தமிழர்களின் பண்பாட்டு விழாவான பொங்கல் பண்டிகையில் மகிழ்ச்சியை அதிகரித்துக் குதூகலமாக்குவதில் விளையாட்டுகளின் பங்களிப்பு மிக அதிகம். அதிலும் நம் பழந்தமிழரின் வீர விளையாட்டுகளுள் ஒன்றான மாட்டுவண்டிப் பந்தயம் (ரேக்ளா ரேஸ்) இன்றுவரை மக்களைப் பெரிதும் கவர்ந்துவருகிறது. பொங்கலுக்குச் சில நாட்களுக்கு முன்பே இந்த மாட்டுவண்டிப் போட்டிகள் தமிழ்நாடு முழுவதிலும் ஆங்காங்கே நடத்தப்படுகின்றன. குறிப்பாக, மதுரையில் அவனியாபுரம், தூத்துக்குடி மாவட்டத்தில் ஓட்டப்பிடாரம், திருநெல்வேலி மாவட்டத்தில் பணகுடியைச் சுற்றியுள்ள பகுதிகள், நாகர்கோவில் போன்ற இடங்களிலும் தொடர்ந்து நடைபெறுகிறது.
தஞ்சாவூர், திண்டுக்கல், தேனி, திருச்சி, கோயம்புத்தூர், சிவகங்கை, ராமநாதபுரம், ஈரோடு, கரூர் போன்ற இடங்களிலிருந்து மாட்டுவண்டிப் போட்டியாளர்கள் போட்டிகளில் கலந்துகொண்டு, தமிழ்ச் சமூகத்தின் தொன்றுதொட்டுவரும் கலாச்சாரத்தை இன்றும் வளர்த்துவருகின்றனர். இப்போட்டிகள் மிக அதிக அளவில் மாட்டுப் பொங்கலன்று நடைபெறுகின்றன.
மனித நாகரிக வளர்ச்சிக்கு அடிகோலிய எதேச்சையான, மிக முக்கியக் கண்டுபிடிப்புகளுள் மாட்டுவண்டியும் ஒன்று. பாரம் சுமப்பதற்கும் தூரம் கடப்பதற்கும் பயன்படுத்தப்பட்ட மாட்டுவண்டிகள், மக்களின் வேலைகளை எளிமையாக்கி நேரத்தை மிச்சப்படுத்தின. இதன் மூலம் மக்களின் வாழ்க்கை முறையில் சிறப்பான மாற்றங்கள் நிகழ்ந்தன.
நாள்கணக்கில் நடந்தே கடந்த பெருந்தொலைவுகளையும் எளிதில் கடக்க முடிந்ததோடு வணிகமும் தழைத்துச் சமூகப் பொருளாதார நிலையும் மேம்பட்டது. இதனால், சமூகத்தில் ஏற்பட்ட மகிழ்ச்சியை வெளிப்படுத்தும் நிகழ்வுகளை மக்கள் அதிக அளவில் மேற்கொள்ளத் தொடங்கினார்கள். மக்களின் இந்நிலைக்குக் காரணமான மாட்டுவண்டியும் அதனை இயக்கப் பயன்படுத்திய மாடுகளும் சமூகத்தின் மிக முக்கிய அங்கமாகின.
செய்யும் தொழிலையே தெய்வமாகக் கருதும் தமிழர்கள், ஆண்டு முழுவதும் உழைக்கும் மாடுகளை அன்றாடப் பணிகளிலிருந்து விடுவித்துப் பொழுதுபோக்கு விளையாட்டுகளில் ஈடுபடுத்தி மகிழ்ந்தனர். ஆரம்பத்தில் தங்கள் பயன்பாட்டுக்கு வைத்திருந்த மாட்டுவண்டிகளை விவசாய நிலப் பகுதிகளில் ஓடவிட்டு, முந்தி இலக்கை அடையும் வண்டிக்கு வெற்றிவாகை சூடி ஆரவாரித்தனர். மக்களுக்கு இதன்மீது ஏற்பட்ட அலாதிப் பிரியத்தால் தொடர்ந்து அடிக்கடி இப்போட்டியை நடத்தத் தொடங்கினர். குறிப்பாக, மக்கள் ஒன்றுகூடும் திருவிழாக்களில் போட்டிகள் நடத்தித் தங்கள் விழாக் கால மகிழ்ச்சியை அதிகப்படுத்திக்கொண்டனர். நாளடைவில் பொங்கல் மற்றும் கிராமப்புறப் பெண் தெய்வ வழிபாட்டு விழாக்களில் மாட்டுவண்டிப் போட்டிகள் தொடர்ந்து நடத்தப்பட ஆரம்பித்தன. காலப்போக்கில் பல்வேறு மாற்றங்களோடு சிறப்பான முறைகளில் இப்போட்டிகள் நடைபெற்றுவருகின்றன. பொழுதுபோக்கு நிகழ்வுகள் அதிகம் இல்லாத அக்காலகட்டத்தில், இப்போட்டிகள் பெரும் எதிர்பார்ப்பையும் மகிழ்ச்சியையும் சமூகத்தில் ஏற்படுத்தின. இதனால், போட்டிகளுக்கென்றே வண்டிகள் வடிவமைக்கப்பட்டு, தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்பட்ட காளைகள் திட்டமிட்டு வளர்க்கப்படுகின்றன.
மாடுகளால் இலகுவாக இழுக்கத்தக்க விதத்தில் இரண்டு பேர் மட்டுமே அமரும்படியான வண்டிகள் உருவாக்கப்பட்டன. இரண்டு முதல் மூன்று வயது வரையிலான மாடுகளுக்கான சிறிய அளவிலான ஒற்றைப் போல் வண்டிகளும் நான்கு வயதுக்கு மேலான மாடுகள் இழுக்கத்தக்க பெரிய அளவிலான இரட்டைப் போல் வண்டிகளும் தயாரிக்கப்பட்டன. இத்தோடு பயணத்துக்குப் பயன்படுத்தப்படும் வில்வண்டிகளும் போட்டிகளில் பங்கேற்கின்றன. பந்தயங்கள் பெரும்பாலும் புறவழிச் சாலைப் பகுதிகளில் வருவாய்த் துறையினர் மற்றும் காவல் துறையினரின் அனுமதியுடனும் உதவியுடனும் நடைபெறுகின்றன.
பந்தய வண்டிகளை இழுத்துச் செல்லும் காளைகளாக நல்ல உடல் வலிமையும் கம்பீர தோற்றமும் உடைய காங்கேயம், ஒட்டங்காளை போன்ற நாட்டுமாடுகள் இளங்கன்றிலிருந்தே வளர்க்கப்படுகின்றன. இதற்கென்றே ஒன்றரை வயது முதல் இரண்டு வயதுக்குள் மாடுகளை வண்டியிழுக்கப் பழக்குவிக்கின்றனர். முதலில் குறைந்த எடையுடைய சிறிய வண்டிகளில் இளங்கன்றுகளை இணைத்துப் பழக்குகின்றனர். பின்னர், குறிப்பிட்ட தொலைவை அவற்றின் இயல்பான வேகத்தில் இழுத்துச்செல்லப் பயிற்றுவிக்கப்படுகின்றன. தொடர்ச்சியான பயிற்சிகளால் காளைகள் போட்டிகளுக்குத் தயாராகிவிடுகின்றன. காளைகள் பந்தய வண்டிகளை வேகமாக இழுத்துச் செல்லக் கட்டுக்கோப்பான உடலமைப்பும் ஆரோக்கியமும் இருப்பதற்காக போட்டி தொடங்குவதற்கு சுமார் மூன்று மாதங்களுக்கு முன்பிருந்தே அவற்றின் உணவு முறைகளிலும் பயிற்சிகளிலும் அதிகக் கவனம் செலுத்துகின்றனர்.
