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Volume 48-Number 21; Published on every Friday of Advance Week; Posted at LPC Delhi – RMS – Delhi – 110006 on Every Friday & Saturday; Total number of Pages 68 (including cover pages)
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MAR R IAGE

SAME SEX ,
SAME RIGHTS
AS HOMOSEXUAL COUPLES
SEEKING LEGAL SANCTION FOR
THEIR UNIONS FACE OPPOSITION,
THE SUPREME COURT LOOKS FOR
A BALANCED SOLUTION

Dutee Chand, national

sprint champion, with her
partner Monalisa Das
FROM THE

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
ndia has been remarkably progressive as a modern republic filmmaker Sridhar Rangayan, describing the existential situ-

I on the whole ensemble of themes relating to marriage and

love. As was ancient India. Its very first Parliament passed
the Special Marriage Act in 1954, giving its citizens the
right to marry across religion and caste. In 1971, the
Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act empowered all women
ation he and his writer-director partner Saagar Gupta are in,
puts it poignantly for INDIA TODAY: “Saagar has been my part-
ner for so many years, but he can’t be called a family member. As
of now, he is just a roommate.” In some cases, parental approval
will come only with legal sanction.
with rights over their bodies—half a century later, even ‘advanced
countries’ like the US are regressing on the abortion question. In
1978, the Supreme Court accorded legitimacy to live-in
relationships—a series of later judgments solidified this,
W hat are the difficulties in evolving a more enabling legal
framework? In our cover story this week, Executive Editor
Kaushik Deka and Deputy Editor Suhani Singh lay out the entire
culminating in a 2013 verdict that set out its parameters. And in panoply of questions. Social opposition is one aspect: personal
2018, India decriminalised homosexuality, joining a comity of laws flowing from theological codes are notoriously resistant to
130-odd nations. Now, the demand for same-sex marriage comes reform. But what the petitioners seek is only an amendment in the
as another litmus test for India’s legal-constitutional system. purely secular Special Marriage Act, which uses the gender-specif-
It’s an issue that directly affects the lives of only a tiny ic definition of ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ for conjugal partners. It would
sliver of the world’s most populous nation. But the freedoms stand to logic that a law that came into being as a piece of reform—
and legal security a minority enjoys are a gauge of the health to create a legally enshrined zone of liberty—fulfils itself by going
of a democracy. At the same time, the issue poses a vexing set one step further. But changing those definitions to a gender-neu-
of theoretical and practical dilemmas before the tral term like ‘spouse’ is no simple affair. It will have a
system. Of the two, the first is easier to resolve. cascading effect on a whole series of laws about conjugal
Our Constitution guarantees equal rights to all rights that necessarily use gender-specific terms, for
citizens. Thus, logically, same-sex couples seeking instance, ones that accord women legal protection. Also,
the right to legally sanctioned marriage calls for there are questions such as which party becomes liable
nothing more than the rights-based framework to to pay alimony in case of divorce.
be extended in specific ways. It is in the practical The debate touches upon another sensitive topic.
realm that the going gets challenging. Framing new laws is the province of the legislature,
To the Narendra Modi government’s credit, not the judiciary. At the same time, it’s very much
it did not raise any obstacle of non-acquiescence the judiciary’s remit to examine laws to see if they fit
before the Supreme Court in 2018 when gay sex was September 24, 2018 constitutional guarantees such as fundamental rights.
decriminalised. When the final histories are written, This formed the basis of the faceoff between the gov-
it would count as a momentous step and one that ernment and the Supreme Court till both sides wisely
surely ranks among its most liberal. With gay climbed down to a mode of cooperative negotiation.
marriage, the government has baulked and But progress is still a fraught path. We summarise
become the main objector to the batch of peti- the ‘for’ and ‘against’ arguments from a series of legal
tions seeking those rights. Even globally, one sees luminaries, including Supreme Court advocates and
attitudes narrowing on this issue: only 34 countries same-sex partners Menaka Guruswamy and Arund-
have legally sanctioned gay marriage. That list hati Katju, who say only absolute rights, rather than
contains Catholic-majority nations such as incremental tinkering, will be meaningful.
Ireland—60 per cent of whose population voted ‘yes’ Social biases cannot be legislated away by decree.
in a referendum—Portugal and Spain, and they have December 30, 2013 But it is not the law’s job to merely reflect and reinforce
chosen to go forth despite stiff opposition from the social attitudes. Were it the case, we’d still be with
Vatican. Yet, the advance guard is a noticeably slenderer pool. such abominations as sati, child marriage, dowry, female infan-
In Asia, only one country has taken this step. Does India have it ticide, triple talaq and female genital mutilation. The law does
in itself to join that democratic frontier? walk ahead of society. India also presents this paradox of its
An explanation at more fundamental levels must preface the ancient culture actually exhibiting a high degree of permissive-
answer to that. Firstly, why do same-sex couples seek the right to ness towards what many modern cultures—including its own—
marry like heterosexual couples when they already have the right see as transgressive practices. Mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik
to live together? Does it not subvert their own claim to represent points out, “Hindu mythology celebrates the diverse. There is a
an alternative to society’s often-regressive norms? Well, several space for everyone, provided it is based on dharma: compassion,
reasons play out at the complex, pragmatic level, from simple reciprocity, and social responsibility.” It’s all about being human
things like opening a joint account or having a joint rent lease to and humane. Star athlete Dutee Chand’s predicament is an apt
being able to enter one’s partner as a beneficiary in insurance one to frame it. When she took her partner Monalisa Das to a
policies or as a nominee in financial investments, to not facing hospital in Bhubaneswar, she could not sign the consent papers
income-tax queries if they transfer money to each other, to more as a spouse. “The doctors kept asking me who I was to her,” says
broad-based guarantees like having a legal shield against family Dutee. India has to answer that question.
violence, and thornier questions such as the rights to adoption,
inheritance and transfer of family property.
Above all, there’s the sheer symbolism. It would help if you
felt that you were not illegal but accepted. Mumbai-based
(Aroon Purie)
M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3 INDIA TODAY 3
 Sumitro Sircar (left)

28
with Pardeep Rana

C OV E R S T O RY
www.indiatoday.in
CHAIRMAN AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Aroon Purie
VICE CHAIRPERSON: Kalli Purie
GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER: Dinesh Bhatia
GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Raj Chengappa
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER: Manoj Sharma
GROUP CREATIVE EDITOR: Nilanjan Das; GROUP PHOTO EDITOR: Bandeep Singh
EDITOR (FEATURES): Kai Jabir Friese
MANAGING EDITORS: Sunil Menon, S. Sahaya Ranjit
EXECUTIVE EDITORS: M.G. Arun, Manisha Saroop, Kaushik Deka
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ART DEPARTMENT: Sanjay Piplani (Deputy Creative Editor);
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SAME SEX,
PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT: Harish Agarwal (Chief of Production),

SAME RIGHTS
HARDIK CHHABRA

Naveen Gupta (Chief Coordinator)

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERS (IMPACT)

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MANIPUR PG 5 A STUDY PG 59

NCP: STAYING Q&A WITH SUNNY

PAWAR PG 8 LEONE PG 66
Volume 48-Number 21; For the week
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TRINAMOOL: UP: HOW A CON-
GROWING NEW MAN FOOLED THE
ROOTS PG 9 POWERFUL PG 10

MP: FLIGHT OF BIHAR: CASTE

THE FAITHFUL PLAN ON HOLD
PG 16 PG 18

NORTHEAST

By Kaushik Deka

TORN FABRIC
OF SOCIETY
Houses set afire during
the Meitei-tribal violence
 in Imphal,
 May 4

TWITTER IMAGE @MangteC

UPFRONT THE ETHNIC DIVIDE
Meitei
(Mostly follow
Of the 60 assembly constituencies in Manipur, Hinduism and
Sanamahism)
40 seats are in the valley areas which comprise
24%
six districts—Imphal East, Imphal West, Thoubal, 53 % Naga (Mostly

T
he spectre of ethnic conflict
Bishnupur, Kakching and Kangkopi. The remaining Christian)
returned to haunt Manipur 20 seats are spread over the other 10 districts. 16 %

on May 3 when a solidarity The valley districts, dominated by the Meitei 7% Kuki (Mostly
Christian)
march by the All Tribal Stu- community, account for just over 11 per cent
of the geographical area. The hill districts are Others
dents’ Union of Manipur (ATSUM)
dominated by Naga and Kuki tribes Per cent of population
turned violent. Reports of killings,
rioting and destruction of property
soon emerged from several districts,
including Imphal East, Imphal West,
Kakching, Thoubal, Kangpokpi, Assam

AR
Tengnoupal and Jiribam, besides

NM
Tripura

M YA
Churachandpur. The first six districts
6
are dominated by the Meitei commu-
nity while mostly Kuki tribes live in
the other three. The army and Assam Mizoram
2
Rifles carried out flag marches, inter- Jiribam 1
net services were suspended, curfew Imphal
imposed and nearly 15,000 people 9
Thoubal
from affected areas were evacuated to
5 VIOLENCE-HIT
relief camps. The government claims
60 people were killed and over 200 3
4 8 DISTRICTS
injured; unofficial estimates of the toll 7 Moreh 1. Imphal East
are much higher. 2. Imphal West
Churachandpur 3. Bishnupur
The tribal solidarity march was
4. Kakching,
being held to voice opposition to a 5. Thoubal
Manipur High Court order of April 6. Kangpokpi
14 that asked the state government to 7. Churachandpur
send a recommendation to the Centre 8. Tengnoupal
for inclusion of the Meitei community 9. Jiribam
in the state list of Scheduled Tribes
(ST). The order—later held by the
Supreme Court to be beyond the remit
of the high court to issue—reignited
historical tensions between Meiteis, Geographically, Manipur can be ingredients for ethno-religious rivalry.
mostly resident in the saucer-shaped divided into the Imphal valley and the No wonder the tripartite conflict has
Imphal valley, and the state’s hill hill areas. Of Manipur’s 60 assembly a long history. The tribes claim the val-
tribes, primarily Nagas and Kukis. constituencies, 40 are packed into the ley people have cornered developmental
Unrest between Meiteis and Kukis six districts of the densely-populated works through political dominance,
had anyway been brewing from the valley—Imphal East and West, Thoubal, while Meiteis allege they are increas-
beginning of this year. As it precipi- Bishnupur, Kakching and Kangpokpi. ingly getting marginalised, with their
tated into a full-blown bloodbath, The remaining 20 are spread over the population down to 44 per cent in the
the political crisis deepened for Chief other 10 districts. The valley accounts 2011 Census from 59 per cent in 1951.
Minister N. Biren Singh, with vocifer- for just over 11 per cent of Manipur’s They also cannot buy land in hill areas
ous demands for his removal coming geographical area, but is home to 57 per (where tribals have exclusive rights).
from some of his own colleagues in the cent of the state’s total population of 2.8 A recent plea before the Manipur
BJP. Paolienlal Haokip, party MLA million (2011 Census)—the predomi- HC by the Meitei Tribe Union argued
from Saikot and a Kuki leader, accuses nantly Hindu Meitei community being that the community was recognised as
Biren, a Meitei, of being anti-Kuki—a the most numerous and emblematic a tribe before the merger of the princely
charge naturally rejected by the CM, among them. The hill districts, with state of Manipur with the Union of
who has survived past moves against over 88 per cent of the land, host just India in 1949, but lost the identity later.
him due to backing from the national 43 per cent of the population. Kukis to Only restoration of that badge will help
leadership. Last month, about a dozen the southwest, Nagas drawing the rest “preserve” the community, and save its
BJP MLAs, mostly Kukis, were in of the circle (see map)—and both with “ancestral land, tradition, culture and
Delhi to press for a change of the CM a strong Christian imprint. It’s a social language”, it argued. Tribal bodies see
or at least a rejig in the state cabinet. geography that already contains all the this as a ploy by Meiteis to take control

6 INDIA TODAY M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3
RELIGIOUS DIVIDE
Hindu
41%
Christian and Noney districts, claiming they fell Myanmar, Nepal and Bangladesh”
41% within the Churachandpur-Khoupum are marginalising “the indigenous
protected forest. “Around 19 per cent people of Manipur”. They have
Islam
of Manipur’s area is reserve forests and demanded the implementation of
8.4% we are evicting illegal encroachments the National Register of Citizens and
Sanamahism Others there,” Biren Singh had said then. The the setting up of a population com-
7.8% 1.8% move was also allegedly aimed at free- mission. They claim there has been
Per cent of population ing the state from the drug menace. In unnatural population growth in the
several hill areas, villagers illegally cul- hills, with a decadal growth rate of 40
GEOGRAPHICAL MEITEI
ARE IN
tivate poppy for extra income, and nar- per cent as against 16 per cent in the
DIVIDE MAJORITY cotics smuggling is rampant through
the porous border with Myanmar.
valley, as per the 2011 Census. Kukis
have been attacked as “immigrants”
Imphal East,
Imphal West, The twin accusations of being ‘il- or “foreigners”, the suggestion being
Thoubal, legal’ encroachers and drug smugglers, they are migrants from Myanmar.
Bishnupur, however, are seen by the tribals as a That sentiment intensified when
Kakching form of official ingress into their territo- Myanmarese refugees from the Kuki-
and
ry by a Meitei-dominated regime. Since Chin-Zomi-Mizo ethnic continuum,
Kangkopi
2017, when the BJP first came to power, sharing origins with the hill tribes of
most villages affected by evictions from Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland,
reserved forests have been Kuki. Many fled to these states following the
social observers naturally see racial unrest in that country. Meitei groups
NAGAS profiling here, even if government of- claim new villages are emerging in
ARE IN
MAJORITY ficials insist similar eviction drives were reserved forest lands, with a concomi-
Ukhrul, conducted in the Imphal valley too. tant spread of poppy.
KUKIS ARE IN Kamjong, Kuki leaders allege even legitimate

T
MAJORITY Tengnoupal, residents have been evicted and their he stage was set for fire, and a lit
Churachandpur, Senapati, churches razed. They also claim the match duly appeared. On March
Jiribam, Noney Tamenglong
and Pherzwal regime declared the Churachandpur- 10, violence erupted in Kang-
and Chandel
Khoupum Scheduled Hill Area a pokpi town during one of the rallies
protected forest without proper called in the hills by the newly formed
Graphic by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY notification. Under Article 371C of the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum
Constitution, specifically applicable (ITLF) to protest the evictions. The
to Manipur, they say the state govern- next day, the government withdrew
of the entire state. Tribal groups ment cannot make amendments to the from the Suspension of Operations
point out that the Meitei community, scope of the Indian Forest Act, 1927. (SoO) agreement with three tribal
besides its sprinkling of Brahmins, In an April 12 letter to state environm- militant outfits—the Kuki National
is already classified under Scheduled ent minister Biswajit Singh, Haokip Army (KNA), Zomi Revolutionary
Castes (SCs) or Other Backward questioned a revenue and forest survey Army (ZRA) and Kuki Revolution-
Classes (OBCs). They fear, not without in Churachandpur-Khoupum—in line ary Army (KRA)—saying they were
reason, that tribal status is only a with the allegation by Kuki outfits that supporting Myanmarese immigrants
Trojan horse to help open the gates to the government’s “illegal” modification and encouraging poppy cultivation.
the hills for the Meiteis. of norms is a ploy to grab tribal land. On April 28, in Churachandpur, a
That’s why the Biren Singh Meitei organisations, in turn, Kuki-dominated area 65 km south of
government’s drive against ‘illegal allege that “illegal immigrants from Imphal, a mob attacked an open gym
encroachers’ from forest areas in the that was to be inaugurated by the CM
hills became a trigger for the current next day—and the flames spread.
Meitei-Kuki strife. The eviction drive
in the K. Songjang village in Chura-
WHILE KUKIS SAY Biren Singh’s return to power last
year was attributed partly to his “Go to
chandpur on February 23—given THERE IS A PLOY TO Hills” policy, aimed at taking welfare
deeper legal gravity by the destruction GRAB THEIR LAND, benefits to the tribals. Now, he is at the
of large tracts of poppy cultivation in MEITEIS OFTEN receiving end of tribal outrage, and is
the hills—was a tipping point for the
tribals. In November 2022, a forest
ACCUSE THEM OF also seen to have allowed a law-and-
order crisis that saw 1,041 guns being
department notification derecognised BEING OUTSIDERS looted (only 214 were recovered) and
38 villages in the Churachandpur insurgents fanning the anarchy. „

M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3 INDIA TODAY 7
UPFRONT

NCP

STAYING
PAWAR
By Dhaval Kulkarni
BHUSHAN KOYANDE

S
harad Pawar is a political nation were trying to join the BJP. of most of the MLAs. “Those who were
cat with far more than nine Sources say Ajit and his camp, protesting in Mumbai were specifically
lives. His withdrawal of which includes a national leader who from (NCP state unit chief) Jayant
resignation on May 5 as the is said to be in the cross-hairs of the Patil’s camp. Barring a few MLAs like
president of the Nationalist Congress enforcement agencies, are eager to en- Patil and Jitendra Awhad, not many
Party (NCP) may be seen by many as sure that the NCP breaks away from the from the legislative wing of the party
only a temporary truce within the party, Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to went beyond the usual lip service to
but with that denouement, Pawar has ally with the BJP. Leaders of the MVA’s persuade Pawar to rethink his resigna-
shown who’s the boss. His surprise constituents admit that even if they stay tion,” he adds. The NCP leader, however,
announcement of retirement from the together, seat-sharing between three admits they will have to think twice
helm of the NCP had come only on May and more parties will be a challenge, before advocating any truck with the
2. That effectively put an unbridgeable especially in the assembly polls. BJP “considering the passions Pawar’s
moat around the fortress amid reports On his part, for the record, Pawar Sr resignation whipped up, especially after
that a faction led by Ajit Pawar, his too denies Ajit is likely to break ranks. he had underlined his role as a major
nephew and leader of the Opposition in He says Ajit’s approach revolves around opposition figure who can unite diverse
the Maharashtra assembly, was in talks “working on the field”—it’s just that “he parties to take on the BJP in 2024”.
with the BJP. NCP leaders and workers is not media-friendly”. This, he claimed, There are indications that Pawar Sr
went into an emotional three-day pro- led to “gairsamaj” (misunderstanding). may finally have to strike a truce with
test pleading for the return of the party “… there is nothing like this (Ajit joining his ambitious nephew and cede some
patriarch. And when he did come full hands with the BJP),” asserted Pawar, ground to him to prevent any erosion in
circle, it had ring-fenced the NCP. speaking to the media. And his political the ranks. While Pawar’s daughter and
However, despite Pawar’s show of authority is such that mere words from Baramati MP Supriya Sule may get a
strength, the elephants in the room him can become a silken web. prominent national role, Ajit may have
continue to linger. Has Ajit shelved “Pawar saheb played the game a greater say in the party affairs in Ma-
any plans to align with the BJP or only well... He has killed several birds with harashtra. Sources claim that the role
kept them on the backburner for now? a stone by showing that he commands of Patil, a seven-term MLA, with whom
Though Ajit outright denies any covert the loyalty of the rank and file and by Ajit is said to have a running battle,
talks, senior BJP leader and Union isolating Ajit dada,” says an NCP leader. may be circumscribed—he may even be
minister Narayan Rane has said Ajit However, another leader who is closer asked to make way for Ajit’s nominee.
was on the “seemaresha” (border) of the to Ajit points out that Pawar cannot “Regardless of Pawar withdrawing
BJP. Rane claims even the NCP leaders afford to alienate his nephew beyond a his resignation, it is almost sure that
imploring Pawar to take back his resig- point as the latter commands the loyalty the NCP will split at some point in the

