over the statue to Parliament. Aesthetes complained that the statue’s dimensions looked incongruous in front of Parliament House. To support the argument not to install Gandhiji, some Left historians even floated a theory that the canopy should remain empty as a reminder of our imperial past. Small wonder that when Narendra Modi took the decision to install Netaji Bose’s statue, he wasted no time in argument. He made the surprise announcement after the graphic model was already prepared by the Ministry of Culture.

‘Undiplomatic Genuflection’

The deep division among retired foreign service officers over support to the Modi government has become public through open letters, blogs and newspaper articles. The Forum of Former Ambassadors has been around since 2020 but it is an open letter this month by four former diplomats, Kanwal Sibal, Shyamala Cowsik, Veena Sikri and Bhaswati Mukherjee — with 28 ex-ambassadors appending their signatures, including Lakshmi Puri, wife of central minister Hardeep Puri — which has raised the hackles of some of their former service colleagues. The article was a biting response to an open letter to President Kovind, endorsed by a hundred prominent personalities, including five former service chiefs, urging the government to take action against the hate speeches made in Haridwar and elsewhere by Hindutva elements. A former IAS officer, Avay Shukla, has joined the debate with a blog saying the forum’s attack on the distinguished signatories diminished the Indian Foreign Service. He termed it a “most undiplomatic genuflection’’ considering the vitriol of the language which is highly unusual among diplomats, who are trained to use measured language. Some wonder if the BJP’s IT cell had a hand in the draft.

Southern Option

By April the BJP has to decide on its presidential candidate for the July elections. Unlike 2017, when Ram Nath Kovind was a shoo-in, this time the NDA may not be as comfortably placed. It has lost allies such as the Akali Dal and the Shiv Sena and its share of elected representatives in states like Maharashtra and Rajasthan has fallen. The outcome of the UP Assembly polls will be crucial. One reported strategy being discussed is to field a person from Tamil Nadu. The state, with 39 Lok Sabha seats, is one of the most powerful states electorally and the NDA’s vote share is negligible. It is felt that if a person from Tamil Nadu is chosen, opposition parties like the DMK would be persuaded to back the candidate out of regional loyalty. In fact, Tamil social media channels have started speculating on names such as Nirmala Sitharaman and governors Tamilisai Soundarajan and La Ganesan.

Relative Adversaries

Akhilesh Yadav’s step-mother Sadhana Gupta and uncle Shivpal Yadav are firm allies, united in their attempts to further the political ambitions of their immediate families and cut down the influence of the SP chief. Akhilesh thought he had checkmated them by his masterful announcement that no one but himself from the extended clan would contest the election on an SP ticket. But his adversaries did not fall in line. Sadhana’s daughter-in-law Aparna and her brother-in-law (sister’s husband) Pramod embarrassed Akhilesh by switching over to the BJP. Shivpal, meanwhile, refused to merge his PSP party with the SP and his only concession is that he will fight in alliance with the SP. That way, he keeps his options open post-elections.

Editor’s note: The last item in this article titled ‘Not invited’ was incorrect and has been removed. The error is regretted.

This column first appeared in the print edition on January 30, 2022 under the title ‘Inside Track: Filling the Vacuum’. 



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Sandeep Dwivedi writes: There is also an entire book — Bookie Gambler Fixer Spy — on the behind-the-doors manipulations before the India-Pakistan 2011 World Cup semi-final at Mohali. The final, some say, was also fishy.

He said he was a doctor but at heart a cricket-lover. Still that didn’t fully explain his presence in Grenada’s St George’s, a one-street Caribbean island-town that was hosting an innocuous Sri Lanka-South Africa 2007 World Cup game. This shifty, middle-aged Delhi man was our nosy neighbour at the budget hotel which was home to many itinerant reporters at cricket’s big jamboree in the West Indies.

Most evenings he would invariably sneak up next to us. He started with eavesdropping on our cricket conversations but soon mustered the courage to join in. He was an unusual cricket-follower. He didn’t have those usual star-struck fan queries. Doctor didn’t want to know how Tendulkar was in real life nor did he ask if Ganguly and Dravid got along. His questions were direct: Who is going to win tomorrow? Who will top-score? How is the pitch?

One evening the Dodgy Doctor, feeling empowered by our group’s general acceptance of him, asked if any of us knew the umpires. That’s when a seasoned pro among us stepped in. He asked the man wanting to be seen as a traveling fan if he could name a few players from South Africa and Sri Lanka, the teams he had followed to this back-of-beyond cricket destination. He gave a goofy smile and tried to change the topic. Who do you think is better, Lara or Tendulkar? Again, he played the fool. Others too joined in, pointed questions about his trip to Grenada were being asked now.

Nervous by the attention, he took leave and was never to be seen again. The rest of the evening was spent listening to the veterans narrating stories of the many ‘Doctors’ they had met during their cricket travels.

