OPEN 24 July 2023

w w w.o p e n t h e m a g a z i n e .
c o m
RNI NO. DELENG/2009/27862

REGTD. NO DL (S)-17/3354/2021-23
24 JULY 2023 / ` 80
Thank You
A BIG
To all our valued partners and participants for their unwavering support
in making Fortune India The Next 500 event a grand success.
State Partner Technology Partner
Luxury Partner Gifting Partner Telecast Partner
fortuneindia.com //fortuneind @FortuneIndia /company/fortune-india fortune.india

CONTENTS
24 JULY 2023
6 8 10 14 16 18
LOCOMOTIF OPEN DIARY NOTEBOOK INSIDER GLOBALSUTRA OPEN ESSAY

The other K from Prague By Swapan Dasgupta NATO’s expanding Dealing with The rage of the liberals
By S Prasannarajan arc of alliance overtourism By Joya Chatterji
By Sudeep Paul By Pallavi Aiyar
24
24 RAM’S HOMECOMING
As the long-awaited temple rises in Ayodhya,
Open gets exclusive access to the site where
an ancient city is being rebuilt
By Rajeev Deshpande and Siddharth Singh
34 THE MESSENGER
FROM RIYADH
Mohammad Al-Issa’s visit unveils a reformed
Saudi Arabia that advocates religious
moderation and values India’s partnership
By PR Ramesh
38 BIGGER THAN A BACK OFFICE

The rapid expansion of global capacity
34 18 centres in India is marked by innovation
and high tech that can fuel growth and
raise incomes
By Rajeev Deshpande
42 DIGITAL RECKONING
The data protection bill is the first
step towards safeguarding personal
information online
38 42 46 50 By Siddharth Singh
46 THE EVIL EYE

Tribal women are being labelled as witches
and killed by their kin in parts of eastern India
By Aditi Narayani Paswan
50 53 56 57
THE WORLD IN HER FRAME GOURD OF SMALL THINGS DELHI ON THE MAP LOST IN BATTLE
Anu Menon on making The humble vegetable is a delicacy When cartography reveals a The personal price a reporter
movies and shows across continents fit for kings and commoners city’s cultural history pays to witness a war
and her latest mystery film By Priyadarshini Chatterjee By Giles Tillotson By Prathap Nair
By Kaveree Bamzai
58 60 62 64 66
CRIME CANON INDIAN ACCENTS PLAYTIME WITH THE RACHEL PAPERS STARGAZER
Intimate watching The divine armour BORIA MAJUMDAR The light of Asia By Kaveree Bamzai
By Shylashri Shankar By Bibek Debroy An IPL moment for chess By Rachel Dwyer
Cover Photograph by Ashish Sharma

Disclaimer ‘Open Avenues’ are advertiser-driven marketing initiatives and Open assumes no responsibility for content and the consequences of using products or services advertised in the magazine
24 JULY 2023 www.openthemagazine.com 3

OPEN MAIL
[email protected]
EDITOR S Prasannarajan
MANAGING EDITOR PR Ramesh
CONSULTING EDITOR-AT-LARGE
LETTER OF THE WEEK
Rajeev Deshpande The political brawl between the Pawars shows

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Ullekh NP what Sharad Pawar did to remove former Chief
EDITOR-AT-LARGE Siddharth Singh Minister Vasantdada Patil from office four decades
DEPUTY EDITORS Madhavankutty Pillai
(Mumbai Bureau Chief), ago is still haunting him. He faces a similar situation
Rahul Pandita, Amita Shah, (‘The Loneliness of the Patriarch’, July 17, 2023). This
V Shoba (Bangalore), Nandini Nair,
Sudeep Paul does not come as a surprise at all. History is
ART DIRECTOR Jyoti K Singh repeating itself with Sharad Pawar caught in a web
SENIOR EDITORS Lhendup Gyatso Bhutia after Ajit Pawar’s open rebellion. It also raises a
(Mumbai), Moinak Mitra
SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR pertinent question about parties hit by family feuds.
Antara Raghavan Ostensibly, Sharad Pawar, rattled by the political
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Vijay K Soni (Web)
ASSISTANT EDITOR Malika Halder
developments in Maharashtra, made light of the
CHIEF OF GRAPHICS Saurabh Singh move of his nephew by saying that he has no plans
SENIOR DESIGNERS Anup Banerjee, to stop anyone from leaving the party. One thing is
Veer Pal Singh
PHOTO EDITOR Raul Irani clear though— the trouble within the Nationalist already a hub of the drug
DEPUTY PHOTO EDITOR Ashish Sharma Congress Party (NCP) began the day Sharad Pawar trade and this was supported
BUSINESS HEAD Arun Singh
tried to perform the surprise “stepping down” drama by Pakistan. Both civilian and
CFO & HEAD–IT Anil Bisht
not so long ago. As you sow, so you reap—this adage military leaders were equally
NATIONAL HEAD-ADVERTISING
aptly applies to Pawar Sr. It is surprising that he is still complicit, with military
Swastik Banerjee looking for a face-saver even after Ajit Pawar made it leaders using their civilian
NATIONAL HEAD–EDUCATION
Virender Singh Bhati
clear that the octogenarian should move out of counterparts as pawns.
GENERAL MANAGER–EVENTS INITIATIVES active politics. There is no doubt that Pervez Musharraf was
Ashutosh Pratap Singh
GENERAL MANAGER
family politics and infighting in NCP certainly one of the major
Uma Srinivasan (Chennai) have weakened opposition unity. players. There is little hope
Jyoti Handa (West)
KR Srinivasan that Afghanistan will step
NATIONAL HEAD -CIRCULATION back from the drug trade
Dhanpreet
Amol Joshi (West & East) in the near future, or that
Ranjeet Kumar Yadav (North) POWER SHIFT not to hold back those who Pakistan is anywhere
N Kishore Kumar (South)
There has been a significant wished to exit. Unlike close to stopping its cross-
HEAD–PRODUCTION Maneesh Tyagi
HEAD DESIGN–ADVERTISING Liju Varghese
shift in Maharashtra’s Eknath Shinde and his border terrorism.
political dynamics (‘The supporters who launched MY Shariff
All rights reserved throughout the world.
Reproduction in any manner is prohibited.
Loneliness of the Patriarch’, an all-out attack on Uddhav,
Printed and published by Arun Singh on July 17, 2023). As parties Ajit Pawar’s faction is still LUXURY RESALE
behalf of the owner, Open Media Network
Pvt Ltd Printed at Thomson Press India Ltd,
scramble to recalibrate seeking Sharad Pawar’s There was a time when
18-35 Milestone, Delhi Mathura Road, their strategies, it remains blessings. buying second-hand, or
Faridabad-121007 (Haryana) and
to be seen how these new CK Subramaniam what is now called preloved
Published from 1st Floor, Tower 3A,
DLF Corporate Park, DLF City, Phase-III, dynamics will shape the fashion, was frowned upon
MG Road, Gurugram, Haryana - 122002. political landscape and NARCO STATE (‘Second Coming’, July
Editor: S Prasannarajan
impact the 2024 elections. It is a well-known fact that 17, 2023). Now, preloved
To subscribe, WhatsApp ‘openmag’ to
9999800012 or log on to Ajit Pawar’s entry into NDA Pakistan was founded products are being
www.openthemagazine.com
or call on our Landline no.: (0124) 4561900 has not only boosted the on shaky grounds based embraced by a large section
or email at:
[email protected]
alliance’s numbers but also on a skewed agenda and of people, especially in the
For alliances, email renewed BJP’s confidence misguided policies adopted luxury segment. According
[email protected]
For advertising, email
in the state. Both parties in by both its civilian leaders to market analysis, the
[email protected] Maharashtra, Shiv Sena and military generals (‘The second-hand luxury goods
For any other queries/observations,
email [email protected] and NCP, are facing splits. Opium Jihad’, by Iqbal Chand market in India reached
Ph: (0124) 4561900 There are many similarities Malhotra, July 17, 2023). They $555 million in 2022 and is
between the splits in Shiv never knew where they expected to reach $1,060.8
Sena last year and in NCP were leading Pakistan, what million by 2028. From
now. Both party chiefs are damage they were causing to watches, designer wear
rebuilding their parties. their country and its people, to handbags and sneakers,
Their reactions were also and what adverse reputation there’s something
Volume 15 Issue 29 similar. Uddhav Thackeray they were bringing to for everyone.
For the week 18-24 July, 2023
Total no of pages 68 and Sharad Pawar decided Pakistan. Afghanistan was Divya Kumaramangalam
4 24 JULY 2023
Visit your nearest Nature’s Basket or Spencer’s store
LOCOMOTIF
By S PRASANNARAJAN
The Other K from Prague
W
HEN I THINK of Milan Kundera, I’m The fur hat that outlived its original wearer is a reminder
taken back to those images from his early as well as a relic in the novel that made its author an enemy
pages. I am not alone. Whoever have been of the state. Communism fed the imagination of those who
there before, lingering in those snapshots defied the lie, vindicating what Borges said, “censorship is
captured by a novelist with the smirk of the mother of metaphor”. The outcasts of ideology, in Russia
a mischievous philosopher, could have guessed where they and in the vassal states of Central Europe, wrote some of the
come from. In the opening sentences of The Book of finest novels of the last century, all metaphor-rich. For
Laughter and Forgetting, there is the communist leader Kundera, once a card-holding pianist in Prague, commu-
Klement Gottwald, standing on the balcony of a baroque nism, blocking all the light he needed to read the ebony-
palace in Prague on a cold, snowy February in 1948, flanked black joke unfolding around him, would become a great
by his comrades, overlooking the Old Town square, “a fateful erasure. Clementis’ hat is a reminder: “The struggle of man
moment of the kind that occurs only once or twice a mil- against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.”
lennium.” Vladimir Clementis, who’s standing closer to the I myself may have quoted this line a hundred times, but
leader, “bursting with solicitude”, takes off his fur hat and nothing else reminds us with such aphoristic elegance of
puts it on Gottwald’s head. The picture of the leader in a fur totalitarianism’s war on memory, the persistence of which is
hat speaking to people from a Prague balcony, popularised by more organic and intimate than history. We turn the
the propaganda department, marks the beginning of pages of early Kundera and realise why memory is art’s
Bohemia’s communist history. “Four years later, Clementis alternative to history. Clementis’ hat is a relic too: Long
was charged with treason and hanged. The propaganda before the purge, the struggles of ideology exuded a false
section immediately made him vanish from history and, of sense of fraternity.
course, from all photographs. Ever since, Gottwald has been Kundera’s problem with communism was a matter of
alone on the balcony. Where Clementis stood, there is only aesthetics rather than ethics. The evil fascinated him, made
the bare palace wall. Nothing remains of Clementis but the him laugh, filled him with not fear but revulsion. He devotes
fur hat on Gottwald’s head.” a few pages in The Unbearable Lightness of Being to the idea of
The other image comes from The Unbearable Lightness of kitsch, originally a German word with a metaphysical ring
Being. After a brief meditation on “eternal return”, a concept to it: “kitsch is the absolute denial of shit, in both the literal
that concentrated the mind of Nietzsche and sets the theme and the figurative senses of the word; kitsch excludes every-
of this novel—“If eternal return is the heaviest of burdens, thing from its purview which is essentially unacceptable
then our lives can stand out against it in all their splendid in human existence.” Kitsch is the aesthetic ideal of totali-
lightness. But is heaviness truly deplorable and lightness tarianism, and for Kundera, nothing else brings it out with
splendid?”—Tomas, a surgeon, is introduced to the reader. such clarity as the May Day Parade. “The unwritten, unsung
He is “standing at the window of his flat and looking across motto of the parade was not ‘Long live Communism!’ but
the courtyard at the opposite walls, not knowing what to ‘Long live life!’ The power and cunning of Communist poli-
do.” He is seeking answers on his lover, “recalling her lying tics lay in the fact that it appropriated this slogan. For it was
on his bed; she reminded him of no one in his former life. this idiotic tautology (‘Long live life!’) which attracted people
She was neither mistress nor wife. She was a child whom indifferent to the theses of Communism to the Communist
he had taken from a bulrush basket that had been daubed parade.” Kundera resisted the temptations of totalitarianism
with pitch and sent to the riverbank of his bed.” with the power of laughter and memory, and in 1975, left
6 24 JULY 2023
Immortality—the sensuous and the cerebral make
a perfect partnership. Eroticism is the religion that
keeps the faith alive for many Kundera characters,
as if, when you are fortunate enough to escape com-
munism’s “auto-culpabilisation machine” in which
punishment seeks a suitable crime, hedonism is an
unintended alternative.
Kundera’s own alternatives lay in the infinite
possibilities of the art of the novel itself, and I can’t
think of another novelist who was as obsessive
about his art and its ancestry. In two book-length
essays, The Art of the Novel and Testaments
Betrayed, he reflects on the art that defines him
from the perspective of multiple identities: as a
writer trapped in history; as a writer from a place
culturally stolen by a monolith; and as a writer con-
stantly listening to the whispers of the great dead
(Rabelais, Cervantes, Kafka, Goethe, Hemingway,
Hašek …). He was a great believer in the sovereignty
of his art, and any Kundera novel—most of them
structured in seven parts like a musical composi-
tion—can be read as a self-referential essay on
the art of the novel. From Immortality: “Dramatic
MILAN KUNDERA tension is the real curse of the novel, because it
(1929-2023) transforms everything… into steps leading to the
GETTY IMAGES
final resolution, in which the meaning of every-
thing that preceded is concentrated.” What propels
the then Czechoslovakia for France, and, eventually, would the pages of Kundera—home to fiction’s most enduring
start writing in French. When the streets of Prague played aphorisms—is the drama of being in the “theatre of
out the second Spring fourteen years later, Kundera was not memory”, where forgetting is equal to death.
there among the amateur revolutionaries, all novelists and
playwrights and singers, to lead the velvet resistance against
communism. He was elsewhere and seen by some dissi-
dents as the one who had abandoned the struggle. That was
a misreading. He never abandoned the conversation with
T WO WEEKS AGO, I wrote in these pages about
his new little book, A Kidnapped West, which is a
collection of his two influential earlier essays on being a
power, and his struggle with its grotesqueries. His resistance writer from a small nation and the cultural legacy of
was spelt out in words that retained their terrifying honesty Central Europe—“not a state but a fate”—punished by
under the veneer of narrative lightness. both history and geography. It was the publisher’s
Then it is a literary crime to read Kundera as merely a invitation to reread Kundera in the wake of another
dissident writer from Eastern Europe. The political and the small nation’s tragedy. Still Kundera never invested in
historical are for him the state of “being in the world”. Even prophecies, and in 21st-century Prague, where tourism
as he rebels against the clichés of communism, we can’t miss follows the footprints of Kafka and Havel, Kundera has not
the subtlety with which he avoids one of fiction’s familiar been much of a buzz, and the bust of Gottwald I saw in the
territories: the inner world. The psychological is not what he Museum of Communism in Prague three years ago was not
deploys to bring a character to life. There is an overwhelm- accessorised by the fur cap of Clementis. Prophets
ing physicality about the Kundera world. Tomas, a surgeon- claim the future; writers marvel at the recurrence of the
turned-window cleaner in the Prague after the crushed present. Kundera was not in the business of prophecies,
Spring, first appears in The Unbearable Lightness of Being as a like the other writer from Prague whom he has written
sensualist at an existential crossroads. At one level, Tomas about repeatedly. The best on Prague’s original K was said
is a character floating, from window to window, in an erotic by the other K who fled the city. Kundera never forgave
comedy of errors where passion is regulated, politics is an in- Max Brod, the father of “Kafkology”, for turning Kafka
fringer, and history is a tireless adjective. In the three novels into a saint. Prague may now reclaim Kundera, adding
that form the foundation of the Kundera oeuvre—The Book of him to the pantheon. That will be homecoming as a
Laughter and Forgetting, The Unbearable Lightness of Being and posthumous irony. Q

OPEN DIARY
Swapan Dasgupta
A T THE TIME of writing, more

than 45 people were killed in the
violence associated with the panchay-
of Parliament, for example, who is
popularly known with the prefix
‘square-feet’ before his surname.
at polls in the benighted state of West Those who have read accounts
Bengal. The number is shockingly of how mafia gangs operated in
high. If you add to this the scenes of New York and Chicago in the early
mob violence, indiscriminate hurtling part of the 20th century will find
of homemade bombs and mass rigging eerie parallels.
that took place inside the polling Then there is the systematic
booths, the inescapable conclusion is siphoning of government funds, both
that the term Jungle Raj, which was welfare allotments and development
once used to describe Bihar under throes of self-generated confusion. funds. In the rest of India, the
Lalu Prasad, should now be applied to Most Bengali families, cutting across imaginative use of technology has
the place Gopal Krishna Gokhale be- the class divide, now have some of its seen the decline in the quantum
lieved—hopefully erroneously—was members working outside the state. of corruption. Not in West Bengal.
the national beacon. Some 50 years ago, Bengali mothers Here, increasingly innovative ways,
Of course, no one, not least the were heartbroken if their beloved coupled with the use of muscle power,
Bengalis themselves, seriously sons and even married daughters has seen a chunk of government
believe any longer that their state had to cross Dhanbad or Balasore funds going into the hands of
is Sonar Bangla. Although a mood for employment. Of course, in some those who control the panchayats.
of vacuous self-congratulation districts, such as Midnapore, finding This explains why there is such a
overwhelms the state when work outside was seen as normal, desperation to ensure election to
some foreigner issues a gushing but this was an exception. Today, panchayat bodies. Without the
testimonial to the city of Kolkata it is understood that anyone who authority conferred by panchayats,
after a flying visit. It has also become has completed their school, must their very livelihood is at stake. They
customary for the national political look elsewhere to get on with life. must secure election and re-election
leadership to start their speeches in It is also understood that economic at all costs, even if it means subverting
Bengal with syrupy references to the advancement depends on attaining the democratic process completely.
glorious heritage of the Bengalis. success in some part of resurgent I would hazard the guess that
Speaking as a proud and rooted India or overseas. Those who, for one West Bengal is by far the most
Bengali who doesn’t mind being reason or another, cannot afford to advanced in the corruption business.
described as a Bong, I sincerely leave Bengal, are compelled to try The problem isn’t confined to the
believe that there should be their hand in the one area that offers very top or the very bottom. Its reach
moratorium on these meaningless easy pickings: politics. has extended to every section of the
certifications of how cultured and The entry bar to politics is political establishment, including
refined the Bengalis are. Maybe, tantalisingly low and the assured the opposition party activists, many
Bengalis have acquired a veneer of returns are high. In West Bengal, of whom are kept satisfied with
cosmopolitanism, courtesy having where economic stagnation has set sweeteners. The term ‘setting’ is often
been exposed to Western culture in for decades, a livelihood from used to describe political match-
for the longest time in India. To this politics can happen in two ways. fixing. This is almost entirely an
has been added a generous layer of The first, popularised by the Bangla offshoot of the corruption economy.
‘progressivism’, a shorthand for an expression ‘tolabaazi’, is the local What we witnessed in the pan-
attitude of disdain towards many variant of extortion. These take the chayat election wasn’t due to the innate
facets of Hindu traditions. This is form of illegal cesses on businesses Bengali penchant for violence—some-
often reflected in the so-called trendy (big and small), forcible donations thing that has its post-Independence
Bangla films which often glorify from individuals and corporate manifestation dating back to the col-
lesbianism, free love and uninhibited houses for every conceivable puja lapse of Congress dominance in 1967.
swearing, and which in nearly all and festival, and compulsory It is an expression of the criminalisa-
cases, bomb at the box office. commissions on building and tion that has accompanied prolonged
Frankly, I think Bengal is in the renovation work. There is a Member economic stagnation. Q
8 24 JULY 2023
WHEN THE OTHERS GET
CAUGHT IN THE DETAILS.
TURN TO US
FOR THE
BIGGER PICTURE.
[ NO ONE MAKES AN ARGUMENT BETTER THAN US ]
openthemagazine.com openthemagazine openthemag
TO SUBSCRIBE, ‘OPENMAG’ to 9999800012
Available as an e-magazine for tablets,

mobiles and desktops via Magzter
OPENINGS
NOTEBOOK
The Arc of Alliance
T
URKISH PRESIDENT Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office when the war in Ukraine began, had failed.
abrupt decision to ‘unblock’ Sweden’s bid to join But Sweden will soon join NATO and that means a substantial
NATO was not a sideshow at the Vilnius summit. change on the map. Two Nordic states, Norway and Denmark,
While all eyes were on Ukraine and President were founding members of NATO. Sweden and Finland had been
Volodymyr Zelensky had criticised the “absurd” lack of clarity neutral through the Cold War. Now, along with the three Baltic
on a timeline for Kyiv to join the treaty organisation even states of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, as well as Poland, Czechia,
before the summit began, it was the ghost of Olof Palme, and an Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and, of course, Turkey,
old, lingering Cold War legacy, that was laid to rest in Lithuania. they will form an S in reverse, barricading Europe from the Black
There was nothing absurd about NATO’s position on Sea coast to the Baltic region against Russia. The map would have
Ukraine’s membership. Zelensky’s impatience is understand- meant little when it came to aerial bombing and missiles or cyber
able but there was no way NATO could have accepted a new warfare. But Russia’s demonstrated weakness for land wars, as
member state that happens to be at war. Nor would the 31 in Ukraine, keeps it relevant, especially for the Baltic states and
member states have given a timeline for Ukraine to join, since Finland. Most importantly, since an attack on one member state
such a timeline naturally depends on the cessation of hostili- of NATO is deemed an attack on all, Russia can waste words in
ties on the ground which perhaps even the perpetrator in issuing threats but do little on the ground except transport more
Moscow doesn’t have a date for. On the other hand, getting the missiles and nukes. Vladimir Putin’s actions to constrict NATO
waiver on the Membership Action Plan (MAP), which makes have resulted in the exact opposite of his objective. Add Ukraine
Ukraine’s eventual entry a simple, one-step process, will turn to that map, and the new iron curtain is complete.
out to be more than symbolic when the day comes. After the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of commu-
So, let’s return to Sweden for the moment. It’s immaterial nism in Europe, NATO had plunged into an existential crisis. Its
whether Erdogan was impressed by Sweden’s recent crack- relevance and continuance were questioned. With hindsight,
down on Kurdish militants or the F-16s changed his mind. Al- the rapid extension eastwards, taking in the newly liberated
though he had given way on Finland earlier this year, Erdogan states of the Soviet East Bloc, not least at the urging of those
had been adamant about Sweden. The problem was the legacy states themselves, saved the organisation. Each country in
of Palme. Sweden, more than other Scandinavian states, had question, even Hungary, had specific and similar reasons to be
long given shelter to all the persecuted peoples of the world it wary of Moscow. The Baltics were the most vulnerable. Poland
could accommodate. The Kurds, vic- could never outgrow the threat to its
tims of history and the instruments of existence on the map of Europe. The
history called conflict and its resultant Czechs always considered themselves
disputed borders, were denied the NATO’s expansion is a Central European. But it was Finland,
independent state they were promised twofold boon for India which the newest member of NATO, which
but only in a truncated version by the was guaranteed its independence
Treaty of Sèvres (1920). They had carried
XQGHUVWDQGVWKHEHQHÀWVRI by Moscow only on condition of its
on the good fight wherever they were. SXUSRVHVSHFLÀFJURXSVOLNH neutrality through the Cold War. That
Sweden was a haven for them but soon, the Quad or I2U2. Its desire made the Finnish case very different
much of the good fight had turned bad, WRHQJDJHZLWK'HOKLDVD from Sweden’s where neutrality was
as militant Kurds, whom Erdogan, bloc is a new opportunity. more a matter of ideology. The ghost of
not without reason, calls terrorists,
$QG5XVVLDFDXJKWLQDPRUH the unfortunate Palme again, although
extended their reach. Thus, there would it was really a Social Democratic
have been little irony if Sweden’s bid to VXIIRFDWLQJGHSHQGHQFHRQ worldview that still goes deep into the
join NATO, begun under Social Demo- &KLQDZRXOGORRNDW,QGLD Scandinavian soul. Palme had believed
crat Magdalena Andersson who was in IRUEUHDWKLQJVSDFH Swedish neutrality was a force for good
10 24 JULY 2023
AFP
NATO leaders with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in Vilnius, July 12, 2023
in a divided world. He may even have been right. But that was India for NATO, that very Russia-China embrace, to say nothing
the price for Sweden becoming mediator-in-chief. And neutral- of the West’s increasingly difficult relations with Beijing, means
ity is still an article of faith for a lot of Swedes although, as Prime such equivalence is non-existent in practice. India will have an
Minister Ulf Kristersson would affirm, geopolitics, going opportunity in each hand for the foreseeable future.
beyond the reality and rumours of Russian submarines near The Biden administration disappointed Zelensky by pouring
the Swedish coast, had left Stockholm with no choice. cold water on his hopes for at least a timeline for Ukraine’s entry.
At a glance, Europe, and on cue the world, is a frightfully But in doing so, the US showed why it’s the leader of the alliance,
divided place again. But the view from New Delhi advises calm. its chief military contributor and strategist. That cautious Ameri-
NATO’s expansion is a twofold boon for India which, in recent can pragmatism, especially against the backdrop of the much-
years, has understood well the benefits of purpose-specific criticised provision of cluster bombs to Ukraine, carried the day
groupings, such as the Quad when it comes to geopolitics, or, say, over and above disagreements among NATO members and left
I2U2 when it comes to technological and cross-sector coopera- Ukrainian membership to a future, hopefully not too distant,
tion. India holds most of its joint military exercises with the US. “when allies agree and conditions are met”. Zelensky’s claim that
It increasingly participates in multilateral exercises, as it did “uncertainty is weakness” was perhaps merely an exercise in
with France and the UAE in the Gulf of Oman last month. NATO rhetoric, aimed at the desperate population back home. How-
has not looked so purposeful and formidable in a long time. ever, the waiver on the MAP immediately raised Russia’s hackles
Since it wants to engage more with India as a bloc, as pointed even though NATO could rightfully count Moscow’s anger as a
out by Julianne Smith, the US permanent representative to small victory. There was a strong message from Vilnius, after all.
NATO, at the Raisina Dialogue earlier this year, there is an added If US pragmatism and a Turkish turnaround were the key
opportunity opening up here. On the other hand, the Vilnius takeaways, a little-noticed statement of Polish Prime Minister
summit was the first time since the Soviet collapse that the Andrzej Duda summed it up best: “We raised this Ukrainian
leaders of NATO member states put their political stamp on new expectation that a formal invitation to an alliance be issued for
and detailed plans for collective defence against a military attack Ukraine… Such a far-reaching decision has not been made, but
by a major power, meaning Russia. An isolated Russia, pushed a whole series of decisions have been made regarding Ukraine,
into a suffocating dependence on China, would look at India undoubtedly bringing Ukraine closer to NATO.”
all the more for breathing space and room for manoeuvre. And
while in theory, there can be equivalence between China and By SUDEEP PAUL

