THE PROVERBIAL glass ceiling has already been broken in India — be it banking, law, media, advertising, government services, healthcare and what have you. But as the pioneers of this movement would like to tell you, nothing comes easy. From institutionalised gender discrimination, to walking the extra mile, from struggling to maintain work-life balance, to dealing with their male subordinates, all of them had to work much harder than men to succeed.
Roopa Kudva, the former CEO of CRISIL, describes her visits to the sugar factories in Uttar Pradesh and the prejudices she’d confront against women in finance. Kaku Nakhate, president and country head of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, speaks of how difficult it was to get clients in the stock-broking sector to listen to her, since they weren’t used to receiving investment advice from women. Meher Pudumjee, the chairperson and director of Thermax Ltd, describes instances when on answering the telephone, callers would repeat their request to be connected to a salesperson — presuming that an engineering manufacturing company would have a male salesman.
And Biocon Founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, as a woman entrepreneur in pre-liberalisation India, would constantly face the glass ceiling as no one would loan her money or work with her.
These inimitable voices of Indian women who have been sentinels in their respective domains and led large organizations, form a part of a new book, 30 Women in Power: Their Voices, Their Stories, edited by Naina Lal Kidwai, executive director on the board of HSBC Asia-Pacific, and chairman of HSBC India
Through honest and contemplative revelations, these leading ladies answer questions that confront all working women — from how best to balance the personal and professional to how to dismantle gender biases. Equally, the essayists consider seminal issues that concern every committed professional, man orwoman: What are the qualities that define a leader?
Where does one find a mentor? What ingredients make for the perfect success recipe?
In these narratives — told up, close and personal — the women achievers speak of the guiding principles that have held them in good stead, the role models who have anchored them, childhood influences that have shaped their values, and the interests outside the world of work that have revitalised them. Coming from all walks of life, these empowered women discuss their many successes and their dreams for the future. Yet, they also venture to disclose the setbacks that have preceded hard-won conquests, the barriers, psychological or otherwise, which may have held them back at certain points and the compromises they’ve had to make to reach the top.
Through the essays, Kidwai tries to point out six keys to success. While passion is essential, Kidwai highlights that ambition is not necessarily bad.
Humility is a hallmark of success and every woman in this book has admitted to being humbled by accomplishment.
The fourth “key” to success, as per Kidwai, is integrity. Most of the women in this book highlight integrity in the list of values they cherish; for them, there are no shortcuts or quick fixes, no stopgap arrangements on the road to success. ICICI Bank MDCEO Chanda Kochhar begins her essay by recountingher father’s refusal to make concessions for her brother, despite being the principal of the college her brother wished to apply to. There are no shortcuts in life, and none can prove it better than some of these women leaders. Lastly, Kidwai quotes Robert Kennedy by writing that “only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly”.
IT WAS TO BE a money spinner with all the drama and excitement of a TV series and that’s how the inimitable Kerry Packer sold his World Series to the cricketing world. Kerry Packer kick-started a transformation of cricket that is still underway today. Players wore coloured pyjamas, innings were over in a flash and the whole country was singing ‘C’mon Aussie, c’mon’. It was a revolution that changed the way the gentleman's game was played forever.
Cricket has always been a gentlemen’s game played aggressively on the field, then eased off it. But there have always been the oddball in every cricketing nation that stretched the gentleman-game that much to the edge. As far back as the Bodyline Series between England and Australia to the monkey gate India-Australia series. But somehow the Indian team has had an impeccable record and especially in the last decade when the reins were in the hands of Captain Cool Mahendra Singh Dhoni. But that era seems to be over and the baton has passed on to a more aggressive young man who does not shy from showing his emotions on the field or speaking his mind off it.
And when the mock war is done and dusted, the participants and their fevered supporters have the luxury of not having sustained any bodily harm, get to shake hands with the opposition and their set of followers, to say “well played” and proceed to reminisce and celebrate the events they took part in, or were witnesses to.
After the recent contentious and the hotly contested India-Australia Test series was over, the Indian team apparently left the Australians hanging on their invite into their dressing room, one would presume for some drinks and a friendly chat, to bury the bad feelings fomented during the series.
The Indian captain Virat Kohli, who before the series began in Pune said that he was friends with many of the touring Australian players, flipped the track at the post-match presser in Dharamsala. “It has changed. I thought that was the case, but it has changed for sure. As I said, in the heat of the battle you want to be competitive, but I’ve been proven wrong. The thing I said before the first Test, that has certainly changed and you won’t hear me say that ever again.”
One could easily see that the change of Kohli’s heart being linked to the Indian team not making an appearance in the visitors’ dressing room. That is just sad, and pathetic. The games were over, but the Indian captain chose to continue to play anyway.
One could trace back the origins of this rancour to the end of the second Test of the series in Bengaluru, when Kohli alleged that the Australians were systematically taking help from the dressing room on DRS decisions. Steve Smith, who on the suggestion of his inexperienced teammate did look to the dressing room once, had since then called it a “brain fade” and owned up to it. He was also seen mouthing “fucking cheat” during the fourth Test when it became apparent that Murali Vijay claimed a catch on a bump ball. Smith apologised for that behavior too, at the presentation ceremony, and later in the press conference.
By admitting his wrongdoings and apologising for them, Smith has come out of the situation as the better man. Kohli, however, refused to take back his allegations and even litigated the meaning of the word “allegation”, chose to hold a personal grudge, let go of friendships, and did not take part in a small gesture of sharing a drink that signals the cessation of hostilities.
