It would appear that the 10 candidates for Congress Rajya Sabha nominations were selected exclusively by the Gandhi family. Sonia Gandhi picked P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh; Priyanka Gandhi’s protégés were Imran Pratapgarhi, Rajiv Shukla and Pramod Tiwari and Rahul Gandhi decided on the others, including the fiery Ranjeet Ranjan. The selections confirm the suspicion that Mukul Wasnik was always the mole in G-23 dissidents group. Incidentally, defying protocol, Wasnik happily signed the party announcement of RS nominees which included his own name. K C Venugopal, secretary (organization), should normally have signed it. Despite a major grievance in the party against outsiders being made nominees in preference to leaders from the state, Randeep Surjewala decided to stand from Rajasthan, not his home state of Haryana. Surjewala smelt trouble from old adversary Bhupinder Hooda and switched places with Ajay Maken.
Missing guests
Ram Madhav’s India Foundation held its seventh two-day India Ideas Conclave last month with its usual hype and hi-tech presentations. The theme for the show in Bengaluru was ‘India 2.0: Rebooting to Meta Era’ with leading intellectuals, academicians, industy leaders, tech gurus and politicians as invitees. Since some of those associated with the Hindutva foundation have moved on to high places in government after Modi came to power, most notably National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, normally few turn down a foundation invitation. But this year there was a slight hitch. Though Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri did address the gathering, Karnataka CM Basavraj Bommai was missing at the opening ceremony. RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale was not present for the closing function, as announced initially.
3-pronged response
Normally when Rahul Gandhi attacks the BJP or Narendra Modi, neither the PM nor Amit Shah respond. The task of replying to Rahul’s criticism, most often on Twitter, is delegated subject wise to S Jaishankar, Smriti Irani and Sambit Patra. Jaishankar’s domain is foreign policy. Hence Jaishankar was quick to counter when Gandhi dubbed our foreign service officers arrogant. Irani’s brief is to rebut on issues relating to Gandhi’s constituency and former seat, Amethi. Recently when Gandhi attended a wedding in Nepal, Smriti made it a point to visit his constituency Wayanad. Party spokesman Patra responds to his general comments.
Leaves from the past
Former Delhi Police Commissioner Mukund Kaushal unravels some of the mysteries from the past in his just released book, Sailing on My Own Compass: A Policeman’s Diary. For instance, he claims it was he who decisively demolished Harshad Mehta’s much quoted claim that he had handed over Rs 1 crore in a suitcase to then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao at his residence. The SPG strangely refused to confirm or deny the story claiming it destroyed the PM’s visitors’ book after every two months. Kaushal, however, nailed Mehta’s lie by asking his officers to check PM’s movements on November 4, 1992. From the Delhi police VIP movements logs it was clear that Rao was nowhere near 7, Race Course Road at the time the alleged transfer took place. He discloses that when Morarji Desai was prime minister, his son Kanti had given oral instructions that his friends be permitted into the PM’s residence without frisking and their bags not be searched, which was in violation of the Blue Book protocol. As head of VIP Security of Delhi Police, Kaushal insisted on a written request, since his seniors were too intimidated to turn down the instruction. When Desai saw the note he smiled and agreed rules must be observed.
Akshay BJP favourite
If Kangana Ranaut is the BJP’s favourite female star for projecting the party’s viewpoint in Bollywood, Akshay Kumar who starred in the just released Samrat Prithviraj is Ranaut’s male counterpart. The chemistry between Kumar and Amit Shah was evident at the special screening of the film last week with Kumar teary-eyed over Shah’s praise. Shah, a student of history, has been reading Prithviraj Raso, the epic poem by court poet Chand Bardai since his teens and can quote every stanza and point out deviations in the movie script from the original poem. It was Shah’s first visit to a theatre in over a decade and he summoned his entire family from Gujarat to Delhi for the show.
Google mix-up
Rahul Gandhi resides at 12, Tughlak Lane and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at 12, Tughlak Road. Problem is that someone at Google Maps has mixed up the addresses. People in the neighbourhood say it is common for guests to the minister’s house to turn up at Gandhi’s home only to be redirected to the right address.
I have always maintained that the landscape of women’s cricket is not going to change with the women’s Indian Premier League (IPL). However, the landscape will change with continuous improvement for women’s cricket in India. All-round improvement and consistent and positive results will definitely help change the landscape.
Playing a tournament like Women’s IPL will propel the chances a lot more, and it’s just one of the steps towards developing the women’s game at the highest level. If you add another international tournament that allows international players to come into our country and exchange ideas with the Indian domestic and international players, they will learn quickly from each other. And because they are all playing in a competitive environment, you will know a lot about the game. You learn to absorb the pressure and know how to perform under pressure, and there are various other things to grasp. All this will go into the development of women’s cricket.
But if one suggests that Women’s IPL will change the course of women’s cricket, then no, it won’t. Women’s IPL will not be the deciding factor. If the team consistently does well at the world level, things will automatically improve.
We won’t get sudden results with the Women’s IPL. In men’s cricket, we are No. 2 in the Tests; we are the top team in the ODIs; we are one of the top teams in the T20Is. India held a Test mace for four or five years, but because they are not holding the World Test Championship title, it doesn’t mean that they are not No.1. What defines a champion team: Is it just a world championship title? Yes, it is essential. The Australian men’s team won a T20 World Cup last year; prior to that, for four years, they were struggling. Even six months before the tournament, they were struggling. It is not a small competition in which you have to be No.1 all the time. It’s a world competition, and you are competing against the world’s top teams.
The IPL has given a platform to many domestic and international cricketers. It has changed the way cricket was played earlier. That is what will happen with women’s cricket too, but there’s a difference.
It is a very early to say how many teams will be there in the inaugural Women’s IPL. I will not be surprised if the present men’s IPL team’s franchises are keen on having a women’s IPL team as well. Ten teams will be difficult, even eight teams will be difficult given the domestic depth we have, but a minimum of six teams should be there. Increasing the number of teams will not help. A lot will depend upon how the tournament will be played, whether it will be a round-robin, how the draft will be prepared, and how many international players will be available. Announcing a tournament is an entirely different from actually preparing for a big show.
Jhulan Goswami and Mithali Raj have retired from T20I cricket. But if they want to play franchise cricket, good for them, and if the teams are interested in picking them, it will be up to the franchise.