OPENINGS
PORTRAIT LAKSHYA SEN China’s Li Shifeng, in the final. After winning

the opener, when he conceded a 20-16 lead in the
SHUTTLE STAR second, it might have appeared as though he was

on the verge of throwing it all away. But Sen was
With his Canadian Open win, the 21-year-old ruthless this time, chipping away at that four-point
difference as Shifeng watched on helplessly. Sen
proves he is the future of Indian badminton eventually took the game 21-18, 22-20. “Lakshya
did not give up at 20-16. It is so easy to slip into that
T HIS YEAR WASN’T going Lakshya Sen’s way. After the

breakthrough season he had last year—where the badminton player
took down some of the biggest names in the business on his way to
frame of mind that he’s won the first and can play
the decider... It’s a combination of being mentally
and physically fit that he could remain calm even
several titles and a World No 6 in the Badminton World Federation when things got close,” his coach Anup Sridhar
(BWF) rankings—it all appeared to be unravelling quickly. It began later told the Indian Express.
with the delayed recovery period after a surgery Sen underwent—for Sen’s rise in badminton has been anything but
a deviated septum—a period during which he says his immunity was meteoric. A resident of Almora in Uttarakhand,
low, and he was constantly falling ill. On the court, he was sluggish it is said he began playing the game when he was
and constantly crashing out early from tournaments. This showed just five years old. Sen’s elder brother Chirag is
in his rankings. He went from World No 6 in November last year to 25 also a badminton player, and his father DK Sen,
in just a few months. And when he crashed out of yet another is a coach. By 10, Sen had moved to Bengaluru to
tournament earlier this year, the Swiss Open Super 300, he took a train at the Prakash Padukone Academy. And in
break from badminton, stating in an Instagram post that he wanted to a few years, he was dominating the junior circuit,
focus on his mental and physical health. picking up a clutch of prestigious titles, including
What was going on with one of the most talented shuttlers in the the 2018 Asian Junior Championships, the first
country? When was the Sen of last year going to show up? Could he even? by an Indian in 53 years, silver at the 2018 Youth
Also, this isn’t any other year. It is the year of Olympic qualifications. If Olympic Games, and a bronze at the 2018 World
you perform well, you can book yourself a slot for Paris next year, and who Junior Championships 2018, and at one point in
knows what awaits an athlete there. 2017, he was ranked junior World No 1.
As the recently concluded Canada Open showed, Sen is very much that He announced his arrival on the senior
player of 2022, if not more. He picked up the second Super 500 title of his circuit when he won a bronze at the 2021 World
career when he comprehensively beat the current All England champion, Championships. But it was really 2022 when he
gatecrashed into the big league. Sen went from
GETTY IMAGES
being just another plucky kid in the circuit to
someone you needed to take very seriously. He
began beating the biggest names in the business,
leaving his more experienced Indian peers
behind, as he went on to win a clutch of titles,
from his maiden BWF Super 500 title at the India
Open, silver at the All England Championships,
a Commonwealth Games gold where he came
from behind to win against the Malaysian Ng Tze
Yong, to playing an integral role in India’s maiden
Thomas Cup triumph. It is no surprise that Sen
was suddenly being discussed as the future of
Indian badminton. Of the three Indian men
currently ranked in the top 20 in singles, both
HS Prannoy (ranked 9) and Srikanth Kidambi
(ranked 20) are 30 years old. Sen, who has now
moved to 12 in rankings, is just 21.
It was when he began to falter this season that
some began to wonder if their faith in his abilities
had been a bit premature. Sen has just proved that
is far from true.
By LHENDUP G BHUTIA
12 24 JULY 2023
ANGLE IDEAS
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF FAITH

On the paradox of scientists
being religious
By MADHAVANKUTTY PILLAI
EXPANSION
A DAY BEFORE Chandrayaan-3 even atheists decided to be present. It is no secret that those who run
was to launch, you saw an Indian Rationalists could argue the participa- cricket have long wanted to enter
Space Research Organisation (ISRO) tion of scientists publicly in religion is a the vast sport market of America.
team going to the Tirupati temple to messaging against the scientific temper There have been several attempts
seek blessings, and so once again bring- and perhaps that is true. But then ISRO to do so, from an early cricket
ing to the fore the curious paradox of sci- still managed to remain one of the few league called Pro Cricket in 2004
entists believing in god. It is an anomaly successful scientific institutions in India. to a series of exhibition matches
because science might have been born Plus, it probably makes no difference any- that featured the likes of Sachin
out of religion, as an appendix to it, but way. Invert the situation. Assume that Tendulkar and Shane Warne in
broke away as soon as it realised that every scientist in India will have nothing 2015. But all of them fizzled out, and
faith was an impediment to its develop- to do with religion. Does anyone doubt the US market remained elusive.
ment. The two fundamentally look at that the vast majority of this country will There is now a new push in the
the world in contrasting ways. Religion still be as religious as ever? Religion is form of a T20 IPL-like league called
asks you to take it on its word. God must irrational but it is ingrained into the brain Major League Cricket. It has some
be believed in before he deigns to come through its development. Most human wealthy patrons such as Microsoft’s
to you—you will only get proof if your beings even know that many religious Satya Nadella, and supporters in
faith is strong enough. Science needs beliefs are unreal but, instead of shedding the form of IPL franchises, apart
to be convinced through hypothesis, them, they just find new interpretations. from well-known cricketers who
experimentation and verification be- In the past, every deity was a very real are participating in it. There are also
fore putting its stamp on any certainty. entity; now, most literate people think of
possibly two big events lined up in
It demands an overabundance of proof them as representations or symbols of an
the next few years—the men’s T20
before any faith and that, too, given unknowable, all-powerful god. Most of
World Cup in 2024, which the US
begrudgingly in the anticipation that it these ISRO scientists know that calcula-
will fall on the wayside of new findings. will co-host with the West Indies,
tions and engineering are responsible
How then is it possible for scientists for the launch of satellites and god has thereby automatically granting the
to negotiate this dichotomy? There little to contribute. But the temple visit is American team entry, and the Los
are numerous reasons adduced for it important because it is also a psychologi- Angeles Olympics in 2028, for which
but mostly they keep work and faith cal support. cricket’s inclusion is being pushed.
separate, relegating religious belief to Pascal, one of the greatest scientists
the personal space. But there are other who ever lived, noted in his wager—
factors. One 2016 study found that nothing is lost by believing in god but
WORD’S WORTH
in some cultures, scientists are more if you don’t believe and he does exist,
tolerant of religion, and India was one of then there is much that can be lost. It is a ‘Americans have their
them. More than half of Indian scientists
did not see the two as antithetical even
somewhat specious argument because
which god do you believe in when every
national game, baseball–
if they were still less religious than the religion has a different one to venerate? which is cricket
general population. Part of it might also But having faith in even one is still taking played with a strong
be tradition. A puja or a temple visit be- some insurance against uncertainties in American accent’
fore a major event is a common practice, an uncontrollable world, which is prob- GEORGE MIKES
and it wouldn’t be surprising in India if ably all there is to it. BRITISH HUMOURIST

INSIDER
CABINET HUSTLE
T
he torrential rains over the weekend of July 8-9 in Delhi
and its surrounding areas as well as in much of north
India, in particular the hill states of Himachal Pradesh
and Uttarakhand, held everyone’s attention and dominated
news headlines. But the thoughts of a certain group of people
lay elsewhere. The national capital’s grapevine was buzzing
with talk of a possible shuffle of the Union Council of Minis-
ters and many, including political pundits, were busy trying
to figure out what was in the works. There were those who had
the most skin in the game—aspirants as well as incumbents
pondering their fate—and were particularly keen on reading
the straws in the wind. Figuring out Cabinet changes has been
very challenging as the deliberations hardly ever leak. This
time the more informed speculation is that the shuffle, if it
does happen, may have some bearing on the BJP organisation.
It is being felt that appointments of senior party functionaries
need to be carefully reviewed as they are often key to prepar-
ing state units for elections. In past NDA governments, too,
there were movements from government to organisation.
With the Lok Sabha polls not too far off, radical changes in the
Union Cabinet would seem unlikely. In any case, the weekend
passed without the proverbial pin dropping and anxiety levels
dropped even if they have not subsided. The testing times
could well be back when Prime Minister Narendra Modi
returns from his visit to France.
UKRAINE
ASSAULT
I nformed reports from the Ukrainian frontline indicate that
Kyiv’s much-awaited counter-offensive is not making much
progress. The defensive lines put in place by Russian forces are
STALLS holding and the Ukrainians are making marginal progress,
hampered by lack of air support for even localised operations. As
the war grinds on, military experts reckon that Ukraine will find
it increasingly difficult to recruit fresh troops from a limited catchment area while Russia can
yet call up another round of compulsory enlistment. According to the Hudson Institute, which
collates information from various sources, the Ukrainian strategy of staging frontal assaults
is not paying off. Modifications of Leopard tanks have helped Ukrainian armour, reducing the
losses that the forces suffered a few weeks ago, but Kyiv clearly needs to do more. The possibil-
ity of getting US ballistic missiles might make a difference and also escalate hostilities that are
currently spread over a relatively narrow front of about a 100-150km. As of now, the battlefield
appears complicated with the flooding caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, creat-
ing large tracts of waterlogged land posing further hurdles for movement of heavy armour and
making attempts to cross the Dnipro river to reach Crimea even riskier.
14 24 JULY 2023
Illustrations by SAURABH SINGH
JUDGING NCP SPLIT

T hough the split in NCP is yet to be taken up by the Election Commission
(EC), the poll body will soon have to apply its mind to the contesting
claims from Ajit ‘Dada’ Pawar’s and his uncle Sharad Pawar’s factions. Of
the tests that EC can apply is an assessment of the control of either side on
the organisational structure of the party. This might seem to be tilted in
favour of Sharad Pawar as a recent show of strength saw the presence of most
party district heads. Yet, the question whether the party constitution was
NEW being adhered to and if inner-party democracy was being practised is not
BOLLYWOOD easy to answer. In the recent Shiv Sena split, the Uddhav Thackeray faction
claimed the loyalty of the organisation, arguing that the views of delegates
T he film 72 Hoorain is attracting

notice similar to The Kerala
Story some months ago for its
or functionaries reflect the sentiments of the rank and file. The deposed
chief minister might have had a point, but changes in the party constitution
that made the Sena’s ‘decision-making’ body merely a collection of individu-
theme that explores the promise
als appointed by the Sena chief hurt the claim. EC found that the Sena had
of rewards in the hereafter for
failed the test of inner-party democracy.
suicide terrorists. The bait has
NCP’s case is bound to be examined by
always been suspect, not least
both the commission and the courts but
because the clerics and preachers
the issue may well be finally settled
who propagate to recruit suicide
on the basis of which faction
bombers rarely, if ever, tread the
commands the loyalty of
path they advocate. While the
most number of legislators.
film has, not surprisingly, drawn a
Here, the Ajit Pawar faction
polarised response, the interesting
has an upper hand as more
fact is that it had received a censor
certification back in 2019 itself. It MLAs are likely to cross over
is not, as might appear, a recent to his camp.
film inspired by the success of
The Kerala Story. What seems to
have changed is the preparedness ENGAGING MYANMAR
of distributors to take up films
with sensitive themes previously
considered risky propositions.
T he outgoing Thailand government’s efforts to re-engage ASEAN with
Myanmar are being carefully watched by India which has itself kept
channels open with the junta in Naypyidaw. So far, Thailand has met with
Bollywood remains the most
limited success as Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia stayed away from the
pecuniary-minded of institutions
and producers and distributors informal talks. Thailand shares a long border with Myanmar and there are
are seeing profit and even important trade and economic linkages. Its efforts to restart ASEAN’s con-
acceptability in such projects. tacts with Myanmar are seen as also influenced by its proximity to China
All this is very disheartening for which remains one of the military junta’s biggest supporters. India is not
cultural commissars who have supportive of the coup in Myanmar that was followed by Aung San Suu Kyi
sought to set the ‘right’ narrative being jailed on what are seen as trumped-up charges but is wary of ceding
through films that concentrate space to China in a country that borders its Northeast. India continues to
on depicting divisions in Indian hope ASEAN will be able to persuade Myanmar’s generals to loosen their
society and the alleged rise grip on the country and allow political
of ‘majoritarian’ politics. The activity to restart. The muted response
popular acceptance of films like to Thailand’s bid to bring Myanmar out
The Kashmir Files and The Kerala of the cold indicates that most ASEAN
Story and concerns over a social- nations are not willing to normalise rela-
media backlash have dampened tions and back a China-inspired engage-
the enthusiasm of this set of ment yet. This is good news for India that
‘progressive’ filmmakers, at is looking to limit China’s influence
least now. in its neighbourhood.

GLOBALSUTRA Pallavi Aiyar
Dealing with Overtourism

Is international travel an indulgence or an education?
A
T A LITERATURE FESTIVAL in Spain a few to 1.4 billion today.
weeks ago, I was on a travel writing panel. The When we add social media to this masala of cheaper
conversation rapidly dissolved into a heated air travel and a rising middle class, the recipe for today’s
debate about overtourism. overtourism is complete. On Instagram, everyone is in a
In the years immediately preceding the Covid febrile state of fear of missing out (FOMO) as they swipe
pandemic, urgent headlines from around the world had through a smorgasbord of photographs of friends having
warned how Venice was sinking, Kyoto choking and “fun” in jaw-dropping locations. That this “fun” usually
Barcelona drowning in garbage. Locals in global tourist consists of the one photo in which platoons of competing
hotspots were being squeezed out of their own cities, photo-takers are baying for their turn at the margins of the
with real estate prices pushed to untenable highs. Selfie- frame is as much a testament as any to the fact that today’s
taking hordes were fanning out locust-like across the most tourism industry is a victim of its own success. The more
spectacular manmade and natural wonders of the world, tourists there are, the more they end up destroying the
leaving behind trampled-over, litter-strewn husks. very assets—monuments, beaches, national parks—upon
There were photographs of queues of mountaineers which tourism depends.
waiting to ascend the summit of Mount Everest, The pandemic might have given the world a brief
reminiscent of Taylor Swift fans trying to cadge a ticket to window to reset, and replan the management of travel in
a concert. In May 2019, the Louvre Museum in Paris was ways that could moderate its negative impact. But it is now
closed after the workers’ union claimed that overcrowding clear that this was a wasted opportunity. After two years
had made the space dangerous. of enforced stillness, the world is on the move again, and
My own first experience with how joyless actually with a vengeance.
ticking off items on your travel bucket list can be was To take one example, Spain received the most
decades ago, in the mid-1990s. My first visit to Rome had international visitors for the month of May on record this
entailed spending an entire morning in the sweltering July year. It hosted 8.2 million tourists from abroad in that
heat queuing up at the Vatican City, all for a total of five single month, more than in the previous May record set in
minutes inside the Sistine Chapel. Groups of us, packed 2019. And the Iberian Peninsula is hardly the exception.
into the intimacy of a can of sardines, were pushed into Countries from Austria to Morocco have announced similar
the hall, where the crowding made it a feat to physically record-breaking numbers of tourists for 2023, so far.
be able to crane one’s neck up towards The Creation of
Adam, before being pushed out again. To have enjoyed the
experience, one would have had to be a masochist.
In the almost three decades since that trip, global
A ND YET, WHEN at the literature festival I heard
one of my co-panellists talk of busloads of Chinese
tourists crawling all over cities “like ants”, it got my goat
tourism has grown like a beanstalk that belongs to a fellow (excuse the abundance of animal metaphors). The cold
called Jack. Cheaper air travel means that the number of fact is that there are racist and classist undertones to
international visits has more than doubled since 2000. much of the handwringing about overtourism, as well
Rising incomes across the world, but particularly in as to many of the more common solutions proposed to
demographically exuberant nations like China and India, address the problem.
are further fertiliser to the travel beanstalk. The number For centuries, travel for leisure was the privilege of
of overseas trips made by Chinese citizens, for example, wealthy nobles or other people of means, who used it as a
rose from 10.5 million in 2000 to about 155 million in 2019. way of signalling their social standing and power. The kind
International tourist arrivals around the world of mass tourism that took off in the 1960s was the result
have exploded from a little less than 70 million in 1960, of the growing democratisation of wealth and leisure in
16 24 JULY 2023
the West. Its 21st-century sibling of global mass tourism usually a newer memory for them. They may lack the
is in turn a manifestation of this trend in other parts of confidence to travel solo and therefore choose the kind
the world, including China and India, as they have begun of package tours that provide them with some of the
climbing out of their marginalised and poor pasts. This comforts of “home”, even as they dip a toe in what can feel
is despite the citizens of the global South continuing to frighteningly foreign. The ability to be cosmopolitan is a
suffer enormous structural disadvantages in international privilege rather than a virtue.
travel, given the caste system that governs passports.
One way of looking at overtourism, therefore, is
to see it as a celebration of growing global prosperity
and egalitarianism.
N ONE OF THIS is to deny that overtourism is a real
problem. What is important is to ensure that equity
is at the centre of the solutions devised to address it. So,
Moreover, some of the scorn directed at mass tourism for example, merely charging tourists more by levying
taxes, or insisting on minimum
AP daily spends, only rewards the
wealthy while punishing the
less materially endowed. In
Japan, there are restaurants
that refuse to take bookings
from foreign tourists, unless
made by the concierges of
approved hotels. Large Chinese
tour groups have been banned
from some spas and hotels.
In cities like Berlin, there has
been a crackdown on Airbnb,
and others like Milan have
outlawed selfie sticks.
Far better than these is to
devise ways to make off-season
travel more attractive. And to
lessen the huge burden on Top
10 list-sights by incentivising
tourists to explore destinations
that are off the beaten path.
Indonesia recently
announced a plan to place
SELFIETAKING HORDES WERE FANNING OUT LOCUSTLIKE some of its cultural heritage
ACROSS THE MOST SPECTACULAR MANMADE AND on Web3, a new iteration of
the internet that includes
NATURAL WONDERS OF THE WORLD, LEAVING BEHIND
blockchain technologies.
TRAMPLEDOVER, LITTERSTREWN HUSKS. THERE A dozen of the archipelago’s
WERE PHOTOGRAPHS OF QUEUES OF MOUNTAINEERS leading master craftsmen have
WAITING TO ASCEND THE SUMMIT OF MOUNT EVEREST, created a collection of NFTs,
REMINISCENT OF TAYLOR SWIFT FANS TRYING TO one-of-a-kind digital assets
CADGE A TICKET TO A CONCERT that are sold through Web3.
This is one way in which
locals who were previously
fully reliant on tourism can
by the pundits of high culture is barely disguised snobbery. begin to plan revenue streams that are not dependent
Nouveau travellers lack the cultural capital that imbues on footfalls alone.
the “right kind of tourist” with knowledge of implicit The business of solving overtourism in an inclusive way
norms. They get over-excited on planes and don’t quite is urgent. Travel is not an indulgence; it is an education.
know when to stand up or step aside. They might snag an And collectively, we need to ensure that everyone has
extra fruit from a hotel breakfast buffet and stuff it in the chance to enjoy, be astonished by, and learn from this
their handbag to eat later because economic scarcity is world, but without destroying it in the doing.