Kohli may be great at hitting a cricket ball at geometry-defying angles, but he is strictly a square for sacrificing sportsmanship at the altar of his ego, bruised or not.
Kohli may have had legitimate grievances with the things said and done by the Australians during the series, but it only gets exacerbated by shutting down any avenues of conversation, such as a winddown drink after an exhausting Test series. He had the opportunity to bury the malcontent from the series, and show everyone that he can be the bigger man by letting bygones be bygones, and that in the grand scheme of things, cricket is only a sport, not a matter of life or death. That there is more to cricket than winning and losing, and hurt feelings. He chose not to
And it is not as if the verbal volleys and the accusations only came from one side. Both sides were at fault at various points in the series. The Indians, on the field, give as good as they get.
After all was said and done, India did win the series 2-1. In a Test where Ajinkya Rahane led the side and boldly included an untested wrist spinner instead of an extra batsman, and various players made valuable contributions to earn the Test win, and the series in which Kohli made a grand total of 46 runs, he has still managed to grab the headlines at the end of it. For all the attractive and tough cricket that his side had played throughout the series, bouncing back to their feet after a shellacking in the first Test, this silly posturing by Kohli only detracts from the team’s accomplishments.
It may be useful for Kohli to learn about Christmas Truce of World War I, when in 1914, in the week leading up to Christmas, French, German and British soldiers crossed the trenches to exchange greetings, and in some places, food and souvenirs. Even in the midst of death and destruction, the likes of which the world had never seen, these men had the decency to find common humanity in the people they were training their guns and ammunition on.
Perhaps then, Kohli may truly recognise, cricket is just a silly sport, and he has been silly in rebuffing the Aussie olive branch.
George Bernard Shaw was enchanted by this beautiful city, about which he said “those who seek paradise on Earth should come to Dubrovnik”, as well as, famously, describing it as “the pearl of the Adriatic”. It really is a stunning city with an amazing Old Town, which became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.
A picturesque city, Dubrovnik, in the extreme south of Croatia, is wonderful for exploring at your own pace. You may prefer to join one of the guided tours of Dubrovnik. These are especially suitable if you’re short on time in the city (perhaps visiting from a cruise), or you maybe want easy access to sights a little outside Dubrovnik.
One of the more intriguing – and much publicised – tours to have emerged recently is a special Game of Thrones tour. For travellers interested in history, the Homeland War Museum is worth a visit, combined with a cable car ride to the top of Mount Srdj. The Museum of Modern Art is also a must visit. There is a wealth of sites lying within the walls of the pedestrian-only Old Town. Dubrovnik managed to preserve its beautiful Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque churches, monasteries, palaces and fountains.
Most tourists visiting Italy has Venice, Florence and Rome and mind. Here Bologna is the lively, historic capital of the Emilia-Romagna region, in northern Italy, remains relatively quiet in comparison. This most appealing mediaeval university town is charming, historic and fun to explore. Bologna’s Piazza Maggiore is a sprawling plaza lined with arched colonnades, cafes and medieval and Renaissance structures such as City Hall, the Fountain of Neptune and the Basilica di San Petronio. Among the city’s many medieval towers are the Two Towers, leaning Asinelli and Garisenda. An easy city to visit in Italy is also known Italy’s gastronomic capital famous for the manufacture of pasta and sausages. make sure you try some while you’re here.
Other than the many tourist attractions, spend time absorbing Bologna’s unique character. A stroll beneath its long arcades, peek inside its elegant old shops, notice its architectural quirks and interesting brickwork, pause in one of the numerous cafés, and soak up some of the exuberance of its many students.
Beautiful Tenerife is the largest of the seven Canary Islands, which form this Atlantic Ocean archipelago. Tenerife’s vibrant capital city Santa Cruz comes alive every year in February or March with the arrival of the Carnival, considered to be one of the largest in the world. This sun-kissed holiday hotspot welcomes millions of people every year who are looking for relaxation, adventure, good times and fantastic weather!
From the volcanic lunar landscape of Mount Teide National Park (the highest peak in all of Spain) to the exciting resorts in the south of the island, Tenerife is packed with beautiful coastlines, mountains, fantastic golden sandy beaches and has two World Heritage Sites (the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna and the Teide National Park) and 42 natural protected areas. All of this is waiting to be discovered… and we’ve made it so easy. Simply click your way through our guide and see the Tenerife Map to find out what adventures are waiting for you.
The gateway to the fjords, Bergen is Norway’s second largest city, and lies clambering up the mountain sides, overlooking the sea, embracing you. You can roam through living history in this modern city, before continuing on to explore the wildest and loveliest fjords of Norway. Around 10 percent of the population in Bergen are students, which adds a fresh and youthful mood to the city’s vibe. Alongside its offerings of museums, art galleries, cultural events and dining opportunities, as well as the possibilities offered by its accessible sea and mountains, this contributes to making it a lively and vibrant city. Bergen is famous for the seven mountains surrounding the city centre, the Hanseatic Wharf, the fish market, and one of Norway’s biggest cultural events, the Bergen International Festival, which is held there each year.