In the betting/fixing world, men like ‘Doctor’ were called the ‘runners’. They were the eyes and ears of the shady syndicate that ran illegal betting rings. Their job was to collect pitch information, keep an eye on the clouds sailing towards the stadium and generally gather every possible input that would help the odds-makers.

The enterprising and adventurous among the ‘runners’ would walk the extra mile. They would approach players, umpires or even reporters for the nuggets of inside information that would be gold dust for the bookies and punters. A player’s limping walk at the end of a training session might be some insignificant match-eve trivia for most but in the betting world, where cricket wasn’t just sport but a volatile stock on satta bazaar, it was a tip-off worth millions.

On that breezy Caribbean night, a few hard questions flew straight at the face. If the strings of the action on the pitch were being pulled by some unseen hands, what was the point of sitting through press conferences, exploring every blade of grass to write in-depth analysis? If the outcome was pre-decided, pre-match punditry was a sham, a virtual con-job.

Was one actually informed enough to be the glorified reliable messenger? What if you were actually one among the many unsuspecting Trumans inside this remotely-controlled sporting dome?

There are times in their careers when sports writers face such existential questions. Like the other day when former Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor confessed of swimming with the sharks. He confessed to snorting cocaine with the fixers and taking money from them while insisting he didn’t cut a deal with them.

How times have changed, you thought. Remember the days when cricketers travelling to the subcontinent came with cans of baked beans and mineral water. Now within days of landing, they start rolling joints with strangers. You can have sympathy for the players representing bankrupt cricket boards, like the one in Zimbabwe, but do you really believe their story?

Cricket fans, it seems, have stopped caring. They have been so used to betrayals. Over the years, sting operations, confessions, match-fixing reports have nailed cricket’s Hall of Famers.

In 2000, a known South African fixer, Hamid Banjo Casim, told the King’s Commission, the panel probing the Hansie Cronje corruption case, that Kapil Dev was a friend. Cronje would confess that in 1996 it was Mohammad Azharuddin who had introduced him to a bookie.

In the mid-’90s, corruption in Pakistan cricket was brutally exposed by the Justice Qayyum report.

Cricket dutifully swept everything under the carpet. That ugly past has been conveniently forgotten, those charged solemnly forgiven. Even more recent events have had a shadow on them.

There is also an entire book — Bookie Gambler Fixer Spy — on the behind-the-doors manipulations before the India-Pakistan 2011 World Cup semi-final at Mohali. The final, some say, was also fishy. Sri Lanka’s ex-skipper Hashan Tillakaratne had asked an uncomfortable question about that game: Why were four Sri Lankan players changed for the final? Where facts start and fiction ends is difficult to say.

But in the wise words of A Few Good Men’s Colonel Jessup: Can we handle the truth?

Plus there’s the IPL, the world’s most popular T20 event that has a cryptic business model and mysterious ownership pattern. The league has proven cases of owners placing bets while sitting in the dugout, players more than willing to take orders from fixers, and unscrupulous administrators with dubious conflict of interest links.

Once out of curiosity, I went to The Indian Express archives to re-read a match report of a game that I had covered but was later found to be fixed. It was the India-South Africa ODI in 2000 at Vadodara. That was when South African skipper Hansie Cronje’s phone was being tapped by Delhi Police. Transcripts of conversation between Cronje and match-fixers were later made public. Subsequently, it was found that several Indian cricketers in that team too had links with bookies.

It was a tight game that South Africa lost on the penultimate ball. At one point Cronje seemed to be pulling off a miraculous win. Being sympathetic to the visiting team’s final-over heart-break, I had started the report like this: “Cricket is a funny game, they say. Ask Hansie Cronje and he would beg to differ.” In hindsight, the joke was on me. Such episodes don’t turn you into a cynic but they do make you sceptical. They teach you to look beyond the obvious and avoid being a fan-boy.

When stories of rampant cricket corruption hit headlines, reporters often get asked a difficult question. Is everything fixed? Clueless about the answer, I stick to a rehearsed routine. I make a poker face, take a pause, and give out a profound answer. “Not all,” I say. Hope, not conviction, being the basis of the answer.

This column first appeared in the print edition on January 30, 2022 under the title ‘Cricket’s constant crisis: The bad guys’. Write to the author at sandeep.dwivedi@expressindia.com



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Tavleen Singh writes: It should shame Indian politicians and policymakers that a government job remains the ultimate Indian dream in the year that we celebrate 75 years of independence.

