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Editorials - 03-05-2022

Creating employment opportunities for women is fundamental to its identity

It is a tribute to the Nehruvian vision that the large number of institutions created in the post-independent era have withstood the test of time and many of them have risen to global standards. From oil to steel, dams to highways, from the iconic IITs to the prestigious Institute of design, they have covered almost every segment of economic activity.

Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, described them as temples of modern India. Undoubtedly, India’s emergence today as an economic powerhouse rests on the foundation of these remarkable institutions created in the early years of free India.

In 1947, India with a population of 345 million, a per capita income of Rs. 249.6 and literacy rate of 12% was one of the poorest countries in the world. Even amidst such an environment of deprivation and low income, Nehru felt the importance of social security and the need for promoting a culture of insurance. Thus, was born the idea of a state-run Life Insurance Corporation and LIC was established on September 1, 1956.

Initiative for women

LIC has steadily grown in the past six decades and today with over 290 million policy holders and an asset value of Rs. 38 lakh crore ($520 billion), it ranks as one of the largest insurance companies in the world. Yet, when LIC celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2017, its biggest achievement was hardly mentioned — the fact that LIC created large scale employment for women right from its inception in 1956.

Thousands of women became LIC agents in the 1950s and 60s, when job opportunities were scarce. There was no entry barrier in terms of age or fixed time for work. Education requirement was a mere high school pass. Many of these women were housewives who could earn an extra income by selling LIC policies.

This was a period before the arrival of digital technologies and mobile phones. Very few households had landlines and these women had to sell the policies through personal contacts. In fact, most of them did not have any marketing experience, yet LIC was able to create a vast army of motivated agents and inspiring stories emerged from them.

Usha Sangwan, the first woman to become the Managing Director of Life Insurance Corporation of India described this initiative “as one of the great social experiments of the time, turning raw talents to mature professionals”. LIC had an innovative reward scheme for the agents, offering a membership of exclusive clubs based on their performances. These clubs ranged from Manager’s Club, progressively moving higher and higher to reach the top level of Chairman’s club. Many agents climb these stairs fast to reach the top level to earn substantial amounts as commission.

A milestone in the history of India’s insurance industry was the opening of the sector for private participation in the year 2000 and this caused widespread concern that LIC will find the competition tough and could very well be marginalised. Today, there are 24 private players in the life insurance space and many of them have foreign collaborations. Yet, LIC remains a colossus capturing 75% of the life insurance business in the country. Its claim settlement at 99.87% is far above the industry average of 84%.

Ms. Sangwan says, “much of the success has come from the incomparably dedicated twelve lakh agents. Many of them were women who have chosen a career that is essentially suitable for women’s personality and talent. Their success in spreading the value of insurance is unimaginable”.

Policies focused on savings

Innovation has been the single most important factor that underpins LIC’s marketing strategy. In a country of vast poverty and low income, LIC recognised from the beginning that it cannot sell insurance as a risk cover on premature death. It therefore devised policies focussing on savings and the need for children’s education and daughter’s marriage which are fundamentals to family values in India. These policies also ensured that a part of the premium paid was returned at regular intervals before the maturity period, providing liquidity for emergencies. They simultaneously covered risk caused by death. LIC also differed from its new generation competitors in its marketing style and culture. While the private players concentrated on technology-driven marketing, LIC’s approach was significantly people-centric.

Everything about LIC from its logo with its two hands protecting a flame to its focus on India’s rural population has a powerful impact on ordinary lives.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the highly publicised Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana for financial inclusion of over 300 million of the rural population on August 15, 2014, LIC was already there with its policies covering a rural population of 200 million.

It also established itself as a unique organisation among India’s public sector enterprises. Yet that uniqueness is hardly recognised in India.

Skill India Mission

In his biography of master filmmaker Satyajit Ray, Andrew Robinson says, “Indians have an incredible capacity of ignoring home-grown success stories until the rest of the world discovers them”.

The fact remains that LIC kept a low profile inspite of its many-sided achievements. When the Prime Minister launched the Skill India Mission, many foreign agencies and institutions saw a honeypot there and rushed to put their hands in. Yet no institution was more equipped to take on this massive task other than LIC of India.

Its over a million strong agents provide case studies that touch real India. It is this treasure of real-life situations that can form the basis of a strong skilling mission. The distinguished management guru C.K. Prahlad once observed that these case studies should be a part of the syllabus of management schools of India and must replace cases borrowed from foreign universities. LIC’s training programme with its mix of online education and real-life case studies offer the best model for India’s skill development programmes.

In India, education is more a means to find a job than a process to acquire knowledge. LIC’s relevance comes from its track record of creating vast number of employment opportunities for ordinary Indians, male and female, urban and rural.

LIC is now at a transformational moment. Its listing on the bourses should lift LIC to be a part of the elite corporate community in India. Yet, the nation must not forget the fact that LIC was built on sweat and tears, pain and sacrifice of ordinary Indians. It is these democratic credentials that remain LIC’s most valuable asset.

C. Sarat Chandran is Senior Fellow, London School of Economics



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The Congress’s decline is to be seen in the context of majoritarianism as well as internal factors

The Congress party is no stranger to crises, but those it has faced since 2014 are unprecedented and probably the worst in the course of its long history. The party reached a historic low of 44 Lok Sabha seats in 2014 and that only increased to 52 in 2019. It has lost 39 out of 49 State elections since 2014. It managed to win only 55 of the 690 seats in the recent Assembly elections held in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa. A series of leaders have deserted the party — even those close to the Gandhi family. These defeats and desertions have raised questions and concerns about its very survival. The fact that Congress leaders held extensive talks with a much sought-after election consultant, and was planning to employ his services to revamp the party, brings into sharp relief the existential crisis of the Congress. How do we understand Congress’s existential crisis, and what are the prospects of revival?

A platform that does not work

Historically, the Congress had always come to power on a centrist platform reflecting its varied social base, but centrism does not work in a deeply divided polity dominated by a politics of polarisation and communal mobilisation. Essentially, the old form of accommodative politics, which for long held together the Congress’s social coalition, is not capable of galvanising the imagination of new India. The Gujarat model of politics marked by an exclusive focus on individual leadership as the driver of election campaigns, a strong sense of Hindu pride, a shift in popular attention to aggressive nationalist appeals regardless of reality or facts, and a complete rejection of the entire democratic past and superimposition of perception over performance appears to hold voters in thrall. Changes unleashed by liberalisation, globalisation, and the information-communication revolution initiated by the Congress have undercut its political ethos and ideological architecture to a greater degree than that of its principal rival. The Congress’s decline (and that of other Centre-Left and Left parties) needs to be seen in the context of transformations provoked by the growth and expansion of neoliberalism and majoritarianism, and other factors that are internal to the Congress, most notably, the strong resistance to structural changes within the party.

The party’s main problems

The Congress has faced three major structural problems in a political conjuncture defined by ‘the great moving Right show’, to borrow a phrase from cultural theorist Stuart Hall, and the polarisation engendered by it. These include the leadership issue, organisational stagnation, and the need to project and propagate a clear ideological alternative to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). I have explored these themes in my recent book on the Congress and am taking up some aspects of that here.

The Congress’s leadership crisis has undoubtedly played a role in its decline; however, the challenge facing the party is not just about the ineffectual leadership. Simply appointing a non-Gandhi will not dramatically alter the party’s dwindling fortunes. In fact, removing them might well reinforce the right-wing agenda. What the Congress needs is an organisational regeneration, with democratisation at the front and centre. But fundamental issues concerning organisational change have been repeatedly set aside and weighed down by the debate on dynastic leadership and an obsessive focus on the Gandhis.

It is, however, important to reconstitute the party’s leadership at various levels through internal elections. This can transform the Congress into a more representative organisation and could give a boost to the party by changing the perception that it is a family business. At present, the top decision-making bodies are occupied by people who have either never contested a Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha election or did so decades ago. Their influence has however grown in direct proportion to the weakening of the party across India. These structural problems have existed for years, and yet the party has not faced them head on. It has demonstrated no urgency for drastic remedial measures despite defeat after defeat. The feeble attempts at revitalisation have focused more on regaining quick electoral viability than on addressing long-term structural issues.

Short on communication

By far the Congress’s biggest shortcoming is its inability to communicate its ideological positions and values clearly. The great challenge is to define its message and communicate it to the electorate as an underpinning for political mobilisation. For this, it must unequivocally reaffirm its inclusive vision for a democratic India, and take credit for its past achievements, which resulted from an adherence to these commitments.

One big failure has been the Congress’s reluctance to tell its own story. The party did not publicise or highlight its distinctive approach, and that was one reason why it did not play to its strengths during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule, allowing itself to be outsmarted by its critics. The BJP has correctly calculated that so long as it sustains the argument that the Congress was elitist, corrupt and dynastic, it can prevent the Congress from emerging as a credible alternative. What aids and abets these half-truths is the passivity of the Congress in defending its record and letting its achievements to be dismissed and derided, even as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government successfully obfuscates data on its own underperformance in the last eight years.

Combating the communal

The key issue for the Opposition is defining its response to Hindu nationalism. While the Congress is largely agreed on the necessity of combating communal ideas, politics and policies, it has swung between making ideological compromises with majoritarian nationalism and plotting a frontal battle against it. It has often adopted a majoritarian tenor on certain controversial issues in the name of religious sentiment. However, this makes no sense amidst the growing influence of the Hindu Right. Both as a strategy and as an actuality, the mixing of religiosity and politics does not guarantee electoral dividends. Moreover, the conflict in India is not about the growing prominence of Hinduism in our public life, which most parties accept and promote, but about the BJP’s idea of nationalism, which is utterly exclusivist, pitted against the inclusive nationalism championed by the Congress during the freedom struggle.

Indian politics has never been more polarised than it is today; never before has the gulf been so wide. Hence, today, the battle is more fundamental; it is about the very idea of India — the idea of a diverse, pluralistic nation committed to liberal values. By remaining silent on the way in which nationalism has been redefined, the Congress has ceded the nationalist space to Hindu Right which poses as the pre-eminent torch-bearer of nationalism today even though organisations associated with it made no contribution to the freedom struggle, the crucible which defined Indian nationalism from which they were absent. Yet, its conception of Indian nationhood which it has fought for has prevailed, over the past decade and more, against the Congress’s inclusive ‘Idea of India’.

Defending a pluralist view of politics and governance is one aspect of the political strategy; the other is grounding its politics in the idiom of social justice which both sidesteps identity politics and resonates with an aggrieved population, alienated by the current dispensation’s policies and politics. Overall, the 137-year-old party’s revival depends on three things — a consistent narrative to counter divisive politics, the will to restructure the organisation, and drawing strength from constant public action rather than just elections.

Zoya Hasan is the author of the recently published book, ‘Ideology and Organization in Indian Politics: Polarization and the Growing Crisis of the Congress Party (2009-19)’



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Shaping opinion in Congress is a continuous process and needs efforts beyond formal and informal official interactions

The recent visit of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar to Pakistan and her trip to Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir received condemnation from India, and the United States swiftly drew distance clarifying that the administration did not underwrite the journey by the Member of the House of Representatives from Minnesota.

As the centre

The Capitol Hill has a distinct place in the United States Constitution and its separation of powers. Members of the legislative branch work independently to write laws for the administration to implement. The Members of Congress take a special interest in foreign policy and carry out regular oversight over policies pursued by the government across the globe. These could be on a track different from the official policy pursued by the administration of the day. It is said each member’s thoughts on foreign policy are like that of the Secretary of the State.

Over the past couple of years, much water has flown down the Potomac in Washington DC and the nature of representation in the United States Congress has undergone a change in terms of the issues members pursue. These in turn also depend on the nature of the districts, its constituents, issues of interest to the member and the larger political debate.

On issues with reference to countries or developments, views on the Hill are shaped by a combination of factors including outreach from the country at the official level, engagement of the diaspora with Members of the Congress and staff, advocacy and professional lobbies at work. These provide continuous inputs that supplement independent status papers published by the Congressional Research drafted by subject experts.

At times, the House or the Senate organises hearings on country/issue-specific subjects, for example the Senate Sub-Committee on Asia held last month on U.S. policy towards India, where, among other issues, Jammu and Kashmir figured. Some of these concerns do translate into a resolution, in turn having an amplifier effect. In the final run-up, what matters is a Congressional determination or passage of a legislation that binds the government.

Adding perspective, support

Today, while there are more Indian-Americans serving as Members of the House of Representatives than ever before, correspondingly, there is an exponential growth of the second generation of the community members who work in separate branches of the administration and the legislature, adding a different dimension. They bring to offices their own perspective which has been accumulated through personal exchange of information from friends in India and various public sources.

It is well established that there is bipartisan support for India in the U.S., especially the Congress, which means both the Democrats and the Republicans favour engagement and developing ties with the country, which in turn smoothens the work of successive administrations irrespective of which party enjoys a majority in Congress and has a President in the White House.

For instance, it took over two years of sustained work at all levels in the Congress before it passed the historic Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (with India) amid determined opposition from the non-proliferation advocates on the Hill, a majority of them belonging to the Democratic Party. In the final stage, over 100 members on the House side and 13 Senators (including Independent Bernie Sanders) voted against it. It did not reflect the party line unlike the GOP Senators and a majority of Representatives who went with the decision of the Republican U.S. President, George W. Bush.

Among the Democrats who called a Nay was Congressman Jim McDermott, a founding member of the India Caucus. The vote reflected his commitment to non-proliferation that overrode his affection for India. A vote and stand taken by the Member does not follow party dictates but is driven by individual choice, unlike in India where the party takes a decision and members vote accordingly, and on important pieces of legislation through a whip.

Ilhan Omar raking up Kashmir in an Indian territory under occupation attracted sharp comment from New Delhi. Ms. Omar is known to advocate on issues such as education, environmental justice, immigration, and health care, while in the pursuit of foreign policy, the Congresswoman feels human rights, justice and peace should form the core and also represent domestic values. Her policy prescription does not favour sanctions or interventionist measures. Much of her public life work is well known as is her stand on issues of religion. Last December, she sponsored a Bill combatting international Islamophobia that was cleared by the House and is with a Senate Committee.

Migrating to the U.S. as a child from civil-strife torn Somalia, she got drawn towards public office, winning a seat in the Minnesota House five years ago by unseating an established incumbent from a district with majority comprising a white population. In her book tracking the changing political landscape,People Like Us: The New Wave of Candidates knocking at Democracy’s Door , author Sayu Bhojwani noted: “Omar’s …campaign [for state legislature] mobilised multiple stakeholders… the young, immigrants, and progressives… beyond individual voters… organisers in the Black Lives Matter movement, the business community, local imams and media in the East African Community...around issues that directly affected these communities.” Today, Ms. Omar is in a leadership role as the whip in the Democratic Party’s Progressives Caucus which remains influential.

Is many layered

There are voices reaching out to offices across the aisle on the Hill which project a different perspective of what is happening in India and other parts of the world. There are a number of Members who form opinions based on varied inputs and articulate these at various fora.

The need to continue engagement with offices in the Congress, its emerging leadership and build a counter-narrative would require effort beyond formal and informal official interactions. It is a continuous process and a two-way street.