பந்தயத்தில் ஈடுபடும் காளைகள் வயது மற்றும் அவற்றின் உயரத்தின் அடிப்படையில் பெரியவை, நடுத்தரம், கரிச்சான், பூஞ்சிட்டு மாடுகள் எனத் தரம்பிரிக்கப்பட்டுப் போட்டிக்கான தூரம் தீர்மானிக்கப்படுகிறது. பெரிய மாடுகளுக்கான தூர அளவு 15 அல்லது 16 கிமீ, நடுத்தர மாடுகளுக்கு 12 கிமீ, கரிச்சான் மாடுகளுக்கு 10 கிமீ, பூஞ்சிட்டு மாடுகளுக்கு 7 கிமீ என்று தூரம் நிர்ணயிக்கப்படுகிறது. ஒவ்வொரு பந்தய வண்டியிலும் இரண்டு பேர் பொறுப்பாளர்களாக அனுமதிக்கப்படுவார்கள். ஒருவர் வண்டியின் உரிமையாளர், மற்றொருவர் உதவியாளர். வண்டியை இலக்கை நோக்கி ஓட்டுபவராக வண்டியின் உரிமையாளர் அமர்ந்திருக்க, உதவியாளர் காளைகளைத் துரத்தியபடி ஓடுவார். இவ்விருவரது சாமர்த்தியமான உந்துதலே காளைகளின் வேகத்தை அதிகரிக்கச் செய்யும். ஏற்கெனவே பயிற்சியால் பழக்கப்பட்ட காளைகள் இவர்களின் மன ஓட்டத்தை உணர்ந்து, வேகமெடுத்து இலக்கை அடைவதில் தீவிரம் காட்டும். குறைந்த நேரத்தில் இலக்கை அடையும் வண்டிகள், வெற்றிபெற்ற வண்டி உரிமையாளர்கள், மாடுகளுக்குச் சிறப்புகளும் பரிசுகளும் வழங்கப்படுகின்றன. மாட்டின் கொம்புகளில் வெற்றி சால்வைகள் சுற்றப்பட்டும் மாலைகள் அணிவிக்கப்பட்டும் அக்காளைகள் கௌரவிக்கப்படுகின்றன. வெற்றியை வண்டி உரிமையாளரின் ஊரார் அனைவருமே தங்களது வெற்றியாகக் கொண்டாடி மகிழ்கின்றனர்.
தமிழர்களின் பண்பாட்டுச் சின்னங்களுள் ஒன்றான மாட்டு வண்டியின் பயன்பாடு குறைந்துவிட்டபோதிலும் தென்மாவட்டங்களில் ரேக்ளா ரேஸ் என்று அழைக்கப்படும் மாட்டுவண்டிப் பந்தயம் மக்களின் வரவேற்பை அதிகமாகவே பெற்றுவருகிறது.
- த. ஜான்சி பால்ராஜ், ‘மாடும் வண்டியும்' உள்ளிட்ட நூல்களின் ஆசிரியர், தொடர்புக்கு: jansy.emmima@gmail.com
‘நவீன கால டார்வின்’, ‘டார்வினின் வாரிசு’ என்றெல்லாம் புகழப்படும் இ.ஓ.வில்சன் (எட்வர்ட் ஆஸ்போர்ன் வில்சன்) ஒரு பரிணாமவியலர், உயிரி-புவியியலர், சமூக உயிரியலர், எறும்பியலர் (myrmecologist). கடந்த நூற்றாண்டின் சிறந்த அறிவியல் எழுத்தாளர்களில் ஒருவரும்கூட. அமெரிக்காவின் மாசசூசிட்ஸ் மாகாணத்தில் 2021 கிறிஸ்துமஸுக்கு அடுத்த நாள் 92 வயதில் காலமான அவர், உயிரியலின் வழியாக உலகைப் புரிந்துகொள்ள முயன்றவர். அறிவியல் ஆராய்ச்சிகளின் மூலம் தான் பெற்ற வெளிச்சத்தை வாழ்நாள் முழுவதும் உலகுக்குக் கடத்திக்கொண்டிருந்த அவர், உலகம் இன்றைக்கு எதிர்கொண்டுள்ள அனைத்துப் பிரச்சினைகளுக்கும் தீர்வாக ‘பூவுலகில் பாதி’யை (Half-Earth) இயற்கைக்கு அர்ப்பணித்தல் என்கிற கருத்தாக்கத்தை முன்வைத்தார். அந்தக் கருத்தாக்கத்தைத் தெளிவுபடுத்தி அவர் வலியுறுத்திய விதத்துக்குப் பின்னால், நீண்டதொரு ஆராய்ச்சிப் பயணம் இருக்கிறது.
சிற்றுயிர் உலகம்
‘ஒவ்வொரு குழந்தைக்கும் பூச்சிகளைப் பின்தொடர்ந்த பால்ய காலம் ஒன்றிருக்கும். அந்தப் பால்ய கால ஆர்வத்தைத் தாண்டி நான் வெளியே வரவில்லை. சூழலியலை ஆராய்ந்து பார்ப்பதிலும் குழந்தைகளுக்குப் பெருவிருப்பம் இருக்கும். பூச்சியியலை நான் தேர்ந்தெடுத்ததற்கு இப்படிக் குழந்தை மனத்துடன் இருந்தது ஒரு காரணம் என்றால், மற்றொரு காரணம், என்னால் ஒரு கண்ணால் மட்டுமே பார்க்க முடியும் என்பது. அதனால்தான் சிறிய விஷயங்களை உற்றுநோக்குவதில் கவனம் செலுத்தினேன்’ என்று சுயசரிதையில் வில்சன் குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளார். அவருடைய ஏழு வயதில் தூண்டிலிட்டு மீன்பிடித்துக் கொண்டிருந்தபோது, வலுவாக இரையைக் கடித்த ஒரு முள்மீனை நீரிலிருந்து வேகமாகப் பிடித்து இழுத்தபோது, மீனின் துடுப்பிலிருந்த கூர்மையான முள் அவருடைய வலது கண் பாவையை வெட்டிவிட்டது. அதனால் வாழ்நாள் முழுக்க ஒரு கண்ணால் மட்டுமே தெளிவாகப் பார்க்கக்கூடிய நிலை அவருக்கு உண்டானது.
பால்ய காலத்தில் அமெரிக்கத் தலைநகர் வாஷிங்டன் பகுதியில் உள்ள ராக் கிரீக் பூங்கா பகுதிக்கு வில்சன் அடிக்கடி சென்று திரும்பினார். ‘ஒரு நாள் மக்கிக்கொண்டிருந்த ஒரு மரக்கிளையை வெளியே எடுத்தேன். அதன் அடியில் சிட்ரோனெல்லா எறும்புகள் இருந்தன. அந்தக் கூட்டத்திலிருந்த உழைப்பாளி எறும்புகள் சிறிதாக, பருத்து, மஞ்சள் நிறத்தில் புத்திசாலிகளாகச் செயல்பட்டுக்கொண்டிருந்தன. அந்த எறும்புகளிலிருந்து எலுமிச்சைவாசம் வந்தது. அன்று எறும்புகள் குறித்து மனத்தில் பதிந்த அந்த பிம்பம் என் வாழ்நாள் முழுக்கத் திரும்பத் திரும்ப ஒரு நீங்காத காட்சியாக மனத்தில் பளிச்சிட்டுக்கொண்டே இருந்தது’ என்கிறார்.
பதின்ம வயதின் இறுதியில் பூச்சியியலர் ஆகும் ஆர்வத்துடன் ஈக்களைச் சேகரிக்கத் தொடங்கினார். அப்போது இரண்டாம் உலகப் போர் நடந்துகொண்டிருந்ததன் காரணமாகப் பூச்சி மாதிரிகளைக் குத்திவைக்கும் குண்டூசிகள் கிடைப்பது சிக்கலாக இருந்தது. இதன் காரணமாகச் சிறு குப்பிகளில் சேகரித்து ஆராயக்கூடிய எறும்புகளின் மீது அவருடைய கவனம் திரும்பியது.
உயிரினச் சமநிலை
புகழ்பெற்ற ஹார்வர்டு பல்கலைக்கழகத்தில் 1956-ல் பயிற்றுவிக்கும் பணியில் சேர்ந்தார். எறும்பு வகைப்பாட்டியலராகவும் அவற்றின் பரிணாமவியல் வளர்ச்சி குறித்தும் ஆராயத் தொடங்கினார். சக எறும்புகளுடன் தொடர்புகொள்வதற்காக பெரமோன் எனும் வேதிப்பொருளை எறும்புகள் பயன்படுத்துகின்றன என்பதை முதலில் கண்டறிந்தவர் அவர்தான். 1960-களில் பிரபலக் கணிதவியலரும் சூழலியலருமான ராபர்ட் மெக்ஆர்தருடன் இணைந்து வில்சன் பணியாற்றினார். ஃபுளோரிடா கீஸ் என்கிற சிறு தீவில் ‘உயிரின வகைகள் சமநிலைக் கோட்பாடு’ குறித்து அவர்கள் ஆராயத் தொடங்கினார்கள்.
