Temple Activist T R Ramesh

Speaks In-Depth On Mylapore

Kapaleeswarar Temple Funds Issue.
December 2023

BANGLADESH
Keeping The West Out Of East
 1

Leftist Dogmatists Decimated

Fascinating treatise (Science To Satire, November 2023) on a personality who has almost single-handedly decimated
leftist dogmatists and helped the traditional Sanatana ethos to emerge.

— Raktim Dutta

Better Late Than Never

An extremely interesting article (A Day Out With A Politician, November 2023).
Heartening to note that BJP workers are now putting in the hard yards which was
missing under earlier leadership (while piggyback riding with AIADMK or DMK).
The party lost two decades in this, but better late than never.
— Dr R Jayaram
Keep Politics Out
Good overview. You are right. The journey has just begun. We are trying to host fore act in a Dharmic way always, by itself defining or realising its
the 2036 Olympics (Indian Sports Coming Of Age, November 2023). Our sporting svadharma.
fraternity should plan for the best show at this event if it takes place here. The — Nataraj Subramanian
next milestone should be 2047. As you said it is all long-term. All politicians A Helpful Mentor
should come together, to keep politics out. So excited to get my Swarajya copy this month. Dr Ranganathan (Science To Satire,
November 2023) is not only one of the most intellectual people, who depends
— Jitendra Desai on fact rather than bias, but also one of the sweetest and most helpful mentors
Satire At Its Best you can have. We need more people like him.
I haven’t read such satire in a while! (Unpatriotic ‘Patriots’, November 2023) I was — Aditya Saraff
reminded of an event where I was asked to tone down my presentation, just so
that other presenters don’t feel ‘bad’.
— Saleela Patkar
Realising Svadharma
Interesting article. I have been thinking along similar lines. I was also wondering
whether it would be possible for an AI (An Indic AI Framework, November 2023) to
read our scriptures and somehow get the essence of Dharma and there-

A Must-Read Book
Yes, this is a must-read book. Thanks Aravindan Neelakandan. The messages need
to be given wide reach among the people (India Riding A Tech Wave, November
2023) before the 2024 elections. Deepak Bhagla talks about the tech revolution in
India in a YouTube video, revealing mind-boggling statistics that people often take
for granted.
—Prasad
 2

Setting The Right Example An Enduring Obsession

The arbitral award for Tatas will en- The IELTS coaching industry thrives
hance the security of investments and in Punjab, driven by the demand for VOL 67 ISSUE 11
business deals in India. foreign immigration.
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
17 24 Manish Sabharwal
Surjit S Bhalla
Swapan Dasgupta

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
R Jagannathan
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Prasanna Viswanathan

PUBLISHER AND CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER

Amarnath Govindarajan

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

N Muthuraman

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Aravindan Neelakandan, Jaideep Mazumdar
Taking Touts To Task On Shaky Grounds EXECUTIVE EDITOR
NIA raids resulted in the arrest of 44 Arush Tandon
Questions galore about Bangladesh
touts engaged in trafficking Rohing- inflating the numbers to mask eco- CHIEF COPY EDITOR
Ravi M G
yas and Bangladeshis into India. nomic weaknesses.
SENIOR EDITORS
27 30
Swati Goel Sharma (Ground Reports), Prakhar Gupta (Defence),
Tushar Gupta (Infrastructure), Arun Kumar Das (Infrastructure),
Nishtha Anushree (Magazine), Kuldeep Negi (Newsroom), Karan
Kamble (Technology)

SENIOR SUB EDITORS

Diksha Yadav, Sharan Setty

STAFF WRITERS
Amit Mishra, V Bhagya Subhashini, Ankit Saxena, S Rajesh

ASSISTANT COPY EDITORS

Priyanka Hegde, Rutvi Dattani

DIGITAL MARKETING AND ONLINE SALES

Raghu Ravi, Tejesh K

HEAD - VIDEO PRODUCTION AND GRAPHICS

On The Right Track Jones Abraham
Chipping Away At Temple Funds
It’s time the tolerant majority out- Why it is wrong to use temple funds VIDEO PRODUCTION AND GRAPHICS
Hari Prasanth
lawed halal by forcing governments for the construction of a cultural cen-
to stop payment of jizya to mullahs. tre and colleges. www.swarajyamag.com

36 39 /swarajyamag
/+Swarajyamag
@swarajyamag
/company/swarajya

For Editorial queries:

[email protected]

For Subscription queries:

[email protected]

For Advertisement and Business queries:

[email protected]

KOVAI MEDIA PVT LTD

356/2, 14B Cross, 5th Main HSR, Sector 6,
Bangalore, 560102
Phone No: 91 9632138005

54 In Defence Of Devotion All rights reserved. Printed and published by Amarnath Govin-
darajan on behalf of Kovai Media Pvt Ltd. Printed by G. Packia
Selvan at Bhagya Offset Printers, No 89/A1 [New no. 109], Chin-
nammal Street, Saibaba Colony, Coimbatore 641038. Published at
43 Nehru Nagar, M.D Gardens, Civil Airport Post, Kalapatti Road,
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, INDIA 641014.

03 | Keeping Islamists At Bay

05 |Hasina Should Do More
56 | Archives
 Cover Story 3

Keeping Islamists At Bay

Islamists rising to power in Bangladesh will pose a grave danger. Let the elections be flawed and unfair, and let Awami
League return to power, but ensure Bangladesh becomes a truly democratic and secular nation.
Jaideep Mazumdar No matter how unfair, authoritarian or freefall against the US dollar — a thousand
anti-democratic it may seem, free and fair Bangladeshi taka is trading for a little over

W
elections in Bangladesh will not result in nine US dollars now.
estern nations — the United States,
a happy outcome for the world, including This has made imports expensive. Accord-
United Kingdom and Europe — have
Bangladesh. ing to the latest CEIC data, Bangladesh’s im-
been demanding free, fair and participatory
That’s because such elections could well ports in August 2023 totalled US $5.4 billion.
elections in Bangladesh over the past few
bring radical Islamists to power in Bangla- The country is deep in the red and a
months.
desh. The reality is that there is a groundswell serious debt crisis looms on the horizon. The
These nations have been leaning heavily
country’s external debt is estimated to be
on the Sheikh Hasina government to accede
over $100 billion and economists say that
to the Opposition’s demand and step down in Opposition leaders have been arrested and
from next year, the country will find it quite
favour of a neutral caretaker regime to con- put behind bars on even flimsy charges, and
impossible to meet its interest payments and
duct the forthcoming parliamentary elections many have been bought over or threatened
other debt obligations.
in January next year. into silence. This authoritarianism has bred
Though Bangladesh has made some im-
Though the US has now backed off and is deep resentment among the masses.
pressive progress in terms of infrastructure,
going easy on Dhaka at the intervention of
a lot of that — roads, bridges, rail lines etc —
New Delhi, the pressure from the European
are being financed by loans taken from China
Union (EU) continues.
of resentment against the ruling AL and that carry a high rate of interest.
The principal opposition party — the
equitable elections will result in certain Coupled with this dismal economic situa-
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) — is un-
defeat for AL. tion that has made life hard for the common
likely to participate in the elections since its
After having stayed in power for nearly man, the ruling AL has virtually snuffed out all
primary demand that the polls be held under
15 years (Sheikh Hasina became the Prime opposition.
a caretaker government has been rejected.
Minister in January 2009 and has ruled the Opposition leaders have been arrested
This means that the elections, which will
country uninterruptedly since then), the AL and put behind bars on even flimsy charges,
see a largely one-sided contest with the pow-
government faces a huge amount of anti-in- and many have been bought over or threat-
erful Awami League (AL) fighting off meek
cumbency. Inflation is at a record high and ened into silence.
challenges from smaller opposition parties,
prices of all commodities, including essen- This authoritarianism has bred deep
will bring Sheikh Hasina back to power for
tials, have sky-rocketed in recent months. resentment among the masses. The AL is
the fourth time.
The country’s forex reserves have hit rock perceived to be corrupt. Its uninterrupted
That will be good not only for India, but
bottom and the Bangladeshi taka is on a and unchallenged rule for the last 15 years
the rest of the world as well.
 4 Cover Story

has bred largescale corruption, nepotism and mist agenda. The Jamaat, Hefazat and Islami sition and the entire opposition space is now
malfeasance. Oikyo Jote occupy the primary opposition occupied by Islamist parties. So if completely
AL leaders and functionaries have space in Bangladesh today. Implementation free and fair elections are held now, the
amassed huge properties and this has also of strict Sharia laws and making Bangladesh Awami League will face a crushing defeat at
alienated the masses who are reeling under a completely Islamic nation on the lines of the hands of the Islamist parties,” the editor
poverty that has worsened due to high Afghanistan are the principal objectives of of a widely-circulated English daily, who did
inflation. these Islamist parties,” political analyst Shar- not want to be named for fear of persecution,
The AL, though avowedly secular on the yar Islam Babul, who used to teach political told Swarajya over phone from Dhaka.
outside, has encouraged Islamist outfits like science at Dhaka University, told Swarajya. If Islamists come to power in Bangladesh
the Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh as a counter Given the acute incumbency against the through ‘free and fair’ elections, it will be a
to the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami which is AL and the groundswell of anger caused by setback for India. The Islamists will, surely,
closely aligned with the BNP. harsh economic conditions in the country, take Bangladesh into the orbit of Pakistan
Also, the Al has been infiltrated by ‘free and fair’ elections will bring these and China, and harm India’s interests.
Islamists and this large scale infiltration has Islamists to power in Bangladesh. The coming to power of Islamists in
turned the lower and middle ranks of the Though the Jamaat-e-Islami has been Bangladesh will pose a grave danger not only
ruling party toxic. banned from contesting elections by a 2013 to India, but also the world at large.
AL’s silent encouragement of the Hefazat court order — this order was upheld by the Bangladesh will become another
has amounted to the party playing with fire country’s Supreme Court earlier last month — breeding ground for jihadis, and may quickly
and creating a Frankenstein’s monster that is it will not be difficult for Jamaat nominees to degenerate into a failed state. The world can
now out of the AL’s control. win as Independents or on tickets from other ill-afford to have yet another country become
The Hefazat has emerged as a highly parties. a failed state ruled by Islamic fundamentalist.
radical force and has developed close ties In 2018, Jamaat nominees contested the Thus, it is in the world’s interests to allow
with the Jamaat-e-Islami, with the two often parliamentary elections on BNP tickets and the election process to proceed without too
acting in unison. many of them won. Since most BNP leaders much interference. It will be better for the
The Hefazat and other Islamist organi- are behind bars or on the run now, it is world if the elections, however flawed they
sations have, through the madrassas and expected that many Jamaat nominees will be may be, result in the AL returning to power.
masjids under their control, radicalised a given BNP tickets this time as well. A caveat would be in order here: India and
huge number of people, especially the young- And if the January elections are complete- the Western nations must now extract an
er generation. These radicalised lot are also ly equitable, all of them stand a good chance iron-clad promise from the AL to keep China
viscerally anti-India and anti-West. of winning. Analysts and political observers out of Bangladesh, curb Islamist forces in
In the absence of a strong political say that non-partisan elections will be swept the country, allow a responsible and secular
opposition that could have articulated and by the Islamists and bring the mullahs to opposition to flourish and purge the ranks of
represented the anger and resentment of the power. the AL itself of Islamist elements.
masses, it is the Islamist parties which have “Large sections of Bangladeshis, espe- Let the elections be flawed and unfair, and
filled the Opposition space. cially the youth, have been radicalised by the let AL return to power. But after that, ensure
Political analysts in Bangladesh say that Islamists. People are angry with the Awami that the ruling party (AL) makes Bangladesh
the AL’s short-sighted policy of severely League for rising prices, corruption and mis- a truly democratic and secular nation.
weakening its primary rival — the BNP — governance. Living conditions have become
through harsh persecution and strong-arm very grim and the cost of living, especially for
tactics has strengthened the Islamist parties. the middle class and the poor, has become Jaideep Mazumdar is Contributing Editor, Swarajya.
“The mullahs have become the primary very high. Farmers and fishermen are in
opposition and are openly furthering an Isla- distress. There is practically no political oppo-
 Cover Story 5

Hasina Should Do More

For supporting Hasina, New Delhi should seek commitments from her after intervening on her behalf with Western
nations, urging leniency. It would ensure mutual benefit.
Jaideep Mazumdar New Delhi’s interests that Hasina remains in expand their footprint in Bangladesh, turning
power. Apart from ensuring the continuity it into a hotbed for anti-India activities.

I
of connectivity projects that are so vital for The Awami League won the 1996 elections
t is no secret that India is backing Bangla-
North East India, the Awami League govern- and Hasina started undoing a lot of the
desh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the
ment has been highly accommodative of damage to India-Bangladesh ties inflicted by
hilt in warding off pressure from the United
India’s security concerns. her predecessor.
States (US), United Kingdom (UK), and Euro-
After coming to power in January 2009, But the BNP returned to power in the 2001
pean Union (EU) to agree to the opposition’s
Hasina initiated a crackdown on militant out- elections and once again took the country
demand to step down.
fits of the North East who had been provided close to not only Pakistan’s but also China’s
The opposition, led by the Bangladesh
embrace.
Nationalist Party (BNP), has been demanding
Hasina is critically dependent on India The past 17 years (since Hasina returned
that the Awami League government make
presently, and though she has done her fair to power in early January 2009) has seen a
way for a neutral caretaker government so
share in safeguarding India’s interests, she sharp upswing in Indo-Bangladeshi ties.
that it can conduct the parliamentary elec-
can do more, especially for the religious Not only has Hasina cleansed the country
tions in the country.
minorities in her country. of anti-India elements and ensured that
Only then, they believe, will free and fair
entities inimical to India’s interests do not
elections be possible.
sprout in Bangladesh, she has also allowed
The BNP has told the Western nations that
shel- rail, road, and waterway projects that pass
the party won’t participate in the elections if
ter in Bangladesh by the earlier BNP from eastern India through Bangladesh to
they are conducted with the Awami League
government. North East India.
government in power. Such a boycott will rob
The action extended to the military juntas The Awami League government has
the elections of their credibility, which the
that ruled the country for most of the period also limited China’s footprint in Bangladesh,
Western nations do not want.
between Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s assas- keeping in mind India’s sensitivities.
And that is why they are leaning heavily
sination on 15 August 1975 and the return to Pakistan and its egregious agencies have
on Hasina to step down — for the sake of free,
democracy in 1991. not been allowed entry into the country, and
fair, and participatory elections.
The 1991 elections brought the BNP to Hasina has facilitated bilateral trade and
But Hasina has not only resisted the pres-
power, and its prime minister Khaleda Zia closer cultural and people-to-people links
sure, but also rebuffed the powerful Western
displayed a marked anti-India stance. between Bangladesh and India.
nations, thanks to strong backing from New
Zia allowed Pakistan’s notorious Inter Ser- It is, therefore, natural for New Delhi
Delhi.
vices Intelligence (ISI) and radical Islamists to to offer strong support to Hasina and also
There is no denying the fact that it is in
 6 Cover Story

New Delhi should extract an assurance from Bangladesh.

Hasina that after coming to power next year,
she will amend the country’s Constitution to 5. Return Of Properties Seized From
establish a minorities commission. Hindus
Such a body should be independent and Lakhs of Hindus lost their homes and lands,
have wide-ranging powers to oversee con- which were confiscated by successive mili-
crete welfare measures for minorities. tary regimes and the BNP government under
It should also have powers to take up the Vested Property Act.
intervene on her behalf with Western nations, suo moto cases of attacks, persecution, and Though the Awami League government
asking them to go easy on her. discrimination against religious minorities, repealed this anti-minority act, the properties
But having done that, it is also necessary conduct investigations into such crimes, and that were unjustly seized from Hindus and
for New Delhi to get a few crucial commit- recommend action against culprits. other religious minorities have not been
ments out of Hasina, namely: returned to them.
4. Cut Ties With Islamists As Well As India should extract a promise from
1. Protection Of Religious Minorities Pro-Pakistan And Pro-China Elements Hasina to expedite the repatriation of all
Though atrocities on, and persecution of, Though Hasina has curbed anti-India activ- properties seized from Hindus, Buddhists,
religious minorities — Hindus, Buddhists ities in her country, she and her party still and Christians.
and Christians — in Bangladesh have fallen have links with Islamists as well as powerful
sharply after Hasina came to power nearly 17 individuals and entities that are known to be 6. De-Radicalise Bangladesh
years ago, they do still continue. Chinese and Pakistani agents in Bangladesh. The Jamaat-e-Islami, Hefazat-e-Bangladesh,
Attacks on Hindus, their properties, and Some of these individuals are even senior and other radical Islamist outfits have grown
places of worship continue to be reported members of the Awami League and quite stronger in Bangladesh over the last 15 years.
quite regularly from various parts of Bang- close to Hasina. The Awami League government has shied
ladesh. One such individual is Salman Fazlur Rah- away from being tough against these outfits.
The culprits are mostly Islamists and man, a prominent businessman and member In fact, some Awami League leaders and
even lower-level functionaries of the Awami of parliament who is also the ‘private industry functionaries have developed strong ties with
League. Very few of these culprits have ever and investment adviser’ to the Prime Minister. these outfits.
been prosecuted and convicted, which fur- It is an open secret in Bangladesh that These radical Islamist bodies pose a grave
ther emboldens attacks on Hindus and other Rahman serves the interests of Beijing and threat not only to Bangladesh and its minori-
religious minorities. Islamabad in Dhaka. He is viscerally anti-India ties, but also to India.
New Delhi should extract an ironclad and known to work against India’s interests. Hasina should be made to promise that
commitment from Hasina that from now on He has at times been successful in scuttling one of her first tasks after coming to power
she will institute a ‘zero-tolerance policy’ some bilateral (India-Bangladesh) projects. next year will be to launch a harsh crackdown
against the persecution of religious minor- on these outfits and even ban them.
ities. She should also commit to shutting down
Though Hasina has curbed anti-India
She should commit to taking exemplary madrassas, which are the breeding grounds
activities in her country, she and her party
action against those who attack religious for Islamic fundamentalism, and bring all
still have links with Islamists as well as
minorities, even if it angers the Islamists. children into the regular school education
powerful individuals and entities that are
Hasina should be asked to amend the system.
known to be Chinese and Pakistani agents
country’s laws to make punishment for The time for India to extract these prom-
in Bangladesh.
attacking, persecuting, or discriminating ises is now. Hasina is critically dependent on
against religious minorities stringent and India presently, and though she has done her
severe. fair share in safeguarding India’s interests,
India should also lean heavily on Hasina she can do more, especially for the religious
2. Affirmative Action For Religious Minor- to abandon her policy of flirting with or minorities in her country.
ities propping up Islamist groups to counter the
Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians constitute Jamaat-e-Islami that has strong links with
about 8 per cent of the population of Bang- the BNP.
ladesh. India should ask Hasina to reserve at Hasina went soft on the Hefazat-e-Islam
least 10 per cent seats in elected bodies, from Bangladesh after it was formed in 2010 and
the panchayat to parliament, for the religious accommodated many of the radical outfit’s
minorities. demands. Her calculation was that this outfit
Similar reservations should also be un- would emerge as a strong pro-Awami League
veiled in government jobs and seats in higher force to counter the Jamaat.
educational institutions. But the move boomeranged and the Hefa-
zat grew close to the Jamaat. They are now a Jaideep Mazumdar is Contributing Editor, Swarajya.

3. Set Up A Minorities Commission strong anti-India and radical Islamist force in

 Cover Story 7

The Struggles Of Hindu Minority

Despite the persecution Hindus face in Bangladesh, India and the Muslim-majority neighbour have maintained
peaceful ties. Bangladesh is considered ‘friendly,’ with Hindus enduring constant attacks since the 1947 Partition.

Pratim Ranjan Bose In 2018, Professor Abdul Barakat of Dhaka Turning A Blind Eye
University famously projected that at the cur- Delhi blames the army rulers, the

C
rent rate of migration, there will be no Hindus Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and
ompared to the tensions on the western
left in Bangladesh in 30 years. Barakat arrived Islamists led by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami
and northern borders, India has had a
at his estimates from years of research in for religious persecution. This narrative does
peaceful co-existence with the Muslim-ma-
agricultural land holding. not hold water anymore. The ruling Awami
jority Bangladesh in the east. That does not
According to Barakat, from 1964 to 2013, League is equally responsible, if not in policy,
mean Dhaka has been an abode of peace, but
around 11.3 million Hindus fled Bangladesh. then in practice at the grassroots.
only that Delhi has found it manageable.
The daily rate of migration was 512 persons It is true that the Hasina government
Naturally, Bangladesh was always con-
during 1971-1981, 438 during 1981-1991, 767 (2008-present) has given space to Hindus in
sidered ‘friendly’. And no one made a bigger
administration. The BNP-Jamaat, which ruled
sacrifice for this ‘friendship’ than Hindus and
That Hindus have no other political force to the country for two five-year terms, was not
other Indic religious minorities, who were
rely on, their vote share is declining, and ready to give an inch. A headcount in Bangla-
under constant attack in this part of the world
the league’s long stay in power virtually desh’s home and foreign affairs ministries will
since the Partition in 1947.
without election has added to the woes of prove the point.
The creation of Bangladesh, marked by
the minorities. However, such beneficiaries form a minus-
India’s military intervention, in 1971 failed
cule portion of the minority community. On
to shift the course. The famed Indira-Mujib
the ground, the league is at the forefront of
agreement of 1972 didn’t have a provision for
persecution and land grabs. That Hindus have
the return of Hindus, who fled East Pakistan
during 1991-2001, and 774 no other political force to rely on, their vote
until 1970, to survive persecution.
during 2001-2012. share is declining, and the league’s long stay
Independent Bangladesh took four dec-
Bangladesh now has 13 million Hindus, in power virtually without election has added
ades to repeal the Enemy Property Act (later
constituting 7.95 per cent of the population, to the woes of the minorities.
renamed as Vested Properties Act), which
down from 13.5 per cent in 1974. Hindus in Bangladesh have no takers
was an official tool to chase away Hindus and
No one knows about the current outflow today. And the situation will deteriorate
rob their property, since Pakistani rule.
of Hindus from Bangladesh. But anyone in whoever comes to power in 2024.
In 2011, the incumbent Shiekh Hasina-led
West Bengal can see them coming. And, The rise of the Islamic group Hefazat-e-Is-
Awami League government enacted the
considering the recent economic prosperity lam in the last decade coincided with a series
Vested Properties Return (Amendment) Act
of Bangladesh, such migrations are solely as of targeted killings of Hindu priests in 2016.
to return the vested properties. But that was
a result of religious persecution, which has The next year, Hasina cosied up with Hefazat
too little, too late. There have not been many
become all-pervasive. and gave precedence to their staunch Islamic
instances of actual return of properties since.
demands and aspirations in public policy.
 8 Cover Story

In 2021, Hefazat led the violent protests Bangladesh. But its use in the top ranks of the es and/or attacks on Christians.
against Indian Prime Minister Narendra league was shocking. The media fraternity in Bangladesh
Modi’s Dhaka visit. Among the public prop- In the same month, A K M Bahauddin attributes it to the alacrity of the West. Any
erties damaged were libraries, long held as Bahar, a veteran league MP from Cumilla, incident involving Christianity invites sharp
unIslamic. Some of those, who held Hefazat bordering India’s Tripura, equated the oncom- criticism from Western missions, led by the
for communalism, were arrested. ing biggest Hindu festival of Durga Puja as a United States.
However, Hefazat is less of a problem in festival of alcohol. Spot visits by envoys and media attention
the daily life of a common Hindu. They grew As aggrieved Hindus came out with a forced the administration to come down
up knowing what and who is to be avoided. protest march, league student and youth heavily on the miscreants.
Unfortunately for them, the distinctions are wing attacked and injured protesters. The deterrence factor is so high that
getting increasingly blurred. Atrocities during Durga Puja are common Bangladeshi journalists jocularly equate
Accusing minorities of blasphemy was not in Bangladesh. Vandalising idols and temples churches to the US mission, in terms of
new. The Digital Security Act 2020 institution- is an annual affair. Every year newspapers their power quotient. In contrast, the Indian
alised it. A fake social media post in the name report scores of such incidents. Many more mission is selective in highlighting the plight
of a Hindu and he is ruined; police will arrest go unreported. This year, too, there were at of Hindus.
him first. least 10 such incidents. The mission was visibly active on this
In some cases, the police investigation Unfortunately, India has allowed such front during 2012 and 2017. The momentum
ended up with Awami League activists. But atrocities to be normalised. An Indian mission was lost since the rigged 2018 election when
that was long after the damage was done. official in Bangladesh graced the ‘Bijaya Hasina returned to power for the third term.
In the past, the league blamed such inci- Sammilani’, organised by Bahar this year. Hindus were once again left to fend for
dents on unwarranted elements making their Bijaya marks the end of the four-day themselves.
way to the party. Nowadays, veteran leaders Durga Puja. And that takes us to a crucial question:
of the league openly participate in Hindu Can India afford to have a strong presence in
bashing even within the party. India’s Inaction Bangladesh by dumping its natural ally?
At a public meeting in October, the Mayor The 170-million-strong Bangladesh has barely We made a similar mistake in Nepal by
of Munsigunj, Haji Mohammad Faisal, referred 700,000 Christians. According to unofficial in- allowing Kathmandu to dump the ‘Hindu
to party Member of Parliament (MP) Mrinal formation, there are nearly 5,600 churches, or Rashtra’ tag.
Kanti Das as “Malaun” (accursed). This is the one church for every 125 Christians. However, Pratim Ranjan Bose is a commentator and researcher. He held
most common abuse hurled at Hindus in there are fewer reports of vandalising church- senior positions in national financial media.