OPEN ESSAY
By JOYA CHATTERJI
THE RAGE OF THE LIBERALS

When they pushed Gandhi to the sidelines after the Chauri Chaura violence of 1922
W
HEN HIS SUPPORTERS attacked the local police station at Chauri Chaura, Gandhi decided
to put a stop to non- cooperation. But the writing had been on the wall for some time. The more
the Mahatma saw of Indian popular movements inspired by him and other leaders, the less he
liked them. What he saw in Malabar and Chauri Chaura persuaded him that the Indian ‘masses’
lacked the discipline necessary for the rigours of non-cooperation. If attacked by the police, they
would retaliate rather than turning the other cheek; and when they hit back, they did so with a
bloodthirsty rage that appalled him.
After this, Gandhi backed away for ever from mass mobilisation. He insisted that satyagraha
was not for the many but for the select few: the handful of disciples he had tutored at his aashrams
in self-discipline and the rigorous religious practice of seeking truth. The grand dream, that the non-cooperation Khilafat campaign
would bring about swaraj in a single year, lay in ashes.
Another legacy of the Mapilla rebellion was the end of ‘Hindu-Muslim unity’, as conceived of by the Mahatma, the Ali
brothers and Maulana Azad. These men had accepted that ‘Hindus’ and ‘Muslims’ were indeed different communities, each
with its different cultures and histories, each with its own internal problems to resolve. But they had believed that ‘Hindus’ and
‘Muslims’ could work together, support each other and live peaceably as ‘good neighbours’. Heightened religiosity in politics,
they hoped, would help achieve this, as better Hindus and better Muslims would be better fellow countrymen, and more ethical
Indians. But after the Mapilla rebellion, many leaders concluded that this emphasis on religiosity was in fact heightening com-
munal competition and violence. The failure of the non-cooperation Khilafat model had revealed that practical intercommunal
cooperation required forms of leadership and social control that did not exist, and rested on alliances at the top that were simply
too weak to withstand buffeting from below.
These events created space for the return of liberal constitutionalists to the centre ground of Indian politics. They were ready,
waiting in the wings. Another factor that helped them stand forth was the fact that the Raj, weakened by war and demoralised by
these events, recognised the need for reform.
The Government of India Act of 1919 introduced the new system of ‘diarchy’, which distinguished between different ‘heads’
of power and devolved those it deemed less important to local and municipal councils. It encouraged Indians to run for elections
to these councils, where they could raise taxes and spend local monies on local welfare. Many Indians were happy to oblige.
18 24 JULY 2023
Mahatma Gandhi with
Sarojini Naidu at the
Congress Committee
meeting, August 8, 1942
ALAMY
THESE WERE EARLY SIGNS OF A MAJOR REALIGNMENT IN THE SUBCONTINENT’S POLITICS.

ALTHOUGH MASS MOVEMENTS AGAINST THE SARKAR AND ITS LOCAL DESPOTS WOULD
CONTINUE TO ERUPT, LEADERS LIKE GANDHI AND THE ALI BROTHERS BEGAN TO RECEDE
INTO THE BACKGROUND. CONTRARY TO LEGEND, GANDHI REMAINED IN THE WINGS, FOR
THE MOST PART, IN THE YEARS BEFORE BRITAIN’S DEPARTURE IN 1947. IN THESE EARLY
DECADES OF ‘THE LONG DECOLONISATION’, DIFFERENT ALLIANCES BEGAN TO BE FORGED
While Gandhi and his closest coterie of followers, and also the Sarkar (government) and its local despots would continue to
Ali brothers, called for the boycott of the new councils, they no erupt, not least in 1942, leaders like Gandhi and the Ali broth-
longer had solid majorities behind them. A large ‘Pro-changer’ ers began to recede into the background. Contrary to legend,
group now emerged in the Congress, which preferred to work Gandhi remained in the wings, for the most part, in the years
in the reformed councils, scrutinising and debating legisla- before Britain’s departure in 1947. In these early decades of ‘the
tion, and resisting the British state from within. The Swarajya long decolonisation’, different alliances began to be forged,
party, representing ‘Pro-changers’ (both Hindus and Muslims), as Indian politicians attempted to build coalitions that could
was born. It decided, contra Gandhi, to contest the elections. consolidate their influence under a wounded and ever-weaker
In the Bengal council, Chittaranjan Das, the province’s most government. In a trend enhanced by the Government of India
admired Congress leader, formed an alliance with Huseyn Act of 1935, which introduced provincial autonomy and larger
Shaheed Suhrawardy, a charismatic Muslim politician, electorates, such coalition-building became ‘the new normal’.
against British members of the council. Many of its features would endure until the 1980s.
A new chasm opened up in the Congress as ‘No-changers’ Most political histories of twentieth-century South Asia
battled ‘Pro-changers’ for the soul of the party. The focus on the moments of high drama—swadeshi, non-cooper-
warfare between them was more decorous than the shoe- ation, civil disobedience, partition and the Bangladesh Libera-
hurling, head-breaking affair at Surat, but the split was tion War of 1971. Yet these moments were exceptional ruptures
‘deeper and wider’. in the dusty-brown fabric of the routine. If we turn our gaze
These were early signs of a major realignment in the sub- instead towards the humdrum, to the mundane mechanics of
continent’s politics. Although mass movements against the order, what might we learn about the compromises that shaped

OPEN ESSAY
GETTY IMAGES Courtesy NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, LONDON
MOTILAL NEHRU WAS

VERY DIFFERENT, BUT
MEMORABLE IN HIS OWN
WAY. UNLIKE GANDHI OR
JINNAH, HE WAS NEVER
CALLED TO THE BAR IN
LONDON. HE ESTABLISHED
A FLOURISHING LEGAL
PRACTICE AT ALLAHABAD.
HIS COMMAND OF CASE
LAW, HIS READINESS
TO PLAY HARDBALL IN
COURT AND SOFTBALL
OUTSIDE IT, HELPS
EXPLAIN HIS RAPID RISE
TO THE TOP
the ‘everyday’ in the last decades of the Raj? tionalism matured as a robust form of politics in India.
With hindsight, it is clear that the lineaments of these new The liberals were aware that, to succeed, they needed the
structures—already well established in the era of Gokhale— support of the pragmatists: men who wanted stability, who
re-emerged in the 1920s, after the Khilafat movement had wanted to make money, who knew how ‘to get their work
collapsed, Gandhi had withdrawn non-cooperation, and this done’ and call in favours, and who were keen to influence
model of Hindu-Muslim unity had revealed its fragility. policy on matters that affected them. In this period, business-
At their heart was a set of coalitions between ‘liberals’ and men stepped forward in significant numbers to join politics.
‘pragmatists’, both of whom were keen to ensure the estab- In the countryside too landlords left the kutcheries (accounts of-
lishment of a political order that they could influence, and fices) to their naibs and aamils (deputies and chief accountants)
which was capable of bringing pressure to bear upon the state and joined the new local and provincial boards. In 1935, after
without unleashing havoc on the streets, in the mills and legislative assemblies were established in the provinces, they
fields. These alliances required constant management and fought and won elections. This was a new kind of politics for
negotiation. The dull political routine was thus more fragile them, but they learned its mechanics soon enough.
than it appeared to be. Each time they were reconstructed, These new entrants into the political arena were not always
coalitions came again together in slightly new ways. The English-educated. Instead of gaining a higher education after
emergent new order was at once brittle and tenacious. rudimentary schooling, many had joined the family firm,
Indian ‘liberal’ politics of this period had a different accent on which so much business in South Asia rests. Yet they too
from liberalism in the West. Indian liberals examined how wanted change. Above all, they wanted customs barriers to
its different aspects (positivism, constitutionalism, justice, protect Indian industries, lower sales taxes and lower revenue
economic development, social progress) were ‘suited to Indian demands in the countryside to open up Indian markets. To
conditions’ or could be made so to do. Their liberalism was bring pressure to bear upon government, they needed political
grounded above all in the particularities of their colonial sta- allies who claimed to represent large communities, and liberal
tus, and Queen Victoria’s proclamation. Their consciousness friends who could articulate their case with eloquence on the
of racism—the fact that they were not equal in the eyes of the councils. But they were all clear about one thing: they wanted
law—made them angrily committed to the liberal principle of change to come about in an orderly fashion. They had no desire
legal equality. Inevitably western-educated, often lawyers, they to shake up the status quo. They had too much to lose.
worked for change within the law, putting pressure on the Brit-
ish by using the new councils the diarchy system had created.
They were constitutionalists to a man (or indeed woman:
Sarojini Naidu, the Bengali poetess, emerging as a major politi-
cal figure in this period). This was an age in which constitu-
T HE KEY LIBERALS of this era were Muhammad Ali
Jinnah of Bombay, and Motilal Nehru (father of
Jawaharlal) and Tej Bahadur Sapru from the United
20 24 JULY 2023
GETTY IMAGES
IN MANY WAYS, TWO ACHIEVEMENTS OF

MOTILAL NEHRU AND JINNAH’S EARLY CAREER
TEJ BAHADUR SAPRU IN POLITICS GIVE A
WERE CHALK AND FLAVOUR OF HIS FLAIR
CHEESE. WHERE MOTILAL FOR MEDIATION. THE
WAS SHOWY, SAPRU DID FIRST FOLLOWED AN
NOT DRAW ATTENTION TO ATTACK IN THE PRIVY
HIMSELF. WHEN MOTILAL COUNCIL ON THE
THUNDERED, SAPRU VALIDITY OF MUSLIM
SPOKE WITH CALM WAQFS. THE SECOND,
FLUENCY. HE SEEMS TO MUCH GREATER, FEAT,
HAVE BEEN FAR LESS WAS THE LUCKNOW PACT
INTERESTED IN MONEY OF 1916, WHICH BROUGHT
AND THE HIGH LIFE THE CONGRESS AND
THAN HIS KASHMIRI THE MUSLIM LEAGUE
FELLOW LIBERAL INTO ALLIANCE
Provinces. All were lawyers and they were most comfortable ‘Jinnahbhai’ was born in 1876 to a family of Khoja Ismailis,
with legalistic modes of reasoning. Gokhale and Dadabhai the small sect led by the Aga Khan. Although he is alleged to
were their role models. Their lifestyles were urbane. have converted later to Shiism, and then to the Sunni faith, he
Sapru and Nehru Senior were both Brahmins whose never disclosed his religious beliefs; we can’t be sure if indeed
ancestors had migrated from Kashmir to North India in an he had any. Late in life, he married for love outside the com-
earlier age, where they were part of a tight-knit expatriate munity, having fallen hard for the charms of the Parsi heiress
community which came to wield a quite extraordinary influ- Ruttie Petit, who was less than half his age. The attraction was
ence over Indian politics for much of the rest of the century. mutual: she left her family for him.
In many ways, the two men were chalk and cheese. Where Jinnah was from a middle-income background: his father,
Motilal was showy, Sapru did not draw attention to himself. a small- time cloth merchant, came from the minor princely
When Motilal thundered, Sapru spoke with calm fluency. He state of Kathiawar (where Gandhi had also grown up). In
seems to have been far less interested in money and the high 1875, the family moved to Karachi, then a small port town
life than his Kashmiri fellow liberal. in Sind, where Jinnah was educated at the madrassa. Like
Motilal Nehru was very different, but memorable in his Gandhi, therefore, he was an outsider to mainstream nation-
own way. As part of the service elite working for the Mughal alist politics: he did not come from the typical background
court, Motilal’s father, Gangadhar Nehru, had been one of the or have the typical ‘English-educated’ training. Perhaps this
stream of refugees who fled the carnage in Delhi after the Mu- explains his legendary prickliness.
tiny, and, having lost almost everything he possessed, soon Two achievements of Jinnah’s early career in politics give
died in his new home in Agra. Motilal, born in 1861 three a flavour of his flair for mediation. The first followed an at-
months after his father’s death, had to make his own way in tack in the privy council on the validity of Muslim waqfs—a
the world. Educated in Arabic and Persian, he only joined an form of religious trust, as old as Islam itself, by which a Mus-
English-medium school at the age of twelve. Supported by an lim could make a religious endowment in perpetuity for the
older brother who also died young, his education was entirely upkeep of his descendants, or for other charitable or
in India; unlike Gandhi or Jinnah, he was never called to the religious purposes.
bar in London. The second, much greater, feat, was the Lucknow Pact
Despite these handicaps, Motilal Nehru established a of 1916, which brought the Congress and the Muslim League
flourishing legal practice at Allahabad. His command of into alliance. Jinnah was conscious that the biggest
case law, his readiness to play hardball in court and softball stumbling block in achieving Indian nationalist unity
outside it, helps explain his rapid rise to the top. were Hindu-Muslim differences, and saw that both sides
The opaque and reserved Jinnah could hardly have been would have to make major concessions for these differences
more different, although he shared Motilal’s liberal attitudes. to be overcome. He worked tirelessly to achieve this, in a

OPEN ESSAY
ALAMY GETTY IMAGES
IN THE BENGAL COUNCIL,

CHITTARANJAN DAS, THE PROVINCE’S
MOST ADMIRED CONGRESS
LEADER, FORMED AN ALLIANCE
WITH HUSEYN SUHRAWARDY,
A CHARISMATIC MUSLIM POLITICIAN,
AGAINST BRITISH MEMBERS OF THE
COUNCIL. A NEW CHASM OPENED UP
IN THE CONGRESS AS ‘NO-CHANGERS’
BATTLED ‘PRO-CHANGERS’ FOR
Chittaranjan Das THE SOUL OF THE PARTY Huseyn Suhrawardy
series of almost balletic moves, building on alliances representation—more seats than the demographic facts on
he had cultivated inside each party. Using his influence the ground warranted. Where Hindus were in a minority, the
with Gokhale, Jinnah first pushed for a conciliatory gesture same principle would be followed in their favour.
from the Congress to the Muslim League. Communal The Pact thus proposed a form of positive discrimina-
electorates—recently promised to the Simla Deputation by tion in a composite nation, to generate goodwill and trust
Minto, and of which Jinnah did not approve—had become between the two largest ‘communities’. It was not—dare I say
a key stumbling block in the way of collaboration between it—a bad basis for nationhood for South Asia. Motilal Nehru
the two parties. and Sapru helped cement the compromise, persuading
Next Jinnah tried to extract countervailing concessions Hindus to relinquish to the Muslims thirty per cent represen-
from the League, working with young nationalist friends tation in the United Provinces, even though they represented
inside that party, the Raja of Mahmudabad and Syed Wazir barely thirteen per cent of the population. Annie Besant
Hasan. On 31 December 1912, Jinnah argued successfully (whose influence had grown enormously with the establish-
for the proposal that the League change its objective to ‘the ment of the Home Rule League movement), Motilal Nehru
attainment of self-government suitable to India... cooperating and even Tilak worked together to line up the Congress party
with other communities for the said purpose’. behind the Pact.
This stance moved the League several steps in the direc- Jinnah’s role then was to persuade Punjabi and Bengali
tion of the Congress, and the gesture was duly acknowledged Muslims to surrender the communal majorities that de-
by the Congress, expressing at its Karachi session in 1913 its mography on its own would have given them, to bolster the
‘warm appreciation of the adoption by the All-India Muslim position of Muslims in provinces where they were fewer in
League of the ideal of Self Government’. Again Jinnah worked number. This took time, but in the end they caved in to the
behind the scenes with Gokhale to achieve this. Bombay lawyer’s persuasion.
Next, he manoeuvred to get the Congress and the All-India The Pact, achieved through a series of concessions by the
Muslim League both to meet on his own turf, in Bombay, central leadership of the two parties, countered majoritarian-
in 1916. The two national parties were minded to agree, ism in the provinces. While it might have had all the weak-
but the Bombay Provincial League—in which Jinnah had nesses of the multicultural politics of a later era, had it sur-
bitter enemies, and which was split along sectarian lines vived, the Lucknow Pact may well have had their strengths
between Ismailis, Shias and Sunnis—took umbrage at not too: it recognised group rights, and responded to the fears and
having been consulted. Jinnah persuaded the Aga Khan, aspirations of minorities. That it failed makes it one of the
leader of the Ismailis, to weigh in on his behalf, and the great missed opportunities in South Asian history, reminding
meeting went forward, despite carping from Jinnah’s us once more that partition was not inevitable. Q
Muslim critics.
What emerged from the meeting was the Lucknow Pact: This is an edited excerpt from Shadows at Noon: The South Asian
a ground-breaking agreement that ‘Mahomedans and Twentieth Century (Penguin, 864 pages, `999)
Hindus, wherever they are in a minority. . . [should be] given by Joya Chatterji. Chatterji is Professor of South Asian
proper and adequate representation having regard to their History and a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.
numerical strength and position’. In the provinces where She specialises in modern South Asian history and is the
Muslims were in a minority, they would be given weighted author of, among other titles, The Spoils of Partition
22 24 JULY 2023
FIRE BOLTT
BO
- NINJA
N FIT
SMART
SMA
MAR
WATC
WATCH
C
SUBSCRIBE TO OPEN MAGAZINE & GET ASSURED FREE GIFT WORTH `7999
@,: Please start my subscription to OPEN magazine as per the offer chosen below: ;6:<):*90),
5VVM *V]LY 6MMLY +PZJV\U[ (KKP[PVUHS

;PJRB9D ;LYT 0ZZ\LZ 7YPJL(`) 7YPJL(`) )LULǋ[Z
-09,)63;;5PUQH-P[ ),:;
:THY[>H[JO^VY[O
`LHY 8,570 ` WS\Z`LHY )<@
+PNP[HS(JJLZZ
-09,)63;;5PUQH-P[
@LHY 6,530 :THY[>H[JO^VY[O`
WS\Z`LHY+PNP[HS(JJLZZ
-09,)63;;5PUQH-P[
@LHY 3,670 :THY[>H[JO^VY[O`
WS\Z`LHY+PNP[HS(JJLZZ
Name (Mr./Ms./Mrs.):
Designation: Occupation: Industry Type:
Address:
City: State: Pin (Mandatory):
Mobile No.: Landline No.: Email ID:
PAYMENT DETAILS
Cheque No./Draft No.: Date: Amount (in ₹):
Payable to “Open Media Network Private Limited”
Mail the subscription form with your cheque/DD to Open Media Network Private Limited, 1st Floor, Tower 3A, DLF Corporate Park, DLF Phase 3, DLF City, Gurugram, Haryana - 122002
TERMS & CONDITIONS: Ƴ67,5W\ISPZOLZPZZ\LZPUH`LHYƳ;OLJV]LYWYPJLVM^LLRS`PZZ\LPZ`Ƴ7SLHZLHSSV^^LLRZMVYWYVJLZZPUN`V\Y

Z\IZJYPW[PVUƳ67,5Z\IZJYPW[PVUVMMLYPZHSPTP[LKWLYPVKVMMLYHUKZ\IQLJ[[VJOHUNLƳ6UJL[OLMYLLNPM[OHZILLUKPZWH[JOLKUVJHUJLSSH[PVUYLX\LZ[
^PSSILLU[LY[HPULKƳ(SSKPZW\[LZHYLZ\IQLJ[[V[OLL_JS\ZP]LQ\YPZKPJ[PVUVMJVTWL[LU[JV\Y[Z MVY\TZPU+LSOP5L^+LSOPVUS`
;6:<):*90), WhatsApp ‘openmag’ to 9999800012CS Direct line: 0124-4561900

Visit www.openthemagazine.com/subscribe Email: [email protected]
COVER STORY
Ram’s Ho
As the long-awaited
in Ayodhya, Open gets
to the site where an ancient
B y R AJ EE V DESH PA N DE
Photographs by ASHISH SHARMA
24 24 JULY 2023
mecoming
temple rises
exclusive access
city is being rebuilt
a nd SI DDH A RT H SI NGH
Construction
underway for the
Ram temple in Ayodhya,
June 30, 2023

I
COVER STORY
T’S AROUND NOON

and there is a brief break
in the incessant rain that
has held up work at the
Ram Mandir site. Under
heavily overcast skies
marking the monsoon’s
spread across central
Uttar Pradesh (UP), the
musical cadence of temple
bells accompanies chants
of “Jai Shri Ram” that rise
in the moisture-laden air.
Undeterred by the inclem-
ent weather, hundreds of devotees throng the nar-
row passage leading to the Ram Lalla idol adjacent
to the ongoing construction, a continuous stream
sincethemorning.Thesenseofanticipationaspil-
grims peep around barricades for a glimpse of the
temple architecture now rising across Ayodhya’s
skyline is palpable. The wait for the Lord’s return
to his rightful residence has been interminable
and now the faithful are counting weeks and days
with bated breath, eager to see him in due pomp
and glory.
The garbha griha (sanctum sanctorum) that
lies at the centre of a devotee’s faith is a square
chamber at the western end of the first level of
the Ram Mandir which sits on an east-west axis.
The precise site of the idol is presently marked
by a saffron flag and devotees will receive dar-
shan of the deity at a distance of 20 feet. Bound by
three doors with gold and teak inlays, the main
idol will be a new one, that of a four-five-year-old
child Ram, and the older Ram Lalla (infant) idol
will be placed a few feet ahead. Three idols are cur-
rently being prepared and one will be chosen for AFP
26
A model of the temple
COVER STORY
the pran pratishtha (rite of consecration) slated to begin on January cranes scooping out the earth and moving massive stone blocks
14 (Makar Sankranti) next year, marking the final countdown to has turned parts of the city into a giant assembly site. And out of
the temple being finally opened to worshippers who will enter this gigantic heap of gravel, brick and stone, something majestic is
from the eastern gate with large statues of Hanuman and Garuda takingshapeandisnowplainlyvisibletothenakedeye.Steadily,the
standing in welcome, one level above the Gaj and Singh dwars long-delayed and much-anticipated Ram temple is taking shape.
(doors). The view from the east entrance, despite a renewed driz- Brick by brick, pillar by pillar, the Nagara-style temple now has a
zle, provides an elevation with a top-down vantage of guard tow- ground floor that sits on a high rectangular base with imposing
ers and excavation at the site where machines and vehicles have flights of stairs on three sides for worshippers to enter and exit the
left deep muddy tracks. fivemandaps(halls).Itsreligiousandculturalsymbolismisstriking;
Ayodhya in rain is not quite a sight to behold. Neglected for long, the homecoming of Lord Ram seems no less momentous than the
the temple city’s houses and buildings often seem worse for the Ramayana’s account of his return from Lanka—ever after celebrat-
wear and stand cheek by jowl. But the frenetic pace of construc- ed as Deepavali. Only, in this case, the vanavas (exile) has stretched
tion at the Ram temple complex with earthmovers and towering much longer than the 14 years recorded in the epic. Along with the
‘‘
Devotees from all parts of the world are waiting to hear the news that the
Lord has returned to his rightful place. It is part of a national rejuvenation
and carries Lord Ram’s universal message that is beyond religion”
NRIPENDRA MISRA chairman, temple construction committee
7KHÀUVWÁRRUXQGHUFRQVWUXFWLRQ
rise of the temple’s ramparts, Ayodhya is getting a makeover too The temple will have two floors above
with the banks of the Sarayu being redeveloped and hotels and
modern tourist facilities in the works. It seems the ancient city is the ground level. The first floor, apart
being reborn—a new Ayodhya that recreates its older glory. from having the Ram Darbar, will be
Open, which was granted exclusive access to the sprawling con-
struction site, spoke to Nripendra Misra, chairman of the temple
open to pilgrims and be a place for
construction committee, construction supervisors and workers religious programmes and ceremonies
to piece together the effort to ensure that the first phase deadline and also where devotees can meditate.
of December 2023 is met. “Devotees from all parts of the world are
waiting to hear the news that the Lord has returned to his rightful The second floor will be restricted for
place. It is part of a national rejuvenation and carries Lord Ram’s use of religious and other functionaries
universal message that is beyond religion,” says Misra, standing permitted by the temple trust
under an umbrella in driving rain that has once again picked up.
The design and construction of the temple required consultation
and consensus among leading religious luminaries, architects and the spire of the Hanuman Garhi temple and in the west, beyond
engineers on an almost daily basis. Misra points to a marble umra nearby residences, lie the waters of the winding Sarayu lined by
(a raised slab) in the passage that leads to the sanctum. The slab is lush green fields. The languid saawan (monsoon) season seems to
part of temple architecture and considered integral to traditional heighten an air of spirituality which suffuses this ancient temple
designs. Yet it poses a risk for devotees, particularly elderly ones town that even the casual onlooker would be hard put to miss.
who might stumble and fall. It has been decided that the slab will Construction on the first floor, which will house the
go but not before a mini-religious debate. The placement of LED Ram Darbar, showcasing Ram’s rule after his return from Lanka,
bulbs that will highlight sculptures on pillars in the mandaps was will take some time. The initial time taken to begin construction
discussed at length before the positions were decided such that was due to the committee having to meet the mandate that the
they will be protected from casual or deliberate manhandling. temple should stand for 1,000 years, says Misra. “This meant no
The roof of the first level of the complex, where column stubs on iron can be used as it corrodes over time. Finally, a 15-metre deep
which the upper floors will be built stick out, offers an uninter- excavation covering the area where the temple will be located
rupted rain-swept view of the temple’s surrounds. To the east lies had to be carried out and engineering fill put in it as advised