Last week the disconnect between what our politicians believe India needs and what India really needs became painfully obvious. Even as Amit Shah wandered from temple to temple in Uttar Pradesh and Rahul Gandhi posed with his 117 candidates at the Golden Temple, student riots broke out in Allahabad and Patna. When protesting students were interviewed by TV reporters, they made it clear that it was the fear of being unemployed that was at the root of the protests that in some places turned violent. Railway stations and railway properties were targeted because the enormity of the unemployment problem became evident when 1.25 crore candidates applied for the 35,281 jobs that Indian Railways was offering. It should shame Indian politicians and policymakers that a government job remains the ultimate Indian dream in the year that we celebrate 75 years of independence.

Unemployment should be the biggest issue in the elections that are currently underway, but if you follow the current election campaigns, you will find hardly any mention of the unemployment crisis. The Home Minister chose on his tour of western Uttar Pradesh to try and get Hindus to remember that their interests were different to those of Muslims. And, that under a BJP government there had been no ‘appeasement’. He then declared that the election in Uttar Pradesh would decide the fate of India. Message? You better vote for the BJP.

In Punjab where Rahul Gandhi went after yet another mysterious trip abroad, he never got around to real issues because he had to spend most of his time calming tensions within the Congress party. But, in campaigns past he has concentrated on attacking Modi more than on raising issues like the alarming rise in unemployment. He appears these days to take his cue from the BJP playbook by allowing TV cameras to follow him on his temple tours and by trying to identify differences between Hindutva and Hinduism. It is a futile exercise, and the popularity of Narendra Modi will continue to soar until the Congress party discovers new ways to communicate what it stands for.

It is pointless saying that the BJP has more money. It does. And it is hard to think of a state election campaign on which more money has been spent than the BJP campaign to win Uttar Pradesh. For many months now we have seen Yogi Adityanath pop up many times a day on our TV screens in propaganda films disguised as news stories. The propaganda seeks to erase memories of bodies floating in the Ganga, and project him as the man who has taken the state from being an economic basket case to being an economic miracle. If this were true, there would not have been student riots in Allahabad.

The BJP stands by what it does. It builds temples, cynically divides Hindus and Muslims, spreads religiosity, hyper-nationalism, and hatred under the illusion of ‘vikas’ and ‘parivartan’. Since there are no challengers to Modi’s BJP, it can do what it wants. We need a challenger, and this can only come if the Congress party finally rises from the ashes of two humiliating electoral drubbings and proves that it is still relevant.

At this point I must clarify that I have never voted Congress and have only contempt for those who allowed it to be turned into a family firm. When R P N Singh became the latest ‘young leader’ to resign and walk into the welcoming arms of the BJP, he said it was because the Congress party was no longer what it used to be. Hard to disagree. Having said this, it also needs to be said that only if the Congress finds some way to revive will there be a real challenge to the BJP’s dangerous monopoly over national politics.

The only political party at the national level that can challenge the BJP is the Congress party. But, instead of learning from the mistakes made in past elections, it continues to remain in exactly the same place it was when it was swept out of power by the Modi wave in 2014. There is still the same old talk about the ‘idea of India’ being destroyed without any Congress leader noticing that Modi has made it clear that he has a different idea of India and that it is equally valid and apparently more popular.

If Congress leaders had discovered by now that our oldest political party cannot survive as an appendage of Sonia Gandhi and her children, then today it may have been in a strong position to challenge Modi. If young Indians continue to grow up believing that the apex of their ambitions is to get a government job, then seven years of rule by a powerful Prime Minister with a full majority in Parliament has changed nothing.

Modi cannot be blamed for all the problems they face or for the tragic reality that millions of young Indians have only one alternative to finding a government job and that is to become economic refugees and flee India. The Gujarati family that was found frozen to death in Canada recently paid human smugglers a small fortune to try and get into the United States illegally. Modi once promised to build an India from which young people would not have to flee in search of jobs. A promise that now seems forgotten.



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Johnson Odakkal writes: As a recently transitioned veteran, may I appeal to the zealous guardians of our culture, order and now even military, to consider channelising their high-octane spirits into other crying sectors of national growth.

In the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav year, and with India@75, the renovated Rajpath in the national capital witnessed military and cultural pageantry of a high order.

The parade included a highly motivated and vivacious Naval marching contingent led by the best military band in the country. At the end, Lt Cdr Aanchal Sharma, the Contingent Commander, shared with pride that their “hard work and tough schedule” of two months had paid off.

Getting selected for the Republic Day Parade contingent is itself an honour. Captain N Shyam Sundar (retired) recalls the time he led the Naval contingent in 2003 after practising “for 45 days in the biting cold months of Delhi”. “The hand holding the sword gets numb within 15 minutes. But we march 11 km every day for that final moment of marching past the dais.”

The contingents are required to be at the practice area before 4 am. Drill instructors then shake into shape those freezing limbs and reluctant muscles, bearing heavy rifles and unwieldy musical instruments, into harmony, matched to a marching pace of precisely 115 steps per minute. The key to that mathematically precise and artistically perfect movement is the martial marching beat and melody of the accompanying band.