Stories Wrapped Around The Wrist

Nirupesh Joshi, forsaking a tech career, now leads Bangalore Watch Company, a 2016 venture with his life and business
partner, Mercy Amalraj. Based in Bengaluru, the brand crafts luxury wristwatches in India.
Karan Kamble Amalraj, are a couple about town in Hong Since work keeps them busy on the week-
Kong — a densely populated lap of luxury days, the weekends provide a breather to the

O
— where Joshi leads a technical consulting couple, who are doing well for themselves
n a hot and humid weekend in the early
team for a reputable technology company. and don’t mind attending to some retail
2010s, Nirupesh Joshi and his wife, Mercy
 Business 9

team for all of North Asia — which meant that

I had to be based out of Hong Kong,” Joshi
tells me over a chat in his studio.
Up until that point, watches had not
played a significant role in Joshi’s life. Like
anyone of us, he got a Titan watch as a child
and later, as a grown-up, exchanged watches
as gifts with near and dear ones.
“In Hong Kong, things changed,” he
reveals.
Joshi says it was hard to escape the
therapy on their days off. throw away from the Indian Institute of Man- scores of luxury brands cramped into the
It is Hong Kong, after all; none can escape agement (IIM), Bengaluru. small city of Hong Kong.
the tight clutches of luxury brands that close- The watch company made their debut “You get off the metro, you go to a restau-
ly dot the small city. in 2018 and have since built an enthusiastic rant, the brands are all around you.”
On this particular weekend, not unlike any presence and energy around their wrist- With this ever-greater exposure to luxury
other, Joshi and Amalraj, who don’t particu- watches, which today find takers in over 30 brands, luxury watches in particular began to
larly care for watches, are spending time at countries. All their sales are online only, but catch Joshi’s eye more than ever before.
watch boutiques. they have thoughts of launching retail stores “We took a new liking to the intricacies of
It’s a hobby they have picked up recently, in Indian cities someday. mechanical watches and said, ‘Wow! This is a
after tagging along on multiple occasions Unlike some of the bigger, more familiar world we knew so little about’, and we almost
with a senior colleague of Joshi’s who is fond watch enterprises, they make only a limited didn’t know that this world existed.”
of watches and not shy of buying himself fine number of watches every year. Notably, Joshi was particularly impressed with the
timepieces now and then. these watches tell not just time — even the German watchmaking art that is Glashütte
At one watch store, Joshi’s eyes hover dashboard on a car or the washing machine Original. Their watches are pure handcrafted
over the pieces on display before zeroing in can do that in this day and age — but special perfection, characterised by precision and
on a certain kind, from the German brand stories that, the couple believes, reflect the care. They represent innovative watchmaking
Glashütte Original. The precise inner work- tastes and sensibilities of the India of today. art of the highest artistic and mechanical
ings, visible through the wristwatch, strike standards.
him as particularly beautiful. For Joshi, this level of artisanship was
He is impressed, and his mind begins to unique for a watch, but not so for another
Through their unique timepieces, Bangalore category of products more familiar to him.
race, making connections about similar crea-
Watch Company tells proud stories of Indian “We thought: ‘Hey, there are so many
tivity in jewellery designs back home in India.
aviation, of Indian cricket, of the Indian jewellery karigars (artisans) in India. But why
He is hard-pressed to think of Indian watches,
space programme. are watches in India not coming with that
though, with such intricate craftsmanship.
Joshi doesn’t know it yet, but this would kind of quality? Because the kind of finishing,
turn out to be a breakthrough moment that, craftsmanship (in Glashütte watches) is no
years later, would draw him into the watch Through their unique timepieces, Ban- different from the jewellery craftsmanship we
business. galore Watch Company tells proud stories of see in India,” he says.
Indian aviation, of Indian cricket, of the Indian Glashütte watches left a lasting impact on
Watchmaking In The Garden City space programme. Joshi, but a more striking experience — an-
Leaving behind a lucrative career in technol- But the lives of its protagonists, Joshi and other of those breakthrough moments, if you
ogy, Joshi now heads Bangalore Watch Com- Amalraj, weren’t always heading down this like — came at another watch boutique.
pany — a small, independent watch brand he road. It was a serendipitous journey, for which He and Amalraj were at a store of the
founded in 2016 along with his partner in both we head back once again to Hong Kong in Bremont Watch Company, a British luxury
life and business, Amalraj. the 2010s. watchmaker that specialises in aviat-
Operating from Bengaluru, which the ed-themed watches. Right in the middle of
iconic HMT Watches called home for the Timely Shift the showroom, Joshi spotted an unmistakable
entirety of its life, Bangalore Watch Company The idea of a need for wristwatches to tell cockpit ejection seat from an actual fighter
produces world-class luxury wristwatches truly Indian stories traces back to Joshi and plane.
from India. Amalraj’s couple of years living in Hong Kong Bremont’s big idea was that their avia-
Funding the venture themselves, and — a place out of favour at the time among tion-styled watches were so sturdy that even
partly by customers, Joshi and Amalraj have Joshi’s colleagues, who preferred the more if one were to eject out of a fighter plane
a small in-house team of about eight or nine comfortable option of Singapore. wearing their watch, the timepiece would
employees sitting out of a studio just about “They (the company Joshi worked for) continue to work fine.
one and a half years old and located a stone’s wanted me to head their technical consulting Interestingly, to own one of their watches,
 10 Business

Joshi quit his job in Hong Kong and

returned to Bengaluru, India. He and Amalraj
had a few interesting answers to the question
of “What next?” Chief among the ideas were
running a ramen restaurant and building a
watch company.
“We’d probably be running an Indo-Asian
restaurant by now,” Joshi tells me with a
chuckle.
In late 2016, the couple decided to build
a watch company after a lot of research and
drawing on their collective experience in
consulting and product marketing.
Thus came to be Bangalore Watch
namely the Bremont MB-I, one had to have had a full-fledged career in the technology Company.
been a pilot who had ejected from a seat industry.
made by Martin-Baker, a British company “My two year-stint in Hong Kong was World-Class, Made In India
that makes about 75 per cent of the world’s coming to a close. The company wanted me Two core beliefs form the foundation of
ejection seats. to move on from there and probably move Bangalore Watch Company — that world-
For former pilot William Mnich, who had to Japan or Singapore to build the next team class products can indeed be built from India,
ejected twice from a plane, the MB-I is “a there.” and that the outdated grammar of design and
beautiful timepiece, but more importantly, However, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to storytelling around Indian products is in need
it’s a symbol of being pulled back from the continue on with the same nature of job and of an overhaul.
edge of the abyss,” as revealed to Condé Nast career for the next 15 years. The belief in India’s potential and ability
Traveller in 2015. “At that point, we said, ‘Look I have to to make truly world-class products stems
Such was the level of storytelling around pause now, because I don’t think that I can from Joshi and Amalraj’s own personal life
Bremont watches. “That, to us, was another experiences and philosophy.
moment where we were like, ‘Okay, storytell- “We like to think of ourselves as world-
ing is everything in watches’.” class executives,” says Joshi.
Joshi was particularly impressed with the
Back home in India, Joshi found stereo- “We have our origins rooted in small
German watchmaking art that is Glashütte
typical imagery on timepieces — an Indian towns in India with very modest upbringing,
Original. Their watches are pure handcrafted
god on the dial or a colonial monument on but we’ve been able to go build teams in
perfection, characterised by precision and
the back, for example. “I can’t relate to any Boston, in Hong Kong, in Seoul, and build very
care.
colonial monument any more because it successful teams and help very successful
doesn’t reflect the view of India that I have businesses.”
today. And here is a company, Bremont, that That’s true. Joshi was born and raised in
is doing something so modern and claiming move every two years and subject my spouse Chennai, and later moved to Madurai for his
‘proudly British’.” to that, so we need a break now’.” education, where he met Amalraj, a Madurai
The wheels began to turn. Joshi and Amal- Soon after, the couple took a six-month local and his classmate in the master’s
raj launched into brainstorming sessions, sabbatical with the objective of ultimately programme. After completing their educa-
which mainly took the form of “armchair making a decision whether to keep going tion, they moved to Bengaluru in search
discussions over dinner and drinks.” They not- with their technology careers. They travelled of well-paying jobs. Years later, they were
ed the rise of many Indian brands that were during this time, which included camping in leading teams in different parts of the world.
taking off across a wide airstrip — coffee, Mongolia for two weeks. If they could do that, Joshi wondered,
clothing, beauty, liquor, you name it. They returned with new energy to “do “then, why can’t we build a world-class prod-
“They were all pushing the envelope and something on our own”. uct from India? Why should we always think
proudly producing products that could stand “We were very inspired by what was of Indian products as mediocre?”
up to anyone, shoulder to shoulder, from an happening in India at that time. We saw a A world-class product isn’t merely
international brand and still compete tough- new India taking shape. This was 2016. And mechanically great. It has a story to tell. Joshi
ly,” says Joshi. we said, ‘we want to be a part of this change feels Indian products feature designs that
“They are making world-class products that’s happening in India right now. We want scream “India”, erasing any chance of subtlety
with Indian-origin. But with watches, there to be building something here today for the or minimalism.
weren’t any.” next 50 years. Because now is the time to “They’ll have peacocks, elephants, snake
There lay a window of opportunity for build in India’.” charmers, the Taj Mahal, or the Ganesh
Joshi and Amalraj. Interestingly, what exactly they would picture. All due respect to people that value
But there was just one problem — Joshi build was “a secondary conversation”. this, but that is not the India that we want the
world to see. We (instead) wanted the world
 Business 11

together.
Although they have a team and a studio
to work out of now, the couple initially did all
the work by themselves. What’s more, their
endeavour was entirely self-funded.
“Mercy and I were the only two people (in-
itially). We worked out of our own apartment.
Until the first year and a half, we were literally
labelling, packing, shipping boxes. We would
only spend on R&D, production and engineer-
ing. That was the only spend, besides our own
living expenses, which were very modest at
the time,” Joshi says.
“Now we are a customer-funded company.
Because customers pay us for what we do,”
he says with some pride.

to see a modern India that reflects the senti- we want in a watch as consumers. That’s Storied Watches
ments of a twenty-first century India, which actually half the battle,” says Joshi. For their first watch, Joshi and Amalraj played
we believe are our personal sentiments and “The other half is to find designers, it safe. They came up with a simple three-
hoped that that would be the sentiments of engineers, production companies that can hand date watch that paid a tribute to HMT
millions of other people like us.” produce what you have in mind. I think that Watches and other mid-century watchmak-
For Joshi, Indian aviation, the Indian space was just the internet. Without that, it wouldn’t ers.
programme, and — How can you not? — have happened. So, we found a designer “We did a simple dress watch, called it the
Indian cricket constituted truly modern Indian in Switzerland who we still work with. He Renaissance. It was a tribute to HMT. Because
themes that are close to the heart of the translates our design ideas.” it’s Bangalore Watch Company, we are based
people living in this great land. here, (and the) headquarters of HMT was
The path became clear. Joshi and Amalraj here.”
wanted to build world-class watches from They made only 500 of these watches and
For Joshi, Indian aviation, the Indian space
India, while also changing the narrative that sold all — even though they had to wait a
programme, and — How can you not? —
typically accompanied Indian products, year and a half since inception to make their
Indian cricket constituted truly modern
which, according to Joshi, was “cliched and first sale.
Indian themes that are close to the heart of
stereotyped and still living in the 1950s.” Learning from the experience of making
the people living in this great land.
They got to work. Many small, independ- the Renaissance and incorporating customer
ent watch brands in the United Kingdom feedback, the couple decided to level up and
and the United States served as a point of tackle aviation-themed watchmaking.
reference — and, more importantly, inspira- Although Bangalore Watch Company has “Aviation watches are quite popular.
tion. The couple chose the route of in-house taken a couple of Indian designers on board Many world-class companies make aviation
design and outsourced manufacturing. over the years, they still predominantly work watches, but there has never been a watch
Joshi, with his technical bent of mind, with the same Swiss designer because “it series that pays tribute to the Indian Air Force
took on the engineering side of things, while saves them a lot of cycles in R&D”. or Indian aviation, so our MACH 1 was the idea
Amalraj took charge of the operations. “As a new company, we don’t have the of doing that,” says Joshi.
“Mercy and I operate as left-brained, right- luxury of spending two years trying to build They decided to tell the story of the MiG-21
brained. Mercy is more detail-oriented — she a watch. You have to get it right the first time, Type 77 (NATO codename “FISHBED”) through
can think about ‘How does this translate, how (especially) because we have invested a a watch.
do we build, how do we assemble, how do we significant part of our own life savings into The Type 77 was the first supersonic fight-
ship, how do we take care of customers?’ — this (business). We can’t take the risk of ‘Let’s er jet of the Indian Air Force, made by India’s
more from an operational point of view. build and see what happens’.” state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
“Whereas, I mostly stick to the big picture Joshi and Amalraj come up with ideas — which also hails from Bengaluru — under
— ‘What’s the story, how are we going to licence from the Soviet Union.
for their watches and give the designer the
position this?’ At the same time, I still do run broad vision, specifications, and sketches. The fighter jet was inducted into the
products for our company, because I can look After the engineering drawing is made and Indian Air Force in the early 1960s. It served
at a technical diagram and make sense of it.” approved, they identify manufacturing part- the country for about five decades, until its
If customer is king, they drew on their rich ners who are able and willing to manufacture retirement in 2013. During its service, it made
kingly experience to know where to begin the components. The components are then its presence felt strongly, for instance, in the
with the business of watches. “We knew what assembled, and the watch ultimately comes 1971 war for the liberation of Bangladesh.
“So much emotion attached with the MiG-
 12 Business

Outfield, Men in Blue, Yellow Jersey, the Pitch,

and the Pavilion variants of this classic urban
sports watch.
Each of the styles incorporates a classic
colour from the game of cricket, such as the
blue jersey of the Indian cricket team, the
green outfield, the brown pitch, and the yel-
low jersey (for down south or down under).
From a cricket pitch on Earth to a crater
on the Moon, Bangalore Watch Company
also offers a space-themed collection of
watches called the Apogee, launched in 2021.
Machined from a single block of Titanium,
the series includes the variants Manzinus,
Earthshine, Horizon, Supernova, Deepspace
and Extraterrestrial.
One of the Apogee watches remarkably
21 — both positive and sometimes negative. of the Indian Air Force Officer’s Blue No 6 features a meteorite rock older than Earth
But if you speak with anyone in the force, uniform, with the dial featuring that very and recovered from Scandinavia. “The rock is
they will say that it’s one of the best fighter shade of blue. believed to be 4.5 billion years old. It’s older
planes the air force ever had. And that story The Admiral, the most recent entry to than Earth. It fell in Sweden about a million
is what we wanted to pick first and translate the MACH 1 collection after its launch on years ago. It was discovered in 1904. So, we
into a watch,” says Joshi. Independence Day this year, has a dial made cut a slice of that and put it in the watch and
Bangalore Watch Company honoured of steel recovered from the INS Vikrant R11. made 50 watches because we were celebrat-
this great India-made — and also Ben- The aircraft carrier Vikrant was inducted in ing space — and what better way to celebrate
galuru-made — fighter jet with its MACH 1 1961 and served the Indian Navy until its de- space than wearing an extraterrestrial object
collection. commissioning in 1997 and scrapping in 2014. on your wrist? That was ahead of time,” says
Joshi explains how the watch incorpo- With the MACH 1 collection, it was easy for Joshi.
rates the actual aviation elements. “One is Bangalore Watch Company to get stereotyped
obviously the fin flash, (then) the digits on as a maker of military watches. Refusing to ‘Limited Edition’
the dial that look like a cockpit, the shape of be tied down, the watch company moved to Bangalore Watch Company makes about
the hands, (and) the tip of the seconds hand cricket-themed watches. “(It was) completely 1,000 to 1,200 watches a year presently. These
looks like the nose cone of the MiG. And the out of left field. Nobody expected us to make numbers are miniscule compared to the 15
crown is shaped like the afterburner nozzle of a cricket watch, but we did it,” says Joshi. million watches made every year by the well-
the MiG. It is conical shaped. And on the back They named this series the Cover Drive, known watch players. While the Bengaluru
of the watch, you see three MiGs flying in the company intends to raise their volumes in the
V formation.” years ahead, they plan to retain the “limited
Learning from the experience of making the edition” aspect around their wristwatches.
The design aside, the watch is cor- Renaissance and incorporating customer
rosion-resistant, since it is made of ma- “If you look at watch companies in the
feedback, the couple decided to level up world that are the most respected, they
rine-grade stainless steel, and scratch-re- and tackle aviation-themed watchmaking.
sistant, as it uses a sapphire crystal. It is also are not respected because of the volume
powered by a Swiss Automatic movement. of watches they make. They are respected
“It’s a world-class watch built with an because of the quality, the craftsmanship, and
unapologetically modern Indian story,” says after the classic stroke in cricket. The watches the stories of the watches.
Joshi. incorporated several cricket elements: “So, if you are making 20,000 to 30,000
The MACH 1 collection has grown beyond “You’ve got the three wickets at the 12 (‘O watches a year, that is probably the point
the MiG-21-focused Aviator to include the var- clock); you’ve got the 4 and 6 (‘O clock), where we want to be. That is a 30x scale
iants Synchro, the Officer’s Blue, the Civilian, which are boundary shots; and then you have compared to where we are right now, but it
and, most recently, the Admiral. the overs-tracking bezel. You can set to 50 is still going to be miniscule in front of the 15
The Synchro, for instance, marks 25 (overs, for an ODI game) and track down, or million watches that anybody else is making
years of India’s iconic Surya Kiran formation you can set to 20 (overs, for a T20 game) and at that point,” Joshi explains.
aerobatics team. It features a nine-aircraft track down. And then, you have a right-hand “We don’t want to become like some of the
diamond formation at the 9H position, while batsman playing a cover drive shot on the bigger names,” he states plainly. “We don’t
the red-and-white-striped minute hand is back.” think that this (Bangalore Watch Company) is
inspired by cockpit airspeed indicators. “It’s a fun watch, and it’s got multiple a brand that every Indian will wear.”
The Officer’s Blue borrows from the design fun colours also,” Joshi says, referring to the Another reason why every Indian is not
likely to sport a Bangalore Watch Company
 Business 13

timepiece is its price point. tional connection may be because it is your However, as they march on ahead, aiming
The timepieces aren’t light on the pocket grandfather’s watch, it is your father’s watch, to carve out a unique space for themselves in
— by design, of course. The wristwatches it is your first anniversary present from your India’s watch business landscape, Bangalore
are priced around Rs 1 lakh, and therefore spouse, or the watch that you bought with Watch Company isn’t worried about compe-
qualify as a product in the “affordable luxury your first paycheque. What we are doing tition. More than with any “competitors”, Joshi
segment”. For this reason, they probably carry is putting stories with these high-quality says they are “competing with the mindsets
an aspirational quality for the average person. watches that make these connections even of people”.
However, Joshi says there are two ways stronger,” says Joshi. “People have to believe that an Indian
to look at it. “It’s aspirational for people who “Yes, you are buying a first anniversary brand can make a world-class product and
are buying the fashion watches today, who watch for yourselves. But you are also buying that I’m willing to pay what I would otherwise
say, ‘Okay, someday I’ll buy this watch’. At the that with a space story and you work in the pay to a Swiss company in our category.”
same time, it’s also unique for people that buy space industry. Or you are buying that with “So, I’m going to spend Rs 1 lakh on a
the more expensive watches. They say, ‘Okay an aviation story and you are an aviation watch because I got a bonus,” says Joshi as
— it’s an interesting story, respectable quality buff. These stories make those connections he presents a scenario possible for a few. “Am
watch, at a decent price point. I have Rs 8 stronger,” he adds. I buying a Swiss brand, or am I buying this
lakh, but I have a waitlist of two years to buy Many more stories are in the offing. Indian brand?”
a Rolex. But I spend a lakh and a half, (and) Bangalore Watch Company has a new MACH Customer is king and will make that
I can buy a watch that’s made of India’s first 1 story releasing this Diwali, with three new choice after careful consideration. However,
aircraft carrier.’ Who’s gonna offer that? That’s watches planned for 2024. Bangalore Watch Company, with their world-
how we see it.” There are few watch companies in the class, made-in-India luxury wristwatches
Ultimately, the story that accompanies a space currently occupied by Bangalore Watch inspired by great Indian stories, will be
wristwatch is the principal draw today when Company. Ajwain, led by Vikram Narula, is a determined to influence that choice in one
any number of gadgets can tell the time. name that springs to mind. The microbrand direction only — on to your wrist.
“You don’t need a watch to tell the time. which deals in bespoke mechanical and
You need a watch only because you have an automatic watches even emerged around the Karan Kamble is Senior Editor, Swarajya. He writes on science
emotional connection with it. That emo- same time as Joshi’s watch company. and technology.

