Here is an edited transcript of the interview with Philippe Humbert, French political analyst and long time India watcher, with Venkitesh Ramakrishnan, Managing Editor of The AIDEM.Venkitesh Ramakrishanan: Hello and welcome to The AIDEM Interactions. The AIDEM Interactions is today with an international guest. A specialist on India and Indian affairs. All the way from Paris. Philippe Humbert of Jean Jaures foundation. Welcome Philippe to The AIDEM Interactions. We know that you have been interacting with India right from the 1980s. Perhaps you know more about India than many Indians know. And you also wrote this interesting book published in 1992: The Rajiv Gandhi Years. You have had a special focus on the Congress Party because that was the ruling party at that point of time. Of course now we have a lot of things happening. The situation in India has changed. You’re coming to India after four years. After the COVID Period. So when you compare the visits made in the past and compare with the situations in the 1980s and 1990s and the New Millenia, what are the main changes you’ve seen in India?Philippe Humbert: From a political internal viewpoint I think that the situation where the Congress was a big party, things were different. Congress used to have a more diversified base.Venkitesh Ramakrishanan: Diversified base?Philippe Humbert: A more diversified base and it was more like a coalition of parties or segments of the population. Now I think when the BJP took over in 2014, I think, it’s acting as a big machinery. It’s a big block. A very strong machinery. And I think with a strong local organisation and Central organisation, more than when the Congress was in power.Venkitesh Ramakrishanan: In your book, you talk about how the Congress built a coalition of various segments of society. We call them Castes and Communities here. But the BJP is pursuing what is called the Hindutva Philosophy. But using this the Hindutva philosophy, it has made some major inroads in terms of unifying large sections of the Hindu society. How do you look at that phenomenon?Philippe Humbert: Well I think this phenomenon is something new in India. Because it is a shift toward a society where there is a kind of monolithic view of Hinduism. It is to be noted that India is not a Hindu country, though a large majority of the population is Hindu. There is Hinduism, of course. But with a big segment of Muslim, Christian, Sikh or Jains. It’s diversified. So shifting policy towards a Hindu block is something which is a bit odd in my view. This phenomenon is related to some experience in some other countries where there is a block according to, I would not say religion or belief, just strongly based on cultural custom and habits.Venkitesh Ramakrishanan: OK but, when you say that this is similar to other countries. Can you name some?Philippe Humbert: Of course, in Israel, there is this tendency. The same way, Israel is being considered as a Jewish country, one hundred percent. Which is not true because there are Arab minorities, who are citizens.So it can’t be a Jewish State even if some people would like to call it that way. It’s this kind of movement that is happening in India. Only thing is, it’s much bigger. So that’s something new according to me.Venkitesh Ramakrishanan: Something new and perhaps something that is taking us towards a sectarian state. A state which is kind of pushing a sectarian agenda.Philippe Humbert: Yes. I think that this view is in a way against secularism. Because secularism means that the State does not have any religious image. Secularism stands as a separation of the State, government and religion. It is what was done in France in 1905.Venkitesh Ramakrishanan: Of course, we all know that France is the place where the concept of Secularism originated. Interestingly, two judges of the Indian Supreme court said recently that religion and politics should not be mixed. So that is something that echoes with what you are saying. Would you like to comment on point like this ?Philippe Humbert: Secularism in France is an essential ideal. Long ago, for years, for centuries the King was supposed to represent God in France. But that has changed. So much so, that the Catholic Church of France had been struggling to have a strong influence over the state and government in many areas. But the fact is that the 1905 law, (law on separation of religion and the State) what’s called Laicite in France is still there.Venkitesh Ramakrishanan: There were also demands to reform the secularism idea of France, especially in the context of the Hijab controversy and related issues that came up in the 90s and early 2000s….Philippe Humbert: Yes there are some views like that and it’s reality now but you know this law, the 1905 law, has not been changed. It has not been changed at all. Only thing is that its implementation in some areas, mainly in schools and in some public domain areas like Administration, can be in ways, a bit pragmatic, according to local circumstances. But the law has not been changed and I don’t think it will be changed.Venkitesh Ramakrishanan: Do you think it should not be changed?Philippe Humbert: It should not be changed. Because it is a law that provides for some basic freedom of conscience, freedom of religions, freedom of performing your religion, freedom of not to tell some people to do something. So it’s very basic. In a way it’s very simple. In principle it’s very simple. Of course, sometimes the implementation can be a bit complicated but I think it should not be changed and there is no real attempt to change the law, except some people asking for that.Venkitesh Ramakrishanan: But even when you say that, one also sees that the far right in France is growing in strength from election to election and they’re getting more and more seats in Parliament, they are having a higher share of votes. So ultimately I think, perhaps, France is also heading towards an India-kind of situation.Philippe Humbert: Okay well, it’s true that the far right is increasing. There are currently about 80 to 90 MPs. Which is a big number, the biggest ever and there is a trend but we will see in the future. It is very difficult to say that in some years things will be as some people would like it to be. just imagine the situation four years ago. It was before COVID, before the Ukrainian war, and see how the world was different now. So, four years ahead, well, see. But we have to fight.Venkitesh Ramakrishanan: I think across Europe migration is a major issue. And if you look at France’s history, France was a country which promoted migration especially from African countries like Tunisia. But I think there is a public sentiment against it growing in France as well. How do you account for something like that?Philippe Humbert: Yes it is true that there is migration pressure coming from the South. Mainly coming from African countries and also from countries which are involved in wars you know. Afghanistan, Syria and now Ukrainians, but it’s a very different context. It is true there is a kind of pressure. But we’ll have to build up a regime where we can welcome those people who are willing to settle down and to be integrated in and that to be done. But there is a quantum which is possible to accommodate and sometimes, on some occasion there are some situations which are difficult to tackle.Venkitesh Ramakrishanan: Anyway, let us come back to India. Because we have been talking about France more than India. I remember in some of your writings, when you said that the India Story, which you have been following