K.V. Prasad is a senior journalist and former Fulbright-American Political Science Association Fellow in the U.S. Congress



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The Supreme Court should step in and commute Balwant Singh Rajoana’s death sentence

The Supreme Court has extended the deadline of April 30 by two months for the Centre to make a decision on Balwant Singh Rajoana’s mercy petition, which is pending, with excruciating cost on the prisoner, for the last decade. Balwant Singh was awarded death sentence in the case of former Chief Minister of Punjab Beant Singh’ assassination in 1995. A mercy petition was submitted by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on his behalf in 2012. The President, Ram Nath Kovind,is to decide the fate of the petition after receiving a proposal from the Central government. The backdrop of the political history of this case indicates that the Centre may continue to avoid propelling the fate of Balwant Singh’s mercy petition either way. In such a case, it may very well rest on the Apex Court to take the matter in its hands and end the pendency in line with the death penalty jurisprudence in India.

Mitigating circumstances

During his trial, Balwant Singh chose not to defend himself. In his statements, justifying his actions, he stated that Beant Singh was targeted as he was accountable for numerous deaths and disappearance of Sikh men in police custody during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Punjab. The High Court judgment records that Balwant Singh expressed his remorse over the killings of other “innocent persons”, who died along with Beant Singh. Nevertheless, the death sentence was imposed on him first by the trial court in 2007, and confirmed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2010. The sentencing carried out by these courts neglected the Supreme Court’s mandate inBachan Singh vs State of Punjab on stating special reasons before imposing the extreme punishment of death, as opposed to the norm of sentence of life, after their assessment of aggravating factors and mitigating circumstances, i.e. circumstances related to the crime and the convict’s life history which exasperate and alleviate respectively, the death worthiness of the convict. However, in this case, the discussion on sentence by the two courts was limited to the act of crime and expression of remorse. No mitigating circumstances including jail conduct, were recognised and appreciated.

After March 31, 2012 was fixed for his execution, political wrangling took centre stage. In the uproar among the Sikh community, the community institutions swung into action to find ways to stall Balwant Singh’s hanging. Shiromani Akali Dal’s (SAD) government expressed its inability to find a hangman and said the decision on pardoning him would be taken by the Central government as the crime took place in Chandigarh, a Union Territory. The SGPC filed the mercy petition on Balwant Singh’s behalf which has remained pending for all these years.

Request for a speedy decision

Balwant Singh has spent 15 years on death row out of the total 27 years of his incarceration. In these years, he sent applications under the Right to Information Act to the offices of the President of India, Central and State governments requesting a speedy decision on the mercy petitions filed on his behalf.

While the time spent by a prisoner incarcerated should be critical, it is often ignored in the face of political considerations. In Balwant Singh’s case, the issue of pardoning him by accepting his mercy petition is taking the risk of appearing in support of a terrorist. Punjab’s politico-religious movement of the 1980-90, along with an active militancy, brought the Sikh community in a conflict with larger nationalist sentiments. Balwant Singh’s action is a part of this context. Hence, the decision on the mercy petition is rife with dual semantics of hurting a minority community, which is both a majority and politically powerful in Punjab, or appearing in support of a terrorist amidst State-propelled hyper nationalism, further amplified by the majoritarian politics of the BJP.

The findings of Project 39A’s report ‘Deathworthy’, a study on mental health of prisoners on death row in India, show that the segregated, alienated and stigmatised experiences of being on a death row may result in mental illnesses. Balwant Singh has endured a delay of 10 years in the decision of his mercy petition. Altogether, he has been imprisoned for 27 years, with severe toll on his physical and mental health. Yet, the indecision from the executive is likely to continue, with political considerations dwarfing any legal precepts that are core to decisions on death penalty cases. In this light, the Supreme Court can step in and commute Balwant Singh’s death sentence on account of undue delay in disposal of the mercy petition, amounting to torture and violation of his right to life under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.

Baljeet Kaur is Mitigation Investigator with Project 39A, National Law University, Delhi. Views expressed are personal



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Political parties in Karnataka try to woo the community as Assembly polls inch closer

Certain attempts to polarise votes on communal lines have gained ground in Karnataka, which is heading to Assembly polls barely a year from now. While the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hopes to reap a rich harvest by consolidation of Hindu votes, the two opposition parties — Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) — have backed the Muslim community in varying degrees on a slew of issues that have been raked up, be it Muslim girls not being allowed to wear hijab in classrooms or disallowing Muslim traders to set up shops during festivals at Hindu temples. There is a political one-upmanship between the two to boost their “Muslim-friendly” image.

Meanwhile, players like All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) are keen to carve their spaces in the political arena. Though AIMIM and SDPI have been floating candidates, they might at best become “spoilers” for non-BJP entities as in other States. The tussle for electoral space is bound to become more intense with the entry of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

With the space getting crowded, the Congress and the JD(S) are in the race for giving political posts to Muslim leaders. JD(S) appointed former Union Minister C.M. Ibrahim as the president of its State unit.Congress has appointed U.T. Khader as deputy leader of the party in the Assembly. It has elevated Mohammed Nalapad, considered a protégé of State Congress president D.K. Shivakumar, as president of the party’s youth wing.

Muslims constitute nearly 13% of the State’s population. In the 2018 polls, Congress and JD(S) fielded 17 Muslim candidates each, largely in north Karnataka. While seven Congress candidates were successful, JD(S) drew a blank. In the by-elections held to Sindagi and Hangal constituencies in 2021, JD(S) fielded Naziya Shakeel Ahmed Angadi and Niyaz Shaikh, respectively. Both lost their deposits. The ruling BJP, banking on the Hindu vote bank, had not fielded a single Muslim candidate either in 2018 or in by-elections.

The JD(S) contends that its Muslim candidates lost in the 2018 Assembly elections due to the then chief minister Siddaramaiah’s “false narrative” of branding JD(S) as “BJP’s B team.” The Congress leader alleged that JD(S) tried to divide the Muslim votes to help the BJP. However, it was a different story that after the fractured mandate, Congress and JD(S) formed the coalition government which eventually collapsed.

In the run-up to the next elections, the JD(S) has been taking credit for providing 4% reservation for Muslims in education and jobs and says it has every right to seek minority community votes. But it was the Devaraj Urs-led Congress government in 1977 which first passed the order for providing quota for Muslims under Other Backward Classes. This was challenged in the High Court and commissions were set up to review the OBCs list. Finally, in the process of fixing OBC quota at 27% as per the Mandal Commission case, the Muslim quota was fixed at 4% in Category II (B) in 1995. The same quota continues to this day.

Traditionally, Muslims have been voting for the Congress. There is a belief among political parties that Muslims vote en bloc strategically to defeat the BJP. With the BJP and right-wing organisations unlikely to end raking up communally-sensitive issues till the Assembly polls, it would be interesting to see whom Karnataka’s Muslims would look to, to protect their interests. With more than one contender in the fray to stake claim to their votes, it is a moot question as to whether there will be a consolidation of votes at all.

nagesh.p@thehindu.co.in



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Safety is an imperative and should be built into the cost and utility of electric vehicles

A spate of incidents related to the burning of electric vehicles (EV) has resulted in the Union government announcing an expert panel to investigate the battery explosions causing them and a few manufacturers recalling batches of electric scooters after some caught fire. EVs have increasingly become a viable transportation device, with more than 11 lakh electric/battery-operated vehicles registered in India (Vahan database, April 2022). The increase in the utilisation of EVs has also been largely helped by the significant reduction in costs of lithium-ion batteries that have fallen by an estimated 89% since 2010. With climate change concerns driving governments, including India’s, to incentivise the shift to EVs, their manufacture for commercial use has undergone an acceleration with an increase in indigenous companies in the Indian market as well. The enhanced use of EVs and utilisation of the underlying technology is welcome as despite the institution of fuel emission norms and building these into fossil fuel-driven vehicles, the shift to EVs from petrol and diesel ones is expected to gain significant net environmental benefits. But it must also be remembered that the Li-ion battery packs that form the core of the technology, are sophisticated devices and there should be no compromise on the inbuilt safeguards.

As an energy storage scientist explained inThe Hindu (‘FAQ’ page, May 1, 2022), battery fires occur due to the convergence of heat, oxygen and fuel, and the controlled manufacturing of devices is specifically required to prevent these. Engineering higher safety into EVs can result in higher costs but the smooth functioning of Li-ion batteries without accidents is reliant on the absence of “shoddy engineering” and “cutting corner approaches”. With long-term device changes in Li-ion batteries such as the use of solid state electrolytes, special safety switches, etc. still some time away in implementation, the onus is on manufacturers and regulators to ensure that testing and certification standards related to battery management systems such as devices that prevent accidental shorting of the cells, and thermal management solutions among others are met in existing EV systems and supply chains. Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that the Ministry of Road Transport will issue guidelines for EVs which would include tests for compliance with specific safety norms. While the regulation of a fledgling albeit growing sector that has shown a lot of promise but requires adequate safety norms to be put in place is an imperative, manufacturers and other companies in the EV supply chain should also proactively work in recalling defective batches of vehicles and ensuring safety compliance to prevent the recurrence of mishaps.



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Record revenues can smoothen upcoming Centre-State reform parleys

The first month of the new financial year has yielded a sharp surge in Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections, taking them well past Rs. 1.67 lakh crore — the highest, by a wide margin, in the five years since the levy was introduced by subsuming myriad State and central duties. In fact, GST revenues have scaled fresh highs in three of the last four months, having hit Rs. 1.41 lakh crore in January and Rs. 1.42 lakh crore in March. Overall GST revenues had grown 30.8% in 2021-22 to Rs. 14.9 lakh crore, despite slipping below the Rs. 1 lakh crore mark for two months when the second COVID-19 wave raged. The 20% year-on-year revenue uptick this April could be seen as a comforting signal about 2022-23 revenue prospects for policy makers at the Centre and the States, whose treasuries are fretting about the prospect of income falling off a cliff from this July when the assured compensation for implementing the GST comes to an end. Compensation cess levies will persist till at least March 2026, but they will be used to pay off special borrowings of 2020-21 to bridge revenue shortfalls and recompense States. The Centre needs a mechanism to expedite payment of outstanding compensation dues to States (Rs. 78,700-odd crore, or four months of dues). The Finance Ministry has blamed ‘inadequate balance’ in the Compensation Cess fund, and promised to pay up ‘as and when’ the requisite cess accrues.

If overall GST collections sustain around April levels, a dialogue with States on their pending dues along with those that will accrue from now till June, could become less thorny. But the conversation needs to begin soon. The GST Council, which has not met properly since September 2021, must be convened at the earliest. Higher tax inflows backed by improved compliance, should give the Council more flexibility to approach the impending rationalisation of the GST rate slabs, beyond a mere scramble to fill coffers and factor in larger socio-economic considerations. The Centre, which called the April inflows a sign of ‘faster recovery’, must also state whether these revenue levels warrant a rethink of its concern that the effective GST tax rate had slipped from the revenue-neutral rate envisaged at its launch. A clear acknowledgement is also needed that the higher revenues are not solely driven by a rebound in economic activity. Persistently higher input costs facing producers for a year and their accelerating pass-through to consumers, seen in higher retail inflation, have contributed too, along with tighter input credit norms introduced in the Union Budget. That revenue growth from goods imports has outpaced domestic transactions significantly in recent months, also suggests India’s consumption story is yet to fully resurface. Urgent policy action is needed to rein in the inflation rally and bolster consumer sentiment, so as not to sink hopes of more investments, faster growth and even greater revenues.



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London, May 2: The Soviet Union has flight-tested a new submarine-launched ballistic missile with a range of more than 3,000 miles, the International Institute of Strategic Studies reported. The Institute said that after surpassing the United States in land-based missiles, Russia now seemed likely to catch up with America’s substantial lead in strategic missile-carrying submarines by the middle of next year — sooner than had been foreseen. The institute did not foresee a major war in the 1970s since “the Nuclear King’s peace seemed to eliminate that fear”. Half the Soviet combatant surface fleet will be equipped with missiles by 1975, the institute said. Russia is also building a new nuclear-powered attack submarine, and its long-range submarines had been significantly improved in construction and weapon systems. However, the United States steadily pushed the qualitative improvement of its strategic nuclear forces, the survey said. The Chinese are building a new twin-jet fighter, a new radar system and improved, Soviet-type SAM2 ground-to-air missiles, the study said.



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Another fervent effort is being made to stop the outbreak of civil war in Ireland. The trouble in the north has been temporarily stayed by the Collins-Craig agreement but the terms of this arrangement are not recognised by the militant Republicans either on the Ulster border or in the southern countries. This extreme movement has, in fact, gone beyond the control of Mr. De Valera himself, for that gentleman has declared that he has no desire to make an appeal to arms at this juncture. The ultra-Republicans, however, seem at present to be the dominating element in the Irish military forces and nothing effective has yet been done to bring them under the control of the civil power. The authority of the Provisional Government is repudiated and a position has been reached in which armed force appears to be a determining factor. This state of things is roundly condemned by all the responsible and Pacific sections of the Irish people. With a view to putting an end to it, the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin and the Lord Mayor of that city (both ardent supporters of the Irish cause) have invited Mr. Collins and Mr. De Valera to a conference, from which it is hoped a truce will result.



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Rajshekhar’s style, because of his training in two distinct schools of music, was unique, with the subtleties of both becoming a distinct idea in his renditions.

Rajshekhar Mansur, classical vocalist whose music emerged from the Jaipur and Gwalior gharanas, who was trained by his father and Dharwad-based classical vocalist Mallikarjun Mansur, and like him specialised in rare (aprachalit) ragas and jod ragas — a specialty of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana — passed away in a Bangalore hospital on Sunday evening. The former professor and chairman at the Department of English at Karnataka University was 80.

Rajshekhar grew up listening to the extraordinary genius of his father’s music and yearned to learn where it came from. But Mallikarjun, however gentle he was as a guru and father, wanted his son to not face the hardships of a musician with regard to making a living. He wanted him to follow one of two sedate paths — medicine or engineering. Rajshekhar chose literature — it felt closer to music. He studied literature and linguistics at the University of Wales. But Mallikarjun believed in learning the art form for the sake of it. So at 16, Rajshekhar began learning from Pandit Neelkanth Buwa, doyen of the Gwalior gharana followed by tutelage under Ustad Manji Khan, son of Ustad Alladiya Khan, the founder and creator of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. He remained a life-long disciple of his father. Rajshekhar’s style, because of his training in two distinct schools of music, was unique, with the subtleties of both becoming a distinct idea in his renditions.

Since Rajshekhar had an active academic life, his concerts were few and far between. But amid a few recordings that can be retrieved on YouTube, there is one of Raga Bihari, where he sings his father’s famed bandish “Neend na aave piya…”. Every little glide is exquisite, soaked in bhaav, in a slightly nasal voice, without turning this raga of pathos into a flaunting of one’s prowess. That was Rajshekhar Mansur, steeped in the learning of his gurus, who carried the mantle of Mallikarjun Mansur’s greatness calmly, and with a deftness not known to many.

This editorial first appeared in the print edition on May 3, 2022 under the title ‘His father’s son’.



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The newly-formed AAP government will have to watch out for such potential troublemakers while going about its work of addressing the state's several challenges.

Last week’s clash in Patiala, the visuals of glinting swords and slogan-shouting mobs, brought back dark memories of a distant past that is best consigned to the annals of history. The Bhagwant Singh Mann government has done well by acting swiftly and bringing the situation under control with the arrest of the alleged troublemakers. But the episode underlines the need for constant caution against fringe elements in the state who seek to stay relevant by stoking anxieties. The Patiala incident appears to have followed sabre rattling on social media for almost two weeks. The AAP government must remember that eternal vigilance is the price of peace. The Opposition parties, who have had to contend with such forces when they were holding the reins of the state, should also act with responsibility and restraint.