India, Invention And Internet

Professor Paulraj’s wireless technology ‘MIMO’ is key in high-speed 4G/5G/6G mobile and WiFi networks, transforming
Internet access. It is a crucial modern infrastructure, reaching billions primarily through mobile phones.
Anand Parthasarathy last month honoured India-born Stanford one of the world’s most prestigious awards
University professor Arogyaswami Paulraj for engineers and scientists who advance

T
with the Faraday Medal for 2023. technologies with global impact.
he Institution of Engineering and
The medal is the IET’s highest honour and The citation reads, “For the invention,
Technology (IET) in the United Kingdom
 14 Technology

There, he led two successful projects for

the development of anti-submarine sonar
(sound navigation and ranging) systems,
including APSOH, the anti-submarine sonar,
India’s most successful military technology
achievement in the 1980s.
Paulraj also founded the Bangalore
(now Bengaluru) centres of three national
laboratories in India — The Centre for Artificial
Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR), The Centre
advancement, and commercialization of pioneers — the IEEE Alexander Graham Bell for Development of Advanced Computing
MIMO Wireless.” Medal in 2011 and the Marconi Prize and (C-DAC), and The Central Research Laboratory
Professor Paulraj created MIMO — multi- Fellowship in 2014. (CRL) of Bharat Electronics — spanning high-
ple-antenna input, multiple-antenna output This week’s IET Faraday Medal makes speed computing, AI, robotics, and military
— wireless technology, which broke through Paulraj a rare individual to receive all three electronics.
fundamental barriers to increase wireless top global awards for electronics and telecom But circumstances led him to leave India
data rates. engineering. in 1991 and join Stanford University.
It is now arguably the key enabling tech- Paulraj’s honours in India include the Currently an emeritus professor at
nology in high-speed 4G/5G/6G mobile and Padma Bhushan in 2010. Stanford, Paulraj serves on many advisory
WiFi networks. In May 2017, Paulraj was inducted into the committees in the US, ranging from the
Thanks to MIMO, high-speed Internet National Inventors Hall of Fame of the United government to technology firms. He is a
access has become transformative infra- States Patent Office. senior adviser to Celesta Capital, a US venture
structure in modern society, touching billions, The hall of fame honours “people respon- capital firm committed to building deep-tech
mostly through their mobile phones. sible for the greatest technological advances businesses in India.
Paulraj invented MIMO at Stanford that make human, social and economic
University in the United States (US) in 1992. Indian Government Work
After building its theoretical foundations, he “Prof Paulraj has been guide and mentor to all
Professor Paulraj is the hundredth winner of who work to advance wireless technology
moved to commercialise the technology in
of the Faraday Medal. First awarded in 1922 in India,” says Bhaskar Ramamurthi, former
1998, founding two semiconductor companies
to Sir Oliver Heaviside, it is one of the oldest director, IIT Madras.
in Silicon Valley, Iospan Wireless and Beceem
medals in science and technology. On regular visits to India, Paulraj has
Communications. They were subsequently
acquired by Intel and Broadcom respectively. assisted dozens of Indian researchers in
The ubiquitous broadband wireless telecom research not limited to MIMO, and
Internet access we enjoy today would not be progress possible” and cites Paulraj for his is fiercely committed to seeing India make a
possible without MIMO technology. 1992 US patent on MIMO. global impact, not just as a major consumer
It harnesses multiple antennas, both at but as a creator of high-tech for the world.
the transmitter and the receiver, in a wireless Indian Naval Officer To Scientist To Stan- In recent years, he has helped the Indian
communication link to speed up the data rate ford Don government formulate its 5G strategy, and
by a factor equal to the number of antennas Born in Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, India, in 1944, currently works with the India Semiconductor
used. Paulraj joined the Indian Navy at age 15 Mission, chairing its Fabless Committee.
through the National Defence Academy (NDA) He suggests that while 4G, which entered
Global Recognition and was commissioned in 1965. He served India around 2014, allowed smartphones to
Professor Paulraj is the hundredth winner in uniform for 25 years before moving to access the Internet, enabling today’s digital
of the Faraday Medal. First awarded in 1922 Stanford. transformation, 5G, currently under deploy-
to Sir Oliver Heaviside, it is one of the oldest In India — at the Indian Institute of ment, goes beyond gigabit-speed personal
medals in science and technology. Technology (IIT), Delhi, where he obtained his connectivity to allow machines and Internet
Named after Michael Faraday, the father Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) — his contri- of Things (IoT) devices to also access the
of electromagnetism, the medal’s early recip- butions included mathematical theories wireless Internet.
ients included J J Thompson (electron) and E in signal processing, which were to have This creates a virtual infrastructure that
Rutherford (atomic nucleus). applications in military systems that he can replace or even outperform physical
In recent years, the Faraday Medal has subsequently designed. infrastructure, a huge future opportunity for
also recognised business leaders in technol- Recognising his academic and scientific India.
ogy, such as Wipro founder Azim Premji in potential, the Indian Navy seconded him The 6G standard promises even higher
2005. to the Defence Research and Development data rates and link quality, but will also
Paulraj holds 79 patents and has won Organisation (DRDO) and the Naval Physical support the delivery of AI applications,
several global distinctions, including both the and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL) in improved accuracy of device positioning, and
top global honours for telecommunication Kochi, Kerala. integration of radar-type imaging along with
communications.
 Technology 15

Paulraj believes that India has the clear billion annually, and mobile service providers Moreover, 5G has features that enable
potential to enter deep technology industries. command an annual revenue of over $1 machines and controllers to effectively
Almost all the value in these industries comes trillion. connect to each other. 5G can create a virtual
from innovation and intellectual property (IP) According to the mobile and WiFi industry infrastructure, greatly amplifying the impact
ownership. groups, the global economic value of wireless of digital transformation.
networks is $7.6 trillion. On winning his latest award, the Faraday
Global Socio-Economic Impact Medal, Professor Paulraj said: “I am humbled
MIMO has attracted massive research and de- MIMO In India to be included in this distinguished cohort
velopment (R&D) attention, with over 800,000 Indian researchers, in particular Professor B of former recipients. Though the prize is
research papers and patents to date. Sundarajan of the Indian Institute of Science presented to an individual, it also recognises
Thousands of researchers and engineers, (IISc), developed MIMO coding techniques in the field of wireless communications systems
mostly in the US, Europe, and China, and the mid-2000s, used in 4G systems. and the thousands of researchers and engi-
more recently in India, have advanced MIMO, Later, in 2015, researchers at the Centre of neers who contributed to MIMO technology
making it a pervasive technology today. Excellence in Wireless Technology (CEWIT) at for the benefit of humanity.”
There are about 6.4 billion smartphone IIT Madras, led by Dr K Milleth and Professor The massive footprint of MIMO has no
users using MIMO-based connectivity, almost B Ramamurthi, made proposals to 4G and doubt required the contributions of thou-
reaching the entire global adult population. 5G’s standards bodies. A notable success was sands of researchers and engineers, many
Smartphones have enabled access to a technique for improving coverage in rural of them eminent, but Paulraj is generally
both social media and digital services, areas. acknowledged as its key enabler.
enhancing the quality of life for everyone. More recently, Dr K Sivarajan of Tejas The huge reach of MIMO, through over
Wireless networks have also helped advance Networks has led the development of a 4G 6 billion mobile phone users, makes it
digital inclusion, providing individuals infrastructure (RAN, Core) system for Bharat arguably a technology with the greatest
from weaker economic backgrounds with Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), while joint global socio-economic impact, invented by
affordable access to the Internet and its many teams at the IITs have developed a prototype an Indian-origin scientist in the post-inde-
services. for 5G infrastructure. pendence era.
There are also about 12 billion other con- Indian carriers deployed 4G mobile
sumer devices and machines that connect to services in 2015 and built the world’s highest
the wireless Internet. data intensity and lowest-cost data network. Anand Parthasarathy is managing director at Online India Tech
MIMO today underpins a wireless equip- MIMO-powered 4G and 5G smartphones now Pvt Ltd and a veteran IT journalist who has written about the
Indian technology landscape for more than 15 years for The
ment industry with a revenue of over $450 underpin India’s rapid digital transformation. Hindu.

A Giant Leap
In a remarkable demonstration of long-range capability, Tejas Mk-1 jets flew close to 1,400 km from India to Dubai’s
Al-Maktoum Airport in a single hop for the Dubai Air Show.
 16 Defence

Ujjwal Shrotryia

S howcasing its long-range capabilities, the

Indian Air Force (IAF) flew Tejas Mk-1 jets
close to 1,400 kilometres in a single hop from
India to Al-Maktoum International Airport to
participate in the Dubai Air Show.
This impressive display of long-range
capability, positions the Tejas favourably for
potential export opportunities.
Group Captain Dinesh ‘Danny’ Dhankhar,
the commanding officer of the No 18 Squad-
ron ‘Flying Bullets,’ of which the Tejas jets that
participated in the airshow belong, shared
insights into the capabilities of the jets during
an interview.
that when it was tested in the United States Tejas Jet Engines High Thrust
Ferry Range on the F-16 Variable In-Flight Stability Test Dhankhar also states that the Tejas is capable
Group Captain Dhankhar revealed that the Aircraft (VISTA) test-bed, it actually performed of high rate of turn, as well as, its excess
Tejas, with three drop tanks, is able to fly a better in some flight regimes than with the reserve of thrust makes it capable of under-
maximum distance of more than 900 miles or F-16’s own FBW software. taking high rate of climb.
1,450 kilometres. India indigenously started the develop- The high thrust is provided by US-made
He said for this airshow, the squadron ment of the FBW system in the early to mid- General Electric F-404 IN20 jet engine, pro-
flew to Al-Maktoum International Airport, 90s. In 1992, India set up a dedicated National viding close to 85 kn of thrust.
a distance of 850 miles (1,368 km) directly, Control Law (CLAW) team under the National Its aerodynamic design and compound
without needing any air refuelling. This is Aeronautics Laboratories (NAL) to develop delta platform with carefree handling provid-
significant since concerns were raised in ed by the engine make the aircraft capable of
various quarters about its maximum strike undertaking a high rate of roll even at lower
range owing to its small size. Notably, Tejas Tejas is capable of high rate of turn, as well speeds, he adds.
is the smallest single-engine jet in the world, as, its excess reserve of thrust makes it
in its class, measuring only 13.2 metres in capable of undertaking high rate of climb. Man-Machine Interface
length, with an 8.2-metre wingspan and 4.4 The high thrust is provided by US-made Gen- When asked about the man-machine inter-
metres in height. eral Electric F-404 IN20 jet engine, providing face of the aircraft, Group Captain Dhankhar
close to 85 kn of thrust. states, “when it comes to man-machine inter-
Take-Off Performance face, I think this is one of the best platforms.”
Asked about the Tejas flying capabilities, “Initially when we inducted aircrew from
Dhankhar said that Tejas is by design a highly the FBW software. MiG-21 background, we were thinking that
lethal aircraft and has very nimble flying Since this type of futuristic control system they are going to take extra effort or extra
characteristics and take-off performance. had never been developed in India, and there time to settle down on the aircraft, but to our
Expanding on its take-off performance, were no simulators in India, the project team surprise, we realised that no extra effort was
he said that the Tejas is capable of taking off approached the United States weapons major required. That was thanks to the man-ma-
from runways of 1,400 to 1,500 feet (457 to 609 ‘Lockheed Martin’ for design consultancy and chine interface” of the aircraft, the Group
metres) in length, which is the shortest in its testing. Captain states.
class. However, India was sanctioned by the US “We realised that the systems replicated
following the Pokhran nuclear tests in 1998. as such on the multi-function display in the
Indigenously Developed Fly-By-Wire (FBW) This stopped the cooperation altogether. The cockpit, it’s a fully glass cockpit, and it is
System Indian scientists, on the other hand, were very easy to decipher all the systems of the
He added, “We are here to showcase its high able to develop the FBW system without any aircraft,” he adds
rate of turn capability, as well as its high rate foreign help.
of climb performance.” Finally, when the sanctions were lifted in
The Group Captain credits its relaxed 2001, and the FBW system was tested on the
static stability and the indigenously designed F-16 VISTA test-bed, it was highly praised.
fly-by-wire (FBW) controls for making the All the pilots who flew the F-16 test-bed
aircraft highly manoeuvrable and agile. with Indian FBW praised the system, report-
It is worth noting that the indigenously edly saying that the F-16 flew better than with
developed FBW software system so advanced its original control law in some flight regimes.
Ujjwal Shrotryia writes on Indian military and defence.
 Business 17

Setting The Right Example

The arbitral award, enabling Tata Motors to reclaim Rs 766 crore plus interest from West Bengal for the scrapped Nano
factory in Singur, will enhance the safety and security of investments and business deals in India.

Pratim Ranjan Bose is not much clarity on the methodology of A Dangerous Precedent
interest calculation. At simple interest, WBIDC The story behind the relocation of Tatas was

T
already owes Tatas Rs 1,355 crore. a sad one. Originally, the plant was scheduled
he arbitral award allowing Tata Motors
Most likely the state will approach the to come up near Kharagpur, 140 km from
to recover Rs 766 crore plus interest
High Court and Supreme Court for judicial Kolkata, on government land. However, going
from West Bengal Industrial Development
review. There is less possibility of a complete by the Tamil Nadu model where auto factories
Corporation Limited (WBIDC) for capital loss
reversal of order. However, the court may are in close vicinity of Chennai, the govern-
towards the scrapped Nano automobile fac-
tweak the compensation amount and the ment zeroed in on Singur, 40 km from the city.
tory in Singur will go a long way in ensuring
interest rates. On the other hand, the litigation The Singur assembly seat has been held
the safety and security of investment and
business deals in India. will add to the period for interest recovery. by Trinamool Congress since 2001. The party
In all probability, therefore, the West Ben- was washed out in the 2006 election. As
A mixture of administrative failures on the
gal government has to pay through its nose the state went for land acquisition in 2006,
part of the former Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee
for dishonouring the investment decision. The Banerjee took to protests for her political
government, ultra-leftist anarchy and, narrow
politics by Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool resurrection.
Congress without any regard for the interests The arbitral award is too little for the That was just a year since the Kalingana-
monumental loss. However, it should serve gar (Odisha) incident, where police firing on
of the state and the nation forced Tatas to
as a strong lesson for states to not give in anti-land acquisition protesters at the Tata
relocate from Singur, just ahead of scheduled
to anarchic or populist interests and honour Steel factory site killed a few. However, the
production in October 2008.
investment decisions. protests at Singur fizzled out in no time, as
In a rare case, a newly-built automobile
the region saw massive economic prosperity
factory with hundreds of ancillaries left for
for the next two years.
Gujarat. The state lost its only industrial
rejuvenation attempt in the last 50 years. The same Tatas started taking interest in West
national image as an investment destination Mamata Banerjee, who was the face behind Bengal in the late 1990s. After Buddhadeb
suffered. Tata lost crucial time and market- the eviction of Tatas in 2008, is now the Chief Bhattacharjee (2000-2011) came to power,
ing momentum. Ancillaries were the worst Minister of the state. they started investing heavily in the state.
sufferers. The states should also be more careful Nano was one of them and the best of the lot.
The arbitral award is too little for the in ensuring legal formality while inviting an The state government grabbed it with both
monumental loss. However, it should serve investor. After a protracted legal battle since hands.
as a strong lesson for states to not give in 2008, the Supreme Court, in 2016, held that From involving women self-help groups in
to anarchic or populist interests and honour the acquisition of Singur land by the Left supplying food and sourcing materials from
Front government didn’t comply with the local contractors to training local youth in
investment decisions. The fate of economic
requirements of the Land Acquisition Act of automobile engineering — Tata Motors made
decisions must not be decided on the streets.
1894. a robust plan for inclusive growth. The house
The award ordered a recovery of 11 per
rent and land prices shot up in a 20-30 km
cent interest from September 2016. There
 18 Business

radius. The police firing at Nandigram killing of reducing a modern plan to rubble.
Availability of land and compensating nearly a dozen, brought them public sym- She promised to make it farmland again.
landowners were no major hurdles. The trou- pathy. All anti-establishment forces joined Today it is a wasteland.
ble cropped up in compensating sharecrop- hands to spread the fire across the state,
pers and landless labourers. including Singur, to bring down the govern- Investors Deserve Better
The Jyoti Basu government of CPI(M) ment. The state was gripped by anarchy. Banerjee became a hero by chasing out
made West Bengal an industrial graveyard Banerjee yielded fruits. investment from an industry-deprived state.
and built a rural support base through land By Maoist admission, they recreated Over the last 20 years, Odisha and Sikkim be-
reforms, giving tilting rights to sharecroppers ground for Trinamool to lead protests at came industrialised. Bengal is on a downhill
and unionising the landless labourers. The Singur in 2008. In the end, both the state journey. That is what this state deserves.
landowner became a prisoner to the last two. government and Tatas tried their level best to But the nation deserves better examples.
Naturally, the majority of owners saw an reason Banerjee. Compensation was hiked. Between 2007 and 2009 Nandigram and
opportunity in the land acquisition drive. By Offers were made to return a portion of the Singur became inspiration to anarchic forces
the act, they were supposed to get the lion’s 997-acre acquired land. in the country to stall projects and damage
share of compensation. The huge army of But, as Ratan Tata famously said, Banerjee national interests. Huge investments were
sharecroppers and landless labourers were pulled the trigger. She understood it right, recalled from the mineral-rich states.
alarmed. power shifts through anarchy in West Bengal. Multi-billion-dollar projects were called
The opportunity was used by the Maoists, The left rule became history in 2011. off in Odisha. Thankfully, the Naveen Patnaik
who had announced their strong presence in After assuming power, the Trinamool government in Bhubaneswar was able to
West Midnapore through a bomb blast near government forcibly acquired the plant site tide over the crisis. Tata Steel completed the
the proposed Jindal Steel project site in 2006. from Tata. The company won the case against Kalinganagar project. The plant is now under
The project suffered. the state government in the division bench of expansion.
By 2007, Maoists and Islamists created a Calcutta High Court in 2012. New India needs more such examples to
free zone at Nandigram in East Midnapore at The apex court, in 2013, requested Tata to gain the confidence of global investors. The
the proposed site of a special economic zone. return the land as the project was relocated. arbitral award may lay the foundation for that.
That was also the year, Islamists went on a In 2016, they ruled in favour of the state. Pratim Ranjan Bose is a commentator and researcher. He held
rampage in Kolkata. Banerjee deployed machines to create visuals senior positions in national financial media.

A Politician’s Workday In Tenkasi

How’s the day of a BJP politician in rural Tamil Nadu? Swarajya finds out by spending two days with Ananthan Ayyas-
wamy, a former Intel engineering director and now vice president of the state BJP’s overseas cell.
 Ground Report 19

S Rajesh were a few older participants, who I was later village, Ananthan said, “the village was not
informed, had registered to compete in the like this 30 years back. It was mostly huts.

A nanthan Ayyasamy, popularly known as open category. “Our family was poor. We had only half
‘Tenkasi Ananthan’, is the man behind Leaving the venue with the idea to come an acre of land. My grandfather had more
Startup Tenkasi and the vice-president of the back later, we reached Ananthan’s home. land but we lost it after his death. My father
Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Greeting me warmly, Ananthan quickly was only 10 years old when my grandfather
overseas cell. began speaking about politics. I was left passed away. I still have documents to show
Before plunging full time into politics, surprised by what he told me in the first that some lands originally belonged to our
Ananthan worked with Intel in the field of five minutes. While he has the image of a family.
chip design for over two decades and rose ‘US-returned techie’ who has joined politics “I did a number of jobs like working in
to the position of director of engineering. He recently with a wish to bring about a change, fields owned by others in the morning and
also has a real estate brokerage business that is just one part of his story. evening for which I was paid Rs 5 per month.
in the US, which is being looked after by his He had earlier worked to get his younger During harvest season, I used to get one and
wife, as he is in India. brother, A Manoharan, elected as the All India a half kilograms of paddy for a day’s work.
My day started with Harichandran, a Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIAD- “When in fifth grade, I herded cattle.
relative of Ananthan, picking me up from the MK) MLA from their assembly constituency, Around the time I was in the tenth grade, I
hotel in Rajapalayam, where I was staying. Vasudevanallur (SC) in 2016. Manoharan won worked in fireworks factories for Rs 1 a day
Rajapalayam is the nearest big town to Anan- the elections in 2016 and contested again in and at construction sites for Rs 2-3 per day.
than’s village, Viswanathaperi. 2021 on an AIADMK ticket. “As we travel, I’ll show you the Dharani
Before my meeting Ananthan, I had done In 2021, he lost by a small margin of 2,367 Sugar Mill. It was being constructed then. I
some reading on Tenkasi. The Tenkasi Lok used to carry 40 kg cement bags over a 100
Sabha constituency, for one, is spread over metre distance for the entire day and was
“I did a number of jobs like working in
the two districts of Tenkasi and Virudhunagar. paid Rs 10 for it.
fields owned by others in the morning and
Rajapalayam, while falling under the Tenkasi “I used my earnings to buy books and
evening for which I was paid Rs 5 per month.
Lok Sabha constituency, is part of the Virud- clothes.
During harvest season, I used to get one and
hunagar district. “It was a tough childhood. There were
a half kilograms of paddy for a day’s work.”
Harichandran told me it would take about a number of days, when we slept hungry.
half an hour to reach Ananthan’s home and Sometimes, when we did not have anything
so I decided to use the commute time to ask votes to eat, I would jump into streams which had
him a few questions. and while my mind was still processing the small check dams, adjust the water flow at
While on the way, Harichandran told me fact that I was with a BJP politician, whose great risk to myself and catch fish for our
about himself. He had played judo at the state brother had been an AIADMK MLA, days after meal.
level and was now running a construction the party decided to cut ties with the BJP, “Unable to afford rice or condiments,
company that is involved in laying a Cauvery Ananthan once again surprised me by saying I would often pluck raw tamarind to have
water pipeline between Tiruchirapalli and that he had almost accurately predicted the something to eat along with the fish I had
Ramanathapuram. margin of defeat. caught.”
“Interesting”, I said. I had not heard of the It was not an empty statement, as he then By this time we had arrived at the
project till then. presented me a booklet containing details temple, where we were greeted by party
Our conversation then veered towards of the process he undertook to predict the functionaries. Asked about the nature of the
land prices. Pointing to the vacant lands on outcome and the numbers involved. While programme, Sankar ji, a Bharatiya Janata
both sides of the road, he said that land is not he had predicted a defeat by 2,358 votes, the Yuva Morcha (BJYM) office-bearer, told me
very costly here and a cent of land could be actual number was 2,367, which was just nine that it was a panchayat level people-connect
purchased for Rs 1 lakh. more than what he had predicted. programme being organised across the coun-
“How’s it like in the town?,” I ask. “4 Lakhs While we continued talking, Ananthan try by the Sangh Parivar.
per cent,” he said. showed me around his office-cum-home. It Ananthan spoke on the topic, “Our Duty
(A cent is 453.56 square feet. It is a land had a large hall, a study-cum-bedroom and a For The Development Of The Nation”, after
measure commonly used in Tamil Nadu) space for cooking and dining. Outside was a a speech by a Hindu Munnani functionary
By then we had entered Sivagiri, the porch, large enough to host small meetings regarding Sanatana Dharma. Among the
taluka town. Harichandran told me that and programmes. important points he made were the need for
Viswanathaperi is a couple of kilometres from The day I happened to spend with Anan- students to learn software, an increase in
there and before going we could have a look than was the birthday of former president Dr job-oriented education, and the necessity to
at the school in which Ananthan studied and A P J Abdul Kalam. produce higher value products like cell-
a chess tournament being sponsored by him. It was nearing 11am then and we got into phones in addition to lower value products
The venue for the tournament, which was a his car to leave for the first programme of the like crops in order to take our economy to the
school, was busy with the hustle and bustle day, called ‘Kootuvom Kooduvom’ organised next level.
of excited children, who were accompanied by the Sangh Parivar at the Kubera Anjaneyar We then departed for Ananthan’s next
by their parents. I also noticed that there Swamy Temple in Vasudevanallur. stop at the Harijan Middle School, located at
Pointing to the concrete houses in the a village in the Veerakeralampudur taluka of
 20 Ground Report

ple like say Srivilliputhur or a large market,

that would naturally get crowds. People from
nearby villages came on their own in large
numbers. BJP Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai
found it difficult to move an inch. The police
had to ask him to push his car forward a
kilometre past the scheduled stop as they
could not manage the crowd.
“We put in an extraordinary effort to take
the message of the padayatra to the people.
We put up banners and boards every few
metres for a 5-7 kilometre stretch of the
padayatra route in each constituency.
“It was as if it was a programme of the
ruling party. See if you have to succeed in the
state, you have to work on visibility like the
Tenkasi district, where he had been invited from a poor background like them and if he DMK and the AIADMK.”
as the chief guest for a prize distribution cer- could come this far, they could also come up At the restaurant, recognising Ananthan,
emony. Sankar Ji and Ram Kumar, the party’s in life if they study well. some AIADMK and BJP functionaries came to
Mandal Thalaivar for Vasudevanallur South, The speech was followed by a prize distri- see him.
joined us in the car. bution ceremony. Asked about his relation with people in
Back in the car, as we drove through the the AIADMK, Ananthan said, “lot of them know
How do you see the decision of the AIAD- winding roads towards the nearest town for me as I had worked with them during my
MK to cut ties with the BJP? lunch, Ananthan showed me colourful wall brother’s election campaign. We do not have
Answering my question, Ram Kumar stated, paintings done by the BJP for the birthday of clashes at a local level. We have often helped
“Actually the AIADMK wins here because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the En Mann each other and my brother is still a part of
us. The nationalist right wing vote is strong En Makkal padayatra and those having his the AIADMK. So they have a feeling of mutual
here.” name, ‘A Ananthan’ in Tamil. respect. It’s only recently that the alliance
Supporting the statement, Ananthan said, “Wall paintings give us a lot of visibility, ended.”
“after Kanyakumari, we (BJP), got the highest much more than a newspaper ad. It shows When Ananthan’s assistant walked up
number of local body councillors (23) from to the counter to pay for the lunch, he was
Tenkasi district during the last local body pleasantly told that the AIADMK functionary
elections, in which we contested alone. “When in fifth grade, I herded cattle. Around
had already paid for Ananthan and his team
the time I was in the tenth grade, I worked
After lunch, we were to go to a village
How important is caste in deciding voting in fireworks factories for Rs 1 a day and at
where a BJP functionary, Karuppasamy of
patterns? What are the major caste groups construction sites for Rs 2-3 per day.”
Puliyampatti village, had raised some funds
in the constituency? for a bore well and wanted Ananthan to chip
“Yes, caste is an important factor here when in, informed Ram Kumar.
it comes to voting in elections. our presence to the people. Speaking to me, Ananthan said, “these are
“The major caste groups are the Deven- “For the padayatra, we did 70,000 square some of the social welfare activities our trust,
dra Kula Vellalar, Mukkulathor/Thevar, the feet of wall painting in the constituency. Voice of Tenkasi, undertakes. We’ll be going to
Nadars, the Yadava/Konars, Senaithalaivars, The ruling disposition was taken aback and see the site where the borewell is to be made.
Saliyars, Pillai, Paraiyar, a sizeable population clearly not pleased. After the padayatra, the I usually go and see the site before I commit
of Telugu-speaking communities including DMK cadres went on an overdrive and did any funds.
Nayakkars, Naidus and the Arundhatiyars. wall paintings in a way they perhaps did “We have helped schools and tem-
“Of these, the Devendra Kula Vellalar, the not do for the last couple of years.” We then ples with renovation, constructed toilets,
Paraiyar and the Arundhatiyar are Scheduled stopped for lunch. We had a simple meal of organised tournaments for children like
Caste communities, which forms at least 20 rice, curries, puli kozhambu, sambhar, rasam chess, kabaddi, silambam, etc. Recently I was
per cent of the votes. and buttermilk. approached by a group of 50 students from
“The minorities, ie, Muslims and Christians “How was the reception to the padayatra an ST community. All of them were preparing
form about 16 per cent according to estimates in Tenkasi,” I asked, while we were having for Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission
after the 2011 census.” lunch. (TNPSC) and wanted help to purchase
We then reached the school, where we “The reception was great. We witnessed a books. We contributed and also spoke to the
were welcomed by a group of children who spontaneous upsurge of over 20,000 people bookstore. They were kind enough to give us
performed Silambam. Ananthan and the other in a town like Puliyangudi (Vasudevanallur a highly discounted rate.
guests garlanded a photo of Dr A P J Abdul assembly constituency). What was exception- “In the following days, we shall be
Kalam. Addressing the students, Ananthan al is that this town does not have reasons for sponsoring a group of children to take part in
motivated them saying that he too came up large commuting crowd, be it a famous tem- a tournament in Nepal. Good performance in
 Ground Report 21

not a very big issue. The US has set up its

plants in the Arizona desert. What you need is
continuous power supply, but more impor-
tantly the talent, a team of process engineers
with knowhow.”