Valletta, The Fortress City, Citta’ Umilissima, “a city built by gentlemen for gentlemen” is Malta’s capital. A living, working city, the administrative and commercial heart of the Islands. Valletta is named after its founder, the respected Grand Master of the Order of St. John, Jean Parisot de la Valette. The magnificent fortress city grew on the arid rock of Mount Sceberras peninsula, which rises steeply from two deep harbours, Marsamxett and Grand Harbour. The city’s grid of narrow streets boasts some of Europe’s finest art works, churches and palaces. Abundantly rich in sites to see and explore, intriguing historical buildings around every corner: votive statues, niches, fountains and coats of arms high up on parapets. Narrow side streets are full of tiny quaint shops and cafés, while Valletta’s main streets are lined with larger international branded shops for fashion, music, jewellery and much more. The best way to explore Valletta, is on foot and although the things to do & see are many, a good start and definitely not to be missed are Valletta’s beautiful gardens
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The election season’s curtain call fell with its dramatic climax with the BJP’s mandate in the most populous and politically-sensitive state of Uttar Pradesh. The election results of Uttar Pradesh for 2017 show the continuation of a trend of voting a party to form the government with full majority by giving it a clear mandate. In other parts, the mandate fractured but Punjab swung clearly with the Congress Captain Amarinder Singh who is set for a great innings. The Congress emerged as the largest party in two small states, Goa and Manipur, but was short of a majority, and the BJP formed alliances, enabling it to take power.
This fear and anxiety have also impacted our college campuses where students are getting violently divided along ideological lines
This sense of siege is spreading globally as nations increasingly echo nationalist sentiments. Take someone like the US President Donald Trump, who apart from keeping foreigners out, also wants its people not to travel out to places such as Asia, including India.
But Indians are never daunted and remain in search of travel and greener pastures. With a prosperous middle class, more and more Indians are today outward bound for holidays and business.
In this issue of DW, we take a look at all these ongoing trends at home and in the world along with our usual mix of easy reads and thought-provoking ideas. The death of ideology or the end of imagination explores the mores of a changing society and its politics; the muffling of voices in the arts by an ever-growing censorship in our increasingly exploratory cinema; or the joys of eating at some exclusive fine-dining restaurants without fear
Anything can happen in the future. For some people, that’s exciting. For others, that’s scary. And even if both kinds of people are working toward a better world tomorrow, only one of them gets to be happy today. So be happy!
ELECTIONS// Results of elections in five states were announced on March 11 and it was a 4-1 win for the Bharatiya Janata Party which now runs governments in Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Goa and Uttarakhand. Its only loss came in Punjab where the Congress political party won the elections. When the results were announced, the BJP had clear victories in two states-Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. In Goa and Manipur, it had in fact won fewer assembly seats than the Congress. But acting quickly, the BJP formed a combination with smaller political parties to form the governments in those states. The Congress, slow to act after the elections, is the one left looking foolish.
The state elections were all about Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the BJP. Modi led the campaign in important states like Uttar Pradesh and it was clear that people were voting for him rather than any state level leader. The BJP also feels the result shows people agree with Modi’s demonetization programme
There were some surprising choices of Chief Ministers. In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP picked Yogi Adityanath as the CM. Yogi Adityanath is a monk and a priest who heads the Gorakhnath temple in the state. His pick has surprised many as he is a priest and Uttar Pradesh is a state that has seen many fights between people of different religious groups.
Manohar Parrikar, who was Defence minister in Delhi, went back to his home state as CM as the BJP’s partners wanted only him. In Punjab, an old Congress leader Amarinder Singh is back as CM after a 10 year break. Uttarakhand will be run by TS Rawat while in Manipur, N Biren took over after 15 years of Congress leadership.
VERDICT// The Ganga and Yamuna Rivers are living entities declared the Uttarakhand High Court on Monday. This is the first time that a non-human has been given this tag in India.
By recognizing the rivers as living creatures, the Court has given the rivers powers to stop the damage caused to them by humans. Dumping of pollution and construction of dams that block their flow are just some of the things that have been done to these rivers.
Lawyers who fight environment related cases in courts say that the Uttarakhand High Court’s view could be used to fight against the construction of dams across the rivers as dams disturb the flow of the river. It would also make it difficult to disturb the river through construction projects along its banks.
The decision of the Court comes soon after New Zealand gave a living status to the Whanganui, its third largest river.
BLOCKADE// The newly formed government in Manipur has managed to end the four month long blockade of major highways in the state by Naga groups. The blockade had affected the life of the common people of the state with many things needed for daily life costing double the regular price. Trouble began in November 2016 when Naga tribal groups started protesting the move of the Manipur government to create several new districts in the state. The Nagas said that the new districts divided the ancestral land and wanted the government to reverse the decision. As part of their protest, the United Naga Council (UNC) blocked two national highways leading to the state-NH2 and NH 37. Now, Manipur, like other north-eastern states, is heavily dependent on supplies of goods from other parts of India-this is for many things from cooking gas cylinders to food. With the supply of goods choked, items of daily use became very costly in Manipur. Things have changed with a new government taking charge. The new Chief Minister N Biren is looking into the demands of the Nagas. Hopeful of an agreement, the Nagas have lifted the blockade.
DISCOVERY// The world’s oldest plant fossil has been found at Chitrakoot in the Uttar Pradesh state of India. The fossil is believed to be around 1.6 billion years old
Fossils are remains of plants and animals that are preserved inside rocks. These fossils were found within sedimentary rocks in Chitrakoot, a region that is known to be rich in fossils
Before this discovery, the oldest fossils were 1.2 billion year old remains of red algae found in Canada. The Chitrakoot fossils also appear to be remains of red algae. Red algae are water plants found in coral reefs.
This discovery at Chitrakoot was led by a team of Swedish researchers. One of the scientists speaking of the discovery said, “The fossils show us that advanced life in the form of eukaryotes (like plants, fungi and us humans/animals) have a much deeper history on Earth than what we previously have thought.”
DISCOVERY// The archaeology department of Telangana has discovered the world’s largest capstone after excavating an ancient human burial site in Siddipet district, department officials said.
