In happy tidings, Mukesh and Nita Ambani on Thursday announced that they have become grandparents for the first time as their son Akash and daughter-in-law Shloka gave birth to a baby boy.
"With the grace and blessings of Lord Krishna, Shloka and Akash Ambani became proud parents of a baby boy today in Mumbai," the RIL family said in a brief statement.
Shloka (Mehta) and Akash were married at a glittering ceremony in Mumbai on March 9, 2019, with the who's who from the world of business, politics, Bollywood, cricket along with international celebs coming to bless the young couple.
"Nita and Mukesh Ambani are delighted to have become grandparents for the first time, as they welcome the great-grandson of Dhirubhai and Kokilaben Ambani," the overjoyed family said today.
"Shloka and Akash Ambani became proud parents of a baby boy today (Dec. 10) in Mumbai. Both mother and son are doing well," the Indian business's first couple added.
The new arrival has brought immense joy to the Mehta and Ambani families, they said, even as social media erupted in jubilation with congratulatory messages flooding from all over.
With several government departments and agencies allegedly not adhering to rules and regulations to deal with pollution and disposal of debris, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has issued notices to over half a dozen such violators in the NCR-Delhi region.
The CPCB has also cautioned them to strictly adhere to the rules and regulations relating to building construction, disposal of demolition/debris/waste and dust management, or else the building works will be stopped.
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar has stressed on the need to bring together all agencies to tackle pollution in Delhi area.
"All agencies have to fight pollution in Delhi; only then the people of Delhi will get a little relief. I urge all agencies to ensure strict compliance with construction and demolition waste management rules and effective dust management."
A law was enacted on behalf of the central government for the management of building and demolition waste four years ago. There are also strict rules for dust management at building sites to prevent pollution.
As many as 50 teams set up to prevent pollution in the National Capital Region found during checking that the rules pertaining to construction projects/words are not allegedly getting followed by several government institutions.
Authorities came across alleged violation of rules at construction sites of Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) projects at Delhi Gate, Moti Bagh, Mandi House, and Tilak Lane.
Similarly, CPCB member-secretary Prashant Gargav issued notices pertaining to sites of Delhi State Industrial Development Corporation, Delhi Jal Board, DDA, CPWD, DMRC, NHAI and MTNL, and asked them to adhere to rules.
The resumption of mining in the State will bring great relief. Remember it always had a history of environment-friendly processes and notable best practices
The clarion call for making India atmanirbhar (self-reliant) has a major component of sustainable income and quality employment. The tiny State of Goa, with a population of 15 lakh, was one with the highest per capita income in the country at one time. The two major pillars of its economy were tourism and mining. With almost 100 per cent export, the State had a turnover of nearly Rs 6,000 crore from mining itself. Nearly one-fifth of the population of Goa got sustainable, quality employment in mining and its related activities. It is sad to talk about this in the past tense as the State has been reduced to penury ever since the Supreme Court ordered a complete stop of all mining operations on February 7, 2018 by quashing the second renewal of 88 mining leases. The judgment, by a Bench led by Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta, slammed the “rapacious and rampant exploitation” of Goa’s fragile ecology by private mining lease holders and said that their “sole motive is to make profits, for years.”
Since then, the State has seen adversely-affected income levels due to the decision. This, coupled with the fall in income from the tourists because of the COVID-19 outbreak, has come as a double whammy for Goa. Sadly, the social and financial impact of the apex court’s decision on the population and the State’s prosperity is never an issue in court arguments and goes unnoticed, time and again. This is despite the fact that the halt of mining operations has slowed down the entire economy of the State and the lives of its people, too. The iron ore of Goa, which has a lower Fe content (around 55 per cent), had a booming market across Indian shores and was exported to various countries like Japan, South Korea and China. It contributed to 30 per cent of the State’s GDP. Now, the closure of mines has resulted in Goa’s lost presence in the international iron ore market and the Goan variant has been replaced by Brazilian and Australian ones.
And it is not just the miners who are suffering in the State. The related loss of business to those providing logistical support to the mining industry, in terms of trucks, barges and machinery, adds to the problem. The immediate challenge and need is to restart this major economic operation for the State. Despite the apex court’s concerns over the ecology of the State, Goa always had a history of environment-friendly mining and its notable best practices were demonstrated at all international fora as well. The ISO 14001 Standards and the independent Mineral Foundation of Goa (the precursor to the present District Mineral Fund concept) were early moves towards an environmentally sustainable industry. Mining in Goa is not an issue of spoiling the environment as modern technology and methodology were already used in all operations. So the issue in Goa is of understanding and harmonising the two Acts, namely the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act, 2015 (MMDR Act) with its amendments and the Goa, Daman and Diu Mining Concessions (Abolition and Declaration as Mining Leases) Act, 1987, commonly known as the Abolition Act, 1987. This harmonisation can only come through policy clarification and legal amendment. The State Government as well as the mining industry and experts are unanimous in their decision that they want an end to the status quo. The entire State Assembly has unanimously put in a request to the Central Government to allow Goa to recommence mining operations at the earliest, through appropriate means.
