Innholdsfortegnelse for May 13, 2019 i India Today

It has to be said. Rahul Gandhi has made a game of it. Two years ago, it looked like the next general election would be a walkover for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA. Rahul may not have the oratory of Modi or the guile of BJP president Amit Shah, but he has put them on the defensive on many issues. For all its faults, the Congress remains the only national party to challenge the BJP, and Rahul the main challenger. Undoubtedly, the NDA has to fight many regional satraps, but their major focus of attack has been Rahul and the Congress. This was not the case earlier. In June 2014, we put Rahul on our cover and unflatteringly called him ‘Mr Liability’. Rahul’s fortunes at the time seemed…

Many political leaders have to overcome the hesitations of history to succeed. Rahul Gandhi not only had to do that but also overcome hesitations about his ancestry. Particularly being born into a great political family and the expectations arising from it. In the early stages of his political career, there were attempts to thrust greatness on him. When those floundered, it made him even more hesitant and cautious. His ancestry would become his albatross. The true evolution of Rahul Gandhi began when he realised that power doesn’t easily beget power. Dynasts may inherit capital from their lineage—whether in name, reputation, aura or a sycophantic party machine. But if Rahul had to achieve the greatness that some of his forebears did, it was clear to him that he would have to…

Q. It’s clear from the BJP’s election pitch that national security has taken precedence over development in the poll campaign. Does Balakot carry more weight than Ujjwala, Jan Dhan and Mudra now? There is no contradiction between national security/ nationalism and development. The two are not opposed to each other. If we remain firm on national security and the defence of the nation and talk about it more, our pace in building toilets and homes for the poor does not go down. National security is, in fact, complementary to development. It’s the supporters of minority-based vote bank politics who are trying to build this false narrative. Q. What’s different about the BJP poll strategy in 2019, compared to 2014? Strategy-wise, the 2014 poll was to create hope among the people,…

At 4 am on June 16, 1993, A.K. Ramanujan wrote an unpunctuated paragraph of what he called ‘free writing’: ‘Whatever comes to your mind consciousness epiphenomenon Bosnia Mogadishu children with problems Chinese immigrants . . . pain in the ankle arch instep acute as sting diffuse as a cloud of poison emitted by a savage squid cyclical is a phonograph stuck on a phrase’. This goes on for several more lines, describing vividly the pain he had been experiencing. Four hours later, at 8 am, he started another: ‘Pain in the leg, sleep still in my eyes, waking up in childhood with conjunctivitis’. He then went on to remember his mother and the Mysore house he grew up in. The same evening, in a separate entry, he wrote, ‘To write…

Hindi’s antiquity is about as genuine as the antiquity of the pracheen temples that keep popping up on public land. But the fact of the matter is that ever since the process of the invention of modern “Hindi” started in the late 19th century, there has been a persistent concern with the absence of texts that could reflect the natural diversity found in non-fake languages. So, natural languages exist in a variety of registers, have lexical resources, ranges of vocabulary that develop over time. Considering this absence, this Indo-French project of translating some of the widely-loved Asterix comics into Hindi is very welcome (and brave). Humour, they say, is even more difficult to translate than poetry and one can say that in choosing to translate Asterix into Hindi, the translators—…

Porsche 911 I grew up hearing statements like “The Porsche 911 is the greatest sportscar ever.” Everyone who had driven one— automotive expert or otherwise— seemed to be echoing the sentiment. While a regular school-going like me was no one to contest those claims, but the charm of the 911 seemed lost on me. For starters, it wasn’t the sort of car that evoked the same emotions a Ferrari or a Lamborghini (which adorned my bedroom walls) did. Primarily because it didn’t boast an outrageous exterior, scissor doors or an ostentatious interior. And with no access to any car of its kind, my judgment relied on the headlining numbers and the 911 with its relatively humble power and torque figures never caught my fancy. But hey, so many people can’t…