The efforts to lift this massive capstone was coordinated by S S Rangacharyulu, archaeology consultant and K Padmanabha, assistant director (museums), as this mission requires great precision and caution, Department officials said.
A large crane lifted the huge capstone at the excavation site in Narmeta village on March 21, department officials said. The capstone of the menhir burial reportedly weighs about 40 tonnes. The archaeology department is all set to undertake DNA testing of various artefacts that have been discovered at this site which will help in tracing the lineage of pre-historic humans, their food habits, lifestyle, and how their population later became extinct, the officials said.
Last year, team of experts from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) discovered a signet made of clay with ornamental design was among the about 3,000 ancient artefacts at the Keezhadi Pallai Sandhaipudur village in Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu during an excavation. According to ASI officials, the ancient settlement at the village, which was on the highway travelled by traders all over the world once, had an underground drainage system which was on par with the Harappan system. The sewage drains had been laid with “baked clay pipe lines”. —
REPORT// India is one of the world’s least happy nations in the world, according to the World Happiness Report, an international report that was released on Monday to mark the International Day of Happiness. The report was released at the United Nations, the international organization that consists of almost all the countries in the world
India was ranked 122 in a list of 155 countries and we have actually slipped four places, down from 118 in 2016. The world’s happiest country is Norway, followed by Iceland, Switzerland, Finland, the Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand and Australia and Sweden. The United States is at rank 14. China is also ahead of India at No 79
The bottom five countries on the list where people are the unhappiest are Burundi (154), Tanzania (153), Syria (152), Rwanda (151) and the Central African Republic (155). To create the ranking, the authors of the report took into account income earned by people, their health, support from the government and community and freedom enjoyed by people. One of the most important factors in making someone happy was that he or she had a job and earned money. So, countries where more people had jobs were happier.
TERROR// Police in Britain arrested seven people in overnight raids in London, Birmingham and elsewhere in connection with the Wednesday attack on the Houses of Parliament by a knife-wielding man who first drove a vehicle down a crowded sidewalk. The death toll in the attack increased from four to five, including the attacker, on Thursday night, when a 75-year-old man was taken off life support, London’s Metropolitan Police said. An American man was also confirmed to have been among the three civilians killed in the first stage of the attack, on Westminster Bridge over the River Thames.
A woman in her 40s and a man in his 50s — were killed, along with a police officer and the attacker. Hours later, the family of Utah resident Kurt Cochran said he had died from the injuries he sustained as the attacker’s SUV careened down the sidewalk of the bridge. Cochran’s brother-in-law Clint Payne confirmed his death in a statement released by the couple’s church, adding that Cochran’s wife Melissa was being treated for serious injuries.
British media quoted witnesses as saying the suspect had lived at a home raided in Birmingham, which is about 120 miles north of the capital city. The suspect, who police identified as 52-year-old Khalid Masood, was fatally shot by an armed police officer after he stabbed the first officer he encountered just inside a gated entrance to the Parliament campus. Police Constable Keith Palmer died of his stab wounds
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack, but offered no evidence of any prior communications with or links to the attacker. The claim was made in a simple statement posted on the website of ISIS’ pseudonews agency, AMAQ, saying the man “carried out the attack in response to calls for the targeting of citizens of coalition countries.” The statement did not include any details of the attacker’s identity or imagery of him. ISIS similarly claimed responsibility for a December attack on a Christmas market in Berlin
The landslide victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, apart from prompting paeans of praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has revealed trends that could have enormous consequences for the country as a whole.
The first set of implications has to do with the polity.
Lesson number one is that Indian voters of late have shown an inclination to vote decisively when they feel change is imperative. Otherwise, they equivocate and tend to give a fractured mandate.
Three elections stand out in recent times: Delhi 2015, Uttar Pradesh 2017 and Punjab 2017
In 2013 and 2015, fed up with the muchpublicised corruption of the Congress regime, Delhi voters swung decisively towards the newly formed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led by the maverick Arvind Kejriwal. In the 2015 state elections, Kejriwal’s AAP secured a landslide, winning 57 of 60 assembly seats.
This kind of electoral behaviour was rare in the past and was usually occasioned by some momentous events. A case in point was Rajiv Gandhi’s remarkable victory in the 1984 general elections following the assassination of his mother, Indira Gandhi. Today, this kind of outcome seems to have become something of a trend.
In Punjab, the misrule of the Akali Dal and the plummeting economic fortunes of the state had for some years signalled a great desire for change. The BJP tied to the Akalis in Punjab was doomed by association.
In Uttar Pradesh, corruption and lawlessness unleashed by the ruling Samajwadi Party had generated similar widespread fear and loathing
Not surprisingly, in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab during the 2017 assembly polls, the vote was decisive, favouring the BJP and Congress parties respectively.
In all three cases, speculation about hung assemblies or fractured mandates proved erroneous. The verdict was decisive and overwhelming - in Uttar Pradesh in 2017 the BJP won a record 312 out of a total of 403 seats while in Punjab the Congress romped home with 77 of 117 seats.
This points to the effectiveness of public resentment, the volatility of voting behaviour and the erosion of fixed loyalties. The segment of voters defined as “floating voters” is rising and increasingly determining the outcome of elections.
While no systematic study has been done on the erosion of traditional political loyalties it might be safe to speculate that this reflects the growing numbers of youthful voters in the country and their lack of commitment to any one party. Now it is aspirations that matter, not a particular party, leader or slogan.
This young aspirational class is quintessentially pragmatic rather than ideological and being more connected than ever, is very likely to vote in a decisive manner. This behaviour could well trump familiar class and caste considerations in the coming months and years.