since the middle 1980s, is about economic growth. That is something which you have consistently held. What is the kind of economic growth situation that you see in India at this point of time?Philippe Humbert: Well I think the economic growth in India for this current year is supposed to be around six percent, which is a relatively high number compared to the world. In many countries it is much less, even in China. Even so, this is a nominal number of growth. There are strong points in the Indian economy. I would say that all those IT companies like Infosys, Wipro, all the services or those related to renewable energy are doing quite well. Especially Solar energy, which was my field, saw great development in India over the last few years. Other areas that are going very well are, I think, Aeronautics. Civil aviation is also booming. And of course, the telecommunication work has totally changed. The technology is totally new now and you know that. And India is performing well in this field. But also, what is not new is that some basic problems in India are not served right. First, mass education. I think India should have a mass education project, which has been done in China. And if China is at such a high level that’s because they have performed much more in education and social amenities. I think in India you have a very high level of higher institutions, such the famous IITs and many private universities are doing exceptionally well. But still mass education is not growing at a desired rate.Venkitesh Ramakrishanan: Indeed, there has to be some focus on mass education. But in terms of primary and secondary education, there are States like Kerala which have done very well.Philippe Humbert: Yeah, yes. It demonstrates that it is possible. It is just a matter of will. In India you have a Centre and you have the States. Kerala is doing well. Tamil Nadu is doing pretty well also. Why are other states not doing as well? So it’s a matter of concern. The possibilities are not used by the local authorities of those States which are not dedicated enough in some cases.Venkitesh Ramakrishanan: Right. You talked about the growth in the aviation industry. France and India have an aviation connection, <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">the <a style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/exposing-the-corruption-wars-in-the-modi-regime/">Rafaele</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"> Deal.&nbsp; How do you look at that connection?Philippe Humbert: But it’s not new. It’s not new at all. You must remember that Dassault aeroplanes have been introduced in India, in the 1950s. And many of the Pilots have been trained on planes coming from Dassault at that time. So it is a very old story. The relationship in aviation. Then it came to a new kind of aeroplane. The last one is Rafael. So I know India has selected Rafael but it is true also for civil aviation. And very recently Air India has ordered, the biggest order, in the world. Five hundred aeroplanes. Coming from about 50% Airbus and 50% Boeing. It shows that Civil aviation is booming in India. A lot of airports are being expanded.Venkitesh Ramakrishanan: Apart from aviation the other area that you know India and France had a huge collaboration was on solar energy. What is the future of that now?Philippe Humbert: Well I am extremely dedicated to the solar industry because I’ve been in India, like five, six years working in India itself, expanding solar plants with a French company which is a pioneer in industry. It was in 2015 and you remember the COP15 in Paris. It was where the solar alliance, the International Solar Alliance, was created with the French government and your government and now implemented in Delhi. So I am a strong believer of solar energy and generally renewable energy with wind and other sources.Venkitesh Ramakrishanan: But is India doing well in the renewable energy section?Philippe Humbert: I think India is going quite well for renewable energy. To see the numbers of gigawatts which are installed at capacity is huge. So for India, it is a good move. I must say that it’s a good example of what has to be done in many countries. Solar energy and wind energy.Venkitesh Ramakrishanan: India has now got the chairmanship of the G20 now. How do you think it is going to impact India’s global standing as well as especially its relationship with countries like France?Philippe Humbert: Yes, this is new. I think India is more assertive in world affairs. For a long time India was a bit idle, very shy. Not visible on the planet despite its traditions. Now I think things are different. India is much more assertive because of its weight. Maybe as number five in economic power. So you can’t hide yourself in the planet you have to fare well. G20 too is a good opportunity for that. Although, with the Ukrainian War and the rift between the so-called West and Russia-China block is making things quite difficult for India monitoring the G20. It was seen at the last meeting of the finance ministers here in Delhi. They could not sign an agreement. So the Ukrainian war makes things difficult for India to monitor the G20. I think the September meeting will be difficult also. Maybe the same will happen.Venkitesh Ramakrishanan: Apart from the differences in terms of the Russia-Ukraine war, the other thing that was flagged was the human rights situation in this country. And I think, you know, the Indian foreign minister kind of asserted that you cannot have a universal standard for engaging in terms of human rights. Each country has got to have its own parameters. Thinking about this point, I remember how you have asserted in the past as to how Rajiv Gandhi’s political perspectives were essentially guided by democratic values.But now you have a situation where his son and the former Congress Party president Rahul Gandhi has been divested of his parliamentary membership. So how do you look at this comparison?Philippe Humbert: Well I think this is happening also in India but also in many places. You can see that in the world now how things are done in a very pragmatic way. Just imagine this new alliance in the Middle East. Between countries like Israel and its neighbours. For example, the famous Abraham’s agreement. More and more nations are doing things in a very pragmatic way. In a way it is good but in another way it goes against the concept of universal human of Rights.Venkitesh Ramakrishanan: Thank you, Philip Humbert for your perspectives. Despite your long tradition as a secularist, and as long a tradition as a socialist, somebody who believes in social democracy, I can see that, at the end of it all, what you are seeing globally is not a very bright picture. But almost a bleak one but then let’s hope for better times and I wish you have a very good time in India as the kind of times that you used to have earlier. And we will meet in the future as well on The AIDEM Interactions. Thank you.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Watch the full interview, <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/democracy-is-being-challenged-across-the-globe/">here</a>. Read full transcript in Hindi, <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/hi-philippe-humbert-on-energy-g20-and-challenges-to-democracy/">here</a>.<hr><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Subscribe to our channels on&nbsp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/c/THEAIDEM">YouTube</a>&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/ELqD1D1bImgAP6MrG8jskq">WhatsApp</a>