8 INDIA TODAY M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3
 TR INAMOOL

THE PATRIARCH STRIKES BACK

Sharad Pawar withdrawing his GROWING
NEW ROOTS
resignation as NCP chief at a press
conference in Mumbai

future. Ajit has the necessary numbers

in the legislature party as the BJP high By Romita Datta
command is monitoring this opera-

F
tion... Pawar’s resignation was born out or years now, Trinamool minister Partha Chatterjee in the
of a sense of frustration and uneasi- Congress general secre- alleged teachers’ recruitment scam
ness at the machinations of those who tary Abhishek Banerjee, in July 2022 and party heavy-
wanted to go with the BJP,” says a senior West Bengal chief minister weight Anubrata Mondal in the
leader of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Bala- Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and cattle smuggling racket in August.
saheb Thackeray). But he adds that even chosen heir as party chief, has been A cabinet rejig saw fresh faces,
if the NCP split down the middle, the trying to fill out his role as future several of them close to Abhishek.
octogenarian Pawar still has the energy supremo by spearheading a kind As popular outrage mounted over
and spunk to organise a fightback. of ethical cleansing. Target: the the scams as well as a string of
A close aide of the Pawars feels high-handed leaders operating with crimes allegedly connected to party
Ajit is unlikely to join the BJP per se, impunity despite all-pervasive alle- workers, Abhishek promised real
but is eager to ensure the NCP aligns gations of corruption sullying their change, real fast. Posters appeared
itself that way as a party. “Ajit dada’s name—and, in turn, the party’s. In
this, the 35-year-old crossed swords
with TMC veterans, even dared to ENDORSING THE YOUNG
disagree with Mamata. His cru- Mamata and Abhishek
DESPITE PAWAR’S sade continued in the aftermath Banerjee at the Jan Sanjog
of the arrests of former education Yatra rally in Malda, May 4
SHOW OF STRENGTH,
THE ELEPHANTS IN
THE ROOM HAVE NOT
DISAPPEARED

aggressive temperament and style of

functioning will not gel with the BJP
leadership. He will not be comfortable
with anyone dictating terms to him...
He also cannot afford to split from
Pawar as he, Pawar and Sule jointly
control a network of cooperatives and
institutions and also share a common
electoral catchment,” he explains. But
the perception of an anti-incumbency
sentiment against the Shinde-Fadnavis
regime has forced the BJP to look for
new allies. And Ajit is a “soft target”.
“Pawar bowled a googly to stop Ajit
and to show his command over the
NCP. He also underlined his national
role, with Rahul Gandhi, M.K. Stalin,
Sitaram Yechury et al requesting him to
reconsider his move,” says senior editor
Nikhil Wagle. At the very least, he feels,
a diminished Ajit is likely to reconsider
ANI

his moves to align with the BJP. „

M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3 INDIA TODAY 9
 UPFRONT

in Kolkata with the legend: “New democratic exercise, eschew-

Trinamool in six months, like peo- ing appointment through the
ple want.” That was seven months usual top-down approach, would
ago. Now, with panchayat polls due enable the selection of honest
soon and the 2024 general election people—like TMC panchayat
a year down the road, Abhishek is members Abhijit Dolabera and
imparting some fresh impetus to his wife Manju, who refused to
his drive. And, faced with a wors- accept houses under the Pradhan
ening public perception, fanned Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY),
by central agencies making newer even though they live in a thatched
arrests in the jobs scam, includ- house. That TMC has candidates
ing that of TMC MLAs, the party who are ready to work selflessly is
is forced to accept the need for a what Abhishek plans to project.
course correction. CPI(M) central committee
With this objective in mind, member Rabin Deb has a different
Abhishek has embarked on a two- take on Abhishek’s motives. “He is
month-long ‘Jan Sanjog Yatra’ only going around to assure demor-
across the state, from Cooch Behar alised party members that they
in the north to Kakdwip in the need not worry, the administration
is with them to see them through
the panchayat polls,” he says. BJP
ABHISHEK’S YATRA national vice-president Dilip
ENCOURAGES Ghosh is not impressed either.
“He’s on a tour to test the mood of
THE DEMOCRATIC rural Bengal vis-à-vis the political
SELECTION OF By Prashant Srivastava
crisis the party is going through. I
PANCHAYAT POLL don’t think it will have any impact

A
on the electorate,” he says. Lutyens’ Delhi address, re-
CANDIDATES
The bigger challenges for tired bureaucrats and army
Abhishek, though, are internal. His officers on the advisory
south. Travelling in a motorcade, effort to bring about a culture of board of his foundation,
Abhishek has been stopping by accountability is naturally encoun- social media profiles crammed with
gram panchayat offices and visit- tering resistance, but he’s not back- pictures with the who’s who, going
ing ordinary villagers, lending an ing down. “If someone thinks he’ll right up to Prime Minister Narendra
ear to their grievances, be it about contest as an independent candi- Modi. Meet Sanjay Rai ‘Sherpuria’, the
health, roads or the non-receipt of date after being denied a ticket, he businessman arrested in Kanpur on
government benefits. This, ordi- can do so, but the party’s doors will April 26, on charges of cheating and
narily, would be enough to shore be shut forever to him,” he said at a forgery. Those phrases, in fact, seem
up the party’s image. However, rally, revealing the complex nature inadequate given the scale of his black
Abhishek’s goal goes beyond this. and scope of his endeavour. ops. Compared to the intricate web of
The party is in the process of select- Abhishek is walking the extra deceit Sherpuria wove, even the con
ing over 73,000 candidates for the mile to be seen as a leader with a pulled by Gujarat-based “PMO man”
three-tier (gram panchayat, pan- grassroots connect, to counter the Kiran Patel, who took the Jammu and
chayat samiti and zilla parishad) perception that he had power deliv- Kashmir administration for a ride for
local body polls. One of the yatra’s ered to him on a platter, or that he months posing as a senior official in the
main aims, therefore, is to ensure leads a flamboyant lifestyle. That’s prime minister’s office—before being
the selection of deserving candi- why the yatra has the blessings of arrested from a luxury hotel in Sri-
dates through secret ballots. This is Mamata herself. The CM made nagar in March—pales in comparison.
being done to usher in intra-party an appearance at a yatra rally in Sherpuria’s victims span the whole
democracy and allay mounting Malda and said, “My next genera- gradient. From industrialists, a promi-
anger over allegedly heavy-handed tion of leaders is ready. On the one nent Delhi-based one among whom
and corrupt TMC panchayat lead- hand, Bobby (Firhad Hakim) and “donated” Rs 6 crore to his Youth Rural
ers and their lavish lifestyles. others are there, on the other hand, Entrepreneur Foundation (YREF), to
Abhishek hopes that the Abhishek and his team,” she said. „ at least 15,000 youngsters, who were

10 INDIA TODAY M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3
 MASTER MANIPULATOR
Sanjay Rai ‘Sherpuria’ speaking at the
National Dairy Mela in Karnal, Apr. 11

energy and food processing (his firms

have a combined liability to the tune of
Rs 350 crore, says a source in the STF).
It was after the 2014 Lok Sabha
election that Sherpuria decided to shift
base to Delhi and UP. This is where the
story gets really intriguing. Appar-
ently using his father’s old contacts in
the army, he managed to rent a part
of an upscale property on Lodhi Road
in Delhi and started to claim that he
resided in a “bungalow behind Race
Course” to show his proximity to the
PMO—7, Race Course Road (renamed
Lok Kalyan Marg in 2016) being the
official residence of the PM. He even
hired a PR firm to make fan pages on
social media platforms showing him
in pictures with the likes of RSS chief
Mohan Bhagwat, PM Modi, Union
ministers Giriraj Singh, Dharmendra
Pradhan and Sarbananda Sonowal,
to name a few. He also started moving
around with private security in tow to
CRIME
show off his “VVIP status”.
But how did Sherpuria manage

FOOLING THE to get his pictures clicked with India’s

power elite? “He often sponsored events
of media houses,” says the STF source,

POWERFUL
“who would then call some MP or min-
ister as chief guest, giving him an op-
portunity to share the stage with them.”
Sherpuria also authored a few books,
which he managed to get released by
duped of sums as paltry as Rs 2,500 to The initial details are a bit sketchy. eminent personalities, the pictures
Rs 5,000 for illusory government jobs. Born in Assam, where his father was making their way to his fan pages.
Not to mention senior bureaucrats, who reportedly running an army canteen, According to sources, he used to
often approached him with requests to Sherpuria moved to Gujarat in 1999. hold ‘pujas’ at his Lodhi Road residence
“put in a good word” with the high-ups Starting as a waiter, he “fell in love” and invite politicians and bureau-
for favourable transfers and postings. with the restaurant owner’s daughter, crats. He would “trap” the govern-
If Sherpuria’s long list of cons is and soon married into the wealthy ment officials by sending them lavish
dramatic—including for the fact that and “well-connected” family. That, presents. During meetings, he would
he, too, committed those by faking ac- according to sources, is how he came drop prominent names, thus flaunting
cess to the PMO—so is the story of his in contact with Bharatiya Janata Party his fake PMO connection. Whenever
rise from waiting tables at a restaurant (BJP) leaders and a bureaucrat searched
to launching a string of companies in other politicians for information about
Ahmedabad to then hobnobbing with in Gujarat even Faking access him online, they would
Delhi’s power elite and getting feted as he scaled up on to the PMO, come across his pic-
as a “social entrepreneur”. Indeed, the the business front, Sherpuria duped tures alongside the top
script, pieced together from the FIR taking over some industrialists, ministers and leaders,
lodged by the Uttar Pradesh Police and of his wife’s firms enough to convince
sources in its special task force (STF), and getting into
babus and even them about his claims.
seems readymade for Bollywood. petrochemicals, jobless youths, Donating money for
pocketing crores
UPFRONT

A CENTRAL AGENCY
WAS KEEPING AN
EYE ON SHERPURIA’S
ACTIVITIES FOR
MONTHS AND HAD
ALERTED THE UP
POLICE TOO

political events helped him expand

his network, and he soon established
himself as a high-profile “fixer”. (A
former Union minister, now holding
a top constitutional post, is said to
MOHAMMED ALEEMUDDIN

have received Rs 25 lakh from Rai to

boost his poll campaign ahead of the
2019 Lok Sabha election.)
In 2019, Sherpuria launched
YREF in Ghazipur, UP, with the
purported aim of funding entre-
preneurial initiatives that would
generate rural jobs—based on the
Modi government’s flagship scheme
M U S I P RO J E C T/ T E L A N G A N A
Aatmanirbhar Bharat. Of course,
as sources paint it, YREF was just a
front for receiving money from his
targets, which was then pumped into
over 50 “start-ups”—shell companies
whose documents glittered with his TO REVIVE
A RIVER
newly acquired friends as directors.
So what proved to be this master
manipulator’s undoing? A central
agency, says a source, had been keep-
ing an eye on his suspicious activities By Amarnath K. Menon
for months and had alerted the UP
Police. This led to the arrest of a close

W
aide, Kashif, from Noida. Following hat the Cooum is in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal
his interrogation, the STF arrested to Chennai or the Corporation (GHMC) area—some
Sherpuria in Kanpur, while he was Sabarmati to Ahmed- 800 million gallons a day—and that
travelling from Delhi to Ghazipur. abad, the Musi is to has reduced the river to nothing
And, eventually, en route to a politi- Telangana capital Hyderabad. Rising more than a 20-feet-wide drain for
cal debut from Ghazipur. in Vikarabad, west of the city, the most of its course through the city.
Senior police officials in UP are river travels for about 250 kilometres That’s not counting the industrial
refraining from going on record, before it joins the Krishna at Vada- waste, including chemical pollutants
and BJP leaders are keeping a pally near Suryapet in Telangana, from the pharma industry.
diplomatic silence too, given the from where it wends its way across to Plans to cleanse the river
high-profile faces cropping up on Andhra Pradesh, and ultimately emp- and beautify its environs first
the Sherpuria storyboard. The En- ties itself into the Bay of Bengal. came up 17 years ago, in 2006, in
forcement Directorate, meanwhile, Like most rivers in Indian cities, united Andhra Pradesh. Successive
is probing the money-laundering over the years the Musi has also be- governments ignored the project
angle, suggest reports. There’s more come a destination for 94 per cent of till, post-state division, K. Chan-
drama left in this story for sure. „ the sewage water from the 54 drains drashekar Rao took it up in his first

1 2 INDIA TODAY M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3
 ing were taken up on the edges of years, debris and garbage have been
the Musi, at Nagole, Chaderghat and dumped into the river to create land
Muslim Jung bridge. Trash barriers pockets that can then be sold as real es-
were installed at 10 places to collect tate. The state road transport corpora-
the floating waste from the river, hy- tion has put up a bus terminal and the
draulic excavators dredged the silt, Hyderabad metro rail corporation too
and spraying and fogging operations has encroached on such ‘reclamations’.
were launched to quell the mosquito Both commercial accommodation and
menace and the stench. slums have come up with the conniv-
In March 2022, K.T. Rama ance of government departments.
Rao, KCR’s son and state municipal Extracting a sylvan landscape out
administration minister, announced of all that is a real ask—that’s why
in the state assembly that action had there’s no dearth of sceptics. Not only
been initiated to engage consultants do they say the ideas mostly remain on
who would prepare a comprehen- paper, their reading of the plan itself
sive master development plan and a is that it’s superficially idealistic and
detailed project report. This would lacks a grounding in what’s actually
include riverfront development, needed. Environmental policy con-
A RIVER RUNS
sprucing up roads on either side sultant Narasimha Reddy Donthi, for
THROUGH IT A of the river and building skyways instance, feels KCR’s grand plans for
stretch of the Musi where roads were not possible. the Musi will be unrealisable unless
river in Hyderabad The beautification would not come the city’s water and sewage systems
cheap. The 14 bridges to be con- are separated, and the flow of indus-
structed across the river would cost trial effluents stopped. He points to
Rs 545 crore, the skyway Rs 4,240 the need to instal an adequate number
800 MN GALLONS crore, the four radial roads Rs 2,354 of effluent treatment plants and relo-
A DAY OF SEWAGE crore, the entire project adding up to
a staggering Rs 8,973 crore.
cating slums from hazardous areas. G.
Kishan Reddy, Union tourism minister
WATER FLOWS However, poised at the brink of and Secunderabad MP, adds: “Only
INTO THE MUSI IN another assembly election, nothing some cosmetic changes have been initi-
HYDERABAD will come in the way of KCR’s grand ated to impress voters. That’s why both
plan—not even the criticism that it is banks of the river see flooding year
a drain on the exchequer. “We want after year following heavy rains.”
to make sure that it becomes another The state, in turn, accuses the Cen-
landmark development in the city,” tre of duplicity, being generous to other
term as chief minister (2014-2018) by KTR had assured the legislature river-cleaning projects like the Ganga,
setting up the Musi River Develop- last year. The minister also said the but not the Musi. “Grants promised
ment Corporation Limited (MRDCL) government was working out the under the Jal Shakti Abhiyan and by
on March 25, 2017. It was meant to be modalities to mobilise finances. the National River Conservation Direc-
the nodal agency to execute the chief Seen in totality, it’s a complex torate have not come,” says an MRDC
minister’s plan. project. The Musi development plan official. Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS)
Work happened in fits and starts. aims to clean the river, beautify the MLA D. Sudheer Reddy, who com-
It began with a drone survey, using riverscape and ease transporta- pleted his three-year tenure as MRDC
digital 3-D technology, to map the to- tion around it. The government has chairman in February, says “KCR has
pography of the riverfront—both low- planned sewage treatment plants spent over Rs 40 crore from state funds
lying banks and elevated areas along (STPs) at different locations costing to restore the Musi’s glory. Had it not
the stretch proposed for development. Rs 3,866 crore to ensure only 100 been for financial constraints, the proj-
This was a span of 55 km from Gandi- per cent treated water is released ect would have progressed fast.” State
pet to Outer Ring Road East (47 km) into the river. Another 36 decen- Congress president A. Revanth Reddy
and Himayatsagar to Bapughat (8 tralised STPs are being added to begs to differ. “Given KCR’s ways,” he
km) in the city. The river boundary the existing 20 to control the stench claims, “the Musi project will just be
and the buffer zone were demarcated, and check pollutants. About 10,000 used as a money-spinner for the BRS in
and beautification works such as encroachments on the riverbed have an election year.” The river, clearly, has
etching out walkways and landscap- been identified for removal. Over the to wash a lot of dirty linen. „

M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3 INDIA TODAY 1 3
 TAGGED UPFRONT
Arikomban being
transported to the Periyar
wildlife sanctuary

shifted to a truck with the help of four

kumkis (trained elephants used to sub-
due wild ones), transported to Periyar
and released in the Mullakudy zone.
The GPS signals showed Arikomban
tracing a trail to the Meghamalai forest
area in Tamil Nadu, some 40 km from
where he was released. There are worries
that it might return to Chinnakanal—
relocated wild tuskers have been known
to return to their home range after tra-

AFP
versing hundreds of miles—but wildlife
experts say it is unlikely. “Periyar has
K ER A L A / ROGU E EL EPH A N T plenty of attractions for Arikomban:
thick vegetation, sumptuous water and
a large number of female elephants. It

A JUMBO-SIZED may take 2-3 months for it to adapt to

the new habitat. Also, the lack of forest
cover between Periyar and Chinnakanal

PROBLEM will be a deterrent factor,” says Dr E.K.