Prime Minister Modi appears to be tuned on to this sentiment. Commenting after the polls at the India Today Conclave 2017, he said: “Like the freedom movement, we need a movement for development, where collective aspirations propel the growth of the nation.”
The younger and floating voters’ tendency to evaluate electoral options irrespective of ideology or political loyalties also suggests that the perceived credibility of leaders has become crucial
Thus, Mayawati, leader of the BahujanSamaj Party (BSP), despite being touted as Uttar Pradesh’s Dalit and Muslim champion, could not attract the swing votes necessary for victory and crashed at the ballot.
The pro-development agenda of Samajwadi Party chief minister Akhilesh Yadav lacked credibility in the face of criminal wrongdoings of some of his ministers and the general state of lawlessness in the state. The National Bureau of Crime statistics reveals that the crime rate in the state is double the national average.
The development slogan too was hollow as the state has seen few major investments in recent years. The Singapore-based Asian Competitiveness Institute has ranked Uttar Pradesh as the most difficult state in India to do business
James Owen, India head of Security Risks, pointed out in an The Economic Times article: “Incidents such as the 2013 Hindu-Muslim riots in the western district of Muzaffarnagar, which left at least 62 people dead and rendered hundreds homeless, have contributed to UP’s dubious reputation of being a highlycharged communal cauldron, which has acted as a significant barrier for major foreign investments.”
The problems of corruption and criminality, Owen argues have been compounded by the fact that as much as a fourth of election candidates from Uttar Pradesh this time had serious criminal charges against them. “Extortion and violent crime are of particular concern for businesses, especially those engaged in politically exposed sectors such as infrastructure and alcohol. The new government will need to strengthen local law enforcement and curb the influence of gangs in order to provide a secure environment for businesses,” he feels.
The Samajwadi Party leadership in Uttar Pradesh assumed that populist propaganda combined with muscle power would see it through in the polls.
However, as it turned out, both Mr Yadav and Ms Mayawati, caste champions who had dominated Uttar Pradesh for the past couple of decades, stripped of all credibility, were utterly rejected.
Similarly, Kejriwal, who had presumed Punjab would be a repeat of Delhi, was brought down to earth by voters who felt the Congress led by Captain Amarinder Singh was more credible than any of his opponents
Prime Minister Modi, no matter what his critics might vociferate, is clearly the country’s most credible leader at this juncture of history and therefore a huge vote getter in elections where voters are looking for an alternative.
Younger voters, being non-ideological,are not bothered whether Mr Modi is perceived as right-wing, pro-Hindu or rightist; they see him as a person purporting to fix a corrupt, inefficient and broken system. This is his core USP.
However, even this credibility is ultimately fragile and will depend entirely on how Modi performs in the next couple of years. Should his promises fail, like it
has largely done in the city of Varanasi, the 2019 Parliamentary polls could well see him struggling, especially if challenged by more credible opponents
Prime Minister Modi would do well to note that it has taken less than two years for Arvind Kejriwal’s credibility to plummet, transforming him from a winner to a plaintive loser holding inert voting machines responsible for his defeat.
While the overall trend that emerges from the latest round of state polls is encouraging, the major discordant note is the situation of its sizeable Muslim population (19 per cent) in the Uttar Pradesh elections.
While the BSP had allocated 100 tickets to Muslim candidates and the Samajwadi Party 70, the BJP had not fielded a single Muslim candidate. This was despite the belief that the Muslim vote plays a critical role in at least 130 of the 403 assembly seats in the state.
The BJP victory thus came as a shock to Muslim voters, the overwhelming majority of whom had voted against the BJP. Their distress was compounded by the appointment of a hard-line Hindu cleric, Yogi Adityanath as chief minister
The BJP message that it could rule the state without Muslim support is a game changer and also one that could sharply increase polarisation. Matters could worsen if Uttar Pradesh’s new chief minister follows a pro-Hindu agenda and goes through with the promise to construct the Ram Temple at Ayodhya.
Modi’s choice of UP chief minister was political, perhaps with an eye to the 2019 general elections. For, few can dispute that Yogi Adityanath is hugely popular among BJP supporters, both for his Hindutva ideology and a tough, clean image
The BJP leadership has sought to moderate the power of the new UP chief minister by simultaneously appointing two deputy chief ministers, Keshav Prasad Maurya, an OBC and Dinesh Sharma, a Brahmin
Yogi Adityanath’s deputies are considered to be action oriented, prodevelopment leaders who could take charge of day to day running of the state administration, leaving politics and posturing to the chief minister.
Yogi Adityanath, after being elected, made it a point to declare that he would follow Prime Minister Modi's 'sabka saath, sabka vikas' slogan and promised to take Uttar Pradesh on the road to economic development.
It remains to be seen whether Uttar Pradesh will sink into a communal morass or rise to become the “Uttam (Excellent) Pradesh” Modi has promised.
While the future of Uttar Pradesh will remain a question mark in the near and medium terms, there is no doubt that the huge electoral victory in that state will strengthen Prime Minister Modi at the Centre.
During the last three years, Modi has been severely hamstrung by his party’s lack of numbers in the upper house, the Rajya Sabha, where the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government led by the BJP currently, has just about 30 per cent of seats. This has made it impossible for the government to pass crucial legislation without the support of the Opposition
Next year, sixty-nine seats in the Rajya Sabha (254 seats) will come up for reelection and it is quite possible that the NDA alliance will end up with a majority. If this happens the Prime Minister’s hand would be greatly strengthened.