There’s this magical thing about summer. A more poetic soul would probably paint it as the sun on your back, smell of the season or the cheerful lift that comes with the songbird. But in everyday’s nose-to-grindstone context, it’s probably the best time to hit pause and simply unwind on a long drive to anywhere but here. Which is probably what makes convertible cars the best pick for summer drives. Take any of these out for a spin and you can enjoy the true thrill of the wind in your hair cliche. Over the years, convertibles have morphed into surprising variations; there’s one for every palate, whether it’s adventure, speed or even comfort. To narrow it down and simplify choices on the basis of what you’re looking for, we’ve picked…

As a city, Kolkata today is like a digitally-filtered black and white photo on an Instagram post; nostalgic about a proud past but valiantly foisting a modern rendering on a contemporary medium. Much of that whimsical dichotomy makes its way to the hub of ITC’s hospitality juggernaut in the city of joy; one that expresses itself as two hotels but one experience with the freshly minted ITC Royal Bengal. Towering over it’s well-loved sibling ITC Sonar, the new property is located within a whisper of the old one. In fact, it has claimed the three-hole golf course that was once part ITC Sonar’s well-kept grounds as birthing territory. Although both hotels, sprawling across 16 acres in the city’s new nerve centre, share a familial similarity in terms of ethos and…

Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday suicide bombings, which killed over 200 people, were grisly enough for Islamic State (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to surface with his first video in five years and claim credit. The island-nation is even now on alert, fearing a second wave of attacks. India’s security establishment is also worried. Post the April 21 blasts, Indian agencies have refocused on links between ISIS recruits in Kerala/ Tamil Nadu and those in Sri Lanka. This came after Lankan authorities revealed that bombing mastermind Zahran Hashim had spent time in south India. Hashim, a radical Islamist preacher from Kattankudy in Batticaloa and leader of the radical National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ), is believed to be one of the two bombers who targeted Colombo’s Shangri-La hotel on April 21. Earlier last…

VIPs in lost helicopters have been entertaining Bihar’s villagers all through April. On April 9, a chopper carrying Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan and deputy chief minister Sushil Modi was surrounded by curious villagers after it was forced to land in a field in Gaya due to bad weather. On April 10, it was home minister Rajnath Singh’s turn, landing at the site of rival Rashtriya Janata Dal boss Tejashwi Yadav’s rally (they finally left for the correct venue after a 30-minute wait). Finally, on April 26, it was Rashtriya Lok Samta Party chief Upendra Kushwaha, whose chopper landed at Rosra, some 20 km away from its intended destination. The unscheduled landings have provided much mirth to the common folk, with some even trying to climb aboard the…

“THE BJP HAS GIVEN 17 LOK SABHA SEATS TO THE JD(U), THE CM HAS TO RECIPROCATE,” SAYS A JD(U) LEADER Giriraj Singh ko jitaeeyega na? Pucca na? Hath utha ke bataiye. To mala pehna dein inko (Will you vote for Giriraj Singh? Raise your hands. Should we garland him then)?” addressing the crowd at an election meeting, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar turned towards the BJP candidate for the Begusarai Lok Sabha seat and greeted him with a marigold garland. It was a mark of Nitish’s approval, which is crucial for Giriraj. Locked in a triangular contest against the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Tanveer Hasan and Communist Party of India’s Kanhaiya Kumar, the BJP hopes Nitish’s campaign will help Giriraj, the Union minister of state for micro, small and medium enterprises, bag…

Every time Amit Shah addressed a meeting in Bhopal in the past five years, he promised a tough fight to the Congress in Guna and Chhindwara—the only two seats in the state that the grand old party had won in 2014. The BJP president has the reputation of being a keen strategist, but a week before polling in Guna, none of that famed strategy is on show. With a political lightweight, K.P. Yadav, who was till recently with the Congress, pitted against him, former Union minister and sitting MP Jyotiraditya Scindia is expected to be home and dry on May 23. Contesting his fifth poll from Guna, a constituency once represented by his father and grandmother, and a seat represented by a Scindia for 52 of its 67 years of…