இதற்காக அங்கிருந்த அலையாத்தித் தீவுகளில் பரிசோதனை மேற்கொண்டார்கள். முதலில் அந்தத் தீவுகளில் இருந்த பூச்சி வகைகளைக் கணக்கெடுத்தார்கள். பிறகு, அங்கிருந்த சிற்றுயிர்கள் அனைத்தையும் புகையூட்டி அழித்தார்கள். பிறகு புதிய உயிரின வகைகள் அந்தத் தீவுக்கு எப்படி வந்து, பெருகத் தொடங்குகின்றன என்பதை ஆராய்வதற்காக அவர்கள் காத்திருந்தார்கள். ஒரே ஆண்டில் அந்தச் சிறு தீவுகளில் இருந்த பல்லுயிர் வகைகள் ஒரு யுகத்துக்கு முந்தைய நிலைக்குத் திரும்பின. பிறகு, உயிரினப் பன்மை சமநிலையை எட்டி, அந்த இடத்தில் அவை நிலைத்திருக்கத் தொடங்கின.
இந்த நேரடிக் கள ஆய்வு முடிவுகள் அடிப்படையில், உயிரின வகைகள்-அவை வாழும் நிலப்பரப்பு இடையிலான சமன்பாடு எனும் கோட்பாடு முன்வைக்கப்பட்டது. இந்த ஆய்வு முடிவின்படி, ஒரு தீவில் வாழும் உயிரின வகைகளில் சமநிலை நிலவுகிறது என்பதுடன், அந்தத் தீவு சுருங்கினால், சில உயிரின வகைகளுக்கு இடமில்லாமல் போகும் என்பதும் உண்மையானது. அதாவது, ஓர் அளவுக்கு மேல் தீவுகளால் கூடுதல் உயிரின வகைகளைத் தாங்க முடிவதில்லை, அப்படித் தாக்குப்பிடிக்க முடியாத உயிரினங்கள் அழிந்துபோகின்றன. இந்த ஆய்வு அடிப்படையிலான ‘தீவு உயிரி-புவியியல் குறித்த கோட்பாடு’ என்கிற புத்தகம், சூழலியலர்களுக்கு நிரந்தரப் பாடமாக மாறியது.
சமூக நடத்தைகள் மரபணுக்களால் தீர்மானிக்கப்படுகின்றன என்கிற கருதுகோள் அடிப்படையில், 1975-ல் அவர் எழுதிய ‘Sociobiology: The New Synthesis’ (சமூக உயிரியல்) என்கிற நூல் பெரும் சர்ச்சைக்குள்ளானது. சுயநலமற்றுப் பிறருக்கு உதவும் குணம் மரபணு வழியாகவும் இயற்கைத் தேர்வு மூலமாகவும் வந்திருக்கலாம் என்று விலங்கு சமூகங்களை முன்வைத்து வில்சன் கூறினார். குறிப்பாக, அந்த நூலின் கடைசி அத்தியாயத்தில் மனித சமூகத்தில் அதிகாரப் படிநிலை நிலவுவதற்கு மரபணுரீதியிலான காரணங்கள் இருக்கலாம் என்கிற கருதுகோளை அவர் முன்வைத்திருந்தார். மனித சமூக நடத்தைகளுக்கும் மரபணுக்கள் காரணமாக இருக்கலாம் என்று அவர் கூறியதே சர்ச்சைக்குள்ளானது.
சமூக உயிரியல் அடிப்படையில் அவர் எழுதிய ‘On Human Nature’ (1978) புலிட்சர் பரிசைப் பெற்றது. பிறகு, பெர்ட் ஹால்டாப்ளருடன் இணைந்து அவர் எழுதிய ‘The Ants’ (1990) நூலும் புலிட்சர் பரிசைப் பெற்றது. சர்ச்சைக்குரிய சமூக-உயிரியல் கருதுகோளுக்கு மாறாக, உயிரி-புவியியல் சார்ந்த வில்சனின் பங்களிப்பே பரவலான கவனத்தைப் பெற்றது, குறிப்பிடத்தக்க ஒன்றாகவும் மாறியது.
பெரும் கொடை
புத்தாயிரத்துக்குப் பிந்தைய ஆண்டுகளில் மட்டும் 14 புத்தகங்களை அவர் எழுதியிருக்கிறார். ‘பூவுலகில் பாதி’யை இயற்கைக்கு அர்ப்பணித்தல் என்கிற கருத்தாக்கத்தை முன்வைத்து ‘Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life’ (2016) என்கிற நூலை எழுதியபோது அவருடைய வயது 87. பருவநிலை மாற்றத்தைத் தீவிரமடைய வைக்கும் உயிரினங்கள் திரளாக அற்றுப்போதலையும், சூழலியல் உருக்குலைவையும் தடுத்து நிறுத்த முடியும் என்று வில்சன் நம்பினார். அவரது கடைசி ஆசை, நிறைவேறாக் கனவு என்று இந்தக் கருத்தாக்கத்தை கூறலாம் என்கிறார் அமெரிக்க சூழலியல் எழுத்தாளர் ஜெரிமி ஹான்ஸ்.
மக்களின் நன்மைக்காகவும் இயற்கையின் நன்மைக்காகவும் பூவுலகில் பாதியை இயற்கைக்கு அர்ப்பணித்துப் பாதுகாக்க வேண்டும். அந்தப் பகுதியில் மனிதர்களைத் தவிர்த்த மற்ற உயிரினங்கள் செழித்து வாழ்வதற்கு இடமளிக்க வேண்டும். இதன் மூலம் இயற்கை தனக்குத் தானே புத்துயிர் ஊட்டிக்கொள்ளும். தன் வாழ்நாளின் பெரும் பகுதியைப் பரிணாமவியல் ஆராய்ச்சிக்காகச் செலவிட்ட ஒருவர், பூவுலகுக்கும் மனித குலத்துக்கும் அளித்த மிகப் பெரிய கொடை இந்தக் கருத்தாக்கம் என்று ஜெரிமி குறிப்பிடுகிறார்.
பூவுலகில் பாதியை இயற்கைக்கு அர்ப்பணித்தால் 80% உயிரினங்களைக் காப்பாற்ற முடியும். குறிப்பாக, உயிரினப் பன்மை மிகுந்த கடல் பவளத் திட்டுகள், வெப்பமண்டல மழைக்காடுகள் உள்ளிட்டவற்றைக் காப்பது அவசியம். இது சாத்தியமானால் உயிரினங்கள் திரளாக அற்றுப்போதலையும் ஒட்டுமொத்த சூழலியல் சீர்குலைவையும் தவிர்க்க முடியும். மனித நாகரிகமும் பேரழிவிலிருந்து தப்பும்.
சாத்தியமற்றதா?
மனிதத் தூண்டுதலால் உலகில் பேரழிவு (Anthropocene) நடைபெற்றுவரும் காலம் என்று நாம் வாழும் காலம் அடையாளப்படுத்தப்படுகிறது. இந்தப் பின்னணியில் பூவுலகில் பாதியை இயற்கைக்கு அர்ப்பணிப்பது என்பது நடைமுறை சாத்தியமற்ற அறிவியல் புனைவைப் போல் தோற்றமளிக்கலாம். இன்றைய தேதிக்குப் பூவுலகின் நிலப்பரப்பில் 17% காடுகளும் 7% பெருங்கடல்களும் ஏதோ ஒரு வகையில் பாதுகாப்பைப் பெற்றுள்ளன. அப்படியென்றால், பூவுலகில் பாதியைக் காப்பதற்கான இடைவெளி பெரிது. அதேநேரம் இது சாத்தியமற்றதல்ல. உலக சராசரி வெப்பநிலை மேலும் 1.5 டிகிரி செல்சியஸ் அதிகரிக்காமல் தடுத்து நிறுத்த, ‘30-க்கு 30’ என்கிற திட்டத்தை மார்ஷல் தீவுகள் 2016-ல் முன்மொழிந்தன. அதன்படி பூவுலகின் 30% நிலப் பகுதியையும் 30% கடல் பகுதியையும் பாதுகாக்க 50 நாடுகள் முன்வந்துள்ளன.