The Mumbai-based Naval Central Band plays a repertoire of music forms, from marching tunes to Carnatic and Jazz, to popular folk and movie numbers. Often, they are the soothing interlude for the men and women from one intense practice march to the next.

Sadly, an out-of-context 21-second video clip of a transition schedule during practice, recorded by an enthusiastic and perhaps ignorant onlooker, became the news this time. To some, the crime was that the contingent was jiving to a Bollywood number, even if old and evergreen. To others, it was more fodder for politics over what songs to be played at the Republic Day event. The content and pace of the transmission confused even some veterans, till a longer 145-second clip was released. In the “breaking news” media environment, the damage was done, with no attempt to get the context.

Remorse or regret will not come from those who spread this. Instead, the drill coordinators will now add some more checklists, and tell troops that there can be no private or relaxed moments when out on the ground. Certainly, such moments are not what the highly motivated sailors, soldiers and air warriors of armed forces deserve, as per the critics. I wonder if these self-proclaimed guardians of Indian military ethos examine their own adherence to motivation, order and discipline. In the past, not so innocuous questions have been asked about the relevance of music and march in a modern military. In the current cyber and space age security complex, some wonder at the archaic traditions and military pageantry. Those are questions irrelevant to any military person. Music is rhythm, with beats, and that facilitates the precision that is at the core of military ethos.

As a recently transitioned veteran, may I appeal to the zealous guardians of our culture, order and now even military, to consider channelising their high-octane spirits into other crying sectors of national growth. May we allow the highly professional military of India to retain and build their faith in the nation they have sworn to defend. Please give them the faith that what they stand for is worth all their sweat and toil.

This column first appeared in the print edition on January 30, 2022 under the title ‘Hey, people, leave the band alone’. The writer retired as Commodore from the Indian Navy.



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P Chidambaram writes: If the Modi government has its way, we will have the Indian Beholden Service; the current states will be reduced to mere provinces; and service under the government will be reduced to servitude.

The three letters IAS (standing for Indian Administrative Service) have a magnetic quality about them even after 75 years of Independence. They represent social status, power, an assured income for about 32-35 years, pension for life, perquisites, medical care and, more often than not, job satisfaction. A rung or two below is the Indian Police Service (IPS). Nearly 200,000 young men and women go through a process of written examinations and interview to be included among the 400 candidates who are selected to the two services. The reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and, lately, for Other Backward Classes (altogether not exceeding 49.5 per cent) has made the two services an aspirational goal for millions of students belonging to the disadvantaged communities.

The IAS and IPS were successors, respectively, to the ICS and IP under British rule which had acquired the moniker ‘Steel Frame’. The members of the two services render stellar service. The popular opinion, though, is that a number of ills have crept into the services. Among the ills is that some members crave political patronage and the political authority is only too willing to extend patronage. The steel frame is no longer as sturdy and upright as one would have desired.

Rules Broken Merrily

That aside, the Rules that govern the two services are more honoured in the breach than in the observance. Take the ‘Cadre Rules’ which are now the subject matter of a brewing dispute between the Central government on the one hand and several state governments on the other. The IAS (Cadre) Rules and the IPS (Cadre) Rules were made in 1954 and are similar, but nearly every rule is violated in practice.
Rule 5 provides for allocation of members to various cadres. The method followed for many years was transparent, but inflexible. The method has been tweaked from time to time giving rise to questions and doubts, yet the allocation is reluctantly accepted by many candidates who dare not protest. Rule 7 promises that a cadre officer shall hold a post for the prescribed minimum tenure, but the rule has been merrily ignored by every party-government and transfers — abrupt, frequent and irrational — have become the norm.

Rules 8 and 9 stipulate that cadre and ex-cadre posts shall be filled by cadre officers and a non-cadre officer may be appointed to these posts only temporarily, but these two Rules have been violated so routinely that they have, in effect, been repealed. The worst violation is the creation of numerous ex-cadre posts equivalent to cadre posts (e.g. Chief Secretary and Director General of Police) and shunting ‘unwanted’ officers to hold the ex-cadre posts.

Physician, Heal Thyself

The steel frame is broken. There is worse in store. It will be dismantled altogether if the new amendments proposed recently by the Central government — and vehemently opposed by several state governments — are carried through. The first amendment is intended to address the problem of ‘inadequate’ number of officers deputed to the Central government under the ‘deputation reserve’ of 40 per cent. In the last seven years, the actual ratio has come down from 28 per cent to 12 per cent. The problem may be real, but the causes are deeper. Unlike in the past when officers vied with each other for Central deputation, why are officers unwilling to be deputed to the Central government?