Like others of their ilk, none of the outfits involved in Friday’s clash, has any significant social base in Punjab. The recent elections underlined this in good measure. Tolerance is perhaps one of the most profound lessons that the people of Punjab have imbibed from the decade lost to militancy. They have not let the cancer of hate eat into the vitals of society, finding common ground in their shared heritage instead. All this while, however, the marginal players have also carried on heedless, rearing their heads every now and then, drumming up sentiments for a few hours, even days, but never succeeding in creating a lasting wedge. A look at the shenanigans of various such self-appointed leaders shows a pattern. Provoke, indulge in violence, demonstrate threat to life, and get police protection. This needs to stop.

The AAP government has come to power in Punjab at a time when the state is still recovering from a protracted farm agitation. With the summer arriving earlier than usual this year, it’s been robbed of its annual golden harvest. Then there is the power crisis which is making it sweat like many other parts of the country. This coupled with the rising prices of fertilisers and fuel has only deepened the crisis in the fields. It could be tempting for the forces of the dark to try and leverage this discontent. The newly-formed AAP government will have to watch out for such potential troublemakers while going about its work of addressing the state’s several challenges.



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The US-led West, which claims to understand India's position on Russia and yet asks it to “choose the right side” will be watching to understand how far Delhi is prepared to go on this visit in making common cause with Europe.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-nation Europe tour will set the stage for India’s wider engagement with the continent in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. After the Second World War, this is the first time that Europe is witnessing conflict close to home. More than five million refugees from Ukraine are now living in host countries across the continent, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s nuclear threats have rattled states that never expected to see war again. Europe’s economic powerhouse Germany, which is PM Modi’s first port of call, had turned pacifist to the point of not wanting a military in penance for Nazi excesses during the war. It has now made a huge political and strategic choice to support Ukraine in its defence against Russia with weapons, also deciding to spend more money to beef up its own defences. Chancellor Olaf Scholz, an anti-war Social Democrat, finds himself leading the country through this complex time in which the nation has decided to make economic sacrifices by agreeing to the costly proposition of cutting energy dependence on Moscow, even though his first instinct was to resist US pressure to join the anti-Russia coalition. For Delhi, too, Putin’s decision has been problematic for its long-standing bilateral ties with Moscow. In an interview to this newspaper, Scholz has said the war will be at the top of the agenda during Modi’s visit, and that Germany, one of Delhi’s most important partners in Europe, expects “broad agreement” with India on Russian accountability. The US-led West, which claims to understand India’s position on Russia and yet asks it to “choose the right side” will be watching to understand how far Delhi is prepared to go on this visit in making common cause with Europe.

Europe’s shift must also be seen in the context of President Emmanuel Macron’s convincing victory in the recent elections, which however, has not been able to hide the political advance of the French right-wing. President Macron’s efforts early this year, weeks ahead of the election, to try and prevent the war through meetings with Putin, were made in the full clarity of knowing that the war would divide not just Europe but also France. The French, who have interests in the Indo-Pacific, have been more than put out at being left out of the Quad, and the manner in which the AUKUS blindsided their defence relations with Australia. Modi’s stop-over in Paris may provide a better understanding of the role France wants to play in the region, aside from strengthening bilateral ties. Denmark is part of the India-Nordic summit, and is important to India’s engagement with Europe on trade and climate change. This bloc has been beset with new insecurities after Russia’s Ukrainian misadventure. Two of its members, Sweden and Finland, are mulling joining NATO.

Strategic convergence with a Europe that looks to the US as a guarantor of its security interests would require India to make important shifts in its own relationships. An invitation to India to attend the G-7 would be a significant indicator. More immediately, it is no secret that the EU is keen on a free trade agreement with India, negotiations for which have been ongoing for a decade. In this respect, Modi’s visit may set the stage for an India-EU summit.



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Deepa Padmar, Sneha Priya Yanappa write: It will have adverse consequences not only on the future forest cover of the state but also on its climate and rain patterns.

Last week, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai announced that he had signed a cabinet decision to release 6.5 lakh hectares from the deemed forest classification and will submit an affidavit to the Supreme Court accordingly. This measure will essentially declassify close to 67 per cent of the land in Karnataka that was otherwise classified as deemed forests under the Supreme Court’s orders in 1996. The issue of declassification of deemed forests in the state is not new, but a longstanding and contentious one with far-reaching implications on the state’s forest cover.

There is no comprehensive definition for “forests” in India. The ambiguity around this term was clarified by the Supreme Court in T N Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India and Others (Godavarman case) where it defined “forest” to include any piece of land that resembles the dictionary meaning of forest for the purpose of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. This case also conceptualised “deemed forests”. Deemed forests were conceived as areas that have not been notified under the legislation, but are recorded as forests in government records. These are lands that have characteristics of forests, irrespective of ownership. Once forests are “deemed”, they cannot be de-reserved or utilised for non-forest purposes without prior approval of the Centre.

The Godavarman case was significant also because the Court ordered the setting up of expert committees in each state to identify deemed forests to remove ambiguities with respect to the scope of lands that may receive protection under the Forest (Conservation) Act. This decision paved the way for the preservation of forest areas in India to be continuously monitored by the Supreme Court, mandating the state governments to obtain clearances for affecting or implementing changes to lands classified as deemed forests.

In Karnataka, the state government constituted two expert committees. In 2002, the reconstituted expert committee in Karnataka identified 9.9 lakh hectares as deemed forests. However, the area identified as deemed forests in the state is shrinking due to subsequent governments incessantly filing affidavits in the Supreme Court alleging that the initial survey and identification by the expert committees was unscientific and covered areas that do not fall within the definition of forests envisaged under the Godavarman decision.

The current government has stated that such declassification is necessary to give property rights to farmers who have been wronged by the alleged unscientific classification of private, non-forests lands as forests that deserve protection under the Forest Conservation Act. However, sweeping declassification of large swathes of possibly forest lands is also likely to legalise existing encroachments for non-agricultural purposes. For instance, a private resort in Sakleshpura cut a road through a deemed forest area for commercial purposes.

It is quite possible that declassification of some areas of deemed forests will provide security to farmers. In such cases, the government’s declassification approach must show that it is meant to address this concern. The basic measures requiring identification of only agricultural land owned specifically by farmers must be undertaken prior to declassification to ensure that other illegal activities are not inadvertently legalised. The blanket declassification currently sought by the state government not only violates the object of the Forest (Conservation) Act but vitiates the identification process undertaken by the expert committees under the Supreme Court order.

The result of previous affidavits filed by the state government to the Supreme Court seeking declassification of different amounts of land, similar to the one filed by the current government, is unclear. Permitting blanket declassification in Karnataka sets a dangerous precedent, allowing other states to poke holes into their respective expert committee classifications.

It has never been clearer that accurate forest management is crucial for environmental and ecological sustainability. However, the current actions of the state government are likely to have adverse consequences not only on the future forest cover of the state but also on the climate and rain patterns of Karnataka. With temperatures rising across the country, and states experiencing unprecedented heatwaves, it becomes all the more important that the government exercises utmost precaution in doing away with any existing protections for forests in the state.

This column first appeared in the print edition on May 3, 2022 under the title ‘Sweeping away green’. The writers are research fellows with the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy



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Somit Dasgupta writes: Dark days lie ahead. Issues in transportation, production of coal must be addressed.

The power sector in India is going through a crisis. Peak shortages in some states have reached double digits. Coal stocks available at thermal plants are at abysmal levels and about 106 plants out of 173 plants have reached a critical stage. On average, coal stocks available are only good enough for about eight days’ generation against a norm of 24 days. In some plants, the stocks available are just about enough to run the plant for a day or two more. Part of the problem of poor coal stock is also rumoured to be on account of the non-payment of dues of coal companies. But this is not the major cause of the shortage.

Let us first understand the chronology of the crisis. First, with summer approaching before time, power demand has shot up to record levels. Take the case of Delhi. The city had a maximum temperature of 43.5 degrees centigrade a few days ago, the highest in the past 12 years. Delhi’s power demand crossed 6,000 MW on April 28 which is a record. The second reason for the rise in power demand is that the economy is recovering, and demand from the industrial sector is going up. All things put together, power demand crossed 207 GW on April 29, which is about 14 per cent higher than what it was a year ago. Experts feel that the peak demand may even touch 215 GW in the coming months.

This increase in demand should have posed no problem since there was enough spare capacity available with coal-based stations operating at less than 60 per cent capacity. The problem is the availability of coal, as many plants have less than two days worth of stock. What is important to note is that this coal crisis is not because of any deficit in the supply of coal from domestic sources. Coal dispatches from Coal India during 2021-22 were 23 per cent higher than in the previous year and the corresponding figure for Singareni Collieries (a government-owned-coal mining corporation) is 31 per cent. Of course, these are aggregate figures and there could be a drop in production in the case of certain individual mines.

The fall in coal stock in power stations is because of two main reasons. The first is that due to a rise in the international price of coal on account of the Ukraine crisis, all plants that were importing coal have either stopped generating completely or are generating at much lower levels. We have a sizeable generating capacity based on imported coal, estimated at about 16 GW to 17 GW. All these plants after stopping imports are now looking for domestic coal, creating pressure on domestic coal. The second reason for low coal stocks is the non-availability of rakes with Indian railways for transporting coal. Though about 22 MT of coal may be available in power stations, if one includes the stocks available with mining companies, the figure is well over 70 MT. So, it is all a question of transporting the coal to the power stations. To make matters worse, generation from gas-based plants has also fallen due to high gas prices in the world market. Reservoirs, too, are drying up due to intense heat which will adversely affect hydro generation.

To better understand the crisis, one needs to take a careful look at the transportation problem faced by Indian railways. The railways have about 2,500 rakes which can be used for coal transportation. With a turn-around time of about four-and-a-half days (which goes up to nine days for coastal regions), the railways can provide only about 525 rakes on any single day. Of this, about 100 rakes are used for transporting imported coal and therefore, only about 425 rakes are available on a daily basis for transporting domestic coal. But only 380 rakes were being provided in the first half of April this year, though efforts are on to increase this to about 415 rakes.

The railways prefer to transport coal over short distances in order to save on the turn-around time. Consequently, coal stocks in faraway power stations are good enough for only two days of generation or less, whereas for plants nearer to the mines it can go up to nine days also. It is understood that the railways have issued a tender about three weeks ago for one lakh wagons, but it will take six to eight months for delivery. It may be added that it is not just the non-availability of rakes which is causing the problem. There is also the issue of availability of tracks since they are being used on a back-to-back basis. In order to transport more rakes for transporting coal, the railways are cancelling passenger trains. About 42 trains have been cancelled for a month involving about 750 trips. It is pretty evident, therefore, that there is a major transport bottleneck.

With efforts now being made to sort out the transportation problems, stocks will begin depleting faster. Thus production has to be enhanced so that the replenishment rate is higher than consumption. Unless we do that, the total stock of coal in the country will deplete further and it will no longer be a mere transportation problem as it is now, but a general lack of supply of coal. This is the right time to enhance coal production and build adequate stocks because once the monsoon sets in, production will fall.

Anticipating this, the government has asked the power companies to import coal for blending purposes to reduce the pressure on domestic coal. The problem is that there may be no takers for this given the high price of coal in international markets. Besides, these imports will again put pressure on the availability of rakes for domestic coal. What seems to be certain is that unless the weather relents, dark days are ahead.

This column first appeared in the print edition on May 3, 2022 under the title ‘Dark days ahead’. The writer is Senior Visiting Fellow, ICRIER and former member (Economic & Commercial), CEA



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Soham D. Bhaduri writes: Countering the hegemony of English must be a gradual process.

Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh recently declared their intention to provide the MBBS course in Hindi. This, if implemented, will help counter the hegemony of English in professional education. However, it is important to analyse the pros and cons of this measure in view of its historical timing and the contextual peculiarities of the country.

The measure would entail significant costs given the regulatory and administrative alterations that would be required. This would include translation of educational materials, training of trainers, and the like. The costs will depend on the scale of implementation and need not necessarily be a deterrent. Whatever be the scale, weighing the gains and losses will be imperative.

An argument advanced by critics is that this measure is fuelled by misplaced nationalistic sentiments, which would erode the competitive advantage Indian graduates have in the global scientific arena. In their rejoinder, the advocates state that countries such as Germany and China have long been doing so successfully, and so can India.

It is necessary to recognise one crucial distinction in this respect. Unlike the countries that have traditionally upheld medical education in the local language, for India, this is in essence an innovation in a context where English is firmly entrenched. The implications of this step are likely to be two-fold. First, the measure could face considerable resistance in assimilating into the existing ecosystem which, in turn, could restrict its scope to a few select institutions. Second, it is unlikely to spur enough demand from the masses who may not want to settle for a perceived inferior option. This has already been witnessed in the case of engineering courses.

The extent of systemic rearrangements that would be warranted cannot be underplayed. Medical education doesn’t stop at MBBS alone, and sooner rather than later, postgraduate medical courses would also need to be conceived in regional languages. A considerable segment of medical graduates today are employed in allied sectors straddling research, business and administration, pharmaceuticals and the like. These sectors are firmly entrenched in English and are thus likely to be much less welcoming to regional language medium graduates. The response of the private sector is also unlikely to be brisk. There is a risk of engendering an implicit hierarchy among medical graduates therefore, whereby non-English medium graduates are seen to be lesser than their counterparts.

The diversity and multiplicity of languages across and within states, while otherwise a highly celebrated feature, can comprise a significant impediment to vernacularisation of medical education. Medical doctors are highly mobile professionals and often, English is a mutually-intelligible option in technical as well as routine dealings and interactions. Here, there are two aspects to consider. Envisioning a situation whereby medical education is provided in numerous local languages entails considerable chaos which, even if manageable, would be largely unnecessary. Going for a select few languages with a large following could be an optimum middle-path. However, this is unlikely to obviate the need for incorporating basic English skills in the curriculum.

The present emphasis on expanding the private sector’s scope in medical education also fails to vibe well with this measure. If one of our intentions is to increase access to medical education beyond the English-knowing elite, one cannot be oblivious to the broad correlation between knowledge of English and socioeconomic status. The majority of those who opt for medical education in regional languages would be unable to afford private medical colleges.

An incremental approach should be adopted to gradually make medical education in regional languages more harmonious with the current ecosystem. For example, before offering MBBS in an Indian language, it would be far more prudent to start paramedical courses in that language. Such paramedical workers are often less mobile and function closer to the patients and communities being served than doctors. This magnifies the utility of education in regional languages and thus its potential returns here could be much higher. At the same time, it is worthwhile to remember that vernacularisation is only one of many ingredients in the recipe to demystify medical education. Many other measures, for instance, selection criteria that is based more on aptitude than merit, require political attention today.

This column first appeared in the print edition on May 3, 2022 under the title ‘Slow medicine’. The writer is a physician, health policy expert and chief editor of The Indian Practitioner.



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Manish Tewari writes: It can stand with the aggressor or with the Western democracies, howsoever imperfect they may be.

As the war in Ukraine enters the third month, the time has come to re-evaluate as to whether the Indian position on the aggression is myopic, even in the short term.