This is expected to boost the reform process. William Foster, Moody's Vice President, feels that “electoral support at the state level should translate into broader support for government policy in the Upper House, facilitating the passage and implementation of additional reforms
Foster also believes that “collaboration between the central government and the new BJP-led states could improve, partially circumventing impediments to reform at the federal level on politically sensitive issues like land and labour reforms.”
The Opposition has been consistently targeting Prime Minister Modi’s reforms and related agenda to score political brownie points. The demonetisation exercise met similar political opposition, but in the end only vindicated the Prime Minister’s stand. The Uttar Pradesh electoral victory has taken the wind away from the Opposition’s sails.
It is widely expected that the Prime Minister will now vigorously pursue his reforms and development agenda without looking behind his shoulders. Not surprisingly, corporations, foreign investors and the stock markets have given a huge thumbs-up to the BJP for its Uttar Pradesh victory.
Yet, the road ahead is fraught with its share of uncertainties. Will the Prime Minister be resolute but compassionate, or more aggressive and driven by hubris? Will he take the hard decisions required to clean the administrative system, the polity and economy or will he let those matters slide and substitute them with populist measures designed to appeal to the masses?
While the picture is not clear at this stage, some signs are discouraging. This includes the signals coming off from the decision to waive farm loans in Uttar Pradesh, and then perhaps in Maharashtra as well. Apart from opening up a deluge of similar requests from other states, the decision smacks of bad economics and dubious populism.
Arundhati Bhattacharya, chief of the country largest bank, the State Bank of India (SBI), has warned against implementing such a decision, arguing that writing off loans sets a bad precedent, weakens the banking system and leads to the expectation of future loan write-offs.
From all indications, the farm loan waiver will be implemented, but it remains to be seen whether it will be a one-off step. More important is the Modi regime’s plan to massively step up public investments in the next two years to accelerate growth, especially in the infrastructure sector, and hopefully generate jobs in the process
While measures such as the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the abolition of check posts and other road barriers, stepped up federal expenditure are certain to boost the economy, the huge drag of bad loans in the banking sector, unrelenting red tape (especially at the state level) and widespread corruption will conspire to counter the positives. The real test of the Uttar Pradesh elections will come two years down the line, in time for the 2019 parliamentary elections.
Will the country’s worst performing state, one with the most corrupt administration and egregious caste and communal politics rise up to the rhetoric generated by Prime Minister Modi’s election promises?
Our image of a college student was clearly someone who is free-spirited and openminded, someone who loves to have a go at orthodoxies; but that image needs to be urgently updated in our minds. Campuses increasingly are being infiltrated by students who are pretty much the opposite of that. Seems like the students have undergone some epic transformation – from freewheelin’ spirits to ban-happy youngsters; from asking awkward questions to suppressing ‘offensive’ speech. Suddenly the Campus seems to have metamorphosed into some intolerant being.
This was starkly reflected this February at Delhi’s Ramjas College when a seminar on tribes in Bastar had to be called off by the college because of threats from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) the student wing of the ruling BJP’s ideological parent Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), garbed under ‘saving’ the Delhi University from “antinational elements”. The anti-national element in question was linked to the other campus – the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) – which has also been under serious attack from these right-wing student’s trying to rid the campus of its liberal tradition.
The college had sent an invite to JNU students Umar Khalid and Shehla Rashid to address the seminar. Khalid was arrested on sedition charges over a fracas on the campus in February 2016 which was never proved. But the ABVP felt it was its moral duty to safeguard its version of nationalism. The Ramjas College clash reignited the debate on nationalism. No wonder that even the President of India had to warn against the rise of such a culture. There should be no room in India for an intolerant Indian, Pranab Mukherjee has repeated ad nauseam since
“India has been, since ancient times, a bastion of free thought, speech and expression and colleges must not propagate a culture of unrest. There must be space for legitimate criticism and dissent. The time has come for collective efforts to rediscover the sense of national purpose and patriotism.”
The President was categoric when he said: “These temples of learning must resound with creativity and free thinking. Those in universities must engage in reasoned iscussion and debate rather than propagate a culture of unrest. It is tragic to see them caught in the vortex of violence and disquiet.”
At precisely the time they should be leaping brain-first into the rough and tumble of grown-up, testy discussion, students are cushioning themselves from anything that has the whiff of controversy. This is a disaster, for it means our universities are becoming breeding grounds of dogmatism. As John Stuart Mill said, if we don’t allow our opinion to be ‘fully, frequently, and fearlessly discussed’, then that opinion will be ‘held as a dead dogma, not a living truth’
The ‘no platform’ policy of various student unions is forever being expanded to keep off campus pretty much anyone whose views don’t chime perfectly with the prevailing groupthink. Where once it was only far-right rabble-rousers who were noplatformed, increasingly everyone from Leftists to feminists who hold the wrong opinions on transgender issues has found themselves shunned from the uni-sphere.
And in the age of technology only helps speed up the process. Now, ideas and information can spread like wildfire. In a matter of hours, a protest of thousands can be organised. A regime can fall in 140 characters. Social media is a tool for disruption: it can destabilise traditional power structures and unite at a remarkable speed.
Yet as with any powerful new tool, there are dangerous pitfalls. If Edward Snowden proved one thing it is that information is no longer sacred and privacy is a thing of the past. In such an age, the constant diffusion of information can become just as dangerous as it is empowering.
Technology also means that it has never been easier to whip up a false sense of mass outrage — and target that synthetic anger at those in charge. The authorities on the receiving end feel so besieged that they succumb to the demands and threats.