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Here is an edited transcript of the interview with Philippe Humbert, French political analyst and long time India watcher, with Venkitesh Ramakrishnan, Managing Editor of The AIDEM. 

The AIDEM Interactions: Philippe Humbert

<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Message from the Secretary-General Of United Nations on International Day of Democracy.<hr><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Today marks the 15th&nbsp;anniversary of the International Day of Democracy.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Yet across the world, democracy is backsliding.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Civic space is shrinking.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Distrust and disinformation are growing.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">And polarization is undermining democratic institutions.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Now is the time to raise the alarm.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Now is the time to reaffirm that democracy, development, and human rights are interdependent and mutually reinforcing.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Now is the time to stand&nbsp;up&nbsp;for the democratic principles of equality, inclusion, and solidarity.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">And stand&nbsp;with&nbsp;those who strive to secure the rule of law and promote the full participation in decision-making.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">This year, we focus on a cornerstone of democratic societies – free, independent, and pluralistic media.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Attempts to silence journalists are growing more brazen by the day – from verbal assault to online surveillance and legal harassment – especially against women journalists.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Media workers face censorship, detention, physical violence, and even killings – often with impunity.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Such dark paths inevitably lead to instability, injustice and worse.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Without a free press, democracy cannot survive. Without freedom of expression, there is no freedom.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">On Democracy Day and every day, let us join forces to secure freedom and protect the rights of all people, everywhere.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Thank you.

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Message from the Secretary-General Of United Nations on International Day of Democracy.

Long Live, Democracy (Until it lasts)

<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:justify;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Philippe Humbert , French Politcal Analyst and longtime India watcher , analyses the challenges to democracy and secularism across several countries in the world , with a special reference to India and France . He says that humanity cannot affort to lose its optimism though the situation that exists at present is indeed daunting.

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Philippe Humbert , French Politcal Analyst and longtime India watcher , analyses the challenges to democracy and secularism across several countries in the world , with a special reference to India and France .