Easwaran, former chief forest veterinary
surgeon. A report submitted to the HC
By Jeemon Jacob after the mission says Arikomban is also
partially blind in the right eye and has
injured the lower part of his trunk. “The

I
n a dramatic, 13-hour operation stretching to the Silent Valley national wounds were treated and the elephant
on April 29, a rogue elephant that park. Local protests, including from was found fit to be released,” it states.
had terrorised the Chinnakanal Nenmara MLA K. Babu, stalled the Meanwhile, news coming in sug-
area of Kerala’s Idukki district for move, and the Supreme Court refused gests the tusker is giving sleepless nights
close to 20 years was finally captured to interfere. Finally, the high court to the Tamil Nadu forest department
and transported to the Periyar Tiger endorsed the forest department’s plan now. Alerts were issued after it raided
Reserve. A 35-year-old wild male to relocate the elephant to the Periyar a banana plantation and destroyed a
tusker with an unnatural fondness for reserve, some 100 km away. department jeep. A 120-member rapid
rice grains—hence the name ‘A rikom- The operation area in Chinnakanal task force is monitoring its movements.
ban’ (literally: Rice Tusker)—it had was duly cordoned off and a prohibi- Tamil Nadu has banned tourists in the
gained notoriety for its targeted raids tion order issued. “Operation Arikom- area till further orders.
on human habitation. Ration shops, ban was challenging and risky due to Since 2023 dawned, Arikomban has
with their stocks of PDS rice and other the terrain and the presence of other off and on been in the news in Kerala—
edibles, were a particular favourite. wild tuskers,” chief veterinary sur- constantly so for the past 2-3 weeks,
Over the years, it had also killed 18 geon Dr Arun Zachariah, who headed with even global news outlets like the
people and destroyed 100-odd houses. the operation, told INDIA TODAY. A BBC covering ‘Operation Arikomban’.
Local politicians had been under 150-member task force sweated it out And now there are reports that Badusha
considerable public pressure to put before the jumbo was tranquilised, Cinemas, a leading production com-
the fetters on Arikomban. Finally, fixed with a satellite GPS-VHF collar, pany, has announced a movie on him. A
when the government acquiesced in teaser poster released on May 6 featured
March to capturing it, animal lovers a female elephant with a cub. The story
approached the Kerala High Court THE ROGUE JUMBO’S apparently revolves around Arikomban
against the move to keep the tusker in TRANSLOCATION WAS losing his mother when he was just two
captivity and got an interim stay issued years old, becoming the notorious rogue,
A SUCCESS. BUT NOW
on March 23. The court then directed and ending with the translocation mis-
the state forest department to find a
HE HAS WANDERED sion where he walks off into the jungle,
new habitat for Arikomban. An expert INTO TAMIL NADU, finally at peace. The real-life Arikom-
panel suggested the Parambikulam GIVING THE FOREST ban’s story doesn’t seem to be taking a
Tiger Reserve, in a continuous swathe DEPT THERE A JOLT similar trajectory. Not yet, at least. „

14 INDIA TODAY M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3
 UPFRONT

M A D H YA P R A D E S H stop Joshi’s exit by state in-charge

Muralidhar Rao and Chief Minister

FLIGHT OF THE FAITHFUL

Shivraj Singh Chouhan went in vain.
On the day he made the shift,
Joshi used the dais to berate his
former party and its leaders. “I have
no demand for a Congress ticket. I
was touched by the concern shown by
Kamal Nathji when my father passed
away. The BJP has shown disrespect
towards my father,” said Joshi. He also
carried a picture of his late father to
the event. Among other charges Joshi
levelled was that he was labelled a
‘terrorist’ by BJP leaders in Dewas, his
home district. Sources say Joshi is not
likely to be fielded from Hatpipliya but
from neighbouring Khategaon. This
would ensure that Congress leaders in
Hatpipliya are not adversely affected.
CHANGING SIDES
The circumstances that led Joshi
Deepak Joshi (garlanded)
to join the Congress are valid for a
joining the Congress in the
number of other BJP leaders too. Will
presence of Kamal Nath
ANI

they take Joshi’s route too? After the

March 2020 crop of 22 MLAs—most
of them loyalists of now-Union min-
By Rahul Noronha
ister Scindia—three more Congress
MLAs had joined the BJP in the

I
t was a political earthquake of sorts DEEPAK JOSHI’S EXIT following weeks. Keeping with the ‘un-
when, in 2020, Jyotiraditya Scindia derstanding’, all 25 were fielded as BJP
led a coup that felled the Kamal SCRIPT WAS SEALED candidates in byelections in November
Nath government and enabled the IN 2020 WHEN 25 2020, and 18 of them won. This meant
formation of the BJP government in the BJP was saddled with some dead
Madhya Pradesh. The true gauge of its
CONGRESS MLAs weight: 18 old-timers who had lost in
intensity is that its aftershocks are still DEFECTED TO THE BJP 2018 and then been left in the lurch.
being felt now—even if in reverse. With This disaffected bunch largely
assembly election just about six months adopted a wait-and-watch policy,
away, the realignment of political loyal- despite their political survival being at
ties has begun. And the Congress is stake. Besides Joshi, the disgruntled
the first to draw blood, that too with a to the BJP. Among them was Manoj leaders include former ministers Rus-
prize catch. Senior BJP leader Deepak Chaudhary, who had defeated Joshi in tam Singh, Gauri Shankar Shejwar
Joshi is not just a three-term MLA and Hatpipliya in the 2018 assembly poll. (whose son unsuccessfully contested
minister, but no less than the son of late It was in March 2020 that he crossed the 2018 election), Lal Singh Arya, Jai
chief minister Kailash Joshi—with deep over, one among the first batch of 22 Bhan Singh Pawaiya and former MLA
roots in the Jana Sangh and the BJP. migrant MLAs. Then he contested the Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat, the last of
On May 6, he joined the Congress in byelection to fill the vacancy caused whom even spoke out against the party
Bhopal in the presence of state Congress by his own defection—this time as a decision to take in Rajvardhan Singh
chief Kamal Nath. The day also saw BJP candidate—and won again. It is Dattigaon from the Congress and field
another BJP leader, former BSP MLA likely that Chaudhary will be given the him in the 2020 polls. Currently a
Radhelal Baghel, changing sides. BJP ticket again in 2023. That would minister, Dattigaon is likely to get the
Joshi’s flight to the Congress was have left Joshi with the sour end of the BJP ticket again, leaving Shekhawat
not sudden. In fact, the script for his bargain. He had made his displeasure with few options. There were others
move was sealed in 2020 when 25 very clear to top state leaders but got too who took a call in 2020 itself—
MLAs had defected from the Congress no assurance. Last-ditch efforts to Ajab Singh Kushwaha and Satish

16 INDIA TODAY M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3
UPFRONT

Sikarwar, who joined the Congress and

secured their seats in the bypolls.
With a pedigreed leader like Joshi
quitting ahead of polls, the state BJP
would seem to have failed to establish
a dialogue within its own home. “The
BJP would like us to believe those leav-
ing the party have been marginalised
and cannot damage its prospects. This
may be true in some cases, but an exit
from any party has a psychological
impact on the voter. None of them has
come across as greedy leaders,” says
senior journalist N.K. Singh.
Amid Joshi’s exit, BJP leader

THE CIRCUMSTANCES
THAT LED JOSHI TO JOIN
THE CONGRESS ARE
VALID FOR A NUMBER OF
OTHER BJP LEADERS TOO
BIHAR

Kailash Vijayvargiya, who has been

DON’T COUNT
looking for a new role, also weighed in.
“There are issues within the BJP that
are being addressed. The Congress

ON CASTE
doesn’t have it in itself to defeat the
BJP in Madhya Pradesh. But yes, if we
don’t address the issues in the organ-
isation, the BJP will defeat the BJP.”
There are others who managed to By Amitabh Srivastava
bend the BJP to their will. In the April
2021 Damoh bypoll, Congress import

C
Rahul Lodhi was fielded as the BJP hief Minister Nitish ing the survey as an attempt at a
candidate as per the ‘understanding’. Kumar’s ambitious ‘census’—the exclusive domain of
The Congress won hands down, due to caste survey has hit a Parliament—the court said the
the perceived role of Siddharth Malai- serious legal roadblock. state does not have the legislative
ya, son of ex-minister Jayant Malaiya— On May 4, the Patna High Court competence to conduct it. The 2011
ironically, the BJP man who lost to put an interim stay on the state census had collected caste data but
Lodhi in 2018 when he was fighting government’s ongoing caste-wise its results were never revealed. The
from the other side. In 2021, the BJP enumeration of its population just present state data—collected under
suspended Siddharth for fielding his 10 days before the May 15 deadline 17 heads, one being ‘caste’—has
own candidates in urban body polls. for all its field work to be wrapped been similarly ordered to be pre-
This April, the party took him back, up. The first round of the survey served, secured and not be shared.
implying a more pragmatic approach was carried out between January 7 The high court stay may have
to prevent a vote split. Just as well. For, and 21; the second had started on far-reaching political implications,
in the season of shifting allegiances, the April 15 and nearly 80 per cent of spilling way beyond Bihar. As the
freight of ideology tends to be light. „ the data is said to be in. Describ- state government was inching

18 INDIA TODAY M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3
 THE PROPONENTS the idea of proportional distribution.
CM Nitish Kumar with his That investment would, logically, lead to
deputy Tejashwi Yadav
an electoral payback. If large caste-based
blocs of beneficiaries opt to back their
benefactors, CM Nitish and deputy CM
Bihar. It was at his prodding that the Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD can hope to
state legislature unanimously passed a gain an advantage over the BJP.
resolution in February 2019 and again The timing of the caste count is no
in February 2020. When the Centre less significant. Had the high court not
refused consent in July 2021, Nitish stayed it, the data was expected to have
led an all-party delegation to Prime gone public by July—just about nine
Minister Narendra Modi that August months before the 2024 Lok Sabha elec-
to press for the demand. The Bihar CM tion. And any polarisation around caste
links the exercise to his welfare plan, would have been crucial for a state that
saying it would allow his government to elects 40 members to the Lok Sabha.
expand caste-based affirmative action “It is not difficult to understand why
in meaningful ways. He argues that the JD(U) and RJD, parties that claim
the caste survey will help identify the to represent the marginalised commu-
most marginalised sections of society, nities, have been the biggest proponents
enabling the state to formulate targeted of a caste census. This will help them
and tailor-made welfare programmes. strengthen their caste identity politics
Of course, ‘welfare’ does not fully whereas a party like the BJP, which is
describe what is at its core a profoundly often accused of practising religious
political measure—count both realpoli- polarisation and hyper-nationalism
ANI

tik and empowerment politics there. Bi- and derives electoral strength from the
har’s push for the survey gathered bigger homogeneity of the Hindus, may stand
momentum in August 2022 when Nit- weakened,” says Dr Nawal Kishore
Choudhary, retired head of the econom-
ics department at Patna University.
closer to the finish line, other opponents While the RJD—which relies on
of the BJP, including Rahul Gandhi the Yadav-Muslim axis—had failed to
(Congress), M.K. Stalin (DMK) and THE PATNA HC win a single Lok Sabha seat in the 2019
Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi Party) had HAS RULED THAT general election, Nitish’s JD(U) had
joined the chorus backing the exercise.
THE STATE DOES performed much below its expectations
Caste enumeration, the next logical step in the 2020 assembly polls. Clearly,
for Mandal politics, had emerged as a NOT HAVE THE both leaders need to revive their caste
tool to counter the BJP’s strategy of uni- LEGISLATIVE magic in order to optimally realise their
fying splintered backward communities electoral potential in Bihar. Nitish has
under the larger Hindutva umbrella.
COMPETENCE TO 30 per cent extremely backward castes
The stay has put the brakes, albeit tem- CONDUCT A (EBCs) and 10 per cent Mahadalits as
porarily, on the Opposition’s pitch. CASTE SURVEY the nucleus of his electoral strength
Having fixed July 3 for the next whereas RJD chief Lalu Yadav and his
hearing, the high court on May 9 re- son Tejashwi have the backing of 14 per
jected the state government’s fresh plea cent Yadavs and 18 per cent Muslims,
for an early hearing. The government, ish dumped the BJP and joined hands respectively. But recent election results
according to sources, believes the finer with the RJD and Congress, along with have suggested that these leaders
points in the 31-page order have the ring four other parties, to form the govern- have failed to retain the voters of their
of a final adjudication on the issue, and ment. Caste enumeration holds the perceived constituencies in the face of
hence, is weighing legal options. Gov- potential to provide their anti-Hindutva the umbrella politics of Hindutva. This
ernment sources, however, believe they politics with deeper roots in the social is a situation that applies across India.
can move the Supreme Court only after soil. First, it offers the state government As the Nitish government prepares its
the high court’s final verdict. a chance to demonstrate its commit- response in the high court, therefore, the
Over the years, Nitish has been the ment to securing benefits for margin- outcome of the legal battle would be of
biggest proponent of a caste count in alised social groups in accordance with interest to multiple players. „

M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3 INDIA TODAY 19

 UPFRONT

GL ASSHOUSE

THE YOUNG LOOK

T
he BJP, it seems, is scouting for younger
faces to include in Uttarakhand chief
minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s cabinet.
The 47-year-old CM has already done several
rounds of Delhi to get the high command’s

Illustration by SIDDHANT JUMDE

clearance for four vacancies and a few other
political appointments, but matters have not
moved ahead. Now, with the Karnataka assembly
election over, sources say the saffron party top
leadership may finalise the new faces for the
hill state. Speculation is rife that it may not just
be a filling of vacancies but a full-blown cabinet
reshuffle. The purported focus on ‘youth’,
though, has left three 60-plus seniors in the
Dhami cabinet a worried lot.

MINDING SIDE EFFECTS

THE COPS
ihar chief T amil Nadu BJP chief K. Annamalai’s
strident anti-corruption campaign
B minister Nitish against the ruling DMK is showing signs
of recoil on its Dravidian party ally, the
Kumar has never been
AIADMK. A fallout of the joust has been
a fan of surprise raids.
DMK chief and CM M.K. Stalin turning up
But after 17 years on the
the vigilance heat against five ministers
job, perhaps he feels it’s time to spring a of the former E.K. Palaniswami-led WHAT’S IN A
surprise or two. His target? The state’s AIADMK government. Sources in the COLOUR?
police stations. What has apparently got state directorate of vigilance and anti-
olours in West Bengal
the CM’s goat are reports that many cops,
including some senior ones, are working
corruption say old cases are being revi-
ved and, in a bid to blunt the C have strong political
from home, communicating only via BJP’s attacks, there may overtones. Birbhum
cellphones. Addressing a police function even be arrests. But even strongman and Trinamool
in Patna on May 4, Nitish even hinted this could be to the BJP’s Congress (TMC) leader
at doing surprise checks at the thanas gain: sources say it could Anubrata Mondal, now
himself. The force is still mulling over his bargain in the alliance for lodged in Tihar jail in a
words; many feel it’s just a warning and half of the state’s 39 Lok cow smuggling case, is
the CM may not take action. Or will he? Sabha seats in 2024. known for wearing kurtas
in varying shades of green,
reflecting his party’s colours.
Last week, though, he
Missing in Action sprang a surprise with an
orange-coloured T-shirt

O nce a party stalwart, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) general

secretary Satish Mishra’s public appearances have become
rare these days. He was also M.I.A. in the campaign for the recent
in a social media post. The
63-year-old neta looked
at peace, leaving the party
local body polls in Uttar Pradesh. While party insiders blame put it on
bosses a tad worried.
his poor health, all is apparently not well between him and BSP
Was the change in colour
chief Mayawati. Sources close to Mishra say he is exploring
a sign that Mondal was
“other options” after being sidelined in the
wake of the disastrous assembly polls last leaning saffronward? Have
year. The ruling BJP could be an option, but the central investigating
the saffron leadership is tight-lipped on this. agencies finally got to him?

Kaushik Deka with Anilesh S. Mahajan,

Amitabh Srivastava, Romita Datta, Amarnath
K. Menon and Prashant Srivastava
ANI
UPFRONT

BOOKS The value of Tellis’s book is that apart

from narrating nuclear history, he does a

SOUTH ASIA’S NEW superb, detailed contemporary analysis of

each country’s nuclear capabilities—from

NUKE ASYMMETRY
nuclear doctrines, weapons designs and
inventories to operational posture and
force employment options. His book acts
Raj Chengappa both as a lucid primer and an authentic
and updated reality check for experts.
Many of Tellis’s conclusions are con-
troversial, but important. He believes that
Chinese nuclear superiority over India is
STRIKING
ASYMMETRIES: so pronounced, especially after Xi Jinping
Nuclear Transitions has accelerated and broadened the range
in Southern Asia and lethality of its arsenal, that India
by Ashley J. Tellis should focus on increasing its capacity to
CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR conduct nuke strikes on key Chinese cities
INTERNATIONAL PEACE to limit nuclear threats from Beijing. He
318 pages
deduces that India’s 1998 hydrogen bomb
test was a failure (India’s atomic estab-
lishment disagrees) and this has crimped

T
wenty-five years after India were reluctant nuclear powers. Mao Ze- Delhi’s ability to project a credible deter-
and Pakistan conducted a dong, China’s supreme leader, had fa- rence against Chinese military adventur-
series of nuclear tests in May mously disparaged nuclear weapons as ism. His advocacy that India, France and
1998 and declared themselves “paper tigers” but came to understand the US, or INFRUS as he calls it, enter
as nuclear weapon states, it’s a good time their importance, describing them as into a compact similar to what Australia,
for stocktaking. There is no better expert “defensive weapons because we don’t the UK and the US did under the AUKUS
than Ashley J. Tellis, senior fellow at the want to be bullied by others”. In India, in 2021, is an eye-opener. If AUKUS is in-
Carnegie Endowment for International Jawaharlal Nehru was against making tended by the US to equip Australia with
Peace, Washington DC, to do that. Tellis nukes but sanctioned the infrastructure nuclear submarine capability, INFRUS
has been involved in the evolving nuclear for developing them. The go-ahead was could see France help India develop a
scenario in the greater South Asian given by Lal Bahadur Shastri a year similar capability, thus enabling the US to
region for over four decades. His book, after China exploded its first atomic balance Chinese power.
Striking Asymmetries: Nuclear Transi- bomb in 1964, as a deterrent against On the India-Pakistan dyad, Tellis
tions in Southern Asia, goes beyond the the country’s military capability. To this concludes that while the growth of India’s
nuclear dyad of India and Pakistan and day, China and India hold on to a vision nuclear forces has been slow, Pakistan has
rightly brings in the China factor. For of global nuclear abolition, maintaining moved with alacrity, expanding not only
it was China, not Pakistan, that drove what they call a credible minimum de- its strategic weapons but also tactical or
India into developing its own nuclear terrence and follow a policy of no-first battlefield nukes. Next to China, Pakistan
arsenal after its defeat in 1962. By jux- use. In contrast, Pakistan’s rationale for has emerged as the second most capable
taposing the two dyads, Tellis reveals fas- having nukes was primarily to deter a nuclear power in South Asia, pushing In-
cinating parallels. As he puts it, in each conventional military attack by India. dia to third place in the regional nuclear
case, the weaker state—Pakistan vis-à- In doing so, Pakistan has a policy of sweepstakes. But he believes this has so
vis India and India vis-à-vis China—is “first use, but at the last resort”, which far not significantly affected the deterre-
far more concerned about the stronger has emboldened it into indulging in nce balance in China or Pakistan’s favour
one, yet the stronger entity is compelled egregious acts of nuclear-shadowed because India’s modest nuclear reserves
to keep the weaker in its strategic view. terrorism against India. are sufficient to protect Delhi’s interest
In both dyads, the disputes involve in all plausible threat scenarios involving
struggle over territory, besides ideologi- these countries. Tellis says the perception
cal antagonisms and a quest for parity or AFTER CHINA, PAKISTAN of nuclear weapons as essentially political
primacy. These get further complicated instruments rather than war-fighting
by the larger geopolitical contest between IS THE SECOND MOST ones in all three countries produces a
China and Russia vis-à-vis the US. CAPABLE NUCLEAR POWER measure of strategic stability that is more
While tracing the history of the robust than their expanding arsenals
Chinese and Indian quest for nuclear
IN SOUTH ASIA, PUSHING would suggest. While that is reassuring,
weapons, Tellis points out how both INDIA TO THIRD PLACE India must never be complacent. „

2 2 INDIA TODAY M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3
 COVER STORY / SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

SAME SEX,
SAME RIGHTS
As homoosex ua l cou ple s se ek le ga l s a nc tion for
their u n io
on s , t hey e ncou nte r so c io
o - p olitical
oppositt io
on . T he ba l l i s now in
n t he co
ou ntry’s
apex x cou r t to f i nd a ba la nce d solut ion
By KAUSHIK DEKA and SUHANI SINGH
Photograph by BANDEEP SINGH

CASE STUDY

‘THERE ARE THINGS WE

CAN’T DO TOGETHER’

A
diti and legal parents to their sexual orientation
ADITI ANAND, 40 Susan son. Like many other cannot adopt a child
Filmmaker and
have built couples, one of them as a single parent.
entrepreneur (top)
a life for themselves adopted their son as That’s one of the rea-
SUSAN DIAS, 35 that’s enriched by a single parent. But sons why the couple
Entrepreneur and love, companion- now it violates the decided to fight for
Director, Native Brews ship, equality, an adoption norm issued their rights and file
affectionate dog and last year by India’s a petition. “We don’t
Aditi and Susan live an adopted two- Central Adoption want our son to be
in Gurugram
and-a-half-year-old Resource Author- embarrassed when
son. Yet, there are ity (CARA), which he grows up,” they
so many things that states that two un- say. “We want to raise
they can’t do togeth- married individuals our child with respect
er, including being irrespective of their and dignity.”