Firstly, the toxic work culture under the Modi government. Secondly, the working conditions, especially the long wait for a suitable house. Thirdly, the over-centralization of authority in the PMO and the reduction of ministries/departments to no more than subordinate offices. Secretaries wait on the PMO every morning to receive instructions. Most paragraphs of the Budget speech are written in the PMO.
Fourthly, the arbitrary postings of officers (many remember the humiliating transfers effected soon after the change of government in May 2014). Fifthly, the gross delays in empanelment and promotion. The Prime Minister should first address these negative aspects of working in the Central government.

Assuming that the first amendment is motivated by need, it is evident that the second amendment is motivated by pure malice. It will confer power on the Central government, in “specific situations”, to unilaterally summon any officer to serve under the Central government. We know what the “specific situations” will be? The case of a retiring chief secretary of West Bengal who ‘failed’ to receive the Prime Minister at the airport and the cases of police officers who ‘failed’ to provide security to Mr J P Nadda are fresh in memory.

Alternative Solutions

The proper response will be to correct the negative perceptions of service under the Modi government and to explore alternative solutions. One suggestion is to increase the number recruited annually so that the abundance of officers will oblige the state governments to depute officers to the Central government. Another suggestion is to identify at the time of initial recruitment a small number of willing officers as ‘hard core’ and appoint them to service exclusively under the Central government (as was the practice in the IPS).

Under Mr Narendra Modi, cooperative federalism has long been buried. We have entered the phase of confrontational federalism. If the Modi government has its way, we will have the Indian Beholden Service; the current states will be reduced to mere provinces; and service under the government will be reduced to servitude.



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The finance minister must build on last year's call for the retirement of inefficient coal power plants - fiscal signals that will move the investment away from coal plants to clean energy and even consider a moratorium on new coal power plants.

India's ambitious 2030 climate targets and goals of achieving net-zero emissions by 2070 will need mobilising investments, developing technologies and scaling up manufacturing capacities. It will require transforming the economy. Budget 2022 must lay the foundation for this transition, with restoring growth as its cornerstone. This growth must be restorative and sustainable. The energy sector is key to this.

The finance minister must build on last year's call for the retirement of inefficient coal power plants - fiscal signals that will move the investment away from coal plants to clean energy and even consider a moratorium on new coal power plants. Investment in critical energy storage technologies will be key to the transition. Energy storage alone will require an investment of $35 billion to meet 2030 climate goals. The budget must provide incentives and risk guarantees to attract investment in battery storage, green hydrogen and smart grids. It must also put in the fiscal incentives to fulfil the full potential of rooftop solar and offshore wind. The budget should provide signals and incentives that will direct investment towards the environmentally sustainable.

Adapting to climate change and improving climate resilience must be as important as economic growth. The budget must guide investment away from high-emission unsustainable options towards green, low-waste and sustainable ones across sectors. It must recognise natural capital as an asset, building in fiscal and incentive structures that preserve and conserve it. The shift away from a linear to a circular economy must begin with Budget 2022. The budget should begin creating the structures that will sustain and accelerate this transition.



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The assessment will help GoI evaluate macroeconomic conditions better and articulate the reason for where the fiscal deficit should be, keeping investors and bond markets informed. Successive finance commissions, and the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Review Committee recommended the creation of a fiscal council, in line with global practice.

GoI is expected to chart a fiscal glide path in Tuesday's budget announcement. The pandemic makes forecasts of growth and fiscal variables challenging. So, it is the right time to create a fiscal council that will provide independent forecasts on macro-variables such as GDP growth and tax buoyancy, oversee compliance with debt targets and indicate a path of return. The assessment will help GoI evaluate macroeconomic conditions better and articulate the reason for where the fiscal deficit should be, keeping investors and bond markets informed. Successive finance commissions, and the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Review Committee recommended the creation of a fiscal council, in line with global practice. It will also bring transparency in the budget process.

About 50 countries have fiscal councils. A January IMF research paper, 'Fiscal Rules and Fiscal Councils: Recent Trends and Performance During the Covid-19 Pandemic', lauds their role in providing oversight that includes monitoring the use of the so-called 'escape clauses' that validates any breach in fiscal deficit. Almost all countries with deficit rules exceeded the limits, by an average of 4% of GDP in 2020. Debt deviations reached unprecedented levels. But countries with a good track record on fiscal rules responded more aggressively during the crisis.

India's fiscal rules, adopted from July 2004, targeted a fiscal deficit of 3% of GDP. Gross fiscal deficit touched 6% of GDP in 2008-09, after the stimulus packages during the global financial crisis. Growth contracted after the pandemic, and the revised fiscal deficit widened to 9.8% of GDP in 2020-21. The economy is forecast to grow by 9.2% in 2021-22, and the budgeted fiscal deficit is lower at 6.8% of GDP. Some analysts worry that an abrupt fiscal consolidation may stifle recovery. But GoI cannot totally overlook the FRBM targets. A fiscal council, comprising of professionals experienced in public finance, to keep tabs on public debt will help bring government finances to a better shape.