The Birmingham Commonwealth Games will have all the top teams from world cricket. I don’t think it will be that easy because it will be a competitive tournament. West Indies will send the divided team; how they will do it that’s their headache, but all the top cricket playing nations will be there to prove their mettle.
Every victory will contribute to the growth of women’s cricket. Only the victories get noticed; losses don’t get noticed. Only the 2017 World Cup final loss got noticed. We celebrated the 2017 World Cup like we had won the cup. Fine, that was a watershed moment, but I always believe it is the victories that should be counted.
(Anjum Chopra is former captain of the Indian women’s cricket team. She spoke to Pratyush Raj. National Editor Shalini Langer curates the ‘She Said’ column)
To commemorate the eighth anniversary of Narendra Modi’s term as Prime Minister many triumphalist, obsequious articles by his senior ministers have appeared recently in newspapers. These sycophantic paeans have all emphasized that the removal of Article 370 brought peace in the Kashmir Valley and security to India. So, there is a tragic irony that it is at this time that the targeted killings of Hindus in the Valley have increased alarmingly.
A teacher and a bank manager were killed within days of each other last week among other victims. Vijay Beniwal’s murder was caught on the bank’s security cameras and it was hard to watch. A masked man enters the bank and sees Beniwal seated at his desk with his back turned to the entrance. The killer disappears and returns moments later with a pistol that he points at the young man’s back and shoots. The teacher, Rajani Bala, was killed in similar cowardly fashion. The only reason they were killed was that they were Hindu.
These targeted killings have caused Kashmiri Pandits to start fleeing the Valley, reviving horrific memories from thirty years ago. It was killings of this kind that caused a Hindu exodus that became the only incident of ethnic cleansing ever in India. No Prime Minister has succeeded in reversing this shameful migration and in fairness to Modi he has tried harder than the others. Abrogating Article 370 was a courageous and historic step, but it is becoming slowly clear that this was done without formulating a new Kashmir policy or mapping the road ahead.
There has instead been arrogant talk from high officials about how jihadi terrorism in the Valley has been ‘finished’. This fitted neatly into the atmosphere of hatred in the rest of India that has been created by followers of radical Hindutva. Modi’s ministers and chief ministers have led the charge but apparently without being prepared for the consequences. This targeted killing of Hindus in Kashmir could be the first of these consequences.
It is in this context that Mohan Bhagwat’s speech last week becomes very significant. Incidentally, when I last praised the RSS chief in this column I came under sustained venomous attack from leftists and pseudo liberals. At the risk of this happening again I shall praise Bhagwat once more for warning hardliners in his Hindutva camp that it is stupid to start searching for a ‘shivling’ in every mosque, and for suggesting that instead of rushing off to court to start new battles it would be better for people to sit together and come to a consensus.
It is hard to say yet whether this will bring a measure of sanity in a very insane time, but we must hope that the RSS chief is backed up by the Prime Minister. It is possible that Modi has no time to spend on Twitter these days, but his media managers should examine the kind of comments that have come from ordinary Hindus since this spate of targeted killings began in Kashmir. The gist of what they are saying is that Muslims must be driven out of India because they are all jihadists and traitors. Hostility and hatred towards Muslims and Islam are whipped up daily by BJP spokespersons on primetime chat shows so there can be little doubt that this hate campaign has sanction at the highest levels of the Indian government.
Hating Islam has become a multi-faceted cottage industry. On social media it is possible to watch music videos in which saffron-robed sadhus and sadhvis sing songs filled with words that cannot be repeated here. Ever since the spectacular success of Kashmir Files, famous Bollywood stars have taken to expounding on history and the erasure of Hindu kings from school textbooks. Inevitably, the Kashmir Valley has become the obvious target for this outpouring of historical grievance. This will make the formulation of an effective Kashmir policy extremely difficult.
Most Modi bhakts believe that there should be no attempt to find a political solution because all Kashmiri politicians are jihadists who want the Valley to be turned into a little Islamic republic. This is not true. There are plenty of Kashmiri politicians who have spent their lives fighting Islamism and some have paid heavily for this. It is time that they were made part of the renewal of a political process and this process should begin immediately. A first step must be the restoration of statehood and the second step should be elections.
None of these things will make a difference unless the Prime Minister follows the RSS chief’s lead and speaks out against the campaign of hate and hostility that currently defines the Hindu mood. How can you bring calm and order in the only Indian state with a Muslim majority without turning down the volume of Hindutva hysteria? Meanwhile, somebody needs to answer for why these targeted killings have begun again.
The Home Minister is directly responsible for security in the Kashmir Valley, so he is directly answerable for what has gone wrong. The jihadists have a clear Kashmir policy. The Indian government does not. Since the abrogation of Article 370 all that we have seen are haphazard steps that appear unguided and directionless. What we need urgently is a coherent policy that goes beyond turning the Kashmir Valley into a military encampment. This has been tried before and it did not turn out well.
The National Statistical Office released the provisional estimates of national income and quarterly estimates of GDP on May 31, 2022. Addressing the media, the Chief Economic Adviser was subdued and cautiously optimistic. He knows, as most economists know, that the Indian economy is not yet out of the woods.
The Bad and Worse
The worst piece of news is that the size of the economy at constant prices on March 31, 2022 (Rs 147.36 lakh crore) was about the same as it was on March 31, 2020 (Rs 145.16 lakh crore), meaning that we are running to stand in the same place! However, individual citizens have become poorer because the per capita income has declined in the two years from Rs 1,08,247 to Rs 1,07,760.
The next bad news is that the graph of quarterly GDP growth in 2021-22 is a sloping graph: the numbers for the four quarters are 20.1, 8.4, 5.4 and 4.1 per cent. In terms of output (value addition), there is no sharp rise. In the pre-pandemic year of 2019-20, GDP in the fourth quarter was Rs 38,21,081 crore, and we exceeded that number only in the fourth quarter of 2021-22 which recorded Rs 40,78,025 crore.
There is no place for the boast that, at 8.7 per cent, India is the fastest growing large economy. That boast has no meaning given the state of inflation, unemployment, number of people below the poverty line, prevalence of hunger, decline in health indicators and decline in learning outcomes. The growth rate of 8.7 per cent, impressive as it may appear, has to be seen in perspective. Firstly, it is on the back of negative growth of (-) 6.6 per cent in the previous year. Secondly, when China grew at 8.1 per cent in 2021, it added USD 2,600 billion to its GDP in twelve months (at current prices) while India growing at 8.7 per cent in 2021-22 added only USD 500 billion to its GDP in twelve months (at current prices).