இப்படிச் செய்வதன்மூலம் புவியை வெப்பப்படுத்திவரும் கரியமிலவாயு கூடுதலாகக் கிரகிக்கப்படும், தூய தண்ணீர் கிடைக்கும், மண் வளம் பெறும், உயிரினங்கள் செழிக்கும், இன்னும் என்னென்ன வகைகளிலெல்லாம் இயற்கை மீள வழியுண்டோ அத்தனை வழிகளிலும் இயற்கை மீண்டெழும். அதன் பலனாக மனித குலம் உட்பட அனைத்து உயிரிகளும் காக்கப்படும், உயிரைக் கையில் பிடித்துக்கொண்டிருக்கும் பூவுலகு இழந்த ஆரோக்கியத்தைத் திரும்பப்பெறும். பூவுலகுக்குப் புத்துயிர் ஊட்டுவதற்கு இ.ஓ.வில்சன் முன்வைத்த இந்த அருமருந்து, உத்தரவாதமாகப் பலன் கொடுக்கும். ஆனால், அந்தத் தீர்வைச் செயல்படுத்துவது யாரோ சிலருடைய கைகளில் இல்லை. நம் ஒவ்வொருவர் கைகளிலுமே உள்ளது என்பதைத் தன் பணி, எழுத்து வழியாக உணர்த்தி வில்சன் நம்மிடமிருந்து விடைபெற்றிருக்கிறார்.
- ஆதி வள்ளியப்பன், தொடர்புக்கு: valliappan.k@hindutamil.co.in
I am yet to meet a savarna feminist who admires Mayawati. I will cite merely two incidents that have reassured my faith that caste trumps gender and other progressive politics.
A few years ago, at an event at Yale University, I was invited to be on a panel discussing parliamentary elections and parties. The conversation was plotted in the colonial-Brahminical discourse of Hindu-Muslim dichotomy. The panel included savarnas and a tribal woman activist. After the event, the woman panelists insisted on having a feminist viewpoint on the Indian elections. They criticised the Modi government for its failure to give fair representation to women.
Some of the people present were the kind who are morning liberals, afternoon progressives, night-time radicals —and full-time casteist chauvinists. Then the topic moved to Dalits. They decried the state of Dalit politics in unison.
I held forth on my views on the political culture around Dalits and the faith in one of its juggernauts, Mayawati.
As soon as they heard the “M” word, they burst forth in famished dissonance. The tribal activist from the Northeast said: “Mayawati is such a bad influence. She is corrupt and inefficient.” The women feminists and liberal male-feminists agreed.
I asked what the proof was for such accusations. No one had a response. The activist conceded she didn’t know much about mainland Indian politics, but had definitive views on Mayawati.
I asked them if they considered Mayawati a woman at all? Did they think their feminist solidarity could be extended to a woman politician who is single, and paving her way in a Brahminical-patriarchal society? Could they think of anyone like Mayawati in India who had defied all known norms and defined new frontiers of politics and social revolution? Is there a figure who could compete with the status and story of Mayawati?
The activist responded that Mayawati was unsuitable for Indian politics, that she had dictatorial proclivities. A Pakistani political scientist who was present pushed back, asking the activist to imagine the meaning of feminism, and why did they not apply the same rules to the politicians they admired.
Another incident. I was invited to deliver a keynote lecture at a conference in Washington D.C. One of those attending was a Tamil Brahmin professor, a self-confessed “brown feminist” fighting against white supremacy. Her views of Mayawati were so crude they would not pass the editorial policy of this newspaper. Sufficient to note that she, an Indian American, didn’t have any relatable knowledge of Mayawati.
The same level of discomfort is seen in the case of Lalu Prasad and Hemant Soren, an OBC and Scheduled Tribe respectively.
Such liberals and caste-privileged academics and activists in the West exhibit the ancestral bigotry running in their blood.
Like Mayawati, Mamata Banerjee is a woman leader of a national political party. But she has the privilege of being a Brahmin, and gets an easy pass.
The savarnas are united in their defiance of Mayawati even though she has appointed Brahmins as leaders of the party in both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.
If the new awakened culture is really committed to representation to marginalised identities, they will not find an alternative better than Mayawati. She checks all the boxes of progressivism and redemption. She is a woman, a single woman, Dalit, comes from a backward region and is revered by the most marginalised and rejected masses of the country.
A four-time chief minister of one of the largest states, who implemented inclusivity and development as her administration’s raison d’ être, but who saw media and experts ignore the same.
If only people start examining themselves through the critical caste approach, they might be honest enough to realise the worth of the BSP. If whites in America can support a black person, is it a waste of energy to think of privileged castes rallying behind Mayawati across India?
If Mayawati is not an option for the feminists, progressives, and the woke culture, then they are a house of charlatans devoted to eliminating the Dalit self-respect movement, and no attention should be paid to their abuses peddled as opinions.
The writer is the author of Caste Matters and curates the ‘Dalitality’ column
Speaking at an event in Hyderabad recently, Supreme Court Justice S Abdul Nazeer lamented that despite India having a tradition of jurisprudence that can be traced to great sages like Manu, Kautilya and Brihaspati, a British-induced “colonial psyche” persists in the legal system today.
“In England, Western Europe and the US, judges and lawyers receive an education based on their civilisations. Russia’s judicial values stem from their Marxist past, but the Indian judge or lawyer learns about Roman law and the theories of Western jurists,” said Justice Nazeer, adding, “They learn nothing about the evolution of the law in their own land.” Ascribing the weaknesses in the judiciary to a lack of historical perspective, Justice Nazeer stressed that Indian jurisprudence must be included as a compulsory subject in law degree courses.
Currently, Indian society is divided into those who feel that an insidious Western influence has turned us into stunted copycats and that we should carefully reexamine our glorious past to appreciate our uniqueness. The others, a far smaller number, fear that a self-congratulatory ethnocentrism prevails, closing our minds to established facts from around the world. The truth, as always, lies somewhere in between. Even in India, the winds of change are impossible to miss. The stories we have been told about ourselves, family diktats on how we should live, seem unconvincing, at odds with a global reality. Laws support LGBTQ rights, single working women are a potent force and you get the sense that the youth are impatiently shedding all inhibition. The ‘wise elder’ of Indian households commands respect but has lost the control he once exerted.
At the same time, if not in legal circles, modern interpretations of Kautilya’s 2,000-year-old Arthashastra are thriving. There are over 25 books by management gurus available on Amazon who have distilled Chanakya’s realist approach, applying age-old principles to everyday conundrums. At some point in our lives, we all seek to know thyself better, to cope. Indeed, there is great value in the ancient texts, expanding our views on existence, and nudging us to discover that whether B.C. or A.D, mankind’s travails remains the same: our goals, peace and prosperity, our frustrations, troubled relationships and financial insecurity. Within these broad truths, Justice Nazeer’s call that each society differs fundamentally and must be evaluated in terms of its own structures is crucial not just for courts to deliver justice but for people to escape the limitations of their environment, which colour their perceptions of the world.
Cultural relativism can best be understood by example, like noting specifically, how differently Indians and Westerners view marriage. A top US newspaper is carrying a piece that has gained a lot of traction online, ‘How I Demolished my Life’. The writer proudly asserts that she walked out of a marriage with three children because her “husband was blocking her view of the world”. Even the most urbane and emancipated Indian would baulk in alarm at such self-indulgence, perhaps because in India, we feel duty-bound to power through situations, disregarding personal costs. Self-absorption versus sacrifice, who is to say what’s the better method to finding one’s way to that ever-so-elusive happiness? It seems both sides have considerable pitfalls; one would benefit by toning down the impulsiveness, the other by occasionally upsetting the status quo.
It was news to me that the word adhikar, my right, does not occur even once in the Arthashastra. However, the word dharma, the obligation to one’s duty, is central to the text, as it is to the Bhagavad Gita. The opinions and ideas of scholars passed down over generations have profound effect on society, so the subconscious baggage of duty is hard to shake off. Perhaps, we need to philosophically agree that our choices are dictated by factors larger than ourselves. Maturity isn’t just taking responsibility for our actions but critically assessing the history that placed us there. The ultimate freedom is having the power to change it.