Do you have a roadmap as to what kind of

chips should we be starting off with?
“See, the capital expenditure required to set
up a fab is very high unlike say a software
company which can be started with a few
computers.
“You would need $100-250 million to start
a simple fab of older nodes and in a span
of three years, process nodes get outdated.
So it would be better to start with mature
the tournament would make them eligible for learning to be able to design a chip well. To technologies.
the Asian Games.” be a good chip designer, you need to have “We don’t have to start with a 9nm, 7nm or
A short while later, we reached the loca- both hardware and software knowledge. It a 3nm chip which Taiwan is trying now; those
tion where the bore well was to be made. It is very important to have a command over would require a capex of multi-billion dollar
was near the village temple and surrounded electronics. Software is more doable by but we can start with 65nm. You don’t need
by a vast open area. anyone. You can get started with a computer very sophisticated nodes to build chips for
Ananthan spoke to Karuppasamy, the BJP science degree.” automotives, RFs etc. Plus these kind of chips
functionary, regarding the cost, the depth “Would you like to bring a fab to Tenkasi?” would be useful for longer periods of time.”
required to reach water and asked him about I ask.
the funds raised for the purpose. He added “Absolutely. See, chips have become the Do we have the people with the required
that it would be very helpful during the new oil. Even the US wants to reduce its skill set?
temple festival. Satisfied, Ananthan promised dependence on Taiwan. That is why the US “My estimate is that we have a few thousand
to offer assistance. “These may not be big government had recently did a $60 billion chip designers in India but hardly about 10
things but they make a lot of difference to the per cent of them would be highly experi-
community,” said Ananthan, as we headed enced. And those engineers are highly expen-
back to the car to proceed to our next stop, Addressing the students, Ananthan motivat- sive to hire, with salaries above Rs 1 crore per
which was the chess tournament sponsored ed them saying that he too came up from a annum, which is what makes it difficult.
by Ananthan. poor background like them and if he could “The high barrier to entry in capex and
“How far is it from here”, I asked Suman, come this far, they could also come up in life talent is a challenge but I am an optimist
Ananthan’s relative, who was driving the car. if they study well. and I am confident of us having a thriving
“We should be there in half an hour,” he semiconductor sector soon. PM Modi’s
said. grant government is making great efforts in this
Glancing at my phone for a list of ques- through the CHIPS Act. space, including the approximately $10 billion
tions that I was yet to put to Ananthan, I felt “You can’t do anything without chips. I SemiCon initiatives.”
this probably was a good time to discuss think you might recall how a huge number of
semiconductors, a field in which he had over cars were stuck due to the lack of chips. Could you tell me about the work you did
two decades of experience. “We can’t do a lot of things on our own. in Intel?
Not wanting to put the question straight For example, we can’t build a defence super- “Sure. See for a chip design/CPU, there is a
away, I decided to couch it within an obser- computer without imports, because we don’t core and a un-core part. The un-core is quite
vation that I had made after listening to the have our own chips. crucial as it determines how the overall chip
speeches he had made since morning. “We are 1.4 billion people. Imagine the glues together and communicates with the
“Why is it that you talk only about number of cellphones needed. We absolutely other parts of the system. I was one of the
software in every speech and do not mention need to bring chip design and manufacturing few senior level architects involved in un-
hardware or chip design, given your experi- to India. You can’t grow as an economy if you core and lead a large engineering team.
ence is in the latter,” I ask. keep producing lower value products. Think “I hold a number of patents, one of the
Smiling at the question, Ananthan said, of the amount of rice you need to produce most important being the CXL link, the inter-
“that is because I cannot ask someone to and sell in order to purchase a cellphone. connect to build large data centre systems
become a neurologist before they become an “Further, I would say, not just Tenkasi, you for applications like AI/ML.
MBBS doctor. can bring a fab almost anywhere in Tamil “If I continued to remain there, I would be
“Chip design is a very complex process. Nadu. Cauvery delta or Ramanathapuram, earning six-figure numbers. So you see how
You need many years of experience and there will be not be any difference. Water is expensive it is to hire highly experienced chip
 22 Ground Report

needed money to get my sister married.

“However, while I ended up staying for
over two decades, I always continued to
visit my village, purchase land here etc. After
having gone through a difficult childhood,
I wanted my father to feel that he is a
‘land-owning farmer.’
“People used to laugh at me for buying
land in the village as those were the days
when people like us in the US, were buying
land in the outskirts of Bangalore. To give you
an idea, those were the days, when you could
designers.” “Sure,” I said, knowing very well that we buy 2,400 square feet in Marathahalli for Rs
Our discussion on chips ended here, as still had topics to cover but I wanted to ask 6 lakh.
we had arrived at the venue of the chess him something that was on my mind before “But I was not interested in buying land
tournament. The participants were eagerly I left. in the city. As I said, I always wanted to give
waiting as the tournament had ended a while back to the village. I know of so many people,
back. Why would a person like you who could who studied with me, were more academi-
Ananthan began his address by apologis- have made over a million dollars per year cally brilliant than me but could not come up
ing to the audience for the delay in our arrival. leave the US and return to India to join because their circumstances did not allow
“Tamil Nadu is the chess capital of India. It politics? them to. I wanted to help them also.”
has produced the highest number of grand- “As I told you earlier, I grew up as a child of
masters in the country. But all of them have poverty, personally witnessed caste conflict Day 2
an urban background. We need to change and violence. That gave me the determination On the second day, Ananthan was scheduled
that. I would also like to see the emergence of to dream for a better life. The path I found to visit the S Veerasamy Chettiar Engineering
grandmasters from rural Tamil Nadu,” he said to that better life was through education, College in Puliyangudi, where the principal
as the audience cheered. and the manangement had requested him
After the prize distribution, I spoke to Ma- to arrange an educational tour to the Zoho
harajeswaran, a 13-year-old who had secured “You would need $100-250 million to start campus in Tenkasi.
the first prize to understand the scenario in a simple fab of older nodes and in a span We, however, started the discussion with
Tenkasi vis a vis a city like Chennai. of three years, process nodes get outdated. agriculture as I wanted to get an idea of his
“In Tenkasi, you do not have so many So it would be better to start with mature vision for the constituency beyond tech.
tournaments, while in Chennai, there is one technologies.”
happening almost every other day. Here Please tell me about the major crops and
you’ll have a rated tournament, say, once in your plans for the agriculture sector.
a month, while there the number is much technology and entrepreneurship. “The agricultural land in the district can be
higher. Plus you have a very good coaching “Now I want to serve our district, our divided broadly into nanjai lands and punjai
infrastructure.” people, particularly those trapped in poverty, lands. The nanjai lands receive more rainfall
We then returned to Ananthan’s home, to bring hope. It is with that mission I left my and are located closer to the Western Ghats.
where two groups of political workers were wealthy life in America to come back. My The main crops there are paddy, sugarcane
waiting to speak to him. one promise to the people of Tenkasi is that and banana.
The discussions went on for a couple of I will put their interest first and I want to see “In the punjai lands, which have less
hours. Asked about the nature of discus- comprehensive development that lifts all our water, it is mostly millets and groundnut.
sions, Sankar Ji said that these were regular people up. I want to see Tenkasi prosperous “Puliyangudi is famous for lemons and
occurrences and were an important means of and peaceful”. Sankarankovil is well known for its flowers. A
getting a hang over local issues. He paused and continued, “To be honest, lot of the vegetables and flowers are supplied
By the time the discussions were over, it I never wanted to go to the US. I always to Kerala from Surandai area.
was past 8pm. wanted to stay in India, even though most of “However, agriculture has been making
my batch in NIT Trichy had left for the US. losses for the last 10 years. I have been
One Day Is Not Enough “But then life had something else in store writing a cheque for my brother every year to
“Sorry I could not give you much time this for me. I initially worked with C-Dot in Ban- cover losses.
evening,” said Ananthan as the discussion galore and then joined a startup. The startup “I’ll give you an example. The Dharani
ended. was later acquired by Intel. I had offers to go Sugar Mill closed down few years back
“I know that you are here to do a day in to the US from Intel and also other companies and because of this, farmers have to take
my life but I suggest that you come back but I didn’t want to go. their produce to sugar mills in Sivaganga
tomorrow. Its already late and you need to go “Later, I decided to make the move for a district. One-third of their revenue is gone in
back to the hotel in Rajapalayam.” short period, ie, just for one year because we transport.
 Ground Report 23

labs. Going along with him, I asked him about

what he thought was lacking in engineering
colleges, especially the ones like the one we
were in, ie, in a rural setting.
“We need our engineering college
students to be up to date with the latest
technologies and opportunities.
“In the computer lab, I saw students doing
coding in the C language at a time when
eighth graders in cities and the US are learn-
ing Python and developing mobile apps.
“My job is to act as an enabling hand.
“There is no agro-industry in the district. that we can have a circular loop railway con- That is why I am helping to arrange such
We had a sugar mill but that has closed necting all the major villages and agricultural tours. It would be a comprehensive tour with
down, as I told you. centres to the markets. Zoho engineers spending 3-4 hours with the
“We have rice mills, but we also need “Flowers from Sankarankoil should be students.”
mills for processing millets. available in the markets of Surandai in say As we left the college, I asked him to tell
“So much lemon is grown in Puliyangudi, half an hour and with WiFi available in trains, me about his relationship with Sridhar Vembu
but we don’t have a cold storage. you can continue working, while travelling. and the experience of organising Startup
“What we need is value addition. We “The idea is to connect all the major cen- Tenkasi.
would like to have a tomato processing unit. tres so that you can board a train, complete “I am a devotee of him. Sridhar Vembu ji is
Lemon pickle making has to be encouraged your work and shopping and return home. my guru, philosopher, mentor and great pillar
to save our farmers from price fluctuations. “Sridhar Vembu ji (founder of Zoho) also of motivation. His presence in Tenkasi is a
In some seasons, lemon is available for Rs 30 recently posted about this on X. divine blessing for the entire region. When I
a kilogram and in others the price goes up to “We had presented the idea of electric was contemplating of my relocation, the only
Rs 300.” train to Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw person I wanted to meet and ask for guidance
“While I keep talking about software, we was him. After the meeting, I walked with lot
also need a lot of ITI diploma people, who of conviction of the purpose.
would be able to operate the machines in “Tamil Nadu is the chess capital of India. “We speak regularly and discuss often
these processing units.” It has produced the highest number of about bringing hi-tech jobs to Tenkasi. He has
grandmasters in the country. But all of them a vision to bring manufacturing here in a big
How do you plan to encourage entrepre- have an urban background. We need to way.
neurship? change that.” “Manufacturing of a number of things. We
“I am trying to encourage micro entrepre- would like to see manufacturing of electric
neurs. Lemon pickle making and jasmine vehicles, medical equipment, appliances,
oil making are some of the possibilities as a and we heard of positive reception to the toys, etc, for example. Sridhar ji would often
cottage industry. idea. mention about we being in the trap of “costly
“I also believe in the idea of cloud kitch- “The more the people travel, more the input and commodity output”. We want
ens. Such a kitchen can be set up at a cost of economic activity in the district picks up.” to avoid that. We want to go up the value
approximately Rs 5 lakh. chain. For example, we would like to see the
“Whom would the cloud kitchen supply How was the reception to Kashi Tamil beedi-worker women of Tenkasi to be rather
to?” I ask. Sangamam in Tenkasi? (Tenkasi means winding the coils of motors than winding
“Yes. For example, biryani is very popular southern Kashi in Tamil) beedi leaves.
here. These cloud kitchens could directly “It was nice. People kept talking about the “We also discuss about the importance
source from farmers, pay them a small premi- train journey as well as their stay for weeks of technological independence. What are we
um and then supply to the shops. after they returned. going to do if Meta stops storing our data and
“We could demand those kitchens to “I too attended the Sangamam. It was says we don’t want to operate WhatsApp in
source organic produce and thus give a a very good experience. People were very India?
boost to organic farming.” welcoming. It was reassuring to see that unity “Please ask Sridhar Vembu ji to improve
has remained in spite of so many efforts to ‘Arattai’, (a WhatsApp like messaging app
On improving connectivity within the divide us into north and south. developed by Zoho), I said, recalling that I had
district and with rest of the country... “What I liked the most was the effort of PM installed it in my phone but not used it.
“To bring all these high paying jobs, we need Modi to get all major Tamil literature translat- “Yes, Arattai and apps like the Ula browser.
an airport in the district. At present we have ed into other languages.” We often discuss Atmanirbharta in technolo-
to depend on the Madurai airport. By then, we reached the college. After a gy, the need for us to have more data centres
“Within the district, we would like to have short discussion with the principal, Ananthan etc.
an electric train reaching every panchayat so went round the college. He saw some of the “Startup Tenkasi was set up with a vision
 24 Ground Report

startups, data centres, etc. Vinod’s car. He had very kindly offered to drop
“We had over 200 entries from 111 colleges, me at the hotel in Rajapalayam.
including the top IITs. The pitches were world Thanking Ananthan for giving me his
class. The idea was to keep the focus on ru- valuable time and a comprehensive idea of
ral-solution oriented startups. We had a tough his vision for the constituency, I returned
time shortlisting the 20 finalists and picking after what was an enlightening stay in a rural
the winner. district in southern Tamil Nadu, over 600
“We are still in touch with some of the kilometres from the hustle and bustle of south
participants and are looking forward to set- Chennai, where I had spent a day with BJP
ting up a startup clinic, which would be like a state secretary S G Suryah, just over a month
community, where we could help each other.” ago.
We then stopped for lunch, where we
were joined by Vinod, an entrepreneur from This ground report is part of the ‘A Politician’s
Rajapalayam. Ananthan briefly discussed Workday’ series in which Swarajya corre-
about manufacturing and machines/gears to spondents spend a day or two with political
support India’s Swachh Bharat Mission. activists and leaders to understand their daily
After the meal, it was time to say goodbye work.
to make startups as a movement. Sridhar ji
to Ananthan, as he had to leave for San-
would often mention to me about the book
karankovil for his next engagement and I had
How Asia Works and we would love to make
to go back to Rajapalayam.
Tenkasi like Estonia by 2032. I always admire S Rajesh is a staff writer at Swarajya.
“It was nice having you here,” said Anan-
Estonia. It’s a small country but has done very
than, as I took his leave and made my way to
well to have a wonderful economy with tech,

The Enduring Obsession With Immigration

The IELTS coaching industry thrives in Punjab, driven by the demand for foreign immigration. IELTS is taught on various
state education platforms, including listening labs in schools.

Swati Goel Sharma out a clear path for himself: he would com- work as a chef in a Punjabi-owned restaurant.
plete a diploma in hotel management from His inspiration, intriguingly, comes from

U
Delhi, aided by the support of his paternal Punjabi films.
nlike many of his peers still uncertain
uncle who lives in the national capital city. Chetan, who uses only the first name, is
about their futures, Chetan has mapped
He would then migrate to Canada and a student of Class XI at a Punjabi-medium
 Society 25

Political parties have time and again sold

subsidised IELTS coaching as a poll promise
or a welfare scheme.
In the run-up to the 2022 assembly
elections, eventually won by the Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP), the Shiromani Akali Dal promised
interest-free loans of up to Rs 10 lakh for
students, covering not only college fees but
also IELTS coaching.
Prior to their electoral defeat, the Con-
gress-led Punjab government formalised
a memorandum of understanding with the
University of Cambridge Press India to extend
government school in Ayali Khurd village of UK on a study visa last year, and she plans to
IELTS coaching to students in govern-
Ludhiana district, where he has opted for follow her footsteps.
ment-run Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs)
humanities. On her cousin’s advice, she has addition-
and polytechnic colleges.
His teacher says he is the best in class in ally started using a social media app to refine
This May, Punjab’s NRI Affairs Minister
mehendi application, a skill he honed in his her English, where she directly engages with
from the AAP, Kuldeep Dhaliwal, recommend-
beauty and wellness subject, designed as a UK nationals.
ed incorporating the IELTS into the curriculum
vocational course to enable students to work Chetan and Gurleen are not alone in their
of state-run colleges.
in salons. foreign aspirations. The allure of moving
In state-run schools, the ‘IELTS module’
Chetan’s aspirations involve a formidable abroad, particularly to countries like Canada,
was launched five years ago under the then
challenge, a linguistic barrier that he must Australia, the UK and the US, resonates deeply
Congress government, and has persevered
cross — proficiency in English. among Punjabis.
even under the new Aam Aadmi Party regime,
At present, he cannot articulate in English Between 2016 and February 2021, 4.78
albeit with a revised name — Intensive Eng-
why he wants to become a chef or work in lakh people from Punjab left the country
lish Language Teaching System, retaining the
Canada, but he is determined to master the for employment and another 2.62 lakh for
familiar acronym.
language. The class he most looks forward to studies, according to a Lok Sabha reply by V
The launch wasn’t without criticism.
in school is the Interactive English Language
Though started with a stated aim to mitigate
Training for Students or ‘IELTS’.
the financial burden on students, it triggered
The school’s IELTS module, an acronym Canada remains a preferred destination. In a backlash for encouraging youth migration.
playfully echoing the globally recognised the first six months of 2023, around 1.75 lakh The project was temporarily renamed as
International English Language Testing Sys- students received visas, according to Immi- ‘communication skills’, but was named IELTS
tem that is a pre-requisite for entry into more gration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada. again as it failed to attract students.
than 140 countries, is a Punjab government
Today, the IELTS module is being taught
endeavour aimed at bolstering English skills
on several platforms of the state education
for Class XI and Class XII students in state-run
department, such as EDUSAT, PM e-Vidya
schools. Muraleedharan, Minister of State for External
YouTube channel, listening labs in schools
The weekly classes use audio-visual tools Affairs.
and Punjab Educare mobile app. At the Ayali
to enhance English language skills across Canada remains a preferred destination. In
Khurd school that this correspondent visited,
listening, reading, writing and speaking, the first six months of 2023, around 1.75 lakh
which caters predominantly to children from
collectively known in language-testing circles students received visas, according to Immi-
financially modest backgrounds, including
as ‘LRWS’. gration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada.
those from ‘lower’ castes and domestic mi-
The curriculum emphasises practical com- The fervour for foreign education and
grant families, the dream of foreign education
munication, teaching students to introduce employment has transformed IELTS coach-
remains daunting due to both linguistic and
themselves, speak on a given topic, and ing into a thriving industry in the state. As
financial barriers.
express their thoughts coherently in English. many as 20,000 such centres are currently
For many, the hefty cost of migration,
Performances are assessed on a nine- operating in Punjab, providing coaching and
ranging from 15 to 30 lakh rupees, renders
band scale, mimicking the global IELTS facilitating the test-taking.
this dream seemingly unattainable.
certification that is jointly managed by the While the cost of the test is about Rs
As per an analysis, each Punjabi student
British Council, Australia-based IDP Education 16,000 per student, coaching charges per
in Canada pays around 17,000 Canadian dol-
Pty Limited and Cambridge Assessment. month vary from Rs 6,000 to Rs 20,000 per
lars in annual fees, in addition to depositing
Chetan says the school module primes month per student. Nearly 6 lakh students
10,200 Canadian dollars as guaranteed invest-
him for the actual test, for which he would from Punjab take the English proficiency tests
ment certificate (GIC) funds, with students
later take private coaching if required. annually.
from Punjab overall spending a staggering Rs
Gurleen Kaur, a commerce student at the The financial burden of such coaching,
68,000 crore in Canada annually.
same school, similarly finds the classes ben- alongside the test costs, presents a signifi-
Chhaya’s grandfather migrated from Uttar
eficial if not sufficient. Her cousin migrated to cant challenge for many aspiring students.
Pradesh’s Ahmedgarh to Punjab, where he
 26 Society

took up work as a farm labourer. This step nationally and domestically. observed a predominance of challenging
marked the family’s first stride towards a Her observation seems pertinent as Pun- stories over rosy ones. He says the accounts
better life. Then, Chhaya’s father further up- jabi speakers have historically scored lower have been eye-opening, particularly in high-
lifted the family’s financial status by securing on average in IELTS testing. lighting the limited options available to those
employment in a laboratory at the Punjab Punjabi-speakers were found to have who migrate immediately after completing
Agricultural University in Ludhiana. Class XII without specialised skills.
The family’s progress took a significant He has learned that the most lucrative
leap when Chhaya’s maternal aunt, merely a The financial burden of such coaching, role for such individuals is truck driving, and
few years older than her, ventured to Canada alongside the test costs, presents a signifi- less desirable alternatives include labour-in-
last year. cant challenge for many aspiring students. tensive construction work or night shifts in a
This move was made possible through Political parties have time and again sold sandwich shop.
the unified contributions of the entire clan. subsidised IELTS coaching as a poll promise The concept of an economic “recession”
They rallied together, pooling funds for her or a welfare scheme. is another critical insight Husnmeet has
aunt’s preparatory coaching, followed by the gleaned from these interactions, a term fre-
expenses for her studies and living abroad. quently mentioned by expatriates discussing
In Canada, the aunt is expected to not just the fluctuating job market and economic
send remittances back to support the family scored the lowest among the Indian regional stability overseas.
in Punjab, but also act as a bridge to the languages in the test, as per figures made These revelations have steered Husnmeet
future, potentially facilitating the immigration public by IELTS of the mean scores of stu- towards a decision to pursue engineering in
of other family members. dents based on their first-language back- India.
Meanwhile, Chhaya, a humanities student, ground in a recent survey. The average band Alongside his technical education, he
has resolved to pursue a career in nursing score, calculated as average of band scores aims to refine his English proficiency, not as a
within India, knowing very well the financial for LRWS, of a Punjabi test-taker was 5.8. stepping stone to foreign shores, but as a tool
constraints in her own foreign dreams. Husnmeet Singh, from the science stream, to enhance his professional prospects within
Amid these stories of aspiration and chal- says he benefits from the IELTS module but his homeland.
lenge, Principal Kanwaljeet Kaur highlights is resolved to stay in India. He draws insights
the broader benefits of the IELTS course, from a Facebook group where Punjabi expa-
emphasising its role in enhancing English triates share their life experiences abroad. Swati Goel Sharma is Senior Editor, Swarajya.
skills, a critical factor for success both inter- In this online community, Husnmeet has
 Ground Report 27

Taking Touts To Task

On 8 November, NIA conducted raids, resulting in the arrest of 44 touts engaged in trafficking Rohingyas and Bangla-
deshis into India. The joint NIA and Assam Police STF operation in Tripura exposed a widespread smuggling network.
Jaideep Mazumdar Roy and his two associates — Ismail ‘delivered’ safely to Roy’s custody.
Sheikh* and Jasim Mondal* — would con- This human trafficking would happen, on

T
gregate at a spot on the banks of the Gomati an average, twice a week. And every time,
he arrest of 44 touts, who were involved
river that flows from Tripura into Bangladesh. about 15 to 20 Rohingyas would make their
in trafficking Rohingyas and Bangladeshis
They would then make their way stealthily to way into India illegally.
into India, by a joint team of the National
a spot near the Srimantapur Masjid, which A month before this infiltration, Roy would
Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Assam
is a stone’s throw away from Srimantapur have received an ‘advance’ payment — usu-
Police’s Special Task Force (STF) through
checkpost next to the international border. ally around Rs 5,000 for each Rohingya to be
Tripura has laid bare a complex smuggling
smuggled in — along with details such as the
network spread across the country.
name, age and photograph of every Rohingya.
The busting of this network earlier last The NIA-STF teams discovered that while
Roy would then, allegedly with the help
month was the result of painstaking investi- the infiltration from Bangladesh happened
and connivance of lower-level government
gations launched by the STF several months primarily through eight towns along the
officials, local panchayat functionaries and
ago. The NIA-STF teams discovered that while India-Bangladesh border in Tripura, it was
representatives and allegedly even the local
the infiltration from Bangladesh happened through three of these towns — Sonamura,
police, make fake documents like birth certifi-
primarily through eight towns along the Belonia and Bishnupur — that thousands of
cates, residential certificates and ration cards
India-Bangladesh border in Tripura, it was Rohingyas have been smuggled into India.
in the names of the Rohingyas who would be
through three of these towns — Sonamura,
smuggled in.
Belonia and Bishnupur — that thousands of
Applications for Aadhaar cards for the
Rohingyas have been smuggled into India.
The trio would, from their vantage point illegal infiltrators would be submitted on the
Swarajya travelled to these three distant
that gave them a clear view of the checkpost, basis of these fake documents.
towns in Tripura to get a first-hand account of
the border and the Gomati river flowing into Officers of the (NIA) who along with
this racket that represents a national security
Bangladesh, call up the ‘agents’ on the other Assam Police’s STF probed the widespread
threat.
side of the border. racket and arrested Roy and many other
Upon receiving Roy’s green signal, the touts like him earlier this month told Swarajya
At Sonamura
Bangladeshi ‘agents’ would guide the Rohing- that the connivance of officials issuing the
A typical working day for Pratul Roy*, a
yas waiting there to small boats. The country Aadhaar cards on the basis of the fake docu-
resident of Sonamura — a small town in Si-
boats would then be rowed into India very ments is apparent.
pahijala district of western Tripura bordering
stealthily by dodging Border Security Force Roy and his associates would then put up
Bangladesh’s Comilla province — used to
(BSF) patrols, and the Rohingyas would be the Rohingyas who had been trafficked into
start after dusk.
 28 Ground Report

rumours that he has bought a lot of farmland,”

said Biswas.
Pratul Roy is one of the 21 touts arrested by
the NIA-Assam Police joint team from Tripura
earlier this month. All were involved in facili-
tating the infiltration of Rohingyas as well as
Bangladeshis from across the border.