2 8 INDIA TODAY M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3
 We don’t want
our son to be
embarrassed
when he grows up.
We want to raise
him with respect
and dignity

—ADITI ANAND
& SUSAN DIAS
 SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

December 29, 2021. That’s the day Nagpur-based psychia-

trist Surabhi Mitra, 31, and operations executive Paromita
Mukherjee, 27, decided to embark on a life-changing jour-
ney. Dressed in matching leather jackets, and riding a bike,
they set out for Hotel Wildernest on the outskirts of the city.
There were floating lanterns in the sky, Mukherjee’s favourite
food—white sauce pasta—on the menu and the duo’s selected
tracks—Dua Lipa’s ‘Levitating’ and Coldplay’s ‘Something
Just Like This’—playing in the background. After two years of
dating, the two women had finally come to the realisation that
the time was perfect for “a ring commitment ceremony”. Join-
ing them on this special day were their friends and colleagues.
The absence of Mukherjee’s parents was compensated for by
the presence of Mitra’s father. The following week, photos
from their ceremony went viral. “We gradually realised that
the hatred in this world was not as much as we had assumed
it to be,” Mitra says of the public reaction.
VAIBHAV JAIN, 36
The two are now dreaming of a beach wedding, and hope
that the Supreme Court will soon confer legitimacy on it. The National outreach director,
AAPI Victory Fund (left)
legal recognition would mean the world to the couple and per-
haps also earn them the approval of Mukherjee’s parents. This PAR AG VIJAY MEHTA, 46
is exactly what motivated them to join the Integrated Network Managing director at
for Sexual Minorities (INFOSEM) and, with four others, to file JPMorgan Chase & Co.
a petition in the apex court in the first week of April seeking
legal recognition for same-sex marriages.

3 0 INDIA TODAY M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3
 VIEWPOINT

KIREN RIJIJU
Union Law Minister, on
‘WE’RE LEFT the five-judge Constitu-
tion bench hearing peti-
VULNERABLE’ tions seeking legalisation
of same-sex marriages

V
aibhav and Parag got
legally married in the
US in 2017. While Vaib-
hav is an Indian citizen, Parag
is an Overseas Citizen of India
(OCI). Yet, the couple couldn’t
get their marriage registered
in India. “An officer at the In-
dian consulate in New York
admitted that it was because
“If five wise men
we were a gay couple,” says
decide something
Parag. This is despite the fact
that is correct ac-
that the Foreign Marriage Act,
1969, requires India to recog-
cording to them, I
nise marriages that are legally cannot make any
adverse comment
against them. But
When you love your if people do not
country, it’s called want it, you cannot
impose things on
patriotism. When your
them”
country loves you,
that’s called justice.
We look forward to
getting a little more UNION
GOVERNMENT’S
justice and a lot AFFIDAVIT
more love in the Supreme Court
— PAR AG VIJAY MEHTA
“The legislative
understanding of
solemnised abroad. “We have
a two-month-old daughter.
marriage in the
We’re about to have a son.... Indian statutory
Without the protection of the and personal law
law, we are all vulnerable,” says regime refers
Parag. And that’s why they only to marriage
moved the Delhi HC in 2020. between a
As a child, Vaibhav was bul- biological man
lied in school and even by a few and a biological
relatives. Now, he wants to be woman and any
part of the movement trying to interference
help LGBTQIA+ people in India. would cause
Vaibhav is from Delhi “The government shouldn’t complete havoc
and Parag’s ancestral work to exclude millions of its with the delicate
family is from Gujarat. people from the very institu- balance of
The couple now lives tions we celebrate above all
together in Arlington,
personal laws
others: marriage and family,” in the country
Virginia, US
says Parag. and in accepted
societal values”

M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3 INDIA TODAY 31

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

SRIDH A R R AN G AYA N, 61
Filmmaker (top)

SA AG AR G UP TA , 54
Writer-director

Sridhar and Saagar have been living together in Mumbai since 1994

‘WE STILL CAN’T BE

MANGESH KOYANDE
C A L L E D A FA M I LY ’

F
or Sridhar and we are not able to sign at
Saagar, join- hospitals for being re-
ing the India sponsible for each other,”
Network for Sexual says Sridhar. “Saagar has
Minorities (INFOSEM) in been my partner for so
the petition filed at the many years, but he can’t Before the 2018
Supreme Court on April be called a family mem- verdict, people said
13 was a step that came ber. As of now, he is just the cultural fabric joint bank account, the
from the harsh realisa- a roommate.” Even rent- two instead set up a
tion that after nearly ing a house in Mumbai
will be torn. But production company,
three decades of living hasn’t been easy for the nothing happened. Solaris Pictures, which
together, they still can’t two, with the general Similarly, if we get became a joint ven-
take critical decisions perception being that marriage rights, ture. Sridhar also runs
when it comes to matters they are “bachelors” nothing will change the popular KASHISH
related to each other’s seeking accommoda- for other people Mumbai International
health. “If I or he falls ill, tion. Unable to open a Queer Film Festival.
— SRIDHAR R ANG AYAN

It isn’t just the need for parental or consenting adults of the same gender, tered union. It made it easier for inter-
societal approval that has triggered the thereby diluting the colonial-era Section faith and inter-caste couples outside
spate of petitions in the past four years 377 of the Indian Penal Code. the scope of social or religious codes.
in two high courts in the country and The current petitions by same-sex

T
the apex court, seeking recognition of he impetus to the quest for couples claim that the SMA, in its pres-
same-sex marriages in India. The lack equality by same-sex couples ent form, violates Articles 14 and 21 of
of recognition, they claim, amounts to came on November 25, 2022, the Constitution, pertaining to the right
violation of their constitutional rights as when the top court took note of two pe- to equality and right of life and liberty,
Indian citizens and also hampers their titions—one filed by Hyderabad-based respectively, as it discriminates between
ability to navigate what noted jurist Ab- event manager Supriyo Chakraborty, same-sex couples and those of the oppo-
hishek Manu Singhvi calls “civic, secular 33, and his IT professional partner site sex, denying the former legal rights
irritants”, which could be as basic as Abhay Dang, 36, and the other by the as well as the social recognition and
filing an insurance form or submit- Delhi-based Parth Phiroze Mehrotra, status arising out of marriage. Almost
ting proof of residence. When national 36, editor in a publishing house, and all the petitions argue on the same lines,
sprinting champion Dutee Chand, 27, Uday Raj Anand, 35, a businessman— challenging secular marriage laws such
for instance, took her partner Monalisa seeking that the provisions of the as the SMA and the Foreigners Mar-
Das, 23, to a hospital in Bhubaneswar, Special Marriage Act (SMA), 1954, also riage Act (FMA), 1969, which regulates
she could not sign the required papers cover LGBTIQA+ couples (Lesbian, marriages registered outside India or
as a spouse. “The doctors kept asking Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Indian citizens marrying foreigners,
me who I was to her,” says Chand, who Queer, Asexual and others). The SMA though one petition has also sought
found the courage to come out following was introduced to enable couples who amendment to the Hindu Marriage
the landmark Supreme Court judgment could not marry under their respective Act, 1955. “Our plea,” says Singhvi, who
of 2018 that decriminalised sex between personal laws to enter a civil or regis- is one of the lawyers arguing the case,

32 INDIA TODAY M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3
 VIEWPOINT
SUR A BHI MITR A , 31
Psychiatrist (left) Paromita is from Kolkata and ABHISHEK
Surabhi from Nagpur, where the MANU SINGHVI
PA ROMITA MUK HER JEE , 27 couple is currently based. They
Senior jurist and Congress
Operations executive live with Surabhi’s father, Kajal
Rajya Sabha member, ap-
pearing for the petitioners

‘ M Y PA R E N T S W E R E W O R R I E D ’

W
hen tal disorder herself. He it is a marriage,” says
Surabhi was worried that they Surabhi.
and would try to defame In April, Surabhi
Paromita exchanged me,” recalls Surabhi. and Paromita joined
rings during their en- While their fami- INFOSEM and two
gagement in Nagpur lies have now accepted other Mumbai-based
in December 2021, the the relationship, couples to seek mar- “The current interpre-
only family member they were concerned riage equality. tation of the Special
in attendance was about the duo going Marriage Act, 1954,
Surabhi’s father. His public with it. For denies same-sex
support came after Paromita’s parents, couples rights be-
much concern about it’s important that Homosexuality cause of sexual orien-
the impact it would same-sex mar- is not a disease. tation, an ascriptive
have on his daughter’s riages have legal Homophobia is. characteristic over
which they have no
career. “My father was sanction whenever But it has a cure: control. We are not
worried that people the two decide to proper education, asking the court to
would point fingers tie the knot. “Only
knowledge and strike down the law
and say that the psy- if same-sex mar- but to interpret it in a
chiatrist they believed riage is legalised
awareness
way that is non-dis-
in so much has a men- will they agree that — SUR ABHI MITR A criminatory”

KAPIL SIBAL
Former Union minister and
lawyer, opposing same-
sex marriage in court

“The marriage of
heterosexual couples
has the acceptance
on all three levels—by
individuals, family
and society. If you
want to equate
same-sex unions to
heterosexual ones,
you need all the
elements that go into
heterosexual unions
being recognised”

MANDAR DEODHAR M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3 INDIA TODAY 3 3

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

“has two components. One, that the SMA

and FMA be interpreted in a Constitution-
compliant manner to include same-sex
marriages by reading gender-specific
words such as ‘male’, ‘female’, ‘widow’ and
‘widower’ as ‘person’ or ‘spouse’. And that
the notice and objections regime under the
SMA be declared unconstitutional.”
Taking note of the petitions, including
those pending before the different high
courts, a bench led by the Chief Justice of
India, D.Y. Chandrachud, first brought all
the cases dealing with same-sex marriage
to the Supreme Court, then constituted
a five-judge constitutional bench that
included Justices S.K. Kaul, S. Ravindra
Bhat, P.S. Narasimha and Hima Kohli
besides the CJI himself, and began hearing
the issue from April 18 onwards. However,
while hearing the arguments, the apex
ANI

court made it clear it would not go into

the personal and religious laws governing
marriages and asked the lawyers involved
to restrict their arguments to the SMA.
The CJI also said the court was playing a THE KEY ARGUMENTS
“dialogic role” in order to build consensus
and move towards an “equal future”.
QUESTION
An Equal Marriage
That equal future is important for petition-
OF GENDER
ers Chakraborty and Dang, not just to pub-

T
licly declare their sexual orientation sans he Supreme Court Special Marriage Act says
fear or shame—they are already married saw a gripping debate man and woman, the very
with the consent of their respective par- over the concept of notion of a man and a woman
ents—but to earn recognition and dignity gender when senior lawyer is not an absolute based
in their everyday lives. The law bestows and Abhishek Manu Singhvi said on genitals,” the CJI added.
protects a host of rights, privileges and ob- that ‘same-sex marriage’ was Mehta also pointed out a
ligations on married heterosexual couples, a narrow term and if the court practical difficulty in recog-
be it automatic rights to inheritance, main- were to grant marriage equal- nising same-sex marriages
tenance and tax benefits or for the adoption ity to gay couples, it should be as there are many shades of
of children. Married couples also enjoy for consenting adults across gender within the LGBTQIA+
several employment privileges, both in the the “bodily gender and sex spectrum. “There are people
private and the government space. spectrum”. Solicitor Gen- who refuse to identify [as]
Chakraborty and Dang, however, eral Tushar Mehta countered any gender. How will the law
do not have these rights, which impacts Singhvi, saying the “biological recognise them—as man or
almost every aspect of their lives. For gender was the gender of a woman? There is a category
instance, even though Dang owns a house person”. CJI D.Y. Chandrachud that says gender will depend
in the city, Chakraborty cannot use his immediately intervened to say on mood swings. What their
address as proof of residence for himself, a there was no “absolute con- gender would be in a given
privilege readily accorded to heterosexual cept of a man or an absolute situation, nobody knows,”
married couples, by which one spouse can concept of a woman”. “It is Mehta added. This discourse
use the address of the other as proof of not the question of what your invited sharp reactions on
residence. The same problem arises when genitals are. It is far more social media and a flurry of
Chakraborty and Dang want to make complex... So, even when the memes.

3 4 INDIA TODAY M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3
 UNITED COLOURS
The LGBTQIA+ com-
munity takes out a pride
parade in New Delhi

‘URBAN
ELITIST’ ISSUE?

T
he Centre, in its the litigants also pointed being abandoned by her
affidavit, told the out how a large number family, moving to slums,
Supreme Court of people who fled home begging on the streets
that same-sex marriage because of their families and taking to prostitu-
was an “urban elitist disapproving of their tion to survive. Against
concept” far removed same-sex relationship all odds, she earned her
from the social ethos were from small towns. degree in management
of the country and did Like, the litigants Kajal studies, went on to
not represent the view from Muktsar in Punjab, work with the UNDP and
of the “entire popula- her partner Bhavna then the multinational
tion” of the nation. But from Bahadurgarh in KPMG. Now an inclu-
the CJI said same-sex Haryana, and Rituparna sion officer at Pernod
marriages could not Borah, who is from one Ricard, she still can’t
be described thus just of the remotest villages find accommodation in a
because more people in Assam. Zainab Patel, decent housing society
from cities were coming who underwent a gen- in Mumbai because of
out of the closet. Sever- der-affirming surgery her trans identity. “Yes,
al lawyers representing in 2016 and identifies I am an ‘urban elitist’ liv-
as a woman, recalls ing in a slum,” she says.

CORE ELEMENTS THE

OF MARRIAGE COMMON
LINK
D
uring the hearing, Chief
Justice of India D.Y.
Chandrachud observed that D.Y. Chandrachud ing legal sanction for same-sex
the core elements of marriage are Chief Justice of India marriages in India. Justice
protected by constitutional values. Chandrachud was also part of

O
“One, marriage itself postulates two n September 6, 2018, the nine-judge Supreme Court
individuals to cohabit. Two, marriage a five-judge bench of bench that on August 24, 2017
accompanies with it the existence of the Supreme Court recognised privacy as a fun-
family. Three, marriage has procre- partially struck down Section damental right guaranteed by
ation as a very important ingredient. 377 of the Indian Penal Code, the Constitution. Known as the
Though we must be cognisant that the decriminalising same-sex Puttaswamy case, this judg-
validity of marriage is not conditional relations between consenting ment has also been invoked in
on it. Four, marriage is exclusionary to adults. It meant LGBT individu- several PILs to support their
all others… Five, [the] social accep- als could engage in consensual cause. Almost all PILs also
tance of existence of marriage, [that intercourse in private spaces refer to the top court’s judg-
is] social acceptance is not confined without inviting any legal ac- ment in Shafin Jahan vs Asokan
to that individual but how society tion. Headed by the then chief K.M. (March 8, 2018), which
looks at that institution.” While admit- justice Dipak Misra, the bench upheld an individual’s right to
ting that the State has a legitimate comprised, among others, marry a person of one’s choice
interest in regulating marriage, the Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, as well as the right to choose
CJI said the next issue to examine is the current CJI, who is now a religion. The author of this
whether heterosexuality heading the five-judge bench particular judgment? Justice
is a core element of marriage. hearing a bunch of PILs seek- Chandrachud yet again.