The World Outside
Once we are sober, we may look at the prospects for 2022-23 and beyond. Obsessed with ourselves, we forget that there is a world outside. We need the world’s markets, products, capital, technology and innovation. The economies of the world are under stress. Inflation and interest rates are rising in the United States and demand is flagging. China’s GDP growth will be squeezed because of repeated lockdowns. Soaring gas prices have reduced the purchasing power of Europeans.
RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee noted (May 4, 2022) that the IMF has revised down the global growth rate in 2022 from 4.4 per cent to 3.6 per cent and the WTO has revised down the world trade growth rate from 4.7 per cent to 3.0 per cent. IMF has projected inflation at 5.7 per cent in advanced economies and 8.7 per cent in developing economies. The MPC has identified the “worsening external environment, elevated commodity prices, persistent supply bottlenecks and …..volatility spillovers from monetary policy normalization in advanced economies” as formidable headwinds. I doubt if anyone in the government is listening.
Diagnosis good, Treatment absent
The RBI’s monthly report (May, 2022) has identified five critical elements for reviving animal spirits and spurring growth:
Of the five elements, the government has control over ‘government capital expenditure’ alone, but its capacity to invest larger amounts in capital works this year will be severely restricted because of post-budget actions like cut in fuel taxes, increase in subsidies and increase in welfare expenditure. Of the rest, private investment will not gather pace as long as there are supply bottlenecks and unutilized capacity. As for foreign investors, Cairn, Hutchison, Harley-Davidson, General Motors, Ford, Holcim, Citibank, Barclays, RBS and Metro Cash & Carry have left or are leaving India. Any improvement in infrastructure will require a radical change in the processes involving tendering, pricing, execution and accountability — all of which are missing today. We are adding ‘quantity’ to our infrastructure but not ‘quality’. And the Modi government’s past record shows that it is clueless on inflation and macroeconomic stability.
Above all, one can steer a ship in choppy waters only if the captain and the mates share a team spirit and common goals. No consensus exists today between the Centre and the states on crucial issues. GST has broken the trust between the Central government and the state governments. Add the hatchet jobs done by Governors and the blatant misuse of the Central agencies against every Opposition party (witness the unprecedented spectacle of state ministers being arrested by Central agencies).
There is also a larger problem. No country can become an economic powerhouse if the Labour Force Participation Rate is 40 per cent. The bulk of India’s working age population is either not working or not looking for work. And despite educating more girls, the LFPR of women is an abysmal 9.4 per cent. Besides, the current unemployment rate is 7.1 per cent.
We have a sick economy. We have excellent diagnosis. There are medicines in the pharmacy. But, the doctors on the job are either quacks or don’t care if the patient is dying a slow and painful death.
THERE was quite a flutter on social media over the visuals of Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao casually walking to Karan Johar’s 50th birthday bash together and posing for photographs. But if people got past their surprise over how comfortable the former celebrity couple looked in each other’s company, they would realise that Khan and Rao have remained true to their words. While announcing their divorce in a joint statement last year, they had spoken about beginning a new chapter in their lives – “no longer as husband and wife, but as co-parents and family for each other”.
Khan and Rao continue to work together even after the change in their relationship status. Apart from being co-producers of Khan’s upcoming film Laal Singh Chaddha, they are associated with Paani Foundation, which they had co-founded. They celebrate personal milestones together too. Rao was there at the pool party to ring in the birthday of Ira Khan, Khan’s daughter with his former spouse Reena Dutta. The actor and his extended family have established over the years that ties can outlast a marriage. In the past, Dutta and Rao have been seen sharing laughs during special occasions. This is perhaps how a family, which has learnt to accept others for who they are, looks like.
There is something exhilarating when former partners manage to remain friendly. In fact, what these celebrities are doing is not an aberration. It’s a reflection of how modern relationships have evolved as partners help each other and give priority to healing. Many have chosen to get rid of toxicity for civility when a relationship does not work out. There can’t be a better time to reiterate its virtues than now as lurid details about the defamation battle between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have invaded all possible social media platforms, notching up millions of views.
The trial had created an unsavoury precedent even before the jury delivered its mixed verdict that favoured Depp. During the televised trial, their past relationship has been examined in detail and the clips circulated as TikTok videos, Insta reels or memes. Unfortunately, most of these posts show Heard in a poor light and question her credibility. This, many fear, might discourage abuse victims from seeking justice.
Worldwide people are fascinated with celebrities. They have been unofficial influencers for ages. For those looking for a palate cleanser, after weeks of Depp-Heard details proliferating their social media timelines, there is Demi Moore posting photos of what she calls their “blended family”. Closer home, Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor have established that it’s possible to work together after a breakup.
If more proof of some Indian celebrities navigating their relationships with maturity, at least in public, was needed, Johar’s party rolled that out too. Twinning in black, Hrithik Roshan walked hand-in-hand with Saba Azad and looked lovingly at her as they were photographed. Roshan’s ex-wife Sussanne Khan too came to the same party with her rumoured boyfriend. Known to be a private person, Roshan has been at ease in public when spotted with Azad. The first time they were papped while coming out of an eatery, the couple was nonchalant, making no effort to dodge the photographers. They had the same chilled-out vibe some days later when they walked out of the Mumbai airport holding hands.
The couple has been open about their affection for each other on social media. Roshan once called her “an extraordinary human” while commenting on her post. Azad had called him “Mon amour” on a different occasion. It is no longer uncommon for high-profile couples to be open and expressive. The most heartening aspect of Roshan-Azad’s relationship is perhaps Azad’s rapport with Roshan’s ex-wife Sussanne. The actor-singer also continues to perform with her band partner and former boyfriend Imaad Shah.
Until some years ago, the gossip columns used to be filled with the stories of exes going the extra mile to avoid bumping into each other at parties and award functions. The ending of an old relationship or the beginning of a new one used to be a hush-hush affair. Today, it’s different. A section of Indian celebrities seems to have learnt to normalise divorce and breakup. They choose to move on without rancour, displaying a certain level of maturity. It comes with the quiet realisation that it is OK to let go. They now refuse to carry the burden of projecting a perfect image in public.
So, when Khan and Rao make an effort to be “family for each other” even after their divorce, they inadvertently communicate to those inspired by popular culture that mutual love and respect can survive a broken marriage.