COVER STORY
by IIT, Madras.” Around the temple will be what is described ancient and medieval India, such as Tulsidas, Aryabhatta and
in Hindi as a parkota, roughly translated as a wall-like Panini who reflect, in some way or the other, the values repre-
structure marking the perimeter of the complex. Amenities like sented by Ram. First these will be made from fibre before being
a pilgrim facilitation centre and other facilities will be construct- cast in bronze. There will be around 100 murals. This work
ed in due course as the temple construction proceeds beyond will take time and pass beyond December 2023. Around the
this wall. The parkota, which will be about 800m in perimeter, main temple, beyond the parkota, will be seven temples devot-
will not just be a boundary but have six-by-six feet murals that ed to Maharishi Valmiki, Maharishi Vashistha, Vishvamitra,
reflect the ideals of Lord Ram drawn from accounts prior to 1850. Nishadraj, Shabari and Ahalya. These are well-known characters
Bronze sculptors will craft the murals which will also include and participants in the divine drama of Ramayana but temples
depictions of saints, grammarians and mathematicians from dedicated to them also carry a social message of harmony since
30 24 JULY 2023
The new road being built
against the backdrop of the old road
they hail from different sections of society, conveying Ram’s Ayodhya is settled on the banks of the
inclusive message and his relevance to all. Sarayu and that creates its own civil
Sunil Tiwari, who hails from Bihar, and is a supervisor, helps
explain the approach to the sanctum which is criss-crossed with
engineering challenges. It lies in Zone III,
iron lattices. A barrier will mark the closest devotees can approach or moderate damage risk zone, in terms
the idols but the doors to the garbha griha are wide and when open of earthquakes. This is not a risk to be
allow an unhindered view of the deities. “I have been here for the
past seven months and I can see how the temple is taking shape. taken lightly given the magnitude of the
Now there is a roof on the ground floor and if you look up from the project and the CBRI in Roorkee has
sanctum, you can see a gap which will be covered by a spire,” he
been commissioned to examine all
24 JULY 2023
aspects related to structural safety
COVER STORY
says. The spire, the highest point of the temple, will rise 161 feet. religious and other functionaries permitted by the Shri Ram
A rain-enforced break sees groups of workers gathering around Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, the temple trust. The temple plans
and chatting. Anil Srivastav and Paramhans Nishad are happy to have grown beyond its 71-acre area. “To keep up the all-India tradi-
work at the site, saying it felt special to be part of the Ram Mandir tion we will also add a south Indian feature. We have not acquired
project. “I was working at a site in Delhi before I came here. This is the land for that purpose yet but in future there will be a gopuram
much better and more rewarding,” says Srivastav. Nishad agrees just ahead of the pilgrimage facilitation centre beyond the parkota.
that the temple is “God’s work” and along with others says the A pilgrim from the south will see a feature that is recognisable,”
amenities provided for workers by way of residences and work he says. Even now, the devotees lining up at the Ram Lalla idol in-
conditions are satisfactory. The workers point out that putting cludemanyfromsouthIndia.Groupsofworshipperswalkthrough
up the pillars in the halls by placing block on block did not take narrow lanes, their steps quickening as they approach the idol of
much time but was the crucial part of the job to get the ground the infant god. Misra explains that the gopuram and the temples
or the first level ready on time. devoted to the saints and other characters from the Ramayana are
The temple will have two floors above the ground level. The meant to dispel notions that Lord Ram belongs to one region or the
first floor, apart from having the Ram Darbar, will be open to pil- other. He says “the seven or sapta rishi” temples will represent social
grims and be a place for religious programmes and ceremonies samanvaya, or social harmony. “In all of this, and in the temple, we
and also where devotees can meditate. “It is up to the devotees will see a reflection of our maryada purshottam Ram,” he adds.
whether they want to leave after the darshan or go to the next Misra says that at the moment preparations are being made
floor,” says Misra. The second floor will be restricted for use of for the pran pratishtha ceremonies due early next year in January.
Along with the rise

of the temple’s
ramparts, Ayodhya
is getting a makeover
too with the banks of
the Sarayu being
redeveloped and
hotels and modern
tourist facilities in the
works. It seems the
ancient city is being
reborn—a new
Ayodhya that
recreates its
older glory
Devotees near the temple

construction site,
June 30, 2023
This marks the completion of work related to the first phase of “The trust will also take a call on the remaining two idols and how
the temple construction. During this phase, the sanctum sanc- best to use them with respect and honour,” says Misra. It is now a
torum and the five mandaps will be completed. A letter inviting matteroftimeforthetemple’sconstructiontobecompleted.While
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was present at the start all the planned features of the complex will take time, it is clear that
of construction on August 5, 2020, is being sent. The trust has thepoliticalandlegalchallengestotheRamtemplearenowhistory.
passed a resolution to this end. The presence of two idols, the But what about contemporary challenges faced by the trust
older Ram Lalla and the newer one, is placed in the context and the temple-builders? The hurdles were in the nature of engi-
of Hindu theology and the concept of two kinds of idols: neering details and in the expectations of the people of Ayodhya
achal or fixed and a chal idol, one that can be moved for cere- and beyond. “They were in the nature of what Indians wanted
monial purposes. The achal idol will be the new one to be used to have and what their temple should be,” a trust member says.
for pran pratishtha. Turning to the 1,000-year mandate, Misra says that there was no
record of such construction techniques but there are a number of
Indian temples that are 800, 1,000 and 1,200 years old. These tem-
HE THREE CHOSEN sculptors are busy giving shape
T
ples continue to exist with least maintenance. But engineering
to their creations and will also select the stone they want details are not available. Informed about the project’s progress,
to use. The National Institute of Rock Mechanics (NIRM) Modi felt there should be a subject of temple engineering in some
in Bengaluru is carrying out chemical and physical analysis of the of the IITs where all records from India—and even abroad, from
stones and will inform the trust authorities about their suitability. places like Cambodia and Bali—should be studied and collected.
Ayodhya is settled on the banks of the Sarayu and that creates
its own civil engineering challenges. Excavating 15m deep is
the height of a three-to-four-storied building in an area of 2.5
acres. Samples of the engineered fill used were tested at regu-
lar intervals to check for all parameters. Ayodhya lies in Zone
III, or moderate damage risk zone, in terms of earthquakes.
This is not a risk to be taken lightly given the magnitude of the
project and the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) in
Roorkee has been commissioned to examine all aspects related
to structural safety. Earthquake records of the past 500 years
were examined and designs checked to ensure the temple is able
to withstand quakes five times the maximum recorded intensi-
ty. CBRI continues to examine this, at times even on a fortnightly
basis, to see that designs are being implemented faithfully and
properly. The minute planning and daily reviews are essential
if construction deadlines are to be met. At the site itself, the form
of the Ram Mandir rising out of the massive masonry is evidence
of the synergy between design and execution.
The path to the Ram Mandir, which was finally cleared
by the unanimous ruling of a five-judge bench of the Supreme
Court in 2019, has been littered with political and religious
strife. At the height of the Ram Mandir movement, reports and
evidences were offered by the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and
the All India Babri Masjid Action Committee. Interested intel-
lectuals jumped into the fray as well. The claims were tested
by an archaeological dig conducted by the Archaeological
Survey of India (ASI) that turned up the remains of a temple,
casting serious doubt on the claims regarding the antecedence
of the Babri Masjid. The destruction of the mosque by a Hindu
mob on December 6, 1992, changed the country’s politics for
good. After an initial period of isolation, the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) grew to become India’s largest political party. The
divisive political and legal battles have subsided after the
court ruling and might, with the passage of time, pave the way
for true reconciliation and a broader acceptance of India’s
cultural destiny.
17 AUGUST 2020 www.openthemagazine.com 33

DIPLOMACY
LAW
THE MESSENGER
Mohammad Al-Issa’s visit unveils a reformed Saudi Arabia that advoc
Muslim World League

Secretary General Mohammad
bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa and
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
in New Delhi, July 11, 2023
PIB
FROM RIYADH
ates religious moderation and values India’s partnership
By PR RAMESH
O
N OCTOBER 2, 2022, THE MECCA-BASED view of Saudi Arabia as its most patriarchal theocracy, ruled by a
Muslim World League (MWL), in a historic first, paid feudal despot, and based on conservative, rigid and archaic laws, as
rich tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his 153rd birth well as a nation that funded and promoted radical Islam.
anniversary. Hailing Gandhi as the pioneer of the On July 11, Al-Issa, who is here on the invitation of the Indian
philosophy of non-violence or Ahimsa, the interna- government, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss a
tional NGO based out of the birthplace of Prophet host of issues, including countering the growth of radicalisation
MuhammadinSaudiArabia—italsohousestheholiest among India’s 200 million Muslims. The meet comes ahead of
of Islamic shrines, the Kaaba—honoured the visionary freedom Modi’s second visit to an Islamic nation in a month, this time to
fighter in glowing terms. It also urged the promotion worldwide of the UAE for the fifth time, after his return from France. That Modi
the philosophy of non-violence as a powerful transformative and believes firmly in improving both cultural and economic ties with
uniting tool. The event signalled another landmark in the increas- Arab nations as part of his vision is evident in India’s bilateral trade
ing proximity, through the last few years after his ascent, between with the UAE, currently at a very strong $85 billion, making the
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and Narendra Gulf nation India’s third-largest trading partner and fourth-largest
Modi’s India, home to the third-largest Muslim population in the overall investor, besides being its second-largest export destina-
world after Indonesia and Pakistan. It followed MBS’ own visit to tion. In September 2022, India, France, and the UAE announced
India in 2019 to showcase a distinct restructured vision for his own a trilateral cooperation initiative in defence, energy, and health. In
country both at home and in its foreign policy, over and beyond a June, the three countries carried out their first joint naval exercise
pan-Arab and pan-Islamic identity. Riyadh is now in the thick of in the Gulf of Oman to secure the Indian Ocean against a variety of
calibrating a new definition of Saudi nationalism and emphasis- threats. The scheduled visit to the UAE underscores India’s grow-
ing the distinct nationalist interests of the kingdom, which now ing engagement with West Asia. Modi also paid a bilateral visit to
propagatesapatriotismrootedinthe‘SaudiFirst’outlook.Religious Egypt while returning from the US last month.
conservatism, Arab solidarity, Islamic unity, and a predominantly India’s relationship with the Arab world did not get here on its
oil-dependent economy were the kingdom’s key markers earlier. own. It took a powerful push from the Modi government. The elec-
This week marked another defining event in the close ties de- tion of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to power and Modi taking
veloping between Riyadh and New Delhi on key fronts, including office as prime minister in 2014 marked a decisive turn in relations
culture, geopolitics and trade. On his first visit to the Indian capital, between New Delhi and West Asia, including Saudi Arabia. The
former justice minister in MBS’ government, Islamic scholar and result,overmorethannineyearsofModi’sprimeministershipdur-
secretary general of MWL, Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa ing which he has led from the front, has been dramatic. During his
emphasised at an event organised by the Khusro Foundation: “In two terms as prime minister, Manmohan Singh by and large stuck
Islam, coexistence is an obligation.” He also urged better commu- with the staid and static policy and unidimensional perspective
nication between cultures to address the negative trends emerg- for West Asia coined by Jawaharlal Nehru. Singh rarely visited the
ing across the world. Hailing India, a Hindu-majority nation, for region or took cognisance of its key role in shaping the geopolitical
its secular Constitution, he asserted that it was a great model for interests of India in the Islamic world, or even its impact on India’s
coexistence for the entire world. “Indian Muslims are proud of be- Muslims. Among foreign policy experts, Modi’s revision of the tra-
ing Indians,” he observed, adding that the Muslim component was ditional Congress policy for the region has provoked new discus-
an important one in the language of coexistence. Contending that sions on India’s West Asia perspectives and whether the role of
diversity within societies both protected the Constitution and pro- BJP’s ideology is facilitating new explanations. BJP and Modi chose
moted tolerance and stability, he said that differences among com- to mould a foreign policy driven by the pragmatic rather than the
munities should be respected and propagated through education ideological, and broke with the predominantly traditional, anti-
from a young age. Al-Issa emphasised that religion could become imperialist and postcolonial positions taken by Nehru. Instead of
a role model for cooperation, ending clashes between cultures and the aseptic restriction of relations to only oil trade (Saudi Arabia
civilisations. The language of religious diplomacy and interfaith is the third-largest oil supplier to India today after Russia which
harmonywasamarkeddeparturefrommuchoftheworld’searlier moved up the ladder after the Ukraine war began), labour (India

DIPLOMACY
LAW
provides labour to West Asia and remittances from the region play reach. This is historic, given that Modi was the first Indian prime
a significant role in the economy), and religion on account of its minister to visit some of these nations and certainly the first to be
significant Muslim population, Modi has deliberately set out to so honoured. Former diplomat G Parthasarathy once described
rewrite India’s relations with Arab nations. Modi’s ability to craft a strong relationship with Islamic states as
Apart from gradual diplomatic recognition and a pro-active his best foreign-policy achievement. Significantly, there is a huge
partnership with Israel, India today has a strong geopolitical domestic component to his political vision since co-opting Mus-
footing in the West Asian region to counter Pakistan’s designs, lim Indians at home and calming the opposition against issues
in connecting with Arab nations solely by flaunting the common like CAA, mandatory unveiling in government schools, prayer
Islamic moorings, and to check China’s interests in the region too. congregations on private property, the abrogation of Article 370,
India also has high stakes in counter-terrorism and de-radicali- and the current debate on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) would
sation and sees itself as a world leader in this.
Defying most projections, Modi has been
able to persistently build one-on-one rela-
Mohammad Al-Issa
tions with the leaders of individual nations and NSA Ajit Doval
and a dynamic foreign policy instead of a in New Delhi, July 12, 2023
longer-term ideologically static policy. He
has successfully managed to have relations
with both Iran (despite US disapproval) and
Saudi Arabia, and has endorsed India’s friend-
ship with Israel even as he built personal re-
lations with the Arab nations, just as he has
balanced relations with both Russia and the
US against the backdrop of events in Ukraine.
Today, issues like Kashmir (provoked by
Islamabad) and the abrogation of Article 370
or the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)
are perceived in West Asian nations more as
India’s internal matters than issues of Islamic
concern. Modi’s strategy has allowed joint ex-
ercises with countries in the region besides
being part of the I2U2 (UAE, the US, India and
Israel) and groupings similar to the Quad for
the region. Happily, for India, its decision to Photographs by ASHISH SHARMA
rework its relations comes in the wake of sig-
nificant restructuring and redefining of national interests among all go a long way in cementing relations with Islamic nations and
individual states in West Asia, in consonance with the after-effects ensuring a sound political footing at home.
of the Arab Spring and the urge among ruling regimes to insulate Arab states like Saudi Arabia and the UAE have themselves,
themselves against the danger of overthrow. The process of more especially post-2010 and the events of the Arab Spring, chosen
liberal social reform and relaxation of laws used against ordinary to depart from viewing their relations within the region and
people, the discovery of new interests and forging of relations out- globally through the Israel prism alone and have begun to restruc-
side the region with prominent non-Islamic nations, promoting ture themselves on the newly coined principles of nationalism in
interfaith relations among Muslim societies and de-emphasising Arabia (as opposed to Arab nationalism earlier). Modi has grabbed
aggressive and insular activities related to the tenets of a conserva- the opportunity with both hands.
tive Islam are all part of this exercise as West Asian nations break
with the dominant Arab solidarity and Islamic unity tenets that
M
had defined them earlier. OHAMMAD AL-ISSA’S ADDRESS to religious lead-
Modi, astute politician that he is, sensed a huge opportunity ers in India is perceived as a plea for the practice of Islam
in reworking India’s own equations with Arab nations, better to become more open and modern, less insular and
serving its geopolitical, strategic and trade interests. conservative. It comes after widespread protests in recent years
Modi’s determination to change the narrative has meant against a spate of issues, including CAA and now UCC. Counter-
that from the UAE and Bahrain onwards, several other Islamic radicalism, promoting religious moderation and peace among
countries and nationalities, such as Afghanistan, the Maldives, communities in a diverse nation are key ingredients of India’s
Saudi Arabia, the Palestinians, have all honoured Modi with their foreign policy and New Delhi has sought to connect with such
highest civilian awards, based on his personal diplomatic out- voices in the Islamic world.
36 24 JULY 2023
I salute Indian democracy
from the bottom of my
heart. I salute the
Constitution of India.
I also salute the Indian
philosophy and tradition
that taught harmony
to the world
MOHAMMAD AL-ISSA
secretary general,
Muslim World League
An ardent advocate of social reform and a key proponent of biaandelsewhere,supportingproselytism(inIslam,da’wahmeans

moderation in Islamic practice in a modernised Saudi Arabia, inviting people to Islam) and funding radical organisations rooting
Al-Issa is seen to be close to MBS and empowered to use religious aggressively for political Islam, espoused by both Iran and Turkey.
diplomacy to unveil Riyadh’s reformed profile to the rest of the Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 saw the
world. His opinions today impact aspects of predominantly Mus- Muslim Brotherhood opposing intervention by the US, deepen-
lim societies, both at home and abroad, from more freedom to ing differences with the Saudi ruling family. After the liberation
women, accepted norms of behaviour in public, relaxing man- of Kuwait in 1991, the Al Saud family saw the first signs of oppo-
datory veiling rules and multiple marriages, to adoption, inheri- sition in the form of Al Sahwa, which called for political reforms
tance, and so on. With the rapidly downgraded importance of and the overthrow of the ruling regime. Al Sahwa was allegedly
the ministry of Islamic affairs and its moral police, it is powerful inspired by the Brotherhood. The events of 9/11 came as a second
organisations like MWL that have become MBS’ most preferred shock, with 15 of the 19 perpetrators identified as Saudi youth
tools to further his country’s charm offensive. who followed the doctrinal activism advocated by the Brother-
In his address at the event on July 11, National Security hood. Then interior minister and crown prince, who died in 2012,
Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval hailed Al-Issa as an “authentic voice Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz, accused the Muslim Brotherhood in 2002 of
of moderate Islam admired by millions the world over.” The In- being the root cause of most problems in the Arab world. The same
dian Muslim population, he pointed out, almost paralleled the Saudi royal family that supported the Brotherhood for years is now
combined population of 33 member states of the Organisation firmly opposed to it and other groups like it, besides choosing mod-
of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Describing India as a refuge for eration in Islam. The existential crisis confronting it has also meant
heterodox ideas with an infinite capacity to absorb dissent, Doval that the House of Saud, in an effort to shore up its own safety and
pointed to the “incredibly low” number of recruits from India by longevity, is also taking on the political Islam of Turkey and Iran.
radical organisations even when emphasising that the threat of Along the way came the crumbling of the highly oil-de-
terrorism did not, however, allow for a lowering of the guard. pendent economy of Venezuela and the Covid-19 pandemic
Over the decades, MWL has exerted expansive influence over that brought down oil sales to an all-time low, prompting
Muslims the world over, including Indians, who now account for Mohammed bin Salman to extend the path taken by his father
14.2 per cent of the country’s 19,50,00,000 population. Saudi Ara- and insulate his country by building a strong economic infra-
bia’s global propagation of Wahhabism, as the custodian of Islam’s structure beyond oil trade. These turning points for the West
holiest shrines and fuelled by the petro dollar, lent it immense le- Asian giant have signalled the arrival of a transforming new king-
gitimacy, with Muslims everywhere holding up Riyadh’s version dom that showcases new aspirations and ambitions. This un-
of Islam as the model to follow. Along with other NGOs, the league leashing of an unprecedented charm offensive by Riyadh prom-
exercised immense extra-constitutional powers both in Saudi Ara- ises to be a sound investment for India and Narendra Modi.