M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3 INDIA TODAY 3 5
 SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

A B H AY D A N G , 36
Software Development Manager
at an MNC (left)

SUPRIYO
C H A K R A B O R T Y, 33
Event manager and wedding planner

While Abhay is from Delhi, Supriyo

hails from Ashok Nagar, a small town
near Kolkata. They now live together
MOHAMMED ALEEMUDDIN

in Hyderabad

‘WE’RE
STRANGERS
IN THE EYES
O F L AW ’

financial investments. There is no

legal provision for them to inherit each WHERE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IS LEGAL
other’s assets. “If any two people want Norway Finland Slovenia
Denmark
to share their lives, will their property Netherlands Sweden Austria
to someone of their sexual or any other Iceland
choice, why should it interest the rest of
the family members? How that person Canada UK
is legally recognised is a mere technical- Ireland
USA
ity that our learned courts can iron out Andorra
Mexico
rather than forcing citizens of a progres- Portugal
Cuba Taiwan
Spain Malta
sive nation to live in sheer hypocrisy,” Costa Rica Brazil
Colombia France
says Aman Nath, writer, hotelier and
Ecuador Belgium
architectural restorer. He was one of the
Chile Luxembourg
litigants in the 2018 case that decrimi-
Argentina Switzerland South New
nalised same-sex relationships between
Uruguay Germany Africa Australia Zealand
consenting adults. Same-sex marriages
are recognised in 34 countries of the
world now (see accompanying graphic). In 2000, the Netherlands Out of the 34 countries in
One of the major rights that same- became the first country to the world that recognise
sex couples are demanding is the one legalise same-sex marriage. same-sex marriage, 10 have
to adopt children and bring them up as In Asia, Taiwan was the done so via court rulings,
part of a family. Current rules allow one first country to recognise and the rest through
partner to adopt a child as a single par-
such unions in 2019 legislation
ent but do not allow the other partner
to have any legal right over the child.
Last year, the government curtailed
even that right when in an office memo- adoptive parent who is in a live-in tion of Child Rights has also opposed
randum on June 16, 2022, the Central relationship with a partner will not adoption by same-sex couples, saying
Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) be considered eligible to adopt a child. in a submission to the apex court that
laid down that a single prospective The National Commission for Protec- “allowing adoption to same-sex couples

3 6 INDIA TODAY M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3
 S
upriyo and Ab- The Covid-19 pandemic There is an indignity attached
hay got married came as a bigger jolt.
to the non-recognition of our
in 2021 in Hyder- During the second wave
abad, the city where they in 2021, when both Su-
relationship. We are treated as
first met. The decision to priyo and Abhay got second-class citizens
tie the knot and seek le- Covid, they realised — ABHAY DANG
gal recognition for their that they “could not just
marriage was triggered continue living together
by a series of incidents in the same way”. The
that made them feel dis- simplest of documents, supported the marriage, exercise their right to
criminated against. say, a health insurance not having legal sanction marry the person of their
The duo had first policy, became difficult denies the couple their choice. The couple also
started living together to obtain. basic rights. doesn’t agree with the
in 2013, and a year later, Making financial in- The two thus moved government’s argument
Abhay bought a house. vestments was also dif- the Supreme Court in that same-sex relation-
Problems started when ficult. They can’t inherit November 2022, seek- ships are an elitist con-
they wanted to update each other’s assets. “We ing legal sanction for cept, pointing out how
Supriyo’s residential ad- may be the most impor- their marriage. Their nearly 300 guests turned
dress, which proved to be tant to each other, but in argument is that same- up to celebrate their re-
difficult as he didn’t have the eyes of law, we are sex couples have been lationship at their wed-
documents to prove his strangers,” says Abhay. discriminated against ding reception in small-
relationship with Abhay. Though their parents by not being allowed to town Ashok Nagar.

is akin to endangering the children”. is exclusionary in a discriminatory fash- fected, requiring 182 amendments and
Same-sex parents, they argued, may ion,” says Singhvi. “Same-sex couples are involving 19 ministries,” he pointed out.
have limited exposure to traditional denied rights because of sexual orienta- Solicitor-general Tushar Mehta said that
gender role models, which in turn could tion, an ascriptive characteristic over the court is dealing with a very complex
limit the children’s exposure and affect which they have no control.” subject that can have a profound social
the overall growth of their personality. The legal hurdle is only the first of impact. It’s essentially a matter for soci-
Even in the tiny, sylvan hamlet of the many that lie in the path of homo- ety and people to decide, he argued, and
Chowki in Himachal’s Kangra district, sexual couples’ quest for marital legiti- it should therefore be left to Parliament,
social media content operator Pardeep macy. There is also the opposition from which is the direct representative of the
Rana, 34, and public relations official sections of the political class and society. people, to legislate on whether or not to
Sumitro Sircar, 32, are hoping that the grant recognition to same-sex marriag-
five lordships of the Supreme Court
legalise same-sex marriage. More than
Politically Incorrect es. “The acceptance has to come from
within society,” he added. The Congress-
marriage itself, they hope it will help The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union ruled Rajasthan government, too, has
them adopt a child. Rana’s mother can’t government is hostile to the idea of le- submitted its opposition to same-sex
wait for the day. “She says, ‘I don’t know galising same-sex marriages, unwilling marriages in court.
how long I will survive’, so she wants us even to yield ground to the apex court to The Union government’s funda-
to adopt soon so that she can play with adjudicate the issue. Union home min- mental opposition to same-sex marriage
her grandchild,” says Rana. ister Amit Shah as well as law minister comes from how the Indian family is un-
In demanding legality for same-sex Kiren Rijiju have, on separate occasions, derstood in India: as essentially a unit
marriage, the petitioners essentially questioned the apex court’s jurisdiction arising out of the union of a biological
want the Supreme Court to move for- regarding these petitions, arguing that man and woman. It has in its petition
ward on its 2018 judgment decrimina- making laws is the exclusive domain of stated that the “legislative understand-
lising same-sex relationships, when it the legislature. Party lines, in fact, often ing of marriage in the Indian statutory
held that the LGBTIQA+ community, blur on the issue. Sasmit Patra, Rajya and personal law regime” refers only to
like all other citizens, was entitled to Sabha MP from the Biju Janata Dal marriage between a biological man and
the full range of constitutional rights, and also a lawyer, said in court that only woman, and any interference “would
including choice of partner. “A Constitu- Parliament should have the jurisdic- cause complete havoc in the delicate bal-
tion-compliant interpretation is neces- tion to deal with a matter that has huge ance of personal laws in the country and
sary because the current interpretation implications. “Forty-two laws will be af- in accepted societal values”.

M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3 INDIA TODAY 37

 SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

Arguing that heterosexual marriage convicted of raping another person. The echoed the government argument,
is “foundational to both the existence wife is also entitled to file for divorce decrying the Supreme Court taking up
and continuance of the State”, the gover- in any jurisdiction of her convenience, the matter and stating that any tinker-
nment in the apex court contended that not the husband. If the law is read in a ing with the fundamental social struc-
“there exists a legitimate State interest gender-neutral way, such gender-specif- ture must come through the legislative
in limiting the legal recognition of mar- ic rights might disappear, it is alleged. process. “It would be catastrophic to
riage to persons of opposite sexes only”. Marriages are also linked to other laws overhaul something as fundamental
It refused to put same-sex unions on such as the IPC, adoption and inheri- as the concept of marriage,” read the
par with heterosexual marriages, saying tance rules, the government argued. If apex bar body’s statement. In March,
same-sex individuals living together as same-sex marriages are legalised with- 21 retired high court judges wrote an
a couple is not the same as how a family out related laws having the framework open letter to the Supreme Court say-
unit, comprising a man, woman and to accommodate the development, there ing allowing same-sex marriage would
their children, is organised in India. will be chaos, it was argued. have a “devastating impact on children,
The Union government also rejected family and society”. The judges said
the demand to make SMA gender-neu- that it could increase the incidence of
tral. It would lead to multiple admin-
Social Pressures HIV-AIDS in India and “negatively
istrative complications, Mehta argued. Opposition to equal rights for same-sex affect the psychological and emotional
For instance, under the SMA, the wife partners has also come from within the development of children raised by
has the right to claim alimony. She legal fraternity as well as political and same-sex couples”.
can demand divorce if the husband is societal quarters. In an unusual state- The RSS, the ideological fountain-
ment on April 23, the head of the ruling BJP, has also drawn
Bar Council of India a line at legalising same-sex marriages,

‘RUR AL INDIA IS OFTEN

MORE PROGRESSIVE’

R
ituparna and Family violence is
Amrita have been a major roadblock
seeing each other to achieving justice,
since 2016. The couple found
acceptance from almost
equality and
everyone in their families, freedom for LGBTQ+
except Rituparna’s brother. individuals
“It’s my super-educated
INDUNIBH SAIKIA

—RITUPARNA BOR AH
brother and his wife, a
former law professor, who
have been a source of for legal safeguards form
harassment for us,” says the core of the petition.
Rituparna, who in 2014 co- The duo also feels that
founded Nazariya, an or- rural India has been much
ganisation in Delhi working more accommodative of
for the rights of queer peo- such relationships, and also
RITUPARNA BOR AH, 42 ple. She is also part of the points out how the people of
Queer activist (left) Lesbian, Bisexual, Intersex Moutorchuk have accepted
Women and Transgender them with warm hearts.
AMRITA TRIPATHI, 35 (LBIT) network, a pan-India “Amrita also took part in
PR professional
group that has joined her the rituals when my father
plea in court. Family vio- passed away last year.
Rituparna is from Moutorchuk, a tiny village in
Assam’s Lakhimpur district, and Amrita from
lence arising out of gender Nobody objected in the vil-
Saharanpur, UP. They are now based in Delhi discrimination and the need lage,” says Rituparna.
VIEWPOINT

ARUNDHATI KATJU
Lawyer representing
the petitioners

“It’s a misconcep-
tion that same-sex
marriage will affect
the family values
that Indians cher-
ish. It is to enjoy
and practise those
family values that
LGBTQ couples The argument
wish to get mar- that the ability
ried. All values we to procreate is a
cherish will come A N A N YA KOT I A , 3 2 prerequisite for
into effect if they Economist (left) marriage doesn’t
are permitted to have any place
marry” U T K ARSH SA X EN A , 34 in law
Lawyer and development economist

Kotia and Utkarsh currently live in Delhi. — UTK ARSH SA XENA

Their families are from Rajasthan and
MENAKA
Uttar Pradesh, respectively
GURUSWAMY
Lawyer representing
the petitioners
‘WE WISH TO
H AV E C H I L D R E N ’

I
see no reason why the a joint bank account, we can’t,
state should discrimi- because we are not considered
nate against homosexual a family. I can’t get into my part-
couples,” says Kotia. The couple ner’s insurance policy.... If we
moved the SC in January this send each other money, we will
year, seeking the right to get need to worry about income-tax
“The LGBTQ people
married to a person of their laws. Marriage without rights
should have the right
choice. As Utkarsh says, they will be hollow,” says Kotia.
to a life of dignity
available to others. are not asking for a new law, but The couple hasn’t got mar-
It’s not only a ques- recognition of same-sex union ried yet, but they dream of hav-
tion of dignity but a under the Special Marriage ing a family. “We want to have
bouquet of rights they Act. They want gender-specific children. When we see other
are being denied… I terms in law, such as ‘husband’, couples having children, we feel
cannot buy a Supreme ‘wife’, ‘male’ and ‘female’, to be deprived. The notion that queer
Court Bar Association changed to ‘person’ or ‘spouse’. couples having children can
insurance for my fam- That’s crucial as there are relat- negatively impact the emotional
ily even though I am ed rights linked to the concept health of their children is totally
its member” of marriage. “If we want to open misplaced,” says Utkarsh.

M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3 INDIA TODAY 3 9
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

even though its leadership has in the

past endorsed same-sex relationships.
“You can live with anyone you like,”
says RSS general secretary Dattatreya
Hosabale, “but in the Hindu philoso-
phy of life, marriage is a sanskar. It is
not an instrument of only enjoyment.
Neither is it a contract…the institution
may require some reform, but marr-
iage will always take place between a
man and a woman.”

M
ythologist Devdutt Pattanaik
disagrees with this reduc-
tive interpretation of Hindu
philosophy and reminds everyone
how what are seen as transgressive
practices today enjoyed acceptability in
the past. “Hindu mythology celebrates
Photograph by BANDEEP SINGH

the diverse,” he says. “There is space

for everyone, provided it is based on
dharma: compassion, reciprocity and
social responsibility.”
The government and the RSS,
however, have found an unlikely ally
in former Union minister and lawyer
Kapil Sibal, who is representing the
Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind on the issue in
the courts. The organisation, in its
submission in the court, strongly op-
posed same-sex marriage as “Islam’s
prohibition of homosexuality has
been categorical from the dawn of the
religion of Islam itself ”. Saying that
the institution of marriage needs to
be seen as an “organic evolution of
custom” rooted in “societal standards
and morality”, Sibal has argued that
the marriage of heterosexual couples
has stood the test of time because it same-sex couples to adopt children. this assumption. Support for them
has received acceptance at all three That same-sex couples cannot came from the Indian Psychiatric So-
levels—by individuals, family and so- procreate has been used as one of the ciety (IPS), the country’s leading men-
ciety. “If you want to equate same-sex strongest arguments against legalis- tal health group, when it argued that
unions with heterosexual ones, you ing same-sex marriages. “Absence or allowing same-sex family units would
need all the elements that go into het- restraint on procreation has resulted promote their inclusion in society.
erosexual unions being recognised,” in an ageing population in many Even the Delhi Commission for the
Sibal told the court. countries, posing a serious problem Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR)
The government has also raised to their existence. Marriage without has backed same-sex marriages as
alarm on the effect same-sex marriages the purpose of procreation would well as adoption by homosexual cou-
will have on several related issues, such lead to the death of the nation,” says ples. It has said there is no empirical
as the psychology of a child brought up advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, represent- data to suggest that same-sex couples
by a homosexual couple. In fact, one ing the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh are unfit to be parents, or psychosocial
of the most contentious issues raised government. development among the children of
in this court battle is the rights of the The litigants vehemently oppose same-sex couples is compromised.

4 0 INDIA TODAY M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3
 DUTEE CHAND, 27 Dutee hails from Chakagopal
rather than “marriage” to describe
Athlete (right) village in Odisha, while Monalisa is
from nearby Jajpur. They now live same-sex unions. A ‘civil union’ refers
MONALISA DAS, 23 together in Bhubaneswar to the legal status whereby same-sex
IT professional couples are allowed certain rights and
responsibilities normally conferred
upon married couples. Often and with
‘SECTION 377 REPEAL some exceptions, civil unions can pro-
vide couples the same kinds of benefits
G AV E M E S T R E N G T H ’ and protections that marriages do.
Admitting that the question

S
printer Dutee Chand, a of same-sex marriages cannot be
two-time Olympian and treated in isolation as it has linkages all
100m national record In India, you need around, the Supreme Court said it was
holder, made headlines in 2019 a certificate for seeking to play “facilitator” to push the
when she opened up about her everything you do. government into taking administrative
sexuality and became the first Even your birth steps to ease “barriers” and address
openly lesbian athlete in the and death have to the day-to-day human concerns that
country. That was two years af- be recognised by cohabiting same-sex partners confront.
ter she fell in love with Monalisa In response, the Centre told the apex
authorities. We need
Das, whom she had first met at a court on May 3 that it will form a com-
village festival. There was some
one for same-sex mittee headed by the cabinet secretary
resentment from the families marriage too to address the “human concerns” of
initially, but what Dutee was same-sex couples without recognising
more worried about was wheth- — DUTEE CHAND their relationship as a marriage. When
er her sexual orientation would Guruswamy pointed out that marriage
affect her sports career. is mandatory for things like pension
It was the 2018 Supreme tion at almost every step of their and provident fund, Mehta retorted
Court judgment decriminalising lives. “We live together, but if saying that this issue could be solved
homosexuality that gave her something happens to me to- by a little change in the provision—the
the courage to talk openly. But morrow, Monalisa cannot claim nominee could be a family member
what she still didn’t have, like a single penny out of my prop- or anyone else the retiring person
many others, was the right to erty.... If we have to adopt a child, chooses. “Sometimes the solutions are
be legally wedded to the love of we cannot become parents at simpler than the problems,” he said.
her life. The couple is reminded the same time under the current However, to reach such simpler so-
about the lack of legal protec- law,” says Dutee. lutions, the three pillars of democracy—
the executive, the legislature and the
judiciary—need to be on the same page
in their interpretation of the problem.
Encouragingly, what began as a con-
frontation between the judiciary and
Ball in the Apex Court of a full marriage will force them to the Union government is now veering
approach the court again and again for towards attempts to find a middle path.
The Supreme Court now has the redressal of individual discriminations Most petitioners believe that this is the
unenviable task of adjudicating these as most “legal rights flow from blood most pragmatic first step towards a his-
diverse opinions and stands. During relationships and full marriages”. toric change in future—the acceptance
the hearing, the apex court has said However, the court doesn’t “want that same-sex couples face discrimina-
that it is proceeding on an “incre- to go for an all-or-broke approach”. tion and deserve certain rights to live
mental canvas” in the case, though CJI Chandrachud clarified that the their lives with dignity. As 34-year-law-
Sibal has said that the court should hearing’s scope will be limited to de- yer Udit Sood, one of the litigants, says:
go into everything or nothing and not veloping a notion of a “civil union” that “The most important part is to be told
examine the issue “piecemeal”, leav- finds legal recognition under the SMA that we are not inferior, that our love is
ing confusion in its wake. Advocate and leave it to the legislature and soci- no less worthy. That’s the declaration we
Menaka Guruswamy and Arundhati ety to evolve greater acceptance in the want.” The onus is now on the Supreme
Katju, representing the litigants, have future. In fact, the court has suggested Court to find a balanced solution. „
also pointed out that anything short labels like “contract” and “partnership” -with Shelly Anand

M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3 INDIA TODAY 4 1
GROUNDED WINGS
Go First aircraft at the IGI
Airport in New Delhi, May 3

THE BIG STORY | GO FIRST BANKRUPTCY

CRISIS IN
THE SKIES
THE TROUBLES AT GO FIRST BRING TO THE FORE THE VULNERABILITY OF THE
INDIAN AVIATION INDUSTRY IN THE FACE OF INTENSE COMPETITION AND HIGH
OPERATING COSTS. EXPERTS FEAR MORE CASUALTIES IN THE SECTOR

By M.G. Arun

4 4 INDIA TODAY M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3
 TURBULENT
TIMES

Ô Twenty-five of Go First’s A320neo

jets had to be grounded after prob-
lems surfaced in their engines sup-
plied by the US firm Pratt & Whitney

Ô Pratt & Whitney alleges the airline

has defaulted on payment obligations;
Go First says the engine supplier is
not abiding by a Singapore arbitration
court order to compensate it

Ô Most Indian airlines are undercapi-

talised, and Go First is no exception

Ô Covid further dented Go First’s

finances, and in just three financial
years—FY21, FY22 and FY23—its
losses mounted to Rs 4,000 crore,
according to industry estimates

Ô The airline owes Rs 6,251 crore to

a consortium of lenders led by the
Central Bank of India. With half its
fleet grounded, the airline will find it
difficult to fund its remaining opera-
tions and service its debt, say experts
ANI

he May 2 decision of Go First, India’s sory, an aviation consulting firm. On May 10,
third-largest carrier, to suspend flights for two the NCLT admitted Go First’s plea, offering it
days—later extended till May 19—caught fliers, protection against any immediate attachment
the aviation regulator and the Centre totally off of its assets by the company’s lessors and lenders.
guard. So did its move to file for voluntary insol- The crisis at the Wadia Group-owned airline,
vency proceedings before the Mumbai bench of which employs 6,700 people, comes four years
the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). after the grounding of Jet Airways in 2019, and
The company has cited the long delays in sourc- amid intense competition among airlines for a
ing airworthy engines from the US aerospace larger piece of the pie as the demand for air travel
major Pratt & Whitney as the reason behind the rises. Jet Airways had close to 16,000 staffers
decision to go for insolvency, but experts say the when it went into the insolvency process, and the
real issues go far beyond engine troubles, and plans of a consortium of bidders to revive it have
point to financial problems at the airline and not taken off yet. The NCLT order comes as a
systemic issues in Indian aviation that will see temporary relief for Go First, but a revival of the
most airlines flying through a turbulent phase airline will be an arduous process, with half its
in the days ahead. Indian airlines have reported aircraft grounded and financial position sticky.
consolidated losses of close to $17 billion (Rs “If they (Go First) can come up with some funds
1.4 lakh crore) since FY2010, says CAPA Advi- and somehow resolve the matter with the lessors,

M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3 INDIA TODAY 45

THE BIG STORY | GO FIRST BANKRUPTCY

CRASHING FORTUNES PLANE NUMBERS

For over a decade since 2010, most Indian airlines have been Aircraft that were in service before the Go First
incurring losses, due to expensive fuel, direct and indirect crisis and estimated order book of Indian carriers
taxes as well as high maintenance and repair costs
600
Consolidated Indian aviation losses FY21-FY23 In service
$7 billion 500
50
(`57,420 cr.) On order
20 400

-10 300
Value (INR billion)

-40 200

-70 100

-100 0
IndiGo Air India SpiceJet Go First* Akasa
-130 Group
*Services halted since May 3
-160

`
1.4
Industry losses FY10-FY20
-190
$10 billion (`82,000 cr.)
-220
LAKH CRORE
FY2023
FY2010
FY2011
FY2012
FY2013
FY2014
FY2015
FY2016
FY2017
FY2018
FY2019
FY2020
FY2021
FY2022

Estimated total losses

of Indian airlines from
FY2010 to FY2023
IndiGo SpiceJet AirAsia India Go First Vistara
Air India Air India Express Jet Airways Total estimates Source: CAPA Advisory

then that will give them some breathing time and they can IndiGo, which had placed an order for 300 A320neo aircraft
come out of this crisis,” says H.P. Ranina, a senior advocate in 2019. Pratt & Whitney agreed to compensate the airlines
with the Supreme Court. (Airlines the world over follow the and provided unspecified compensation to Go First. But
sale-and-leaseback model, where an airline acquires the air- with the airline going through more severe engine failures,
craft at an attractive price and sells them to a lessor—ideally a financial dispute emerged between the two companies in
at a profit—and leases it back for its own use.) The creditors of 2022. In February this year, Pratt & Whitney proposed to
the airline will now appoint an interim resolution professional, supply replacement engines at a rate “four times lower than
who will then come to an agreement with lenders on how much the failure rate”. A month later, Go First filed for emergency
of the loans can be paid back. “Maybe the lenders will have to arbitration in Singapore, getting a favourable ruling. Pratt &
take a haircut and reduce the loans they have extended to Go Whitney was directed to dispatch 10 engines by April 27 and
First,” Ranina said in a media interview. In another setback, another 10 spare lease engines per month till December 2023.
on May 8, the Director General of Civil Aviation ordered Go The Go First fleet comprises 55 aircraft, half of which have
First to stop all ticket sales and slapped it with a show-cause developed engine troubles. It said this cost the airline $1.3
notice for its failure to provide efficient and reliable services. billion (Rs 10,633 crore) in lost revenue and added expenses.
Pratt & Whitney said that its engines were not defective even
ENGINE TROUBLE if they did not perform as desired. It said Go First’s financial
Go First’s problems with Pratt & Whitney—part of the Ameri- woes were of its own making, and it was to get $100 million
can multinational Raytheon Technologies—go back to 2011, (Rs 818 crore) from the airline. The airline, however, has
when it placed an order for 72 narrow-body A320neo aircraft reportedly claimed a compensation of Rs 8,000 crore for the
from Airbus. Pratt & Whitney is the exclusive engine supplier problems with the engines and said that unless it received the
to Airbus. The aircraft were delivered in 2016. But engines amount, it will not be able to pay its creditors and vendors.
supplied by Pratt & Whitney were found to have problems Pratt & Whitney, on the other hand, has clarified that it can
with their fan blades, an oil seal and the combustion chamber supply only three engines by May as no spare leased engines
lining, say media reports, causing several A320neo planes to are available. Go First has moved a plea before a court in
be grounded. The issues had also hit India’s largest carrier Delaware, US, seeking enforcement of the arbitration order.