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In many ways, this Australian Open (which he won), encapsulates everything that sets Rafael Nadal apart — the fight after the frailties, the undying hunger to play on at 35, instead of spending his days fishing on the island of Mallorca, the inspiring ability to find new ways to adapt to different surfaces and younger opponents, and, above all, finding joy in simply being able to play tennis to date. In the second half of last year, a chronic foot injury after failing to defend his French Open throne inflicted a crushing blow to Nadal. Injuries aren’t a novelty for the Spaniard. He has had them on his knee, back, wrist, hip, hamstring and foot — each essential for an elite tennis player — through various points of his career and he believes this limited him from achieving further heights. And last year, as he went through another lengthy rehabilitation process, it emerges that Nadal wondered if the time had come. But like he so often does in a five-set slugfest that he so often wins — including the one on Sunday — Nadal pushed a little more in his quest to get back on court. This, at 35, an age by which most had predicted that his playing days would be long over from the wear and tear on the body due to his brutally taxing physical game style. But here was Nadal, back in Melbourne for his 17th appearance in the season-opening Grand Slam, proving all doubters wrong. More importantly, waving goodbye to his own goodbye thoughts from a few months ago.

And all through the ups and downs, the months spent recovering off court and the days battling on it, the injuries and titles, the doubts and the records, the one constant is the Spaniard’s ability to remain grounded and controversy-free. It’s something not many of his contemporaries, and indeed some of the next generation challengers, are able to do over a sustained period of time. After more than two decades on the professional tour, Nadal still talks about his gratitude for being able to play the sport, especially in the times of a pandemic. At times, he says, some things are more important than tennis.

Yet, tennis is the single biggest thing that continues to drive the champion. He said that in his post-match speech that he hopes to be back in Australia next year so it is clear a record 21st Grand Slam title hasn’t changed his hunger to play. And, of course, win.



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A controversy over the alleged purchase and potential use of Pegasus spyware reignited last week after the New York Times (NYT) reported that India bought the sophisticated malware as part of a $2-billion weapons package. With a Supreme Court (SC)-appointed panel probing the charges of hacking, the government officially remained silent on the report, though Union minister of state VK Singh hurled a barb at the newspaper, and the Opposition renewed its attacks on the administration. The issue is likely to roil the budget session of Parliament that begins on Monday.

Since a global investigative consortium reported in July last year that politicians, journalists and activists — including staff of this newspaper — were potentially targeted using Pegasus, the government has refused to clear its stance on whether the spyware was purchased. In Parliament and in the SC, the Centre has evaded questions on whether it either bought or authorised the use of Pegasus. This stand, coupled with Pegasus manufacturer NSO Group’s statement that it only sells to vetted governments, has fuelled partisan political attacks.

The charges in the NYT report are serious. The three-member panel set up by the apex court should take note of it and include it in the scope of its ongoing inquiry. A fresh petition has already been filed in the top court on the basis of the report. If the Pegasus revelations are true, it represents a serious breach of fundamental rights and a violation of the compact between a State and its citizens. Technological tools often operate in a grey legal zone, but the right to personal liberty is one of the foundational principles of a modern democracy and cannot be compromised. The snooping charges deserve a thorough and impartial probe, and the people, the truth.



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What Israel and India have achieved together since the establishment of formal diplomatic ties on January 29, 1992 is unprecedented. The relations between our two ancient civilisations date back thousands of years and the Jewish community in India is one of the cornerstones of these ties.

Jews have been living in India peacefully for generations. They never suffered persecution or anti-semitism. The welcoming Indian society is what allowed them to flourish and become an integral part of this amazing mosaic.

During the last 30 years, bilateral relations have matured in a wide variety of fields: health and innovation, agriculture and water, trade and economic activities, science and technology, research and development, defence and homeland security, art and culture, tourism and space.

Our relationship with India is no longer only a close friendship, but a multi-faceted strategic partnership. This is evident from the many high-level visits, including reciprocal visits by presidents and prime ministers. More high-level visits are planned for the coming year.

India is one of our major partners in the Indo-Pacific region. The areas in which our bilateral cooperation focuses on today are representative of Israel’s continuing interests in the Indo-Pacific as a whole: Overcoming the global pandemic, fighting terrorism, expanding trade, and addressing the threat posed by climate change.

Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Israel has coordinated closely with India on a number of joint ventures. We have cooperated in research, organised medical delegations, exchanged medical equipment, and arranged free women’s health clinics. Both countries have agreed to a mutual recognition of vaccine certificates. All of this provides a solid platform upon which we can continue to deepen our cooperation in health care and public health.