Prior to December 19, 1961, Goa was a Portuguese territory and mining concessions were granted under the Portuguese Mining Colonial Laws, 1906. After Goa became a part of the Indian Union in 1961, the MMDR Act, 1957 was extended to Goa in October 1963. In 1975, notices were served to concessionaires under the Mining Lease Modification Terms Rule, 1956, by the controller of mining leases. This was done to bring in parity with the provisions of the MMDR Act, the Mineral Concession Rule and the Mineral Conservation and Development Rules (MCDR).
Thus, the end of the Mineral Concession Rule was not to put mining operations in Goa at a disadvantage, it was an effort to bring it at par with the MMDR Act that is operative in the rest of the country. Thus, the stalemate caused by the delay in harmonising the two is definitely not called for.
The Central Government should come forward and resolve the issue of date of applicability of the Abolition Act, 1987 and the MMDR amendment of 2015/20, by accepting the prospective time period of lease from the introduction of the Abolition Act on May 23, 1987 for 50 years i.e. till 2037. Thus, is it important to settle the interpretation that it is prospective and not retrospective and the lease thus is entitled till 2037. The same can be done through a legislative amendment in the Abolition Act, which is a law applicable for the State of Goa and shall not affect mining regimes in the rest of the country. The State Government has on multiple occasions sought the intervention of the Central Government on the matter. Goa has requested for putting an end to the inequitable situation which arose out of the rest of the States being allowed to renew mining leases for 50 years.
This has been represented before the Supreme Court through petitions, reviews and interlocutory petitions among others, by the Goa Government, the mining industry and even the panchayats from the mining districts in the State, who have been devastated by the financial distress arising out of the end of mining.
There is an urgent need to decide quickly and set a credible and consistent way forward so that mining operations can start with immediate effect. All the above issues can be resolved in one stroke if the intention is to make Goa a shining example of an atmanirbhar State contributing to the GDP of the country. The resumption of mining activities in the State will bring great relief to the State and its populace in the short term and substantial benefit in the long run. It will also result in Goa being a State with the highest per capita income again.
(The writer is former Secretary to the Government of India)
The NTCA must oversee the way the Bandhavgarh National Park is being managed and check how the tourism revenue is being distributed in the State
The Bandhavgarh National Park and Tiger Reserve, known for the highest striped cat density per sq km in the country, is one terrain where the chances of sighting the tiger are quite high. Situated in the Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh, the reserve with around 124 tigers is spread over 1,536 sq km. The core area is 716 sq km. It consists of 32 sandstone hillocks, marshy land, water bodies, rocky areas and grasslands, making it an excellent habitat for the diverse plants and animals that can be found here. Bandhavgarh was declared a National Park in 1968 and brought under Project Tiger in 1994. It has three tourist zones in Tala, Maghati and Khitauli where most of the sighting of the tigers and other wildlife occurs. Apart from the tigers, the park has 36 species of mammals, 250 species of birds and 70 species of butterflies. The tiger population in Bandhavgarh started growing only after the Baghel rulers, along with several villages, shifted their capital in 1617 from here to Rewa. The Bandhavgarh forests, however, remained the favourite hunting grounds of Baghel rulers, who, out of superstition and a false sense of pride, used to set the target of killing at least 109 tigers in a year. As a result, Maharaja Gulab Singh shot 83 tigers in 1923 while Maharaja Martand Singh shot 100. Thankfully, despite the extensive hunting, the area continued to support a large tiger population. This speaks volumes about the carrying capacity of the forests which are rich in both prey and predators.
The reserve is important from an archaeological, historical, cultural and religious perspective, too. It is said that Lord Rama made this fort for Laxman while returning to Ayodhya from Sri Lanka. The ancient scriptures Shiv Puran and Narad Panch make references to this fort. There is a temple at the top of a hillock, which the people flock to during Ram Navami and Janmashtami. There are a few caves here where ancient saints are said to have done penance and there are other archaeological monuments, too. There is a Shesh Shaiya near the fort depicting Lord Vishnu on the seven-hooded Shesh Nag.
Sadly, the wildlife map of the park is changing. Earlier it was home to gaurs but all of them died after contracting contagious diseases from cattle. In 2012, as many as 50 gaurs were relocated here from the Kanha National Park. Then, due to food shortage, a herd of 38 elephants entered the park from Chhattisgarh and are breeding here. They are a major management headache for the park as well as the neighbouring villages in the buffer zone. They have been destroying the solar panels and damaging buildings, staff quarters and eating rations, too.
Bandhavgarh needs immediate management intervention at the highest level in terms of infrastructure, manpower and efficiency. The fund position is awful, too, and the staff is facing severe housing, water supply and electricity issues. Six of their vehicles have been junked but the park authorities are not able to replace them. The souvenir shops being managed by private businesses are in a poor shape and the forest rest house is being run as a commercial venture by the staff. There is a shortage of funds released for grassland management by the State Government, even though grasslands are an essential requirement for herbivores. Thankfully some money was released by a few panchayats for the areas falling under their jurisdictions.