ECONOMY
BIGGER THAN
A BACK OFFICE
The rapid expansion of global capacity centres in India
is marked by innovation and high tech that can fuel
growth and raise incomes
By RAJEEV DESHPANDE
A
merican political commentator Thomas L excellence and thereafter enterprise and talent is also behind us.
Friedman, author of the 2005 prize-winning Today, 48 per cent of GCCs are involved in product innovation and
book The World is Flat, described the benefits design,” he says. The development and application of software is
of the rise of India’s IT sector as not only pro- a significant point of convergence for most companies with auto-
viding employment to millions but also pre- mation and product development leading the list. For some global
venting the spread of terrorism and extrem- auto companies, almost every top product has an Indian imprint.
ism. “Imagine if one-fifth of humanity living Far from dampening its prospects, India’s response to the Cov-
in India were living like the people in Iraq today, blowing up each id pandemic, particularly when normalised for population, raised
other in their houses of worship and on the streets,” he told an the confidence of international companies about their Indian
interviewer in 2006. In his book, Friedman correctly recognised operations. By December 2021, India’s cumulative vaccination
the growth of India beyond just an “off shoring” centre or a sup- coverage was 144.45 crore (84.3 crore first doses and 60.14 crore
plier of cheap English-speaking hires. What he may not have second doses), with nearly 90 per cent of the adult population vac-
reckoned with was India’s transformation into an innovation cinated. There are more than 1,580 GCCs with 2,740 units in India
hub delivering solutions integral to the growth plans of hundreds (FY23) with a $46 billion market size projected to grow at 11.4
of top global companies. per cent (compound annual growth rate, or CAGR). The talent
The journey from being a cost arbitrage destination or a ‘back recruitment is spread beyond Tier I cities and operations in areas
office’ to the world to the point where every second global capac- like HR and finance—apart from tech-related areas—are witness-
ity centre (GCC) is being set up in India has not been always re- ing increasing sophistication. India is transitioning to GCC wave
garded as so certain. As recently as May 2021, a leading UK finan- 4.0 by developing key competencies and leadership that impact
cial daily questioned whether India’s off-shoring business faced almost all aspects of a business, says a NASSCOM report.
its “hour of reckoning” in the wake of the deadly Delta second Debashis Neogi, managing director at Renault Nissan Technol-
wave disrupting operations. The “India model” was seen at risk, ogy & Business Centre India in Chennai, agrees that the nature
impacting global banks and technology companies. The dooms- of GCCs is evolving rapidly. “Operations in India deliver value
day prophesies failed as India overcame the supply constraints and this is part of our DNA. This is not just about cost arbitrage
in anti-Covid vaccines by August 2021, and when the third wave or less manpower cost but the overall cost competitiveness and
arrived in January 2022, casualties were low and infections value creation that is important for product development,” he
subsided fast. says. The company is close to being a 10,000-strong workforce in
The National Association of Software and Service India with 50 per cent hires from engineering streams and the rest
Companies (NASSCOM) vice president for industry initiatives, in ISIT (information systems/information technology) and Busi-
KS Viswanathan, is dismissive of terms like ‘outpost’ and ‘captive ness Services (Finance, HR, etc). Describing the change in GCC
centres’, sometimes used to describe the operations of MNCs in functions, Neogi says in the early stage of its GCC journey in India,
India. “The time when operations here could be largely described operations catered to basic tasks and developing and supporting
as ‘lift and shift’ and were typically about cost is over. The phase products for the local market. Today, the Renault Nissan Tech
where offices here were ‘satellite’ stations focusing on delivery Centre in India is involved in full-fledged product development
38 24 JULY 2023
THE TALENT
RECRUITMENT IS
SPREAD BEYOND TIER I
CITIES AND OPERATIONS
IN AREAS LIKE HR AND
FINANCE—APART FROM
TECH-RELATED AREAS—
ARE WITNESSING INCREASING
SOPHISTICATION. INDIA IS
TRANSITIONING TO GCC
WAVE 4.0 BY DEVELOPING
KEY COMPETENCIES AND
LEADERSHIP THAT
IMPACT ALMOST ALL
ASPECTS OF A BUSINESS
Illustration by SAURABH SINGH
www.openthemagazine.com 39
DIPLOMACY
ECONOMY
for the local market and is also playing a supportive role in global in sophistication—and the increasing presence of large inter-
operations. The learning curve has led to a strong Made in India national companies with legacy knowledge of biology, chem-
imprint with production of the Renault Kwid hatchback at 95 per istry and medicine. About one-third of Novartis’ GCC hires are
cent localised and the quotient for the Nissan Magnite SUV and involved in what he refers to as “deep tech”. While Gullapalli’s
Renault Kiger/Triber, also reaching 90 per cent-plus local content. observations relate to the pharma sector, they are broadly appli-
TheglobalheadofNovartisCorporateCenters,NaveenGullapalli, cable in other segments of business and industry as well, with
concurs that there is a larger story to the growth and transforma- India offices gaining a major role in the international operations
tion of GCCs. “There is a long or strategic view to what we are wit- of leading MNCs.
nessing. The projections are that India will provide 20 per cent of The last decade has seen every industry and trade coming to
the world’s work force by 2047, which is not all that far off. There India and this is helping companies improve functions across
is a growth mindset and a supportive talent ecosystem,” he says. their value chains, says Gullapalli. He agrees that India’s ability to
India is witnessing a fusion of local capabilities—steadily gaining respond to the pandemic over time was a significant milestone as
it did so in a transparent manner. “It was
a litmus test and did create confidence in
India’s capabilities,” he says. He added
that Novartis was committed to playing
A POWERHOUSE OF TALENT its role and its staff rose to the occasion
during testing times. He emphasised the
Total GCC Units Total GCC Units in Tier-II Total GCC Talent in Tier-II
precise nature of research in the pharma
(FY 2023) : 2740+ and Tier-III cities: 215+ and Tier-III cities: 71K+ sector where medicines are crucial to
saving lives, pointing out that the gains
serve patients all over the world.
Banking services have been a visible
link to off-shoring operations in India
5%
and Citi India has seen considerable
8% 15 %
6% diversification of operations, including
7% 7% the establishment of market intermedi-
aries and IT-backed financial services.
Stating that its first operations in India
17 % began in 1902, the group became a recog-
nisable presence in the 1980s and 1990s,
15 % entering every sector of banking. It has
more than 27,000 employees working
in its Indian GCCs at five locations. The
increasing involvement of GCCs can be
gauged by the fact that they now cater to
as many as 80 of the 95 markets where
Citi has a presence. About 55-60 per cent
12 % 14 % of its hires in India are related to technol-
18 % ogy and analytics. There is a clear pivot
13 % in the group’s operations towards cut-
12 % ting-edge processes and excellence that
14 % has given the India operations a seat at
Citi’s top decision-making level. It is a
coveted seat at the table marking a sig-
10% 7% nificant transition from call centre-type
of tasks with a radical change in the na-
15 % 5% ture of jobs and roles. The blend of trade,
finance and technology is opening new
avenues that push India-based expertise
further up the value chain.
Viswanathan agrees that the ability
Source Zinnov Research & Analysis * Others include cities such as Goa, Mysuru, Indore, Nagpur, Bhubaneshwar, Visakhapatnam, Madurai, etc
of Indian GCCs to deliver during the
pandemic was important in building
Graphic by SAURABH SINGH
40 24 JULY 2023
trust. “There was no drop in services.
In fact, the level of operations has only
THE TRANSITION TO but is not a substitute for quality or
serious workmanship. There was a
scaled up in volume and expertise,” GCC 4.0 WAS NOT EASILY danger in the 1990s and early 2000s
he points out. There is a confidence, VISUALISED EVEN FIVE that India might find itself relegated
says Gullapalli, that Indian growth to a low-skill economy. But progres-
prospects are almost recession-free. YEARS AGO BUT A sive economic reforms and a lightly
The development of design and op- COMBINATION OF THE regulated IT sector helped India
erations is continuous, whether it is
sensor-operated lights in luxury cars
AADHAAR ECOSYSTEM move up the ladder. The transition
to GCC 4.0 was not easily visualised
(where a wave of a hand turns on a THAT PROVIDED even five years ago but a combina-
light) or cloud operations at German IDENTITY CONFIRMATION tion of the Aadhaar ecosystem that
firm Bosch which has 30,000 associ- provided identity confirmation in
ates and consolidated sales of around IN LESS THAN less than half-a-second and a series
`11,800 crore. Every development fills HALF-A-SECOND AND A of policy initiatives to improve ease
a technology gap and marks an ad- of business and transparency began
vance, such as the design and test- SERIES OF POLICY to deliver results. More recently, the
ing of a windshield-wiper system INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE resilience of the Indian economy and
at Bengaluru for Collins Aerospace.
The Adobe Firefly AI art generator
EASE OF BUSINESS AND the growth of Tier II and III cities be-
gan to fuel growth as well. As Neogi
and hardware and software systems TRANSPARENCY BEGAN points out, Renault Nissan’s recruit-
for Phillips CT scanners have an TO DELIVER RESULTS ment goes beyond the top institutes
India connect, too. On the hiring and the pandemic demonstrated that
side, around 75 per cent are laterals employees can be skilled and trained
and 25 per cent fresh employees, through remote strategies as well.
somewhat different from usual corporate profiles. The growth in GCCs based on the location of headquarters
India’s embrace of digitalisation and the benefits of India has been seen in the context of all global locations, such as the
Stack, which stands for a set of open APIs and digital public goods, Americas, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific (APAC).
are clearly seen as a facilitator and a boost to the country’s innova- In fact, it has been the fastest for APAC and engineering research
tion ecosystem. The digital stack that aims to facilitate identity and development account for 42 per cent of hires but IT, finance
verifications and payments at a “population scale” has been a and accounting are not far behind. As GCCs change, the core
huge success. Some 67 billion digital identity verifications, `14 expertise in customer-centric business development remains
trillion monthly mobile payments, 8.6 billion volume in trans- a key capability, along with monetising services and, increas-
actions and 10 operational account aggregators are a powerful ingly, work on policy formulation relating to government.
argument in favour of India’s business environment. As Renault Much of these transitions are leading to companies strategically
Nissan’s Neogi points out, Indian offices are urging parent firms prioritising their portfolios in India, according to NASSCOM,
to consider India’s prospects in totality and that includes a market with executives saying that the movement from portfolio to
transformed by the efficiency and transparency of digital technol- transformation hubs is very much underway. Stage 1 of autono-
ogies and payment systems. India’s digital leap has encouraged a mous driving and AI-based medical imaging is an example of
vigorous startup culture that in turn is generating reams of data the process of transformation relating to GCCs based in India,
and science as also training Indians in cutting-edge capabilities. making them indispensable to parent companies. The multiple
“India Stack is a set of layered capabilities that India has built over aspects of the functioning of GCCs are reflected in the growth
the last 15 years, each of which is at population scale, at very low of triangular partnerships with academia and startups.
cost, accessible at your fingertips, on your phone, and all interop- The upshot of the proliferation of GCCs and the growing di-
erating with each other,” Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani versity in their functioning is that the expertise and experience
said during an interaction with Morgan Stanley in May this year. is helping fill critical gaps in India’s industrial-technological
GCC operations span legal, HR, compliance, regulatory, tech, base that have held it back in the past. Deepening cooperation
logistics and analytics and have moved from mostly trouble- with countries like the US that lead in technology and innova-
shooting to solution-oriented work. There was a time when the tion should provide further momentum to India’s capabilities
word jugaad (non-conventional solutions often making use of while encouraging American businesses to expand invest-
limited resources) was associated with the Indian approach to ments and, more importantly, pursue collaborations in critical
problem-solving. Though no doubt reflective of an innovative sectors like defence, space, avionics, agriculture, and science.
mindset, jugaad was essentially low-tech and offered temporary Free trade arrangements with the UK, Canada and the EU will
solutions and could not be celebrated beyond a point. Jugaad do the same. Indian tech and innovation capacities could be at
might help fix a vehicle that has broken down on a highway a tipping point.

LAW
DIGITAL RECK
7KHGDWDSURWHFWLRQELOOLVWKHÀUVWVWHSWRZDUGVVDIHJXDUGLQJSHUVRQDO
By SIDDHARTH SINGH
L
AST WEEK, THE UNION CABINET of public interest. This is wide-ranging and includes network
gave the green light to the Digital Per- and information security, operation of search engines for pro-
sonal Data Protection Bill. The Bill is cessing publicly available personal data, recovery of debt and
likely to be tabled in Parliament in the prevention of fraud, among other matters.
Monsoon Session. The Bill provides a A further sub-section weighs between the interests of data
charter of rights and obligations for in- fiduciaries and individuals—data principals in the Bill’s par-
dividuals and data processors as well as a lance—as well as the “reasonable expectations” of data prin-
hefty schedule of penalties ranging up to cipals. All these sections are likely to witness intense debate
` 250 crore in case of certain violations. within and outside Parliament.
The Bill has been in the works for a On paper, it seems that taking consent of individuals is just a
long time and was first outlined in 2018. Last August, the govern- matter of a click for any company or private enterprise. But in re-
ment withdrew the Bill and promised to come back with compre- ality, there are additional compliance costs associated with such
hensive legislation. In November last year, it released a draft Bill steps. When these ‘benefits’ are read along with the duties of a
for debate and discussion. While the Bill cleared by the Cabinet data fiduciary, the balance sheet is more or less even.
has not been released, it is expected that the broad contours of the The one area where the dice is loaded in favour of the govern-
Bill will be along the lines of the draft released last year. ment is on public order, national security, and the interests of the
As can be expected for any legislation of such magnitude, criti- state. This was to be expected in this Bill and it is unlikely that
cism has begun mounting just before the Bill is to be presented in there will be any major change on this score in the text of the Bill
Parliament. Much of the criticism has come from privacy activists that will be presented in Parliament.
and civil society members who claim the Bill is heavily loaded in In this context, there has been a hot debate on the exemptions
favour of the government. Some of it is unwarranted. outlined in Section 18 of the Bill. These are indeed wide-ranging
For many privacy activists, the deemed consent clause of and include a near-blanket exemption for government agencies
the Bill (Section 8) is unusually loaded in favour of the gov- as and when notified by the government. Activists contend that
ernment and other data processors/fiduciaries. According to this can be done on the basis of a ‘mere’ notification. They say
these activists, the deemed consent clause is far-reaching and this lowers the bar on privacy when compared to the Supreme
gives insufficient protection to individuals. But a close read- Court’s judgment in the privacy rights case (Puttaswamy). Many
ing of Section 8 shows that requirements for deemed consent of these activists worry that Section 18(4) of the Bill exempts any
are essential for both running a modern, information-based government agency from deletion of an individual’s data after
economy as well as the functioning of government. The sec- use and allows the retention of such data for a possibly long
tion does include a sub-section that introduces a novel concept and unspecified period. Privacy activist Apar Gupta claims this
42 24 JULY 2023
ONING
LQIRUPDWLRQRQOLQH
violates the “principle of purpose limitation”. store such data with the individual having no means to verify if
The reality is different. When it comes to the private sector, the data has indeed been erased. These are genuine and worrying
the danger emerges from the use of large aggregates of data to trends as observers of developments in the use of information by
predict individual behaviour through data mining and artificial large corporations can testify.
intelligence (AI) techniques. This is an emerging area where the In contrast, the ire of these activists is directed at the govern-
effects of such modelling and prediction at the individual and ment and the exemptions for its agencies in storing data and other
social levels are yet to be fully understood. In this context, it is provisions of the Bill. The fear expressed is that this could lead to
essential that data retention—if needed—is tightly regulated. largescale surveillance and that other parts of the state—like the
It would be best if such data is automatically erased, especially legislature—would exercise insufficient scrutiny of the govern-
when in the hands of private corporations. Here, the Bill is weak ment. The reality is that many of these exemptions for govern-
and instead of an automatic erasure of data, it prescribes that a ment agencies are necessary for legal purposes, such as judicial
data principal can approach a data fiduciary to erase his/her data. proceedings, law and order matters, as well as processing of data
This is weak medicine against powerful corporations that can for investigations. The one exemption for national security pur-
poses is outlined in Section 18 Part 2(a). This states: “The Central
Government may, by notification, exempt from the application
of provisions of this Act, the processing of personal data: (a) by
THE IRE OF ACTIVISTS any instrumentality of the State in the interests of sovereignty
IS DIRECTED AT THE and integrity of India, security of the State, friendly relations with
foreign States, maintenance of public order or preventing incite-
EXEMPTIONS FOR STATE ment to any cognizable offence relating to any of these.”
AGENCIES IN STORING DATA. The wording of this section is identical with the “reasonable
restrictions” to Article 19 of the Constitution that deals with
THE REALITY IS THAT MANY “fundamental freedoms”. As such, there is nothing out of place
OF THESE EXEMPTIONS ARE in this section: it transposes to the digital domain what is other-
wise available elsewhere.
NECESSARY FOR LEGAL This is where the hollowness of the activist approach to pri-
PURPOSES AS WELL AS vacy becomes obvious. If left to civil society, NGOs and others,
there would be a blanket ban on government when it came to
PROCESSING OF DATA processing and retaining any kind of data. The reasons are not
FOR INVESTIGATIONS hard to discern. Many of these activists and NGOs are closely

LAW
INDIA’S DIGITAL ECONOMY IS ESTIMATED TO tic personal information while making

the request. But what this will do is make
RANGE BETWEEN $150 AND $200 BILLION IN anonymity difficult. This anonymity
2023. IT IS EXPECTED TO JUMP TO $1 TRILLION BY has been linked to the “right to dissent”
by activists. The politics of this right is
2030. IT HAS TAKEN A LONG TIME TO EVEN quite obvious.
FORMULATE A BILL FOR DATA MANAGEMENT. The same activist mindset informs
criticisms against the compliance
THERE IS NO POINT TRYING TO GET A ‘PERFECT’ framework of the Bill. The Bill provides
LAW IN AN AREA THAT IS STILL EVOLVING for a Data Protection Board of India.
The board will be tasked with receiving
complaints and grievances and hear-
ing these and finding solutions. The
board, including its chairperson, will
be appointed by the government. This
has not gone down well with activists
who think the board will not be ‘inde-
pendent’. If left to these activists, NGOs
and civil society members, the board
should have an independent appoint-
ing authority just as in the case of lead-
ing institutions. Government, in this
view, is best left with a peripheral role.
This is again part of the drive where
key institutions are by design sought to
be distanced from the executive while
turning the government into a series of
checks and balances. It is another matter
that in a country like India this is a recipe
for governmental paralysis where each
institution does what it pleases, all in the
name of autonomous functioning.
Whenever the Bill gets passed, it will
make a beginning towards establishing
a system of rights and obligations in the
REUTERS
digital arena. India’s digital economy is

variously estimated to range anywhere
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, minister of state for electronics and information technology from $150 to $200 billion in 2023. It is
expected to jump to $1 trillion by 2030.
involved in political activities while they profess neutrality. Many For an area growing by leaps and bounds it is incongruous that
of India’s restive regions with a history of violence and separatism it lacks a charter of digital rights and obligations. India’s digital
require careful handling and in these regions the government is economy began its slow march at the turn of the 21st century and
well within its rights to keep a close eye on so-called activists. A has grown fast in the last five to seven years. It is strange that it
law-abiding citizen has hardly any reason to fear these provisions has taken nearly a quarter century for enabling legislation in the
as he is not in the zone where he puts others in danger. area. For sure, there are laws like the Information Technology Act,
One interesting case where activists have opposed a portion of 2000. But that law deals with regulation and not the management
the Bill is Section 16, Part 4. This section reads: “A Data Principal of data and information and privacy safeguards. India has taken
shall furnish only such information as is verifiably authentic a long time to even formulate a Bill for this purpose. There is no
while exercising the right to correction or erasure under the pro- point trying to get a ‘perfect’ law in an area that is still emerging
visions of this Act.” This is a harmless, good-faith, provision. But and one where technological changes are bound to outpace any
the ire against it reflects something else. Imagine you are run- legal framework that can be devised. There will be later occasions
ning an anonymous social media account that vents freely on when the law can be amended after seeing how it works. In the
all subjects. Suppose you delete your account and you want all interim, courts and watchful citizens can always keep an eye on
information deleted. In that case you will have to provide authen- how the law evolves. Q
44 24 JULY 2023
UNPARALLELED
UNBIASED
CUTTING EDGE
CONTENT
OPEN THE MOST SOUGHT
AFTER WEEKLY MAGAZINE
[ NO ONE MAKES AN ARGUMENT BETTER THAN US ]
openthemagazine.com openthemagazine openthemag
TO SUBSCRIBE, ‘OPENMAG’ to 9999800012

Available as an e-magazine for tablets, mobiles
and desktops via Magzter
46
DISPATCH
24 JULY 2023
Tribal women are being labelled as witches
and killed by their kin in parts of eastern India
By ADITI NARAYANI PASWAN
M
ERI ROOH KAAP UTHTHI HAI, This research has also brought me in touch with a handful of
USS din ke baarein mein soch ke (I am scared women who have survived by a whisker and lived to tell the tale.
to death thinking of that dreadful day),” Simply put, in tribal India, especially in the eastern Indian
a young man recalls while narrating the states mentioned here, the charge of witchcraft continues to
cold-bloodedmurderofanoldwomaninhis be employed by men to grab land, money, and other resources
neighbourhoodonachillingNovemberday from women who are labelled “dayan” or “dakan” (witch) before
of 2022 at Baihatu village in the Tonto subdivision of Jharkhand’s they are eliminated. Some of the victims include a woman who
Singhbhum district. The woman had to die because she cast an evil had sought postpartum treatment at a hospital, another who lit
spell on the rest of the villagers, the elders had decided. the funeral pyre of her mother, and then a woman who married
The elders here comprise a group of men who have the power the man she loved, of course, from the same tribal community.
to preside over the destiny of the others in this remote country- They were mostly burnt alive. The younger ones were gangraped
side. In this backward tribal hamlet frozen in time, most resi- before they were killed.
dents are either illiterate or semi-literate. Patriarchy here isn’t a Their crime? They dared to challenge the power dynamics in
seminar-room expression in a plush 21st-century setting. The their communities. The result: they were persecuted as wielders of
woman wouldn’t die an easy death. She would be beaten until she black magic, a patriarchal ruse weaponised against women since
fell unconscious; when she regained consciousness, she would the dawn of time to rein in inconvenient ones. Such brutalities in
be paraded naked across the village alleys until the last ounces of the country’s hinterland serve as a reminder of how women’s posi-
her strength ebbed away. And then she would be burnt to death. tion in a section of society continues to be precarious, and that any
Unlike Joan of Arc at the stake in 1431, nobody would ever bring deviation from their prescribed roles transforms them into targets.
her name up and canonise her cen-
turies from now because she lived
and died a nonentity, a victim of
superstitions, and the cunning of The NCRB data reveal the killings of 310
men whose aim possibly could ‘witches’ between 2018 and 2021 nationwide.
have been her property.
A year earlier, in broad daylight, While Odisha recorded 2,500 such killings
on an October afternoon, in the between 2000 and 2016, Jharkhand saw 377
Potka block of East Singhbhum
district, Jharkhand, another old ‘witch murders’ from 2015 to 2022
tribal woman was smeared with
urine and faeces, thrashed with
sticks, stripped naked and paraded around the village on a bull- The connection between femininity and accusations of
ock cart. She was found dead in her mud house the next day. In witchcraft has roots in most parts of the world. In the 17th cen-
the case of young women, rejecting sexual advances may mean tury, Salem, Massachusetts, US, witnessed a series of witch hunts.
being branded a witch. Following public “witch trials”, over a dozen young girls were
My ethnographic studies across Jharkhand, Odisha, West burnt to death there. Throughout pre-modern Europe and colo-
Bengal, and Bihar since 2021 have put me face-to-face with 21 nial America, this savage practice was routine, especially amidst
such instances of tribal women being accused of possessing black socio-religious turmoil, epidemics, and largescale property con-
magic charms and later killed. All those who have died perished flicts. Similarly, in Indian folklore, we have heard of the daini and
at the hands of their communities. It meant the news of the kill- the pishachi using black magic to wrongfully possess, corrupt,
ings never attracted much attention, not to talk of an outcry over and pollute their targets. Such gendered powerplay is seen in
gender-based crimes. Police forces in these areas are unable to the occurrences of “witch hunts” in contemporary tribal India,
take action due to the local customs and silence around such kill- too. Notwithstanding the government’s best efforts to close the
ings. In the absence of official complaints and police inquiries, gender gap, some cultures are bound by old habits that go by the
such acts of violence are normalised, except for the occasional name of traditions or customs.
revelations from the young man quoted at the start of the story. The targeting of tribal women by their own men has persisted,