The writer is director, Hutkay Films
First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out —
Because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out —
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out —
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out —
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me —
And there was no one left to speak out for me.
— Martin Niemöller,
German Theologian (1892-1984)
Saturday, December 25 was Christmas. Before the celebrations ended — in some places well before midnight — all the evils that Christ preached against reared their heads. If the year ended on a sour note, the new year has begun on an ominous note. The last two weeks have been a challenge for Christians and liberals alike.
The year 2021 witnessed the death of Fr Stan Swamy, a Christian missionary from Tamil Nadu who spent all his life among the tribal people of Jharkhand. He was accused (falsely, in my view) of terrorist activity, treated inhumanely in prison, denied bail even on medical grounds, not tried, and allowed to die. The year ended with the Missionaries of Charity (founded by Mother Teresa) denied the right to receive foreign contributions for its charitable work on an alleged minor accounting infraction.
What happened on Christmas Day was unforgivable, even if Christians are prepared to forgive the mischief makers ‘for they know not what they do’. Just consider recent events:
-In Ambala, Haryana, there is the Church of the Holy Redeemer, built in the 1840s. At about midnight, after the church was closed, two people entered and knocked down the statue of Jesus Christ and burnt the figures of Santa Claus. Two days earlier, a group had entered a church in Pataudi, Gurugram, Haryana, and disrupted the prayers with slogans like ‘Jai Shri Ram’.
-In Agra, Uttar Pradesh, several Santa Claus figures were set on fire in front of missionary colleges. The activist of the Bajrang Dal justified the vandalism and said, “They attract our children by having Santa Claus bring them gifts and attract them to Christianity.” He failed to say that the missionary colleges had also selflessly taught many thousands of ‘our children’ for several decades.
-In Cachar district, Assam, two persons dressed in saffron broke into a Presbyterian church on Christmas night and demanded that all Hindus leave the place. At other Christmas masses, activists shouted slogans like ‘Death to missionaries’.
Through the year 2021, several states, notably Karnataka, passed or drafted anti-conversion Bills aimed at Christians. There is scant evidence that people of other faiths, especially Hindus, are being converted to Christianity. It is clear Christians are the target of the extreme right-wing that is abundantly present in the RSS, the BJP and other RSS-affiliated organisations. They are no longer fringe elements; they have become the mainstream and are represented even in the council of ministers of the central government.
The Muslims — and now the Christians — are the targets of what is called ‘hate speech’. Hate speech is part of spreading hate against non-Hindus. Six months ago, an app called ‘Sulli Deals’ surfaced in Delhi and a few days ago, another app named ‘Bulli Bai’ surfaced in Mumbai. The apps put up faces of Muslim women online for auction. The Twitter handle that promoted ‘Bulli Bai’ used Sikh-sounding names such as ‘Khalsa Supremacist’, ‘Jatinder Singh Bhullar’ and ‘Harpal’, perhaps foretelling who will be the next target of the hate merchants — the Sikhs.
The Muslims, Christians and Sikhs are as much Indians as the Hindus. They have a right to practise their religion and, if you have read Article 25 of the Constitution, the right to propagate their religion. The extreme right-wing is challenging their right to practise their religion. This is unconstitutional.
A sample of what is in store was revealed in Haridwar. Excerpts from the speeches:
“If you want to finish them off, then kill them… We need 100 soldiers who can kill 20 lakh of them (meaning Muslims) to win this” and “Get ready to kill or be killed, there is no other option… Every Hindu, including Police, Army, Politician should start the cleaning like it happened in Myanmar”. This is more than hate speech, it is a call to genocide.
These are not the rantings of mad men, there is a method in the madness. Mr Hilal Ahmed, in an op-ed article (The Indian Express, January 6, 2021) explained why and how Mr Modi has redefined the BJP’s agenda. According to Mr Ahmed, the Covid catastrophe, the farmers’ movement and the growing economic crisis have forced Mr Modi to “consolidate his position as the ultimate leader within the Hindutva fold”. Development and Hindutva are no longer to be separated and, for this purpose, the extreme right wing has cast the non-Hindu religions (and their believers) as enemies of development, besides Hindutva.
The disruptions of Christmas celebrations, the hate speeches and the malicious apps have not evoked a word of condemnation from the Prime Minister. Prepare for the future, bigotry will be unbound. And speak up, or there will be no one left to speak for you.
The breach in the Prime Minister’s security was disturbing last week as were the reactions that came from the highest ranks of our political leadership. Instead of uniting to examine why the security breach happened, what we saw was partisan politics play out in a way that proved that our politicians have a long way to go before they learn to respect the institutions that hold up our democracy. The office of the Prime Minister of India is one of the most important of our democratic institutions. When it comes under threat, it is India that comes under threat, not the individual who happens to occupy the post. This is something that went almost unnoticed in the histrionics and hysteria that followed the ominous incident in which the Prime Minister’s cavalcade was stranded on a high bridge for 20 minutes. This at a time when Punjab is seeing the first signs of a return to the darkest era in this state’s history.
That was a time when the military men who control the Islamic Republic next door had infiltrated its agents not just into the ranks of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale’s army but into the ranks of Punjab’s administrative and law enforcement machinery. In recent days there have been scary signs of this happening again. Men have been beaten to death for unproven acts of sacrilege in gurdwaras. A suicide bomber accidentally blew himself up in a courthouse toilet not long ago and reports of drones dropping arms, drugs and Khalistani propaganda pamphlets on our side of the Punjab border have become routine. So, there is no question that the Prime Minister’s cavalcade could have come under attack in the 20 minutes that it was stranded on a high bridge.
Had the Government of India taken the breach in the Prime Minister’s security perimeter seriously, it would cooperate with the Punjab government to investigate what went wrong. Instead, the immediate reaction from Modi’s senior ministers was to openly accuse the Punjab government with ‘conniving’ in a plot to harm the Prime Minister. The day after the incident, BJP chief ministers ensured that TV cameras recorded their visits to temples to give thanks for Modi having survived what they said publicly was an attempt to kill him.
If the BJP’s top leaders behaved as if it was their leader, Narendra Modi, and not the institution of the Prime Minister of India, whose security was endangered, the Congress party responded with competitive immaturity. First reactions came even as pictures of the Prime Minister’s stranded cavalcade were flashing across our TV screens and going viral on social media. Congress leaders who should know better made vulgar comments that were in such bad taste that they will not be repeated in this space. In making them they proved that despite long years of being our ruling party they have not understood the importance of respecting democratic institutions like the office of the Prime Minister.
Politicians who put the country above their narrow partisan politics are what we need at this time, and it must be sadly said that there appears to be a serious dearth of them. An exception has been Manish Tewari who made the only sensible comments I heard last week. In an interview to India Today he said that instead of separate inquiries in Delhi and Punjab that, in this atmosphere of poisonous polarisation, will have minimal credibility, there should be a judicial inquiry into what happened that day. This could be the only way in which we will ever know what really happened. There are many, many unanswered questions.
Why did the SPG (Special Protection Group) not know in advance that there were protestors blocking the Prime Minister’s route? When they found out, instead of just standing around, why did they not immediately ensure that the Prime Minister was moved to a safe location? Videos have now surfaced of BJP supporters carrying party flags hovering inside the security perimeter of the Prime Minister’s car. Why was this allowed? If it is true that someone in the Punjab Police told protesting farmers that the Prime Minister would be passing that way, why did this happen?
Instead of allowing hysteria about how the Congress party ‘hates’ Modi and prayers in temples that appear meant for TV cameras and not the gods, Modi needs to order his ministers and chief ministers to take what happened more seriously. When it is the Prime Minister’s security that is clearly breached, then it is not a BJP problem but a national problem. If, while his cavalcade was stalled on a high point, it had come under attack by trained snipers, it would have led to a national crisis. And if Pakistan’s fingerprints were found perhaps, even war. So it is the duty of the governments of India and Punjab to allow a full investigation by a judge. In the poisonously partisan atmosphere that exists today, this is the most important thing that needs to happen.