Though the Project Tiger authorities have released funds, the State Government has not given its share. Not maintaining the grasslands and negligence in releasing State’s funding is a serious matter and the Chief Wildlife Warden needs to act fast. Otherwise the condition of this park will deteriorate. It is said that the annual revenue from the park is around `8 crore but most of it is not ploughed back into the reserve and is distributed across the State. The Government must stop political interference in allocation and at least 70 per cent of the revenue collected from the park must be returned to the reserve and spent in a structured manner. The State wildlife wing must have a separate management scheme for the tuskers who are now part of this park and take advantage of the Project Elephant. The museum and the interpretation centre are in a pathetic state, too, and need total revamping. The Director is in dual charge and the Ranger and the Sub-Divisional Officer in Tala are under probation. This is not an acceptable situation for any well-managed reserve. The chinks in the park’s management are now visible as two tigers were killed by poachers and villagers. The Wildlife Crime Bureau of the Government of India recently apprehended the killers. This must serve as a wake-up call for the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). It must step in and put things back on the right track. It needs to monitor the manpower here and address their issues. The NTCA must oversee the way the Bandhavgarh National Park is being run, check how the tourism revenue is being distributed in the State and fix a limit for use outside the reserve. The NTCA needs to act before the wildlife here runs out of time.
(The writer is a retired civil servant)
As India celebrates the International Human Rights Day today, it must ask the judiciary a few important questions
Lon L Fuller, in a rivetting piece written for the Harvard Law Review back in 1978, titled Forms and Limits of Adjudication, makes a compelling argument. He says that adjudication is a form of “social ordering” that manifests itself in two forms: Organisation by common aims and organisation by reciprocity. Institutions working on the principle of common aims share the same understanding and objectives whereas those working on reciprocity engage in a rational calculation of the advantages of an association. He explains this with an example. Imagine that a roadway connects two farms with a highway, which is now blocked by a boulder. There are two farmers. Neither of them is strong enough to remove the boulder by himself. However, when the two join hands, it is obviously an organisation by common aims. Now, imagine both the growers are engaged in subsistence farming and one has a large crop of onions whereas the other has an abundance of potatoes. A deal to trade a portion of their respective crops with each other will make both the agriculturists richer and that is the most obvious form of organisation by reciprocity.
Now imagine the judiciary as an institution working on the principles of reciprocity by engaging itself in a mathematical calculation and drawing out the benefits of its association with different branches of the Government. What if this happens in a democracy where the judiciary is supposed to remain independent and function as a sentinel of individual liberty, human rights and basic freedoms of the citizens?
This criticism of the judiciary in the recent past, that it is an executive court, is by far not just the most important but also a sensitive one. If the court’s moral and political positioning is in alignment with the Government, it is problematic for the citizens. This is so, because then the court would fail in its most important job, enforcing the fundamental rights of citizens against the State’s arbitrary, unfair, unjust and unreasonable actions. The court is supposed to act and function as a counter-narrative to the executive. This duty becomes even more important in a democracy because democracies can tend to slip into a majoritarian rule, given that there is a very thin line between the two.
Senior advocates, retired judges, civil society organisations, political parties and even citizens have gone on to criticise the courts for their alleged role in selectively protecting human rights of citizens and social activists. The criticism extends to the selective listing of cases, delay in hearing on important issues and the highly controversial issue of post-retirement jobs for judges. The judiciary has not responded to these criticisms.
Many citizens believe that such a trend in the judiciary will see its rise and fall with the rise and fall of populist governments in the country. The last time we saw the judiciary working the way that it is today was during the era of Emergency. And that is a part of its history that India is not particularly proud of. Justifiably, the nation does not want to see history repeat itself in that sense. As we celebrate Human Rights Day today, it is important to look into other troubling issues that plague the judiciary, which have existed and have been continuously raised for quite some time now.
Attorney-General KK Venugopal, while speaking recently on the ways to gender sensitise the courts and judges, said that one of the ways in which this could be done was by increasing the representation of women on the Bench. Article 15 of the Constitution of India guarantees to every citizen that s/he shall not be discriminated on the basis of their gender. Despite the presence of Article 15 in the Constitution as a fundamental right, only eight women judges have been appointed to the Supreme Court out of a total of 245 appointments post-Independence.
Even more crucially, till date, no woman has ever served as the Chief Justice of India. This in a country that worships goddesses and reveres women as an incarnation of shakti (power). For Constitutional courts that are responsible to continuously challenge, transform and redefine stereotypical notions of gender, identity and race within the society, it is important to have wider and larger representation on the Bench from those who have had such experiences of their own.
The criticism that the judiciary works like a hollow chamber, devoid of any human emotions, often falling into the trap of “abstract notions of justice”, flowing from complex and incomprehensible legal jargon, can only be answered by increasing diversity within the judiciary and making it more and more representative.