During the debate in the recently concluded session of Lok Sabha, there was near unanimity in the House that India must maintain its strategic autonomy and, therefore, to that extent, the position of the BJP-led NDA government at that particular point in time was “commended” by MPs, including me when I opened the debate on April 5. However, in the world of realpolitik, interests are permanent, not friends or relationships. National interest must be underpinned by the innate flexibility to respond within its purview to the swift march of events and circumstances.

The question, therefore, that needs to be asked is: Where does India’s national interest lie on the Ukrainian question? The answer should be a no-brainer. It must lie on the side of peace, with the victim, in this case Ukraine, and to ensure that the war is ended as expeditiously as possible, notwithstanding our reliance on Russia — spares for conventional weaponry, joint production of delivery systems for strategic and tactical assets, past diplomatic and military favours extended, synergy with regard to energy exploration, to name but a few.

By shattering the long peace of Europe, the Russian regime has turned itself into something of a pariah state. Even in nations that have so far maintained strict neutrality or have erred on the Russian side, populations have a profoundly different view of the Ukrainian situation. Any opinion poll would demonstrate this fact rather unequivocally. Even within Russia, people are not fully on board with the brutalisation of fellow Slavic people.

In the intricately networked and interconnected parallel universe called the virtual civilisation, the number of people online now stands at five billion, 62 per cent of humanity. Out of this, 4.62 billion are active social media users. This translates into a huge community of soft power that transcends Westphalian boundaries. In this virtual space, the advantage is with Ukraine and the democratic nations that back it. An argument can be advanced that since Western (read American) companies control the internet, therefore the Russian narrative gets edged out, if not belittled and mocked.

This may be true but it should not be forgotten that perceptions across millennia have always been shaped by those who control the medium and not essentially those who had the best message. It is here that nations who are ambivalent about what is happening in Ukraine — especially after atrocities in Bucha and other suburbs of Kiev allegedly committed by Russian forces that got saturation coverage across the media space — or countries that are seen to be supporting Russia, risk becoming collateral damage in this perception battle. The question India must ask itself is: Does it want to be on the wrong side of global opinion by being perceived as standing in the Russian corner?

As I had stated in Parliament, the Ukrainian conflict, unlike other conflicts after the Second World War, will shape the contours of a new world order: “This conflict in Ukraine unlike the previous ones in Europe will redefine the global world order just as World War-I did, World War-II did, the Cold War did, the end of the Cold War did, the war on terror did in all its negative manifestations. A new iron curtain seems to be descending across the world… unlike the iron curtain which had divided Europe between 1945 and 1989, this new iron curtain has the potential of actually dividing the world. Behind this iron curtain, may lie the great civilisations of Russia, China, Iran and their myriad allies — Myanmar, Pakistan, Syria and North Korea, to name a few. The recent joint statement on the 4th February 2022, between China and Russia expounding international relations entering a new era and global sustainable development may actually become the foundation of this unfortunate division which the world is witnessing today”.

India does not have the luxury of sitting atop this new iron curtain as it did between 1946 and 1989 — the period between the First Asian Relations Conference and the fall of the Berlin Wall. It has to choose if it wants to be seen in the company of Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan and Myanmar or on the side of Western democracies howsoever imperfect and hypocritical they may be. Moreover, we have aligned our interests increasingly with Western powers since 1991.

Finally, what does India stand to gain by isolating Europe, a continent of almost 750 million people with whom it shares civilisational values and which is also an important trading partner? India-EU trade alone stands at 62.8 billion Euros. Europe is totally opposed to the Russian aggression in Ukraine.

The in-your-face comments by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at the recently concluded Raisina dialogue in Delhi while responding to a question by the Norwegian Foreign Minister in the context of Ukraine were eminently avoidable. He said “I remember less than a year ago what happened in Afghanistan where an entire civil society was thrown under the bus by the world. We in Asia face our own threats or challenges, which often impact on the rules-based order.”

This is a rather naïve position for a veteran foreign policy professional to take on Afghanistan. Anyone who has even a modicum of acquaintance with Afghan history knows that America or the West could not stay in Afghanistan forever. The Afghan leadership that held the field from 2001 to 2021 is singularly responsible for betraying its own people, especially when they had the military and material resources of the world backing them for two decades.

Tomorrow, if push comes to shove with China and the Europeans along with the US throw our Ukrainian ambivalence back at us, how would we feel about it? The time therefore has come to rightsize our position on the Ukrainian question, for the stance that we are taking will inevitably and ultimately militate against India’s strategic interests.

This column first appeared in the print edition on May 3, 2022 under the title ‘India & new iron curtain’. The writer is a lawyer, MP, former I&B Minister and senior national spokesperson INC. Views are personal.



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C. Raja Mohan writes: The Ukraine war has shown that India needs strong commercial and security partnerships with Europe that stand on their own merit and bring the many synergies between them into active play.

With the horrific war in Ukraine showing no signs of ending, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Berlin, Copenhagen, and Paris this week could give us a glimpse of India’s post-Russian strategic future in Europe. As Russia, isolated by unprecedented Western sanctions, deepens its alliance with China, Europe has begun to loom larger than ever before in India’s strategic calculus.

Last week, the focus was on engagement with collective Europe. In her visit to Delhi, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von Der Leyn, unveiled the new contours of the EU’s strategic partnership with India by launching the India-Europe Trade and Technology Council. This is the EU’s second such council. Last year, the EU signed a similar agreement with the US. This week, the focus is on India’s key bilateral partnerships with European majors — Germany and France — as well as a critical northern corner of Europe, the so-called Norden that punches way above its small size. Modi’s tour should give Delhi a better appreciation of the new mood in Europe that has been shaken by the Russian aggression. The PM will have an opportunity to find ways to limit some of the negative regional and global consequences of the war and explore the emerging possibilities for stronger cooperation with key European countries.

In Berlin, the PM will have an opportunity to commiserate with the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz — both the leaders have problems coping with President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. Having built up a significant engagement with Moscow over the decades, India and Germany are under pressure to disentangle from the Russian connection. Modi and Scholz could also exchange notes on how their long-standing illusions about China came crashing down. Both had bet that trading with China will moderate Beijing’s behaviour, both are having second thoughts now thanks to Xi Jinping’s muscular foreign policy.

In Copenhagen, the bilateral talks with Danish leadership are about Delhi finally finding time for the smaller European countries. In the last few years, Delhi has learnt that every one of them can contribute significantly to India’s development.

The Nordic summit hosted by Denmark underlines India’s discovery of the various sub-regions of Europe — from the Baltics to the Balkans and from Iberia to Mittleuropa. The Nordic Five — Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden — have a population of barely 25 million but their GDP at $1.8 trillion is greater than that of Russia.

In Paris — the enduring engine room of strategic Europe — Modi will have a chance to reflect with President Emmanuel Macron on the implications of the war in Ukraine for Eurasia and the Indo-Pacific. Macron’s return to power offers a good moment for Modi to imagine the next phase in bilateral relations. The two leaders laid the foundation for a strong strategic partnership in 2018.

Coming back to the war in Ukraine that will shadow Modi during the trip to Europe, there is much surprise in India at the level of international interest in India’s strategic ties to Moscow. But the Western debate on Germany is even harsher. Berlin is tied far more deeply to Russia than India. Germany’s annual trade with Russia is about $60 billion while India’s is at $10 bn. Beyond trade numbers, Berlin’s strategic dependence on Moscow is serious. Germany relies heavily on Russian natural gas, while Russian arms dominate India’s weaponry. To be sure, Berlin and Delhi don’t like the Western pressures to reduce ties with Russia.

Irrespective of their Russian preferences, Germany and India have no option but to live with circumstances over which they have no control. Expansion of India-Germany bilateral ties is part of that adaptation by Delhi and Berlin. In Germany, the Indian delegation is unlikely to be distracted by Germany’s soaring rhetoric on global norms. The Social Democrats and the Greens, who dominate the current ruling coalition, are particularly prone to this. This is not very different from Delhi’s righteous moralpolitik in the early decades after independence.

What really drives Germany is commerce. Making India an attractive new destination for German capital, now under pressure to reduce its exposure to Russian and Chinese markets, should be the highest priority for PM Modi. Germany is one of India’s oldest economic partners, but the full potential of the commercial relationship has never been realised. If there ever was a moment to think big about the future of German trade and investment in India, it is now.

Germany is not the only European country shaken to the core by Russia’s invasion. The Nordic world, which shares frontiers with Russia over land as well as in the waters of the Arctic, is even more rattled by the war. If Putin’s war has compelled Berlin to end its resistance to larger defence expenditures, two members of the Nordic five — Sweden and Finland — are now rushing to end their long-standing neutral status and join NATO. The other three — Denmark, Iceland, and Norway — have been founding members of NATO, set up in 1949.

Listening to the Nordic leaders might help Delhi appreciate the deeply-held fears about Russia among Moscow’s smaller neighbours. And there is more complexity to European history and security than the Indian narrative that Russia was “provoked” to launch the war on Ukraine.

In Copenhagen, Modi would want to build on the unique bilateral green strategic partnership with Denmark. Modi’s first Nordic summit in 2017 produced a framework for an ambitious bilateral agenda on a range of issues—including technological innovation and sustainable development. The Denmark summit will review the progress and expand its ambit.

On his way back, Modi is stopping over in Paris to set the tone for the next phase in the strategic partnership with France. Modi might have hoped that Macron’s bold effort at avoiding war in Ukraine and developing a political framework for the peaceful integration of Russia into the European order would succeed. But Putin had other plans. For some time now it has been said that France is India’s “new Russia” — Delhi’s most important strategic partner. In recent years, France has emerged as a strong defender of India’s interests in the United Nations Security Council and a regional ally in the vast Indo-Pacific theatre. France has also been a major supplier of advanced arms to India.

But Delhi and Paris have been some distance away from demonstrating full possibilities of their defence partnership. France has a critical role in making a success of India’s ambitious current plans to expand domestic production of weapons with greater participation of private and foreign capital. Can Modi and Macron push their bureaucracies to come up with a major project for defence industrial collaboration? Can they get going on the development of a fighter jet engine in India? And can Delhi and Paris match India’s strategic collaboration with Russia on maritime nuclear propulsion?

There is no doubt that Western Europe has moved from the margins to the centre of India’s foreign and security policies. The crisis in Ukraine, which has shattered the regional order that emerged in 1991, intensifies the imperatives for deeper strategic cooperation between India and its European partners.

In the colonial age, India looked at Europe through the British eyes. The so-called Great Game was about keeping Britain’s European rivals — including France, Russia, and Germany — away from the Subcontinent. In the post-colonial age, India flipped the paradigm by aligning with Russia to limit European influence in the region. After the Ukraine war, a new paradigm is beckoning India — strong commercial and security partnerships with Europe that stand on their own merit and bring the many synergies between them into active play.

This column first appeared in the print edition on May 3, 2022 under the title ‘Europe to the centre’. The writer is senior fellow with the Asia Society Policy Institute in Delhi and contributing editor on international affairs for The Indian Express



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AAP was the last political party in India to break through in a hypercompetitive arena and then record durable success. In a decade, its talisman Arvind Kejriwal has been sworn in as Delhi’s chief minister thrice, having led his party to a huge victory in the last two assembly elections. Since then, AAP has spread and is now the ruling party in Punjab.

AAP was forged in the crucible of an anti-corruption movement and was initially powered by volunteerism. Currently, it’s no different from any political party in its functioning.

Also read: Prashant Kishor hints at political plunge, to begin from Bihar

The rarity of enduring success for new political formations in the last few decades should make one sceptical of the ambiguous social media announcement by political consultant Prashant Kishore, suggesting he will soon enter grassroots politics, beginning with Bihar.

He is no stranger to it, having once been associated with JD(U). His real claim to fame is as a consultant to political parties. In this capacity, he has covered almost the entire ideological spectrum in Indian politics. Most recently, he was at the heart of a long presentation to senior functionaries of the Congress, which aimed to provide a pathway to revitalise India’s oldest political party. It didn’t go well.

The moot point is if forming a new political party will end well for Kishore. It is hard to discern what his political ideology is. Also, Bihar has a fairly competitive political landscape and breaking in will be hard.

Given the challenges for any new political formation and also considering Kishore’s background, his social media teaser is bound to be treated sceptically.



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Supreme Court’s ruling that no one can be forced to get vaccinated even as it allowed for certain restrictions on individual freedoms for the sake of community health draws a fine balance. The court found that the right to bodily integrity under Article 21 allows a person to refuse to get vaccinated. And the right to impose restrictions on individual rights over the body and livelihoods for safeguarding public health must satisfy the Right to Privacy judgment’s triple test of legality, need and proportionality.

Legality presupposes existence of a law, need is defined in terms of legitimate state aim, and proportionality requires that the restrictive means employed must seek out effective alternatives and invade individual rights only to the minimum degree necessary. On this last score, even while it ruled out arbitrariness in the Centre’s vaccination policy, SC suggested recall of all vaccine mandates as governments didn’t produce data to demolish the petitioner’s argument that both unvaccinated and inoculated are almost on a par in transmitting infections.

But it is incontrovertible that vaccines have saved lives: Even during the mild third wave, hospitalisations were disproportionately high among the unvaccinated. Interestingly, the court deemed vaccine mandates not “proportionate” till Covid cases remain low or new data justifies them. This does give authorities the leeway to bring the mandates back during infection surges. The important point is that vaccine mandates should not take draconian turns by denying people welfare benefits and livelihoods. They should be designed to achieve legitimate aims like minimising contagion risks for vulnerable people and preventing overrunning of hospitals whenever Covid turns threatening. Courts maintaining a hawk-eye using the privacy triple test will help check arbitrary vax mandates.

This SC judgment has come after 96% of Indians over 15 have taken one dose of anti-Covid vaccine and 84% two doses. The devastation people witnessed during the second wave was enough to dispel vaccine hesitancy and help convince a significant majority. Though some government officers and occupational categories faced vaccine mandates, the overwhelming majority of Indians got jabbed on their own free will. It wasn’t coercion but free, informed and accessible vaccination that helped achieve the State’s aim. Low offtake of boosters among the under-60 must be similarly tackled by offering free vaccination choices and constant messaging about waning immunity. The right of citizens to not take vaccinations or seek medical help mustn’t stop governments from making all efforts to persuade them to safeguard individual and public health.



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GoI is scheduled to convene a meeting of cab aggregators next week following consumer complaints about arbitrariness in fixing fares. Independently, cab drivers in NCR, attached to cab aggregators, struck work last month in the wake of repeated increases in fuel prices. Given the unsettled state of the app-based cab ecosystem, it is in the best interests of all stakeholders to sort out the problems through a meeting.

App-based companies such as Uber and Ola are an important part of the urban transport system. An order issued last year by the competition regulator, CCI, examined their functioning. They are primarily digital platforms which connect potential customers to drivers. In that sense, they are aggregators. However, CCI observed that their mode of functioning makes them dissimilar to e-commerce platforms. Unlike e-commerce marketplaces, cab platforms completely control the process of connecting customers to drivers. In addition, the payment is a single transaction also controlled by the platform. Therefore, customers regard drivers as an extension of the platform and hold it responsible for shortcomings in the engagement. In reality, as the app-based aggregators pointed out to CCI, the drivers are not their employees. While this arrangement has played a useful role in the transport ecosystem, it is under stress now.