“Democracy is Being Challenged Across the Globe”

Part two of Ravish Kumar’s speech on contemporary Indian Media.<hr>A seminar was held on October 28 at the Constitution Club in Delhi on the topic, ‘Imminent crisis and challenges for India as a constitutional nation’. This seminar was attended by poet and literary-cultural critic Ashok Bajpai, academic Aakriti Bhatia, Advocate Kabir Srivastava, Film Director Nitin Vaidya, Professor Rajkumar Jain and Journalist Ravish. The AIDEM is reproducing an edited excerpt of Ravish Kumar’s speech at the seminar.<hr>In the history of democratic India, the media has sometimes been free, sometimes not. Sometimes it has been independent and sometimes it has been slave. But its reader, its audience was never a slave. It was an autonomous entity. But now the autonomy of being a reader and viewer has also ended. Just as the journalists killed the journalist within them, in the same way the readers and viewers have killed the reader and viewer within them. Religion has been placed in its place. It is not that they do not have feelings within them, they definitely do, but in their place, they feel happy over someone’s murder. There is a new feeling of pride in talking about a permanent solution for a community. So there is a relationship between Godi media and its readers and viewers. And you scholars should study it in depth. It is not just a political connect but there is also a psychological relationship that has developed. Now they cannot read the right news. Unless they read the wrong news, they will not believe that the news they have read is correct. I have spoken many times about the need to refrain from watching Godi media. Do you think it is that easy for someone not to watch Godi media? This is like telling someone who watches reels not to watch reels. This is a habit that not everyone can get out of. You can easily go from secular to communal, but to go from communal to secular or to be human or to acquire human qualities in oneself is a very difficult process. It is not within everyone’s reach. One who is communal once, is communal for a very long time. Along with being communal, they are also murderers. If they are not a murderer, they are the supporters of murder. It is not so easy that you just tell them not to watch Godi media. What will they do? How will they survive? Now they do not know how to live without it. Unless there is a movement of citizens against Godi Media, unless people go door to door and explain, India will not get a media that is democratic and one that stands for democracy.Media, which we knew as press, has played a good role in India’s journey towards democracy. It has also played a role in adding fuel to the fire of partition. Gandhiji had once advised not to read newspapers. Many people have made divisive comments about newspapers around 1947. But many a time I have wondered as to what happened to those communal editors and journalists later on? What did they do later in journalism and after their career in journalism? How did they establish in the society? When I imagine this, I am curious to know who were the people who spread and published such communal news in 1947 which resulted in riots at many places. Many times one can see and read the irritation of Sardar Patel. So what happened to those people? Were they safe in politics? Did they become respected in the society? I do not know the answer to this. Maybe someone else has it. But in the same period Ganesh Vidyarthi, who opposed communalism, was killed in the riots. But the question still remains. There has been an element of communalism in journalism. But what is there today is different. Today communalism is journalism. You cannot imagine journalism without communalism. If you are not communal, do not hate Muslims then what do you do in Godi media? How do you spend your day?This is also a matter to think about. Can you have a place there? So today, to be a journalist, being communal, anti-Muslim is the first condition. And when you become communal, you cannot be democratic and constitutional in any way. That possibility has vanished within you. It cannot be created from any institution. And I do not use Hindu-Muslim because now everything is one-sided. So when journalism becomes communal, when people&nbsp; within the journalist fraternity start celebrating mob killings, can you teach them the lesson of our Constitution? Every kind of bad habit has entered today’s Godi media. The one good soul, the soul of the Constitution, has been thrown out of the media. Now if there is a raid on the media, then it is not a matter of concern for the media. Many anchors do not condemn it. Take the cases of Kerala’s Media One channel, which was banned for some time and now the raid on NewsClick. These actions were linked to the NIA (National Investigation Agency), but how many channels debated on it? Regarding (NewsClick journalist) Abhisar Sharma, an MP (Member of Parliament) took the name and said that he takes money from China. There is no proof anywhere. And the mainstream Godi media also debated on it. Abhisar himself is a journalist, so now the journalist also has to fight with the media to save his existence, then what will be the condition of the common citizen? We did not know that this sort of a media value would be generated by their religious and cultural values. Now it is evident that this is their imagination about a religious and cultural state or nation.So if you do journalism and you think that you want to do journalism without communalism, then you will have to fight day and night with this media too. And you can do journalism only while fighting. Still, it will call you an enemy of the country.&nbsp;Now there is no place even for journalists in this media. How many channels of Noida would have gone in support of NewsClick to the Press Club? No one would have gone. All this should have been subjects of media debate. But that is not happening now. Godi media is systematically destroying the values of media. It does not even debate on the changes that are taking place in the constitutional protection system of the law. It is abandoning these debates.The newspapers that are in existence now, the channels which are successfully running now are supposed to debate these points. And if they are not doing it, then you will have to accept that whatever opportunity there is of getting your message across is over or rather is almost dead. What is the common man doing now when he goes to protest, he makes a post, posts the same post on the Twitter handles of dozens and hundreds of journalists. No one listens to him. Earlier the media used to go to the people, now people are coming to the media and still no one is listening. In 2019, Australia’s Central Investigation Agency raided ABC News Channel and also raided a journalist’s house. In response, almost all the newspapers applied blank ink on the first page of their paper, in such a manner that the reader could not read. All the newspapers had protested and an advertisement was run on TV channels asserting that the government is trying to hide the truth from the people. Can you do it here? Do not think it is possible. So what did these journalists report? The report was about how the Australian army in Afghanistan had broken the rules of war and committed war crimes. Can you imagine such a story in today’s India? No. And Scott Morrison, who was the Prime Minister, faced a big problem. Right to Know Coalition was formed. We have Right to Information law, but how is it being implemented ?