Another issue that needs to be focussed on is the huge pendency of cases. There are more than three crore cases pending before several courts in India. Litigants are often disillusioned when they approach the courts. Even the smallest of cases, involving little to no questions of law, take years if not decades to be decided. This huge pendency of cases and the continuous delay in deciding them has had three major consequences. First, it has led to the criminalisation of politics. More than 4,500 cases against sitting and former Members of Parliament and MLAs are still pending before several courts across the nation.
Worryingly, many of these cases have been pending before the courts for decades. They range from serious and heinous offences like crimes against women, corruption and so on, to offences that have long-term impacts on the democratic fabric of our country. These include complaints registered against crimes like damaging public property, instigating riots, religious offences, and so on.
What this has done is that it has only inspired a future generation of politicians to commit more of such crimes and get away with it easily. This has resultantly weakened the strength of our democracy as someone who at one time used to commit crimes is now sitting in the temple of democracy, i.e. the Parliament.
Second, it has motivated criminals to commit excesses across the country almost professionally and third, this has pushed the victims to a position where they now prefer not approaching the court at all even after a crime. Cases, therefore, don’t get reported in our police stations and instead end with an out of court compromise. Access to justice is a fundamental right of the citizens in this country and yet we see that a majority of our population doesn’t even understand what it means to have been justly adjudicated. Even cases where the police commit violation of human rights don’t get heard speedily, eroding the faith of the people in the justice system.
The common perception that judges are extremely powerful adjudicators and that the parties before the court will in no case be given biased treatment needs to be actualised. The courts can no longer work as unaccountable isolated chambers of delivering justice.
So, when India celebrates Human Rights Day today and Minorities Rights day on December 18, the questions that need to be asked to the most important institution responsible for enforcing these rights, is this: Has the judiciary, in the recent past, done enough to protect the rights of those who are standing at the end of the line, those who are vulnerable, weak, fragile, historically sidelined and come from the lowest strata of the society?
If it hasn’t then it needs to. Because the judiciary as an institution survives only on the symbolic value of the image that it has created for itself. Its extraordinarily rich history of the most landmark judgments in the past has forced foreign courts to cite them and set them as a precedent in their respective jurisdictions. If this rich history of the court was to be attacked, it will have long-term impacts which will be irreversible.
The apex court needs to counter the narrative that it is an executive court by listing matters of urgent public interest before Benches without delay and impartially. It needs to add more judges to the Bar by making the process of appointments to the higher judiciary more transparent, accountable and representative.
The judiciary needs to fix the narrative that offence will not be taken personally, and dissent will be appreciated as a form of deliberative democracy. Unless the judiciary adopts these as its guiding principles, it will fail in its most important duty and thereafter lose its credibility. Both of which are a nightmare for the country today.
(The writer is with the National Law University, Visakhapatnam)
Mukesh Ambani promises rollout by 2021 but India lacks the infrastructure even if spectrum is allocated
Reliance Industries Limited chairman Mukesh Ambani has consistently defied the slump of the pandemic-induced economy to make rich gains. First, he got a host of investors on to his Jio telecommunications platform. Then he bought out India’s largest home-grown retail chain, Future Group. And now he has promised the rollout of 5G technology in India by the second half of 2021, with indigenous technology. While this sounded futuristic and bright at the Indian Mobile Congress, which he was addressing, the question is even with policy enablers in place, this is a tough ask. Most experts and even Jio’s rivals, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, argue that even if the spectrum is allocated, India lacks the infrastructure to implement 5G efficaciously. Besides, the economics would not sit easy as the services would be high priced. How will Reliance resolve affordability, which is its hallmark, with a premium service, is still not clear. Which is why most operators are planning a phased rollout, testing the response and their own serviceable efficiencies. A seamless ecosystem requires a uniform depth of connectivity across the country.
Jio apparently has a home-grown, end-to-end 5G solution ready for deployment. But questions arise on whether it has done extensive field trials considering that most companies have had to content themselves with lab trials. This technology needs a massive network infrastructure that is not patchy and is fool-proof. While Reliance may be ready to deploy, does it have the guaranteed network to run its services on? We must remember that our technology will be measured against some of the most competitive names in the business, some of whom have exclusive patents on 5G. Reliance, of course, is working with American chipmaker Qualcomm and is fairly confident of its edge in the high stakes game, claiming that Jio users will be able to browse the internet at up to 1Gbps speeds. For India, 5G, with faster data speeds and enhanced digital experiences across a host of connected devices, like smartphones, laptops, augmented and virtual reality products and internet of things (IoT) solutions, would revolutionise fields like telemedicine and healthcare, of utmost significance in a post-pandemic world. And while we may want to join the select club of the US, South Korea, Australia, Switzerland and Germany sooner, we cannot shortchange viability.