App-based cabs caught on because they provided a value to customers. It also helped that regulation was relatively light for them in their nascent stage. It’s a sensible arrangement and in the best interests of all stakeholders, these digital platforms need to be transparent about the way their algorithms work. Transparency will help avoid unwise regulatory measures which may in the long run hurt all the stakeholders in this system. Keeping this in mind, these platforms need to approach the meeting convened by GoI in the right spirit. Transparency always works in favour of all stakeholders.



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Another way out would be to find cheaper power sources that do not need fuel to be carted and whose supply is more elastic. Renewable energy (RE) ticks all the boxes and has come to the aid of several states.

An early and harsh summer this year has brought out a running theme of state electricity distribution companies (discoms) underpricing power and running up dues with generators, which, in turn, fall behind in payments for coal supplies. India's climate commitments have also de-emphasised investments in coal mining, although over two-thirds of the nation's electricity is still generated from this fossil fuel. Then there is the bottleneck in transporting coal through the railway network. Coal India says it has raised output by a quarter. Despatches from pitheads are up, however, only marginally. The railways are cancelling trains to move more coal wagons. Power plants are running on less than a quarter of coal stocks they are advised to keep. States are resorting to load-shedding. All this because power supply fell short of demand by less than 2% for the better part of April.

This supply inelasticity can be fixed. Electricity has to be priced right. The debt pile of electricity distribution companies has to be reduced. Power producers must have money to buy coal. The railways should further increase coal-haulage capacity. Coal producers need to invest more in mining. Essentially, every stage in the supply chain needs attention and buttressing. None of these issues are new. Yet, solutions evade. And a small rise in demand continues to cause widespread hardship in a country with some of the world's largest coal reserves.

Another way out would be to find cheaper power sources that do not need fuel to be carted and whose supply is more elastic. Renewable energy (RE) ticks all the boxes and has come to the aid of several states, in small measure, during the current crisis. But renewables cannot deliver uninterrupted power. As the share of coal in India's generation mix reduces, its supply inelasticity will matter less, yet the supply response will matter. Idling thermal power capacity is an avoidable efficiency loss when global energy supplies are being disrupted. At its heart lies the mispricing of electricity.
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Vacancies plague the judicial system, leading to delays. 37% of high court posts have been vacant as of November 2021, and nearly a quarter of subordinate court posts are yet to be filled. These are the courts where the bulk of judicial activity is conducted. Staffing judicial posts through an open system is critical to speedy delivery of justice.

India's judicial system is characterised by a high pendency rate. In September 2021, there were 70,000 cases pending in the Supreme Court, 5.6 million in the high courts, and 40 million in the lower courts. The courts are understaffed and proceedings incomprehensible to most justice-seekers. Filling judicial vacancies, preventing the executive from transferring decision-making to courts and ensuring legislatures enact laws diligently can only make things better.

Vacancies plague the judicial system, leading to delays. 37% of high court posts have been vacant as of November 2021, and nearly a quarter of subordinate court posts are yet to be filled. These are the courts where the bulk of judicial activity is conducted. Staffing judicial posts through an open system is critical to speedy delivery of justice.

Language is, indeed, a barrier. Article 348 of the Constitution mandates the use of English in the Supreme Court and high courts. It is also the language of district courts. The governor can, with the president's consent, allow the use of non-English Indian languages. But orders and judicial outcomes are still recorded only in English. This barrier - along with the archaic Latinate jargon strewn in documents - makes it very difficult for the vast majority to follow their cases, leaving them vulnerable to touts and other mala fide characters. The prime minister's recent suggestion to use local languages can resolve this issue. But it could create problems for lawyers to access case law from different jurisdictions. The courts should make the proceedings, observations and orders available in local non-English languages as well as in English. An understaffed judiciary incomprehensible to most does not an effective system make.

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For the third time in about a month, Rajasthan witnessed communal tension late on Monday night when groups of people from Hindu and Muslim communities clashed in a neighbourhood in Jodhpur. Police say the violence was triggered by a dispute over raising religious flags in the Jalori Gate area ahead of Eid celebrations, prompting authorities to suspend internet services and clamp curfew till May 4. Three police personnel were injured while trying to disperse the stone-pelting mob in Jodhpur, which is also the home town of chief minister Ashok Gehlot. After a brief interlude, fresh clashes were reported again on Tuesday after namaz at local Eidgah and some private vehicles were damaged. Street battles continued till noon in the city.

The clashes, which brought back memories of similar violence in the state’s Karauli town last month, followed a predictable pattern of provocation by a small group of miscreants, and an inability by the local administration to either pre-emptively tighten security procedures before a festival, or act quickly to put out the communal fire. To be sure, sectarian tensions have been simmering in various parts of the country in recent weeks, and in many cases, the authorities have been found wanting in their response to establish communal amity. What is required is sure-footed and impartial decision-making to end any such misadventures.

It should escape no one’s attention that the spurt in communal violence in Rajasthan comes a year before crucial assembly polls in the state. The relatively low-intensity nature of the violence should not dissuade authorities from going after miscreants. Nor should political loyalties hold sway over the investigation. Political parties, too, must ensure that electioneering doesn’t descend into fanning communal passions. It is no one’s interest, and definitely not the country’s, to see communal conflagrations becoming a part of India’s politics.



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Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections in the month of April 2022 reached an all-time high of 1.68 lakh crore. This is the first instance of monthly GST collections crossing 1.5 lakh crore. What is the larger macroeconomic significance of this number? The latest GST collections capture economic activity in the month of March, the last month of the fiscal year. So, it is likely that compliance concerns have given a boost to the monthly GST number. This suggests that subsequent monthly collections might not be as high. To be sure, the April 2022 GST collection shows a 20% year on year growth over the April 2021 number. So, seasonality cannot be the sole factor behind this increase. Another factor which might have given a boost to the GST numbers is the spike in inflation and a lot of producers deciding to pass on these price hikes to consumers. Taxes, after all, are a fraction of nominal prices.

Does the role of seasonality and inflation mean that the latest GST number does not hold any message of the state of the macroeconomy at large? This is a more difficult question to answer at the moment. While there is no doubt that the Indian economy, especially its service sector has recovered sharply from the pandemic, it is also true that most institutional forecasts — one by the Monetary Policy Committee of RBI included — have made downward revisions to their growth projections for the Indian economy. Increased uncertainty around geopolitical stability, spectre of the inflationary situation becoming even worse and inflation putting a squeeze on consumer demand in the domestic economy are some of the downside risks to the economy. The short point is the economic situation calls for continued vigilance.

The statement issued by the ministry of finance about April 2022 GST collections acknowledges these concerns — indirectly. Even though GST collections were at an all-time high, the statement has steered clear of making any claims about the state of the economy. What it does emphasise is the role of increased compliance and reduction in tax evasion in boosting GST collections. If this is indeed true, it is good news on the fiscal front.



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Few educational institutions in India have their history entwined with that of a city — and fewer with a nation’s — than Delhi University (DU). On Sunday, DU completed 100 years. This journey cannot be gauged on just academic achievements — although even there, DU comes out with flying colours. But DU has always been a lot more than studies. DU influenced the growth of a city that had fallen into neglect post the Mughal era only to be revived as a new New Delhi when the British shifted the Capital from Calcutta in 1911. The city absorbed the population influx following Partition, DU started new colleges to accommodate students from west Punjab, and the national Capital transformed itself into a truly cosmopolitan land of opportunities.

The first bunch of constituent colleges, which predate DU, were established in the walled city. Even as British influence weighed heavily, many of these colleges were active participants in the freedom movement. Post-Independence, DU grew rapidly to answer the calls of nation-building. The Delhi School of Economics, for example, produced some of the finest economists who contributed to governance. The law faculty gave India some of its best legal minds. Various departments and colleges produced stalwarts who contributed across the spectrum. DU students’ union became the stepping stone for prominent politicians.

Over the decades, DU not only widened the access to higher education across social and economic classes and beyond state boundaries, but also created invaluable intellectual, cultural and social capital for a modern nation. Long may that fascinating journey continue.



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Sometimes, appreciation comes from unexpected quarters. 

On April 28, Raj Thackeray tweeted:

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has not been a great friend of Uttar Pradesh (UP) or North Indians. While his cousin and chief minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray has twice visited Ayodhya along with beleaguered party spokesman Sanjay Raut, Raj Thackeray has stayed away from UP. It’s not hard to fathom his political discomfort as MNS cadres have continued their tirade against North Indians, sporadically beating them up in Mumbai. The Shiv Sena has, over the years diluted or dropped the North Indian issue, so much so that Uddhav Thackeray had even extended an olive branch to hold back migrants who, in a state of panic, were leaving the city.

The politics of polarisation reflects the significance of the country’s financial capital for the parties in power — the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre and the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition of Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress in Maharashtra — though elections are due in 2024.

Thus, while the BJP was locking horns with Shiv Sena over the recitation of Hanuman Chalisa (both vie for the Hindu space), Raj Thackeray dived straight into the turbulent waters after emerging from his several years-long political hibernation. He issued an ultimatum to the MVA coalition government to remove loudspeakers or they will start reciting Hanuman Chalisa on them. The BJP had reasons to smile.

So, while the public and the politicians were indulging in brawls over Hanuman Chalisa and loudspeakers, Yogi silently removed them from over 45,000 religious places in the state, including temples, while setting the volume of another 40,000 within the permissible limits. All this was done during the holy month of Ramzan, and yet, there was no reaction or retaliation. The Alvida prayers also passed off peacefully on Friday with Muslims confining themselves to the mosque premises, instead of on the streets.

How was it achieved?

Before launching a state-wide drive to remove loudspeakers, the police organised a dialogue with both seers and clerics, making the best use of the Supreme Court order on checking noise pollution. The clerics issued audio and video messages to the community, which also cooperated. There were no altercations, no demonstrations, and no stone-pelting. Some removed the loudspeakers voluntarily. Others were persuaded or pressured by the administration.

With the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura taking the lead in removing the loudspeakers that used to broadcast the morning aarti, the muftis of various mosques in Muslim dominated West UP also shut them down. Perhaps any other Opposition government would not have solicited such support from both mosques and temples as there was a time when BJP leaders used to encourage their use while the Samajwadi Party (SP) government remained deaf to blaring loudspeakers.

Clerics and saints welcomed the CM’s directives, which were issued on April 18, two days after the Jahangirpuri communal clashes over the Hanuman Jayanti procession in Delhi.

The Opposition remained quiet on the issue as there was no visible “bias” in the execution of the order in UP. Even noise pollution levels improved.

Throughout the communally surcharged period in the country on issues ranging from hijab to azaan, Hauman Chalisa to devi jagran, Yogi Adityanath remained silent. Unlike in the past, when these incidents evoked an acerbic reaction from him, this time he focused on getting loudspeakers removed and also ensuring that religious activity was not held on the streets.

The public congratulated him.

Yogi had once said, “Yogi hoon, UP ke liye upyogi rahoonga.” People are now hoping for “achche din”.

Ever since Yogi took charge of the state for a second term, he has been making a deliberate attempt to change his image from a rabble-rouser to a statesman, just as in his first term the monk had emerged from the saffron robes, establishing himself as a tough politician, whose day was spent in realpolitik.

Until now, he was in the news more for his allegedly divisive agenda and supposedly inflammatory speeches than for governance and statesmanship. As a member of the Lok Sabha from 1998 to 2017 and, thereafter, as the chief minister of UP from 2017-2022, Yogi grew into a fiery mascot of Hindutva. When it came to his ideology, he never shied away from controversies and challenges. He issued diktats on love jihad, cow slaughter, and recoveries from the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act or the CAA protesters, mostly impacting the Muslim community. But, in the initial days of his second tenure, he is trying to emerge as a visionary with a development plan.

Action precedes his words now. However, his detractors' quip, “Watch him after 100 days.”

So, when the communal temperatures are rising elsewhere in the country, UP remains peaceful. Is it the fear factor at work? Those who know him argue, “He is a tough administrator, notwithstanding his agenda. People have approved the decisions that he took in his first term.”

It’s too early to rule out a complete communal bias in all his decisions. But yes, there have been no incendiary speeches by him or any controversies.

The heat from Madhya Pradesh

The once soft and sober Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Madhya Pradesh chief minister, has surprised many of his admirers with his aggressive behaviour.

While UP CM’s rise in the BJP’s hierarchy might have unsettled Chouhan, Yogi’s victory has convinced him to learn lessons from his playbook.

Thus, soon after Yogi scripted history in UP’s electoral politics by returning to power, Chouhan pressed the accelerator button on bulldozers, a drive initially launched by former Congress chief minister Kamal Nath after assuming office in 2018.

The MP CM not only introduced a law on love jihad, but also assured the people of bringing a law to check damage to government property. However, it was his comment against the mafias that made many heads turn.

At the end of 2021, he said, “I am in a dangerous mood nowadays. I will not spare those who are involved in illegal activities. Leave MP or else, I will bury you 10 feet deep and no one will know about your whereabouts.” His style of functioning and lingo had never been so belligerent.

However, UP and MP have a different political landscapes and climate. The politics of communal polarisation will not pay dividends in the state with an 8% Muslim population. Also, Chouhan will be batting for a fourth term while Yogi is on his second.

Many BJP-ruled states may follow the UP model as both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah showered the chief minister with compliments during the poll campaign. Instead of contesting the election only on Modi’s face, the BJP leadership also came forward with the idea of a “double-engine government” after they realised that the monk, who did his politics from the math in east UP, has cultivated his vote bank across the state.

The coming days

Will UP change for the good after decades of communal disharmony?

The change in Yogi's functioning is perceptible, even if transient. While other CMs struggle to step into his shoes, Yogi looks beyond UP. For that, perhaps he realises, he will have to be a visionary in saffron robes. After all, Modi shifted from Gujarat with a Hindutva face and a development agenda. Gujarat model was hailed. Can Yogi construct that model?

From her perch in Lucknow, HT’s resident editor Sunita Aron highlights important issues related to Uttar Pradesh

The views expressed are personal



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The more things change, the more they remain the same. The past decade yielded several commitments toward sustainability: The Paris Agreement, the Kigali Amendment to phase down hydrofluorocarbons, and net-zero emissions targets announced by countries, regions, cities, and companies. Yet, the share of renewables in the global energy system barely budged. Biodiversity loss continues unabated and is accelerating. Land degradation persists. Freshwater is under stress. Why this gap between international deals and a deteriorating ecology?

We have collectively failed to bridge the here and now and a future that is also already here. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has issued stark warnings through new reports. The world is on track for 2.4-3.5 degrees Celsius of warming by end-century. With looming crop failure and flood risk, the vulnerable will find their lives becoming more miserable. For the world to have a chance to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, global CO2 emissions must peak by 2025 and fall by 48% against 2019 by 2030.

Yet, deprivations in basic needs persist. Sub-Saharan Africa will still have more than 500 million people without electricity in 2030. In India, despite much progress in increasing energy access for hundreds of millions of people, per capita power consumption remains low and clean cooking fuels are used inconsistently. Whereas India’s clean energy targets would create 3.4 million jobs by 2030, there is continued desperation to secure a government job. But thanks to heat stress, by 2100, the number of “climatically stressful” workdays in South Asia would rise to 250, severely impacting public health, livelihoods, and economic growth. While jobs and livelihoods motivate elected representatives, the future is also here. The climate crisis isn’t a faraway scenario. Three billion people are now classified as highly vulnerable to climate change. Politics everywhere is failing to connect the dots.