There is news that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may be considering carrying the watermarked portraits of Rabindranath Tagore and A P J Abdul Kalam on currency notes, along with the existing one of Mohandas Gandhi. This is a terrible idea. In a country where disagreements over who should be honoured and who should not have a knack of spilling over into ideological-aesthetic fisticuffs, another platform for yet another excuse to get into a scrap is not only a distraction, but also a distraction that should be avoided.
Tagore and Kalam are undoubtedly worthy figures to be adorned on rupee notes. Most other countries depict famous people and personages to mark their currencies, giving its citizens and outsiders a symbolic pointer to their greatness. It is seen as a celebration of the great assortment of people a country has produced. In India, however, awarding the tag of 'greatness' can, in too many cases, become a competitive scrum that can end up in a tu-tu main-main - or, more accurately, a no-no yes-yes - involving figures that start serving an ulterior motive not foreseen by those wishing to broaden the roster of great men and women who should adorn currency notes.
The function of Gandhi's image currently on all notes is two-fold: one, the obvious one of celebrating the 'father of the nation'; two, less obviously, to ensure that this 'Mahatma monopoly' blocks the lobbying and counter-lobbying that would ensue if the floodgates were opened. On the face of it, the plurality of greatness that a country's currency notes display is a billboard for its scientists, artists, writers, statesmen, industrialists, etc. But, in India, such plurality, as we have come to know all too well, usually descends into spats that we can do without.
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ByteDance, owner of short video app TikTok that was banned in India in 2020 along with other Chinese apps that were seen as a security threat, is reportedly in talks with new local partners to re-enter the Indian market. It has sold its stake in VerSe Innovation, operator of a short video platform, at a big discount and is discussing partnering realtor Hiranandani Group in its consumer technology business or storing data in its server farms. GoI, given the security implications of such a tie-up, has reportedly been sounded out before the exploratory talks. ByteDance has denied any plans to relaunch TikTok in India. Which is just as well, since a 'backdoor' entry would be of concern.
A spin-off to the 2020 ban was the development of a local industry for short video applications. A clutch of local technology companies has moved into the space ceded by TikTok. Competition intensified as Meta Platforms and Alphabet, which operate Instagram and YouTube, respectively, launched short video apps. Consolidation among local players is bulking up the subscriber base and monetisation is in sight for some. But the window for acquiring muscle to take on global giants like Meta, Alphabet and ByteDance has been short. A longer runway would be in order for the infant domestic players.
This space can yield its share of unicorns, considering how Meta has used India as a test bed for its short video platform, Reels. Short videos are regarded as the next growth driver for the company that runs Facebook, which reported its first dip in subscriber numbers in the three months to December 2021. TikTok became the force in short videos partly due to the protection China provides to its software companies. The same logic applies to Indian startups that have notched up an enviable tally of billion-dollar companies against stiffer competition from gigantic foreign rivals. India's internet media market is critical for global technology companies because of Chinese restrictions on access. We must push the advantage to develop domestic capability.
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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday expelled one spokesperson and suspended another while asserting that it respects all religions, as the government attempted to defuse a swirling controversy over comments made by the two people that were allegedly derogatory of Prophet Mohammad. In its letters to the two people, the BJP said that they had acted against the ethos of the party, and in its statement, said it opposed any ideology that insulted any faith, sect or religious personality. The moves came two days after violence broke out in Kanpur over the comments, and left 17 people injured. Anger was also building up in several Arab countries such as Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia over the comments.
The BJP statement, which broadly laid out the party’s position on religious freedom, is the third such bid by the party and its ideological fount, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), to draw a distinction between the ruling establishment and some extreme actions made by members or affiliates. Last Monday, BJP chief JP Nadda appeared to distance the party from the ongoing legal disputes in Varanasi and Mathura and said the party had decided to respect the court’s order in letter and spirit. Then, on Thursday, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said Hindu and Muslim sides should sit across the table to settle matters amicably.
The episode lays out three clear lessons. One, strong, unequivocal condemnation of any mala fide action to stoke communal disharmony is urgent, and that the absence of action against such rhetoric only encourages fringe elements to disturb communal amity. Two, it underlines that domestic political rhetoric can have damaging international ramifications and tarnish India’s image. The BJP spokespersons’ comments, for example, threatened to harm relationships that India strengthened with a number of Arab countries and cause problems for the millions-strong diaspora. And three, it indicates that any statements must be followed up with strong signals within the party and faith-based groups that claim patronage that the government will not tolerate insult to any faith and communal rabble-rousing. The BJP is right to note that India’s 75th year of Independence should ensure a life of dignity and freedom for all citizens. For this to endure, the ruling establishment and all political parties will have to focus on forging a new peace compact.
June is a watershed moment in the history of fiscal federalism in India. It marks the end of the five-year period for which state governments were entitled to a guaranteed 14% growth in their revenues after the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). It can be said with some degree of confidence that GST would have not seen the light of day without this incentive. How much will states lose in terms of revenue once the mandatory compensation comes to an end? That’s not clear, although it is undisputed that state finances are bound to come under further pressure. Some states could suffer larger losses, as GST is a consumption-centric tax and penalises states which are hubs of manufacturing activities.
However, the long-term implications are more difficult to predict. For example, tax receipts are enjoying inflationary tailwinds at the moment. However, revenue growth could turn tepid if nominal growth comes down. Low nominal growth driven headwinds to revenue collections were a major problem in the pre-pandemic period. To be sure, the end of the compensatory period could also generate tailwinds for inflationary pressures. As long as the states were guaranteed assured revenue growth, they were always arguing for tax cuts in the GST Council. Many experts have pointed out that average weighted tax rates have come down in the GST regime since its inception. Now that states will have a bigger stake in actual GST collections, they will have an incentive to ask for rate hikes. The fact that the compensation cess period is not coming to end – its proceeds will be used to pay off the debts incurred during the pandemic period – will add to inflation pressures. To surmise, the fiscal federalism framework will require greater vigilance after June.
The keystone of governance is to create economic growth and spread the benefits of growth to all. A better quality of life and ease of living result from policies that aim to create the right conditions for new economic opportunities. Higher economic growth leads to more funds being available for social development, finally taking us to a virtuous cycle of growth and development. The $5-trillion target for our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is an ambitious one, and the strategy to achieve it revolves around creating an ecosystem for growth, with its foundations on the creation of infrastructure and Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India). As we celebrate 75 years of Independence, Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, we have embarked on an ambitious development journey.