We have witnessed a steady growth in every field of cooperation, including defence. Israel was among the first to ‘Make in India, Make With India’ even before the ‘Make in India’ campaign began. We have also seen many high-level visits by Indian military leaders to Israel as well as India’s recent participation in the Blue Flag exercise hosted by the Israeli Air Force.

Both countries have understood that in order to be sustainable, this partnership must be nurtured from the roots and encouraged at the stage of academic cooperation. Beginning by bringing our students and academics together, we enrich one another and expand the horizons of our shared knowledge. Already, 10% of the foreign students in Israel are Indian and more cooperation is in the pipeline. Reaching out to even younger students, we will be sponsoring a bus bringing a mobile classroom to underprivileged neighbourhoods around New Delhi for the next five years.

Israel is the start-up nation, and we have so much to share and learn from our friends in India. Already, we have seen a substantial increase in business ventures between start-ups and tech companies of both countries. Green energy is another sector where we are proud to deepen our cooperation. Recently Israel joined the India-led International Solar Alliance. Together, our countries can play a major role in the global fight against the climate crisis.

Agriculture and water security are vital aspects of our partnership with India. What began over 30 years ago with the arrival of Israeli drip irrigation in India has evolved into 29 Centres of Excellence under the Indo-Israeli Agricultural Project with MASHAV. This is the biggest agriculture project in which the government of Israel is involved anywhere in the world, and it touches the livelihoods of millions of Indian farmers.

In the field of water, many Israeli-led projects have been implemented in India, the most recent being the flagship water project in Bundelkhand, Uttar Pradesh. To further strengthen our cooperation, we have appointed for the first time a special envoy - an expert in water resource management - to work with government officials and industry.

The task before us is to continue to strengthen and deepen our relationship and to tap the almost unlimited scope of our bilateral cooperation. Our young, fast-growing and knowledge-based societies and economies provide us with the human and material resources to achieve our bilateral goals. I can confidently say that the foundations of our relations are strong and will allow us to build upon them in taking our relations to new and unprecedented heights.

Naor Gilon is ambassador of Israel to India

The views expressed are personal



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The political view is that Budget 2022 will be an election budget as five states, including Uttar Pradesh, go to polls in the next two months. The economic view is that it is difficult to use the Union Budget to benefit the citizens of just five states, and there isn’t enough money to give the pre-2009 election farm loan waiver-equivalent to everybody. The direction of the government spends and reliefs are a manifestation of the core idea that drives that year’s budget. By all indications, Budget 2022 is going to be a helping hand budget — a budget that has proposals to stop the slide back into poverty of the newly non-poor population cohort and to help lower- income households in the organised sector find the money to spend.

India needs a consumption spend boost to continue the momentum to business created by the increased spend by the government in the pandemic years. The big push to capital expenditure by the Union government in Budget 2021 will begin to show its multiplier impact in the next few months. The next round of investments must be done by the private sector to take the baton of growth forward. For that to happen, consumption must be buoyant. But deeply stressed household balance sheets, according to the ICE360 Survey 2021, and rising inflation is raising concerns about the slip back into poverty of a fifth of Indian households and for another fifth to cut down on consumption drastically.

But the policy question for a 1.3 billion heterogeneous population is this: How do you solve for a country that has a per capita income of $2,000 (World Bank), but has more than 20% below the poverty line (Reserve Bank of India), some of the world’s richest people with over 100 dollar-billionaires and millions of mass affluent in the middle.

Those in the top 40% of households have increased their income and wealth. Revenge shopping by the rich has buoyed the luxury and high-end consumer goods markets. The mass affluent, most of who are in the organised sector, too, have largely kept their heads above the water. The middle 20% have suffered, but they have had some assets (gold holdings, for example) to fall back on. It is the next 40% that has suffered the deepest loss in income. For those below the poverty line, a mix of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and free or highly subsidised food, helped by the one-nation-one-card, have got them through the pandemic without starvation. It is the quintile of population that is just above the poor that will slip back into poverty without some intervention. Also called the missing middle, this comprises the first-generation migrant who is just at the edge of survival, the low-income earners in the organised sector and the vast army of unorganised workers who need the helping hand badly this year.

There are two things the Union Budget 2022 can do to extend targeted help to the vulnerable sections and to give an income boost to those whose purchasing power has gone down due to lower incomes, higher medical costs and inflation. And one way to get those with the money to secure their savings with the government, which needs it to fund its deficit.

One, for the organised sector workers who are a part of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), give a two-year contribution holiday to those who want to avail it. EPFO contributions (12% of basic salary by the employee matched by the employer) are voluntary after a threshold of 15,000 a month of income. However, most offices make it a mandatory cut. The government can advise firms to offer this option to eligible employees. However, the employer’s contribution continues. If the annual employee contribution is about 62,000 crore, and even half the people take this option, it is almost 30,000 crore of additional purchasing power in the wallets of the organised sector workers. This might get deployed in a mix of debt repayment and consumption. In May 2021, the employee EPFO contribution reduction by two percentage points from 12% to 10% did not move the needle too much in terms of consumption. It will have to be a big announcement that will get the attention of the people who might then push their employers to give them this option.