A related failure is a lack of empathy for the many worlds that abut each other, but seldom intersect. The privileged seem unaffected (for now). For them, failing livelihoods is known but not experienced. Their wealth multiplied during the pandemic. From long-term climate risks, the rich think they can escape; the poor hope they can adapt. Instead of becoming aware of this multiverse around us, we’ve become an escapist species. We escape from everything: Information, if it’s inconvenient; a sense of community, choosing to be parochial instead; unsustainable cities, because nature-filled weekend escapes are easier than integrating nature into urban design; and humanity, because we can have other avatars in a new fantasy of a metaverse.

Then come market failures. The clean energy transition needs regular policy interventions to correct them, reduce costs, increase procurement, and widen deployment. Money still does not flow where the sun shines the most due to perceived investment risks in emerging markets. R&D for clean technologies is far removed from centres of growing energy demand. Markets often fail to reach dispersed points of innovation in sustainable practices. Despite the buzz around ESG (environmental, social and governance) investing, there are no easy solutions. The obsession with big-ticket investment means that working capital does not reach small entrepreneurs using distributed clean energy for livelihoods or women farmers practising sustainable agriculture but lacking market access.

These chasms between science, governance, markets, and the vulnerable must be bridged. Emission reduction targets for cities, regions and companies cannot lose focus on livelihoods. Understanding the global commons is critical to knowing how a fragile ecology will affect communities. But a lens that blurs the lived reality of jobless millions will remain blind to why the commons are under threat.

Media outreach must sensitise us to inequities and build empathy rather than just communicate complex science. Our hyper-consumerist lifestyles rage on with unsustainable consumption getting cheaper even as costs rise for basic needs. Lack of empathy will continue to hide the perversity of lifestyle choices behind averages of per capita resource footprints.

Markets must expand their reach to support clean energy entrepreneurs, circular economy innovators, smallholder farmers, demand aggregators across poor countries, and change-oriented investors in rich ones.

Against this backdrop, two points are worth noting. Greenhouse gas emissions have slowed (1.3% annually during 2010-19 against 2.1% during 2000-09). But total emissions remain larger than ever.

The IPCC is categorical that carbon dioxide removal (CDR) will be unavoidable to reach net-zero emissions. In short, bending the emissions curve needs far more aggressive reductions in fossil fuel consumption as well as technologies to remove GHGs from the atmosphere.

The Climate Crisis Advisory Group (of which this author is a member) offers a three-part solution set: Reduce emissions rapidly and justly; remove atmospheric CO2 in large quantities; and repair broken parts of the climate system in localised settings (like the Arctic) to stem cascading effects in other regions. Building resilience against shocks must also continue apace.

Such systemic changes can occur when the interests of the elite and the vulnerable converge. Will the rich aggressively reduce their resource footprints? Will the poor see beyond the infirmities of today to build livelihoods in a changed climate? Will markets impose costs on polluters? Could CDR be considered a global public good?

A sustainable future needs science, targets and accountability. But first, we need a fellowship between people and the planet.

Arunabha Ghosh is CEO, Council on Energy, Environment and Water and member of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities 

The views expressed are personal



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India is facing one of its worst electricity crises in recent years, but unless the underlying issues and structural problems are addressed, this won’t be the last. The arithmetic solution is to make sure coal power plants stockpile enough fuel — measured in days of stockpile — but they’re woefully short of norms. However, this “obvious” solution doesn’t tell us why we don’t have enough stockpiles. We need to change our planning from one of primarily managing scarcity to one of flexible resiliency. We also need to introduce feedback loops in the ecosystem so that stakeholders have both carrots and sticks — incentives to achieve or exceed compliance but repercussions if they don’t.

I wrote about the crisis six months ago, showing that a lack of stockpiles was a drawn-out — and not a sudden — problem. Sadly, that is still true.

Three more factors have made it worse. First, demand is actually high this time – with early heatwaves and post-Covid recovery. Second, the Railways, which dominate long-distance transport, now face high passenger traffic on shared tracks (the last time, passenger traffic was still recovering from the second wave and associated lockdowns). Third, global prices are even higher than those in October, which were already multiple times above the average price over the previous five years.

We can’t resolve this issue until we address fundamental issues of planning, feedback (or lack thereof), and risk. Coal powers more than three-quarters of the electricity sector, but coal has perpetually been in short supply – in typical years, India imports about 20% of its thermal coal requirements. Coal power plants were never set up to receive all their required coal through fuel supply agreements (FSAs) with Coal India Limited, the dominant supplier. Contracted ACQs (Annual Contracted Quantity) were kept well below aggregate needs. Plants were explicitly expected to fend for themselves for a portion of their demand through imports and also auctions outside coal FSAs. This scarcity model sufficed as plant load factors were gradually falling and normative levels of coal requirements often weren’t required. Relatively lower demand also offset shortfalls in captive mining. Unfortunately, a decline in coal use went hand-in-hand with misleading narratives of surplus, even though the surplus was primarily of coal power plant capacity, and not of fuel.

Power demand is seasonal, and stockpiles take time to build, but the lumpy nature of railway delivery means one can’t easily increase stockpiles by, say, 10%. We never quite recovered from the last coal crisis, but coal usage surged 15% between the end of January 2022 and the end of April, while delivery was virtually flat. This is meant to be the peak period of coal deliveries (supply quotas vary by season, with January-March getting the highest share, 28%, in preparation for the summer season that follows) and indicates that beyond mining limitations, we also have logistical challenges.

What is supposed to happen? We traditionally backstop supply via imported coal, but import stockpiles fell precipitously during the post-pandemic recovery, and now imports are unaffordable. The same is true of gas imports. Low supply and high prices mean the gas output is actually low, close to the levels seen during Covid. Discoms can’t go to the power exchange to get more power – what little is available is priced at a premium, often hitting the (revised) ceiling price limit of 12/kWh. Normally, discoms get coal power at around a quarter of this rate. We can throw money at the problem, but bridging the procurement gap will need a manifold jump in spending. Importing coal at any price takes weeks.

Long term solutions will take time, and we need to change how we manage scarcity. Today, we plan coal around not just location but even plant ownership type. Instead, we need to plan for coal use efficiency and system performance that includes security and resiliency. We also can’t ignore captive power and industrial coal users who are the last to get access to domestic coal. Discoms should pay power plants on time, plants cannot be delinquent on paying for coal, and everyone needs to plan better for both power and coal demand. A lackadaisical attitude is not only dangerous but also embeds moral hazard as many costs pass through to consumers. Discoms need clarity on what happens when expensive alternatives (coal supply or power) are required.

Normative planning won’t properly answer how much coal a plant needs. It depends on its expected duty cycle. Instead of static stockpile norms by distance, we need norms that factor in dynamic demand and alternative coal supply options. Renewable energy will also help enormously, more so in the short run when it displaces coal production. But in a few years, we will face issues of coal power plant capacity, and not just fuel. At that point, more solar power alone won’t help the evening demand.

Ultimately, we will have to pay for resiliency and buffers. Stockpiling coal has a cost. Sufficient railway stock or any infrastructure that may not be fully utilised all the time has a cost. Even properly forecasting demand has a cost. Peaking power capacity used occasionally has a cost. We have to revamp our planning, not just to avoid cycles of boom and bust, but also because of larger trends in the sector, including decarbonisation. Even with a high renewable energy contribution, half of our power will still come from coal in 2030. Renewables are vital, but cannot distract us from giving coal the attention and effort it requires.

Rahul Tongia is a senior fellow, Centre for Social and Economic Progress 

The views expressed are personal



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The India-France Roadmap on Blue Economy and Ocean Governance, announced in Paris this February, has increased the salience of oceanic dimensions in New Delhi’s diplomatic strategy. The new domain of cooperation is likely to figure in Indo-French discussions during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France this week. The time for blue diplomacy, which emphasises maritime security and sustainable harnessing of maritime resources, has arrived. Synergy among diplomats, naval experts, scientists, and industry is needed to realise the potential of India’s blue economy (BE).

The concept began seeping into the consciousness of academics and policymakers after the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development – the Rio+20 summit – in 2012. There, the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) urged special consideration of their challenges to survive and develop through ocean-based economic activities depicted as BE. Soon thereafter, the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), later renamed the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), began systematically pursuing the cause of BE. Sagarmala, the ambitious maritime development programme, continues to be central to the government’s maritime vision since 2015. It encompasses port modernisation, construction of new ports, connectivity enhancement, port-linked industrialisation, and sustainable development of coastal communities, envisioning an investment of about $13.23 billion.

India’s drive to promote BE has largely been conducted in multilateral forums. IORA tops the list, given India’s pre-eminent and strategic location in the Indian Ocean Region. The government, academics and business leadership have been actively supporting and shaping IORA’s programmes.

IORA demonstrated its commitment to BE through three ministerial conferences, the Jakarta Summit as well as a series of initiatives during 2014-2020. Besides, India held four workshops with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to develop policy convergence and joint BE projects.

The Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the East Asia Summit in November 2019, addresses various aspects of BE even though the government did not mention it by name. India has been actively seeking partners to serve as “leads” for specific sectors. The pillars and their leads identified so far are: maritime security (India), maritime ecology (Australia), maritime resources (France and Indonesia), capacity building and resource sharing (lead country pending), disaster risk reduction and management (India), science, technology and academic cooperation (lead pending), and trade, connectivity and maritime transport (Japan). The government has urged specialised institutions to generate ideas and develop academic linkages.

Finally, BE also figures in bilateral discussions between India and Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. However, progress has been uneven, as the focus has been mostly on maritime security. There is one exception: The India-Norway dialogue has resulted in progress on the construction of zero-emission autonomous ferries and sustainable ship recycling. Now, progress on the implementation of the India-France roadmap will be watched with interest.

Blue diplomacy needs several measures. First, the draft policy framework should be elevated to an official policy with a clear focus on strategy and a practical roadmap. Second, the conduct of blue diplomacy should actively encompass business and industry, while remaining reliant on the scientific and academic community. India’s green foreign policy should acquire a blue tinge. The ministry of external affairs could do with a centralised BE unit. Finally, BE should be brought within the ambit of cooperation among Quad countries, which are equipped with vast oceanic resources. Enhanced cooperation in the BE realm will deepen their partnership further.

Considerable groundwork has already been done to turn India into a BE nation. Now is the time to accelerate the pace.

Rajiv Bhatia is distinguished fellow for foreign policy studies programme, Gateway House and a former ambassador 

The views expressed are personal



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India’s spring-early summer-intense heatwave spell in March and April is a result of the climate crisis. More than one scientific authority along with several scientists have suggested that this heatwave spell wouldn’t have been possible without the human-induced climate crisis.

On April 27, Frederike Otto, a climate scientist at the Imperial College of London and co-lead of the World Weather Attribution group tweeted:

Mariam Zacharia, also from Otto’s team said the heat event which would have been a rare once in a 50-year event can be expected to be a much more frequent now due to the climate crisis.

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO)’s response has been more tempered. On April 29, WMO said in a statement: “It is premature to attribute the extreme heat in India and Pakistan solely to climate change. However, it is consistent with what we expect in a changing climate. Heatwaves are more frequent and more intense and starting earlier than in the past.”

The attribution of this heatwave spell to the climate crisis should now be made clearly and emphatically. There is strong resistance among developed countries to refer to such attribution during climate negotiations. Why? Because developing countries will claim losses for the damage done to their ecosystems and lives of people from historical polluters.

Developing countries have been demanding that developed countries, responsible for historical carbon emissions, compensate for these losses and damages. Expectedly, developed nations — particularly the United States — have been wary of any such framework that will push for monetary compensation or specify the historical responsibility of developed nations.

“Loss and Damage” was one of the most debated issues of negotiation at the Glasgow climate change conference (COP26) last year. But the demands of developing nations were muzzled by the end of the meet.

The Glasgow Pact, an agreement which came out of COP26, instead of specifying how finance and compensation will be delivered for Loss and Damage, only talks of setting up a “dialogue between parties, relevant organisations, and stakeholders” to discuss how Loss and Damage can be addressed. Delegates and activists from developing and vulnerable countries were livid after reading the final text. The G77+China had proposed a Glasgow Facility on Loss and Damage, which was also discarded in the final text.

The IPCC report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability released in February, for the first time, recognised the concept of Loss and Damage. “Human-induced climate change, including more frequent and intense extreme events, has caused widespread adverse impacts and related losses and damages to nature and people, beyond natural climate variability. Some development and adaptation efforts have reduced vulnerability. Across sectors and regions, the most vulnerable people and systems are observed to be disproportionately affected,” the summary for policymakers (SPM) of the report stated.

IPCC said the term “losses and damages” refers to adverse observed impacts and/or projected risks and can be economic and/or non-economic.

Slow onset extreme weather events such as sea-level rise or long-term drought-like conditions can cause loss and damage to humans and ecosystems. These include economic losses, harm to health, well-being and cultural practices in many regions.

Hence, the economic, social, health and psychological impacts of the ongoing heatwave in India and Pakistan should be documented by Indian authorities and attribution reports compiled so that the issue of addressing loss and damage can be taken up again at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Indian organisations such as the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and the India Meteorological Department should also present their own analysis of heat records in different states and the national disaster management authority needs to keep a record of deaths (both indirect heat strokes during anytime of the day and sunstrokes) associated with the heatwave spell. The economic impacts of the spell could be far reaching because of the impact of heat stress on agriculture, productivity and labour. That will also have to be published.

The early summer heat wave spell in March and April may be unprecedented but does the response to the heat wave spell measure up? Even as the issues of “loss and damage” and “climate justice” are addressed at a global level, India needs to be prepared for such unprecedented weather events annually. Some state governments have taken measures including declaring summer vacations early, heatwave holidays in Odisha, water trains for parched districts in Rajasthan but perhaps an emergency like this needs several more interventions— both immediate and systemic.

What is India’s plan to deal with hot extremes that can silently kill several people? The heat action plans which are largely missing in most heat prone states need to be responsive rather than reactive to individual heat wave spells. That would mean a comprehensive policy on staggered school and work timings. The work timings for those outdoors, especially agricultural labour; construction labour; street vendors; utility workers need to be staggered as a matter of policy. Heatwave alerts need to reach every person in affected districts and thermal comfort in their living and working environments will have to be ensured. India’s plan to handle and secure its poor from heat stress is largely missing for now.

From the climate crisis to air pollution, from questions of the development-environment tradeoffs to India’s voice in international negotiations on the environment, HT’s Jayashree Nandi brings her deep domain knowledge in a weekly column

The views expressed are personal



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Here is the sort of question that you might not want to answer if you are reluctant to reveal your age: Do you remember Phantom cigarettes?

I was sent a packet the other day and was tickled by this reminder of my childhood. On an impulse, I took a photo of the box and posted it on Twitter, asking the same sort of question I posed at the start of this column: “Do you remember these?”

I could not have been more surprised by the flood of responses. As of this writing, the tweet has 230,000 impressions and that number keeps going up. Among the people who replied saying that they remember the ‘cigarettes’ were Omar Abdullah (who would buy them when he was in school) and Derek O'Brien (who made the point that we were giving away our ages). The modern Indian chef Atul Kochhar replied from London: “Do we remember this? Some of us have had only this cigarette in our lifetimes!”

If you are too young to know what we are talking about, here is what you missed: Phantom cigarettes were little sticks of a sugary substance that was made to look vaguely like a real cigarette. I thought the ‘cigarettes’ were an Indian innovation but apparently, similar ‘cigarettes’ were in vogue as sweets for kids all over the world in the 1960s.