DISPATCH
but increasingly for motives other than superstition

and religious or cultural faith. As recently as October
Baihatu village in Jharkhand
2021, a 55-year-old tribal woman from Mangadu vil-
which frequently witnesses
lage, Jharkhand, was murdered by two youths after attacks on women labelled
the duo claimed she was a witch. As usual, she was as witches
mercilessly thrashed with sticks and paraded naked
before she was killed. Unexpectedly, though, the in-
cident caused a furore.
Tribals in these parts of India typically are closed
forest groups who worship nature, animals, and
other totems. Being traditionalists, they understand
nature and ecology through methods of observation,
which may not always be scientific. As a result, any
ecological imbalance is perceived as someone’s evil
spell. Crop failure, land issues, floods and droughts,
and incessant rains are all blamed on the evil eye.
Literature suggests that tribal civilisations in certain
belts of India had a higher prevalence of patriarchal
institutions and therefore, historically, there has been
a strong link between allegations of witchcraft and
gender tensions in indigenous groups. Low literacy
rates and significant backwardness in these locales
haven’t helped the tribals change with the times.
Therefore, they end up behaving in the same fash-
ion as people did in pre-modern societies. However,
the modern witch hunt isn’t about superstitions and
tradition alone, but about a certain power play that
comes into effect to silence women.
Witchcraft as a practice works in consensus with
both mass approval and mass involvement, mostly
embedded in norms of adherence to traditional and
cultural affiliations. Traditionally, across cultures, the so-called will help me become normal again.”
witches are first given a bad name and then treated as fair game. The ojha then walked out and addressed the village crowds
As we know from literature, tribals believe that women who have saying that her blood was deep maroon in colour, and that her
the power of black magic can cause crop failure, unforeseen death blood flow wasn’t “fast enough”. His interpretation was that ma-
in a family, ailments, and the reversal of fortunes, meaning they roon is close to black, and that she needed to be “treated” by him.
can turn a rich man poor. Once a woman is identified as a witch,
she is first made a village outcast, relegating her to living on the
E
periphery of her village. Killing them is not always the preferred SSENTIALLY, WHAT HE did was to scare families in
norm, but as it emerges now, the number of killings is on the rise. the village and extract money to perform pujas that can
None of this is without a reason. “protect the area from the evil eye” of the alleged witch.
My study puts the spotlight on the manipulative nature of The illiterate villagers look up to the ojha and offer him presents
men in these societies. because they believe he is risking his life for the good of the village.
A not-so-often acknowledged but widely practised phenom- It is an irony that this village is so poor that most people here are
enon is the blind belief in the ojha, or a pandit. These men position anaemic from malnourishment. The womenfolk here have low
themselves as experts who claim to communicate with ghosts bone density and suffer from anaemia once they cross age 30.
and spirits. In Purulia district of West Bengal, my team and I met From 2017 to 2022, at least 21 cases of tribal witch hunts
a woman who was accused of being a witch. She said on condition have been reported in the states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, and
of anonymity, “He [the ojha who came to her village to meet her] Odisha. First, women are classified as witches to settle personal
asked me if I could eat rice without experiencing any hiccups. Do grudges or dishonour to a family apart from the motive to secure
I feel pain when I perform domestic chores, like washing clothes their land. The “witches” are often single and/or widowed and
or grinding lentils on the sil-batta [stone mortar pestle]? When I have some land in their possession. Their close relatives are the
said I had no difficulty, he looked grim. The ojha then took a drop ones involved in the whole exercise of branding them as witches
of my blood using a pin and examined its colour. Then he said he and persecuting them.
48 24 JULY 2023
she was branded a witch by village elders. Her
family was engaged in casual labour. One
In this backward tribal morning, the family woke up to realise that
hamlet frozen in time, Munni was blamed for the death of a neigh-
bouring boy. The elders alleged that she prac-
most residents are either tised black magic and had cast her evil spell
illiterate or semi-literate. on the deceased boy. She was put through a
Patriarchy here isn’t well-planned and structured boycott, along-
side torture like beating and physical abuse.
a seminar-room She was forced to consume human excreta
expression in a plush and urine as part of her “purification process”.
Complaints to the police did not help, and the
21st-century setting. villagers finally decided to make the family
The woman wouldn’t die outcast. Munni escaped death, although so-
cial and economic boycotts continue.
an easy death. She would Anita Devi (name changed) was once re-
be beaten until she fell spected for being smart, hardworking, and
knowledgeable. Her woes surfaced after she
unconscious; when she was accused of causing the death of her sister-
regained consciousness, in-law’s child. The accusation against her was
that she failed to save the child despite being
she would be paraded intelligent and of quick wit. She was subject-
naked across the village ed to physical torture. An intervention by
the police pacified the elders for a few days.
alleys until the last Soon, her own husband joined the others in
ounces of her strength beating her up in public. Unable to bear the
ordeal any longer, she fled the village leaving
ebbed away her children behind.
The National Crime Records Bureau
(NCRB) data reveal the killings of 310 “witch-
es” between 2018 and 2021 nationwide.
The various instances of witch hunts in tribal societies involve While Odisha recorded 2,500 such killings between 2000 and
an undercurrent of power and legitimacy, projected to be drawn 2016, Jharkhand saw 377 “witch murders” from 2015 to 2022.
from ritualistic purity. Take the case of a love marriage between Even though steps have been taken by social groups and authori-
a tribal man and woman from Van Pokharia village of Odisha in ties to stop this, the practice still thrives among some of India’s
2021. The village leaders demanded compensation of approxi- most backward tribal groups.
mately `20,000 for rice, chicken, sheep, etc, to remove the ‘pollu- District administrations must chalk out comprehensive pro-
tion’ caused by a modern love marriage. grammes to weed out the practice and launch effective awareness
The violence unleashed on so-called witches can be divided campaigns. However, officials aver that ignorance and backward-
into three categories: normal, harsh, and extremely severe. The ness compound the problem among the tribals who stick to old
first involves mild beating, tonsuring, solitary confinement, traditions and refuse to treat women with respect—although a
blackening of the face, and so on. Then comes an economic boy- few bravehearts are working towards the uplift of these tribal
cott, making the woman walk naked, thrashing with sticks, etc. women and to save their lives. Traditional healers also add to the
Most severe punishments include gangrapes and mob lynching. confusion by blaming the deaths on “witch exorcism” when peo-
The last category is now the most frequent. Worse, witches are ple treated by them die. The sheer brutality of killings of women
often put to trial by forcing them to consume human excreta and after hanging a bad name on them suggests that transforming
urine to see what happens next. In some cases, their teeth and such societies through outreach schemes and campaigns is
nails are pulled out. Most of these brutal incidents are reported bound to be a Herculean task. Q
from Odisha, Jharkhand, and Bihar.
A field study conducted by the National Confederation of Dalit Aditi Narayani Paswan is an assistant professor at
Organisation (NACDOR) highlights two heart-wrenching stories Lakshmibai College, University of Delhi, and founder of the
of women branded as witches who however survived their ordeals. Dalit Aadivasi Professor & Scholars’ Association. She received
Munni (name changed) is a 40-year-old from Lakhanpur vil- field assistance to write this essay from Sangya Dubey,
lage in Dumka district of Jharkhand. Married with four children, a doctoral candidate at Jamia Millia Islamia

CINEMA
SALON
THE
WORLD
IN HER
FRAME
ANU MENON
GETTY IMAGES
50 24 JULY 2023
ANU MENON IS MAKING MOVIES AND SHOWS ACROSS
THREE CONTINENTS. HER LATEST MYSTERY FILM CAPTURES
THE ESSENCE OF MULTIPLE PLACES
By Kaveree Bamzai
G
r
rowing up in Delhi money” to be a student, but she says really struck me. I thought she was an
iin the 1980s, stud- when you take a leap of faith, some- inspiring and empowered woman who
ying at Kendriya
y times the universe rewards you. knew what she wanted.”
Vidyalaya, Andrews
V “Those were young, crazy days,” she She followed it with Waiting
G
Ganj, Anu Menon says. “I was married by then and my (2015), a film that dealt with grief.
n
never thought she husband was living in Paris. I felt what Two strangers, an elderly man (Shiv,
w
would be a film- I was doing was meaningless. I wanted played by Naseeruddin Shah) and a
maker. “Films were something we to do something drastic. That was my young woman (Tara, Kalki Koechlin),
watched and had an opinion on,” she wake-up call. There was no one there I are waiting for their significant others
says, “but never made.” Well, 30 years wanted to be like in ten years. And that to wake up from a coma in a Kochi
later, here she is, having just directed an was sad. But it takes a bit of courage to hospital. Like all her films, she wrote
intricate mystery, Neeyat, starring have no income for a while.” it herself, putting her distinctive
Vidya Balan; having wrapped up two At London Film School (LFS), humour and deep emotion into it.
episodes of a forthcoming prestige she was years older than the other Apurva Asrani was the editor on the
show, a historical fantasy The Winter students but spent three glorious years film. He says, “Anu is deeply passion-
King, and just getting into directing an- learning filmmaking. “I think when ate about her characters and has a lot
other she cannot yet name in Septem- you get into education after a break, of empathy for the human condition.
ber. And yes, all this after having shot you value it a lot more,” she says. “I But her magic trick is in taking sad
two episodes for the final season of the missed education, I felt the need to and bitter realities and finding joy
international BBC hit, Killing Eve. find out who I am, I had experienced and optimism in them. I remember I
If she sounds breathless, it is be- the world by then. It was so immersive, was in the middle of editing Aligarh
cause she is. After years spent wonder- it allowed me to figure who I was. It when I worked on Waiting, and felt
ing if she could get a film made, she is was full of 21- and 22-year-old boys very strongly that we needed to
working on three continents, making who wanted to be David Lynch and give Naseer Saab’s character in
movies and series in India, and doing here I was wanting to make a rom Waiting, more pause, more melan-
TV work in London and Los Angeles. com.” She was there just to study. “I choly. But Anu insisted that she want-
All from her Victorian home in was not distracted. I got a distinction ed to find the light in these stories and
Highgate, Northwest London, which and I thought, ‘That’s it man, I’ve made show that life still goes on. She pushed
she shares with her financier husband it.’ A bunch of us were identified as me to edit differently. The result was a
and 16-year-old daughter Rhea. trailblazers. But then reality struck.” crisp film that refused to brood.”
So, what is a graduate of Birla Insti- Life outside of LFS wasn’t easy. It was Menon wears her laurels lightly.
tute of Technology & Science (BITS), a struggle to get her first film—London, She no longer suffers from imposter
Pilani, doing in show business? It took Paris, New York (2012), starring Ali Zafar syndrome, with seven films/series
a small dream and a whole lot of cour- and Aditi Rao Hydari— off the ground. under her belt. Having signed up for
age. She completed an engineering It was a romance across three countries, the first season of Prime Video’s Four
degree, did strategy planning for adver- shot at three different stages of a couple’s More Shots Please! (2019), she had the
tising agencies, Lintas and then JWT, life, and refreshing in its articulation difficult task of making the intimate
got head-hunted and sent to Singapore of what a woman wants. Zafar loved lives and complicated loves of four
for three years with Bates Consulting. working with her but thought the film single women light, but not light-
That’s when she had a mid-life crisis was ahead of its time. He says now, “Anu weight. It needed her understanding
and realised she did not want to do that is one of the first true feminists in the of human nature, which she ponders
for the rest of her life. industry, I would say. If you read into the over in what she calls her “quiet life” as
It wasn’t easy to quit her job where lines of London, Paris, New York you could a school mum and working woman. “I
she was earning a “fair amount of tell. When I read the script, that’s what don’t ever remember a career not being

CINEMA
pandemic changed everything for me,”

THE CAST OF NEEYAT
she says. “Suddenly I was on a plane not
to Mumbai and I got an opportunity
to interview for Killing Eve and got the
job. It was an amazing experience. That
opened doors to other international
prestige television shows and I did the
last two episodes of The Winter King.
I’m reaching the stage where I have one
foot in both these worlds.”
She grew up in middle-class Delhi,
the daughter of an executive with the
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited. “It
was not very Bollywood-driven. We
saw a lot of international cinema. It was
actually more cosmopolitan in a very
different way from Mumbai,” she says.
She doesn’t feel burnt out, she still has
the hunger to do more. “I love it when
I step into these shows where you’re
working with the unknown. They
“I DON’T EVER REMEMBER A CAREER NOT don’t know you, you don’t know them.
You have to prove yourself every time.
BEING AN OPTION. MY JOB IS NOT MY IDENTITY That’s what is driving me now. I love
BUT WITHOUT IT I’M NOTHING” writing but I also like the idea of just
landing there with my instrument and
Anu Menon filmmaker playing the music and not composing it
myself,” she says.
an option,” she says, describing her gen- word and just got it. And season one Now the question is; “Am I doing
eration of post-liberalisation women. brought home an international Emmy something I am terrified of or am I doing
“My job is not my identity but without nomination, no less,” adds Nandy. something genuinely unique or has
it I’m nothing,” she says, adding she is That led to Shakuntala Devi (2020), something to say? There’s such an explo-
completely focused on writing, creat- her first collaboration with producer sion of content around us, I am privileged
ing, directing. Vikram Malhotra of Abundantia Enter- to be in this position.” She wants to
Rangita Pritish Nandy, who worked tainment and with Vidya Balan, a story embrace everything, like Greta Gerwig
with her on Four More Shots Please!, calls which she felt needed to be told and redefining Barbie and how it relates to
her a “storm”. She adds, “Anu and I had had been hidden by history. She didn’t the new generation. “She is not doing yet
met many, many years before Four More write Shakuntala Devi without her another Marvel movie. I love that. You
Shots Please! courtesy Rahul Bose, for a flaws, and that is typical of Menon, who need to feel that. It’s a luxury to have that,
feature that didn’t work out. We then refuses to iron the creases and mask to be given that opportunity.”
tried to collaborate on another film, but the warts women can and do have. Says Everything she’s done so far is
as luck would have it, that didn’t pan Nandy, “She’s driven by telling a unique very different from everything else.
out either. When Four More Shots Please! story and she never fails her characters.” Neeyat, for instance, is her homage to
was greenlit into production, Anu was The struggle now is no longer murder mysteries, of which she is a fan.
the first name on Ishita (Nandy) and whether she will do another film. “Now But it says something beyond it too,
my list. If you’ve met Anu, you’d know it is what can I do that will push the with the lead character being modelled
why.” She calls her a strong cinematic boundary, that will be different,” says on a rogue, runaway businessman like
voice, and an even stronger female Menon. She is not afraid of ambition Vijay Mallya.
narrative champion. and it is a good time for such confi- “I live in multiple worlds,” she says,
Driven by a world vision, she remains dence given the importance being and Neeyat, with its mix of Scottish
true to her Indian roots. Add to that her accorded to diversity and inclusion castles and CBI officers, Indian actors
humour. “Everything was a perfect in the entertainment world. “It’s no and English newcomers, spirit-reading
match for Four More Shots Please! It was longer a white man’s world,” she says, healers and brittle mistresses captures
a no-brainer, really. She saw our written which it was even five years ago. “The the essence of just that.
52 24 JULY 2023
FOOD
GOURD OF
By Priyadarshini Chatterjee
I
n some parts of rural Bengal,
young women sometimes
SMALL THINGS
THE HUMBLE VEGETABLE
observe a curious vow called
Nakhchuter Brata (which
revolves around beautification).
The rituals are accompanied by a rhyme
that goes, “Hoy jaano mor potol chora
IS A DELICACY FIT FOR chokh, paaner moto hoy jyano mor bodon
KINGS AND COMMONERS khaani (May my eyes be like split pointed
gourd, and like betel leaf my face).” It’s
curious how eyes that resemble a spin-
dle-shaped, green vegetable gravid with
seeds, is considered a standard of beau-
ty—but potol is no ordinary vegetable.
Potol, parwal in Hindi, Trichosanthes
dioica, or pointed gourd, is an ancient
vegetable indigenous to the subconti-
nent. Patola in Sanskrit, the cucurbit
is mentioned even in Puranic texts.
For instance, in the Garuda Purana,
Dhanvantari, the divine physician,
recommends Triphal, where patola is
cooked into a decoction and drunk with
sugar and yastimadhu (liquorice) as a
remedy for fever, vomiting and acidity.
It also appears many times in works of
classical medicine like Charaka Samhita
and Sushruta Samhita. The Ayurvedic
patoladya churna, recommended for
ALAMY treating abdominal diseases, is made by
combining the extract of patola with a
host of medicinal herbs and spices.
In Bengal, where summers are hot
and sultry, potol is particularly extolled
for its cooling properties. It is often the
go-to antidote for the many afflictions
that the fragile Bengali stomach suffers
from. But it’s also ubiquitous in the
region’s cultural expressions. The antiq-
uity and importance of potol as a crop in
Bengal is confirmed in Khanar Bochon,
a collection of maxims attributed to a
woman Khona. One such bochon, for in-
stance, says, “Potol bunle phagune, phalan
baade dwigune. (Should pointed gourd
be sown in Phalgun, (February-March),
the yield doubles).”
(CLOCKWISE FROM TOP)

RAW POINTED GOURD OR PARWAL;
CHAL POTOL; AND AAM POTOL
Courtesy MAUMITA PAUL GHOSH

FOOD
Bengali parents name their children mind-boggling assortment of dishes with head. It is possible that the dish was born
after the innocuous Potol, often distort- it—from sick-bed stews to unctuous as a vegetarian approximation of the
ed to Potla in affectionate ridicule. curries served at wedding feasts. There’s piscine delicacy to cater to the Vaishnav
Kolkata even has a neighbourhood shorshe potol, plump potol are deep fried insistence of vegetarianism widespread
called Potoldanga, immortalised in and simmered in a pungent mustard gra- in West Bengal, or to add variety to the
the pages of renowned Bengali author vy quite like paves of fish, or potol cooked vegetarian kitchens of Bengali widows.
Narayan Bandopadhyay’s iconic Tenida in a yoghurt-rich gravy and then there is In fact, mature pointed gourds, fleshy
series. A colloquial Bengali expression potol cooked in milk. Or there’s potol posto and malleable with thin but tough skin,
for dying is “potol tola” or “picking point- made by cooking potol sliced into thin yet capable of holding shape could easily
ed gourd”. It perhaps stems from how slivers with freshly ground poppy seeds. qualify as a faux meat/fish candidate.
when a pointed gourd vine dies all the Food writer Maumita Paul Ghosh It is interesting to note potol’s impor-
gourds on it should be picked at once. adds tart raw mangoes to her version of tance in vegetarian Vaishnav cuisine of
Growing up in Kolkata, summers the potol posto. “In our home, the dishes the region and how it often crops up in
meant a potol infestation. Sunday break- made with potol changed with the stages Vaishnav texts. In Krishnadas Kaviraj’s
fasts of porota and panch-phoran-scented of ripening,” says Ghosh “For instance, 16th-century text Chaitanya Charitam-
potol aloo chorchori, and during lunch the beginning-of-season, young, tender rita, for instance, the vegetable features
limp potol, halved lengthwise floated potol yet to develop seeds would be used in the elaborate meal Chaitanya’s
languidly in watery jhol specifically to make dishes like the tel potol—the mother cooks him. A verse in another
constructed to cool the stomach and baby gourds lightly scraped and scored 16th-century text Chaitanya Bhagavata,
fortify the body against the summer at both ends, would be cooked simply composed by Vrindavana Das Thakura,
heat. For dinner, there would be potoler in mustard oil tempered with green says, “Potol, bastuk, kala shak bhojone,
dalna—barrel-shaped chunks of potol chilies and nigella seeds, with nothing janma janma biharoye Baishnaber Sane.
cooked with large cubes of potatoes in but turmeric and red chili powder, while (By eating pointed gourd, lamb quar-
a ginger-scented curry finished with a the large, mature ones would be used to ters, and leaves of white jute, one enjoys
smidgen of garam masala and ghee—a make dishes like potoler pur—scooped the Vaishnava’s association birth after
few too many times a week. It was only halves of the potol would be stuffed with birth).” In his book Govinda Leelamrita
when our gasps of boredom turned into a sharp paste of mustard and coconut or The Eternal Nectarian Pastimes of
rumbles of protest, and cooked on a Sri Govinda, Krishnadas Kaviraj
that some shrimp griddle,” she adds. describes a meal prepared by Radha for
would be added to NO PART OF THE POTOL IS Ghosh also talks Krishna. Among the numerous dishes
the curry. about a unique that she makes are potol fried in ghee
WASTED. THE SKIN OF THE
On certain dish called dudher and a dish with its leaves.
POTOL, ALSO A POWERHOUSE OF
days when the jhol—a soupy milk- No part of the potol is wasted. The
women in the
NUTRIENTS, IS USED TO MAKE based dish of pota- skin of the potol, also a powerhouse of
house observed a
A SHARP CHUTNEY AND THE toes, pointed gourd nutrients, is used to make a sharp chut-
vow, they broke CRUNCHY MATURE SEEDS and bottle gourd ney and the crunchy mature seeds of
their fast with a OF THE POTOL ARE leaves, suffused the potol are ground and fried as
comforting bowl of GROUND UP AND FRIED by the warmth of fritters. Rabindranath Tagore’s niece
aromatic gobindo AS FRITTERS ginger, the smoki- Pragya Sundari Devi’s celebrated recipe
bhog rice, cooked ness of nigella and book Amish o Niramish Ahaar, published
to a mush along the citrus notes of at the turn of the last century, features
with chunks of potatoes, halved pointed coriander seeds, and finished with ghee. the curious potol beechir nona malpua—
gourd and slabs of sweet pumpkin. They “My grandmother discovered the recipe savoury fritters made with a batter of
mashed it up while still hot, and poured in her neighbour’s grandmother’s diary flour, rice flour and seeds of ripe pointed
lashings of ghee and sandhak laban (sea from the 1930s,” says Ghosh. gourd, flavoured with minced ginger
salt). The potol also made its way into kum- A festive dish made with potol is the and green chilies, and fried in ghee.
ror chhawkka—a thick curry made with chaal potol—whole, mature potol deep It is the potol’s Indian roots that has
sweet pumpkin, potatoes and black gram, fried and cooked with fragrant, short- sealed its spot in temple cuisines and
redolent with roasted cumin, sometimes grained gobindo bhog rice flavoured with ritualistic food, too. At the Jagannath
finished with fresh grated coconut. It was aromatic spices, with a hint of ginger temple in Puri, potol is an integral part of
a must in shukto, a summery stew made and ghee. The dish comes studded with Chhappan Bhog. “At the Jagannatha tem-
with a medley of veggies. golden fried cashew nuts and raisins. ple in Puri, potol is added to preparations
Potol has the range of a soprano. It is evocative of the muri ghonto—a like besara—a dish made with a medley
And Bengali kitchens turn out a similar dish made with deep fried fish of vegetables like brinjal, raw bananas
54 24 JULY 2023
and gourd veggies cooked in coconut and coriander, green
a delicately spiced mustard chilies, garlic, ginger etc, and
gravy and bhaja besara, a drier steamed. Finally, it’s tossed
version of the dish, as also the in hot oil tempered with
temple’s famed dalma, a dish mustard seeds and
of lentils cooked with a rain- fenugreek seeds until it all
bow of seasonal vegetables,” comes together.
says food researcher But when it comes to
Swetak Abhishek Mohapatra, stuffed pointed gourd,
who has a keen interest in potoler dolma, the crown
temple food and rituals. PARWAL jewel of Bengali cuisine, is
NA RAVAIYA
He adds, “Besides, at the the apogee. Large, mature
bhoga mandap, devotees could Courtesy SHEETAL BHATT pointed gourds are hol-
order for potala rasa—whole lowed out and stuffed with
potols deftly scored are cooked in spirited, added to salans with beef, and in some fish, mince or lentils, fried and finally
cumin-scented gravy rich with coconut cases mutton. In Muslim households added to a gravy. Author Ananya
and cashew nuts—as an offering to the in Bihar and parts of Uttar Pradesh, a Jahanara Kabir sees the potoler dolma
deities even if the dish is not part of the particularly favourite summer dish is as a fine specimen of Creolisation that
Kotho Bhoga list of food items that are the parwal gosht. Sometimes chunks of entails “the creation of something
traditionally carried to the inner sanctum potatoes are also added to the dish. new through exchange, negotiation,
as bhog.” At the Ananta Vasudeva Temple But an ingenious parwal dish to collaboration and compromise” that
in Bhubaneswar, on the other hand, sola come out of the region is the parwal ki transpire when diverse groups mingle
potol or pointed gourd cooked with chick- mithai where the pointed gourds are “in tightly demarcated spaces.” It is
peas is among the dishes offered as bhoga. stewed in sugar to make murabba and generally accepted that the
There are several other dishes made stuffed with cooked and sweetened Armenians brought the dolma—
with potol in Odiya kitchens. “Potol is sim- khoya and chopped nuts and garnished originally stuffed vine leaves or pep-
ply fried in mustard oil, or turned into with flecks of silver warq or slivers of pers—that they acquired through the
crisp chips, or added to a soothing jhol or candied cherries. In Bengal, a version of Turks, to colonial Calcutta. The Jews
watery stew of sorts or a korma rich with the dish is also made with a stuffing of of Calcutta also made stuffed
slims and nuts,” says Sujata Dehury, a chhana-based sandesh. vegetables of various kinds. The
food writer. “But one of my favourite The spindle-shaped potol with its Bengali potoler dolma, as Kabir points
dishes is the potol poda, where the potol soft core that can easily be scraped out out, was born through the proximity
are roasted on an open flame until the is a fantastic vehicle for stuffing, and and exchange between these mercan-
skin chars and crinkles and mashed up communities across the country, espe- tile communities like the Jews and
with a host of ingredients,” says Dehury. cially in north India, have their version Armenians who coexisted and inter-
In Bihar, fire-roasted pointed gourds of bharwan parwal. In Gujarat, parwal is acted with local populations within
are used to make parwal ka chokha— stir-fried with potatoes or added to the colonial Calcutta’s Chitpur.
mashed with garlic, chilies, mustard oil ceremonial patrali—a dish made with In The Calcutta Cookbook,
and sometimes roasted tomatoes, a cornucopia of seasonal greens, Minakshie Dasgupta shares a recipe for
and served with ghee-laced litti. “Biharis gourds and leafy vegetables—offered the ‘original’ Armenian-version of the
love their parwal,” says chef to Lord Krishna, the day after potoler dolma, sourced from an Armenian
Rachna Prasad who runs Ambrosia Janmashthami, that falls at the height of resident who catered the lunch at the
Kitchen. It’s cooked into curries, stir- monsoon, when parwal is in season. Burra Club on Park Street. This dolma
fried with slivered potatoes with ground But a particularly special dish is the comes with a stuffing of ground beef,
spices like coriander, chili and some- parwal ka ravaiya, that Sheetal Bhatt, tomatoes and raisins. In Hindu
times a dash of aamchur for a hint of tang a champion and chronicler of the cui- Bengali homes, the prohibited beef got
and in rarer instances added to vegetari- sines of Gujarat, talks about. Ravaiya is replaced by minced fish or goat meat.
an biryanis, she says. the generic name for a genre of stuffed Vegetarian versions that come with a
vegetables in Gujarat. For parwal ka stuffing of chhana (fresh cottage cheese)
ravaiya, the parwals are hollowed out or ground lentils have also cropped up
C OME SUMMERS, INDIAN

Muslim kitchens, where vegetables
are rarely served on their own, cooling
and filled with a diverse combination
of ingredients like roasted channa dal,
ground sesame seeds, peanuts, spices
over time. The potoler dolma might be
layered with diverse culinary influence
and cultural memories, but there’s no
gourd vegetables, tinda, turai, lauki, are and a hint of jaggery, or a wet masala of denying that it is resolutely Indian.