&nbsp;In the media with advertisements worth lakhs of crores, you will find only one or two journalists, that too in newspapers, who use it. Journalists had to use the RTI Act the most, but they used it the least. Some things must have happened in the media in relation to RTI before 2014, but after 2014 it is as though RTI is not being used by journalists. And, even if someone does use RTI and comes up with a story it is more often than not used. In 2018, under the leadership of Boston Stroll, around three hundred newspapers in America wrote editorials for press freedom. So it is not that I am presenting Western newspapers as role models. Right now I cannot do that at all. The way they report on Israel and Gaza is very bad. But in the same reporting, representatives of the same channels are being killed in Gaza. 28-29 journalists have been killed there in this war. And these channels at least have so much decency left in them that they accept that these are their correspondents. I do not know exactly whether they are their full-time or part-time correspondents. Still they are saying that these are our reporters. And in this era, you see that the journalists who are reporting from this war zone, their own children are being killed, family members are being killed, still they are reporting. Even the doctors are not running away from there. They did not run away from the hospital. They remained there. As a matter of fact, in today’s media, those who are watching their loved ones die should be treated as heroes.There has been so much attack on India’s democracy in the last ten years. When people ask me what we should do, I say, I will tell. I will tell you such a solution that even the clothes will not get dirty. You stop paying Rs 250 to this Godi Media newspaper and news channel. Can’t you do that much work? Those against whom it is printed are also reading it because sometimes their photo is also printed in it. In today’s times, no fight can be a democratic and constitutional fight without fighting the value trap created by the Godi media. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi and I have one thing in common, all three of us are YouTubers. But there are some differences too. Rahul Gandhi probably does not say ‘Subscribe to my channel’. But the Prime Minister said ‘Subscribe to my channel’. In that matter I am senior to him because I have already been asking viewers to subscribe to my channel. And even on Twitter I am senior to the Prime Minister. I was on Twitter before him. His supporters used to make fun of me saying that I am asking for subscribers on Twitter. Fire him from his job, they used to add.This journalist is happy. I have come here after losing my job as a journalist. But when they started asking for subscribers, I said at least I have won in this matter.So you must understand why the Prime Minister had to come on YouTube? Why have Rahul Gandhi and I come on YouTube? The reasons for both are different. Even though the Prime Minister has the commercial media, as well as countless channels of Doordarshan, and Akashvani, yet he had to go to YouTube and say that you (the people) should subscribe to him. Not because the television audience has reduced. There might be some reason. Or the credibility of these anchors has gone down, so now they are not getting much recovery from them. But I think this is not a very strong reason. We should never be under the illusion that the space on YouTube is non-communal. There is more communalism there than on mainstream channels. Such content and such programs are running strongly there. So the Prime Minister is asking viewers to subscribe and start including a little bit of his content in their respective programmes. But the fact is that the media has blocked Rahul Gandhi as well as other leaders of the opposition. Whenever Rahul Gandhi holds a press conference on issues related to Adani , it is never shown in mainstream channels. There is also no debate on these issues, because when you debate, all the news published on Adani will come up in the research. So, there is no need to hold such debates. This situation has been created in front of you. When Rahul Gandhi was interviewing Satyapal Mallik, I did not like it.Indian journalism has now become such that the leader of the opposition has to become a journalist while the already established so-called journalist who is dominating the media space is killing the opposition. That is why I did not like it. I also felt that the leader who was ridiculed by the media and branded as weak, that leader, was forever embarrassing the media, an industry worth lakhs and crores, with one of his interviews. It was a sort of statement which said that when you (the media) are not there, I will also do the interviews though I am an opposition leader. It was like pointing to a vaccum in the media. And that is why it was a very sad moment when I saw this interview.On February 7, 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that these people (the opposition) should thank Enforcement Directorate (ED) because they have come on one platform because of the ED. ED brought these people on one platform.The opposition had alleged from time to time that the government was making use of the ED politically, and the Prime Minister was in a sense accepting that allegation when he said that their (the opposition’s) unity has happened because of ED. The Prime Minister also said that the trust in Modi was not born from the newspaper headlines or by the shining faces on TV. Remember, he was referring to the very people who had served him so much. And he went on to add that he has worked hard and used every moment.I want to conclude with one more statement. Elections of 2019 were going on and Rajkamal Jha and Ravish Tiwari of Indian Express were taking an interview of the Prime Minister. There is a line in that interview which I often think why a newspaper of that level did not put as the headline? Was this an editorial mistake? When we interview a big leader, we pay close attention to each and every thing he says and we choose the headline which has more news value. Did it happen in this interview? The Prime Minister had said as follows in the interview: “Whether news gets published or not is not the only thing in a democracy”. Yes, “Whether news is published or not is not the only thing in a democracy.” Namaskar.Click <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/en-journalist-ravish-kumar-speech-at-constitution-club-transcript/">here</a> to read the first part of this transcript. Watch the original video of Ravish Kumar’s Hindi speech <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jErYBjQ9S4o">here</a>.<hr>To receive updates on detailed analysis and in-depth interviews from The AIDEM, join our WhatsApp group. Click <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/GLYY7P2H0Xw5eYoczxtsSa">Here</a><a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;">.</a>