The current assault on university/college campuses is made worse by the fact that it isn’t about universities at all. The right-wing is using universities as public altars where students and teachers are offered up as sacrifices to the Great Jingo. A vicious chauvinism is being publicly articulated and performed using students as extras and colleges as props
A divided campus – which once incubated ideals and ideas –struggles to balance inclusive values with its legacy of fighting for the right to voice your opinion, however ugly it may be.
This is where the local history of Ramjas meets the pan-Indian plans of the Sangh Parivar. The ABVP that led the attack has, since the inauguration of the Narendra Modi government, been the prime mover in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s bid to capture Indian universities. In Hyderabad, in JNU, in Jadavpur University, in Jodhpur University and, now, in Ramjas a pattern has repeated itself. The ABVP will first take exception to an event on campus. This could be a film screening, a lecture, a demonstration, a seminar, anything that can handily be described as anti-national. It will then solicit the aid of helpful BJP legislators or ministers to use the sinews of the State the relevant ministry or the local police force - to intimidate university administrations, to arrest its ideological enemies on campus or to look the other way while its goons go rampaging.
In its present avatar, with the BJP in command of an absolute majority at the Centre, the ABVP isn’t a student body, it is a vigilante organisation. The BJP sees Indian universities as treacherous swamps that need to be drained. The finance minister, Arun Jaitley, said as much at an event at the London School of Economics immediately after the violence at Ramjas. There is, he said, “an alliance of subversion” in Indian university campuses between separatists and the ultra left.
The Sangh Parivar's current assault on university campuses is made worse by the fact that it isn’t about universities at all. The ABVP is using universities as public altars where students and teachers are offered up as sacrifices to the Great Jingo. A vicious chauvinism is being publicly articulated and performed using students as extras and colleges as props.
But large public universities aren't easily silenced. And it is not only in India that the issue of free speech and freedom are under attack
A recent riot at the University of California Berkeley raised some big questions about the future of the free speech movement. A divided campus – which once incubated the ideals of the 1960s – was sent into lockdown as it struggled to balance inclusive values with its legacy of fighting for the right to voice your opinion, however ugly it may be.
When the Berkeley College Republicans invited inflammatory Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos to speak on campus, over 100 faculty members signed letters of protest, urging the administration to cancel his visit, while an op-ed by veterans of the free-speech movement defended his right to speak. The university decided that the Berkeley College Republicans, a separate legal entity from the school itself, had the right to host Yiannopoulos – but many in the community didn't agree with that decision, pointing to other schools that have successfully prevented his appearances
They were successful in stopping him. But what does that mean for a campus uniquely tied to the idea that everyone – even those holding ideas widely condemned and deemed to be offensive, ignorant or hateful – has the right to say their piece?
But it isn’t just about blocking a single speaker. “It is really about making them understand the danger they pose by treating these insane neo-Nazi ideas cavalierly,” the protester says. “People talk a lot about ‘freedom of speech’ and I think this fetish of speech misses the larger point. It is about ideas of freedom itself. Who has it, and who is denied it.”
One day, these students, with their lust to ban, their war on the offensive lingo, and their terrifying talk of pre-crime, will be running the country. And then it won’t only be those of us who occasionally have cause to visit a campus who have to suffer their dead dogmas.
A journalist and film-maker for many moons, Prashun Bhaumik has been fortunate to combine work and pleasure – his love for travel and food. When younger he took two years off to discover his country which he feels is the world in itself. Other times he has found himself in the oddest of places at the greatest of times, such as in South Africa when Nelson Mandela walked free after 27 years (Indians were not allowed to go to SA then), when Baghdad was bombed the first night by the allied forces or in Cuba as the Soviet Union was crumbling. Prashun truly believes travel is life’s best educator
INCREDIBLE INDIA needs incredible reforms, especially in the hospitality sector. The hospitality sector is not just about hotels, it encompasses a wide variety of activities within the service sector. It has created millions of new jobs, directly as well as indirectly, benefiting millions of workers in dozens of allied industries. Tourism is also a huge source of foreign exchange for the country. The Indian service sector of which hospitality is a major component has also been the most vibrant contributor to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The sector also attracts the highest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and is the most important net foreign exchange earner for the country.
However the Indian hospitality sector is one of the most heavily taxed industries which reduces its competitiveness vis-à-vis other destinations in the world. Customers are taken a back every time they pay a hotel bill, compounded as it is by multiple taxes. At present, the hospitality sector is burdened with taxes like VAT, service tax, luxury tax, entertainment tax, state excise and others which put together range between 20 and 30 per cent. For certain services, total of taxes goes beyond 30% as well. This multiple taxation either adds to the operational costs thereby reducing profitability or has to be passed on to the consumer. While the much-awaited GST regime is expected to rationalise the taxation structure, leaving alcohol and entertainment tax outside the GST purview will lead to a significant amount of tax cascading resulting in increased costs to the industry. Hotels and restaurants will be the worst affected in terms of administrative complexities and will face hardship on account of compliance costs and disputes. Also, the tax rate for the sector needs to be lowered from the proposed 18 per cent slab under consideration in the new GST guidelines.
Apart from above, the government needs to come up with specific policies aimed at providing incentives to fuel growth in this sector. The industry is hugely capital intensive and has a long gestation period. Hence it needs special tax reforms to attract fresh investments. This could be by way of providing investment linked incentives, doing away with the applicability of the Maximum Alternate Tax (MAT) for hospitality sector, providing for minimal withholding tax regime on long term borrowings from foreign countries, additional depreciation on new investments and tax incentives on foreign exchange earnings among others.