Infrastructure development to fuel economic growth has been at the core of the government’s efforts since 2014. The focus has not only been on physical infrastructure but also digital infrastructure. The digital infrastructure created through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) initiative has been a singular success.
The creation of physical infrastructure is equally important with its multiplier effect on economic growth. The government, under the leadership of Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, is pushing for investment in infrastructure.
Considering the massive investment required to build infrastructure, it was decided to lay down a clear roadmap for all infrastructure development projects that were to be taken up. And the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) came into being, with projects requiring an investment of ₹111 lakh crore. The NIP, coupled with the recently launched Gati Shakti programme, will ensure a holistic approach and timely delivery based on better coordination and planning.
Developing infrastructure in a diverse country such as ours requires detailed planning and facilitation. The Bharatmala Programme gave us the blueprint for highway development in an integrated manner. The programme envisaged the construction of 34,800 km of national highways. The programme follows a corridor-based national highway development, connecting 550-plus districts of the country, and catering to 70-80% of total freight on national highways.
Brownfield expansion and the improvement of highways serve an important purpose, but the game-changer in terms of reducing logistical costs is building access-controlled greenfield expressways connecting key cargo origin-destination centres. Consequently, five flagship expressways and 17 access-controlled corridors are being developed as part of Bharatmala Phase-1 at a total capital cost of ₹3.6 lakh crore.
It is now time for us to launch Phase-2 of the Bharatmala programme, and we have high levels of ambition, in keeping with the expectations of people across the country. The pace of award of works for national highways has almost doubled from an average of 5,900 km per annum between FY 2009-10 till FY 2013-14 to 11,000 km per annum since FY 2014-15. Similarly, the pace of annual construction has increased by 1.8 times to 9,000 km per annum since FY 2014-15, as compared to 4,900 km constructed per annum between FY 2009-10 till FY 2013-14.
Logistical costs must be reduced, and this happens to some extent by developing highways, but that itself is not sufficient to maximise returns from the investment in highways. Multimodal Logistics Parks (MMLPs) are critical enablers for ensuring integrated and efficient transportation as per the vision laid out in the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan. MMLPs are being developed across the country in 35 strategic locations (such as Jogighopa, Nagpur, Chennai, Indore, and Bengaluru) to address inefficiencies in the logistics sector. These 35 MMLPs will cater to over 50% of the nation’s road freight movement.
The development of highways in districts impacted by Left-wing extremism has also received special attention since 2014. For instance, a greenfield corridor between Raipur and Visakhapatnam is being developed passing through the backward districts of Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
At 14.96 km, the Zojila tunnel on the Srinagar-Leh road will shorten the distance between Baltal (Sonamarg) and Minamarg in Ladakh from 40 km to 13 km, slashing travel time from three hours to 15 minutes
The scale of infrastructure development requires investments on a mammoth scale. As part of the National Monetisation Pipeline, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has launched its Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) to monetise road projects. In view of the long-term nature of the assets, units of InvIT were placed with international and domestic institutional investors. The initial portfolio comprising five roads raised ₹ ₹8,000 crore with 50% of investment from foreign investors.
Lastly, and most importantly, protecting the environment while developing infrastructure is a fine balancing act. My approach is to lean towards protecting the environment while faced with situations. I personally review the progress in planting trees along highways. The ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) realised the need and importance of developing green corridors and promulgated the Green Highways (Plantations, Transplantations, Beautification and Maintenance) Policy in September 2015 to develop green corridors along national highways for sustainable growth. In post-policy years from 2016-17 to 2020-21, more than 20 million plants have been planted.
In 2021-2022, till November, a cumulative 6.3 million-plus new plants have been planted by NHAI with avenue plantation accounting for 2.75 million, while median plantation accounts for 3.56 million new plants. Further, plantation is closely monitored using the latest technology of drone videography and geo-tagging, along with the traditional methods of field inspections.
In the process, we created a few world records with the rate of highway construction being one of the highest in the world at 37 km per day, among several others.
Nitin Gadkari is Union minister of road transport and highways
The views expressed are personal
As the Narendra Modi government confronts the challenge of targeted killings in the Kashmir Valley, it would be prudent to accept that Pakistan’s intrusive capacities have not greatly eroded in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) despite the constitutional changes of August 2019. These capabilities have enabled it to continue to seek to manipulate events through the calibration of terror.
The latest manifestation of Pakistan’s policies and actions are these killings. It has also to be admitted that there is now, as in the past, a sense of alienation among sections of Kashmiri opinion which enables Pakistan to implement its designs. Some of these sections are in the grip of Islamism which make them particularly easy prey for Pakistani terrorist groups, which are virtually an arm of the Pakistani State. As long as the contaminant continues to flow from Pakistan, it will not be easy to stanch the feeling of alienation, and consequently, there will be a reservoir of local youth willing to do Pakistan’s bidding.
There is an obvious convergence of interests between Pakistan and the Valley’s alienated opinion to show that the Union Territory, especially the Kashmir Valley, has not returned to normalcy. To demonstrate this, they have, even while retaining the willingness to carry out major terrorist attacks, adopted a subtler policy of attacks carried out by individuals and small groups with small arms. This is subtle for it is not seriously impacting tourism, which is very important for the economic interests of the Valley, yet. More than a million tourists visited Kashmir between January and May this year.
At the same time, it is not enraging India to break the February 2021 ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border in J&K. Pakistan desperately needs peace along the LoC in view of its grave economic situation and political turbulence. Its army’s attention is on Afghanistan and inwards and it does not want tensions to currently rise with India.
The targeted killings now being undertaken are of Kashmiri Pandits, including those who are working under the government’s special schemes, other Hindus who are in the Valley on assignments or labour from outside the Valley and Kashmiri Muslims who are unwilling to follow the social and political diktats of Pakistan and its terrorist proxies. These proxies in the Valley may have morphed over the years with the waning influence of the older separatist leadership, but it would be wrong to believe that they have atomised and become independent actors, outside the pale of Pakistani influence. Pakistan’s policy to bring to heel recalcitrant elements in J&K continues. It has never hesitated to use violence, when needed, to achieve this objective.