As the party wins big in Rajasthan local body polls, the Gehlot-Pilot war has clearly hurt Congress
Now even local body elections have become significant, each verdict a litmus test of the ruling BJP’s consolidation of power, each victory in an Opposition-ruled State a vote of no-confidence in the alternative, each mandate in its favour dissolving the boundaries between a local and national issue. So just as the BJP made a statement by making deep inroads in the Hyderabad municipal elections, challenging the myth that it could not pry open that city’s predominantly Islamic culture, it has seized the political discourse in Rajasthan. Upstaging the ruling Congress, the BJP seemed all set to muscle its way back into the panchayat samiti and zila parishad elections held in the State’s 21 districts. At last count, in the panchayat samitis, the BJP won 1,836 seats against the Congress’ 1,718. In the zila parishad, the BJP got 323 seats while Congress won 246. Besieged as it is by the farmers’ protests, the victory was more than sweet for the BJP which claimed that it was an endorsement of the Modi Government’s grassroots governance, including the farm laws, and that the Congress had failed to address local issues, too busy as it was with leadership rows. Though this heightened rhetoric is for popular consumption, the fact of the matter is the BJP has been working hard to rebuild its support in a State that it had lost. And considering its attempts at using Operation Lotus to topple the Ashok Gehlot Government and encash the Chief Minister’s rift with his one-time deputy Sachin Pilot somewhat misfired, it got back to working the grassroots. Having marginalised the outgoing Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, the State BJP chief Satish Poonia and Leader of Opposition, Gulab Chand Kataria, the last a provocative proponent of Hindutva and schooled in RSS’ style of constituency management, have ensured the party’s recovery. But the bigger political takeaway is that they could not do so earlier, simply because Pilot had held on to the Congress organisational matrix during the bypolls to some local bodies in 2019, soon after the mammoth Lok Sabha verdict in favour of Modi. Clearly, the erosion of Pilot’s power and his ongoing rift with Gehlot have finally cost the Congress its primacy in Rajasthan.
If anything, the results will once again foreground the conflict that never really went away but was just papered over by the Congress high command. Part of the reason why the Central leadership, while respectful of Pilot’s commitment, was worried about Gehlot was because the latter had convinced it of his overarching hold on the State unit and connect with the grassroots. These current results have definitely dented that aura of invincibility and shown that under-using Pilot has hurt the party badly. Gehlot had probably sensed the tide in BJP’s favour given his latest remarks that the saffron party was trying another topple game and had, therefore, argued for his indispensability in a crucial heartland State. The fact of the matter is he didn’t want to give up his fiefdom amid murmurs that he would be given a Central role in the Congress following the death of senior leader Ahmed Patel, a move that would even help the high command argue for a transition of power to Pilot. That he is reluctant about giving up is further obvious from his supporters’ comments that local body polls weren’t indicative of a larger sentiment and that Pilot had not cooperated. The Pilot camp, on the other hand, argued that the BJP gained at the expense of Gehlot’s stubbornness and refusal to change templates. The larger question is how long will Pilot hold on, roaming in the wilderness? Ever since he revolted openly, and the high command pacified him by setting up a coordination committee to settle differences, nothing has been done to his satisfaction, except deploying him as a campaigner for the Madhya Pradesh bypolls. The committee, too, has not got down to deciding the specifics of reconciliation or demarcation of powers between the two. If anything the anxieties continue to fester. There was some talk of a Cabinet reshuffle to accommodate Pilot’s supporters but an egoistic Gehlot has been delaying it. With this on the backburner, any hope of the Pradesh Congress Committee being overhauled to ensure equal representation of both camps has also diminished. Gehlot may have had the majority of the party legislators on his side to hold off the predatory instincts of the BJP, which guaranteed him continuity as a Chief Minister. But what if he loses the numbers that matter, the seats in an election? Pilot did gift the Congress the 2018 Assembly results, despite Gehlot’s stock being at an all-time low, by crafting the right moves. He has lived down his entitlements and education, moved to Rajasthan, picked up dialects and worked the ground assiduously. He is conscious of his caste endowments, the Gujjar votebank. But while that is a traditional strength, he has played it down and focussed instead on strengthening administration and the organisation. Although not allowed to operate autonomously in governance, Pilot strengthened the party base while ignoring the Lok Sabha elections which Gehlot wanted to use to shore up his strengths. We know how that turned out to be, a complete blank. If the Congress doesn’t want Rajasthan to slip out of its grasp, then it better solve its internecine wars. Given the BJP’s rhetoric and its swift conversion rate, it would be in a commanding position by the time of the next Assembly elections. In fact, the local body polls are just a test run for that. Pretence won’t help the Congress any longer, action will.
Rajinikanth is a refreshing entrant and if he uses the BJP’s matrix to convince people that spirituality and religiosity can be an easy fit, then the TN battle just got interesting
Thursday, December 3, 2020, will remain etched in Tamil Nadu’s political history for decades to come. Around noon that day, reigning superstar of Tamil films, Rajinikanth, declared that he would contest all the 234 seats in the forthcoming Assembly election with his “spiritual” political party to be launched in early 2021. Significant because it took Rajinikanth three years to finalise and announce his political debut since the day he announced his intention to join the political bandwagon on December 31, 2017. And just when everybody had given up on him, he set the cat among the pigeons.