Q. Is Election 2019 a battle between NYAY and nationalism? No! 2019 is being fought on three or four different axes. One axis is that we are faced with an unemployment crisis: across the country, youngsters are just not getting jobs. The second is agriculture: Mr Narendra Modi’s policies have destroyed agriculture. The third is that the economy is not firing the way it should: transactions are not taking place, the steady economic growth we had seen in the UPA years has fizzled out. Of the other two axes, one is clear-cut massive corruption by Mr Modi in Rafale and the second is the attempt to attack India’s institutions—the Supreme Court, the Election Commission, the Planning Commission—in a bid to shape politics in Mr Modi’s favour. Q. But the BJP…

Mumduha Majid Saheba, an executive member of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board, had long been a rebel in her community. Daughter of an officer who worked at the Indian embassy in Iraq for 20 years, she never wore a burqa, encouraged other Muslim women to empower themselves through education and skill development, ran an NGO for them in Delhi and a school in Odisha, her home state. The ulema (clergy) would often take offence to her thoughts and actions. Shia mosques were out of bounds for her, a Sunni. Yet, earlier this year, when she travelled to Hyderabad, she was allowed to enter a Shia mosque. The ulema now give her a patient hearing. She now finds diverse Muslim groups—earlier bitterly opposed to each other—reaching out for dialogue and…

Readers familiar with Ian McEwan would have two expectations from his novels: an event that irreversibly changes everything and a protagonist who’s a professional, but has no say in the event. The ordered, rational mind of a surgeon is dramatically affected by a plane crash and a break-in (Saturday), a climate scientist’s by an encounter with a polar bear (Solar). In his other novels, the dramatic event is more human: A child witnessing something she shouldn’t have (Atonement), the death of parents (The Cement Garden). Big Issues and Small Things are what make a McEwan novel. Having no say in how things come to pass is rehabilitated through a narrative voice. In Sweet Tooth, the only recourse available to a manipulated writer is to rewrite the narrative of the spy…

One of India's leading contemporary artists, Mumbai-based Jitish Kallat recently released a monograph that covers his two and a half decades worth of work. His thought-provoking new media art reflects his passion and curiosity for history, science, conceptions of time and the cosmos. Excerpts from an interview Q How do you look back at your own career (his first show was in 1997)? I often describe this book covering two decades of work as a “retro-prospective,” looking back in order to look ahead more clearly. I don’t reflect on my past work in evaluative terms. It’s more about getting a handle on what were the preoccupations and motivations that emerged in the work at what periods in my life. Q. Your art is often more concerned with ideas than execution.…

Last month, Saurav Ghosal became the first Indian male squash player to crack the world top 10. But around the same time last year, he had very seriously considered quitting after an early singles defeat at the Commonwealth Games. “To lose in the second round was heartbreaking, to say the least. It was very tough. I wasn’t really sure if I was going to continue playing,” he says. Still, the 32-year-old decided to have another go at it; it could not end this way. First, there was the introspection and the fortifying of his inner resolve. “For starters, you have to turn it around mentally and believe it’s possible,” says Ghosal. Then came the months of training; brutal, back-to-basics stuff. “The intensity went up by a lot. I had played…

If the devil is in the details, it’s the diva that dwells in the Constellation “Manhattan” Ladies’ Collection. The Constellation has been Omega’s mascot for beauty and brains since 1952, so it’s time to rethink, reimagine and revitalise the selection of models to retain that iconic spirit, but also contemporary renditions of design and technology. The fifth generation makeover is based on the Constellation’s famous “Manhattan” style, that plays on a feminine feel with an exquisite finish. For starters, the iconic claws have been given a slimmer look that merge gracefully into the bezel and case. The bezels, themselves, are more slender with thinner Roman numerals, or diamond-setting. While the shape of the new indexes are inspired by the Manhattan skyline, the new bevelled edges—along the case and bracelet—help every…

BMW X4 BMW may have drawn the ire of many for the X6 and the X4 owing to their controversial styling, but the car maker had the last laugh. Over the last decade, close to half a million units of the X6 and the smaller sibling, X4 have been sold globally clearly indicating that people haven’t just accepted SUV-coupes but the market now has a healthy appetite for them. “Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder” holds so true for the X4. The nose is not too different from the X3, but post the A-pillar, things change drastically with a plummeting roofline. The rear section of SUV-coupes tends to be the most controversial bit. In the X4’s case, at least for me, this is the part that I love…