The targeted killings have naturally caused fear, especially among Kashmiri Pandits, who retain strong memories of the causes of the 1990 exodus. The Modi government is taking action to ensure that they feel secure and is determined that a second Hindu exodus does not happen. This is fine in principle, but will it prevent Kashmiri Pandits and others from moving to Jammu if targeted killings continue? Besides, other Indians too will be reluctant to go to the Valley on assignments even if the flow of tourists does not reduce substantially. Indeed, the rise of tourists is projected by the government as the Valley’s return to normalcy, but ironically it is helping Pakistan and its collaborators in the Valley too for it ensures that those who depend on tourism will not seek at all to curtail current anti-India forces.
While Pakistan wants the constitutional changes to be reversed, it is likely aware that this will not happen. There is no appetite in India to restore J&K’s special status though the Modi government has indicated that statehood will be restored to J&K at an appropriate time. Pakistan is concerned that the process of demographic change in the Kashmir Valley has begun. This fear is unfounded even if the Modi government’s laudable desire to attract investments across a range of sectors in the UT fructifies. That will not result in the Kashmir Valley becoming swamped with people from outside the UT. Nevertheless, the targeted killings will serve the purpose of raising doubts among investors.
Even in these times of fierce ideological contestation, it is essential that Indian institutions, especially the judiciary, fulfil their constitutional obligations towards all the people of the UT, including the Valley. This will not be a magic wand in changing popular emotions, but it is an inherent obligation towards the people of an integral part of the Union. This obligation needs to be fulfilled even when separatism and violence continue, for it will display the strength and resilience of the Indian Republic. Naturally, this does not connote that jihadi violence does not need to be combatted with sufficient force.
The ultimate objective of the Indian State has to be to eliminate Pakistani intrusions in J&K. That is a challenge which requires the need to foster an array of instrumentalities which the Indian State is capable of developing but has always refrained from doing so. These options would certainly not be of the violent kind adopted by Pakistan, but will make it pay a price. A State cannot rely only on defensive means to safeguard its interests.
Vivek Katju is a retired diplomat
The views expressed are personal
Krishnakumar Kunnath, popularly known as KK, was not just another superstar; he was blessed with a deep voice and a beautifully polished vocal chords, and he rose to fame by consistent hard work. His death, which occurred just after a concert in Kolkata, horrified his followers. The old “storm in a teacup” phenomenon returned to haunt us shortly after. It happens every time an eminent personality’s untimely and unnatural death shakes the public’s sentiments.
With KK, I’d like to talk about all those who were in show business but left us unexpectedly early. I’d want to bring up Raj Kapoor’s ambitious film Mera Naam Joker. The iconic dialogue, “the show must go on”, was delivered by Dharmendra in his own style in this film. This kind of pressure forces successful people in the film industry, sports and other fields to deal with a slew of personal issues. In this age of crude materialism, stress has become an unavoidable outcome of fame and fortune. Prior to KK, actors Siddharth Shukla and Puneeth Rajkumar from Kannada films died young. These celebrities had to pay the price for fame by laying down their lives.
One thing is clear, riyaz (practice) and homework are insufficient to maintain constant competitiveness. People in the “show business industry” must demonstrate their ability to adapt to any situation. It makes no difference to them how much pain their bodies go through as a result of it. Chetna Raj, a Kannada television actress, is the most recent example. She died as a result of cosmetic surgery when she was still quite young.
KK, just like many of his generation’s vocalists, didn’t merely perform on stage. These artistes must perform many feats to keep the audience entertained. Have you ever seen Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Ravi Shankar, or any other classical artiste perform on stage in YouTube’s archive? It’s as if the peaceful, eternal allure of their work has radiated from an aura and spread around the room. There was no shrillness, no boasts, no guarantees, but everyone who heard them sing and play were enthralled. You may say that KK was a film vocalist rather than a classical performer.
Mohammad Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, Manna Dey, Lata Mangeshkar, and Asha Bhosle sang thousands of film songs. Except for Asha Tai, none of them is alive, although whenever they performed live, they tried to limit themselves to suras and ragas. Kishore Kumar was an outlier in this regard. He began performing “Dhamal” on stage in the 1970s and 1980s, but he pales in comparison with today’s singers.
According to one study in the US, the incidence of heart attacks has increased by 13% among adults in their third and fourth decades of life. According to some research, heart disease strikes Indians 10 years earlier than it does in western countries. Professionals must bear the expense of pollution, lifestyle and the never-ending rat race of competitiveness. KK is the most recent example of this. His heart and liver were stated to be in poor condition. Is there a disease that comes with the constant heat of being in the lead? This appears to have been the case for several years.
As a result, depression has joined the ranks of heart disease as an epidemic. According to the World Health Organization, India has over 56 million depressive cases. According to a survey by sleep research website SavvySleeper, Mumbai is the second most stressed city in the world after Tokyo. There was a time when KK lived there, but the list is long. Remember Sushant Singh Rajput’s tragic ending? Rajput, one of Hindi cinema’s most promising talents, took his own life. Suicides and cinema have a long history together.
I’d like to end with a comment from the legendary playback singer Manna Dey. He came to Allahabad once, and I had the opportunity to meet him. I asked him, “Don’t you feel you didn’t acquire the same fame as Rafi, Kishore, and Mukesh, the most successful trio of their time.” His response was a lesson in itself. “I have no regrets of any kind,” Manna-Da said. “Every man receives his fair share. Is it less of a burden for me to have sung a successful song for every famous movie star? It’s a different story since I’m not his permanent voice...Unfortunately, all of them are gone, but I am still singing among you guys,” he concluded after a long pause. He continued to sing for approximately three decades after that. Manna Dey was aware of how fast he needed to walk, how far he needed to walk, and when he needed to stop. When will the rest of the world realise this truth? It’s beneficial to be aware of one’s limitations without being dissatisfied.
Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan
The views expressed are personal
This year, the theme of the world environment day is – Only One Earth. This topic is not new to us, Indians. Our civilisation has known for centuries that there is no planet B. Our civilisational values, as passed on to us by our grandparents and parents, have instituted a strong sense of gratitude for respecting mother nature.
Let me give you one example. Just a week ago, women in North India and Nepal celebrated Vat Savitri Puja. On this day, Savitri is revered by women because she saved her diseased husband, Satyavan, from Yamraj, the lord of death. One of the rituals which are associated with this puja is to tie sacred threads around the Vata Vriksha (Banyan tree). The banyan tree is the longest-living tree, which can live for approximately 300 years.