4 6 INDIA TODAY M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3
FINANCIAL WOES share of the domestic market in its nine months of operations.
Experts flag other issues too. “Before Covid, Go Air (the The NCLT has issued a notice to SpiceJet on a petition filed
airline was rebranded Go First in May 2021) was profitable by Irish aircraft lessor Aircastle, which sought to initiate in-
for eight to nine years and had a very modern fleet,” says an solvency resolution proceedings against the carrier. SpiceJet
aviation expert, not wanting to be named. But its attempts has clarified that it did not have any Aircastle aircraft in its
at an IPO—first in 2010, when it planned to raise Rs 400- fleet and that the filing of the petition will in no way affect
500 crore, and later in July 2022, when it looked to garner its operations. Two more petitions for insolvency resolu-
Rs 3,600 crore—were deferred due to a dull market outlook. tion proceedings against SpiceJet are pending before the
“They were unlucky. Had the IPO gone as per plan, things NCLT, say reports. The airline had nearly doubled its losses to
would have been different,” the expert says. Covid dealt the Rs 1,725 crore in FY2022.
second blow, grounding all airlines for months. Experts “Historically, there has been a serious undercapitalisation
estimate that in the three financial years—2020-21, 2021- in the Indian aviation sector,” says an aviation analyst. “In-
22 and 2022-23—Go First ran into Rs 4,000 crore losses. diGo is an exception, with free and restricted cash of around
Plus, the airline had high exposure to bank loans, with its Rs 20,000 crore. They fare relatively better. Air India has the
debt at Rs 6,251 crore from a consortium of lenders led by Tata Group behind them. Akasa Air is relatively young,” he
the Central Bank of India. In all, it owes around Rs 11,500 says, adding that airlines need funds to be infused into them
crore to financial institutions, lessors, vendors and passen- in time, not after a crisis, because then “you are throwing good
gers who paid for tickets in advance. The last straw was the money after bad”. In these two principal players (Air India
grounding of its planes due to faulty engines. “This came in and IndiGo), “India will have a stable aviation system”, ac-
at a critical time for the airline. cording to him, but that will also
The last three quarters had been see higher fares. “After years of
good for Go First, but it could not low fares, consumers will have
capitalise on the demand for fly- to pay slightly more. You may
ing thereafter,” the expert adds. IN 2021-22, GO FIRST not get the kind of pricing you
In 2021-22, Go First recorded its RECORDED ITS BIGGEST saw between 2005 and 2020,”
biggest losses at Rs 1,808 crore he adds. Already, airfares have
on a revenue of Rs 4,184 crore,
LOSSES AT RS 1,808 risen on most routes following
the latter reportedly the lowest CRORE ON A REVENUE Go First cancelling its flights.
since 2018. OF RS 4,184 CRORE, THE

T
Kaushik Khona, CEO of Go LATTER REPORTEDLY he other issue is the cost
First, has said that “there is no THE LOWEST SINCE 2018 of running an airline in
question of the Wadia Group hav- India. Fuel cost and di-
ing any intention to exit or move rect and indirect taxes
out”. The promoters have commit- are pretty high, and have been
ted almost Rs 6,400 crore to the so for 30 years. Indirect taxes
company—roughly Rs 3,000 crore by way of security provided account for almost 25 per cent of airline revenue. Domestic
to public sector banks, and Rs 3,398 crore by way of equity travel is particularly susceptible to fuel prices. According
infusion (Rs 1,593 crore) and promoter-arranged unsecured to a CAPA Advisory report, duties and taxes on domestic
debt (Rs 1,805 crore). The airline could be looking for a so- aviation turbine fuel (ATF) can add at least 60 per cent to
lution that can help it resume operations, maybe getting international benchmark rates, worsened by the weakening
a strategic partner, or at least getting more time from the rupee. “When Brent crude hit $120 a barrel in mid-2022, fuel
creditors to pay off its dues. accounted for 50 per cent of the operating costs (for airlines),”
it said. India needs to overhaul the fiscal regime to make it
SYSTEMIC PROBLEMS conducive for airlines, argues the report. It suggests that
Some experts are of the view that the Indian aviation sector ATF be brought under the GST framework with full input
is clearly headed for the supremacy of two players—Air India tax credit, wherein a firm can reclaim the tax paid on inputs
(of the Tata Group) and IndiGo. In March this year, Indian that go into a product or service. The double taxation on
carriers handled 12.8 million domestic passengers, which was re-import of aircraft, engines and components after mainte-
a 21.4 per cent increase year on year. IndiGo was the market nance conducted overseas needs to be removed. To bring in
leader, increasing its domestic market share from 53.8 per cent more safety standards to airline operations, CAPA advocates
in Q4FY22 to 55.7 per cent in Q4FY23. SpiceJet reported a fall an independent and professionally-managed safety regulator.
in market share, from 10.2 per cent to 6.9 per cent, while Go The woes of Indian aviation are certainly not going to end
First’s share fell from 9.8 per cent to 7.8 per cent. Air India’s with Go First. At a time when many considered that the worst
market share fell from 9.9 per cent to 9 per cent, but AirAsia may be over with the pandemic behind them, the long shadow
India, the Tata Group’s second airline, increased its share from of Covid will continue to haunt airlines. Adding to the pain
5.8 per cent to 7.3 per cent, reports citing the DGCA stated. are a host of systemic issues that need to be redressed at the
Akasa Air, the new entrant in the market, had a 3 per cent earliest to stop other carriers from going the Go First way. „

M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3 INDIA TODAY 47

260
HECTARES
SIZE OF DHARAVI

10
PER CENT
ESTIMATED SHARE OF
MUMBAI’S POPULATION
IN DHARAVI

`
20,000
CRORE-PLUS
ESTIMATED TOTAL COST OF
REDEVELOPING DHARAVI

7
YEARS
PROJECT TIMESCALE FOR
REHABILITATION
OF SLUM-DWELLERS

18
YEARS
TIME TO COMPLETE
WORK ON MARKET SALE
COMPONENT
 SPECIAL REPORT
SL UM REDE V ELOPMEN T

TRANSFORMING
DHARAVI
A REDEVELOPMENT PLAN OFFERS THE RESIDENTS OF
ASIA’S LARGEST SLUM CLUSTER A GLIMMER OF HOPE FOR A
BETTER FUTURE. BUT WITH AN ADANI GROUP COMPANY
INVOLVED, CAN CONTROVERSY BE FAR BEHIND?

By DHAVAL KULKARNI

Photograph by MANDAR DEODHAR

 SPECIAL REPORT
SL UM REDE V ELOPMEN T

Rs 4,539 crore, had emerged as the (SPV), with the developer and govern-
highest bidder. But the state govern- ment holding an 80 per cent and 20
ment decided to include a 45-acre per cent stake, respectively.
plot belonging to the railways for the Not everyone buys these assur-
rehabilitation of the slum-dwellers. ances, though. “We are not against
Since the scope of the project had development, but in the wake of the
changed, fresh bids were invited and recent controversy, we doubt whether
tenders floated again in October Adani will be able to execute the
2022. While Seclink has now moved project,” says former MLA and Shiv
the Bombay High Court (the case is Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)
FOR TWO DECADES NOW, the mill- being heard), Congress leader Jairam leader Baburao Mane. Mane is part of
ion or so residents of Dharavi, one of Ramesh has questioned whether the Dharavi Bachao Andolan (DBA),
the largest slum clusters in the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi an umbrella front of opposition par-
have dreamt of a life of greater dig- forced the Maharashtra government ties and voluntary groups. The DBA
nity—of owning a house, not having to to change the tender conditions to wants Adani Properties out or, at the
wait in long queues for water and using deliberately exclude the original win- very least, safeguards like stiff penalty
public toilets, escaping the gutter-lined ner and “once again help his favourite clauses to prevent time overruns.
streets and the poverty and disease. It business group”. Adani Properties
was back in February 2004 that the had bagged the project in the second A REAL ESTATE JACKPOT
first action plan for the redevelopment tender with a Rs 5,069 crore bid A stone’s throw from the Bandra
of Dharavi—one whose blue tarpau- last year, Rs 2,131 crore less than Kurla Complex (BKC), an upscale
lined hutments have defined the gritty Seclink’s original winning bid. business district in the city, Dharavi is
Mumbai skyline in many a film—as However, despite the state cabinet a land of opportunities in a space-
an integrated planned township was deciding to award the project to starved city. Multiple railheads like
drawn up by the state government. Adani Properties, the state is yet to the Mahim, Bandra, GTB Nagar,
In 18 years, at least three attempts Kings Circle and Matunga Road
(in 2007, 2016 and 2018) to invite bids stations, the under-construction
to redevelop Dharavi fell through. So, HAVING WAITED SO LONG, metro railway project, the arterial
when in November last year an Adani DHARAVI RESIDENTS eastern and western expressways,
Group company stepped in and won the the international airport are all easy
bid that covers 645 acres of prime land ARE SCEPTICAL OF THE to access from here. Not just that,
in central Mumbai, it was no small feat. RESETTLEMENT PLAN, Dharavi itself, with its thriving leather
And yet, barely months later, uncer- WHICH IS EXPECTED TO processing units and tanneries,
tainty looms again, with concerns being scrap recycling units and home-run
raised about how the Adani Group
TAKE ALMOST 20 YEARS businesses, is now one of the biggest
company won the contract, the financial informal industrial hubs in India.
capability of the group to execute the The living conditions, however,
project as it tries to ride out the Hin- issue a government resolution (GR) can boast of no such distinction.
denburg controversy and, whether it is formalising it. In the budget session in Around 400,000 people live cheek
seeing the project as a resettlement plan March this year, deputy chief minister by jowl per square kilometre here,
or a real estate goldmine. Devendra Fadnavis told the legisla- compared to a population density of
Dharavi residents have grown scep- tive assembly that the letter of intent around 27,000 people per sq. km for
tical of the resettlement plan, which is (LoI) would be issued after the urban the rest of Mumbai. A public toilet
expected to take almost two decades to development department grants a seat in the neighbourhood is shared,
complete. Not only that, the opposition pending approval. Valsa Nair Singh, on average, by around 250 people
Congress has accused the government additional chief secretary (housing), daily. These conditions contributed,
of favouritism, stating the project’s denies that there are any delays. “The in no small measure, to the slum
bidding conditions were changed to ex- final GR will be issued soon after the emerging as an infection hotspot
clude a previous successful bidder and line departments issue GRs for the during the Covid-19 pandemic.
help the Adani Group win the tender at concessions approved by the cabinet,” The urban renewal project is
a much lower price. she says. After the GR, the state gov- a much-needed step in that sense.
In 2019, the UAE-based Seclink ernment will issue an LoI, followed Under it, the residents of Dharavi
Technologies Corp., which offered Rs by the inking of the MoU and the will get flats with a minimum carpet
7,200 crore against Adani Properties’ formation of a special purpose vehicle area of 405 sq. ft. The area will

5 0 INDIA TODAY M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3
 THE CHAWL M U M B A I

REIMAGINED Dharavi
The redevelopment plan
hopes to transform the sea
of hutments into a swanky
‘city within a city’

NOW
What Dharavi
looks like at
present

A SPOKESMAN FOR THE

GAUTAM ADANI-LED
ADANI PROPERTIES SAYS,
“THE FEARS AND CONCERNS
RAISED BY VESTED PARTIES
Slum
ABOUT US MEETING THE rehabilitation
PROJECT’S FINANCIAL area/ Dharavi
redevelopment
OBLIGATIONS ARE project area
UNWARRANTED” Excluded property
PROPOSED
Retail markets
Likely land use
plan in the Industrial areas
redeveloped Parks
Dharavi Amenity areas
DHARAVI, A
‘PLOTTED’ HISTORY Source: Dharavi Redevelopment Project

Long before it became reclaim the area between emerged as a hub for Dharavi was the
one of the largest slum the two islands leather goods, earthen stomping ground of
clusters in the world, pottery, savouries, plastic the dreaded 1970s don
Dharavi was a small In the late 19th century, goods and garments. It is Varadarajan Mudaliar, a
fishing village. This after the main abattoir also a recycling hub now migrant from Tamil Nadu,
‘koliwada’ survives even of the city was shifted
during whose reign the
today, though the aquatic to Bandra (present- Dharavi is often
area earned infamy as
life is long gone and much day Bandra depot), called a “mini-India”
a hub for prostitution,
of the Mahim creek has Maharashtrian Dalits like as it has thousands of
bootlegging and extortion.
been reclaimed Dhors and Charmakars, people whose ancestors
and immigrants from migrated from other parts Mudaliar’s character was
Dharavi was initially an Tamil Nadu like the Adi of Maharashtra as well the inspiration for movies
outcrop of Parel island Dravidars, and Muslim as from UP, Bihar, Tamil like Nayakan (1987) and
facing the Mahim island. tannery workers, began Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Dayavan (1988)
Around three centuries sourcing animal skins Telangana, Karnataka,
ago, an embankment was from the abattoir and West Bengal and the Dharavi has also been
built connecting Dharavi started tanneries and Northeast. The area has the backdrop for films like
and Mahim to prevent leather units in Dharavi. a significant number of Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
seawater ingress and Gradually, the place Hindu and Buddhist Dalits and Kaala (2018)

Graphic by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3 INDIA TODAY 51

 SPECIAL REPORT
SL UM REDE V ELOPMEN T

‘REDEVELOPMENT
also be transformed into one of the MUST UPLIFT THE
most expensive pieces of real estate COMMUNITY’
in Mumbai. “While slum-dwellers
who came before 2000 will get free SAMYA KORDE, 23
housing, residents who came between
Student of law and
2000 and 2011 will get it at a conces-
urban planning and
sional rate.... We’ll have a rental hous- political activist
ing scheme on a hire-and-purchase

Photographs by MILIND SHELTE

basis for those who came after,” says
S.V.R. Srinivas, CEO of the Dharavi
Redevelopment Project (DRP).
Efforts will be made to construct
T he women and
the elderly have
to bear the brunt
this rental housing in Dharavi itself, when it comes to is-
but in case the land falls short, they sues such as sanita-
will be shifted to areas in the Mumbai tion, water and elec-
Metropolitan Region (MMR) within a tricity. Public toilets
radius of 10 km. Authorised commer- and community
cial units will get an equivalent space. water taps are our life.
While the rehabilitation component The toilets are dirty tion facilities has also munity. Just convert-
is expected to be completed in seven and many shut down led to the spread of ing horizontal struc-
years, the resale component, that is after 11.30 pm. And diseases like dengue tures into vertical
properties to be sold in the open mar- if the toilets on the and malaria. Planned ones is not redevelop-
ket, will be built in 18 years. Further, main roads are open, redevelopment will ment. The local com-
Fadnavis has also said that indus- women face harass- provide relief, but it munities will benefit
ment from goons and must be done through if socioeconomic fac-
tries in Dharavi will be rehabilitated
drug addicts. Lack sustainable methods tors are taken into
and provided with common facility
of proper sanitisa- and uplift the com- consideration.
centres (CFCs), a five-year tax holiday
and GST refunds. Some residents in
Dharavi have flats that measure over
750 sq. ft, and Fadnavis has assured
them of larger houses.
It’s not an easy undertaking, tho- dated in 84,649 sq. m of built-up area. world,” he says. The construction cost
ugh. The largest Slum Rehabilitation Srinivas says once the SPV is is expected to cross Rs 20,000 crore.
Authority (SRA) project in Mumbai formed, a survey will be conducted Work is expected to begin by the end
so far, at Chandivali, covered around to determine the number of eligible of the year. The project is based on the
10,000 hutments. Compare that to slum-dwellers and, the land to be principle of using land as a resource.
the 70,000 structures (at last count utilised as the rehabilitation compo- This means that Adani Properties will
in 2007-08) in Dharavi, and the sheer nent and that for open-market sale will spend around Rs 20,000 crore for the
scale of the challenge becomes clear. be determined. “This is an extremely construction and recover its costs from
During the winter session of the state challenging project. In fact, ‘challenge’ the open market sale component.
legislature in December 2022, Fad- is an understatement. It is humon- Realty experts, too, point to the
navis told the assembly that Dharavi gous. No project of this scale has been myriad opportunities on the hori-
had 46,191 residential units eligible for conceptualised or executed in the zon. Pankaj Kapoor, MD of Liases
rehabilitation and 12,974 commercial Foras Real Estate Rating & Research
units—59,165 units in total. However, Pvt. Ltd, describes it as “a promising
officials say the figures are from a DHARAVI NEEDS project with a complex set-up because
2007-’08 survey, and that the number AN EMPATHETIC it is not (just) a housing project, it
may be around 100,000 now. The is like a city within a city”, only one
population, too, is estimated at about
URBAN PLANNING with massive economic activity.
a million, around a 10th of Mumbai’s APPROACH FOR ITS Industry stakeholders say tentative
12.5 million population. Apart from MANY COMPLEXITIES. prices of residential and office spaces
this, there are 4,818 slum-dwellers on
railway land, also eligible for reha-
REHABILITATION MUST in Dharavi may be in the range of Rs
25,000 to 40,000 per sq. ft after the
bilitation. Railway quarters are to be GET PRIORITY redevelopment. This means, initially,
redeveloped and the people accommo- resale spaces may be available at dis-