Entry through Belonia

Another arrested tout is Hemen Mondal*,
a resident of Belonia in South Tripura district
that adjoins Feni province of Bangladesh.
Belonia, like Sonamura, is a small town with
a river — the Muhuri — flowing into Bangla-
desh.
Mondal, 48, who owns a house adjacent to
Vidyapith Park off Netaji Palli Road in Belonia,
India at ‘safe houses’, mostly in small hamlets help enter India. is known to his neighbours as a private but
in Khedabari, Taksapara and Padma Nagar Considering the fact that he had helped, helpful person. But some neighbours, like
near Sonamura. on an average, about 15 Rohingyas enter Biswanath Majumder, have been suspicious
The Rohingyas would be schooled on how India at one time — the trafficking would of his activities.
to conduct themselves and what to say in happen about twice a month — his earnings “He (Hemen) used to say he is a rice trad-
public by Roy and his associates at these safe per month had been amounting to about Rs er, but there was something suspicious about
houses. 90,000. his activities. He also got rich very quickly,
“The Rohingyas would be tutored on what That’s a substantial amount for a resident over the last five years or so. We used to
to say if they are asked about their creden- of Sonamura. Roy’s relative affluence is see him with some dubious people at times,
tials, how to remain inconspicuous and draw reflected in the house he has built for his and last year we got to know he was being
as little attention to themselves as possible, joint family — his aged parents, two younger probed by the police,” said Majumdar.
and a few phrases in Hindi. They would be brothers and their wives and his own wife Like Sonamura’s Roy, Hemen also has a
asked to speak as little as possible among and two children — at Thakurmura Bazaar in few associates to help him smuggle in Ro-
themselves and dress in a manner that would Sonamura. hingyas. But his task was more difficult since
not draw suspicion. Their Indian documents “The family used to stay in a mud house a barbed wire fence runs along the Muhuri
like Aadhaar cards and ration cards would earlier. His (Pratul Roy’s) father was a small river for almost the entire stretch of Belonia.
then be handed over to them,” said an NIA The process of preparing for the (illegal)
officer who was involved in the nationwide entry of the Rohingyas used to start a few
operation to crack down on the network of This human trafficking would happen, on
weeks before their actual entry. Hemen would
touts. an average, twice a week. And every time,
be sent the names, physical details and
After this tutoring, Roy would take the about 15 to 20 Rohingyas would make their
photographs of the Rohingyas.
Rohingyas by road to state capital Agartala way into India illegally.
He would then allegedly bribe local
(less than 140 kilometres away). officials, including panchayat representatives,
At Agartala, another tout would take over to get fake birth, school and residential certif-
the responsibility of taking the Rohingyas farmer who would barely make ends meet. icates in the names of the Rohingyas. And on
by train, mostly to Delhi from where they The family was very poor and couldn’t afford the basis of these, he would get ration cards
would be despatched by yet another set of education for Pratul and his siblings. His and Aadhaar cards in their names.
touts to other parts of the country to work as mother used to work intermittently as a small Hemen’s modus operandi for smuggling
labourers. vegetable vendor,” the Roys’ neighbour, Sushil in the Rohingyas used to be quite simple.
Roy would receive the rest of his commis- Biswas, told Swarajya. He would cross the river (Muhuri) to its
sion — about Rs 10,000 per Rohingya — after Pratul, said Biswas who owns a small sparsely-inhabited northern bank and wait
handing them over to the touts in Agartala. grocery store near Sonamura Town Hall, is in a forest beside farmlands just next to the
His total earnings per trafficked Rohingya the eldest of the three siblings and used to do international border.
would be about Rs 15,000, a sum he would odd jobs after dropping out of primary school. At a predetermined time usually close
share with his two associates. “About seven years ago, he (Pratul) started to midnight, the Bangladeshi agents on the
But, say NIA officers, Roy would have to making a lot of money. His parents told us he other side of the border would communicate
bribe the many others who helped procure was into some business, but we all suspected with Hemen and his associates through
or make the fake documents and then issue he was engaged in smuggling. He earned powerful torch lights.
Aadhaar cards, from his ‘commission’. a lot over the past few years and built a They (Hemen and his associates) knew
After all that, Roy would still be left with concrete house with five rooms three years the exact time the BSF patrols would be
about Rs 3,000 (for every Rohingya) he would ago. He also owns a motorcycle and there are passing through a particular stretch along
 Ground Report 29

the border road that runs parallel to the fence Bishnupur has many hillocks in its vicinity
on the south bank of Murari. and those offer a clear view of the border and Journey From Agartala
The floodlights atop the fence made their the Feni river. Being remote — it is connected From Agartala, the Rohingyas travelled by
task difficult. Unlike the Gomati river at Son- only by a dirt road and the nearest black- train to Kolkata and Delhi. Most would go to
amura, the Murari is a narrow river through topped road is 2 kilometres away — and Delhi. Once in Delhi, another network of touts
which boats cannot pass by unnoticed. located in the midst of small hillocks and would take charge and send them out to Jam-
Crossing over on foot through the un- narrow ravines which are enveloped by for- mu, Haryana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala,
fenced part of the border has been, thus, the ests, Bishnupur is the perfect staging post for Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
only option and a comparatively easier one a trafficking operation. Also, the nearest BSF The dispersal to the various states would
as well. border outpost (BPO) is 10 kilometres away depend on the demand for labour in those
Thick vegetation and farmlands provided and the area is not as frequently patrolled as states at that particular time. The Rohingyas
a lot of cover to the infiltrators. As in Sonamu- other parts of the border. would be sent by trains to their ultimate
ra, the Rohingyas came over in batches of five The operation here is controlled by Muk- destinations where another tout would
or six to Belonia. tar*, who actually lives in Sabroom, a town receive them, take them to Muslim ghettos in
A maximum of 12 to 15 Rohingyas would along the international border that is about the cities where they (the Rohingyas) would
cross over on one particular night of ‘opera- 20 kilometres south of Bishnupur. be safe.
tion’. That’s because a larger number would Muktar, 50, is a notorious smuggler who,
arouse suspicion and would be difficult to allege locals, is well-connected with the local How Much And How The Rohingyas Pay
hide or spirit away. police and also the BSF. He has very close rel- For Entry Into India
Hemen and his associates would take atives across the border, especially Ramgarh The cost of this entire trip from Cox’s Bazar,
the Rohingyas to safe houses in Dakshin that lies just across the border from Sabroom. which houses over 10 lakh Rohingya refugees
Bharatchandranagar, Kalabaria, Chhaigharia Many say that Muktar was born in Bangla- from Myanmar’s Rakhine province, to Tripura
and Kanchannagar. and then to Delhi costs each Rohingya at
All these are wooded and sparsely popu- Thick vegetation and farmlands provided a least Rs 30,000. A major chunk of that sum is
lated areas with small hamlets in the midst lot of cover to the infiltrators. As in Sonamu- pocketed by the touts in Tripura.
of scattered forests. They provide the perfect ra, the Rohingyas came over in batches of “The Rohingyas who get trafficked into
cover for anyone wishing to hide. five or six to Belonia. India usually have some savings. Typically,
Like Pratul Roy, Hemen Mondal also used they would have spent a few months at the
to tutor the Rohingyas on how to talk, dress refugee camp at Cox’s Bazar, earned some
and conduct themselves. And after such money there and then got in touch with the
intense tutoring for three to four days, he desh and came across illegally with his par- touts there to gain entry into India,” said the
would take them by road, or by a (twice daily) ents when he was a teenager. But he, like all NIA officer.
passenger train to Agartala. other infiltrators, possesses Indian citizenship But the entire sum (of about Rs 30,000)
In Agartala, Hemen would hand over the documents, including a passport. is not paid upfront at one go. They (the
Rohingyas to another tout who would be Muktar’s two-storied house near the local infiltrators) do not generally have such a lot
responsible for taking them by train to other bus stand is the envy of locals. He used to of money with them.
parts of the country, mostly Delhi. be accompanied by some local toughs at all “A large part of that comes in the form of
times and had a Robin Hood sort of reputa- loans given to them by the touts. Once they
Bishnupur — Another Entry Post tion. start working as labourers in the cities, the
Bishnupur is a sparsely populated village in Muktar’s modus operandi was quite sim- touts extract a share of their earnings every
the Rupaichari administrative block of South ilar to that of his counterparts in Sonamura month through their agents. These agents,
Tripura district. It is barely 3 kilometres away and Belonia. He would ensure the smooth who are musclemen, ensure that the Rohing-
from the India-Bangladesh border. Bangla- entry of Rohingyas from across the border in yas pay up regularly. The interest on the loans
desh’s Khagrachari province in the country’s boats through the Feni river. are very high and it takes each Rohingya at
Chittagong division lies to its east. His associates used to receive the least five years to pay off the entire loan,” said
Bishnupur, with its population of a little Rohingyas at the border, and then hide them the NIA officer.
over 2,000 that includes a substantial number in safe houses in the midst of forests. They Even after clearing off the entire loan, the
of indigenous tribals, is surrounded by thick would later on be brought in small batches Rohingyas have to continue paying a small
forests that stretch right up to the interna- to Sabroom, from where Muktar would send sum every month to the touts. That’s ‘protec-
tional border. The Feni river, which originates them off to Agartala. tion money’ given to the touts to keep them
further north of Bishnupur in South Tripura Incidentally, the districts of Comilla (next safe and the local authorities at bay.
district, forms the international border. to Sonamura), Feni (next to Belonia) and
And it is this riverine border that facilitates Khagrachari (next to Bishnupur) are quite How The Operation Was Busted
the illegal infiltration of Rohingyas. There close to Cox’s Bazar in Chittagong. Chittagong In February this year, the Assam Police
are many other small and large settlements adjoins Myanmar’s Rakhine province from detected a group of persons travelling on a
along the border, but Bishnupur has a unique where lakhs of refugees have come into train that had originated from Agartala and
advantage. Bangladesh. had halted at Karimganj Railway Station.
 30 Ground Report

Karimganj is located on the Assam-Tripura participate in the nationwide probe. The NIA who help the touts, will be demolished. We
border. formally took charge of the investigations on will carry out more raids,” he said.
The Assam Police, upon interrogating 6 October. He pointed out that for the racket to be
the group of people, discovered they were The NIA and the STF conducted a compre- totally obliterated, it is important to iden-
actually Rohingyas who had entered Tripura hensive investigation and launched a nation- tify and punish all those who facilitate the
illegally. But all these Rohingyas were carry- wide operation on 8 November morning. NIA trafficking and are involved in the process of
ing Aadhaar cards and other documents that teams, assisted by the STF at some locations, giving Indian citizenship documents to the
showed them to be Indian citizens. conducted searches in 55 places across 10 illegal infiltrators.
The Assam Police then increased vigil states — Tripura, Assam, West Bengal, Karna-
on trains entering Assam from Tripura and Postscript: The families of Pratul Roy,
within a month, 450 illegal infiltrators, many Hemen Mondal and Muktar have locked
of them Rohingyas, were detected. They were Crossing over on foot through the unfenced their homes and are said to be staying with
pushed back into Bangladesh with the help part of the border has been the only option relatives in other parts of Tripura. Though
of the BSF. and a comparatively easier one as well. they have been arrested, their associates
Interrogation of these infiltrators revealed and all those who were part of the racket
that their entry into India was being facili- taka, are still at large.
tated by touts present on both sides of the Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Haryana, Rajasthan
border. The Assam Police also discovered that and the Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir
the network of touts was spread across the and Puducherry. While 21 touts were arrested
country with the touts in Tripura having close from Tripura, 10 were arrested from Karnataka,
connections with touts in Delhi and other five from Assam, three from West Bengal,
parts of the country. two from Tamil Nadu and one each from
The case was taken up by Assam Police’s Puducherry, Telangana and Haryana.
Special Task Force (STF) in July this year. The NIA officer told Swarajya that inves-
The STF arrested 10 such touts. Realising tigations into this entire human trafficking
the grave national security implications, the racket are going on. “Not only the touts, but Jaideep Mazumdar is Contributing Editor, Swarajya.
Assam government requested the NIA to the entire ecosystem that includes all those

On Shaky Grounds
Bangladesh experienced increased economic activity under Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule. However, questions arise
about inflating the numbers to mask economic weaknesses, casting doubt on Dhaka’s growth story.
 Cover Story 31

Pratim Ranjan Bose

I t is true that Bangladesh witnessed

heightened economic activity during the
15-year rule of the Sheikh Hasina government.
But is her government guilty of inflating the
numbers to hide the apparent weaknesses of
the economy? And if exporters parked so much of the ex- ries during this period. According to the ITC
According to the International Trade port revenue abroad, the production at home Trade Map, Vietnam’s August data is “tenta-
Centre’s (ITC’s) Trade Map mirror data, must suffer from capital constraints, unless, tive”, as the reporting process is not complete.
Bangladesh’s exports have increased nearly of course, the government keeps bridging the The Indian data is provided by the country’s
four times since 2008 (when Hasina came to gap with loans that will never be returned. Commerce Ministry.
power), from $17.66 billion in 2009 to $67.49 Yet the core issue remains. Deviation Strikingly enough, the export growth
billion in 2022. between shipment data and receipts is of Bangladesh is coming on the back of a
Leaving the Covid-hit 2020 aside, the common to all countries. Disputes regarding severe foreign exchange crisis and import
numbers have only grown. the quality of shipment are a common cause. restrictions beginning last year. From $48
In July, the country’s Ministry of Com- There are other reasons, as well. Howev- billion in 2021, Dhaka now has a $21 billion
merce claimed that the total exports zoomed er, rarely does a country suffer as high a accessible forex reserve.
to $64.55 billion, higher than the targeted $62 deviation. At less than $5 billion, the monthly import
billion, in the 2022-23 (July-June) fiscal year. Interestingly, Bangladesh has become bill is now below the 2019 level. According to
The goods exports were pegged at highly irregular in reporting its export per- the central bank, the import of intermediaries
$55.55 billion, 6.7 per cent higher than in the formance to the trusted global data platform for readymade garment production was down
previous year. the United Nations Comtrade since 2013, by 26 per cent during July-August.
The achievements are startling, as the thereby denying opportunity options for data The contradiction in Bangladesh’s growth
period coincided with a slowdown in global story is apparent. And that raises the concern
trade. Most major exporting nations suffered The contradiction in Bangladesh’s growth that Dhaka is cooking up numbers to present
a decline in fortunes from the July-September story is apparent. And that raises the con- a rosy picture of the economy. If they do, that
2022 quarter. cern that Dhaka is cooking up numbers to would be foolish.
Such exceptions are, however, familiar to present a rosy picture of the economy. The administered exchange rate of Bang-
Bangladesh. ladeshi Taka reduced from 100 to 110 against
Over the last decade, both India and China the United States dollar over the last year. But
saw ups and downs in their year-on-year no one gets foreign currency at that value.
export performance; Bangladesh did not. integration. The unofficial or kerb market price of the
Vietnam saw secular growth, but they have The ITC Trade Map doesn’t have ‘direct dollar crossed Taka 120. Inflation has been
a huge export basket. In comparison, Dhaka data’, sourced from the UN Comtrade, on hovering near 10 per cent for the last six
has only cheap garments to sell. Bangladesh after 2016. The Global Finan- months.
That takes us to the question: How real cial Integrity (GFI) report, which sources The economy is close to a tipping point.
are these data? information from the UN Comtrade, is also in Cooking up numbers will add to the problem.
The answer was found recently, as Dhaka the dark. The vice president of the Bangladesh Knit-
was scrambling for foreign exchange. Accord- The questions do not stop there. wear Manufacturers and Exporters Associa-
ing to the country’s central bank, the goods In July, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi tion questioned the credibility of export data.
export receipts in 2022-23 were $12 billion announced that the country has upped the Knitwear is Bangladesh’s top export item.
short of the shipment value. annual service exports to nearly $10 billion. According to him, the sector has been wit-
If the receipts are taken into consider- In September, local media reported a 15 per nessing a drop in orders since the middle of
ation, Bangladesh’s exports have declined cent decline in service exports to $7.5 billion 2022. Most of the factories, including his, are
from $43.68 billion in 2021-22 to $43 billion in in 2022-23. running on low capacity for more than a year.
2022-23. It’s a data mayhem, where every piece of He has no clue as to how the official data can
Some media reports attribute the gap information is doubtful. be so different from the ground realities.
to double counting. Many blame it on the According to Bangladesh Bank, the export The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers
parking of export revenues abroad. of garments grew by 17 per cent in knitwear of Commerce and Industry launched a probe
Both the claims appear to be a little over (HS 61) and 7 per cent in non-knitted or into the data discrepancy. The International
the top. Mis-invoicing and capital flight are woven (HS 62) segments during July-Au- Monetary Fund, which promised a $4.7 billion
common in Bangladesh. However, managing gust 2023. Global trends do not justify such loan to the country, also sought clarifications.
a $12 billion surplus (21 per cent) on the $55 growth.
billion export of cheap T-shirts, that too in Both India and Vietnam reported a sharp Pratim Ranjan Bose is a commentator and researcher. He held
depressed market conditions, is impossible. decline in exports in the respective catego- senior positions in national financial media.
 32 World

From Chokehold To Boom

Oil companies are gearing up to substantially increase crude oil production from Venezuela after America eased the sanc-
tions. A vital lesson for India is to exercise caution in diplomacy to avoid suffering as Venezuela did.
Veenu Gopal Narayanan Chavez manfully resisted. baby if demand didn’t pick up, and oil prices
But once Chavez died in 2013, sanctions cooled to, or even below, the $70-80 band.
were applied more forcefully. Simply put, it was too high a risk to take,
A curious bit of news escaped the headlines
last month: Oil companies are gearing up
to substantially increase crude oil production
As a result, oil production in Venezuela
dropped drastically from over 2 million bar-
because shale oil is expensive to extract,
unlike conventional oil, and needs high prices
rels a day to just around half a million barrels and a firm market to succeed.
from Venezuela, after America eased the
a day in 2020, when all energy trade was Worse, major importers like India com-
sanctions it had placed on the Latin American
disrupted after demand slumped following pletely circumvented this ungodly mess by
country for many years.
the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. the simple stratagem of buying huge volumes
A brief backgrounder is required to fully
Something else happened in this period: of oil from Russia on a welcome discount.
understand the significance, implications,
Russia joined the Organization of the Petrole- And, above all, OPEC chose to cut pro-
and timing of this move.
um Exporting Countries (OPEC) and usurped duction to prevent prices from dropping too
Venezuela had been a major oil exporter
America’s traditional ability to set the global much.
for over a century, with a good portion of its
oil price. That plus self-imposed sanctions on
crude oil going to America.
However, once the conflict between Russia resulted in an artificial shortage. So,
But relations between the two nations
Russia and Ukraine broke out in early 2022, now, the Americans were stuck in a situa-
soured after Hugo Chavez was elected
and consequently, the West started placing tion where they could neither rapidly boost
president of Venezuela in 1998 — he chose to
sanctions on energy from Russia, America domestic oil output adequately nor meet
curtail the power of the oil companies.
embraced the onus of becoming the principal Europe’s oil needs (who, obediently, reduced
This was followed by the American shale
supplier of oil and gas to Europe. oil offtakes from Russia without a care).
oil boom starting early this century, which
That gamble flopped because American It is a piquant situation: while demand is
meant that Venezuelan crude became a
oil companies were chary of increasing still in a slump, major importers like Europe
competitor.
drilling activity in the midst of an oil glut; they still need to source reasonably priced crude
There were persistent geopolitical efforts
definitely didn’t want to be left holding the from somewhere.
to restrict Venezuelan oil production, which
 World 33

This is where the resumption of exports in the America-OPEC impasse, and will probably Yet, finally, what stands out most is the
large volumes from Venezuela comes in. How last only until large importers in Asia (and callous whimsicality of this policy shift.
might this work out? possibly even in Europe, if the political mood For years, the Venezuelan oil sector was
One, bearing in mind that many American changes) say “to hell with it” and cut sizeable choked to facilitate a phenomenal growth of
refineries were originally designed to treat bilateral crude offtake deals with major the shale oil sector. It didn’t matter that the
and refine Venezuelan-type crude (heavier, exporters in the Middle East, just like India did Venezuelan economy was ground to dust in
with more sulphur content), their margins with Russia. the process, resulting in hyperinflation and
would increase and make refining operations This is not as outlandish as some may socio-economic devastation.
more profitable. But when the need for fresh sources of
Two, more crude oil from Venezuela to oil arose, that carefully concocted regime
More crude oil from Venezuela to Amer-
America means that more American shale oil of sanctions was promptly junked and
ica means that more American shale oil
becomes available for export to Europe and Venezuela grandly permitted to produce more
becomes available for export to Europe and
other markets. oil again.
other markets.
Three, this move allows America to This is an important lesson for India as
counter OPEC obstinacy (primarily, the Middle it struggles to establish its rightful place at
East and Russia, because ironically, and lest think the world table: our government should be
we forget, Venezuela is a founding member because it is already happening in the gas cautious in its diplomatic engagements and
of OPEC). sector. Both India and China are signing long- ensure that we do not suffer from the use-
America accesses a major source of oil, term deals for the purchase of gas (liquified and-throw approach to which Venezuela was
but the rest of OPEC are forced to maintain natural gas, or LNG, shipped on tankers). dreadfully subjected.
their production cuts, because if they don’t, China is laying a new pipeline across
the oil price would tumble. In the process, Central Asia to transport more gas in larger
Venu Gopal Narayanan is an independent upstream petroleum
America can also get a larger share of the volumes from Turkmenistan, and India just consultant who focuses on energy, geopolitics, current affairs
European oil market. signed a 14-year deal with Abu Dhabi for dou- and electoral arithmetic.

Nonetheless, this move will not resolve ble the LNG than we already buy from them.

A Lot Is At Stake
The Maldives government’s pro-China shift has substantial implications for India, posing challenges in meeting project
completion dates. Historically, India faces an image problem of project implementation delays in the subcontinent.