If critics of China’s Belt and Road Initiative—including India, which has been among the most vocal in flagging many of its problems—were hoping the growing challenges facing the plan would force a rethink of China’s ambitions, they might do well to reconsider. The main message from the second Belt and Road Forum, which had 37 foreign leaders in attendance in Beijing on April 27, is that China’s ambitious global initiative is here to stay. The challenge now facing countries—from India and Japan to the United States—wary of Beijing’s growing global footprint is coming up with a credible alternative. It became all the more apparent following what appears to be a makeover of the BRI. Unlike the first edition of the forum in 2017, there were no pledges of new spending…

“The issue is not of chaiwala or chowkidar, it is of the Congress’s arrogance; it considers the professions of chaiwala and chowkidar undignified” “I am confident that the BJP will win more seats than in 2014. Even our NDA allies will win more seats than in 2014. We will also increase our presence in places where it was less. 2014 was a historic mandate. 2019 will be about pro-incumbency” “In Pragya’s case, the court has let her go. She is a symbol of the opposition’s lies. In the name of Hindu terrorism, they have lied over and over again” “There is a realisation that the days of black money have ended, we have to do business honestly. Demonetisation has stemmed the flow of black money and this has changed the…

You see the cut out of a bent woman’s skeleton. Her long hands reach the ground, a rice plant is in touching distance. Jithinlal N.R. used the memories of his grandmother when coming up with this image, but also relied on a song about a Dalit woman who returns from the paddy fields to see her newborn eaten by ants. That’s how Jithinlal draws—from folk songs, poems and stories he has heard about his origins. On view at Delhi’s Khoj International Artists’ Association until May 12, Jithinlal’s exhibition, Another Life is Possible, explores what the artist calls a “discourse on identity”. A mirror on the wall is tellingly cracked, and among the drawings on paper, one shows a man pushing a Dalit woman (painted in brown) into water. Jithinlal says…

THE YEAR 2019 will be a landmark one in the Indian automotive industry as it will see the launch of not one but multiple global standard electric cars as well as cars with the next level autonomous driving capabilities. While the Korean manufacturing giant Hyundai will be the first to launch an electric or rather battery operated SUV (BOV) in the market, there are many players waiting in the wings to launch BOVs in India as soon as they see some action on that front. Hyundai will be followed by Kia while the likes of BMW, Jaguar and Audi wait in the wings. The next generation of premium vehicles can virtually drive by themselves and we will have examples of those in the BMWs, Volvo and the Mercedes that we…

AS CAPED CRUSADERS GO, Bruce Wayne’s brief was straightforward: a bike that could function as an escape pod from the Batmobile by moving sideways or altering its length; equipped with cannons to take out the bad guys, and as Batman’s ride, goes without saying, it had to look like a million bucks. Thankfully Christopher Nolan’s 2008 ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy didn’t lack for production funds, and the Bat Pod, built around a Kawasaki 750 engine, was born. This iconic military-style fighting machine had outrageously wide wheels (that could rotate sideways), and, just by dint of being able to ride it, Christian Bale qualifies as a real-life superhero. It wasn’t a dead investment either—this pop culture icon was picked up by an anonymous buyer for close to half a million dollars when…

The name Rooh literally translates to soul, and that in a nutshell is the heart of the dining experience at this restaurant that is difficult to put in a silo. With each course, there is a sense of deja vu, but in a different garb; every dish is familiar yet exotic, and that is the biggest USP of this fine dine restaurant that focusses on food that’s Indian in flavour but international in technique and finesse. Chef Sujan Sarkar who launched Rooh in San Francisco in 2017 has now brought the restaurant back home. But in a market cluttered with fine dining options, how do you make your brand stand out? People are slowly getting tired of gimmicky food and want to experience something that invokes memory and emotion, and…