52 INDIA TODAY M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3
‘OUR VANVAAS
HAS DRAGGED ON counted rates, lower than the rates of looks, the eyesore may go away, and
ENDLESSLY’ Rs 50,000-80,000 per sq. ft in BKC, we will have a swanky city. But if you
but prices may rise later. say this is a redevelopment project for
AKHTAR RANGREJ, 40 the purpose of rehabilitation, then
Garments business owner RESIDENTS IN A BIND you must be very careful…there must
Dharavi’s residents, though, are not be the least amount of displacement,”
and social worker
happy with the opacity around the he says. Chatterjee says the survey
plans. A key concern is that the redevel- to identify eligible households, their
opment will be treated more as a real- numbers and occupations will be
O ur family of 12 stays in an
8x8 ft tenement. I was born
in Dharavi and it is our dream
estate development project instead of
a resettlement one. Opposition leader
crucial in this.
Both Adani Properties and the
that the children have good Mane says around 5,000 small and big state government are trying to add-
houses to live in. Dharavi has industrial units in the area provide di- ress these concerns. In response to a
produced doctors, engineers rect or indirect employment to Dharavi detailed questionnaire, an Adani Prop-
and professionals despite ev- residents, and they fear being pushed erties spokesperson said: “Our balance
ery adversity. We can do even out to make way for an extended BKC. sheet is very strong and we are con-
better if we get the facilities. Dhansukh Parmar, a resident of the fident about arranging the financing
Our houses lack ventilation 12.5-acre Dharavi kumbharwada, for the project. The fears and concerns
and natural light and we live which got its name from the Gujarati raised by vested parties about us meet-
so cheek by jowl we can smell potters who settled there in the early ing the project’s financial obligations
what the neighbours are cook-
20th century, notes that much of the are unwarranted…. The residents of
ing. But there is a question on
project planning was top-down and Dharavi are central to our planning
our minds. Does the state have
did not take into account the views and execution. There will be no change
the will to ensure Dharavi is
of the locals. The kumbharwada has in our implementation schedule after
developed? Lord Ram’s vanvaas
lasted for only 14 years, ours has around 2,000 families and around receiving the LoA (letter of award).”
been dragging on forever. 110 bhattis (kilns) to make earthen Srinivas, too, talks about taking
products, which are exported to the residents into confidence. “We will
countries like Australia, Singapore and have a masterplan that addresses most
Malaysia. Parmar wonders how their of these issues after the MoU is signed.
business needs will be incorporated It will earmark the open spaces and
into the redevelopment plans. Chetan community structures,” he says. “The
Chauhan from the kumbharwada says project already has penalty clauses.
many of them have houses as large as If there are delays, the market itself
2,000-3,000 sq. ft, and are not willing imposes penalty clauses due to a delay
to settle for smaller tenements. in releasing the resale component…and
Owners of local industrial units, a growth in the cost of construction.”
like Raju Khade, who has a manu- As of now, the idea of redevelop-
facturing facility for leather and faux ment evokes both hope and trepidation
leather goods, say they want an ind- among the residents of Dharavi. The
ustrial hub within Dharavi. “Today, simplest of things, such as owning a
many residential structures double house with an attached toilet, have nev-
up as manufacturing units. But when er seemed more real. “Eve-teasing and
buildings are built in their place, it is harassment are common at the public
obvious these families will not be able toilets. Once we get flats, we will have
to work like in the past,” he says. toilets in our house,” says Korde enthu-
Naturally, Dharavi needs an siastically. But, as Dharavi Business Fo-
empathetic urban planning approach rum ex-president Anjum Shaikh points
for the many complexities involved. out, “Just developing the land will have
Ex-DRP chief and former chair- no meaning if the people are forced to
man of the Maharashtra Real Estate leave. Then it will only be populated by
Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) a few crorepatis.” And if that happens,
Gautam Chatterjee says, “Ultimately, Dharavi will cease to be Dharavi, the
we have to understand that Dharavi centuries-old melting pot of dreams
is not a simple slum but an industrial and aspirations that has come to stand
township.… My fear is, in terms of for working-class Mumbai. „

M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3 INDIA TODAY 5 3
 CRIME
M O N E Y- L A U N D E R I N G

THE ENGINEER
OF GRAFT
A Rs 10,000 bribe has led to the unearthing of
a money-laundering racket worth over Rs 100
crore and put a top engineer of Jharkhand in
the Enforcement Directorate’s net
By Amitabh Srivastava

February, when running into several crores that he pock-

the Enforcement eted in return for contracts awarded to

In
Directorate (ED) companies. The CA, who allegedly agreed
arrested Viren- to work for a fee of 2.5 per cent, was
dra Ram, chief required to provide entries in the bank
engineer in the accounts of Ram’s father Genda Ram and
Jharkhand rural other family members.
SOMNATH SEN

development de- Incidentally, Ram, in his recorded

partment, for alleged money-laundering, confession to the ED, has accepted that he
he seemed just one of the routine catches. took 0.3-1 per cent of the tender amount
After all, a chief engineer does not figure as commission from companies selected
very high in the pecking order of bu- to execute works in his department.
reaucracy. As it turned out, however, the While it is difficult to assess exactly how
56-year-old Ram, who has now been sus- much Ram may have amassed through
pended, has become a textbook example various government schemes, one can get A RECORD OF
of how corrupt government officials laun- a rough idea from the fact that about Rs THE FAMILY’S
der their ill-gotten wealth and stay under 10,966 crore was spent last fiscal to build DAILY EXPENSES
the radar of enforcement agencies. 27,663 km of rural roads in the state,
On April 18, the ED issued orders to according to the Jharkhand Economic
SHOWED AN
attach immovable properties worth Rs Survey 2022-23. And this is just one of OUTGO OF RS 49
39.28 crore that Ram had, including two the many rural development works that LAKH IN JUST
flats and one plot in Delhi. Earlier in Feb- Ram may have spearheaded.
TWO MONTHS,
ruary, the agency had recovered Rs 19.45 Though the ED probe is still ongoing
lakh in cash, jewellery worth Rs 1.51 crore and more breakthroughs are expected, MORE THAN THE
and some expensive cars from Ram’s the agency appears to have gathered THREE YEARS
Ranchi home. The ED informed the enough evidence to nail Ram and also OF SALARY
PMLA (Prevention of Money-Laundering expose the elaborate network that facili-
Act) court special judge that Ram had tates large-scale money-laundering. For CREDITED TO
approached a Delhi-based chartered ac- instance, the probe has tracked details RAM’S ACCOUNT
countant last year, to launder his wealth, of bank transactions confirming that
which was basically commission money Genda Ram received Rs 4.48 crore in just

5 4 INDIA TODAY M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3
 WHAT IS MONEY
LAUNDERING?
Money-laundering involves
injecting illegally generated
money into the formal/legitimate
system. It involves layering
of the money and spreading it
over various transactions using
book-keeping tricks to hide
the source. The money is then
routed back to the offender who
uses it as legitimate money

HOW RAM
LAUNDERED MONEY

The ED recorded the

statement of suspended chief
engineer Virendra Ram under
the Prevention of Money
Laundering Act wherein he
confessed to having received
0.3-1 per cent of the tender
awarded to companies.
Here’s how he laundered the
ill-gotten money:
IN CUSTODY In 2022, Ram approached a
Suspended Delhi-based CA who allegedly
chief engineer agreed to layer his money for a
Virendra Ram commission of 2.5 per cent
Ram started sending cash in
tranches of Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50
lakh to the CA through hawala
over a month between December 22, wife. While Kedia is the CA’s relative, An entry operator then
2022, and January 23, 2023. Another Reena is the wife of the CA’s employee transferred the money to the
Rs 9.3 crore was found to have been Vijay Pal. Shreshtha is an employee bank accounts of three persons
transferred to the bank account of whereas Manish is the son of the closely associated with the CA
Ram’s wife Rajkumari Devi. Moreover, CA’s driver. Early last month, the ED The CA allegedly got a rent
a daily expenditure record of the family informed the Delhi Police commissi- agreement scripted with Ram’s
showed an outgo of Rs 49.13 lakh in oner that the four admitted that the CA father Genda Ram to open an
just about two months, from May 20 to opened and operated their accounts, account in a Delhi-based bank
July 28, 2022—more than three years following which the Economic Offen- by using a local address
of salary credited to Ram’s account. ces Wing of the police registered a Genda Ram’s income tax
The investigators have zeroed in on separate case. return was filed for 2021-22
the bank accounts of firms such as RK where Rs 8.70 crore was
Investment and Consultancy owned CATCHING THE BIGGER FISH shown as receivable
by Rakesh Kedia, and RP Investment The ED probe has revealed that these It was done just to justify
and Consultancy, owned by Reena Pal, bank accounts received funds from the future credits which were to
besides individuals Neha Shreshtha three proprietorship firms, Khatushy- be made in Genda Ram’s
and Manish. These accounts were used am Traders, Anil Kumar Govind Ram bank account
to transfer funds to Ram’s father and Traders and Om Traders. These firms

M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3 INDIA TODAY 55

 CRIME
M O N E Y- L A U N D E R I N G

used all the tricks of the trade—from may have opened to continue dodging Verma was not connected to Ram in
forging KYC to getting PAN cards is- the system—perhaps before tax officials any way. However, as the ACB conduct-
sued in fictitious names and then using got a whiff of the high-value transac- ed a follow-up search at Verma’s home
the fake PAN cards to open multiple tions. Also, as the PAN cards were on the day of his arrest in November
accounts in the name of non-existing fake, the tax officials would not have 2019, it found his tenant Alok Ranjan,
firms to layer the money. The probe immediately known to whom the funds a law student, with Rs 2.67 crore in
into the accounts of these firms and the belonged, the IT source said. his room. The cash, Ranjan confessed,
whole racket of money-laundering in Another clue that the banks appear belonged to his cousin Ram and was
Jharkhand reveals that an estimated Rs to have overlooked is that all three PAN only with him for safekeeping. For some
100 crore has moved. cards were issued in the same name reason, the ACB decided not to press
(Sachin Gupta), with the same date of charges against Ram, who also did not
BANKING ON THE BANKS birth (12/08/1976) and the same father’s come forward to claim the cash. How-
According to the ED probe, the photo name (Ashrafi Lal Gupta). According to ever, it did file a chargesheet against
of one Tara Chand was used to get three a senior IT officer, the algorithm should Verma and Ranjan apparently without
PAN cards issued in the name of Sachin have red-flagged the similarity. The any further effort to track the source of
Gupta, a fake identity. These PAN cards the money seized.
were used to open three proprietorship A twist in the tale came a year
bank accounts in the name of Kha- later when the ED registered a
tushyam Traders, Anil Kumar Govind THE HAUL money-laundering case pertaining to
Ram Traders and Om Traders in ICICI the ACB seizure in September 2020.
Bank and another in Gupta’s name in Recovered so far from However, it was only in 2022 that the
an IDBI Bank account. The agency’s Virendra Ram and his family probe gained momentum, tracing the

39.28 3
field enquiry found that the address Toyota
seized cash back to Ram.
of Khatushyam Traders was fake and CR. Fortuners
there was no business entity at the Worth of THE ED IN JHARKHAND
addresses mentioned for Anil Kumar properties Since May 2022, when the ED
Govind Ram Traders and Om Trad-
2 Audi
cars
arrested then-Jharkhand mining

2.87
ers. Chand has admitted that he used secretary and senior IAS officer
Photoshop to create fake documents to CR. Pooja Singhal and recovered Rs 19
open these accounts only to facilitate
money-laundering. Ram was just one
Cash*
1 Skoda
car
crore from the possession of a CA alleg-
edly linked to her, the agency has made

1.5
of the beneficiaries. The ED raid at much headway in its anti-corruption

1
Chand’s house in Delhi’s Rohini locality CR. Toyota drive, creating a storm in the state,
threw up Rs 16.90 lakh in cash, eight Worth of jewellery Innova that has not left even Chief Minister
mobile phones and four sets of Aadhaar Hemant Soren untouched.
and PAN cards with different names. From interrogating Soren
*Includes Jharkhand ACB’s 2019 seizure
The whole operation reveals how and two more IAS officers—former
the launderers hoodwink the system principal secretary to the CM Rajiv
that otherwise has checks and balances bank too seems to have failed to report Arun Ekka and Sahibganj Deputy
in place to prevent financial crimes. If the high-value transactions to the IT Commissioner Ramniwas Yadav—in
Chand could evade the tax radar and department, he says. With the Central separate cases to arresting IAS officer
use fake Aadhaar and PAN cards to Board of Direct Taxes asking taxpayers Chhavi Ranjan for an alleged land scam
open bank accounts and undertake to link their PAN with Aadhaar by June and Soren’s constituency representative
huge transactions, it was apparently 30, the one gaping hole in the banking Pankaj Mishra for an alleged mining
because the banking system did not system will hopefully be plugged, says scam, the ED has emerged as a new
verify his documents, claims a source the IT officer. threat to the powerful and well-con-
from the income tax department. nected in Jharkhand. Since November
Worse still, while these three fake A TWIST OF FATE 2020, when Jharkhand withdrew
bank accounts received and transacted The ED landed at Ram’s doorstep dur- general consent to the Central Bureau
over Rs 115 crore in the last two finan- ing the course of probing a four-year-old of Investigation disallowing it from car-
cial years alone, no income tax return case in which the Jharkhand Anti- rying out an investigation without the
was filed in the name of the fictitious en- Corruption Bureau (ACB) in November state government’s permission, the state
tity. An official source believes that the 2019 had nabbed Jamshedpur-based has largely been the ED’s playground.
money-launderers may have moved the junior engineer Suresh Verma while ac- And the watchdog is ensuring that it is
entire funds to new accounts that they cepting a Rs 10,000 bribe the same year. giving offenders sleepless nights. „

5 6 INDIA TODAY M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3
 PANCHATANTRA : THE SEARCH FOR AMRIT
FOUND IN KAUR : THE RANI
TRANSLATION PG 62 VANISHES PG 63

AGRA : A STATE Q&A WITH

OF MIND SUNNY LEONE
PG 64 PG 66

i:
h Halo
Ganes thm
AR h y
the
ces in
Surfa averses
Mind tr enarian
g
the octo -decade
six
artist’s ractice
p

A RT

SHIFTING
Photograph by DEBAJYOTI CHAKRABORTY

IMAGES
A new book of essays on
Ganesh Haloi interspersed
with previously unpublished
illustrated folios and
 sketches

 LEISURE
ART AS LANGUAGE
An untitled gouache
artwork from 2007 by
Ganesh Haloi

GANESH HALOI:
A Rhythm Surfaces
in the Mind
Edited by Natasha
Ginwala and Jesal
Thacker
MAPIN PUBLISHING
& AKAR PRAKAR
`2,500; 256 pages

as adjacent to and not just as a result the partitioned continent with shared
of the tumultuous upheavals of his refrains” with artists and academ-
life. Featuring essays from curators ics like Mohammad Kibria, Nasreen
and critics, and many of Haloi’s hith- Mohamedi and Lala Rukh.
erto unseen works, sketches as well as But Haloi himself disagrees. Clad
familiar gouaches and watercolours, in his trademark earthy khadi kurta
the book is an immersive study of the and pyjama, he says over sips of laal
artist and his practice. cha, “I can see it. All that one sees in
Is his art abstract? It is and “in- my work I can see it and feel it.” He
finitely so”, argues the chair of the reaches for a sheet of paper and draws
department of history of art at Cor- a vertical line on it and asks, “Isn’t this
nell University, Iftikhar Dadi, in his a tree?” A cross goes over the line and
Ganesh Haloi: A Rhythm Surfaces essay ‘Infinite Abstraction’ as he tries it becomes a palm tree. A triangle, a
in the Mind is, like its title, about the to “situate him in a larger framework circle, a wavy line and a slanting line
melody evoked by the artist’s earth- of global abstraction, whose claims follow. “Show this to anyone and they
toned abstract oeuvre. This recently are local as well as universal”. Haloi will say this is a mountain and a tree
published monograph brought out by is “an abstract painter”, writes Dadi, by the river,” he challenges.
Mapin Publishing and Akar Prakar, “whose thinking and practice have Haloi goes on to explain, in his
and edited by Natasha Ginwala and been forged in the context of three gentle teacherly voice, as he draws
Jesal Thacker, traverses the artist’s deep and intense engagements of on the same sheet of paper what look
six-decade practice and, in the pro- his life” in Jamalpur, in Bangladesh, like symbols for subtraction, addi-
cess, raises as many questions as it where the artist grew up; in Kolkata, tion, multiplication and division.
answers. where he later had to move to in 1950 “This minus sign is death, when an-
While much has been written on after the threat of communal violence; other is born you add to it and there
Haloi, including an autobiography, and Ajanta, where he was posted for is addition,” he says. Haloi’s thought
Amar Katha, which won the Mano- seven years on an assignment of ren- continues in Thacker’s essay ‘Process-
jmohan Basu Smarak Samman from dering copies of the murals. Dadi ing a Line’, which looks at “the axis of
the Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi, argues that abstraction in the South life as a rekha or line that governs the
this book looks at his artistic practice Asian context had “affiliations across unknown”. “The vertical line atop the

6 0 INDIA TODAY M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3
 A RT A TALE OF
TWO GALLERIES
Art House and Gallery XXL are welcome—and very
different—additions to the art spaces of Mumbai
minus symbol becomes a plus sign.