Amit Mishra the pro-India incumbent President Ibrahim Party of the Maldives and People’s National
Mohamed Solih for the pro-China opposition Congress), defeated the incumbent president,

M
challenger Mohamed Muizzu. securing approximately 54 per cent of the
aldives elected a new president on
Muizzu, the main opposition candidate votes.
30 September, with voters dumping
from the PPM/PNC coalition (Progressive The outcome in South Asia’s smallest
 34 World

The large-scale infrastructure investment

in the Maldives has been viewed as New
Delhi’s way of countering the similar financial
largesse from China.
Notably, this was facilitated by Abdulla
Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s administration
(November 2013-November 2018) which was
particularly amenable to Beijing’s commercial
overtures.
Coincidentally, it was in 2013 when Xi
Jinping became the Chinese President and
launched the ambitious Belt and Road Initia-
tive (BRI) a few months later.
In 2014, President Xi visited Maldives and
underlined the idea of increased connectivity
between the two countries by proposing
the Maritime Silk Road (MSR) initiative, the
democracy has raised questions for India to support the implementation of the Male to maritime half of the BRI. Later that year, both
about the state of its infrastructure ties with Thilafushi link project, popularly known as countries agreed to jointly promote the con-
its neighbour, just as it expands its focus the Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP), struction of the 21st Century MSR. Maldives
beyond. following a request from the Maldives thus became the second south Asian nation,
Evidently, the millions of dollars that India government. after Sri Lanka, to formally endorse the BRI.
has invested in infrastructure projects across The project involves constructing a Since then, China has been actively
the 1,200 islands and atolls during Solih’s 6.7-km-long bridge and causeway network involved in developing capital assets in the
tenure did not yield the expected results. that will connect Male with the neighbouring Maldives, with the most noticeable infrastruc-
To add complexity, competing domestic islands of Villingili, Gulhifalhu, and Thilafushi. tural investments made in the capital, Male
rivalries in Maldivian politics have created a The flagship infrastructure project, the and the nearby island of Hulhumale.
turbulent triangular dynamic between Delhi, largest-ever undertaken by India in the Mal- These include the extension of Velana In-
Male and Beijing. ternational Airport in Male (previously known
as Ibrahim Nasir International Airport) and
The Indian Factor The poll outcome in South Asia’s smallest the construction of the Sinamale Bridge Inci-
The engagement between the two countries democracy has raised questions for India dentally, GMR Male International Airport Limit-
is based on India’s “Neighbourhood First” and about the state of its infrastructure ties with ed (GMIAL), a subsidiary of GMR Infrastruc-
Maldives’ “India First” policy, with India par- its neighbour, just as it expands its focus ture of India, initially secured the contract
ticipating in various developmental projects beyond. to modernise and operate the Ibrahim Nasir
in the island nation. International Airport in 2010 for 25 years.
Some of the big projects in various stages However, later, the government under
of implementation include the Gulhifalhu dives, has been funded with a grant of $100 Abdulla Yameen awarded the contract to the
Port, airport development at Hanimaadhoo million, and a line of credit of $400 million. Beijing Urban Construction Group in 2014,
and Gan Island, the expansion of facilities of In addition to enhancing connectivity in which subsequently constructed a new
Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company Limit- the Greater Male region, the bridge will serve runway, a fuel farm, and a cargo terminal.
ed (MIFCO) and the Greater Male Connectivity as a new engine of economic activity in the Notably, when the Maldives terminated its
Project among others. Maldives by providing connectivity to the accord with GMR, the Indian entity invoked
On the island of Gulhifalhu, a port is under Gulhifalhu Port and the Thilafushi Industrial the jurisdiction of a Singapore-based interna-
development, funded through a line of credit tional arbitral tribunal.
Zone.
Facility provided by the EXIM Bank. This port, The project was awarded to Afcons In the aftermath, the Maldives was ordered
scheduled for completion in 2026, is expected Infrastructure Ltd, a Shapoorji Pallonji Group to pay compensation of $270 million to GMR,
to address the capacity issues at the existing firm, in August 2021. The pouring of the first which Male settled immediately, leading
main port located in Maldives’ capital Male — concrete during President Solih’s visit in to speculation that China had provided the
Male Commercial Harbour. June 2022 marked the commencement of amount to the Maldives.
The engineering, procurement, and permanent works. The most visible sign of Yameen’s pro-Bei-
construction tender for Indian companies, for Similarly, India is assisting the Maldives jing stance is the China-Maldives Friendship
the development of the Gulhifalhu port, is ex- Bridge, officially the Sinamale Bridge, inaugu-
with the Addu Development Project. This key
pected to be floated by the South Asian island infrastructure project is essential for Addu to rated during his tenure in August 2018.
nation by the end of the current financial year establish itself as the southern regional hub The 1.39-kilometre bridge linking the
2023-24. of the Maldives. island of Male with Hulhule, where the
In August 2020, New Delhi had decided The Chinese Largesse international airport is located, was built by
the Second Harbor Engineering Company, a
 World 35

subsidiary of the state-owned company Chi- Similarly, the Tata group’s residential Mohamed Saeed, Member of Parliament
na Communications Construction Company. project on Ameeru Ahmed Magu is also pro- for Maavashu and Vice President of the PNC,
The Chinese government contributed $126 ceeding at a steady pace, but concerns exist has expressed his objections to the GMCP
million, covering approximately half of the over this project too. project both in Parliament and on X (formerly
construction expenses. If India fails to deliver on the deadlines for Twitter). These range from questions about
As the first cross-sea bridge in the Mal- ongoing projects, it could potentially have the quality of construction, its environmental
dives, it enables locals and tourists to travel a negative impact on bilateral relations and impact, particularly on Vilimale reef, and
between the two islands within five minutes. could be used as an excuse to stoke anti-In- claims that Afcons has gone bankrupt.
For years, the Maldivian populace relied dia sentiments. “This is a much more serious issue than
heavily on ferries for inter-island transporta- “That is a problem, because countries the GMR case,” Saeed said, a statement which
tion. Therefore, the construction of this bridge complain that India doesn’t deliver on should concern India.
has garnered widespread acclaim, fostering To add, Maldives’ new president has
a positive sentiment for the Chinese. Not to already endorsed the role of Beijing’s flagship
be outdone by China, India is also funding its The return of a government in the Maldives infrastructure programme in the development
own “friendship” bridge in the Maldives — the with a pro-China shift carries significant of participating countries.
Greater Male Connectivity Project. This four- implications, with a considerable stake for Irrespective of the policy priorities of the
times longer project would link Male with India. new administration, China’s influence and in-
three other nearby islands. terest in Maldives is unlikely to diminish. India
must expect that Chinese projects under the
At Stake projects and they tend to make comparisons BRI will likely increase in the coming year,
The return of a government in the Maldives with China,” said Dr Gulbin Sultana, a research writes Dr Vinitha Revi, who is an independ-
with a pro-China shift carries significant im- analyst at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for ent scholar associated with the Observer
plications, with a considerable stake for India. Defence Studies and Analyses, whose area of Research Foundation
To begin with, the biggest challenge for research includes Maldives. As Muizzu starts his first term as the next
India concerning various projects lies in Moreover, narrowing the disparity Maldivian leader, India’s diplomatic approach
meeting its ambitious completion dates. His- between promised and actual delivery could to the developmental initiatives in its small
torically, India suffers from a negative image diminish the advantage that China currently southern neighbour will invariably come
of having an implementation problem when it holds over India in the Maldives or the neigh- under more scrutiny.
comes to its projects in South Asia. bouring region.
For example, the GMCP project agreement Another anxiety emanating from the
stipulates the completion of the bridge by recent political changes in Maldives is that
2023. However, due to the disruptions caused Indian projects going ahead might not be a
by the Covid-19 pandemic, work has not done deal, and the GMR fiasco serves as a
progressed as desired. stark reminder of this uncertainty. Amit Mishra is a Staff Writer at Swarajya.
 36 Politics

On The Right Track

The Uttar Pradesh government is right on banning certain Halal certifications. It is time the tolerant majority outlawed
halal for Hindus and non-Muslims by forcing governments to stop the payment of jizya to mullahs and Islam.
R Jagannathan the obvious, that there are “no provisions for is the only god, and Muhammed is his last
marking halal certification on labels in the prophet.

It is time the tolerant majority outlawed halal government rules related to drugs, medical Here are some questions that “secular-lib-
for Hindus and non-Muslims by forcing devices, and cosmetics”, nor is such a certifi- eral” individuals must answer, when the same
governments to stop the payment of jizya to cation mentioned in the Drugs and Cosmetics lot say that Muslims can abstain from singing
mullahs and Islam. Act, 1940, and its related rules. Vande Mataram since it glorifies the country
The Uttar Pradesh government’s decision Absolutely. The wonder is that it even as mother, and not just Allah.
to ban certain halal certifications is the first needs to be said. Let’s again start with the The questions:
step towards preventing a mullah-takeover One, why is a non-Muslim, especially in
of food and non-food certifications, a right Hindu-majority India, obliged to eat food
If Muslims indeed want to eat halal, they
which correctly belongs to the state. blessed by a mullah, and which glorifies Al-
should clearly be told that halal meat falls
The ban, which excludes products lah? It is one thing to respect someone’s faith
outside Indian law, and must be labelled as
intended for export, will be condemned as a and his right to eat meat as prescribed by his
non-standard, and anyone consuming halal
“communal” act by the Yogi Adityanath gov- scriptures, quite another to force others to
products will do so at his own risk.
ernment, but it is the widespread use of such consume food and other items that embody
certifications, which Hindus have to willy-nilly that faith.
accept, that should be called “communal”. ob- Two, why is a non-standard and inhumane
The UP government order says strict legal vious. Halal is an Islamic requirement that way of slaughtering animals even acceptable,
measures will be implemented against any expects Muslims to eat only that meat where when our (and the Western world’s) food
individual or firm engaged in the production, the animal is slaughtered inhumanely — ie, safety standards do not require any such
storage, distribution, buying, and selling of without stunning — by cutting its jugular, method of slaughter.
halal-certified medicines, medical devices, carotid artery and windpipe and draining its If Muslims indeed want to eat halal, they
and cosmetics within the state. blood while it is still alive. should clearly be told that halal meat falls
It added: “The right to decide the quality As a BBC explainer on halal notes, “Ani- outside Indian law, and must be labelled as
of food items lies only with the authorities mals must be alive and healthy at the time non-standard, and anyone consuming halal
and institutions given in Section 29 of the of slaughter and all blood is drained from products will do so at his own risk.
said (Food Safety and Standards) Act, who the carcass. During the process, a Muslim Three, why is an Islamic injunction on how
check the relevant standards as per the will recite a dedication, knows as tasmiya to slaughter being extended to all kinds of
provisions of the Act”. or shahada.” In other words, the last words products, from medicines to medical devices
For good measure, the government said the suffering animal has to hear is that Allah and even cosmetics?
 Politics 37

The laws must make two things clear.

First, no halal certification is valid unless
the product clearly says that it is meant only
for orthodox Muslim consumption. Also that
the product must explicitly state that it does
not conform to Indian law.
Second, any product that uses a halal
certification must always produce the same
in conformity with Indian laws and which is
made available to all.
As Nassim Nicholas Taleb wrote seven
years ago, the intolerant minority always
wins, if the majority is not too inconvenienced
by this demand. A Muslim may want halal,
and the average Hindu won’t mind halal as
Baba Ramdev of Patanjali runs an Ayurve- And if most products ultimately need halal long as the product is acceptable.
dic and FMCG products company, but even he certifications, it implies that a mullah has In effect, the intolerant minority usually
is forced to use halal certifications to export to bless many things I consume. Over time, wins unless there is a strong pushback
his products to Muslim-majority countries. a halal-certified supply chain will become against this less visible form of intolerance.
But even if this is a requirement for exports, directly or indirectly controlled by Muslims, It is time the tolerant majority outlawed
none of these products should be sold to often Islamist forces. halal for Hindus and non-Muslims by forcing
non-Muslims in India. This is nothing but jizya imposed on us governments to stop the payment of jizya to
Let’s be clear: by extending halal certi- through the backdoor. We must resist it and mullahs and Islam.
fications to all kinds of products, including make laws to outlaw halal products for any Non-halal products must be main-
meat consumed by non-Muslims in India and products sold to non-Muslims. Otherwise, streamed; halal should be restricted to those
the rest of the world, the world is essentially the corporate sector will accept halal as the orthodox Muslims who want to follow Sharia.
being forced to pay tithes to the maulanas norm, and pay jizya to the mullahs, forcing R Jagannathan is Editorial Director, Swarajya.
who run this certification. ordinary citizens to do the same.

Might — Not Right

The Tamil Nadu DMK government stirred controversy by unveiling plans for a state-level fact-checking unit led by Chief
Minister’s son Udhyanidhi Stalin. The process faces criticism for its perceived opacity and partisanship.
 38 Politics

K Balakumar has been allocated a substantial amount for Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, journalist
expenses. organisations were up in arms as they saw it

L
The government order said that the FCU as an attempt to curb media freedom.
ast month, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhag-
was being set up with an initial investment of
am (DMK) government in Tamil Nadu, in a
Rs 1.42 crore, and an annual expenditure of Rs DIGIPUB, And The Joke That It Is
contentious move, announced the setting up
3.55 crore has been sanctioned for the unit. Even though the Centre’s attempt was merely
of a state-level unit for fact-checking online
If you have been in journalism you will know part of a ‘draft amendment’ to the Information
information.
that it is indeed a huge outlay for a mere Technology Rules, 2021, journalists saw red.
The whole process to set up the Fact-
fact-check unit. DIGIPUB News India Foundation, which
Check Unit (FCU), which will come under the
The controversy-ridden announcement comprises 11 digital news outlets, was the
Special Programme Implementation Depart-
of the setting up of the FCU and its chief is most vocal:
ment headed by Chief Minister’s son Udhyani-
already under fire. The DMK’s arch-rival, the “The proposed amendments can po-
dhi Stalin, is already copping criticism for
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam tentially become a convenient institutional
being opaque and partisan.
(AIADMK), has already moved the courts, mechanism to muzzle the press,” it thundered
While the unit will be under the watch
stating that the government order setting up then. “The media (electronic, print and digi-
of the Special Programme Implementation
the unit was unconstitutional. tal), information activists, civil society, etc. are
Department, the government order announc-
The plea, moved by the joint secretary of equally invested in a democracy’s wellbeing
ing the details of the FCU and its operation
the AIADMK’s Information Technology depart- and in upholding constitutionally protected
has been issued by the State Information
ment R Nirmal Kumar, also sought a stay on freedoms of speech and expression. There-
Department. This anomaly aside, the glaring
FCU’s Mission Director from continuing work fore, the government should not appropriate
aspect of the putative FCU is the appointment
and alleged that the ruling party had appoint- powers to legitimise what information/news
of Iyan Karthikeyan as its Mission Director.
ed a party sympathiser as the unit head. is real or fake,” it said.
Karthikeyan’s claim to journalistic creden-
The plea’s argument is that the govern- If DIGIPUB were this voluble to a draft
tials, if that is the word, is that he had headed
amendment, imagine how strong and strident
a YouTube channel called Youturn.in. But it
it would be in its opposition to a move which
is no secret in journalistic and social media
The controversy-ridden announcement of has already set up such a unit, that is fully
circles that he is a DMK man and operated as
the setting up of the FCU and its chief is al- vested with draconian powers, that it was so
an extended arm of the party’s IT wing.
ready under fire. AIADMK has already moved worried about.
Who were the other contenders for the job
the courts, stating that the government or- Here comes the plot twist: The DIGIPUB,
and what clinched Karthikeyan this powerful
der setting up the unit was unconstitutional. with its self-anointed feeling of guardian
post, with a hefty salary of Rs 3 lakh, are all
angel of news websites, has reacted with
things that are mired in a cloak of secrecy.
loud silence to the DMK government’s move
That he himself announced, through a
ment lacked the authority to set up the unit so far. In a sense, it is also not surprising to
tweet, that he has been appointed as the
outside the police department’s existing those who have been witness to the state of
head of the FCU was bizarre but quite reveal-
censorship framework. media in Tamil Nadu.
ing of how things are proceeding.
The AIADMK plea recalled that in another The plenipotentiaries of the DIGIPUB are
“I am appointed as Mission Director for
case filed in 2020, the Madras High Court had widely alleged to be sympathetic to the DMK.
the Fact check unit under the administration
directed the state DGP to constitute ‘special News outlets that are part of DIGIPUB are
of SPI, Tamil Nadu,” Karthikeyan wrote in his
cells’ across police stations to crack down known to treat the Dravidian government’s
post.
on misleading and mendacious social media repeated overreach with kid gloves.
Journalists who tried to reach him for
posts about ‘Constitutional functionaries and One journalist who was till now part of a
further comments have said that he was un-
other dignitaries’. news outlet (which drives the DIGIPUB) has
available. Well, you could say that journalists
As it happened, the police had confirmed joined a powerful DMK minister as an officer
couldn’t carry out their fact-check.
that the said cells had been set up, following on special duty.
which the High Court had closed the case Such is the symbiotic relationship as they
Tamil Nadu Exchequer To Pay Dearly For
earlier this year. exist between some of these journalists and
These Fact-Checkers
If indeed this is the case, why this FCU the DMK. So to expect DIGIPUB to call out the
Karthikeyan will have 80 staff members to
now, with such untrammelled powers and DMK government’s excesses is not backed
work under him, and the central task force
huge budget? by reality. In any case, DIGIPUB, in a sense, is
of the FCU will function from Kalaivanar
Aside from the politics of it, what is of the equivalent of a whippersnapper, typically
Arangam in Chennai.
major concern to journalists is the fact that presumptuous and overconfident of its own
That such a big team is being lined up has
the FCU can take suo moto cognisance of any self.
also triggered allegations that this is a back-
information, on any media platform, related to But why have bodies like the Editor’s Guild
door method to offer official jobs to those who
the government for fact-checking or acting sealed their lips?
are in the payroll of the all-powerful DMK IT
on complaints from various sources. The guild had in the month of August
wing.
When a similar set-up was mooted in voiced concern over the Karnataka govern-
Almost as if adding credence to unsa-
the then union government’s Information ment’s proposed fact-checking unit. The guild
voury allegations, is the fact that the FCU
Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and said the efforts to check fake content have to
 Politics 39

be by independent bodies that are not under

the sole purview of the government, lest they
become tools to clamp down on voices of
dissent.
But when such a governmental unit is all
ready to go functional in Tamil Nadu, none
of these organisations are out with their
signed statements of protest. Whither media
freedom?
It is also revealing of why no one is attach-
ing any amount of seriousness to bodies like
DIGIPUB.

K Balakumar is a senior journalist from Chennai with experi-

ence of three decades.

Chipping Away At Temple Funds

Swarajya spoke to temple activist T R Ramesh to understand why he considers the use of temple funds for the con-
struction of a cultural centre and colleges to be wrong.
S Rajesh he had previously challenged the use of the Kapaleeswarar Temple were taken for
temple funds for the construction of a college constructing a college in Chief Minister

T
in Kolathur, located in north Chennai, which is M K Stalin’s constituency in 2021, and
emple activist T R Ramesh recently posted
Chief Minister M K Stalin’s constituency. that you have obtained a stay for similar
on X (formerly Twitter) that he would
Swarajya spoke to Ramesh to understand college proposals. Could you please tell us
move court regarding the announcement of
why does he consider use of the temple funds more about it?
the construction of a ‘cultural centre’ using
for the construction of a cultural centre and A. In 2021, the Hindu Religious and Charitable
the funds of the Kapaleeswarar Temple in
colleges to be wrong. Endowments (HRCE) department started four
Mylapore in land owned by the temple near
Excerpts colleges with temple money. The college in
Greenways Road in south Chennai.
Q. You have said that funds from the Kolathur, Chief Minister Stalin’s constituency,
In the same post, he also mentioned that
 40 Culture

ie, Arulmigu Kapaleeswarar Arts and Science that Kapaleeswarar Temple did not even send tional temple purposes only. Now teaching or
College, was started in a temporary building an application to the government to start a hospitals or taking care of orphanages is all
with the funds of Kapaleeswarar Temple. college. charity. A cultural centre is not a charity.
It was inaugurated by Chief Minister Stalin If you and I want to start a private college, So what they are doing is not only they
himself. a self-financed college, we have to create an are bypassing the need for restricting their
Later, they submitted before the court that endowment agency and through that agency, expense within the surplus funds, they are
they were going to construct the perma- apply for government approval to start a col- going and taking money from the corpus
nent buildings of the college in the land of lege, ie, if you want to start a college in 2023, funds.
Somanathaswamy Temple, Kolathur, which is you should have made the application before These corpus funds are built over many
a different temple. 30 September 2022. years. The hundi money, the archana ticket,
The approximate estimate for the That was not done at all. the darshan ticket, the income from the
construction of the college buildings is Rs And after getting the approval, they are properties etc. You cannot take from the
15 crore. This is pending because I have filed approaching the university. The university corpus funds. The corpus funds also include
a case and I got a stay order for six more has also not processed the application from money that has come from the sale of temple
colleges. And these four colleges also are an endowment because Kapaleeswarar property. Such money should be kept intact. It
subject to final order of the court. Temple did not start a separate endowment should never be touched. So this is a violation
So now, Kapaleeswarar Temple has got for the college. of that also.
only Rs 75 crore deposits. Rs 15 crore is going Then, there is no connection between
away for the college. Now the amount called Kapaleeswarar Temple and the Chief Minis- Q. Is there any other reason for consider-
for tender for this cultural centre is approxi- ter’s constituency, ie, Kolathur. ing it to be a violation? Are there any court
mately Rs 24 crore. So Rs 15 crore plus Rs 24 They have land in Mylapore itself, where judgements?
crore will be Rs 39 crore, which will deplete they could have easily started a college. A. An announcement made by the minister,
Kapaleeswarar Temple’s corpus fund by more will itself make the whole announcement
than 50 per cent. illegal. The college was announced in the
“The corpus funds also include money that state assembly, regarding the cultural centre,
Q. Can a college be built with temple has come from the sale of temple property. I am not sure.
funds? Such money should be kept intact. It should The moment the government, who is no
A. Yes. But there is a process for it. You can do never be touched.” authority to decide how to spend temple
it only with the surplus funds of the temple. money, makes a decision and announces
The surplus funds of a temple will be calculat- it, it will make the entire proposal illegal.
ed every year. Q. You have stated that the proposed This has been said in many Supreme Court
And this college or school that has been construction of the cultural centre is a judgements.
started, should teach Hindu religion as the violation of the law. Please tell us about it. The moment, the Chief Minister who is
main subject. They cannot just start a secular A. A cultural centre is not one of the purposes not an authority here decides or the minister
college and use temple money. for which temple money can be spent. It is decides or the government, ie, the govern-
clearly not allowed. Temple money can be ment secretary decides, it becomes illegal
Q. Could you please tell us about the spent for temple purposes, such as pujas, fes- per se. So looking at it from all angles, this is
procedure to start a college with temple tivals, temple charities, salaries of the temple an illegal utilisation of temple funds.
funds? staff and annadanam and with the surplus
A. Before starting the college or school or funds, you can start Veda pathshala, Agama Q. In your post, you stated that the HRCE
hospital, or any of the purposes for which pathshala, hospitals, orphanages, schools, Department is present in the temple by
the surplus funds could be used, the trustees colleges, of course, subject to conditions. “fraud”. Could you please explain the
should send the proposal to the commission- reason for saying so?
er. The commissioner should advertise the Q. Are these conditions mentioned in the A. The HRCE Department has been controlling
proposal in a leading newspaper and call for Act? the Kapaleeswarar Temple through an exec-
objections/suggestions, giving one month’s A. Yes. This is there in Section 66 of the Tamil utive officer from the year 1972. The truth is
time. Nadu Hindu Religious Charitable Endow- no such executive officer was ever appointed.
After one month, he should hold an ments Act 1959. This section also contains the Under what section, what terms, and for what
inquiry, in his office, where also devotees above-mentioned procedure for approval by period they have appointed, they will not be
can come and lodge objections and give the commissioner. able to show, because there is no such order.
suggestions. He should consider them all and How surplus funds are calculated is The situation is similar in many other temples.
only then give the approval. mentioned in Section 36 of the act.
So even with the surplus funds, even with
Q. Was the procedure followed for the the commissioner’s approval or the trustees’
college? proposals, you cannot start a cultural centre.
A. This was not done for the college. So that is That is not one of the allowed purposes
totally illegal. You would be surprised to know because temple money should be for tradi- S Rajesh is a Staff Writer at Swarajya.
 Ground Report 41

On The Campaign Trail With ‘Raja Bhaiya’

Unlike other political events, Raja Singh’s reception in Goshamahal was unique. He received marigold showers, and
even ‘Miyan’ street hawkers embraced him. Young women eagerly called for their mothers at the sight of “Raja bhaiya”.
Sharan Setty night. saw Raja Singh receive in Goshamahal was
Once I got there, I was kept on hold for different.