They fell out of favour for the usual reasons. Parents were told how bad it was to let their kids eat so much sugar. More damagingly, they were also told that sweet imitation ‘cigarettes’ made smoking seem glamorous when, in fact, it was a terrible, unhealthy habit.

I can see the point of both those objections. In the 1960s, nearly everyone smoked, in movies, in books and in real life. So, as we gradually became more aware of the dangers of smoking, anything that glorified cigarettes came under attack.

On the other hand, I loved Phantom cigarettes and yet I have never ever smoked real cigarettes. But then, that’s the risk with all politically correct arguments: My own example works against most of them. I had toy guns as a child but no, I have never wanted to shoot anyone. I wore a cowboy costume but have never managed to ride a horse. And so on.

Nevertheless, Phantom cigarettes remain a potent reminder of childhood for most of us. The chef Manish Mehrotra uses them as a garnish for one of his signature desserts because they trigger a nostalgic response in so many of his guests.

While the reason most often used to explain the popularity of Phantom cigarettes is the seductive appeal of smoking to children (really?), in my case, at least, it wasn’t the cigarettes alone that did it for me. It was the link with the Phantom.

You remember the Phantom, of course? (Oh dear, I think this may be another of those age-related questions.) The Phantom was the one costumed comic book hero that most Indians knew about. Mainly this was because The Illustrated Weekly of India (the country’s largest circulated magazine for many decades) ran the Phantom comic strip every week. Later (the early 1960s, I am guessing) The Times of India launched Indrajal comics which collected the strips (originally written to appear daily in American newspapers) so that each comic book contained a complete adventure. In those days, American comics (Superman, Batman, etc.) were not always easy to come by and were expensive. The Phantom comics, on the other hand, were relatively inexpensive and available everywhere. Soon they were translated into Indian languages.

So, the Phantom become the hero that Indian kids could relate to. But there were other reasons for his popularity. To fully understand Superman/Clark Kent, you needed to know what it was like to grow up in a small town in Kansas and then move to a large American city. Peter Parker’s teenage angst was entirely American in nature. And as for Captain America, well he was, by definition, totally American.

The Phantom, on the other hand, did not live in America. He lived in a cave in Bengal.

Yup, you read that right.

Many decades ago, I interviewed Lee Falk who created The Phantom and he was clear that the comics were set in India. He had tried, first, to make the Phantom an urban American avenger with a secret identity, but when Batman came along (“it was just a total copy of the Phantom” he said) he had to junk the idea.

So, the Phantom became a white man who was washed up, after a shipwreck, in a third world country. Falk had never been out of America when he created the Phantom so he based this third world country on his imaginary conception of India. He wanted his comic book to feature royals in turbans and leaping tigers to give it a little bit more than a simple Lord of the jungle air (Tarzan had already been created by then so Falk had to be careful not to tread on that path) and he wanted a more Kiplingesque setting.

He called the land where the Phantom washed up on the shore Bengal (or Bengalla) because he wanted there to be something of the Bengal tiger about his hero. He needed memorable villains so he created the Singh brotherhood of pirates as the Phantom’s traditional enemies (Singh may have been the only Indian name Falk knew).

And, though this sounds very racist now, he went with the idea, common at the time, of the white man being helped by adoring natives. Tarzan had worshipful monkeys and admiring Africans. So Falk gave the Phantom his own supporting cast of ‘Bandar’ pygmies. He never admitted that he knew that ‘bandar’ meant monkey in Hindi and my guess is that like Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of Tarzan who thought that tigers roamed the jungles of Africa, Falk based much of the Phantom’s environment on the little bits of information and misinformation he picked up from Kipling and other dodgy sources.

Over time, when it was pointed out to him that there were no pygmies in India and no skull caves in Bengal, he made changes to the story. Bengalla became Denkali in some versions. The location was now said to be Afro-Asia, a mysterious double-continent that existed only in Falk’s mind. The Singh pirates remained though as the big time villains.

Of course, we did not realise any of this when we read the comics as children. But enough about the Phantom’s world seemed familiar enough for us to relate to him in a way that we could not relate to say, Spiderman. And, so, the Phantom became our favourite hero.

As for the cigarettes, my memory could be playing tricks on me but I remember the original packaging as having a drawing of the Phantom. Now, the guy on the packets looks more like a member of the Singh brotherhood with added facial hair. Was there a copyright issue? Did they have to change the illustration? I wonder.

But no matter. Phantom cigarettes still remain a reminder of a more innocent era, when we were naive and knew nothing about racist connotations or the evils of smoking.

I have kept the packet I was sent as a memory of my childhood. But I wouldn’t dream of eating the ‘cigarettes’ of course.

Nostalgia is a fragile sentiment. It shatters and dies if you try and bite into it.



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The Jahangirpuri demolitions represent a double-engine assault on the rule of law. The first assault is the failure to adhere to the principles of natural justice – basic to any free and fair justice system and the second is the failure to give due respect to the injunction issued by the Supreme Court (SC). On both counts, double-engine action should be taken by the SC to restore the status quo ante. First, the court should order payment of ad hoc compensation to those whose property, moveable or immovable, was demolished due to excesses by the State. Second, the court must hold all concerned officials accountable in real terms and not merely through passing strictures or expressing displeasure.

The law on encroachment on public land is clear. Quite obviously, there should be encroachment and that too on public land. Some victims of the excesses claim that they have valid papers and did not encroach on public land, but were not allowed to show those papers to those concerned. This is precisely why natural justice requires a showcause notice be issued to the alleged encroacher before taking precipitate action. A person must be told by the State through a written notice that, prima facie, it appears that there is encroachment and provide an opportunity to the noticee to dispel this view. In response, the noticee may produce necessary papers and authorisation to show that the prima facie opinion of the State is incorrect, in which event the proceedings will be dropped. However, if the noticee is unable to authenticate the claim, an adverse order will be passed and necessary consequences will follow. According to some victims, this procedure was not followed; the onus for proving that the procedure was followed as mandated by natural justice apart from statutory requirements, then shifts on the State. The official records (not in a sealed cover) will reveal the true picture.

After receiving an adverse order, a noticee has three options: File an appeal against the order and obtain an injunction against demolition; remove the encroachment at his or her own cost, within a specified time; or wait for the State to remove the encroachment within reasonable time, depending on the nature and extent of the encroachment, with due notice (it could be one day), to enable the encroacher to remove all belongings from the site of encroachment.

These options were apparently not given to the residents of Jahangirpuri. Thereafter, with the assistance of a posse of about 1,500 policemen and a few companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), bulldozers brought in by the State were allowed to let loose mayhem on the streets of Jahangirpuri.

Apart from demolition of immovable property, two other events occurred on the fateful day. One, the demolition, as reported, was to commence in the afternoon, but in a pre-emptive strike, it commenced in the morning, thereby depriving the residents of the first two options. Was the demolition drive advanced and, if so, why? It is for this arbitrary action that the residents approached the SC for relief. Two, there are credible reports that a thela or handcart belonging to a petty trader was smashed to smithereens by a bulldozer. This was obviously not immoveable property and the trader could have been directed to move it elsewhere if it was obstructing the demolition proceedings. The man has now lost his means of livelihood. This is not just shocking, but also illegal and grossly unfair. Please imagine yourself in his chappals: You go to visit a friend in some locality on a given day and after the visit, you find your car smashed by a bulldozer for the ostensible reason that it is encroaching on public land. Would you believe what happened? How would you react to this travesty of justice?

Now, another crunch issue – violating the order of injunction passed by the SC. Anybody in Delhi who was aware of the possibility of a demolition in Jahangirpuri and keeping a tab on it knew that the SC had issued a stay order. This was broadcast everywhere. The officials paid no heed to this even though they knew of the stay order -- they chose to ignore it because a certified copy was not made available. Is there a huge trust deficit in our country, where officials do not believe citizens and the media? Assuming the officials were given false information, halting the demolition for a while would not have resulted in irreparable harm. The demolition could have been carried on after confirming the facts. On the other hand, property once demolished causes irreparable harm. It’s not easy for anyone to overcome the anguish and trauma of seeing their homes demolished.

Given the circumstances, the SC should use the Jahangirpuri demolitions as an exemplar and punish the erring officials whoever they may be. The demolition of one’s home or means of livelihood is equivalent to civil death. In my view, accountability is the long-term solution. The officials must be held accountable, personally and institutionally for brazen defiance of the rule of law. They should not be allowed to get away with impunity. Officials and the police do not have any special protection akin to the dreaded Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. Delhi is not a disturbed area. If officials are allowed to get away without much ado, we might as well bid goodbye to the rule of law and constitutionalism and usher in the rule of flaws.

Madan Lokur is a former judge of the Supreme Court

The views expressed are personal



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Since forming the government in May 2014, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has led from the front by focusing on traditional knowledge systems. In November 2014, the government set up a separate ministry of Ayush to ensure the seven traditional systems of health care, including ayurveda and yoga, are leveraged adequately in our public health care systems.

By December 2014, the United Nations passed a resolution declaring June 21 as International Day of Yoga with 177 nations co-sponsoring the resolution. In June 2016, while addressing a joint session of the United States Congress, PM Modi stated that India did not claim intellectual property rights on Yoga, highlighting that traditional Indian knowledge systems have always been open and accessible to all. In several public forums since then, the PM has categorically said yoga is India’s gift to the world for health and peace.

Yoga’s inherent foundations flow from Hinduism, with Lord Shiva being recognised as its first practitioner. However, like the universal values that Hinduism espouses, Yoga too has a universal appeal and a global outlook. This is also evident from how the practice found global acceptance. From Vladivostok to Vancouver, Cape Town to Copenhagen, people have adopted yoga for its therapeutic potential. This shows the inherent value that yoga brings to those adopting and practising it. From addressing specific ailments to preventive benefits and overall mental well-being, yoga is now acknowledged as an integral practice that helps individuals cope with the pressures and grind of the 21st century.

The journey towards the global acceptance of yoga has been a recent phenomenon and PM Modi’s leadership has been instrumental. Two responses in the question hour in the Lok Sabha during the government before 2014 reflect the indifference and contempt that the government in those days had towards yoga and traditional Indian knowledge systems. In August 2007, in response to a question in the Lok Sabha on whether the Government of India had taken up the issue of the United States Patents and Trademarks Office (USPTO) sanctioning yoga related copyrights and trademarks with the US government, the ministry of commerce acknowledged that while several patents were granted by the US, it had no intention of taking up the matter with the US government.

Similarly, in February 2014, a few months before Modi became PM, the ministry of health and family welfare acknowledged that the task-force on Yoga constituted in March 2009 had not even submitted its formal report. In contrast, the efforts made since 2014 highlight the intent of the government in ensuring Indian knowledge systems get adequate global recognition.

May 2 was the 50-day countdown to the 8th International Day of Yoga. Over the years, global participation has increased and last year saw more than 150 million people participating virtually. This year’s event has special significance as it is being celebrated during India’s 75th year of independence as a part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahostav.

As we commemorate the various events and heroes who fought for India’s Independence, we are also recognising those who have protected Indian culture and heritage over the last 750 years. They have ensured that our value systems are preserved and protected from the various invasions that aimed to wipe out every vestige of our culture and heritage. As an ancient knowledge system that has come down over generations, there is no better moment than this to recognise the power of Yoga. Various ministries and departments are participating in making this event a grand success.

However, it is the participation of non-government entities, spiritual organisations, yoga enthusiasts and the general public that will make this a memorable one. Yoga has now been integrated into the daily lives of crores of people and become a way of life. Over the last seven years, yoga has seen a revival in our national consciousness. At the same time, as a gift to the world, yoga has been embedded deeply into the global consciousness.

G Kishan Reddy is the Union minister of culture, tourism and development of Northeastern Region 

The views expressed are personal



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The Russia-Ukraine war has run longer than expected, with little clarity on when it might end. The economic consequences could also be more far-reaching than anticipated, even if all of them are not entirely clear at the moment. A visible shift in geopolitical alignments, and a surge in inflationary expectations are all too evident. But there may be other unintended consequences to the current conflict which could have far-reaching impacts on distant countries.

The great power conflict in Vietnam nearly half a century ago provides an instructive example of such long-term effects. The Vietnam War brought a new kind of political consciousness among students in the 1960s and 1970s, and had a lasting impact on pop culture in the West. Its impact on the food and fiscal policy in India is not too widely known, but perhaps much more significant.

The war between North and South Vietnam began in 1955 and sucked in the major powers of the day. The erstwhile Soviet Union and China provided support to the Communist regime in North Vietnam while the United States (US) and its allies backed South Vietnam, providing arms support and training to the South Vietnamese forces.

It was only in 1965 that the newly-elected US president, Lyndon B Johnson, ordered a direct offensive of American forces against the North Vietnamese. The resulting bloodshed sent shockwaves around the world. Anti-war sentiment grew in the US as the body count of American soldiers piled up, forcing an eventual American withdrawal in 1973, and a Communist victory in 1975.

In 1964, Johnson was still one of the most powerful men in world history, having won the presidential election by a historic margin. His promise of a Great Society appealed to many. At home, this meant racial reconciliation and a “war on poverty”. Abroad, it meant a war against hunger and communism. Like other American policymakers, Johnson considered India to be an important bulwark against Communism in Asia. But he felt India was not doing enough to become self-sufficient in food, keeping the country perennially dependent on outside aid (primarily American) to meet its food requirements. He was also peeved by India’s public denouncement of America’s aggression in Vietnam at a time when it was a recipient of American aid.

Johnson tried to use the American food aid programme (PL-480) as a bargaining tool to influence India’s food and foreign policies. In November 1965, Johnson’s agriculture secretary, Orville Freeman was able to get India’s agriculture minister, C Subramaniam to agree on a plan to revamp Indian agriculture. The Treaty of Rome involved a commitment on India’s part to encourage intensive cultivation of high-yielding varieties (wheat from Mexico and rice from Philippines) in irrigated parts of the country, if necessary, by providing subsidies for critical inputs such as fertilisers and credit.

Johnson’s incessant arm-twisting provided a strong impetus to Indian policymakers to speed up efforts to raise food production, and break free from America’s influence on foreign policy. But the plan they adopted was very similar to the one outlined by the Americans in Rome. It relied on using high-yielding varieties in irrigated states to boost the production of wheat, and later rice. The Green Revolution brought quick results, boosting wheat production in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, helping bring down India’s dependence on wheat imports by the early 1970s.

The long-term impact has been decidedly mixed. The Green Revolution has helped raise agricultural productivity over time, especially in irrigated parts of the country. But the economic and ecological costs have been steep. The cheap availability of inputs such as water, power, and fertilisers have led to over use, depleting water tables, harming soil health, and bankrupting State-owned power firms.

Such subsidies on farm inputs have also been regressive, benefiting large land-owners in irrigated regions at the cost of marginal farmers in rain-fed regions. The minimum price support (MSP) mechanism has been equally regressive. These subsidies have often led to burgeoning fiscal deficits, driving up inflation, and ultimately hurting the poor.

Over time, the state backing for wheat and rice hollowed out the market for nutritionally richer cereals such as millets and pulses. Both demand and supply have declined since the 1970s, with farmers and consumers substituting nutritionally dense cereals such as jowar or bajra for rice and wheat. This has been a significant driver of India’s nutritional crisis, as several government reports and independent studies have noted. Yet, very little has been done to correct such a skewed farm support policy.