The film star was accompanied by his Man Friday Tamilaruvi Manian, a former chief of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, who is also a well-known Gandhian, and Arjunamurthy, a hitherto unknown entity in Tamil Nadu politics.
This unsettled the binary between the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) as also the fringe groups that gravitate towards one or the other. And as Thalaiva said confidently, “It is now or never. We are going to change everything associated with Tamil Nadu and change them for good. If I win, it will be the victory of the people. If I lose, it will be their loss,” the polls certainly won’t be a predictable run anymore. The announcement by Rajinikanth had the same impact as that of October 1972 when the then matinee idol, M G Ramachandran, who was expelled from the DMK by the then Chief Minister, M Karunanidhi, declared the formation of the AIADMK. The political outfit launched by MGR was a refreshing experience for the voters, who were caught between the devil (DMK) and the deep sea (Congress). Politics was not the same in Tamil Nadu since then.
Rajinikanth has no political experience to speak about but he has a good image as a human being. Though many film personalities had launched political parties in the State after MGR, (Sarath Kumar, Sivaji Ganeshan, Vijayakanth, Kamal Haasan, to name a few) none of them could make any kind of impact among the voters till date. But there are reasons to believe that Rajinikanth is here to stay, provided his health remains stable.
The first reason is Tamilians are spiritual people and could, therefore, resonate with Rajinikanth’s humanism. Dravidian political parties, to be specific the DMK, had assured the voters of a casteless, rationalist and atheist Tamil society. Instead Tamil Nadu has become a caste-ridden society, where everything runs on the identity tags of caste, community, even sub-castes. The ground realities associated with the DMK and its offshoots are none too pleasant either. M Karunanidhi, who remained the DMK’s supreme leader for almost five decades, had been described by the Justice Ranjit Singh Sarkaria Commission (appointed by the Indira Gandhi-led Government) as the “father of scientific corruption.” And he made the DMK a family-run enterprise. The rationalist DMK may be the only political outfit in the country, which has an in-house bishop to spit venom against Hindus (Bishop Sargunam, the DMK’s official spiritual guide).
The DMK’s proposed casteless society never took off. Karunanidhi opted for the easy way out by designating all caste-based Hindu groups into Backward, Most Backward and Other Backward Communities. Disgusted with this degeneration, C Subramaniam, who was honoured with Bharat Ratna for making India self-sufficient in agricultural production through the Green Revolution, wrote: “I belong to the dominant community, Kongu Vellalar, with the caste appellation of Gounder. Kongu represents the region historically known as Kongunadu, consisting of the districts of Coimbatore and Salem and a part of Tiruchirappalli. The Kongu Vellalars own the real wealth, land and cattle and thus dominate the rest of the community. In independent India, our community is classified as a backward community.”
This is not an isolated case. The DMK ensured its dominant position among all castes by designating/classifying them as either backward, OBC or MBC. The paradox is that dominant communities like Thevar (to which late AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa’s aide Sasikala belongs), Vanniyar (Ramadoss), Mukkulathur, Mudaliyaar, Naicker , Maravar (the ruling clan of Ramanathapuram) enjoy the status of backward communities and are beneficiaries of reservation in educational institutions and Government service. This is a big fraud perpetrated on the population of Tamil Nadu by the Dravidian outfits, according to Prof R Vaidyanathan, retired professor of finance at IIM Bangalore, whose work, Caste As Social Capital, is proof of how the rationalist Dravidian entity turned Tamil Nadu into a caste-ridden society.
Rajinikanth is entering this wild and unknown turf with his spiritual politics, which the DMK and its associates are wary about. To understand what spiritual politics is, one should listen to Tamilaruvi Manian, who speaks about the role played by the legendary Kamaraj in making Tamil Nadu a transparent, humane and humble State. “Tamil Nadu was allocated 10 sugar factories during the tenure of Kamaraj as Chief Minister. It was the Japanese government which offered technical and financial aid to set up these factories. When the deal was finalised, the then industries minister, R Venkitaraman, went to Kamaraj and said that the Japanese consortium had given Rs 1 crore as commission for setting up the plants. Each plant was set up at a cost of Rs 1 crore and what was offered to the Chief Minister as commission was 10 per cent of the total investment. Kamaraj asked Venkitaraman how much it would cost to set up one sugar factory to which the latter replied, ‘Rs 1 crore.’ The Chief Minister asked Venkitaraman to tell the Japanese to set up one more factory so that Tamil Nadu could get 11 sugar factories. This was recounted by N Kalyanasundaram, a close aide of Kamaraj for decades.” Kolahala Srenivasan, political commentator, describes this as embodying the spiritual politics of Rajinikanth.
Even before the star’s announcement, leaders of fringe parties claimed that he would not be able to make an impact. “He will not be able to act independently. The BJP wants to enter the State through him. He will be another face of the BJP and will act that way,” said Thol Thirumavalavan, VCK leader. Questions are being asked about his prospective alliance partners. “But these things can wait and let Rajinikanth himself take a call on this. The issue is that Tamil Nadu politics has undergone a major shift with his decision,” said S Gurumurthy, editor Tughlaq, and long time friend of the actor.