‘T
nearly two days. Impatient, I went around In the streets of Koti, Singh was showered
iger’ Raja Singh is a difficult man to get
covering rallies and writing whatever else I with marigold petals, even as a few ‘miyan’
hold of — especially if you are from the
could in the meantime. street hawkers embraced him with a hug.
media. All the criticism he receives has made
Towards the third day, I was irritable. On first sight, young women run up to
him suspicious of the press.
However, to his team’s credit, every time their mothers and shout “Raja bhaiya aaya
He believes he is often misrepresented
I called them, they answered promptly. Or at hain. Jaldi aao.”
and dragged into controversy.
least they would call me back within a few Here then, is how I spent the rest of the
To spend a day along with his campaign
minutes. day with ‘Tiger’ Raja Singh.
team, I contacted my friends in Hyderabad,
“Anna is busy filing his nomination.”
who in turn reached out to local Bharatiya
“Bhaiya is preparing for Modiji’s visit to ‘Singh Is King’
Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Goshamahal’s
Bhagyanagar.” 10.15 AM, Esamiya Bazar: In the narrow
Dhoolpet, an area once notorious for ganja,
They were referring to the massive rally bylanes of Koti, a neighbourhood in Gos-
desi daaru, you name it.
in Hyderabad’s Lal Bahadur Shastri stadium, hamahal constituency, local BJP karyakartas
When they reached out to Singh on behalf
addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi are preparing for ‘bhaiya’ to arrive.
of Swarajya, he was initially hesitant to speak
recently. Some are distributing pamphlets, while
to us or allow us to join his campaign trail.
To be frank, at the time it looked like others are having a quick meal before Singh
Later, he supposedly told my source that
excuses to me, but I could see that the team arrives on the scene.
he would be more willing if this were done on
was responsive. I realised I had to be patient, Behind a Fortuner, there is another
camera, as he could then ‘see’ what is being
at least give it one last shot before deciding vehicle that is veiled with ‘Vote for Raja Singh’
said about him.
to pack up. banners on all sides. On top, loudspeakers
“Magazine people can write anything and
Finally, on the morning of 8 November, are blaring rhythmic slogans in support of the
get away with it. How will we know what they
I received a phone call from one of Singh’s candidate.
will write? Especially since you tell me that
associates, inviting me over to Esamiya “Akele rashtrawadi neta hain jo aap aur
ladka is from Dilli?” Singh is said to have told
Bazar — a locality in Goshamahal assembly aatankwadi ke beech ek sainik banke khada
my source.
constituency. hain (The only nationalist soldier standing
After tormenting his team with phone calls
In the past, I have attended many political between you and terror elements).”
and requests, I was finally given the nod to
rallies and campaigns by candidates from “Hyderabad ni Bhagyanagar ga maari-
tag along with his team.
across the spectrum, but the reception that I china vadu (Man who changed Hyderabad’s
Thrilled, I left for Hyderabad the same
 42 Ground Report

“Raja bhaiya aaya hain, jaldi aao.” Managing

the movement of the canvassing party in a
constituency like Goshamahal is not an easy
task for the team. They need to be wary of
traffic build-up. People find it unpleasant and
rather intrusive when they are caused a delay
by candidates out on campaigns.
While some members managed the
traffic, others made sure to lead the route, as
the routes for canvassing had been clearly
demarcated before the start of Singh’s day.
At 11.06 am, we arrive at Moti Market, where
Singh is welcomed by locals. Most of the res-
name to Bhagyanagar).” Normally, canvassing BJP MLA and the party is still in its infancy,” idents here own businesses, and the area is
begins early in the morning. Singh says, after I greet him with my first said to have a largely north-Indian voter base.
In Singh’s case, he is the sitting Member question. This community came together over the
of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), so he has We gathered at Esamiya Bazar and made last few decades, with traders from Gujarat,
to attend to people’s issues through forums the rounds for a couple of hours. As soon as I Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh settling
colloquially known as durbars. arrived on the scene, Singh’s associates told in the area.
Constituents bring all sorts of issues to me to wear a pagdi — saffron turban. Singh is accompanied by a few gunmen,
a politician — from requests to fix potholes “This will help you be one among the who keep an eye on the crowd movement.
and address faulty sewerage problems to crowd. We can easily identify you if you are They sport safari suits and carry submachine
demands for money and personal presence lost,” said Kompally Arvind Kumar, one of guns.
at weddings and betrothals. Singh’s associates and the vice president for One incident that tickled everyone’s funny
Many are still ignorant of the division of Golconda BJP. bone was when one of Singh’s armed guards
responsibilities between a corporator, MLA, Along with Kumar, Bharatiya Janata screamed “orre nee abba” — a Telugu slang —
and Member of Parliament (MP). But that in response to a Pomeranian that pounced up
doesn’t matter to a political leader, since he from a house in the gully.
or she cannot turn away a person who is Political observers in Hyderabad believe A chuckle went around before the troupe
looking towards them for solutions to their that the actual impact Singh has against the moved ahead.
problems. AIMIM, electorally speaking, is minimal. Even “He will win with a 50,000 majority,” one
As soon as the morning routine is over, today the writ of the Owaisi brothers, runs of his supporters whispered in my ear. “Do
Singh’s attention is now focused on can- large in the Old City. the Muslims vote for him?” I asked one of his
vassing in his constituency. It’s a different supporters.
neighbourhood every day. “Yes, but it is mostly the Gujarati Muslims
On 8 November, it was the Gunfoundry Yuva Morcha (BJYM) Hyderabad chief Nitin from the area who vote for him. There are
division of Goshamahal. Nandkar accompanied me throughout the many local Muslims who vote for him, too,
Hyderabad’s areas have interesting day. Soon, upon Singh’s arrival, party workers especially the educated-class, but the others
names, coming from its history of being an congregated to begin canvassing in the area. mostly vote for BRS or the Congress,” he said.
unwilling host to many empires, including the “Goshamahal Ka King, Bhaiya Raja Singh,” Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s,
Nizams, who ruled the region for a long time. the loudspeaker in the background blared, as Bharat Rashtra Samithi or BRS is in an
For instance, A C Guards is a locality in supporters went door to door seeking votes alliance with the AIMIM in Telangana. Hence,
the city that was named after African Cavalry for Singh. in the areas where AIMIM contests, BRS does
Guards — troops from Africa who were Unlike any other leader I had witnessed not field its candidates.
stationed in Hyderabad since the time of the before, Singh was given a hero-like welcome An hour or so later, we arrived at Begum
sixth Nizam, Nizam Mahbub Ali Khan. on almost every street he walked into. Bazar, a market area where traders of
Similarly, Gunfoundry is derived from the Goshamahal is surrounded by seven other different faiths and communities live. Here,
name of a factory that was one among the constituencies that are dominated by the All at a cursory glance, one comes across many
many cannon and cannonball factories set India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). plastic goods along with kirana (grocery)
up by a French general, Michel Raymond, in This happens to be the constituency where a stores.
service of Nawab Mir Nizam Ali Khan, the sec- sizeable migrant Hindu population resides.
ond Nizam of Hyderabad. “Campaigning for They see Singh as a protector, more than Raja Singh And His Politics
assembly polls can be both easy and tough at anything else. Thakur Raja Singh, the lone BJP MLA from
the same time. Easy, because the size of the As he entered narrow alleys, he was Hyderabad, is not new to controversy.
constituency is not as big compared to Lok welcomed with aarti thalis. Flower petals He faces a wide range of accusations from
Sabha constituencies; tough, because I am were showered from balconies, and it was political parties across the country — from
fighting from a city that has only one sitting common to hear young women scream breaking into a house to inciting hate speech
against minorities and even attempted
 Ground Report 43

advocated Hindu causes.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha election in 2014,
he joined the BJP and also won the Gos-
hamahal assembly seat, as the newly formed
Telangana state had its first set of polls along-
side the national elections. When he won his
election in 2014, he was one among the five
BJP MLAs in the first legislative assembly of
Telangana.
As of 2023, Singh is a two-time MLA repre-
senting Goshamahal.
The value of this achievement lies in the
fact that the Old City is considered to be
murder. According to Rao, Singh started gaining a stronghold of the Asaduddin Owaisi-led
A few months ago, he was suspended attention because of his active involvement AIMIM.
by the BJP for controversial remarks against in fighting against forced conversions, illegal While AIMIM bagged seven out of eight
Prophet Mohammad. slaughter of cattle, and ‘love jihad’. seats in the Old City, the lone BJP MLA to be
Just weeks ago, his suspension was This brand of politics especially gained elected from the region was Singh.
revoked. Dhoolpet, a neighbourhood in traction in communally sensitive areas of
Goshamahal, is where Singh spent most of Dhoolpet and Goshamahal. Back To The Trail
his time early in life, including his childhood Singh has an army of loyalists who travel A couple of hours later, we entered Sultan
and youth. wherever he goes, and provide protection to Bazar, which is the main market in the area.
From a young age, his association with him and his family. From vegetable and fruit vendors to sports
Hindu organisations, specifically Hindu According to Rao, Singh’s image has been and electronics stores, one can find this and
Vahini, shaped his ideology. cultivated over a period of 10-15 years. During more here.
He is from the Lodh community. Goshama- Singh then took a small break for about
hal has a sizable migrant Hindu population, an hour, between 1 pm and 2 pm, where he
especially from states like Gujarat, Uttar Unlike any other leader I had witnessed supposedly stationed himself at a well-wish-
Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. before, Singh was given a hero-like welcome er’s house to have lunch before getting back
Lodh, Bundeli Rajput, and Gangaputra on almost every street he walked into. on trail.
communities are present in the area. This “Police permission is only till 3 pm, we are
is one of the reasons why Singh is fluent in this supposed to finish soon,” Nandkar told me
Hindi and Urdu, but does not speak Telugu time, after I enquired about when the campaigning
as fluently — a stumbling block in his path he has addressed Hindu gatherings and will end that day.
towards becoming a pan-Telangana leader. political rallies across India, including in The idea was to travel around the market
According to Raka Sudhakar Rao, a senior states like Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and and eventually reach Gokul Chat at 2.55 pm
journalist from Telangana, “In Hyderabad Maharashtra. via Badi Chowdi Bazar.
alone, their [Lodh] presence can be traced “When I was translating Prime Minister When Singh was on a break, his wife, and
back to three or four centuries ago”. Narendra Modi’s speech a few years ago in arguably his biggest supporter, T Usha Bai
In Dhoolpet, there are about 10,000 Telangana, I was also the one calling upon took over the canvassing duties.
idol-makers. Residents of Hyderabad say that dignitaries to address the gathering. The Throughout the campaign, it was interest-
the majority of the Ganesha idols are made loudest cheer from the crowd came when I ing to see that conversations with voters was
in Dhoolpet. Singh’s affidavit mentions that invited Raja Singh to the dais to speak to the kept to a bare minimum.
his closest family members are involved in audience. I think, on that occasion, many of “Everyone will vote for him because he
idol-making. Idol-makers in the area say they us understood how popular he is,” says Rao. listens to them, he is accessible, and he has
rely on legislators like Singh to represent Singh happens to be the only MLA from gotten some basic work done for his constitu-
their cause in the assembly. the Lodh community in southern India. As a ents,” said one of his supporters.
Another area of Goshamahal, Mangalhat, result, the migrant population feels safe with “More importantly, the people see him
was notoriously known for gudumba (desi him around, people in Hyderabad say. as a protector,” said another. Goshamahal
daaru, country liquor), but locals are con- This is one of the reasons why he has an constituency consists of many areas, includ-
scious of their image now. They are primarily unshakable vote bank of around 30,000 or ing places like Koti, Jambagh, Gunfoundry,
engaged in production of kites, as well as more voters from the majority community in Dattatreya Nagar, and Goshamahal, to name
idols for Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja. Goshamahal. a few.
In fact, one of the biggest Durga idols was Singh began his career in politics as Among these places, Jambagh is a res-
produced in the area recently. a municipal councillor from Mangalhat in idential area and also has business estab-
2009. He was with the Telugu Desam Party lishments that largely comprises electronics
Raja’s Politics (TDP) back then. Even in TDP, it is said that he stores. Here, MIM and the BJP fight closely
 44 Ground Report

Future For Singh

Political observers in Hyderabad believe
that the actual impact Singh has against the
AIMIM, electorally speaking, is minimal. Even
today the writ of the Owaisi brothers, runs
large in the Old City.
But Singh is certainly popular among the
Hindu migrant communities in Telangana.
Did Singh contemplate a political career
outside the BJP in the period he was sus-
pended?
“He would rather live and die with the BJP
and remain loyal to the Hindu samaj than
betray the community for greater political
gains,” says Rao.
On 4 November 2023, Singh filed his
nomination to contest once again from the
Goshamahal constituency.
Going by the reception he received in Gos-
during the elections, especially the municipal “Yes, there are local issues here, but hamahal, it looks like he will win yet again.
one. people tend to look past those (issues),” said
Dattatreya Nagar is known for pottery a supporter.
and Goshamahal consists of hardware and Singh’s canvassing began a couple of
plywood stores, including a large residential weeks ago, and the day’s campaign ended
area. when we reached Gokul Chat — where a
Of the 230,000 votes in Goshamahal, the bomb blast occurred many years ago.
BJP roughly polls 70,000 votes. Sharan Setty is an Associate Editor at Swarajya.

Countering ‘Free-Bie’ With ‘Reward-Bie’

Rhetoric alone won’t counter the opposition’s caste-based promises and enticing freebies. To secure the 2024 election,
the Modi government must implement a robust welfare scheme delivering public good.
 Ideas 45

Rudra Natarajan

T he Indian general election of 2024 is

increasingly being seen as one of the most
consequential events in the history of the
Bharatiya civilisation.
On one side, it’s an existential election for
the colonial idea of ‘India’, embodied in the
present-day Congress party.
On the other side, in this changing world
order, the 2024 election presents a unique
opportunity for Bharat to regain its historical
global prominence.
Consequently, in this existential war, the
opposition has become more desperate than tions, and their alluring freebies. riers of caste, religion, region, and economic
ever before. Recent trends indicate that the Therefore, it is imperative for the Modi status.
opposition will primarily fight this poll on two government to roll out a unique and sub- To truly uplift the nation and set it on a
core strategies: stantive welfare scheme that tackles the path to inclusive and sustainable growth,
opposition strategy, delivers public good, and focusing on this untouched frontier of edu-
1. Intensifying Caste Divisions And Con- wins them the 2024 election. cation becomes not only a necessity, but a
flicts strategic imperative.
The opposition’s persistent demand for a Welfare For Whom? For India to be dubbed developed by 2047,
caste census and an increase in reservations The Modi administration has already success- quality education of the younger generation
is not only divisive, but also, if not countered fully implemented an array of transformative is vital.
effectively, will inflict irreversible damage schemes, addressing various frontiers of Presently, of the 52-crore population aged
on the Hindutva project of uniting Hindus by governance, such as the PM Kisan Samman 3-23 years, the number of students enrolled
eradicating caste divisions. Nidhi, PM SVANidhi, Jal Jeevan Mission, in schools stands at 32 crore.
Swachh Bharat Mission, PM Jan Awas Yojna, India’s gross enrolment ratio (GER) stands
2. Proposing Fiscally Irresponsible But PM Jan Arogya Yojna, and PM Janaushadi at 97 per cent for elementary school (Class
Tempting ‘Freebies’ I-VIII), 78 per cent for secondary school (Class
In desperation, the opposition will resort IX-X), 51 per cent for senior secondary school
to this tactic, as witnessed in recent state To truly uplift the nation and set it on a (Class XI-XII), and 27 per cent for higher
elections. The freebies may inflict irreversible path to inclusive and sustainable growth, education.
damage on India’s economic growth story. focusing on this untouched frontier of The solitary beacon of satisfaction in
Moreover, when overdone, the freebies education becomes not only a necessity, but these statistics is the 97 per cent GER at the
will destroy our young, energetic, and aspira- a strategic imperative. elementary school level. However, even at
tional demographic dividend. this stage, the quality of education remains a
Due to these two corrosive strategies, significant concern.
Bharat may lose out on the golden opportu- Pariyojna, among others. Notably, this high GER at the elementary
nity the 2024 election presents, and with that These initiatives have revolutionised the level was made possible only through sub-
it may lose its civilisational war for another welfare landscape, providing crucial support stantial government incentives in the form of
millennium. to farmers and street vendors, and address- midday meals and free education under the
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also ing critical areas like water supply, sanitation, Right to Education Act.
categorically alluded to this scenario in housing and healthcare. Such measures ensured greater enrol-
his speech at the Independence Day, 2023. However, amidst these remarkable wel- ment and daily attendance to school, and
He mentioned how one small battle lost to fare schemes for various constituencies, one serves as a resounding confirmation that
invaders spiralled into a series of defeats and, significant constituency remains relatively right incentives are indeed effective in pro-
thereafter, 1,000 years of slavery. unaddressed — India’s new generation. moting education.
With excellent oratory and mass connect, This population group, aged between
the Prime Minister is trying to counter Rahul three and 23 years, accounts for 52 crore Welfare Scheme Towards ‘Education For
Gandhi’s demand for a caste census. He people, of which 32 crore are students in All’
has also tried countering Congress’ freebie some form of formal education. To extend this success further and achieve
politics by calling it “revdi culture”. Notably, a welfare scheme for every higher GERs across all age groups while
However, mere rhetoric is insufficient to student of India means a welfare scheme for still ensuring quality education, the Modi
counter the opposition’s tangible offerings of every parent of India. government should contemplate the launch
a caste census, greater caste-based reserva- Every Indian household would become a of a grand welfare scheme for all students of
beneficiary of this scheme, transcending bar- India.
 46 Ideas

2. To counter extravagant and fiscally

irresponsible but tempting freebies
– Incentive for inclusive and quality
education:
1. The scheme incentivises and rewards
quality education and diligence among
India’s 32 crore students. Through an ‘earned
reward’ mechanism, even with an easily
qualifiable threshold of passing or completing
a class or year, the values of hard work and
merit will be instilled in young minds.
2. It incentivises inclusivity by encourag-
ing the other 20 crore of the 52 crore people
to join formal education, thereby boosting
It can take the form of a ‘student scholar- Rs 12,000 and Rs 18,000.
GERs at the secondary and senior secondary
ship programme’ that rewards each one of Notably, the Congress scheme merely
school levels and in higher education.
the 32 crore students in India and encourages incentivises school enrolment. It does not
This initiative not only addresses imme-
the other 20 crore to join formal education. hinge on successful year or class completion.
diate electoral challenges, but also aligns
Under this programme, every student In stark contrast, the scholarship offered
with a broader vision of fostering educational
would receive an annual scholarship of Rs by the Modi government would be contingent
excellence and inclusivity, contributing to the
6,000 upon successful completion of a year upon an easy but important threshold of
nation’s long-term progress and well-being.
or class. successful conclusion or passing of a year
It’s essential that this monetary reward is or class.
Not An Expense, But An Investment In
given not on mere attendance, but upon the This important difference will make it an
Bharat’s Future
completion of a year or class as an ‘earned ‘earned reward’ or a ‘reward-bie’ instead of a
Now, the key question is whether the Centre
reward’ for the student. ‘free-bie’.
will be willing to triple its annual education
Further, in case of school students under Since the Congress party has made
expenditure by introducing a grand student
18 years of age, this annual reward shall be this proposal in the Madhya Pradesh state
welfare scheme?
transmitted to their mother’s bank account. elections, it will most likely propose a similar
Reflecting on the past nine years of the
Such a programme would not only serve scheme at the national level for the 2024
Modi government’s tenure, one can observe
as a powerful instrument for inclusive general election.
that for a priority sector, the Modi government
education by encouraging greater enrolment, Even for the 2019 election, the Congress
is capable of substantial budget increases,
but also as an incentive for greater academic
such as in case of railways and highways.
progress.
It’s essential that this monetary reward is These earlier spends demonstrate this
It is pertinent to note that various small-
given not on mere attendance, but upon the government’s ability to allocate resources to
er-scale schemes of similar nature already
completion of a year or class as an ‘earned areas deemed of utmost importance to the
exist for enhancing education, such as the
reward’ for the student. nation’s long-term development.
‘Seekho Aur Kamao Scheme’ for minorities
The proposed student scholarship
or reduced fees for the scheduled caste and
programme stands as an opportunity for the
tribe students in government institutions. had proposed the dangerously populist NYAY
Centre to underscore its commitment to the
So, we won’t really be reinventing the wheel scheme. For 2024, with their heightened des-
welfare of India’s future; that is, its young,
here. peration, they are only going to promise even
energetic, and aspirational generation.
The envisioned student scholarship pro- more fiscally irresponsible schemes.
Not to forget, this scheme is modelled as a
gramme, however, stands apart as it extends Thus, despite the substantial financial
‘reward-bie’ and not a ‘free-bie’.
financial rewards to every student in India, commitment required, it’s imperative for the
Among the youth and society at large,
transcending considerations of caste, religion, Modi government to roll out a calibrated form
such an approach will instil a mindset and
or the nature of the institution’s ownership of ‘good freebie’ and take the lead through
culture of ‘earned rewards’ through hard work
structure (government or private). this initiative, before similar promises are
and merit.
made by the Congress.
While it may require a considerable finan-
If Not BJP, Congress Will
cial commitment, it is a strategic investment
The urgency for such a programme is In Summary
in the nation’s long-term growth, youth’s
underscored by the Congress’ proposal in The proposed student scholarship pro-
education, social harmony, and a victory in
poll-bound Madhya Pradesh. gramme holds several key advantages:
Bharat’s civilisational battle in May 2024.
In their manifesto, the party has pledged – A strategic tool for electoral gains to the
Rs 500 per month (equivalent to Rs 6,000 an- BJP:
nually) for every government school student. 1. To counter the opposition on caste
For senior grades, the amount proposed is census The author writes under the pseudonym Rudra Natarajan.
 World 47

Umma Versus Israel

Do the Western students and professors agitating for Palestinians know that in the process of declaring the victim
guilty and designating the aggressor victim, they are essentially rooting for jihad against their societies?
R Jagannathan He said: “Nothing can justify the deliberate Especially on the religious dimension of the
killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians — Israel-Palestinian conflict?

O
or the launching of rockets against civilian One, why is a global Umma of more than
n 7 October 2023, a Palestinian terrorist
targets.” two billion people feeling threatened by a
organisation called Hamas massacred
A few days ago, other UN agencies like the global Jewish population of just above 15
over 1,400 Israeli and other citizens in the
World Health Organization and the Palestini- million, of whom less than half live in Israel?
Jewish state, including children and babies,
an Red Crescent Society chimed in with their Even assuming you want to blame Israel for
and took more than 240 of them hostage.
own condemnations after Israel allegedly all the violence, why are 50-and-odd Islamic/
But, after an initial round of global
targeted ambulances which were presumed Islamist countries not able to take on a few
condemnation of this gruesome terrorist act,
to be carrying Hamas agents. million Palestinians and give them a better
the world has declared the victim guilty and
The point is simple. Regrettable though life in their own countries? Clearly, the an-
designated the aggressor victim.
the collateral deaths of civilians are, the truth swer is Islamic bigotry against Jews.
There cannot be a greater perpetration of
is there is no war in human history, including Two, why is the global Left-Liberal nexus
falsehood premised on the simple fact that
the US wars in West Asia and the Balkans, so much against Jews, especially after the
there may be collateral damage amongst
which did not result in civilian deaths. It is holocaust caused by Nazi Germany? How is
citizens in Gaza as Israel seeks to dismember
thus hypocritical for the UN to suddenly start Nazi anti-Semitism any different from their
the infrastructure and leadership of Hamas.
targeting Israel for the temerity to defend its own covert anti-Semitism based on historical
Most of the civilian deaths are the result of
own people from rabid terrorists. memories of Christ’s crucifixion and/or envy
Hamas’ own decision to use them as human
A Brown University research study shows over Jewish economic success in Europe and
shields, not Israel’s deliberate attempt to
that over 4.3 lakh civilians were killed in the the US before (and after) the Second World
target non-combatants.
US’s post 9/11 wars in West Asia and Pakistan. War?
And yet, from the United Nations and
The US may not be directly responsible for all Three, why is the world seeking to
its agencies down to academics and ‘civil’
the civilian deaths, but it was its war on terror blame everyone who raises a question
society activists (mostly foolish social justice
that triggered these casualties. about Islamist terrorism accused as an
warriors with no skin in the game) have been
Post-7 October, while pro-Israel protests Islamophobe? Terror-phobia, bigotry-phobia
busy targeting Israel in the weeks following
in the US and Europe have been limited, the and violence-phobia is being relabelled as
7 October as Israel got its counter-offensive
scale and size of anti-Israel protests have Islamophobia.
against Hamas going.
been truly staggering. The Left-Liberal non-democrats should
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres
Isn’t it time these virtue-signallers know that their love-fest with jihadists can
drew false equivalence between the Hamas
asked themselves some honest questions? only end in tragedy if Islamism gains ground.
terror attack and the Israeli response to it.
 48 World

The preamble to the charter said that “Is-

rael will exist and will continue to exist until
Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated
others before it.”
What does this mindset tell you?
A more moderate version of the Hamas
charter was announced six years ago in
2017, but even this charter does not dilute
its enmity with the “Zionist state”, and views
living alongside the state of Israel as only a
transitional arrangement.
In short, Hamas is a jihadi organisation no
different from IS, Boko Haram, Lashkar-e-Toi-
ba or Jaish-e-Muhammed, all of which want
the destruction of non-Muslim states in their
regions.
Ask Iran’s Leftists. The theocrats led by in its 1988 charter: “The Islamic Resistance Do the Western students and professors
Ayatollah Khomeini used the Iranian Left to Movement is a distinguished Palestinian agitating for Palestinians know that they are
oust the Shah of Iran, but once they came to movement, whose allegiance is to Allah, essentially rooting for jihad against their own
power, they eliminated them altogether. and whose way of life is Islam. It strives to societies?
The goals of Hamas are no different from raise the banner of Allah over every inch of
R Jagannathan is Editorial Director, Swarajya.
Islamic State (IS), and these were enunciated Palestine.” (Article 6).