BOOKS
Delhi on the Map SHAHJAHANABAD

MAPPING A MUGHAL CITY
When cartography reveals a city’s cultural history Swapna Liddle
Visual curators: Pramod Kapoor
By Giles Tillotson and Sneha Pamneja
Roli Books
108 Pages | 2,495
T
HIS BOOK IS about a single to his time—for it was made 200 years
document: a map of the walled after the foundation—but to its last years
city of Old Delhi made in 1846-47, as a living Mughal city. This is the Delhi expulsion of the Marathas in 1803 and
now preserved in the British Library. of Bahadur Shah Zafar, of Ghalib, and the the revolt against East India Company
The date is important: hand drawn on a young Syed Ahmad Khan, among other rule in 1857. She tells the tale of high
large scale and precisely measured, the notable residents. politics: the negotiations (often farcical)
map shows every street and gali, every Finding a richly detailed primary between the last emperors and their
landmark and major building, as they source like this is a historian’s dream, Company minders. But she also goes
were just a decade before the cataclysmic what we geekily live for. The joy is beyond the imperial palace and the
events of 1857. In the aftermath of the tempered only by a sober awareness that mansions of the British Residents and
Rebellion, the British obliterated large historical documents are not generally gets into the streets, to tell us the stories
swathes of buildings inside the city, made for the benefit of future historians of its markets and colleges, its places of
especially in front of the Red Fort and (any that are, on that ground alone, are worship and learning, and of individuals
around the mosque, and many gardens, suspect). Often their makers fail to tell who contributed to the city’s economic
like those laid out by Jahanara to the us what we most want to know: things and intellectual life. Now, at a stroke,
north of Chandni Chowk. that were so obvious to them, they were she gives us the stage-set for all those
The city suffered a further deemed not worth telling, but are now stories. We no longer need to imagine the
transformation in the wake of Partition invisible to us. Makers of documents locations, distances and routes between
in 1947, not just demographically— address their own concerns, not ours. the homes and the places of business of
with the removal of the vestiges of the Against this general rule, the many who populate her history: they
old elites—but physically too, with Swapna Liddle could be forgiven for are laid out before us in astonishing detail.
increasing commercialisation and other thinking that this map was made Although the two books enrich
changes in function. The city we see today specifically for her—or she for it. As she each other, they also stand alone. In
retains some famous salient features, but has shown in another recent book, Shajahanabad: The Mapping of a Mughal
is in many ways unrecognisable as the The Broken Script, Liddle has an unrivalled City, Liddle takes us through Old Delhi,
realisation of the vision of its founder, knowledge of Delhi in the first half of the quarter by quarter, pointing out the
Shah Jahan. This map takes us back not 19th century; in the period between the major buildings and bazaars, explaining
what was new or changing at the time
Courtesy BRITISH LIBRARY, LONDON, UK
the map was made, and what has altered
since. Blow-up details are supplemented
Chandini Chowk; with other images showing buildings’
Studio of Mazhar Ali Khan, elevations, including paintings from
c 1840 the studio of Mazar Ali Khan, and
early photographs.
The districts, indicated on the map
by coloured shading, correspond to the
jurisdiction of the various police stations,
or thanas. This, and the many Urdu
inscriptions, suggest that its original
purpose was administrative. The
authorship is unknown. But its creators
must have deployed European methods
of survey, and deep local knowledge,
pointing to a collaboration between British
and Indian hands and minds to create this
extraordinary record of a once great city. Q
56 24 JULY 2023
Lost in Battle
The personal price
a reporter pays
to witness a war
By Prathap Nair
A
UTHOR-JOURNALIST A little later when Sundaram calls home world? Put an American with a satellite
Anjan Sundaram revisits his again, Nat is cold because the child’s phone in every village, and if anyone
marriage and ponders over feeding schedule has fallen on her. Put threatens to attack, the US government
the fragility of relationships in this off by her reaction, Sundaram decides will stop them.”
slim memoir. In a tone replete with he won’t call her until he has news about These sad racial realities of the world
retrospective wisdom and melancholy, his departure from CAR. Nat, perhaps notwithstanding, when Sundaram
Breakup parses the memory of a unintentionally, emerges as a lonely describes his marriage, it becomes
marriage on its brink, attempting to figure grasping at the straws of maternal evident there’s palpable awkwardness
make sense of its slow demise. responsibility with an absent husband. in the relationship, not in the least due to
Juxtaposing his marital conflict with a Meanwhile, near-death experiences lack of communication.
real civil war, Sundaram, who follow Sundaram as he stumbles upon He examines the demise of his
reported from central Africa for one war crime after another—massacres marriage impassively. “How much of
The New York Times, Associated Press, by government forces, burning of my journey was about the war, and how
and others, sets his memoir against churches and schools, killing of a French much about my marriage? Could I tell
the backdrop of tumultuous African photojournalist—and witnesses first- Nat how close I had felt to her, even while
geopolitics straddling the Central African hand how civilians, like schoolteachers we did not speak…? Or was it cloying, and
Republic (CAR) and the tranquillity of and priests, are forced to join the rebellion. making myself too vulnerable, to say how
Shippagan, a coastal town in Canada. At one point when Sundaram’s she and home and family gave me the
Bottled up in frosty remote Shippagan team is held hostage at gunpoint by the courage to explore the limits of the war?”
where he lived with his wife Nat and his rebel army, the presence of Lewis, an Eventually as the simmering
infant daughter Raphaelle, Sundaram American companion who works for the resentment boils over, one gets the sense
decides to pursue wartime reporting by Human Rights Watch, saves thousands of what pushed the marriage to the cliff’s
setting out to travel deep into CAR where of villagers seeking shelter in a church edge. “You can make crazy journeys,
a civil war has been raging between from an impending massacre. Faced with while I’ve got to stay home,” Nat accuses
destructive government forces and rebels. a bitter realisation that one American’s him, asking, not unreasonably, “What
As he ventures farther into CAR, life is more precious than thousands of kind of father risks his life?”
losing connection with the outside villagers in CAR, Sundaram tells Lewis, Unspoken in Sundaram’s own
world, a silent unrest brews in his “You know how to stop all the wars in the analysis is perhaps the residual trauma
personal life. In the absence of solid he may have suffered owing to his trip
reasoning on why Sundaram’s marriage to CAR that resulted in exacerbating
has been souring, it’s hard not to the marital crisis. “The end came after
empathise with Nat, alone with a new- a period of estrangement and quiet
born whose anxieties now must include torment, when neither of us felt loved. We
her husband’s whereabouts. lost our words. Something impassable
“I conjured up Nat’s face for comfort, had come up between us,” he writes.
but I knew I shouldn’t call her for Sundaram’s writing is incisive and
reassurance,” writes Sundaram from brimming with a resolved sense of
the warfront. These cryptic deliverances catharsis, yet there is no happy ending
BREAKUP
add up to the confusion the reader feels A MARRIAGE IN WARTIME when a marriage breaks. What’s
over what really happened between the Anjan Sundaram better than a stagnant marriage, if not
couple because the build-up to this stage a clean break and this book maturely
of marital ruin is missing in the narrative. Simon & Schuster documents it. Q
208 Pages | 699

CRIME CANON Shylashri Shankar
Intimate Watching
Detectives with cool, rational minds who need to see justice done
THE FEMALE DETECTIVE determination, her ability to reason, to coax information from
by Andrew Forrester the housekeeper and the others in the household, her bravery
Women, it seems, were not in confronting men in powerful positions — are all exemplary
strangers to reasoning and characteristics that present-day authors still use especially in
dispassionate inquiry in police procedurals. As the jacket cover blurb puts it — her
Victorian England. Meet application of science and search for clues anticipated
Miss Gladden, the first pro- Sherlock Holmes by about 20 years.
fessional female detective in The narration of the stories is matter of fact and has some
the English-speaking incisive observations about human nature. “Every man who
crime fiction world in has lived with his eyes open has come across human beings
Andrew Forrester’s The who concentrate within themselves the most wonderful
Female Detective (Hachette contradictions,” Miss Gladden remarks in ‘The Unknown
Yellowback; 264 pages; `399) first published in 1864. (Hachette Weapon’. That’s a case of a young heir murdered with a strange
India has re-published this and about 150 crime fiction bestsell- weapon. Miss Gladden is unstoppable in her quest for the
ing titles from the mid-late 19th century in yellowbacks or wrongdoer but interestingly, often the culprit is not brought
yellowjackets.) Her friends think she is a dressmaker, and her to justice. Though by modern standards, the pace is creaky and
enemies are convinced she has a questionable profession. Here the dialogue is full of colloquialisms, this is worth a read for
is Miss Gladden introducing herself in her own words. “Who crime fiction aficionados and the feminists among us. It gives
am I? It can matter little who I am…It may be that I am a widow us a refreshing glimpse into Victorian England where a woman
working for my children—or I may be detective could run rings around her male counterparts in her
an unmarried woman, whose only care ability to track down the how of the case, which in turn leads
is herself. But whether I work willingly her to the whodunnit.
or unwillingly….whether I am married
or single, old or young, I would have my ZERO DAYS by Ruth Ware
readers at once accept my declaration that Fugitive meets Mr and Mrs Smith — that’s the logline of the
…in me that profession [as a detective] has pacey chase-mystery from Ruth Ware. Jack (Jacinda) is part of a
not led me toward hardheartedness.” She Mr and Mrs Smith style set-up. She and her husband (Gabe) test
points out that a female detective has far the security of companies and report back on the bugs; she is
greater opportunities than men of “inti- the feet on the ground who breaks into buildings and he is the
mate watching” and of ferreting out the intimate secrets. There man on the computer hacking into the systems. After an opera-
are seven short stories in the book. In ‘Tenant for Life’, tion, Jack returns home to find Gabe murdered with his throat
Miss Gladden hears a story told by her friend’s cabman hus- cut. She calls the police and while being questioned, she realises
band about how he bought a new-born baby from a frantic she is the main suspect. It doesn’t help that a million-pound life
young mother, only to sell it almost immediately for thirty insurance kicks in with Gabe’s death and she is the beneficiary.
pounds to a lady who stopped him not too far from where he’d The rest of Zero Days (Gallery/Scout Press; 368 pages; `2,251)
made the bargain. Our Lady Detective’s curiosity is piqued and is her trying to figure out who initiated the insurance, who
she sets about finding the baby and the reason for such a large is trying to frame her and why Gabe had to die. The action is
sum exchanging hands. It is the way she investigates—using sharp and pacey, aided by the countdown
reason and logic to ferret out the clues, like boot marks—that to zero day. Ware’s previous books were
sets her apart. The baby must be desperately needed and there- in the realm of psychological thrillers. In
fore it must have something to do with an inheritance, she Zero Days, she retains that breathless and
deduces. In carrying out the investigation, she has no ulterior panicked interiority of the main character
motive—she refuses to take money from the nobleman in- and melds it with an adventure story. Jack
volved in the case. Her dogged work—for which she disguises scarpers to lonely shacks on beaches and
herself as a maid — is dictated by her overwhelming need to see highway overpasses with the police on her
justice done even if she doesn’t care much for the victim. Her heels, a nasty ex-boyfriend policeman, and
58 24 JULY 2023
THOUGH BY MODERN
STANDARDS, THE PACE OF
THE FEMALE DETECTIVE
IS CREAKY AND THE
DIALOGUE IS FULL OF
COLLOQUIALISMS,
THIS IS WORTH A READ
FOR CRIME FICTION
AFICIONADOS AND THE
FEMINISTS AMONG US. IT
GIVES US A REFRESHING
GLIMPSE INTO
VICTORIAN ENGLAND
WHERE A WOMAN
DETECTIVE COULD RUN
RINGS AROUND HER
MALE COUNTERPARTS
has to rely on her family, Gabe’s close friend and the kindness of says: “Check his phone,” and then charges toward them. Titus’s
strangers to unravel the whodunnit, which frankly didn’t come two white deputies shoot him dead. Videos and photos in the
as a surprise. I would’ve mentioned a third movie here but that phone reveal that Steadman and the teenager along with a third
would give the game away. Having read this after Forrester’s masked man were involved in horrific mutilations and killings
book, it struck me as ironic that the 21st-century Jack behaves of children of colour. Their bodies, Titus discovers, are buried in
like an emotional and frazzled woman on the run, while the a field; religious markings and words are carved into their skins.
19th century Miss Gladden of The Female Detective displays a As more deaths mount up, the clues point to the serial killer’s
cool and rational mind. Most of the telling in the book is firmly connection with the local church. Titus,
in the psychological suspense mode where we are privy to long who is determined to bring justice to the
stretches of Jack’s high anxiety and panicked thoughts. Fans of victims, has to brave the wrath of his com-
Ruth Ware will like this one. munity and the church’s flock led by a char-
ismatic preacher out for his blood. While
ALL THE SINNERS BLEED by SA Cosby in his personal life, he has to deal with an
All the Sinners Bleed (Flatiron Books; 352 pages; `2,290) is a sear- estranged brother and a new girlfriend; it
ing look at the sinners of the American South. It begins with a doesn’t help that Titus’s ex-girlfriend is in
quote from Joseph Conrad, “The belief in a supernatural source town to do a podcast on the crimes.
of evil is not necessary; men alone are capable of every wicked- Cosby doesn’t shy away from the visceral nature of these
ness.” What evil is Cosby talking about in Charon County — a tensions. Though emancipation of Blacks and desegregation
land “founded in bloodshed and darkness”? It is the evil of old occurred in the 1960s, Charon County, like much of the
hatreds, old hierarchies, old attitudes— of racism at its worst American South, is still stuck mentally in the racist era.
“waiting for you in the dark”. Through the characters and the trail of the clues, Cosby picks
Titus Crown, born and raised in Charon County, Virginia, re- away at the festering sore that is the struggle between Blacks
turns home after a stint at the FBI to care for his aging father. He and whites—equality versus old ways of a racist domination—
is elected as the first Black Sheriff, defeating a powerful, corrupt and also holds up a mirror to present-day religious zealotry
and racist predecessor who’d allowed racism and drugs to thrive. against homosexuality and the liberal agenda.
On the first anniversary of his election, Titus is summoned to All the Sinners Bleed is a splendid addition to a crime
the local school. Someone has shot dead a white teacher, Stead- fiction that shows us a reality at its most dangerous—and
man, beloved to many students including Titus. The shooter, ferocious. It lives on in your head, making you reflect on
Titus’s best friend’s teenage son, comes out with a wolf mask the difficulty of shaking off prejudices, and the toll it takes on
in one hand and a gun in the other. The boy looks at Titus and the human soul.

INDIAN ACCENTS Bibek Debroy
The Divine Armour

The Trailokya-vijaya prayer is a weapon and a protective shield
OST PEOPLE wonderful kavacha and about the mantra that brings
M know the
Parashurama
story, at least the bare
eternal siddhi to sadhakas, bestowing happiness. At the end
of the pada, one must utter, “To Gopijana-Vallabha”. [Gopa
is a cowherd. Gopi is the feminine. Gopijana-Vallabha is
bones of it. The story is the one loved by gopis, that is, Krishna. Since Krishna and
about Kartavirya Arjuna Rama were later avatars, there is a chronological issue. It is
and how, because of possible that these sections, especially those on Krishna,
Kartavirya Arjuna’s were added to the text subsequently. Not only is there a
oppression, Parashurama reference to Krishna, Radha/Radhika is also mentioned.] The
eliminated the Kshatriyas great mantra has 10 aksharas and must end with “svaha”. It
from earth 21 times. Most bestows objects of pleasure and emancipation. The rishi is
people also probably know Sadashiva and the chhanda is said to be pankti. The divinity is
that Parashurama obtained weapons from Shiva. Kartavirya Krishna and it is recited and used to obtain everything. The
Arjuna was blessed by Vishnu. How could Parashurama rishi for Trailokya-vijaya kavacha is Prajapati. The chhanda is
destroy him without something special? This column is jagati and the divinity is Rajeshvara himself. It is said that it
about that something special, the Trailokya-vijaya mantra, should be used to conquer the three worlds.”
and the account is from Brahmanda Purana. Let me warn (Each mantra has a rishi who composed it and a divinity
you. This will be heavy reading. to whom it is addressed. The pankti chhanda has 10 aksharas
Shiva addressed Parashurama in compassionate words. in every pada. The text leads to confusion between a mantra
“O Brahmana! From today, you will become like Skanda to to Krishna and the Trailokya-vijaya kavacha. The Krishna
me. O immensely intelligent one! I will give you a mantra mantra in pankti chhanda is simply—“Gopijana-Vallabhaya
and a divine kavacha. Through this favour, you will be able Svaha/To the one loved by Gopis, Svaha.” The rest can be
to playfully kill Kartavirya. You will also empty the earth of taken to be Trailokya-vijaya, composed in jagati. However,
kings 21 times.” Saying this, Shankara gave him a mantra the classic jagati chhanda should have 12 aksharas in every
that is extremely difficult to obtain. He also gave him the pada. As stated in the text, this has 16 aksharas and is actually
extremely wonderful kavacha named Trailokya-vijaya, the ashti chhanda. Anga-nyasa is the mental appropriation (nyasa)
noose of the nagas, the Pashupata weapon, the Brahmastra, of different limbs of the body (anga) to different divinities.
which is extremely difficult to obtain, the Narayanastra, Kara-nyasa is similarly done to different parts of the hand
Agneyastra, Vayavyastra, Varunastra, Gandharvastra, (kara). In this mantra, anga-nyasa acts as the kavacha. In
Garudastra, the extremely wonderful Jrimbhanastra, a addition, the kavacha is worn as an amulet.)
club, a spear, a battle-axe, a trident, an excellent staff and all “Let Pranava protect my head. I always prostrate myself
the aggregate of shastras and astras. He was delighted and before Shri Krishna. Let him always protect my forehead.
prostrated himself before the serene Shiva, Durga, Skanda To Krishna. Svaha. Let Krishna protect the pupils of
and Ganeshvara. Circumambulating them, Rama went to the my eyes. To Krishna. Svaha. Let him always protect my
supreme tirtha of Pushkara and consecrated the mantra stated eyebrows. To Hari. Namah. Let him always protect my
by Shiva and the excellent kavacha. nose. OUM. To Govinda. Svaha. Let this always protect my
(Trailokya-vijaya is a weapon that allows the possessor to cheek. I prostrate myself before Gopala. Let the kalpa-taru
conquer the three worlds. These are divine weapons, named protect my ears. Kleem. [These are bija-mantras, each with
after Brahma, Narayana, Agni, Vayu, Varuna, the gandharva a single akshara -kleem, shreem, hreem. Each of these has
and Garuda. Pashupata is Shiva’s own weapon. Jrimbhanastra three varnas and each of these varnas possesses mystical
makes the opponent yawn and go to sleep. Kavacha means significance.] To Krishna. Namah. Let him always protect
armour, but is not to be understood in the sense of physical my two lips. Shreem. To Krishna. Namah. Let him protect
armour. It is a mantra that acts like a shield of protection.) my rows of teeth. OUM. To the lord of gopis. Svaha. Let these
This entire account is being reported by the sage three aksharas of ‘Shri Krishna’ protect the gaps between
Vasishtha to King Sagara. my teeth. Let him always protect my tongue. OUM. To
Vashishta said, “I will tell you about this exceedingly Shri Krishna. Svaha. Let him always protect my palate. To
60 24 JULY 2023
[The festival and dance of the gopas and gopis.)