Two, extend the 5 lakh health insurance benefit through the Ayushman Bharat scheme that is available to the poor to the “missing middle” — the unorganised sector (drivers, domestic workers, hawkers and delivery staff to name a just a few). The challenge for any policy intervention has been the transmission of State benefits to this “missing middle”. To the 24 crore e-shram card holders, extend the benefit of this scheme. To pay for it, allow the rich to also avail, but pay double of what it costs the government. There is market failure in the private health insurance market, the rich will pay for a cover that works, even if the benefit is just 5 lakh.

Three, how to get the rich to make available their savings to the government rather than punt on the crypto casino? Make buying government securities through RBI Retail direct tax-free for investors. Encourage RBI to use a better retail interface to attract the retail investor into zero-risk government bonds. If held to maturity, there is no risk on these bonds of price fluctuations.

And finally, as we decode Budget 2022, we need to remember that India is just emerging out of a once-in-a-hundred-year catastrophic event. We need to just stay afloat rather than split hairs about pre-pandemic growth rate trend lines.

Monika Halan is an author and adjunct professor at NISM

The views expressed are personal



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Uttar Pradesh (UP)’s Karhal assembly seat is all over the news these days as Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav is going to contest the election from there.

An incident in this constituency from 1974 serves as an indicator of Dalit politics in the state. That year, the Congress ticket was given to a woman who had nothing to do with politics till then. The Congress had not won from there earlier, but the candidate thought that she was in with a chance if she could get the marginalised and women on her side.

During the campaign, she met a Dalit family and found that the head of the family was a good poet in the local language. Impressed with the candidate, the Dalit man offered to attend Congress rallies and public meetings to recite his poetry. Soon his melodious voice and verse began attracting large crowds. Since the poems were largely in praise of the party and candidate, casteist muscle men began to chafe at the bit. So, the Congress lost but managed to save its deposit in the constituency for the first time.

One evening, the candidate found the poet at her doorstep covered in blood. He had brought his frightened wife and small children there in the hope of shelter. The musclemen had beaten him and threatened to kill him. During polling, Dalits could not cast their votes in almost half the polling booths. He was beaten up as a warning to Dalits to not try and vote in the future as well. No one knew then that such incidents would prove a game changer.

Far from this scene, a man named Kanshi Ram was planning, in a systematic manner, to prevent such incidents. After much contemplation, in 1981, he laid the foundation of the Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti (DS4). Encouraged by the support his organisation received, he founded the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in 1984.

Within just six years, his movement gathered such strength that SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav joined hands with him to take on the Ram mandir issue in Ayodhya. He reached the Lok Sabha after winning from Etawah for the first time in 1991. After that, things moved quickly. Four years later, Kanshi Ram’s chosen heir, Mayawati, was elected chief minister of UP in June 1995. No one could have predicted this seismic social change in the span of just 10 years.

Since then, the Dalit electorate has emerged as a major political force in UP. A total of 86 seats in UP is reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). In the 2017 election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 70 of these seats. The SP, which won an absolute majority in 2012, came up trumps by winning 58 of these seats. When the BSP got a majority in 2007, its victory in 62 of these reserved seats was a major factor in its success. However, these reserved seats are just symbolic, SC and ST voters also influence the election results in general seats. Which way will these voters go this time?

Dalit voters have changed their preferences many times in India’s most populous state. Earlier they threw in their lot with the Congress, later the BSP was their preferred party. After that, the BJP made inroads into this vote bank.

Broadly speaking, the Dalits supported the Congress and the BSP for about three decades each. Now, Dalit mindsets have changed. Young voters do not stick with one particular leader for too long. Will the BJP be able to make a deeper dent in the BSP vote bank this time? The saffron party is hard at work on this. The state government has provided poor Dalits numerous facilities including an increase in free food grain.

It is often said that Dalit and backward voters do not vote together. This is a half-truth. The SP and BSP formed a coalition government in the 1990s. This did not last long as the personal ambitions of the leaders got in the way. Mayawati went a step further in 2007 when she forged a Dalit-Brahmin alliance. Had she been able to keep this intact, she would not only have risen much further in politics but would also have become the architect of a unique social reform. She was not able to do that and the SP moved into that space.

Mayawati, who has been pretty quiet till now, will begin her formal election campaign from February 2. I recall that in 2007, she was able to, despite considerable odds, turn political equations on their head. Will she be able to do so this time?

There are many such questions that are up in the air as polling day draws near. But, we will only know what impact caste equations, social development and economic growth will have on these crucial polls once the results are out. But these elections are likely to throw up a few surprises.

Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan

The views expressed are personal



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