Human activities today are putting around 40 billion tonnes of CO2 every year on the planet. A rough-cut estimate shows that on average a single banyan tree can sequester 7.5 tonnes of CO2 in its lifetime. Our foremothers already knew that the Banyan tree has the longest life span on earth than any living organism and its utility value. Tying a sacred thread around the tree means the reassurance that the tree will not be cut and could continue to fix CO2 for humanity. This is how the scientific knowledge was passed on from generation to generation leading to the Indic civilisation revering almost all living and non-living beings.
The impacts of the climate crisis are encircling India
But today’s time is different. We not only lost the knowledge of reverence, but continue to pollute our environment without any remorse. The recent three-part report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has not only been an eye-opener, but also a sounding board that if we do not act now, we will miss the bus. The report painted code red for humanity, stating that the window for action is limited to only one and half decades from now.
Much of what is projected in IPCC reports as climate catastrophes, India is at the helm of it already. We are not saved from any side. In the north, the Himalayan glaciers are retreating and changing the water regimes of lifeline rivers such as the Ganga, Brahmaputra, and Indus. The coastlines are in severe danger due to sea-level rise and an increase in the frequency of cyclones due to a warmer ocean. Half of India has an arid and semi-arid climate which is prone to severe heat stress as we have experienced this summer. The IPCC report shows out of four billion people living under severe water scarcity worldwide, nearly half live in India and China. Around 33% of Indians live in a water-scarce situation which will go up to 40% by 2050 under a 1.5-degree global warming situation.
Warm temperatures are melting Himalayan glaciers, resulting in changing water regimes of rivers that cannot be reversed. Sea level rise is driving saline water into coastal aquifers, contaminating a major source of fresh water for hundreds of millions of people in India who live beside 7500 km of coastlines. India’s rainfall is getting increasingly unpredictable. Crop production is already being slowed by rising temperatures and more severe droughts are predicted in future.
The daunting task of combating the climate crisis needs drastic institutional change.
At COP 26, last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India will achieve net-zero by 2070. The announcement created a buzz among concerned individuals in India and abroad. India, at last, had a target that it has committed to, voluntarily. However, the target is big and the present institutional structure for achieving this is hugely inadequate.
Human resources: Climate crisis issues are handled by the ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MOEFCC). As a subject, the issue is addressed through a group which is one among 20 divisions within the ministry. If we count the subdivision of the environment, climate crisis issues are tackled as one of its seven focus areas. In total, seven officials look after the division for a subject that is touching billions of people in India. Out of these, none are climate scientists, and some are retired officers or consultants who are on a yearly contract. In terms of the programme, the national and state adaptation plans are outdated and do not have the resources or teeth to make any significant changes on the ground.
Trans-disciplinarity and coordination with other line ministries: Today’s climate crisis problem in India goes beyond the issue that could be tackled by forest bureaucracy. They are closer home academically, but not fully equipped. The climate crisis is much more than the environment and forests. It’s a transdisciplinary subject that requires multiple disciplines to come together. It would need coordination with other ministries such as water resources, energy, housing and urban affairs, rural development, women, child development and so on.
A separate ministry: When the problem is so stark that it is touching the lives of people in every aspect, we must carve out a separate set of people who come with fresh ideas and knowledge of climate science, acumen of adaptation and mitigation with a central mission of how lives of millions could be saved from the climate led extreme events. The recent attempt to bring three ministries as a consortium to coordinate the climate crisis issue is a positive development in this direction. However, these are band-aid solutions which will not work for a country as large and ecologically as diverse as India.
We need a separate ministry to combat the climate crisis that directly reports to the PM's office, works in coordination with other ministries, and has separate state-specific arms that deal with the issue head-on.
Anjal Prakash is the Research Director of the Bharti Institute of Public Policy at the Indian School of Business (ISB). He is the lead author of recent IPCC reports
The views expressed are personal
The Indian delegation in Kabul led by J.P. Singh, the joint secretary in the ministry of external affairs who is in charge of the Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran (PAI) division, has elicited raised eyebrows. A number of justifications are being presented. It is being argued that the Taliban are today at loggerheads with their old sponsor Pakistan over not curbing the activities of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which targets the Pakistan Army and the state and which India can exploit. Furthermore, that within the Taliban moderate and radical factions have differences which India can play on only by being in the game. Also, that in any case India had been in clandestine contact with the Taliban since before its capture of power in August last year.
All these factors have been in play for months, if not longer. India chairs the UN Security Council’s counter-terrorism committee. The 13th report of the UNSC’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team notes that “Al Qaeda appears free to pursue its objectives” so long as the Taliban are not embarrassed. It adds that these objectives apparently include “recruitment, training, fundraising and al-Zawahiri’s video communications”. This video surfaced in November last year in which al-Zawahiri castigates the United Nations and its permanent members.
That all this was already known to India can be surmised from the deliberations recently in Dushanbe of security officials of South and Central Asia.
India had been keeping the door ajar by sending humanitarian aid to help fend off starvation in a totally mismanaged Afghanistan after the advent of the Taliban government. Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, has sought a joint regional counter-terrorism focus due to Afghanistan becoming again the cradle of global jihad. Foreign Policy magazine notes that the TTP has up to 4,000 fighters today as in the past two years it has reabsorbed 17 former affiliates. In addition, the Taliban is harbouring other terror proxies like the Kashmir jihadists, Ansarullah of Tajikistan and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
Simultaneously, the Taliban has been reneging from commitments given during their deal with the United States prior to the takeover in August 2021 rhat the educational and other rights of the girls and women would be protected.
Afghanistan has slowly regressed into the kind of state that existed before the American intervention in 2001 in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the United States. All through the past two decades India calculated that its development role and investment of over $2 billion in infrastructure would ensure permanent goodwill and leverage.
The sudden US exit left all those calculations null and void as India was barely consulted after the Biden administration decided to exit hurriedly. If anything, the exit was completely disorderly and based on assurances by Taliban interlocutors, some of whom got sidelined after Kabul came under the Taliban’s control.
Why then South Block’s sudden interest in engaging the Taliban at the joint secretary level? Normally, the correct answer is a simple one, generally gazing one in the face. The headlines in most newspapers are about the second migration of Kashmiri Hindus following the targeted killings in the past few weeks.
Union home minister Amit Shah is himself reviewing the situation that obviously embarrasses the BJP after their chest-thumping over The Kashmir Files, a film which graphically depicts the exodus in 1990. It also comes two-and-a-half years after the Jammu and Kashmir reorganisation in October 2019. That was marketed as a historic step to integrate Kashmir into India, which past governments had failed to do. The movie came as a timely addendum to that thesis.