A
rt is art, right? But two static space, but one that exists
The living rise up, the lifeless lie prone new art galleries in Mumbai in the minds of its curators first
on the ground. This division sign is a showcase the sheer range and then manifests physically in
symbol of separation and of distribu- of artistic perspective, with two various locations.
tion, which are inevitable results of an very different approaches to art. XXL’s first show, Outsid-
increase in number,” she quotes. One, ensconced in the glamor- ers, is housed in The Kalanjee
Haloi’s work does not court ab- ous Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Project, a gorgeous 19th-century
straction for the sake of obscuring Centre at the Bandra-Kurla Com- home in a Colaba by-lane. Cu-
meaning unlike artists like Wassily plex, is a plush four floors of hues. rated by artist Amitabh Kumar,
This contemporary space, designed it offers a peek into the global
Kandinsky (with whom Haloi is often
to use sunlight to best effect, has street art movement: from iconic
compared), feels art historian and fac-
been dubbed the Art House. It photographs by stalwart Martha
ulty member of Kala Bhavana, San- opened with a group show titled Cooper, who documented the
tiniketan, Soumik Nandy Majumdar. Sangam/Confluence, a collaboration emergence of the movement
The “abstract in his work exists more of curation by American art expert in 1970s New York, to AIKO’s
as a tendency” and a “linguistic strat- Jeffrey Deitch and Indian cultural bunnies, to Indian street artists
egy and not as an aim”, he says in his theorist Ranjit Hoskote, featuring Daku and Guesswho, whose
essay ‘Painter of the Twilight Zone’. over 50 artworks and installa- work is seen everywhere while
This is why Haloi is unwilling to “at- tions by five international their identities remain
tach the term abstract to his works”. and five Indian artists, concealed. It sets the
This linguistic strategy that Nan- among them Anselm
E R Y XXL context of how the 24
Kiefer and Bhupen GALL sents participating artists
dy Majumdar mentions is delineated e
repr ry urban
Khakhar. The show tem p o ra r t fit into the global
con ti a
the most in Haloi’s children’s books il- mixes moods and st-graffi timeline spanning
and po ly, but with
lustrations, some of which also appear media to tell the sincere k and almost 50 years.
in the book. It is a sheer delight to read tale of India’s rich a win le Gallery director
a chuck
Cholte Cholte, a 2001 children’s book and diverse culture. Joe Cyril tells us how
that shows the brother-sister duo of Quotes from the artists the intention was to find
Pintu and Parul returning from their on the walls accompany you a space that would reflect
village school, and observing these as you move up the floors, while the the type of collections they had
very symbols make up Haloi’s artistic audio guide with Hoskote’s narra- in mind. Gallery XXL aims to be
language amidst nature. Frogs and a tion adds nuanced perspective. This ‘an intimate space to engage with
is art, polished to perfection and an art form that has otherwise
Snake, a 1995 children’s book brought
presented on a platter. been enjoyed from afar’. The
out by the National Book Trust, is a
Quite the contrast is Gallery unique interiors of the Kalanjee
vivid vignette of nature. XXL, which represents contem- bungalow, at once raw and
When asked about the book, Haloi porary urban and post-graffiti refined, seem like the perfect
himself felt most understood by Polish art sincerely, but with a wink and foil for this. At both galleries,
curator and author Adam Szymczyk, a chuckle. The founders—Giulia boundaries—geographical and
curator at large of Stedelijk Museum Ambrogi, Hanif Kureshi, Arjun psychological—are being broken.
Amsterdam, whose essay ‘The Song, Bahl, Thanish Thomas and Akshat And that’s always a good thing
Not the Words’ seemed to have par- Nauriyal—who were also behind the when it comes to art. ■
ticularly moved him. Szymczyk ex- St+Art India Foundation that has Priya Pathiyan
become well known for urban
plores the artist’s biography to decode
art across India, believe that
his work and finds parallels between
Gallery XXL is the logical exten-
Haloi’s childhood village with its sion of that vision, of taking art
“unclear borders between habitation out of stuffy drawing rooms and
and arable land, marshes divided by making it accessible. This is not a
canal” and the way he paints, “the
difference between abstraction and
concrete detail being only matter of
an always shifting distance”.
Abstract or concrete, pensive or
DIFFERENT
joyful, silent or strident—the book
PERSPECTIVES
makes it clear that all these definitions (left) Sangam/Confluence at
are a matter of “shifting distance”. ■ the Art House, Nita Mukesh
Malini Banerjee Ambani Cultural Centre;
(top) Outsiders at Gallery
XXL, The Kalanjee Project
M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3 INDIA TODAY 6 1
LEISURE

BOOKS

FOUND IN Meena Arora Nayak’s retelling

of Vishnusharma’s Panchatantra

TRANSLATION seals her reputation as an inspired

interpreter of classical Sanskrit tales

he Panchatantra is one of those story collections And so the wise sage Vishnusharma is appoint-
that is everywhere and all the time, not simply ed to tutor the brats and transform them into
in the subcontinent, where it is believed to have reasonable heirs to the throne.
originated, but in animal stories across Europe Many of the stories that appear in this well-
and West Asia. As the stories settle into different loved and well-known text are older and come to
languages, cultures and regions, their flora and us from the Buddhist Jatakas, where they depict
fauna change, as does the religious and meta- the selfless actions of the Buddha in his previ-
physical universe they inhabit, but the message ous lives. But by 300 CE, when Vishnusharma’s
they carry—how to make friends, how to deal version was compiled with its frame story of
with the loss of power and pelf, how to guard incompetent princes who need to be schooled
yourself against reckless behaviour—remains into kingship, the book is clearly a manual for
the same. It’s a manual for how to live in the ruling elites and upper castes/ classes. Scholars
world of realpolitik, how to be prepared as a have commented on the Panchatantra’s close-
king or a ruler to maintain power, how to nur- ness to the Arthashastra and have pointed out
ture allies and eliminate enemies and how to that the text was put together at the same time
handle reversals and misfortunes. as other dharma and niti shastras. Thus, it
The many versions and renditions of the reflects the same concerns and proclivities as its
Indian story have a frame, of course, that explains companion texts—concerns that we now find
the genesis and purpose of the text. A king has problematic in terms of caste, gender and other
three sons who are not worth much, they are hierarchical exclusions. Nonetheless, both chil-
lazy and spoilt and, actually, rather dull-witted. dren and adults can be charmed by the anthro-
Worried for the future of his kingdom, the king pomorphised animals in the Panchatantra who
seeks a way to teach them about statecraft and play out human strengths and weaknesses, our
good governance and how to protect their legacy. vanities and our foibles. But as we find our plea-
sures in the Panchatantra, it would be good to
THE
PANCHATANTRA OF remember whence it came—not so that we can
VISHNUSHARMA reject it altogether, but so that we can see it bet-
by Meena Arora Nayak ter for what it is.
ALEPH
Aleph has found a gem in Meena Arora
`999; 382 pages
Nayak as an interpreter of classical Sanskrit
tales. She already has behind her lucid and
extremely enjoyable renditions of stories from
the Kathasaritsagara and a charming collec-
tion, Adbhut, about “marvellous creatures”
from Indian folklore. Her new retelling of the
Panchatantra has all the virtues of her previous
volumes and is supported (as are the others) by a
Both adults solid, informative and accessible ‘Introduction’
to the original work and to her process, includ-
and children ing the texts and translations she has consulted.
can be charmed This book will bring joy to the general reader
by the anthro- and warm companionship to the scholar look-
pomorphised ing for something a little more than what the
animals in the text and earlier translations provide. Brava! „
Panchatantra Arshia Sattar

6 2 INDIA TODAY M AY 2 2 , 2 02 3
 BOOKS

EXTRAORDINARY MOVIES ABOUT ORDINARY LIVES

This book by Anirudha Bhattacharjee celebrates the feelgood cinema of Basu Chatterji

A
s soon as I saw Basu Chat- budget and a quick three-week for half a century); to Chitchor
terji on a store shelf, I want- shoot. He was loved by actors be- (1976) to Khatta Meetha (1978) to
ed to read it. Though many cause, as testified by the over 60 Swami (1977)... oh, the list goes on.
current readers may not readily film personalities Bhattacharjee Bhattacharjee points out that
know of him—their touchstones of interviewed, the shoot was “like the films were strongest when
middle-of-the-road cinema would a picnic” (and film raconteurs like adapted from Indian literature;
be gems such as Dum Laga ke Hai- Utpal Dutt or Dadamoni Ashok Ku- Chatterji had to be restrained from
sha (2015) or Badhaai Ho (2018)— mar also enjoyed the post-shoot trying to adapt Czech or Turkish or
he was, as Pearl Padamsee put whisky-fuelled “adda”). He was even American films. And even in
it, the master of the low-budget loved by cinema-goers because in his numerous flops, the elements
BASU CHATTERJI film. His were the antithesis of the the chaos that was urban India, in that endure are the songs, the kind
AND MIDDLE- other memorable strain of the ’70s his films the oasis was the family. everyone back then would hum on
OF-THE-ROAD films—the angry-young-man mov- This book is more a filmogra- a bus or a train. Strangely, Chat-
CINEMA ies. Chatterji’s films were anything phy, fleshed out by reminiscences, terji did not like lip-synched songs,
By Anirudha
but angry—they were middle-class than a biography or hagiogra- arguing they were unnatural.
Bhattacharjee
PENGUIN VINTAGE character studies that sought to, phy. Starting with his first, Sara Though Bhattacharjee is some-
`699; 320 as biographer Anirudha Bhat- Akash (1969), based on a real-life times pedantic with his repeated
pages tacharjee says in his book, find the story by Rajendra Yadav of a focus on Chatterji’s continuity
lighter interludes of an ordinary life long-unconsummated marriage; to sloppiness, this is an engaging read
filled with burdens and obligations. the story of a woman in love with and like Chatterji’s films, leaves you
Or, he depicted the independent- two men (shocking!) Rajnigandha with a warm feeling throughout.
minded young woman. (1974); to chawl-life Piya ka Ghar For further enjoyment, listen to the
Chatterji was loved by produc- from 1972 (whose tune ‘Yeh jeevan songs between sittings! ■
ers because he kept to a low hai’ has been a reverb in my head Aditya Sinha

BOOKS

T H E R A N I VA N I S H E S
ITALIAN JOURNALIST LIVIA MANERA SAMBUY PIECES TOGETHER THE SCINTILLATING TALE OF
AMRIT KAUR, THE KAPURTHALA PRINCESS WHO WAS IMPRISONED BY THE GESTAPO

O
On a visit to Mumbai in 2007,
Red herrings and side stories
keep the facts stubbornly out
of reach. Eighteen months
after seeing the photograph,
she travels to Pune to meet the
Rani’s daughter, Nirvana Devi
the momentum of detective
fiction. Astounding coinci-
dences abound. Two jewellers
flying first class from India
gossip about an unforget-
table double-stranded pearl
the author sees a photograph of Bilkha, or Bubbles. But the necklace: the very one the
that will change her life. It’s a diminutive silver-haired lady THE SEARCH FOR AMRIT Rani wore in the 1924 pho-
monochrome portrait made exclaims, “I know nothing KAUR An Indian Princess in tograph. Just as all Sam-
in 1924, of Rani Amrit Kaur about my mother!” The Rani Wartime Paris buy’s leads dry up, a dinner
of Mandi, shimmering in her left Mandi for Europe in 1933, by Livia Manera Sambuy engagement in Paris yields a
tissue sari and jewels. abandoning her two children English translation by telephone number in the US.
The caption claims that and husband, never to return. Todd Portnowitz A crocodile-leather briefcase
the sad-eyed princess of Ka- Bubbles was not yet four. The CHATTO & WINDUS that may contain letters and
`799; 330 pages
purthala was arrested by the only thing she knows for sure photographs of the Rani’s
Gestapo in wartime France is that her mother died in 1948 secret history, miraculously
“on the accusation of having in the UK, not in 1941 in France. the Nazis, but failed, at least surfaces in San Diego.
sold her jewellery to help What happened in the initially. Troubling questions Sambuy writes with
Jews escape the country”. chasm of time between the plague the author: why would warm empathy for India’s
Sent to an internment camp, flight from India and the an Indian princess risk her life once-royals. They grace the
she “survived less than a death in England? Archival to help Jews escape to safety? pages of her book with dignity
year of Nazi imprisonment”. correspondence between the Why did she never write to her and good humour even as the
This tiny scrap of history British Foreign Office and the children? How did some of her ugly chaos of our world swal-
launches Sambuy, Italian au- Rani’s father, Maharaja Jagatjit fabulous jewels find their way lows up the last traces of their
thor and journalist, on a 15- Singh of Kapurthala, reveals to American auction houses? vanished glory. ■
year quest to dig up the truth. that he tried to rescue her from The saga that unfolds has Manjula Padmanabhan
LEISURE

B
By director Kanu Behl’s own ad-
mission, the protagonist in his sec-
ond feature, Agra, is up to no good.
Guru (newcomer Mohit Agarwal),
a sexually repressed twentysome-
thing man, does “dastardly things”
and has a “difficult gaze”, but Behl
and his co-writer Atika Chohan
hope to garner some empathy for
him amidst the drama. The ‘Agra’ of
the title isn’t just a reference to the
backdrop but also to Guru’s state
of mind, which others equate to
the residents of the city’s infamous
mental asylum. “Guru has his own
bizarre method of saying what is
wrong in the house,” Behl says.
That’s not to absolve other occu-
pants as saints. Adds Behl, “It is
like being inside a madhouse with
six crazy people…they are as mad,
if not more, as him. They refuse to
acknowledge their secret lives.”
Like Behl’s debut film Titli
(2014), Agra will have its world
A LONG WAY premiere at the prestigious Cannes
Priyanka Film Festival, though this time in
Bose and the Director’s Fortnight section.
Mohit Agarwal
It’s a fortunate happenstance, but
in Agra
one that Behl makes clear is not
his goal. “The aim never is to make
CINEMA a film for a film festival,” he says.
“I make films to be as honest as

AGRA
possible and while doing that to be
able to start a broader conversation
with a larger audience.” The topics

STATE
that Behl explores in the film Agra
include the roots of male sexual
repression and “what desire does
to us when we find it right in the

OF MIND
middle of the most intimate physi-
cal connection that we can have
with another person”.
Apart from the Cannes screen-
ing, Agra is also newsworthy for
Kanu Behl’s second feature, it features Aashiqui (1990) actor
Agra, which will debut at Cannes, Rahul Roy, who plays the family
explores the themes of insanity and patriarch a.k.a. Daddy. Talking
male sexual desire about the casting, Behl noted the
 CINEMA Naval, Shah and Nimisha Sajayan (for
the upcoming film Footprints on Wa-
ter). Sanaa, a social drama by National
NYIFF BACK IN Award-winning director Sudhanshu
Saria, has already garnered critical
need to have an actor who
exuded charm but also one who
CINEMAS acclaim and was the sole Indian film
to have premiered at the 26th Tallinn
came with “a certain fading, The New York Indian Film Black Nights Film Festival and the 38th
decaying quality”. “In his own Festival is back and ready Santa Barbara International Film Festi-
way, he had lived both parts to kick off in cinemas after val recently. The Anupam Kher-starrer
of his life already on the grand three digital editions short film, Retake, an introspective
cinematic journey that he has story exploring themes of love and
loss, will premiere at the NYIFF on
been on,” says Behl of Roy. “He
May 13 and has also been nominated
knew many sides of the char- onsidered North America’s
for an award.
acter already in an experiential
manner.”
C longest-running and most
prestigious Indian film
“We are thrilled to witness the
global recognition of Indian cinema
Agra’s journey to the festival, the 23rd edition
with not just one but three Indian films
of the New York Indian Film Festival
Croisette has come after much acknowledged at the Oscars. The
(NYIFF) is being held from May
struggle for Behl. After secur- 11-14, 2023, and will include over 30
milestone highlights incredible talent
ing 40 per cent funding from and diversity of Indian cinema, and we
narratives, documentaries and shorts,
France’s ‘Cinema du Monde’ are honoured to showcase some of
with a special New York screening of
film fund in 2017, it took him the best works of Indian filmmakers to
Rahul Chittella’s critically-acclaimed
another two years to find an our audience,” said Suman Gollamudi,
Gulmohar (2023) on May 12.
the executive director for the Indo-
Indian producer. “Structural Actors Manoj Bajpayee, Sharmila
American Arts Council, which runs the
support for contemporary art Tagore, Kalki Koechlin and Shefali Shah
NYIFF, in a press release. Gollamudi, of
house voices”, as he notes, isn’t are slated to make appearances at the
course, references the Oscar-winning
festival. While Shah stars as the lead
Documentary Short The Elephant
in the opening film of the gala, Avinash
Arun’s Three of Us (2022), Koechlin Whisperers (2022), the award-winning
Best Original Song ‘Naatu Naatu’ from
and Deepti Naval’s Goldfish (2022) will
RRR (2022), and the Best Documen-
AFTER SECURING 40 PER bring down the curtain on the festival.
The opening night will be held at Village
tary Feature-nominated All That
CENT FUNDING FROM East by Angelika and the closing night Breathes (2022).
NYIFF festival director Aseem
FRANCE’S ‘CINEMA DU at SVA Theatre, which will also include
the much-anticipated NYIFF Awards. Chhabra added, “The mission of NYIFF
MONDE’, IT TOOK BEHL Radhika Madan has been nomi- has and will always be to elevate the
very best of filmmakers and storytell-
nated for the Best Actress award for
ANOTHER TWO YEARS TO Sanaa (2022). She will be vying for top ers featuring India and its culture.” ■
FIND AN INDIAN PRODUCER honours in the category with Koechlin, Sharmistha Chaudhuri

THE INDIAN CHARM

(Clockwise from right) still from
Retake (upcoming), Sanaa (2022),
the easiest to find in India. It Footprints on Water (upcoming) and
came in the form of Saregama’s Three of Us (2022)
Yoodlee Films. For co-producer
Siddharth Anand Kumar,
backing auteur-driven cinema
is part of the studio’s vision.
“There are some directors who
know what they want and don’t
waver from their vision. Luckily,
for him, that vision is intact,”
says Kumar. Now, just as
Yoodlee empowered him, Behl
hopes to reach a position where
he can extend the same backing
to other ingenious voices. He
set up 028 Films to do just that.
Says Behl, “I never stop hoping
and fighting.” ■
Suhani Singh
 Q A
The Heat
Is On
For Sunny Leone, 2023 feels like the year of debuts. The
actor just launched her first beauty line, is filming Rangeela
that marks her Malayalam debut and is off to Cannes for
the first time to premiere Anurag Kashyap’s Kennedy

Q. What was going

through your head
when you realised you
might be in an Anurag
Kashyap movie?
When Anurag sir called me for Ken-
nedyy, he said he wanted me to come in for
the film, but he actually wanted me to audi-
tion for the role. I was extremely nervous,
but I told him that I had no problem
with auditioning... When I got off the
phone, I was so shocked and so
amazed because I know what
kind of a filmmaker he is.

Q. What did you

learn about your own
process as an actor while
shooting Kennedy y?
Through the process of making
Kennedy y, I learnt from Anurag sir the
ability to let go and be as attentive as
possible while doing a scene. I tried my
best to be the best listener and take
his advice on what he wanted out
of me. The experience really felt
like sweat, blood and tears. I
can’t wait to go to Cannes to
showcase the film there.

Q. As an
actor, what is
the one genre of
films that you wish
you’re offered soon?
I love dramas, I like psycho- Q. What are some
logical thrillers, I like period of the challenges of
dramas a lot. So, when making it as a beauty
someone offers me a entrepreneur in India?
film like that, it will The biggest challenge is to
be amazing. ensure that the quality of every
product consistently lives up to a
certain benchmark that you’ve set for
yourself. That is impossible to do
without a process of collaboration
with the right kind of manu-
facturers who can help
you consistently create
quality products.

with Poulomi Das

66 Volume 48-Number 21; For the week May 16-22, 2023, published on every Friday Total number of pages 68 (including cover pages)