We are talking about a breach in the security of a vital democratic institution and not of an individual, so the truth of what happened on that foggy, rainy afternoon last week must be fully and impartially investigated. The BJP’s endless, dreary narrative about how anyone who asks questions is really someone who ‘hates’ Modi must be suspended for now in the national interest. This is about national security, not politics.
Love comes naturally, but does motherhood also? It should, we are told, in perfect sunlit frames beaming out at us from movies, books, social media posts, and trite Hallmark quotes, sprinkled with honorable nods to “purpose”, “fulfillment”, and so on.
But what if you are an “unnatural” mother, as Leda Caruso asks in The Lost Daughter (the book, and the new Netflix film)? Is there space for a mother who loves what her tiny tots have brought into her life, but also resents how much they have taken up of it? Is there space for a mother who always carries around with her the warmth of her child’s stretched arms to welcome her home, but who can’t shake off that feeling of being overwhelmed by it all? Is there space for a mother to be selfless at all times, but also selfish? Is there space to be a caring mother, yet one who in public has shown herself “to be unaffectionate, not the mother of church or Sunday supplements”. And is there space for a mother to step away from it all, and then make her way back?
It’s not often that you get a mother such as Leda in popular culture. Sure we have our horror and killer moms, cruel and cold moms, and young and tired moms. However, Leda, in Elena Ferrante’s novel, is a run-of-the-mill mom. She is warm, likable, loving, leads the hunt when a stranger’s child goes missing and is understanding towards a harried young mother. However, she is also a woman who once dreamed of a life starkly different from her own mother’s long line of domesticity, of independence and some recognition in the big city, who fears she is getting sucked into the same “hell” that she had managed to escape. And who, tentatively at first and then more openly, knows it is her children (whom she had when she was too young) who are standing in her way. “Children,” she tells in one passage, to a shocked audience, “are a ‘crushing’ responsibility.”
One fine day, in the midst of an affair that appropriately starts at the kind of dreamy literary conference that romantic novels often talk about, Leda walks away from her children, doesn’t look back, and gets at least somewhere close to where she wants to be. Only, what is that she wants, and can she ever know it for sure?
Ferrante explored some of the same themes in her four acclaimed Neapolitan novels. And in the Netflix film directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, Olivia Colman as Leda and Jessie Buckley, playing a younger version of her, bring home with heartbreaking tenderness this other side of motherhood — in their every twisted smile and wrenched tear, broken hugs and desperate calls.
Mothers and daughters, daughters and mothers, girls and dolls, dolls and girls, is this cycle ever broken? We sustain them, and they sustain us. In the best of times and the worst of times, the things we leave behind are also the things we take away. As Ferrante writes, the more twisted the bond, the stronger it gets in “remorse”.
In the book, Leda’s daughters never indicate to her in any way what they thought of her attempt to explain why she went away. Is it an act of kindness on their part, or that of cruelty? Leda herself can’t really say why she came back. But we know, don’t we, as she sits down to peel an orange in one long tendrail, without letting it break, just like her daughters want her to.
In the end, that’s what it is about. We mothers, we agonise, we guilt, we chafe, we overwork and think we underwork, we are never ever enough — never enough loving, never enough strict, never enough around, never enough away, never enough patient, and with never enough time.
But having raised my children into their teens now, on and through a time that has kept testing us, what I can tell Leda — and an older Leda can perhaps tell us — is that there is no one right way to be mom.
And that your kids probably know that already.
National Editor Shalini Langer curates the ‘She Said’ column
The minutes of the US Federal Reserve's December meeting released last Wednesday point to a faster-than-expected rise in US interest rates to fight inflation. The news sent stocks falling, bond yields rising and cryptocurrencies sliding. With the Fed declaring that it may trim its balance sheet (that will suck up liquidity), the inflation threat is real. The minutes also indicate that once the process begins, the appropriate pace of balance sheet runoff would likely be faster than it was during the previous normalisation episode in October 2017. So, central banks and markets should not be in a state of denial that the dovish stand will continue. RBI's stated position that its 'monetary policy stance is primarily attuned to the evolving domestic inflation and growth dynamics' is getting tested now. If its policies continue to be conditioned by the Indian economy's needs, and not by global developments, RBI may end up chasing, rather than guiding, the market. Financial markets are integrated. So, RBI must act in line with other central banks, not stand in isolation.
A tighter Fed poses the risk of capital outflows from India, along with the associated worries over exchange and interest rates. The rupee may depreciate, but this would correct the strength in the real effective exchange rate over the years, and improve the competitiveness of Indian exports. Imports will become costly. RBI must assess the rupee depreciation against the risk of imported inflation. It should work together with GoI to maintain macroeconomic stability and prepare the markets to prevent any undue volatility.
Crude prices have come down. But inflation is still driven mainly by input prices, rather than excess demand. Containing inflation calls for fixing supply bottlenecks and avoiding curfews. Most states have imposed curfews due to worries over Omicron's spread. Supply chains will get disrupted once again and derail economic recovery. States must focus on pandemic control, not lockdowns. GoI must also spend more to speed up economic activity to absorb any shocks.
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With the Election Commission (EC) announcing dates of assembly elections in five states, one should have been busy peering into the crystal ball, analysing what is at stake for parties in there, as well as what the March 10 results will portend for the 2024 general elections. Instead, quite understandably, the main discussion since Saturday has been about the elephant in the room: a dangerous microbe. The fact that the EC has added a caveat of 'taking things as they come' on the pandemic front is a smart, responsible move. Reading out the pandemic act, Covid-appropriate measures are being set up for what would be, by all accounts, a Covid-inappropriate exercise - managing large numbers of people to go out, carefully line up and cast their votes.
By putting a hold to all rallies and gatherings till at least January 15, after which it will decide again on matters, the EC is right to take an incremental approach for a public health situation yet to unfurl. It has, thereby, sotto voce pointed to the fact that while holding elections is the default mode, it will take calls as it knows more about Omicron's effects. According to an IIT Kanpur modelling study, the latest surge in Covid cases is likely to peak in early February, around the time voting in UP's 7-phase election starts, and when Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa double Valentine's Day as Polling Day.
The BJP's stakes in UP are high. The Congress' in Punjab arguably even higher, while the ability of those in the other states to perform could well determine their role in the Lok Sabha elections two years from now. For these elections to be held smoothly, it is important that all stakeholders, especially those contesting, maintain not just Covid norms, but also electoral ones.
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From this week, the first of Indian citizens will be administered their third doses of a Covid-19 vaccine. People above the age of 60 and those in frontline and health care jobs are eligible to get what the government calls precautionary doses if their primary vaccination course was completed more than nine months ago. Most of those immediately eligible for are likely to be people in at-risk jobs and elderly Covaxin recipients, which has a shorter dose interval. According to data from the health ministry’s press releases on vaccination, the number of people eligible immediately could be a little over 12 million, based on the total number of second doses given as on April 10, exactly nine months ago. Had the gap been six months, as it is in most countries, this number would have been close to 45 million.
The expansion comes when the country is in the middle of its third wave of infections. The first of the hot spot regions, Delhi and Mumbai, offer some positive signs — hospitals have not been overwhelmed like they were during the previous wave, and the rate at which cases are accelerating appears to be nearing a plateau. These two cities are likely to cross their Omicron-driven peaks in a few weeks. Other large cities, tier-II towns and more rural areas will be up next as hot spots, consistent with past trends when the virus fans out from densely populated urban areas. Considering the experience of other Omicron-hit countries, it is realistic to assume that by late-February, the worst of the third wave will be over.
And it is in this context the new phase of Covid-19 vaccinations needs to be seen. In its current form, with the nine-month gap, the so-called precautionary doses might be somewhat futile for health care workers. Staff shortages at hospitals in Delhi and Mumbai offer a compelling argument that they should have been covered sooner, perhaps as soon as the threat of a new variant became real in early December. Moreover, hardly any substantial portion of the elderly general population will be covered by the time the wave has receded from the rest of the country. It is a completely different matter that neither of these delays will be of significant consequence because the variant itself is less virulent. But future variants may not be as forgiving — and the government would do well to keep that in mind when evaluating booster doses for the rest of the population.
Last week, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved ₹12,031 crore to set up the second phase of transmission projects to supply electricity from renewable energy (RE) projects to the national grid. The green energy corridor (GEC) will provide 20 GW of RE from Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh to the national grid. GEC is critical because it will ensure that the massive injection of electricity from RE sources doesn’t destabilise the national grid and that the frequency remains within the 49.90-50.05 Hz band. The government plans to complete the intra-state GEC with a target capacity of 9,700 km of transmission lines and sub-stations with a capacity to handle 22,600 MVA by June.