The reason for the Taliban outreach is more internal than external. The militancy began in Jammu and Kashmir as the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan and Pakistani jihadi elements returned home by 1990. The Rajiv Gandhi government foolishly tried to fix the 1987 state Assembly election, leaving in its trail disaffection with India. The plot had been set for Pakistan to unleash terrorism in the Valley, already having surplus hordes of jihadis desperate to liberate Kashmir, soon after their victory in Afghanistan. The plot is almost identical now.
The BJP government in New Delhi has failed to assuage the feeling of hurt in the Valley following Jammu and Kashmir’s downgrading to Union territory status and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state. In addition, the recently held delimitation exercise, which adds six new seats in the Hindu-dominated Jammu province, has merely added to the angst. The political outreach to explain the far-reaching steps by the Union government has been minimal.
This is happening while Afghanistan is again in the hands of pro-jihad elements, as happened after the post-Soviet dispensation lost power in the early 1990s.
Will the outreach to the Taliban work? The only carrots India can put on the table are development and financial assistance. But this assistance would have to be transmitted to Afghanistan via Pakistan or Iran. Both are likely to carefully weigh their own concerns about the Taliban and make routes available only if they are satisfied by Taliban’s response. The Taliban are also caught between testy neighbours and twin internal challenges. The insurgency fed by former northern, non-Pashtun leaders as well as the threat from the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP) will ensure that the Taliban des not offend AQ affiliates, that it currently tolerates. The Pakistan Army may also change its approach if they find that India is beginning to get traction in Kabul.
The Indian delegation engaged Taliban’s deputy foreign minister Sher Mohammed Abba Stanekzai. He is a former graduate of the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun. But his ability to shape the Taliban’s approach to India would depend on his government’s interests and not past friendships. The crux of the problem is the BJP’s handling of Kashmir. Whether the Taliban publicly make it an issue or not is quite immaterial. It will be a part of their ideological agenda for supporting the beleaguered Muslim Umma in South Asia. This is due to their domestic fight against the ISKP, for which they need the goodwill of AQ affiliates. It requires that they are seen as defenders of Islamic Umma.
Seen against this background, the Hindus still living in the Valley are collateral damage in the fight between the BJP’s vision of an integrated Kashmir and the Kashmiri sense of autonomy promised to them under the Indian Constitution. Kabul may tactically and temporarily control the jihadis seeking to liberate Kashmir by force. But they will never abandon them completely. The solution lies at home.
The sun may set on the British Empire, but never on Queen Elizabeth II. Given the UK’s unpredictable weather, we had raincoats and umbrellas ready for any eventuality — but for the last few days, on Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee, the four-day holiday saw almost nonstop sunshine! It added to the joyous atmosphere — as the nation’s favourite great grandmother came out dressed in pastel blue — waving to the crowd from the famous balcony at Buckingham Palace surrounded by her family.
Somehow, no matter what happens, even while facing the most dire personal problems (captured in excruciating detail in soap operas like The Crown) — she has led the nation with grace and dignity. Believing it to be her duty she has been at the helm for 70 years — and certainly her popularity has soared way above that of any elected premier.
And so like any other Londoner we have been mesmerised by the events so carefully choreographed to congratulate her. The streets were full of holiday makers who have come from all over the world to celebrate her — indeed, many of those from out of town were camping all along the South Bank, or as close to the Palace as they could get, just to get even a fleeting glimpse of the Royals, especially “Lilibet” as she was once known.
Perhaps one of the most thrilling moments was the fly past over London — what is about aircraft flying in formation that makes even those unmoved by spectacle and pomp go a little giddy?
And yes, there was speculation on the Jubilee role to be played by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and their own Lilibet (named after the Queen) who, cleverly and coincidentally (as happens only in soap operas) turned one year old this week. So they had brought her with them to meet her great grandmother… And thus some conspicuous healing was arranged within the family.
While Prince Harry and Meghan were not seen on The Balcony, and made to sit at a distance even at St Paul’s Cathedral, it was obvious that the ice had thawed and perhaps the two Californians were finally being forgiven.
However, interestingly, the spotlight finally has begun to shift to the next generation — and as the Queen could not attend some of the events — it was Prince Charles and Camilla who were able to keep the flag flying. And the good news for Charles is that, despite all the early mistrust — the country seems to have accepted him and Camilla.
But most importantly, there were a parade of hats and glorious dresses— and we must discuss what Princess Catherine and Meghan wore because they were keenly scrutinised on the one public occasion when they were seen “almost” together, at St Paul’s Cathedral. While Kate wore a primrose yellow dress from British designer, Emilia Wickstead, Meghan donned a stylish pale Dior, a designer who was a favourite of the mother -in-law she never knew — Diana. Their hats matched the outfits and unlike the lady they were celebrating there were no handbags. (The Queen never appears without one.)
However, the one person who was not actually greeted with ecstatic cheers upon his entry at St Paul’s Cathedral, was the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, alas ! He was booed fairly loudly when he walked in with his wife Carrie.
And the one person who did not attend anything at all was Prince Andrew, who was ill with Covid and in any case was probably going to be pushed even more to the background than Harry and Meghan. People have not forgotten his friendship with the alleged sex offender Epstein.
And then of course there was the Platinum Party at Buckingham Palace with singers like Diana Ross, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Duran Duran and composers such as Andrew Llyod Weber which drew at least 22,000 people and provided a foot tapping history of pop music past and present.
So the Jubilee gave loads to every generation — and while the media was full of the Queen’s contribution to the world, many just used the occasion to enjoy the incredible weather and the wonderful atmosphere. For four glorious days we all forgot the cost of living crisis, Partygate — and yes even the wars raging in other parts of the world.
Painstakingly, the organisers had ensured that there was ample memorabilia and historical material to watch and experience — especially on Sunday which had a pageant in four acts. This not only featured the 260-year-old “gold” carriage which had also taken the Queen 70 years ago to her coronation, but also “national treasures” such as Sir Cliff Richard and the chef Heston Blumenthal, alongside 500 vintage cars, and puppets. While Indian themes were mostly absent from the celebration thus far, on Sunday we saw a “sustainable saree”, and much Bollywood type dancing — inspired by the marriage of the Queen to Prince Philip.
Indians were in full flow at the 6,000 street parties all over the country. Which made me wonder — we have had a difficult relationship with the UK — a contested history — but should we have celebrated her reign in a bigger way — or is it still too much about Empire? Hmmm…