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A seminar was held on October 28 at the Constitution Club in Delhi on the topic, ‘Imminent crisis and challenges for India as a constitutional nation’. 

Time to Recapture the Autonomy of The Reader and Viewer

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/elections_01_04d3da8a3a.jpg" alt="elections-01.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_elections_01_04d3da8a3a.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_elections_01_04d3da8a3a.jpg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">In a scathing letter to the Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners, close to 90 former civil servants have written an open letter, urging them to keep their word on ensuring a level-playing field during elections, which forms the basis of holding free and fair elections.Referring to the case of the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the former civil servants, under the aegis of the Constitutional Conduct Group, have said: “A disturbing pattern of harassment and witch hunting of opposition parties and opposition politicians on the cusp of the general elections calls into question the motivation of the agencies.”The letter refers to the timing of the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi party Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, the IT department opening up old cases related to the Congress and some other Opposition parties, searches on Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra, who is a candidate in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.“The pattern of events over the past month calls for firm action from the ECI to quell rising public suspicion that the ECI is sitting silent while a politics of vendetta is being practiced to deny opposition parties the freedom to actively participate in the election process,” says the open letter.The letter also points out that ECI had made “no efforts to assuage doubts in the minds of the thinking public and political parties about the integrity of EVMs and the need to use VVPATs effectively to ensure accuracy in the recording of votes, a matter that is now sub judice. Nor has the ECI been particularly effective in enforcing the Model Code of Conduct to check its misuse, especially by the party in power.”The concerned group of former civil servants urged the ECI “to live up to the shining legacy bequeathed by a line of eminent persons who have led the ECI in the past seven decades. The nation looks to you to act with firmness and determination to maintain the reputation and sanctity of the world’s largest electoral exercise.”&nbsp;Click <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://constitutionalconduct.com/2024/04/11/ccg-open-letter-to-the-election-commission-of-india-is-there-a-level-playing-field/">here</a>&nbsp;to read the full letter sent by the former civil servants.<hr>This article was originally published in <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.newsclick.in/">NewsClick</a> and can be read <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.newsclick.in/quell-rising-public-suspicion-over-level-playing-field-former-civil-servants-write-eci">here</a>.</div></div>

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Quell Rising Public Suspicion Over Level-Playing Field, Former Civil Servants Write to ECI