The truth is that both the DMK and the Congress are upset over the development and it is reflected in the words of state Congress president K S Alagiri: “There is no point in commenting on his decision since it is not going to benefit the people.” The Congress leader’s words were echoed by CPI(M)’s K Balakrishnan. “The kind of politics he is advocating will not cut ice with people,” he said.
Till December 3, 2020, there was a perception that the DMK would have a cakewalk over its rivals. But experts feel that what Rajinikanth has told the electorate, that instead of focussing on who the winner of the 2021 Assembly election will be, they should give importance to who should not win the election, is significant. The message is clearly to change the status quo and make a moral choice.
The Vetrivel yatra undertaken by the BJP, which concluded at the Thiruchendur Lord Muruga Temple on Monday, went unnoticed by the media. But it showed that Hindutva has found some takers. DMK chief M K Stalin worsened matters tactically when he said “Sanatana Dharma” was more dangerous to India than the threats from China and Pakistan. The BJP would, therefore, find Rajinikanth’s “spiritual” tag attractive to latch on to.
Interestingly, Tamil Nadu’s fortunes were decided not by chaste Tamils but by the Kerala-born MGR, the Mysore-born Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi whose mother tongue was Telugu. Even the self-styled protector of Tamil culture, Vayyapuri Gopalasamy, popularly known as Vaiko, is a Telugu Naidu. So there is nothing surprising in the Maharashtrian-born Rajinikanth claiming legitimacy.
There is enough space in Tamil Nadu politics for a charismatic leader after the deaths of Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa. The 2014 Lok Sabha poll saw the NDA poll more than 19 per cent votes in the State, dominated till then by the DMK and the AIADMK, though it failed to consolidate in 2019 as the DMK swept the results. But Rajinikanth is a refreshing experience and if he uses that and the BJP’s organisational matrix, or can convince people that spirituality and religiosity would be an easy fit, then the Tamil Nadu battle just got interesting.
(The author is a senior journalist, The Pioneer)
The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga) are going to organise the 5th India Water Impact Summit during 10-15th December 2020 to deliberate on comprehensive analysis and holistic management of local rivers and waterbodies. Due to ongoing COVID guidelines the Summit will be held in virtually on all social media platforms of Namami Gange and cGanga. cGanga, is a think tank formed under the aegis of NMCG, with an objective to make India a world leader in river and water science. It is headquartered at IIT Kanpur and has representatives from leading national and international science and technology institutes.
The theme of this year’s summit is “Arth Ganga”, river conservation synchronised development. It is perceived that development and conservation are antagonistic to each other, this dilemma is also imperative in river conservation. To resolve this and work towards a holistic plan, the present Summit is aimed at discussing and disseminating the need for and modalities of embracing “Arth Ganga” in sectors that are interweaved with river conservation. The summit will focus on “Valuing water” and bringing water security in the country.
The summit will be inaugurated by Jal Shakti Minister, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat at 12pm on 10th December. Some important announcements and project launches are expected during the inauguration. The event will host multi-country dialogue to strengthen India’s international collaborations in the water sector, experts from UK, USA, Norway and other European countries will participate in these dialogues. Indian experience will also be shared with Lower Mekong Nations (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam).
Summit will give an insight into the complexities and peculiarities of managing local rivers and water bodies with a larger vision of development that is synchronised with river conservation. A review of suggestions made in previous summits will be done. Emphasis will be on review of select Ganga Basin states, namely Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. CMs of these states will be speaking at the summit.
This year’s summit will also discuss Jal Jeevan Mission, an initiative of Jal Shakti Ministry to ensure drinking water to every household by 2024. This summit will bring all stakeholders together to discuss, debate and develop model solutions for some of the biggest water related problems in India. It will serve as a bridge for civil society and faith leaders to engage with scientific, engineering, industry, finance and Government representatives.
Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI AYOG who also chairs a high power multi-sectoral group on ‘Arth Ganga’ would be sharing his vision during valedictory session.
Registration link: https://iwis.cganga.org/
Taking advantage of the lull in operations, the East Central Railways fast-tracked projects where suspension of traffic for long periods was needed
In order to carry out urgent works, repairs and modifications to the existing railway infrastructure in the country, suspension of all train movement in a given section is inescapable. This cessation of all activities is called a “traffic block” in railway parlance. Over the years it had become hard, if not impossible, to order a “traffic block” on account of the exponential growth of the Indian Railways, where over 16,000 trains originating everyday run on the vast network of 67,000 km.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic, which has adversely impacted the nation’s economy over the last nine months, resulted in the number of trains originating daily from all over the nation, dropping to less than half. Due to this, a “traffic block” could now be ordered at the drop of a hat. Taking advantage of the lull in operations, the East Central Railways (ECR) fast-tracked nearly a dozen projects where suspension of rail traffic for long periods of time was involved. These projects had been dragging on for years as train operations were being routinely accorded top priority and stopping all train movement for them was simply out of the question, unless it was for a safety-related task.