This investment comes against the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledging at the Conference of the Parties (COP26) summit in November that India will meet 50% of its energy requirements from RE by 2030 and increase non-fossil fuel power generation capacity to 500 GW by 2030. In November, India achieved its Nationally Determined Contributions target with a total non-fossil-based installed energy capacity of 157.32 GW, 40.1% of the total installed electricity capacity. At COP26, Mr Modi also pledged to cut India’s total projected carbon emission by 1 billion tonnes by 2030 and reduce the carbon intensity of the economy by less than 45% by the end of the decade (from 2005 levels) and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070.
The investment in the infrastructure to synchronise the electricity produced from RE sources with that from conventional power stations will contribute to long-term energy security, ensure ecologically sustainable growth by reducing the carbon footprint, and spur employment generation. However, while India keeps its promise of cleaning up its power sector and pushing RE, the West also has to keep its part of the promise of providing adequate funding and technology to accelerate the pace of change and combat the climate crisis. Replacing fossil fuels with RE is essential to avoid the worst impacts of global warming and keep people and the economy safe.
The Indian government has been financially cautious during the past two Covid-19 years, avoiding the spending and debt pile-ups of others. It has preferred to attract the excess capital sloshing around the world by pushing significant changes in the green energy and digital space, and further opening the door to foreign investors. It can claim a fair degree of success. Investment flows have been strong, foreign exchange reserves are overflowing, and, partly as a consequence, the formal sector and the start-up space are looking healthy.
Assuming Omicron is a viral goodbye, this coming year will be where the rubber hits the road. The slosh is over. With inflation surging globally, the world’s central banks will now pull the plug on money printing. The most important fount, the United States (US) Federal Reserve, will do so by March. As this financial ebb tide courses through the year, many emerging economies will flounder. India will suffer, but Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s continual reforms during the pandemic should mean India will handle the taper tantrum better than most.
A recognition that Modi used his political capital to make difficult economic choices that many world leaders ran away from will be more evident as 2022 unfolds. Not that there won’t be bad news. India will struggle with higher inflation and elevated oil prices even as it racks up decent growth. Its herd of unicorns will start to thin out. But, after a quarter of wait and watch, investors, home and abroad, should begin placing large bets on India again.
There are a few things that are likely to support this positive scenario.
The first is an expectation of geopolitical quietness. India’s most dangerous strategic rival, China, is looking for its year of consolidation. Xi Jinping wants to be confirmed for a third term next winter. He has earned points for breaking up the tech and real estate oligopolies that impeded China’s future growth. But, as Modi can testify, such actions are economic downers in the short-term. Xi will be looking to soft-land the Chinese economy until his re-election is confirmed later in the year. Border battles and the loss-making Belt and Road Initiative are a poor fit.
Pakistan is essentially a danger to itself. It has done exactly what an emerging economy should not have done during the past few years. PM Imran Khan has not carried out any reforms and made life more difficult for business. His economy is a bellwether for the high prices, poor growth, and debt issues that will afflict many other developing countries. Pakistan’s great success of 2021, the resurrection of the Taliban regime, will be the neighbour from hell: An exporter of refugees, heroin and terror.
The larger geopolitical landscape will be about converting language into deeds, especially in strategic technology. The two Quads, the Australian submarine triad, and the new US-sponsored Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, have one common feature: Kick starting negotiations about future technology standards, investment and development. Much of this has been outlined in documents, and statements amount to not very much.
This year will be about filling in the details, working out how exactly the emerging US and China camps can set up parallel networks for artificial intelligence, 5G, quantum computing and next-gen pharmaceuticals. The result will be a year of quiet buzz and minimal fireworks — except in parts of the world outside these tech alliances. The nerds will dominate the negotiating tables, not the generals.
At home, the most important tasks facing Modi will be avoiding setback in the Uttar Pradesh elections and restoring consumer confidence among the lower quintiles of the population.
The election, increasingly uncertain the more it becomes a two-party contest, is necessary if he wants to carry out last-minute tweaks to the economy before campaigning for a third term begins. Power sector reforms stand out as they would ensure external financing for India’s green transition. A much more difficult task will be to get the informal urban sector, probably the most ravaged by earlier reforms and the lockdowns, to start ticking again. Again, the theme will be policy consolidation: Less roller-coaster and more smooth sailing.
The icing on the 2022 cake would be evidence that the Modi government’s new trade policy exists. New Delhi hopes to get its free-trade agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Britain and Australia done this year.
These will be new-format trade agreements — weighted more towards services, immigration and technology, less towards agriculture and manufactured goods. The budget may need to do some signalling with lowered tariffs.
These trade agreements will be smaller and less ambitious, but will reflect what is likely to be the new global norm for trade talks. If these merge successfully with the new manufacturing incentive schemes, 2022 will be as much about the start of the new Indian growth story as it will be about the end of a pandemic.
The views expressed are personal
Let me begin with a pertinent story, though I am not sure of its veracity. Former United States (US) President Lyndon Johnson was once walking outside the White House on a foggy morning. Given the low visibility, a passerby collided with him. The man asked the president who he was. Johnson answered that he was trying to figure that out.
The passerby, assuming that he was talking to someone crazy, pointed to the White House and asked sarcastically, “Do you know who lives there?” Johnson answered that no one lived there permanently, that the occupants came and went. How true this is of those who hold statutory posts and who are not greater than the institutions they represent.
What happened during the Punjab visit of the Prime Minister (PM) of the world’s most populous democracy is a brazen violation of established norms and conventions. It reminds us that we lost a sitting PM and a former one on account of poor security protocols. That this happened to PM Narendra Modi in the border state of Punjab is even more worrying and unprecedented. In 2018, Modi’s convoy was stuck for a while in Delhi. In December 2017, during the inauguration of the metro in Noida, his convoy lost its way due to a lapse on the part of the local police for which strict action was taken against those responsible. This time around, apart from fixing accountability, necessary amendments have to be made to the “Blue Book” maintained by the Intelligence Bureau (IB).
Union information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur has rightly spoken of exemplary action, even as the Punjab government has been trying to shift the blame from the onset. The statements by chief minister (CM) Charanjit Singh Channi are proof of this.
Our country is a multiparty democracy. The party in power at the Centre is often not the same governing a state. In fact, some states are governed by bitter opponents of the party in power at the Centre. Due to divergent ideologies, the conflict between the state and Centre has often been driven by personal egos and animosities. This does not bode well for the federal structure of the country.
Before and during the elections in West Bengal last year, we witnessed some worrying scenes. The Bengal police held some Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officers captive for a few hours. The car of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s president, JP Nadda, was attacked. Even today, many BJP leaders in the state have the protection of the central paramilitary forces though this is the state government’s job. Since the police in many states work on the instructions of the CM, allegations of misuse of power are rampant across several states.
It is not that the Centre is blameless. The CBI, the Enforcement Directorate, and the Income Tax (IT) department have been misused by successive central governments. There’s a new weapon, the directorate-general of GST Intelligence. This agency had raided perfume dealer Piyush Jain in Kanpur. The recovery of ₹177.45 crore should have been commended, but the opposite happened. It resulted in political mudslinging between the BJP and Samajwadi Party (SP). A few days later, IT officials raided SP Member of the Legislative Council Pushpraj ‘Pampi’ Jain. The Opposition has often alleged that the Union government uses these agencies against its affiliates during elections. Narendra Modi himself, as CM of Gujarat, was once a victim of this.
There was undoubtedly a clear violation of procedure during the PM’s visit to Punjab. The Punjab government should have acted in an open-minded fashion but clearly, electoral considerations took precedence. CM Channi constituted a commission of inquiry, and then politicised the incident. The BJP also did the same thing.
The Union home ministry has also constituted a high-level inquiry committee, and the Supreme Court has issued an order on Friday and sought reports from all officials and agencies concerned. Until then, all investigations will be put on hold. Further proceedings will start on Monday, but the political pot on this issue will be kept boiling.
Here I would like to recall the sentiment of a security expert from the US. After an attack on the then US President Ronald Regan in 1992, he said that security managers should always recognise that the “subject” is like a fragile glass in your palm.