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<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_9_45ef5452cd.jpeg" alt="images-9.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_9_45ef5452cd.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_9_45ef5452cd.jpeg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">The following article is part of the Trailblazing Women of India series. A series presented by The AIDEM, exploring the lives and ideas of women who played a decisive role in shaping India’s social, political, and intellectual history.The AIDEM underscores the enduring contemporary relevance of revisiting the lives of these women leaders and the ideas they championed. Click <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://youtu.be/G_sxvcXO0tg">here</a> to watch the video.<hr>Picture this: It’s 1930. A 27-year-old woman stands before Mahatma Gandhi, telling him he’s making a historic mistake.Gandhi is planning the Salt March. His vision? Men march and women stand on street corners selling salt and singing songs.Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay says: No.“Women have stood shoulder to shoulder with men, building the Congress party. They deserve to march,” she insists.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:654px;" id="attachment_42087" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-42087"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyaya_Leading_a_Congress_march_in_the_early_1930s_a72f010da1.jpg" alt="Kamaladevi-Chattopadhyaya-Leading-a-Congress-march-in-the-early-1930s.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyaya_Leading_a_Congress_march_in_the_early_1930s_a72f010da1.jpg 102w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyaya_Leading_a_Congress_march_in_the_early_1930s_a72f010da1.jpg 327w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyaya_Leading_a_Congress_march_in_the_early_1930s_a72f010da1.jpg 491w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-42087">Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya leading a Congress march in the early 1930s</figcaption></figure>Gandhi concedes. But she’s not finished. “Issue a formal call to action.”“Why?” Gandhi asks. “Don’t you know your sisters?”Her response? Pure political genius: “Because history will record that YOU called them to participate.”&nbsp;History did record it. Women marched beside Gandhi, breaking salt laws. Kamaladevi became one of the first women arrested for civil disobedience. She auctioned “freedom salt” at the Bombay Stock Exchange for Rs. 501. On January 26, 1930, she clung to the Indian tricolour during a scuffle with authorities, refusing to let go.Who was this woman bold enough to challenge Gandhi?Born in 1903 in Mangalore, married at fourteen, widowed at sixteen. She remarried—scandalous. She divorced—one of India’s first civil divorces. In 1926, encouraged by Margaret Cousins, she became the first woman to contest a legislative office, losing by just 55 votes. In 1927, she founded the All India Women’s Conference as its organizing secretary.In 1936, she became a founding member of the Congress Socialist Party, working alongside Jayaprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia. Yet when we celebrate Indian socialism, we remember only the men.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:300px;" id="attachment_42084" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-42084"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyay_aa0f5dde3b.jpg" alt="Kamaladevi-Chattopadhyay.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyay_aa0f5dde3b.jpg 113w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-42084">Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay</figcaption></figure>Her ideas were revolutionary. She connected capitalism, imperialism, and women’s subjection: “This imperial capitalist system encourages endless wars and expects women to produce children who become soldiers.” She challenged glorified motherhood itself.In the 1930s—decades before global women’s liberation—she championed bodily autonomy and birth control. Not for population control, but for women’s choice. She traveled to America, worked with Margaret Sanger, and in 1951 established India’s first family planning commission centered on women’s autonomy.She championed what we now refer as feminist economics, preceding the Feminist Care Ethics Debate by decades. She documented sexual division of labor, wage discrimination, and systematic underpayment of women workers in industrial and agricultural sectors—when labor movements barely acknowledged women as workers.Interestingly, she refused the label “feminist,” understanding that in her hostile patriarchal environment, strategic pragmatism mattered. But her ideas? Profoundly feminist.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Kamaladevi_4_58727afc75.jpg" alt="Kamaladevi-4.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Kamaladevi_4_58727afc75.jpg 216w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Kamaladevi_4_58727afc75.jpg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">After Partition, heartbroken, she resettled 50,000 refugees from the North-West Frontier Province, helping create Faridabad—independent India’s crucial early industrial township. In 1948, she founded and led the Indian Cooperative Union for the rehabilitation of the refugees.Her greatest legacy? Reviving India’s dying crafts as economic empowerment. As chairperson of the All India Handicrafts Board for twenty years, she understood that handicrafts meant livelihoods for millions, grassroots democratic participation, and India’s answer to exploitative industrialization.Her institutions still stand: Indian National Theatre established in 1944, which later became National School of Drama, All India Handicrafts Board established in 1952, Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1953, Crafts Council of India in 1964, and Delhi’s Crafts Museum in 1967. She made Indian handicrafts a major export, serving as an Advisor to the World Craft Council and first President for the Asia-Pacific Region.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:555px;" id="attachment_42085" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-42085"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Leading_Their_Imperial_Highnesses_to_the_dias_60795d4aa2.jpg" alt="Leading-Their-Imperial-Highnesses-to-the-dias.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Leading_Their_Imperial_Highnesses_to_the_dias_60795d4aa2.jpg 216w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Leading_Their_Imperial_Highnesses_to_the_dias_60795d4aa2.jpg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-42085">Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya leading their Imperial Highnesses to the dias</figcaption></figure>From UNESCO Awards to the Padma Vibhushan, her legacy endures in every artisan earning a dignified living today.Kamaladevi died in 1988, but her question echoes: What does freedom mean without bodily autonomy, economic independence, and cultural sovereignty?As you explore her work—and I hope you will—ask yourself: What would Kamaladevi be fighting for today?<div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G_sxvcXO0tg" title="Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay and the Idea of Cultural Sovereignty by Priyanka Jha | New Series | EP 02 " frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></div>

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Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay: The Woman who taught Gandhi a Lesson

<div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">Shuruart Foundation has been using art to make education more joyful and effective since 2017. Does your child often draw the same thing again and again? Should parents be worried if this happens? In this episode of Child and Art: Myths &amp; Facts, we talk about why children repeat drawings and what it really tells us about their confidence and emotional growth. Learn how your positive feedback and encouragement can help your child express freely, think creatively, and build genuine self-confidence. Watch the video to learn more.</div></div>

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Same drawing again? Is that good or bad for your child’s growth?