However, due to the Coronavirus, upgrading the 390-km long Jhajha to Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (DDU), the erstwhile Mughalsarai station route, to run trains at 130 kmph instead of the earlier 110 kmph became possible since long “traffic blocks,” extending up to six hours, could be ordered. This involved extensive replacing of existing rails with those of higher Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS). Hence, Plasser Quick Relaying System (PQRS) machines that could lay down 230 m-long welded rail panels in one go were deployed for the completion of the task.
The Jhajha-DDU section, though an alternative to the Asansol-Dhanbad-Gaya-DDU route, had suffered neglect for decades. But having gained adequate traffic over the last decade or so, it was now ripe for an upgrade. No less than six stations that had the antiquated system of hand-lever cabins with semaphore signals were replaced by electronic interlocking and coloured-light signals. Similarly, electronic-interlocking was commissioned at the Kiul-Lakhisarai section and an Intermediate Block Hut (IBH) was provided at the Sachivalay Halt, Block Hut C, Hathidah, Bhalui and Chaura. This upgrade had a salutary effect on the speed of trains, and the time to cover the Jhajha-DDU stretch was now cut by almost half an hour.
Route Relay Interlocking (RRI) is the gold standard for train operations, where hundreds of train-routing points and signals in major yards can be operated from a Central Cabin. Long-pending projects for Patna (Rs 30 crore), Danapur (Rs 52 crore) and Kiul-Lakhisarai (Rs 21 crore) were taken up and completed. This was a very difficult, if not impossible, task to finish in the pre-Coronavirus era of busy rail traffic.
Another work from the vast basket of projects of the ECR that had been in a limbo for a number of years, too, got sped up. This was a bridge over the River Kosi, that would bring prosperity to the remote region of north Bihar. The old bridge, built in 1887, between Nirmali and Saraigarh (district Supaul) in north Bihar (along the Nepal border) had been destroyed in an earthquake in 1934, snapping rail connectivity to this region. The foundation stone for a new bridge had been laid by Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2002 and the project was in the final stages of completion, waiting for rail approaches from the Nimarli and Saraigarh ends. This project, costing Rs 323 crore, picked up momentum with resources now available due to the pandemic, and the 1.9-km long railway line, along with the mega-bridge over Kosi, was completed at a final cost of Rs 620 crore. It was dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September.
Connectivity between south and the equally, if not more, prosperous north Bihar has always been an issue. Constructed at a cost of Rs 2,800 crore four years ago, a rail-cum-road bridge over the Ganga provides a vital connection between Munger and Katihar, bypassing the congested Barauni Junction route for movement from south to north Bihar and beyond, to Bengal and Assam.
It was indeed a red-letter day for the Indian Railways when the more than 3-km-long bridge over the Son River was converted from double to triple track, with advance signalling features, thanks to less than half the level of rail traffic now moving due to the pandemic. A major upgrade for the Grand Chord route (Dhanbad-DDU), it also involved RRI work at the Dehri-on-Son and Sonnagar stations of the DDU division. Expected to make a significant impact on the throughput of coal trains, it is slated to hike the potential for supplying coal to power plants by 20-25 per cent, meeting the burgeoning demand of electricity for the Indian economy.
(The writer is a former member, Railway Board)
Jet Airways’ new owners hope that ‘Jet 2.0’ can take wing in summer. They are being very optimistic
Ever since the Resolution Professional (RP) appointed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) recently decided that the Murari Jalan and Kalrock consortium will take over the assets of the moribund Jet Airways, there has been intense speculation of what the airline’s version 2.0 will look like and what model it will follow. In an email sent out by their public relations agency yesterday, the new owners of Jet outlined some of their ambitions for the future. But it was far from a clear plan of how the airline will acquire either the slots they need to operate, given that rival airlines have gobbled them up since these are not “owned” by any airline, or where Jet Airways will acquire new aircraft to operate new flights. Besides, civil aviation is certainly not the most promising sector in a pandemic-hit world and a new player certainly cannot get adventurous in a slump. The statement thus reads more like a wishlist more than anything else.
Sure, Jet Airways has undeniable brand equity among flyers but in a price-sensitive market, they care more about prices and schedules. Besides, it will not be easy to replicate the old Jet Airways’ standards of service given that several of Jet’s older employees have found new jobs elsewhere. Also, while Jet Airways did own some aircraft, they have not been flown for over a year and the cost of bringing them up to safe flying conditions is considerable. The plans outlined by the new ownership have no details about the additional funding that the owners will bring in to not just revitalise aircraft but acquire new planes and the costs of restarting an operation. A line in a statement said that the owners looked at starting a new airline but decided against it, so they are essentially starting a new airline with an old brand. How much is that brand worth is a debatable point because when Jet Airways crashed and burned, it also lost several of its high-value customers. To assume things will be alright quickly by the summer might be expecting too much and makes one wonder if the owners really know what they are doing.
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