All the forces of the world, including your dear ones, may want to break it. You have to protect it, knowing that it can break at any time. Needless to say, since then, no US President was attacked in the same manner. We must learn from this in India.
Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan
The views expressed are personal
On New Year’s Day, China’s jingoistic State-owned news media outlets released a slickly produced video showing People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers unfurling a giant Chinese national flag in the Himalayan heights, with “never yield an inch of land” inscribed on rocks in the backdrop.
Claiming that these visuals were from the Galwan Valley, where the PLA and the Indian Army engaged in a bloody brawl in June 2020, the intended message was that superior China had defeated inferior India at the disputed border and that no one could dislodge China from territory that it occupies. The idea was to psych out India which dared to stand in China’s way.
A similar exercise in attempted psychological intimidation occurred in November 2021, when Chinese mouthpieces disseminated photographs purportedly showing “surrendered Indian soldiers captured by Chinese PLA” after the Galwan clash, crouching in humiliating postures as their proud Chinese captors looked on.
Neither the video nor the photographs were real. India’s security establishment neutralised the Chinese narrative about who controlled Galwan by publicising believable pictures of the Indian Army performing its New Year flag raising exercise there. Indian defence analysts poked holes in Beijing’s narrative by pointing out that the texture of the mountains in its video did not correspond to the geographic features of Galwan. Also, the glamourous looks of the PLA troops resembling Chinese movie stars suggested that it was staged. Observers also mocked earlier Chinese photos, wondering how Indian Army men could sport long hair and why the faces of the supposedly supplicant Indians seemed photoshopped.
Nonetheless, these episodes did demonstrate that democratic India is vulnerable to “fake news” attacks. Since there are critical voices in India’s competitive electoral arena who pick up and amplify stories which could show the Indian government’s record on national security in a poor light, there is a constituency for the Chinese to exploit.
Open societies are easier to penetrate by sly dictatorships in the digital age, where morphing content and making “deep fakes” to sow doubt about one’s foes is relatively easy. Even though the falsehoods eventually get debunked, some amount of damage is done simply by their circulation in a censorship-free democratic environment.
Western countries have for years been complaining about this phenomenon vis-à-vis Russia’s “hybrid war” and influence operations. China has far greater resources than Russia to carry out such missions. Media or “public opinion warfare” is a central tenet of China’s official doctrine of “three warfares”. Gaining an upper hand over enemies through manipulative means is embedded in Chinese strategic culture. Recognising this dimension of Chinese expansionism and countering it effectively is crucial.
Contrary to perceptions that democracies are inherently on the backfoot in “infowars”, they do have relative strengths that must be harnessed in the fightback. The extremely negative international perception of China as an aggressive power seeking to browbeat weaker neighbours, and widespread mistrust of China’s totalitarian system and whatever it puts out in the public domain, ought to be highlighted more systematically by India’s news media and officials. With China baring its claws through “wolf warrior diplomacy”, remaining diffident or understated in the face of deliberate smear jobs is not an option.
Can democracies like India go beyond reactively exposing the lies and deceit of autocratic China and seize the initiative to produce forged content of their own to embarrass and deter China? If India’s armed forces have undertaken physical counter-offensive manoeuvers against the PLA along the border, why not unleash Indian cyber warriors to deflate China’s inflated hyper-nationalistic self-image and fuel already simmering domestic dissent among Chinese netizens about their government’s non-transparency?
Playing defensive is not a losing strategy. But India must display intent that it can also bat on the front foot in emerging domains such as ‘informatised warfare’. Rolling back Chinese hegemony is not merely a matter of military counterbalancing or lessening the gap in economic capabilities. In an era where data and information determine power, one must think and act sharper.
Sreeram Chaulia is the author of the forthcoming book ‘Crunch Time: Narendra Modi’s National Security Crises’
The views expressed are personal
A friend of mine, S, recently got back from Prague, and when I asked her what she liked the most about one of Europe’s finest cities, she said: “Prague’s amazing tram network”. Then, as she showed me photographs of the beautiful red and white tramcars, S added: “I could see every inch of the city because of the excellent tram network. Trams are so convenient; they just go everywhere. I loved the unhurried pace of the rides. After all, go-slow is the new mantra. And, they are environment friendly.”
World over, cities are falling back in love with trams after years of prioritising cars. This is not surprising because urban transportation accounts for a third of a city’s carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore, to tackle the climate crisis, it is essential to push citizens to dump their private vehicles and use mass transit systems.
For example, the Prague tram system, a gift from the Soviet regime, has undergone several rounds of hardware (plenty of lines and trains, regular timings, 24x7 service) and software (ticketing system, long-term passes) changes to stay relevant and make it attractive for the local population and tourists to use it regularly. During the morning rush hour, it has more than 400 trams operating, reportedly the most in Europe, writes urban affairs journalist Alex Marshall in Governing. “It’s pushing the local population to think long-term, which helps the transit network and cuts down on excessive car trips”.
Many European cities, which built elaborate tram systems during the first half of the last century, are also in the process of decarbonising their urban transport systems, and making it the central pillar of their economic recovery.
Lisbon is reinforcing a system that was created over 150 years ago to service residents scattered over its seven hills; so is Milan and Rome. Recently, reports Politico, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, announced that €19.6 million would be spent to expand Seville’s tram system, which was founded in 1897, deactivated in the 1960s and then reestablished in 2007.
And then there is Berlin, which has one of the world’s highest rates of car ownership. The city may go car-free. Last week, a Berlin-based citizens’ group submitted more than 50,000 signatures in favour of virtually eliminating private automobile use in a 55-square-mile area of the city centre. The city has also invested in improving its tram system.
Kolkata trams: A push for revival
In India, Kolkata is the only city that still has a tram system. It is Asia's oldest tramway system, and the first city to get an electric tram. The Calcutta Tramway Company, the oldest operating electric public transport system in Asia, was set up in 1880, and the first route was inaugurated by the Viceroy, Lord Ripon. In the initial years, the carriages were then drawn by horses, and in 1902, the first electric tramcar began its service. In the 1960s, trams in Kolkata ran on 37 routes, but there is only four today. Trams were also introduced in other Indian cities such as Chennai, Mumbai and Patna, but they survived only in Kolkata.
Despite its rich heritage and the bonus of being environment-friendly, the transportation system hasn’t had much political and administrative support and has lost out to other vehicles jostling for limited road space. Calcutta police also objected to trams moving in a direction opposite to that of the city's traffic flow, saying they remain the biggest hurdle for increasing the speed of vehicular movement, a news report said recently.
But there is hope, thanks to a citizens’ group: Calcutta Tram Users Association (@_CTUA_). They have been consistently raising awareness about the tramway system and pushing the government to formulate a policy to help the green mode of transport. On January 6, the group’s members gathered at a city tram depot and reiterated their demand. They allege that there had been a concerted move to scrap tram routes even though trams remain the best environment-friendly option for mass transportation in a polluted city such as Kolkata.
We have such a wide network from the British era, Calcutta Tramways is Asia's oldest and India's only tramway! We should promote it more and more!
Hope New Year will bring new rise of our Trams@TUMInitiative @vsengupta @SwitchONIndia @thesatbir @DILIPtheCHERIAN pic.twitter.com/wOJwnCPF9m
The CTUA Twitter handle has various nuggets of information about the heritage system and photos of different types of tramcars.
“Some of the most popular routes have been either truncated or done away with. Trams tracks have been removed from bridges and flyovers citing the health of the structures and their inability to bear the load. Why?” asked Debasish Bhattacharyya of CTUA as reported in a mainstream daily.
"Trams require the least maintenance and last the longest among all forms of transport. An average tramcar will serve you for 50-70 years. They also have the lowest running costs and help in the decongestion of roads, and are the least prone to accidents," Bhattacharyya told getbengal.com in a recent interview. "Had they not been economically viable, they wouldn't have been making a comeback in various parts of the world."
In 2019, after Kolkata won the C40 award for green mobility for its public transport electrification efforts made by the city administration, the government said that trams would play an “important role” in the city’s efforts to shift to electric transportation by 2030.
Unfortunately, nothing much has been done yet to resuscitate the city’s clean, green — and pretty — heritage transport system.
The views expressed are personal