Those planning the Green Revolution may have been thinking only of India’s medium-term constraints at that point. The inability to assure adequate food grains and the difficulty in maintaining an independent foreign policy stance may have prompted a quick-fix strategy to boost the production of wheat and rice. But once the farm support policies were rolled out, they created natural and powerful constituencies against any change or rollback: large and organised farmers, resource-rich states, and inefficient fertiliser companies.

The finance ministry’s economic survey of 2015-16 termed this the chakravyuha challenge of policymaking in India. “...The subsidy to farmers — which predominantly benefits large farmers — cannot be reduced/eliminated because of an exit problem- the entitlement that farmers, especially rich farmers, have internalised, and the power of their voice in preventing reform,” the survey said.

Pramit Bhattacharya is a Chennai-based journalist 

The views expressed are personal



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The two separate terms of the National Democratic Alliance government can also be seen as separate in another way. In the first, there was a desire for economic reform. In the second, that desire appears to have gone in favour of something else. Let’s look at the 2014-19 period first.

This is the time in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi attempted to improve India’s share of manufacturing in Gross Domestic Product. He did it through a programme called “Make in India” (launched on September 25, 2014).

 

“Make in India” had three objectives. These were to increase the share of manufacturing in India’s GDP from 16 per cent to 25 per cent; second, to achieve this by increasing manufacturing’s growth at 12 per cent a year (compared to GDP growing at eight per cent); and third, to create 10 crore jobs in manufacturing.

The next reform was “demonetisation”, aimed at wiping out black money from the economy, with side benefits being an end to counterfeiting and the funding of terrorism. This was announced on November 8, 2016. The Goods and Services Tax came the following year, on July 1, 2017. It was intended to unify India as a single market and to bring the states and the Union closer together (“cooperative federalism”, in the words of the Prime Minister).

 

The government said that it would also improve its standing on global rankings of various sorts, because it was encouraged by India’s shooting up in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index. The Niti Aayog would monitor 32 indices and figure out how to make India’s ranking improve.

What happened on this front has been widely reported, but we can summarise it because much of it is data from the government itself. Manufacturing’s share of GDP fell instead of rising, and has gone from 16 per cent to 13 per cent today. Its rate of growth was negative after 2014. Jobs in manufacturing halved, according to one study by Ashoka University’s Centre for Economic Data and Analysis from 50 million to 27 million in 2021. For the first time in Independent India, more people went to work in agriculture, where from 140 million people in 2016, the number went up to 150 million in 2021 and then went up another 15 million by March 2022. This means that manufacturing jobs went down by 23million and agricultural jobs went up by 25 million. Agricultural “jobs” are often disguised unemployment.

 

The effects of demonetisation and GST on the economy and on the MSME sector have been written about by me before and there is a chapter on the economy in my last book. The point to note is that GDP growth began to implode sequentially from January 2018, according to the government’s data, and by the time the Covid-19 pandemic arrived, it was close to zero. In the last two years, India’s economy has grown by about 1.5 per cent.

My sense is that the government and the Prime Minister particularly lost interest in this after the results became clear. We have seen no big bang announcements or “masterstrokes” on the economy after the election of 2019. The government has taken another track, which can be seen from its actions.

 

Jammu and Kashmir lost its constitutional “autonomy” (which it never actually had) on August 5, 2019. The previous month, on July 30, 2019, triple talaq, which had already been declared invalid by the Supreme Court in August 2017, was criminalised. The Citizenship Amendment Act was passed on December 9, 2019. On August 2, 2019, the UAPA law was amended to allow the government designate any individual it wanted as a “terrorist”, even if that person was not a member of a designated terror group.

On November 9, 2019, the Ayodhya verdict was delivered in favour of the Hindus. In the same period, Uttar Pradesh became the first BJP-ruled state, joined this year by Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Delhi (whose police force is run by the Central government), to bulldoze homes, mostly Muslim-owned, without charge or trial or due process.
Haryana withdrew the permission it had granted to migrant workers to congregate in a public space for Friday prayers in December 2021. The ban on the hijab was added to a list of bans, including on beef, then on selling eggs, on selling meat in Navratri, on Muslim vendors operating near temples or on Hindu festivals.

 

Attacks on Christians by Hindu mobs, led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other groups associated with the BJP, went up in this period, from 127 in 2014 to 486 in 2021. The attacks were usually in BJP states, including Karnataka.

Seven BJP states in this period criminalised marriage between Muslims and Hindus. These states are Karnataka,Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat. This was not the sort of thing the BJP government pushed in its first term in 2014.

It appears to be the case that the BJP has shifted its focus from the economy to its primary social agenda. We do not hear the Prime Minister speak of improving manufacturing’s share of GDP and we hear nothing about why our labour force participation rate has collapsed and why unemployment has remained at record highs of over six per cent since 2019.

 

The last thing is that while we can say the BJP has failed on the side of what it sought to achieve in the economy, it has been quite successful at achieving what it wants on the issue of the social fabric and harmony.



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Questions are being asked after the collapse of the talks between the Congress Party and election strategist Prashant Kishor (popularly known as PK) on what may be the way forward for the Grand Old Party’s revival. Frankly, with or without PK, the Congress’ revival won’t be easy. I am not saying it won’t be possible, but two things are certain. First, it will be next to impossible for the Congress to regain a dominant position in Indian politics. Second, the journey for its revival will be long and arduous, and its fortunes are unlikely to change significantly before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The problems are deep-rooted, and no quick-fix solution will help. The party needs a complete overhaul, with multiple changes in leadership, organisational structure, membership and mobilisation strategy.

PK is no magician, and he can’t create an illusion for people to vote for the Congress, he is only a poll strategist who can at best help the party with one or two aspects. He can help to strategise the party’s campaign, on which he has a proven track record. Such strategies may help to get some additional votes. But what Congress needs is just some additional votes, it requires a massive shift of votes in its favour to make difference in 2024, which seems difficult. The failure of talks between the Congress and PK, not just once but twice, has also damaged the party’s image. It signalled the leadership was clueless about how to revive the party after massive and successive defeats, for why else would they hold discussions with PK? What is damaging the party even more is the widespread public perception that Congress leaders, and particularly the Gandhis, don’t want to give up their powers and unwilling to change.

 

The party has been in bad shape since 2014, but things have got much worse after its defeat in the 2019 general election. Its inability to win a single Assembly election since the 2019 debacle has demoralised not just senior leaders but also the rank and file. The problem is far more serious than one may believe. Not only has the party not won any Assembly poll since 2019, its vote share has declined into single digits in some states. The elections in the coming years also don’t hold out much hope.

Look at the Congress’ dismal performance in the last three years, since it lost the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Of the 17 Assembly elections held since then, the Congress hasn’t been able to win a single one on its own. It can have the solace of being a part of coalition governments in three states --Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand -- but except in Maharashtra, the Congress is a very small partner in the collation governments in Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu, led by the JMM and DMK respectively. The Congress has only 18 seats in the Tamil Nadu Assembly and just 16 seats in Jharkhand.

 

The story of the Congress poor showing in Assembly elections in the last four years goes beyond the number of seats won. Not only has the party lost elections in many states, it has lost badly in some cases, pushed to the third or fourth positions, or even beyond that. Of the 17 states which went to the polls in the last four years, the Congress’ vote share was less than five per cent in five states, and in another five it remained between five per cent and 16 per cent. Only in the remaining seven states did it get a reasonable vote share of around 25-30 per cent, though it failed to win any election. The Congress’ vote share declined in 12 of these 17 states -- Haryana, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Kerala being the only exceptions.

 

Not only have the past four years been difficult for the Congress, the coming years also don’t indicate any change for the better. Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh will go to the polls by the end of 2022. Both states have traditionally witnessed a bipolar contest, and the BJP being in power in both states, the Congress should have a 50 per cent chance of winning the election. But the arithmetic doesn’t seem to be working in such a simple way. The BJP has been in power in Gujarat for the last 27 years, and the Congress has lost six elections in a row at the BJP’s hands. By any standard, 27 years of one-party rule should have led to significant anti-incumbency against the ruling party, but that doesn’t seem to be visible, at least till now. Not only has the Congress not won an election in Gujarat since 1995, it has trailed behind the BJP by a margin of more than 9-10 per cent votes. In my view, there is hardly any hope for the Congress in Gujarat in the coming election. What may hit the Congress even harder will be the presence of the Aam Aadmi Party, which swept the recent Assembly elections in Punjab, besides being in power in Delhi. In both states, it is the Congress which has been at the receiving end. In Himachal Pradesh, the Congress has won byelections to three Assembly and one Lok Sabha seat, which raised hopes for the party in the state. But one shouldn’t forget that the mood of voters can be different in a byelection and a general election. In byelections, voters don’t vote to elect a government, they merely vote to elect their representative, and might express their anger against a ruling party, but in general elections they vote to elect a government, and exercise their voting choices carefully. Just before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP lost some key byelections, but won the 2019 Lok Sabha election with a much bigger majority. Also, one should not forget that the Congress trailed behind the BJP by almost eight per cent votes and the BJP won more than double the number of seats won by the Congress (BJP 44 seats; Congress 21 seats). It may not be easy for the Congress to cover so much ground with which it can defeat the BJP.

 

People talk of various remedies to help revive the Congress -- change of leadership, organisation building, membership drive, etc. I think no single remedy will work. The disease is much more serious than it looks from the outside, and it must be attended to by several specialists, not just one, in order to have a reasonable chance to cure it.



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Politics, like light, has a dual nature — at times, it is art, compelling, creative art; at others, it is science, exact mathematical science. And then, there are at the crossroads of history, moments when politics exhibits dual nature, simultaneously art and science. In the upcoming Presidential elections in July, politics will reveal all its avatars, and perhaps much later, will be recorded in the annals of Indian history as a moment when the Opposition will be found terribly wanting, disappointing, and lacking in both the imagination required by art and the scientific exactitude and precision in ideological convictions.

Because for too long, the Opposition has narrated a tale, a very plausible tale, that India was in danger because the idea of India as a constitutional collective, as a society run by rule of law, as a modern nation, as a democratic republic, was in peril because of the unabashed Hindutva project of the domineering BJP, and the ideologies of its parent, the RSS.

 

If it was so, there is no greater platform and opportunity for India’s Opposition, if it took its own narrative of threat to the idea of India with utmost seriousness, to come together and exploit an opportunity to deny the BJP-led NDA a comfortable win, or even a win, because the math is clear that the saffron formation does not have the simple numerical majority for the Presidential polls.

A lot of water has flown under the bridge since Ram Nath Kovind won the last Presidential elections with a near two-thirds majority against the Congress-led Opposition candidate, former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, in July 2017. The BJP-led NDA has lost the Shiv Sena and the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) as allies.

 

Despite the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand Assembly elections, which the BJP won but with reduced margins, and a greater strength in the Upper House of its own, the BJP-led NDA is short of majority in the overall vote count in the Presidential electoral college of 10.98 lakh, comprising parliamentarians and legislators.

In the Presidential elections, which are indirect elections through an electoral college comprising Lok Sabha MPs (543), Rajya Sabha MPs (233) and MLAs (4,120), they have varied weightage — while the vote value for Mps remains fixed at 708, the values of the votes of MLAs changes as per population of the state and other variables.

 

At this stage, the Congress, the principal Opposition party, its allies including the DMK, NCP, Shiv Sena, and different principled rivals of the saffron party, including the TMC, Aam Aadmi Party, Samajwadi Party, the TRS, and the neutrals like the YSRC and the Biju Janata Dal, along with smaller parties, have a chance to come together to make a fight of it in both the Presidential elections, and the polls for the Vice President, which will follow.

For India's combined Opposition to find common cause for a larger cause, beyond just defeating the Narendra Modi-led BJP, to make it possible to even have a chance to get a leader of its umbrella to become the next Prime Minister, the battle must begin with the Presidential polls.

 

Sadly, for those opposed to the BJP, the Opposition will fail to rise to the occasion.



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It has taken me quite a while to understand that what appears to be normal is not always so. After the first wave of excitement had died down on returning to a full school after a long gap due to Covid-19, it began dawning on us that things were not quite like the pre-pandemic times. Yes, it was simply wonderful to hear the children’s chatter and laughter and to see that the playground was alive once again. Apart from the masked faces, only a few tell-tale signs remained to remind us of what we had all been through. But as the days passed, we realised that we were facing a strange and sombre reality.

The concrete and visible changes are easy to identify. Our beautiful school is looking somewhat run down — it certainly needs a fresh coat of paint. The “shine” seems to have disappeared from our immediate surroundings and even the hitherto gleaming floors are looking dull. Almost two years of disuse has led to multiple problems of different kinds. The ceiling fans and air-conditioners are malfunctioning, the electronic devices and CCTVs need to be replaced and even the plumbing needs to be replaced in parts. Only the garden looks even lovelier than ever because it had been looked after meticulously right through the Covid-19 pandemic period. The grass looks velvety and is a vibrant green for the moment. We know that the emerald carpet will soon be pock-marked with dusty patches as a result of trampling by hundreds of pairs of feet combined with the heat of the harsh summer sun.

 

But the real change is actually to be found in our students. In physical terms, many of them have put on weight and most appear to be far less energetic and fit. Like our floors and furniture, those attending school appear to have lost some of their lustre. The enthusiasm to do new things is tinged with a kind of hesitancy, and gradually we realised that our children have changed in many ways.

Before sitting down to write this piece, I spoke to teachers who teach at different levels. At the primary and middle school levels, it has been observed that students become fatigued before the end of the school day. It has also become clear to the teacher that most children are unable to focus or give their full concentration to the topic at hand. Their attention span has indeed been affected.

 

Teachers feel that this is a result of losing the habit of attending a full school day. During online classes it was possible for older students to reach out for a snack or wander about for a bit in the middle of a lesson by switching off their cameras. I am sure it was a delicious feeling to be able to “mute” the teacher in the middle of a boring lecture. For the younger ones, the need for rationed screen time ensured that they were not subjected to long stretches of instructional hours. They attended their classes in the comfort of home with a parent or guardian assisting them.

 

Students, in general, have become too used to the creature comforts that are available in many of their homes and have become averse to the rigorous discipline maintained in school, where they have to eat at specific times and remain inside the classroom for a specified period and pay attention to the topic being discussed.

Middle-school teachers feel that students in their department are finding it difficult to adjust to their peers. During the pandemic, we kept worrying about children spending days and months in isolation, without social interaction of any kind. We can now see that their social skills have been affected, and the easy camaraderie of pre-pandemic days is yet to return. Other skills that have been lost or rusted in middle school and primary students include handwriting, the simple ability to pack and unpack school bags and the physical agility that one associates with the young. Children who have missed the first two years of school have been especially badly hit. They do not seem to have the foundation on which formal schoolwork is based. Teachers say that they have to, in some areas, start from “the beginning” all over again. In other words, children across all levels have to be helped to learn to unlearn and then relearn. It is true that nothing remains the same forever and change has to be accepted. We will perhaps never regain the normality that we were used to before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, but children have to get back to the rhythm of school life.

 

While we struggle to make up for what has been lost, we are also determined not to lose the gains of the last two years. We teachers intend to keep building on our newly acquired technological knowledge and skills that we were compelled to attain in order to run our schools during the pandemic. We will continue to use all the available virtual facilities to communicate, hold meetings and conferences and events. Also, if there is another wave of the pandemic in the near future, the transition to online classes will definitely be much smoother. But let us hope and pray that it won’t be necessary.



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