Infrastructure development is the backbone and key to the growth of the hospitality sector. Taxes on the hospitality sector must be lowered to boost investments as there is an acute shortage of good quality accommodation in the country. It has been noticed that there is an inconsistency in classification of hospitality sector. This being a highly capital intensive sector, providing infrastructure status to the hospitality sector will go a long way in attracting investment and consequently its development
The industry is also burdened with the need for multiple licenses, clearances, NOCs and permissions. The number of licenses required is huge and from multiple authorities which discourage and delays any new project. The norms for different licenses also vary or are contradictory from place to place, making the process quite daunting. Licensing norms are obsolete, leading to lots of harassment and delays. Therefore, a single window clearance for real estate projects along with an infrastructure status for the hospitality industry are much-needed steps for its growth.
With a projected growth of 7.2 per cent per annum in direct contribution to the GDP until 2025 and a GDP contribution of US$ 160.2 billion by 2026, the hospitality sector has the potential to be the main driving force behind the economy in the years to come. That, however, will be possible only with the right amount of support and incentives from the government.
It’s an everyday routine – the last minute dash out of the door to work. It was just another day, but a niggling thought seemed to pull me back. There was no time to rewind as I rushed on with my mind flooded with the to-do of the day looming ahead. For some reason there seemed to be some sort of madness enveloping my world that day, not managing to get my foot on any public transport I turned to my only reliable soul to once again bail me out – my smartest friend, my smartphone. Hoping to get a cab ride at the flick of a button I reached out into the depths of my trousers to feel its warm assurance. I felt the cold of mere fabric instead. My friend was missing. Nothing in the world seemed more important than to return to the smart one. I turned back and there it was on my desk with that self-assured smug look – you can’t leave me, bro!
Smartphones have drastically changed the way we live
The way we consume and access information today has changed and it is not far when our physical and digital realities will keep merging. Mobile devices have added technology to our daily lives in a big way. From site-to-store purchasing, enabling online customers to buy and pick products in a physical retail location, consume news, enjoy our TV shows or just to socialise, the ubiquitous smartphone has changed our lives way beyond what we comprehend.
A recent study by scientists from Columbia University claims that Internet search engines cause poor memory. The study found that we are very likely to forget information which we know we can easily retrieve with the help of the internet. It further revealed that when we are asked questions, the first thing that crosses our mind is how we can find the answer on the internet rather than using our brains. People are increasingly bypassing discussions with friends and family and staying glued into cyberspace looking for solutions. It’s the Highway to Happiness, the internet super way.
The age of information has changed how we interact and appreciate different cultures. It is safe to say that the world is much better because of smartphones.
Information warehouse: They can be used to access the internet and search for information without much difficulty. Smartphones have been significant contributors to the age of information
Various apps: From your cabbie to movies, these are convenient and can be a great source of entertainment as well as convenience. People who love those quiet moments will find such apps significantly useful.
Music: Smartphones can be a medium for your daily music requirement. Download and play is the mantra.Email: Stepped out of office for coffee. Keep your smartphone handy to reply to emails. Dodge your boss about your coordinates when one is out of the office.
Social media networking: These phones have increased interactions among people in different parts of the world through live chats and timeline posts.
Financial Transactions: Mobile money transfer by smartphones is a huge convenience at your fingertips. Other transactions include mobile recharges and bill payment also reduces the pain of running around.
Other benefits include playing games, the ability to backup critical data and information, taking photographs to document memorable events, and learning from the resource-rich internet.
From time immemorial, it has been a constant endeavour of humans to invent devices that make our lives easier and more convenient. The mobile phone industry developed one device that made several others obsolete. Sales dropped for landline phones, desktop computers, digital cameras, mp3 players, GPS devices, etc. Not too long ago, there was a time, when you needed to carry all those things with you. Today the smartphone is all you need to carry. While desktop computers still handle our practical tasks, the smartphone handles the emotional ones. The consequences of having information at our fingertips have reached alarming levels. What’s amazing is that we are becoming particularly adept at remembering where to go to find things. The most common reaction to this adversity is “Why to remember something if I know I can look it up again?” The search engines available today drag us to the solution where we can offload some of our memory demands onto machines.
Research shows that an estimated 100% of all young people use computers with more than 90% regularly using the internet. Much of this internet use is on the smartphone, tied to homework and other project related activities. However, the internet is also the way most kids connect after school using social networks. Kids communicate through chat rooms and emails, while also posting comments on their friends' walls. Internet use of smartphones is so pervasive that many experts, scientists and psychologist have begun to study the effect it has on the lives of young people in general.
There is a constant worry among adults and teachers about kids indulging on gadgets that it is leading to a loss of social skills. In other words, the ability to communicate up close and personal with friends and family is becoming extinct. Young people simply don’t know how to hold a conversation. A kid withdraws and reacts differently if they are kept away from cellphones or tabs. Long hours of engagement with these gadgets are becoming a threat to lifestyle choices kids are forced to make. Obesity among kids is a growing concern across the world. Eyesight, posture and body aches are some of the other side-effects of this new obsession
On the flipside, the internet literally opens up huge possibilities with kids being exposed to world culture, enabling them to understand and appreciate diversity.The internet also allows young people to find answers to questions that they may not feel comfortable discussing with their parents, friends and teachers. Children exposed to the internet are also known to have better reading, spatial and visual skills.
Despite prevailing perceptions, young adults’ smartphone obsession goes beyond Snapchat, games and the like. Serious activity like online banking, job searching and accessing education content are also important activities. Researching a health condition also ranks high among this group. This could be a result of an “information-focused generation” who is inclined to try to self-diagnose before visiting a doctor.
Clearly, a smartphone is a vital tool for helping millions of people connect to resources that enable them to navigate and survive in an increasingly digital world.