Waking Up To Wokeism
Human rights advocacy has become self-serving and less effective, often led by Islamists with Islamic symbolism and
slogans. Woke politics that promote Islamic state ideals, should be rejected for their potentially divisive agenda.
Arshia Malik ‘woke politics’ nowadays, ought to be reject- Activists of other heritage who, due to
ed because they inevitably mean advocacy good intentions, get involved and adopt the

T he notion of human rights advocacy for an Islamic state. methodology, strategy, symbolism, motifs,
becoming a ‘cottage industry’ is growing Activists of Muslim heritage are trying and slogans do not realise that Islamists,
in the twenty-first century. to impose Sharia law, which will subjugate whether closet or open, want the total annihi-
Human rights advocacy has become a women, free speech, and critical thinking on lation of non-Muslims.
small-scale, often self-serving, and less effec- the back of the concept of blasphemy. Take the example of India’s independence
tive endeavour, especially if it is spearheaded This situation ironically leads to a violation struggle against imperial Britain, which
by Islamists, with Islamic symbolism, Islamic of an individual’s right to think, read, and act quickly developed into calls for an Islamic
sloganeering, and Muslim religious motifs. for themselves, and ends up marginalising state — eventually materialising in West and
Such social justice movements, called the said individual. East Pakistan (the latter is now Bangladesh).
 Ideas 49

This has been described by Marjane Satra-

pi in her best-selling graphic novel, now-mov-
ie, Persepolis. Hijacking of any struggle or
resistance with Islamic motifs, slogans, or
symbols should raise red flags, even if the
theme of the march or rally or protest is
seemingly for human rights, self-determina-
tion, or a “humanitarian truce”.
Last month, Khaled Mashal, a leader of the
Hamas terrorist group, participated virtually
in a rally in Kerala’s Malappuram, sparking
controversy. The Solidarity Youth Movement, a
youth wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, had organised
the rally.
Even the Palestinian cause, according to There was also mobilisation against the The Indian Union Muslim League rally in
scholars of West Asian geopolitics, started as autocratic rule of Maharaja Hari Singh in 1931. Kozhikode was accused of being “pro-Hamas”,
a secular struggle for the recognition of Pal- Widespread agitation took off throughout and anti-national slogans were alleged to
estinian rights to a state, but what it became the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and have been raised during the event.
in the hands of the Islamist Hamas is for all to Kashmir, which quickly developed into a Several politicians expressed concerns
see since 7 October. communal riot with the homes and shops of about the Hamas leader’s virtual participation
Tarek Fatah in his book Chasing the Kashmiri Pandits targeted, and their exist- in a pro-Palestine rally in Kerala.
Mirage describes the admiration of his peers ence threatened in the valley. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) particu-
and himself for Leila Khalid, the Palestinian The protests took on the now-familiar larly expressed the concern that the conflict
woman who in 1969 hijacked a Trans World Islamist hues and spilled over into the was being used to fuel communal tensions
Airlines plane to Damascus. growing political consciousness of Kashmiri in Kerala. They condemned Mashal’s virtual
The boyish admiration for a hijacker nationalism. address at the rally and questioned Kerala
turned to disgust when he learned about Decades later, this aspect would be Police’s inaction.
the Islamists of the Muslim Brotherhood, for exploited by various Muslim politicians, As the world grows more aware of the
whom secular Palestinians were more of a confounding the Kashmiri identity and corruption of liberals towards illiberalism and
threat than the Israelis. ethnicity, sowing doubts of the connection the influence of Marxist ideology in academia,
Fatah writes: “One could never have im- with mainland India with a full-blown armed media, the judiciary, and institutions, its part-
agined then that the most secular, educated insurgency in the 1990s. nership with Islamists, called the ‘Red-Green
and enlightened people of the Arab world This resulted in the ethnic cleansing of Alliance’ by journalist, author, and Muslim
would fall victim to the allure of radical Mus- Kashmiri Pandits and secular Muslims from reformer Asra Nomani, is essential to study.
lims like Syed Qutb and Hassan al-Banna… the valley due to a terror pogrom by Islamists, It is important that a people’s struggle or
forty years would transform the Palestinian supported by the left-leaning liberals of Hindu the aspirations of a peaceful, rational people
cause to an international cause of Islam. The heritage in the national capital region and are separated from the nihilistic, totalitarian
Islamists turned it into a war to wipe out the India’s largest Communist Party cadres. aim of both the left-liberals and Islamists.
Jews.” The radicalisation of the valley in 1989 The average Palestinians, Arabs, Syrians,
Fatah attests that there was never even a started with the diktat to close beauty par- Yeminis, Iranians, Turks, Pakistanis, Afghans
hint of antisemitism among the progressive lours, shut down cinema halls, prohibit wine and Kashmiris want to live peaceful, stable
and secular Palestinians. shops, and impose mandatory veiling (hijab/ lives, with upward social mobility, educa-
The exchange students in Pakistan on niqab/burqa) over the female population. tion for their children, and good ties with
university campus would be horrified seeing The Islamist terrorists went so far as to ask neighbours, be it in their towns and cities or
“the strength of the Pakistani Islamists non-Muslims to wear distinguishable marks between countries.
groups” and their strong-arm tactics, and of religious identity, such as the bindi or the It’s almost always the Salafis, the
the bullying methods of the Jamaat-e-Islami kada for Sikhs, to be able to be distinguished Wahhabis, the Muslim Brotherhood, the
toughs, expressing surprise that the Muslim from their compatriots. Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Hizbul Mujahideen, the
Brotherhood were a fringe element in the This hijacking of social justice movements Boko Haram, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
West Bank and Jordan. for betterment of the marginalised and Corps, the Al-Qaeda, and the Hamas who hi-
It is similar to what happened in Kashmir discriminated is not new. jack their aspirations and colour them up into
in the last century. The silk factory workers The much-documented, written-about, another movement for an Islamic caliphate.
in Srinagar went on strike in 1924 to demand filmed, and cinematically portrayed Iranian The world would do well to remember
better working conditions. Revolution of 1979 also started with the that.
These protests were part of a larger wave left-leaning liberals of Iran disillusioned with
of discontent and resistance against the the Shah, and denouncing him as a stooge of
Maharaja’s government during that time, not the West, inviting the hardliner Khomeini to Arshia Malik is a columnist and commentator on social issues
limited to silk factory workers. establish an Islamic regime. with particular emphasis on Islam in the Indian subcontinent.
 50 Culture

A Life Steeped In Art

B N Goswamy’s life, an artistic expression of the divine, remains an enduring inspiration for many. As one of the last
legends from Punjab University’s remarkable scholars, he pioneered audacious advances in global subjects.
Rohit Pathania The credit for giving Pahari paintings a themselves seldom.”
voice and soul goes to him, particularly to his Vishnu as Varaha challenges Hiranyak-

I n October 2023, B N Goswamy, the incom- 1968 journal article titled “Pahari Painting: sha, Bhagavata Purana series. Attributed to
parable art historian, had released a book The Family as the Basis of Style”. It was this Manaku. (Wikimedia Commons)
themed on the Indian cat. It was perhaps a breakthrough that revived the forgotten
reflection of a man finding his way out of the memory of Nainsukh and Manaku, and the It was this originality that created the
grief arising from his son’s death earlier in the great family of painters that was the jewel of legend that he went on to become. This
year following a period of illness. many a Pahari king’s darbar. originality of thought even made him take
The book was dedicated to the son. But Goswamy’s appreciation of art was itself a critical stand on Western artists, much in
that has been the hallmark of the life of inspired prose. His writings are sprinkled with the mould of Ananda Coomaraswamy, who
Goswamy perhaps — a jnana yogi, for whom such instances, showcasing the originality of found extensive reference in Goswamy’s
the knowledge of art has been the raison his works on art history and his fondness for book Pahari Paintings on the Nala Damayanti
d’etre. Theme. In the essay on the series shared
The life of Goswamy in some ways by Doctor Karan Singh, Professor Goswamy
His writings are sprinkled with such
reminds the history student of the life of one asserted what eventually became the norm
instances, showcasing the originality of
of his most famous muses, Nainsukh of Guler. to understand Pahari paintings:
his works on art history and his fondness
Both dedicated their lives to art, staying away for the intricate details that characterised
from their homes. “Mr Eastman treats the drawings as
Pahari kalam.
While Nainsukh spent his life in Jasrota belonging to the ‘Kangra’ School. We are
in Jammu and Kashmir to produce his gems, of the view that the classification of styles
it was the Pahari art in remote Himachal, which identifies a style with a state needs to
Jammu and Uttarakhand, away from Punjab the intricate details that characterised Pahari be revised, and feel that it is necessary, and
University in Chandigarh, and fellowship kalam. Sample for instance this sentence as much as it is possible, to classify Pahari
stints abroad, that brought out the finest of from an essay he wrote in 1966: painting into styles on the basis of artist
Professor Goswamy. families.”
Giving up a job with the famed Indian “In Pahari painting the artists of the
Administrative Service (IAS) for his love for Punjab hills created a vibrant world: a world Of course, these are not the only areas
history, Professor Goswamy literally went on of vividness of line and colour, but also, of of his contributions. As an art historian,
to become the father of art history in modern silence. The only voices one hears therein be- Professor Goswamy scanned the length and
India. long to critics and art-historians; the artists breadth of India to highlight the originality
 Culture 51

service with the context of pre-Mughal painting in India which

Maharana of Udai- filled an important gap in the understanding
pur’.....For this there of the evolution of art in India during the pre-
is also evidence Mughal areas.
from the works of He was likely one of the last surviving
art. An equestrian legends from the remarkable generation of
portrait…..has a scholars and academics that had Punjab
strong touch of University, Chandigarh, as their intellectual
Mewar.” home. From this base, they launched several
audacious advances in the understanding of
and beauty of Indian art. Mapping its diversi- Another rather subjects that made the world stand up and
ty and evolution over the matrix of time and important area of his research that is less notice.
geography, Professor Goswamy’s contri- appreciated was his work on early Sikh art. Perhaps he will now get to meet his
butions to the study of Indian art’s history His works including Painters at the Sikh Court muses, Nainsukh and Manaku, and truly
remain unparalleled to this day. and the iconic I See No Stranger: Sikh Early understand the reasons behind the silence
His work on the paintings of Kutch and Art and Devotion brought to the fore the role that is reflected in their brilliant art.
tracing their origins and divergence from the of Pahari art in early Sikh traditions, highlight- For now, suffice to say that his life was
Mewar school was instrumental in advancing ing links to Nainsukh’s family workshop and an artistic expression of the divine, and his
the understanding on the theme. In particu- artists like Purkhu who drew several portraits works will continue to inspire people for
lar, the manner in which folk legends and of the Sikh gurus at the time. generations to come. There will be many who
evidence were brought together to explain Similarly, his appreciation for art linked to will come and go, but there definitely will not
the potential link: the Jain manuscripts and textual traditions be another Brijinder Nath Goswamy.
remains a stellar contribution to the field
“In the accounts of Rao Lakhpatji, it is of Indian art history. A particularly impor-
noticed that.as a prince..the young prince ‘left tant work on this subject was his treatise, Rohit Pathania works in the space of renewable energy and
Bhuj and announced his intention of taking A Jainesque Sultanate Shahnama and the environment. Other interests include politics and the economy.

Timeless, Spaceless, Ageless

‘Parva’ delves deep into the physical, psychological, and philosophical dimensions of the Mahabharata. The eight-hour
play demands urban audiences to possess a crucial attribute: stamina — physical, emotional and intellectual.

Gautam Chikermane But when you watch Prakash Belawadi’s acts with four breaks needs more. Urban
play, Parva, which is based on S L Bhyrappa’s audiences need an additional, even crucial

I
novel by the same name, these become mere attribute: Stamina — physical, emotional and
nterest. Devotion. Wonder. Even love.
necessary conditions — they are insufficient intellectual.
These are the common traits I see in
to sit through the intense physical, psycho- In rural areas, all-night plays are common.
all those who have read the Mahabharata,
logical and philosophical experience. The ‘modern’ short attention span victims
carefully and consciously.
The eight-hour play spread across five have lost their aptitude for deep aesthetics
 52 Culture

problem: do the five Pandavas have the right

over the Hastinavati throne, are they Kurus?
If not, as Duryodhana claims, then both his
father and Pandu were illegitimate kings too
— they were born out of niyoga with Krishna
Dwaipayana or Ved Vyasa.
If they were acceptable, why not the
Pandavas? The philosophical question is that
of identity: whose sons were the Pandavas,
Pandu’s or those who impregnated Kunti and
Madri?
If they were Pandu’s sons, then why
wasn’t Karna Pandu’s son too? Rukmaratha
wanted to take the son of his wife before her
marriage to him as his, so why the question-
ing in case of his daughter Hiranyavathi?
These streams of consciousness conver-
sations travel across an evolving societal
and the proclivity for refined conversations. which itself is an interpretation of more than and geographical landscape. The people of
I was astonished, therefore, when I 100,000 verses that Ved Vyasa’s Mahabharata the hills, for instance, had no qualms about
found myself to be one among a 900-strong offers. either the fatherhood or motherhood — all are
audience to watch Belawadi’s production at You may quibble about this sequence children of the tribe. Does a more organised
Bengaluru’s Chowdiah Memorial Hall. Con- being ignored or that, but when you step society create these troubling issues?
sidering that this was neither Les Miserables back, Belawadi has done a spectacular Let us expand this issue to the twenty-first
with its unending spectators for the spectacle century, where a new technology, IVF (in vitro
nor Ram Lila with its infinite audience of faith, Bhyrappa has taken Ved Vyasa’s origi- fertilisation), is now expanding and becoming
the ability to pull so many people into a hall nal work and humanised it. His Parva is more accessible. The messiness of physical
displays a gap in the market. If the aspiration individual centric. It is physical to the extent and possibly emotional pleasures of sex do
to tell a saga exists in Belawadi, it finds reso- of ages of the warriors and kings, blankets, not matter anymore.
nance in an audience that seeks it. food and the stench of excrement of horses The position of the legal father is clear. But
Bhyrappa’s retelling of Ved Vyasa’s Mahab- and men alike. who is the moral father of a child, the sperm
harata is a physical-psychological-philo- donor or the husband of the women taking
sophical exposition of the world’s greatest that sperm? There is no right answer. Bhyrap-
saga. His research is not restricted to books job, retaining the essential, articulating the pa’s Parva seeded the question, Belawadi’s
and papers; he physically went to most of philosophies, and encapsulating the text into Parva accentuates it through theatre. And it
the places he has written about, including a a gripping drama. grows in our minds.
village where polyandry was, and perhaps Two themes, enclosed in the stream of While many can be the roots of the
still is, practised. consciousness technique, display the integra- Mahabharata — the humiliation of Drau-
Bhyrappa has taken Ved Vyasa’s original tion of the physical, the psychological and the padi, Bhishma’s vow of celibacy, the blind
work and humanised it. His Parva is individ- philosophical. Dhritarashtra being a prisoner of misguided
ual centric. It is physical to the extent of ages First, the fifty-first “wasted menstruation fatherhood, the presence of Sri Krishna to
of the warriors and kings, blankets, food and cycle” of Shalya’s granddaughter Hiranya- clean up the age — Parva sees it as niyoga
the stench of excrement of horses and men vathi, which was against the Aryan code, a and its multiple facets, all converging around
alike. sin, as the physical. The societal burden on Dharma.
It is psychological in its conversations her father Rukmaratha and the options before It takes such core ideas of the Mahabhara-
among characters as well as introspections, him — a svayamvara that may not happen ta and puts them under the microscope. Even
from Kunti to Karna, Dhritarashtra to Duryo- due to the impending war ahead, or taking a Dharma is not spared and gets depicted by
dhana. And it is underlined by a philosophical bride price as was the Madra practice — as its various expressions through multiple char-
approach that goes deep into the time, the the psychological. And the questioning the acters. Characters aside, on the interrogation
characters, the culture, the moralities and the social sanction of marriage, particularly as a table is the audience itself.
ethics. tool to beget children, as the philosophical. In its treatment, Parva is merciless, brutal.
Belawadi’s script and the subsequent the- Second, the practice of niyoga, where with It does not allow your conscience to rest. But
atrical articulation remains true to Bhyrappa’s the permission of an impotent husband, a equally, it is cold and non-judgemental.
novel. Parva the play is in complete harmony wife was mandated to have sex with another On this point, Bhyrappa-Belawadi have
with Parva the book. The difference is merely man to deliver children who would belong retained the hard mountainous style of Ved
in the choice of sequences. to her husband. The five sons of king Pandu, Vyasa, compared to the soft oceanic expres-
It is impossible, even in an eight-hour play, three born to Kunti and two to Madri, are the sion of Valmiki for instance.
to capture everything that a 950-page book, physical manifestations of a psychological The characters speak their truths with
 Culture 53

how the binaries that our modern civilisation

is trapped in are really polarities that inform
the universe itself.
“Good and Evil are [in the Mahabharata]
conceived not as irreconcilable opposites, but
rather as complementary processes,” said V S
Sukthankar, the general editor of the Critical
Edition of the Mahabharata in a 1942 speech.
The shades of grey we see every
death-seeking character embalmed in is the
expression of these complementarities. The
wars fought outside are really an expres-
sion of the wars within. “War is no longer,
perhaps, a biological necessity, but it is still
a psychological necessity; what is within
passion; the audience sees them as they are, their day jobs with inner joys. us, must manifest itself outside,” wrote Sri
moves with them until confronted by another These are people who have a need that Aurobindo in April 1916 — words as eternal as
truth. goes beyond Maslow’s hierarchy. And when the Mahabharata itself.
Like in Ved Vyasa’s original text, the only people like Belawadi, whose Centre for Film Bhyrappa is arguably India’s greatest liv-
colour of characters is the varying shades of and Drama offers the invisible infrastructure ing philosopher and among its most powerful
grey — there is no black, no white, there is to serve that need the result is a magic called novelists. Forty-four years after the novel
no wrong, no right, there is no space for sim- Parva. was written in 1979 in Kannada, and almost
plistic binaries, a disease the world has been The production is situated in twenty-first three decades after it was translated by K
infected with for the past 2,000 years, and century, the base text in ancient India. The Raghavendra Rao into English in 1994 as a
which we see playing to full glory in mod- ideas are global in their breadth, individual 950-page tome, comes Belawadi’s magnifi-
ern-day Kurukshetras such as US-Afghani- in their expression, and timeless in their cent production.
stan, Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine. expanse. Converting a saga of Sanskrit into first a
Three characters stand out in Belawadi’s The universality of the Mahabharata is Kannada retelling and then translating into
Parva. First, Divya Raghuram as Kunti — clearly reflected in Parva. This play needs to English followed by adapting it for theatre
unforgiving yet compassionate, strong yet go national and then global. I see it playing is not an easy task. That Belawadi has been
vulnerable; a woman first, then a queen, and on Broadway as part of India’s soft power, able to deliver the sense of Bhyrappa’s Parva
finally a mother giving moral strength to her is a tribute to the text, the retelling, and the
five sons but not to Karna. adaptation.
Belawadi’s script and the subsequent theat-
Next, Shibani S Rao as Sri Krishna — she Parva the play has moved from its 43
rical articulation remains true to Bhyrappa’s
plays the role with amazing grace, with equa- performances in Kannada to four in English.
novel. Parva the play is in complete harmony
nimity as her middle name. This is the first Now, it must expand its footprint outside
with Parva the book. The difference is mere-
time that I’ve seen a woman play this crucial Bengaluru. It will deepen Bharat’s philosoph-
ly in the choice of sequences.
and core character and her rendition of Sri ical conversations with itself and provide the
Krishna leaves no doubts in the mind about intellectual ground from which to rise. Then it
authenticity of the character. demystifying the country, and powering the must travel abroad as part of telling the India
And finally, Abhijeet Shetty as Duryodhana conversations around Bharat that have long story with elegant intensity.
— his portrayal carries a strong conviction, been branded as philosophically savage, psy- Finally, I am delighted to see that filmmak-
one that gets etched in the dark recesses chologically primitive and physically fragile. er Vivek Agnihotri is planning to transport this
of the mind. A quarter century after Puneet It wouldn’t be wrong to speculate that novel-play on the big screen as a three-part
Issar’s portrayal of this character in B R only when Bharat denounced Dharma that film. Itself an adventure, this will power Bhy-
Chopra’s Mahabharata (1988-1990), Belawadi’s it was conquered; now that India is repos- rappa’s novel, Belawadi’s play and enrich the
Duryodhana in the form of Shetty is here to sessing its civilisational legacy and Dharma, hearts and minds of the people of the world
reclaim the space with fury, victimhood and through the Mahabharata and other similar through ideas that are eternal, characters that
certitude. texts, the strength, the wealth and the sophis- reside within us, and issues that are bound
Private theatre ventures are not easy. For tication of an ancient culture in modern time together by frailties of humans.
an eight-hour play, actors and musicians who will flourish.
are in it out of passion rather than money, One character after another, one individual Gautam Chikermane is an author and
need to budget several full days for rehears- at a time, Parva offers a mirror to the people Vice President at Observer Research
als. through which to reflect and introspect. Foundation.
It is a wonder how the 33 actors who As a philosophical expression Belawadi’s
played 127 characters in the play — some Parva comes out with the full force of ethics,
Gautam Chikermane is an author and Vice President at Observ-
playing six roles each — managed to balance righteousness and Dharma. It showcases er Research Foundation.
 54 Book Review

In Defence Of Devotion
Crafted in an accessible and engaging style, this collaboration by Amish Tripathi and Bhavna Roy stands as a com-
mendable exploration of idol worship and Hinduism.
Bibek Debroy “It’s interesting though, that while there There are many strands to that critique.
are so many examples of idol-rejecting cul- But one of those has always been idol-wor-

A
tures massacring idol-worshipping “others”, ship, or murti puja.
mish Tripathi is a famous and best-selling
there are no historical instances that I am “Yet, like battered wives, there are many
author. But he doesn’t write only fiction.
aware of, of idol-worshipping cultures going idol-worshippers today who blame them-
With his sister, Bhavna Roy, he has started
around killing others simply because they did selves, rather than those who oppressed their
a series of explorations on Hindu Dharma.
not worship idols.” (p.39) ancestors.” (p.18)
Dharma: Decoding the Epics for a Mean-
That stronger proposition is essentially “We need to point out, calmly but
ingful Life (2020) was the first. One shouldn’t
an empirical one, but is also predicated on forthrightly, that the framing of the debate,
call this a sequel, since these are independ-
idol-worshipping cultures being more tolerant as idol-worshipping being ‘wrong’, is itself
ent books.
and open-minded. erroneous.” (p.xx)
This one is titled, Idols, Unearthing the
“Theological liberalism is one of the innate This explains the objective and content of
Power of Murti Puja, and the second part of
this book, developed over 16 chapters.
the title explains what the book is about.
Criticism, unless it is motivated, comes from There is a famous anecdote about Swami
The book is written in a usual style, that of
an inability to understand Sanatana Hindu Vivekananda and Mangal Singh, the king
conversations between people. A few quotes
Dharma, since it doesn’t come with a ready of Alwar, when Swami Vivekananda visited
from these conversations will explain the
set of commandments about what to do and Alwar in 1891. Anyone familiar with Swami
background.
what not to do. Vivekananda’s life will know about this. Here
“Europeans, Turks and many others went
is the incident, as stated in Swami Nikhila-
to great lengths to forcibly end idol worship.
nanda’s biography of Swami Vivekananda.
In their view, it was genuinely “satanic”, as
strengths of idol-worshipping cultures.” “He had a sharp exchange of words
bizarre as that sounds to us. There was a
(p.286) with the Maharaja, who was Westernized in
massive effort to purge idol worship through-
Hinduism and Sanatana Dharma have his outlook... Next, the Maharaja ridiculed
out the world. Temples were destroyed or
been under attack for thousands of years and the worship of images, which to him were
appropriated. So many idol-worshipping cul-
there is no let-up, even in the present. nothing but figures of stone, clay, or metal.
tures — the Hellenic, the Khemic, the Mesopo-
Criticism, unless it is motivated, comes The Swami tried in vain to explain to him
tamian —were almost completely annihilated.
from an inability to understand Sanatana that Hindus worshipped God alone, using
They only exist in museums now.” (p.30)
Hindu Dharma, since it doesn’t come with a the images as symbols. The Prince was not
“Such behaviour seems to be sanctioned
ready set of commandments about what to convinced. Thereupon the Swami asked the
in the Bible itself, in the Old Testament.” (p.33)
do and what not to do. Prime Minister to take down a picture of the
This leads to a stronger proposition.
 Book Review 55

Maharaja, hanging on the wall, and spit on it. am sceptical. First, there is a question of the volume, the intended dialogue becomes a
Everyone present was horror-struck at this style. multilogue and I don’t think it has worked.
effrontery. The Swami turned to the Prince “This book is structured as conversations, Second, who is the target audience?
and said that though the picture was not the drawing inspiration from the ancient Indian At least for Amish’s fiction, the readers are
Maharaja himself, in flesh and blood, yet it young, probably a generation that doesn’t
reminded everyone of his person and thus have time to read, delve and contemplate.
was held in high respect; likewise the image The idea of personalisation, as opposed to Perhaps with that target audience in
brought to the devotee’s mind the presence a dry, didactic and pedantic book, is a good mind, this book doesn’t probe beyond the
of the Deity and was therefore helpful for idea. But with multiple protagonists in this superficial. It skims the surface, which may
concentration, especially at the beginning of volume, the intended dialogue becomes a very well be the intended objective. But the
his spiritual life. The Maharaja apologized to multilogue and I don’t think it has worked. relatively ignorant reader will at least learn
Swamiji for his rudeness.” something.
There are many Mangal Singhs even today
and Amish and Bhavna Roy’s book is directed Upanishadic traditions and the Greek Socratic
towards them. More accurately, it is directed Dialogues authored by his student, Plato. We
towards those who have to defend them- find that conversations are a much better
selves against such Mangal Singhs. way to explain complex concepts than the
In the process, as is inevitable, the authors relatively modern Western approach of a
move beyond the narrow terrain of murti non-fiction book, which ends up being rather
Bibek Debroy is a noted Economist. His 10-volume translation
puja and explore other aspects of Hinduism. textbook-ish.” (p.xxi) of The Mahabharata is one of the most seminal works in
Written in a popular and reader-friendly way, The idea of personalisation, as opposed to contemporary Indology. He was a member of the Swarajya
Advisory Board.
this is a worthwhile attempt. a dry, didactic and pedantic book, is a good
However, there are two reasons why I idea. But with multiple protagonists in this