Svaha. Let him protect my modesty. To Vrinda’s beloved.
(Vrinda is Radhika’s name, but can also be interpreted
as a multitude.) Svaha. Let him protect all my limbs.
Wholeheartedly, let Krishna always protect me in the
east. Let the lord of Goloka himself protect me in the
southeast. Let the one who is the form of the complete
Brahman always protect me in the south. Let Krishna
protect me in the southwest. Let Hari protect me in the
west. Let Govinda protect me in the northwest. Let the
lord of rasikas protect me in the north. Let the one who
sports in Vrindavana always protect me in the northeast.
Let the lord of Vrinda’s life always protect me in an
upwards direction. Let the one who destroyed the
immensely strong Bani always protect me in a downward
direction. Let Nrisimha always protect me in the water, on
land and in the sky. Let Madhava himself protect me when
I am asleep and when I am awake. Let the unattached lord,
present in all atmans, protect me in all directions.”
Vasishtha concluded, “O lord of the earth! This is said
to destroy every kind of sin. This is the kavacha named
Trailokya-vijaya. I have heard it from the mouth of Shiva
Paramesha. It should never be revealed to anyone. After
KAVACHA MEANS ARMOUR, BUT IS NOT worshipping the guru, the kavacha must be worn in the
TO BE UNDERSTOOD IN THE SENSE OF proper way, around the neck, or on the right hand. There is
PHYSICAL ARMOUR. IT IS A MANTRA THAT no doubt that a person who does this, becomes like Vishnu
himself. If a person is such a sadhaka, the goddesses of
ACTS LIKE A SHIELD OF PROTECTION
speech and wealth also reside with him. If a person succeeds
in wearing such a kavacha, there is no doubt that he is like
a jivanmukta. [A person who has been emancipated, though
Rameshvara. Svaha. Let him always protect my throat. To he is alive.] It has been determined that he obtains fruits
Radhika’s lord. Svaha. Let him always protect my neck. To equal to those obtained through crores of years of worship.
the lord of all the gopis. Namah. Let him always protect my Thousands of royal sacrifices, hundreds of horse sacrifices,
shoulders. OUM. To the lord of gopas. Svaha. Let him protect all the great donations and pradakshina of the earth do not
my back. To the one who assumed a boy’s form. Namah. earn even one-sixteenth of the merits obtained through
Svaha. Let this always protect my stomach. To Mukunda. Trailokya-vijaya. Vows, fasting, niyamas, studying, teaching
Namah. Hreem. Shreem. Kleem. To Krishna. Svaha. Let him and bathing in all the tirthas do not earn even a fraction
always protect my hands. OUM. To Vishnu. Namah. Svaha. of the merits. Becoming a siddha, becoming immortal
Let him protect my two arms. OUM. Hreem. To Bhagavan. and obtaining the status of Sri Hari’s servant—there is no
Svaha. Let him protect my row of nails. To Narayana. doubt that all these are obtained if one successfully wears
Namah. Let him protect the gaps between my nails. OUM. the kavacha. If a person performs japa one million times,
Hreem. Shreem. To Padmanabha. Let him always protect he becomes successful in wearing the kavacha. If a person
my navel. OUM. To the lord of everything. Svaha. Let him wears the kavacha successfully, there is no doubt that he
always protect my hair. Namah. To Krishna. Svaha. Let is victorious. A kingdom can be given away. A head can be
him always protect my brahmarandhra. [Brahmarandhra given away. The breath of life can be given away. But even
is the centre of the brain and sahasrara chakra is located in a calamity, this kavacha must never be given away. For
inside brahmarandhra.] OUM. To Madhava. Svaha. Let him the sake of saving you, I have revealed this. O one who
always protect my forehead. OUM. Hreem. Shrem. To the brings radiance to your lineage! Follow my command and
lord of rasikas. (A rasika is a graceful person, a person who understand. Wear this kavacha and become a chakravarti.”
possesses taste.) Let him always protect my waist. Namah. This was Vasishtha’s advice to King Sagara. What did
To the lord of all gopis. Let him always protect my thighs. Parashurama do? Full of supreme devotion, Rama followed
OUM. Namah. To the destroyer of the daityas. Svaha. Let him the sadhana. He slept on the ground, bathed thrice a day
protect my knees. To Yashoda’s delight. Namah. Let him and observed the sandhya rites. Attentive, Rama resided in
protect my calves. To the one who loves the pleasure of rasa. Pushkara for one hundred years.

PLAYTIME WITH BORIA MAJUMDAR
An IPL Moment for Chess

Magnus Carlsen gives his verdict on the global league in Dubai
HE INAUGURAL With fans supporting the league in numbers in Dubai,
T edition of the Global

Chess League (GCL)
played in Dubai between
it could easily become a feature of the annual chess
calendar. Sameer Pathak, CEO of GCL, for example, is clear
about the importance of fan engagement. “Fan experience
June 21 and July 2 was a is at the heart of everything at the Global Chess League.
success. Mixed gender With each initiative we have tried to make the experience
teams, innovative points wholesome for the fans. Whether it was the Metaverse
system, active efforts at platform for GCL or bringing in a commentary panel of
fan engagement and most chess experts and social influencers who could break down
importantly the presence the chess for the general public, we have always believed
of the world’s best players in keeping fans at the centre of action. Even on-ground, we
in Magnus Carlsen, had various events to ensure the fans—who are coming to
Viswanathan Anand, Levon Aronian, and the upcoming watch the players—are going back with happy memories
Indian stars, Gukesh D, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, of watching the stars in action and even meeting them
Arjun Erigaisi, all of it contributed in giving the league a in person. This will remain one of the focal points of the
head start. A brainchild of Anand Mahindra, the league Global Chess League in future and we will strive to make
has reasonable corporate backing and is expected to grow the fan experience even better,” argued Pathak.
year-on-year prompting Magnus Carlsen to call it the “IPL With team owners all in it for the long haul, the league
moment for chess”. has a few positives going for it. Speaking about the vision of
Carlsen, who played for the SG Alpine Warriors who the SG Alpine Warriors, for example, Chief Strategy Officer
narrowly missed out on making the final, gave a thumbs- Anubhav Gupta was clear that this is just the start. “We
up to the league. “It has indeed added to the sport. We are keen to contribute to the growth story of Indian sport.
have never played in a team format before with players Except cricket, the other sports have all struggled because
from multiple nationalities in each team and in that sense of the lack of corporate support. That’s the gap we want to
it was a first. The intensity was good and the kind of fan fill. We also bid for a WPL team and were the sixth highest
engagement I could see makes me feel the league will bidder. Five teams were awarded the contracts. We have
grow in future. It has been a good start and it can only get invested in chess and will invest in a host of other sports
better”, said the five-time world champion. going forward for it will make a difference to society at
What was fascinating to hear from Carlsen is what large,” argues Gupta.
he had to say about the rising Indian chess stars Gukesh, The league, however, will do well to see what hasn’t
Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi. “Each one of them is worked for other franchise-based efforts which have all
a talented player and each has a very fallen by the wayside. Except the
different style of play to mine. It was Indian Premier League (IPL) and to a
good to play a few training games AFTER THE INITIAL degree the Pro Kabaddi League, and
with them and I learnt much in the EUPHORIA IS OVER, now the Pro Volleyball League, a lot
process,” said the champion. THINGS TURN DIFFICULT of these franchise-based competitions
And unlike others who always have not been able to sustain
IN SEASONS TWO AND
want to be politically correct, with themselves. After the initial euphoria
Carlsen it is always straight talk. THREE AND THAT is over, things turn difficult in seasons
When I asked him about the issues IS WHEN THE REAL two and three and that is when the real
of chess being a male domain and CHALLENGE CONFRONTS challenge confronts the organisers.
discrimination, he did not hesitate to THE ORGANISERS. It will be no different with GCL. The
agree. “Yes it has been the case. And novelty, which was so very important
we need it to change. Two of my own
IT WILL BE NO in season one, will no longer be
sisters played the sport and I wish they DIFFERENT WITH GCL the key driver in season two. The
could do so professionally,” he argued. innovations in format, points systems,
62 24 JULY 2023
Viswanathan Anand and
Magnus Carlsen at the
Global Chess League in Dubai
Courtesy GLOBAL CHESS LEAGUE

MAKING CHESS A SPECTATOR SPORT IS WHAT WILL DRIVE SUCCESS. THAT IT IS A
PARTICIPATORY SPORT IS WELL ESTABLISHED. HOW YOU CONVERT A PARTICIPATORY
SPORT INTO A SPECTATOR SPORT COULD DEFINE THE FUTURE OF GCL. AND THAT’S WHERE
PLAYERS LIKE CARLSEN, WHO ARE BRANDS IN THEIR OWN RIGHT, TURN RELEVANT
and mixed-gender teams will all become routine. You need The Queen’s Gambit have helped. The number of players
to continuously evolve and that’s what the organisers will who now play the sport has grown over the last few years
have to ensure. Sustainability is key. Repeat engagement and with efforts like GCL, it is only expected to grow
is the essence of a successful franchise competition and even further in the next few. While the league aims to be
perhaps the most challenging of all tasks. An early start for truly global, it needs to identify areas from where it will
season two will perhaps help the GCL stakeholders. be drawing its primary support. If it is Indian fans at the
And at the root of all this is the standard of play. You core of it, then at some point it must come to India to give
need stars like Carlsen and Anand to give it their best and budding team identities a push.
make for great games. The one thing that has helped IPL Making chess a spectator sport is what will drive
be what it is happens to be the standard of cricket on offer. success. That it is a participatory sport is well established.
Much more than the entertainment and glamour, it is the How you convert a participatory sport into a spectator
sport that is at the centre of IPL. Matches that have kept sport could define the future of GCL. And that’s where
fans on the edge of their seats till the very last ball. And players like Carlsen, who are brands in their own right,
that’s where you can’t compromise. The presence of the turn relevant.
world’s best players with each trying to outdo the other To go back to Carlsen, “I am no longer concerned with
is what fans want to see. IPL is a template and GCL can be the 2,900 points. Rather, I am much more focused on
no different. growing the sport in the next few years.”
I, for one, am hopeful. Chess has seen spectacular This could well be the key for GCL. The drive to grow the
progress since the start of the pandemic and series like sport from the very best could make it a global success story.

THE RACHEL PAPERS Rachel Dwyer
The Light of Asia

India should do more to attract globetrotters
HE WORD ‘HOLIDAY’ engage with — the people, landscapes, buildings, languages,
T means so many
different things
to different people.
literature, music, and of course, the films. India used to be
a tough place to travel, but now you can choose utmost
luxury if that is what you want.
For some, it is a time to I took my first flight after the pandemic this year. Of
relax and do nothing, course, it was to India. Then I went to Venice in April after
whether at home or a long absence. Despite the constant crowds on the Grand
abroad and to read Canal, it remains a magical place. Even from a crowded
—and sunbathe— vaporetto, it’s a pleasure to look at the fabulous buildings
by a swimming pool. which inspired the Victorian Venetian style, seen across
Some seek adventure the world, not least in Mumbai, and note the influence of
or danger and enjoy the Arab and Ottoman world on what we see as European.
staying somewhere less comfortable than their home and In early June, I went to Corfu for a family holiday. Most
following some self-improvement. of us know of the island from reading Gerald Durrell’s
When I interviewed Yash Chopra, who travelled much books when we were children. It’s also known as the
of the world, he said there was no concept of holiday in birthplace of the late Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip
his youth. One visited family or went to weddings or on of Greece and Denmark. He was born in Mon Repos,
pilgrimages. The idea of the holiday is seen in Indian films a villa that was used by the Greek royal family, and
of the 1960s onwards with films that celebrate exotic originally built for Frederick Adam, the British Lord High
locations (Love in Tokyo, An Evening in Paris), or Kashmir Commissioner of the Ionian Islands and his Corfiot wife.
as a paradise on earth (Kashmir Ki Kali). Dev Anand as Adam was later Governor of Madras (as it then was). After
the eponymous guide in the movie Guide (1965), loosely centuries of Venetian, French and British rule, Corfu and
based on RK Narayan’s novel, The Guide (1958), set the the Ionian islands joined Greece in 1864. There remains
novel trend in the rising tourist industry in Rajasthan as much evidence of this history, not least in its name—Corfu
palaces became hotels. The Indian Tourism Development is the Byzantine version of the Greek Kerkyra—while the
Corporation was set up in 1966 and a growth of domestic Venetians left a magnificent fort and elegant buildings.
tourism was later followed by international tourism after However, Corfu has an older history and may be the land
economic liberalisation in the 1990s. of the Phaeacians, whose naval prowess is recalled by
Foreign tourists, such as Fanny Parkes, came to India Homer’s epithet for them: “long-oared”. It is identified
from the nineteenth century, and in one of the early Indo- as the home of Nausicaa whose father, Antinous, hosted
German collaborations, The Light of Asia/Prem Sanyas, a Odysseus as his guest and helped send him on his way
silent film directed by Franz Osten and Himanshu Rai back to Ithaca (now Ithaki).
(1925), the opening sequence shows foreign tourists, who Gerald Durrell and his siblings were born in India to
then learn the story of Gautam Buddha, the Light of Asia. parents who were also born in India. Their father was
The 1960s saw the hippy trail and among many texts born in Dum Dum, Kolkata, and educated in what became
which engage with it are Gita Mehta’s Karma Cola (1979), a the IIT-Roorkee, before working for the Railways, while
wonderful look at the marketing of the mystical East, and their mother was born in Roorkee. Gerald was born in
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala’s novels and Merchant-Ivory film Jamshedpur (1925) and although he left India at a very
collaborations. This was followed by more backpackers as young age, he recalls his fascination with animals
the publication of the Lonely Planet guides from the 1970s began with a visit to a zoo in India. His older brother, the
opened up India to students on their vacations and gap writer Lawrence Durrell, was born in Jalandhar (1912)
years. Including me. and first went to school at St Joseph’s, North Point,
I like to visit places that are interesting and make Darjeeling. His book about his time in Corfu, Prospero’s
me think. India is always my favourite place as I have never Cell, tells a different story from Gerald Durrell’s books
been bored there in forty years of regular and frequent visits. and evokes the interwar years in a very different culture
It can be overstimulating at times as there is so much to from the England they left.
64 24 JULY 2023
Dev Anand and
Waheeda Rehman
in Guide
DEV ANAND AS THE EPONYMOUS GUIDE IN THE MOVIE GUIDE (1965) LOOSELY
BASED ON RK NARAYAN’S NOVEL, THE GUIDE (1958), SET THE NOVEL TREND IN THE
RISING TOURIST INDUSTRY IN RAJASTHAN AS PALACES BECAME HOTELS
My husband’s work took us to Norway which I first Munch Museum, which presents the artist Edvard
visited 23 years ago as a guest of the Stavanger Indian Munch’s work beyond just The Scream. Children dash
Film Festival. We attended a conference to commemorate around the building and there are special exhibition
the discovery of the leprosy bacillus 150 years ago by rooms for them to engage with as part of forging a
Gerhard-Henrik Armauer Hansen in Bergen. Many Norwegian identity.
people are unaware that leprosy, or Hansen’s Disease, is I am no historian of any of these places but as a casual
not yet eradicated. tourist, one comes away with such impressions of a
Bergen was also the home of Edvard Grieg, whose music place and realises that India, one of the world’s great
is key to the national identity of Norway. Norway had been civilisations with a vast and living history, can do much
part of the union of Denmark-Norway for almost three more to present its national culture to its citizens and the
hundred years, and then part of the United Kingdom of tourist. I’m always astonished how many people with
Sweden and Norway from 1814 to1905. Grieg is a major the means to do so, have not visited Ajanta and Ellora or
figure in the tradition of European classical music and Hampi. I have been surprised how few tourists, especially
his use of Norwegian folk music in his compositions foreign visitors, one sees in Gujarat, for example, at
made him one of the key figures in defining Norwegian magnificent sites such as Modhera and Pavagadh, let alone
culture. The role of the arts in shaping national cultures, in the big cities.
drawing on ancient traditions to form the modern and the It’s not just history or elite culture that one learns as
international are perhaps more familiar from literature a tourist but also a sense, however limited, of people.
and film. Grieg’s summer house in Bergen is a monument I remember the warm Corfiots with their sense of
to this national culture, and a timeline at Grieg’s house humour, and the reserved Norwegians. And of course, the
with the major events of his life above the timeline and wonderful varieties of food away from the international
the history of Norway below, makes this clear. Visitors can chains, so Venetian cichetti (snacks), or Corfiot mezze,
attend a concert and visit his house which is adapted from or Norwegian brown cheese. I have never tried to eat
traditional wooden house construction. whale which is readily available in Norway. I don’t like
In Oslo, the role of art is also celebrated in the massive too much adventure.

STARGAZER
ER
KAVEREE BAMZAI
AI
SUVINDER VICKY IRA KHAN SHUBHAM SARAF
À When Ira Found Agatsu Sangath trains community mental assigned to a high-profile murder
Not every star child wants to be in the health workers. It is not easy to run a of a young NRI man who has come
family business. Ira Khan, daughter centre as Khan does, especially given home to get married. Vicky plays
of Aamir Khan, has spent the last the gap in practice and policy in the a sub-inspector doing his best to
few years evolving a model whereby area of mental health in India, but catch the killer and young man’s
she can reach out to those with she is trying innovative ways. “The missing English friend, even as a
mental health issues before it gets human connection keeps you going. family unravels and his own ghosts
too late. All of 26, she has created a You can recover if you have hope,” come to haunt him. Vicky is grateful
community centre called the Agatsu she says. Khan believes everyone for the world that comes to him
Foundation in Mumbai where she is on the mental health spectrum, in Chandigarh where he has been
has so far reached out to 400 unique and that her lived experience can living most of his adult life, with
visitors and found like-minded benefit others. This is one area where his teacher-wife Gursharan and two
people with similar issues. The word the country could use more such daughters. “It’s too late now to move
Agatsu means victory over oneself in courageous star kids. to Mumbai,” he says, though
Japanese. The Agatsu Foundation is a he does visit the city for meetings.
place without judgement and which On the anvil is some work with
offers help and support, something À Patience Meets Talent Vishal Bhardwaj, a filmmaker he has
Khan says she was fortunate to have Since he appeared in Gurvinder long admired. Some dreams do come
in her family. Put into therapy when Singh’s Chauthi Koot in 2015, true if patience meets true talent.
she was 12, she continued it for three Suvinder Vicky has been a known
years because she was too polite to name in the indie film circles. The
say no, she laughs. But by the time Punjabi film was the first of its kind À Scene and Heard
she was graduating from school, she to premiere in the Un Certain Regard Shubham Saraf is a well-known
started to feel she was falling into section at the Cannes Film Festival name in the British TV industry,
depression. By the time Khan went in 2015. “I didn’t even know what often cast on South Asian roles
to college at the Utrecht University the red carpet was,” says Vicky, who requiring police officers, doctors or
in Amsterdam, she knew she was in did his postgraduate in theatre from PR advisers. He had a major role in
trouble. She would cry for eight hours Panjab University in Patiala. Apple TV+’s unfortunate Shantaram
a day, sleep for a long time or not sleep A devoted theatre actor, he had but his real star-making turn was
at all, not eat, not bathe. All these been in a few Punjabi films before on stage last year when he played
were signs of clinical depression. She Chauthi Koot but Ivan Ayr’s sombre Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin
wrote a letter to her mother, returned Meel Pathhar, or Milestone in 2020 Nathuram Godse in The Father and
home, tried to get to college again, put Vicky firmly on the path of indie the Assassin at the National Theatre.
but dropped out again. She has now stardom. He played a laconic truck So, it was good to see him in
realised that was not for her. Instead, driver who has to undertake one JioCinema’s Blind, shot in the UK,
Khan finds solace in helping people last trip for his boss. A few small starring Sonam Kapoor Ahuja. Saraf,
like her who may be groping in the roles in Bollywood films would have last seen as a young aristocrat on
dark. She has done a course in mental seen his talent being wasted until Indian screens in Mira Nair’s
health leadership at Sangath, the OTT discovered him. CAT and now A Suitable Boy on Netflix, plays
well-known NGO in Goa. Started by Kohrra, both on Netflix, will make it Sonam’s character’s unlikely ally,
the next chair of the Harvard Medical impossible for audiences to ignore and gives a good account of himself
School Department of Global Health him. In the forthcoming Kohrra, and his Hindi. Time for him to be cast
and Social Medicine, Dr Vikram Patel, he plays a troubled police officer in more work out of India too?
66 24 JULY 2023
The original ranking of the 50 Most Powerful
Women in Business & Economy. This includes
Indian leaders in business and Indian women
*Most Powerful Women in Business from the 2022 listing

who lead large corporations globally. The
Fortune India ranking is based on multiple
factors that include size and importance of the
business; health and direction of the business;
resume-longevity; runway ahead and social
and cultural influence.
ON STANDS AUGUST 2023

For business queries, contact: Arun Singh - Business Head
E-mail: [email protected]; Mobile: 9818164448
fortuneindia.com /fortuneind
neind @FortuneIndia
fortune.india /company/fortune-ind
ne-india

OPEN 24 July 2023

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

OPEN 24 July 2023

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

OPEN 24 July 2023

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

w w w.o p e n t h e m a g a z i n e .

RNI NO. DELENG/2009/27862

State Partner Technology Partner

Luxury Partner Gifting Partner Telecast Partner

fortuneindia.com //fortuneind @FortuneIndia /company/fortune-india fortune.india

LOCOMOTIF OPEN DIARY NOTEBOOK INSIDER GLOBALSUTRA OPEN ESSAY

38 BIGGER THAN A BACK OFFICE

46 THE EVIL EYE

Cover Photograph by Ashish Sharma

24 JULY 2023 www.openthemagazine.com 3

Rajeev Deshpande The political brawl between the Pawars shows

The Other K from Prague

24 JULY 2023 www.openthemagazine.com 7

A T THE TIME of writing, more

[ NO ONE MAKES AN ARGUMENT BETTER THAN US ]

openthemagazine.com openthemagazine openthemag

TO SUBSCRIBE, ‘OPENMAG’ to 9999800012

Available as an e-magazine for tablets,

The Arc of Alliance

24 JULY 2023 www.openthemagazine.com 11

PORTRAIT LAKSHYA SEN China’s Li Shifeng, in the ﬁnal. After winning

SHUTTLE STAR second, it might have appeared as though he was

T HIS YEAR WASN’T going Lakshya Sen’s way. After the

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF FAITH

24 JULY 2023 www.openthemagazine.com 13

JUDGING NCP SPLIT

T he film 72 Hoorain is attracting

24 JULY 2023 www.openthemagazine.com 15

Dealing with Overtourism

24 JULY 2023 www.openthemagazine.com 17

THE RAGE OF THE LIBERALS

THESE WERE EARLY SIGNS OF A MAJOR REALIGNMENT IN THE SUBCONTINENT’S POLITICS.

24 JULY 2023 www.openthemagazine.com 19

GETTY IMAGES Courtesy NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, LONDON

MOTILAL NEHRU WAS

IN MANY WAYS, TWO ACHIEVEMENTS OF

24 JULY 2023 www.openthemagazine.com 21

ALAMY GETTY IMAGES

IN THE BENGAL COUNCIL,

5VVM *V]LY 6MMLY +PZJV\U[ (KKP[PVUHS

TERMS & CONDITIONS: Ƴ67,5W\ISPZOLZPZZ\LZPUH`LHYƳ;OLJV]LYWYPJLVM^LLRS`PZZ\LPZ`Ƴ7SLHZLHSSV^^LLRZMVYWYVJLZZPUN`V\Y

;6:<):*90), WhatsApp ‘openmag’ to 9999800012CS Direct line: 0124-4561900

24 JULY 2023 www.openthemagazine.com 25

T’S AROUND NOON

24 JULY 2023 www.openthemagazine.com 29

Along with the rise

Devotees near the temple

17 AUGUST 2020 www.openthemagazine.com 33

Muslim World League

24 JULY 2023 www.openthemagazine.com 35

An ardent advocate of social reform and a key proponent of biaandelsewhere,supportingproselytism(inIslam,da’wahmeans

24 JULY 2023 www.openthemagazine.com 37

Illustration by SAURABH SINGH

24 JULY 2023 www.openthemagazine.com 41

Illustration by SAURABH SINGH

24 JULY 2023 www.openthemagazine.com 43

INDIA’S DIGITAL ECONOMY IS ESTIMATED TO tic personal information while making

digital arena. India’s digital economy is

[ NO ONE MAKES AN ARGUMENT BETTER THAN US ]

openthemagazine.com openthemagazine openthemag

5VVM *V]LY 6MMLY +PZJV\U[ (KKP[PVUHS

TERMS & CONDITIONS: Ƴ67,5W\ISPZOLZPZZ\LZPUH`LHYƳ;OLJV]LYWYPJLVM^LLRS`PZZ\LPZ`Ƴ7SLHZLHSSV^^LLRZMVYWYVJLZZPUN`V\Y

;6:<):*90), WhatsApp ‘openmag’ to 9999800012CS Direct line: 0124-4561900