<div class="post-featured-image" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px 0px 50px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp;</div><figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:undefined/undefined;" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Wearing_My_Face_Before_a_Media_that_Has_the_Power_to_Make_and_Unmake_4_optimized_100_f65d7f55f3.png" alt="Wearing_My_Face_Before_a_Media_that_Has_the_Power_to_Make_and_Unmake_4_optimized_100.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Wearing_My_Face_Before_a_Media_that_Has_the_Power_to_Make_and_Unmake_4_optimized_100_f65d7f55f3.png 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Wearing_My_Face_Before_a_Media_that_Has_the_Power_to_Make_and_Unmake_4_optimized_100_f65d7f55f3.png 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure><div class="post-featured-image" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px 0px 50px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">As advocates, our lives are consumed by briefs and arguments, leaving little room for leisure. For me, the finest pastime is research and writing, a legacy I proudly inherit from my late grandfather, Shri S.A.A. Rizvi, IAS (Retd.). He was a gold medallist and a remarkable scholar of his times. His example instilled in me the conviction that the pursuit of knowledge is not merely an adornment, but a discipline that enriches both profession and personality.</div><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">It was in this spirit that a casual exchange with my colleague Nadeem Murtaza at the High Court rekindled this passion. His query, whether I had ever heard of “Douglas” or “Kinnaird Hospital” of Lucknow was not a passing remark, but a spark that illuminated a forgotten chapter of Lucknow’s medical heritage. His mother, Zahida Auntie, had often spoken of it, pointing to the site near today’s Lari Cardiology Centre, where the geriatric and mental health departments of KGMU (King George Medical University) now stand. That conversation became the bridge between my inherited love for inquiry and the living memory of our city, compelling me to delve into archives and dissertations, and to uncover the remarkable story of a hospital that once stood shoulder to shoulder with Queen Mary and Lady Dufferin Hospitals in Lucknow.&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:426px;" id="attachment_41918" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41918"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Kinnaird_Memorial_Hospital_1_1_1024x666_2b0c4cee0d.png" alt="Kinnaird-Memorial-Hospital-1-1-1024x666.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Kinnaird_Memorial_Hospital_1_1_1024x666_2b0c4cee0d.png 240w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Kinnaird_Memorial_Hospital_1_1_1024x666_2b0c4cee0d.png 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Kinnaird_Memorial_Hospital_1_1_1024x666_2b0c4cee0d.png 750w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_Kinnaird_Memorial_Hospital_1_1_1024x666_2b0c4cee0d.png 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41918">Lady Kinnaird Memorial Hospital</figcaption></figure>The story begins in 1875, when Elizabeth Bielby, a nurse sent by the Zenana Mission Society, began her medical mission near Lucknow. Though beset by tragedy, her sister Alice died soon after arrival, and Bielby herself fell gravely ill, the mission still endured. By 1891, through the efforts of Dr. Grace Mackinnon, the Lady Kinnaird Memorial Hospital was established on government-granted land, named after Lady Kinnaird. She was a devout Presbyterian philanthropist remembered for founding the YWCA.&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:416px;" id="attachment_41915" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41915"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/CMS_CRL_IW_1899_08_0007_cropped1_7b434dba61.jpg" alt="CMS_CRL_IW_1899_08_0007-cropped1.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_CMS_CRL_IW_1899_08_0007_cropped1_7b434dba61.jpg 244w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41915">England Zenana Missionary Society</figcaption></figure>In 1910, Dr. Ethel Douglas took charge, and for the next 36 years she transformed the institution, expanding facilities, raising standards, and establishing training protocols that led to the North India Board of Examiners and State Registration Councils. Her dedication earned her the Kaiser-i-Hind Medal in Gold in 1927, and government grants that enabled new wards and modern equipment. As Beth Bullock Spencer’s dissertation records, Douglas’s “extraordinary influence” kept the Lucknow hospital “overflowing,” even as she grappled with challenges ranging from reluctant purdah patients to the infamous monkey menace.“Even the veteran doctor Ethel Douglas struggled to find a solution to the monkey problem, for some of the local people regarded the monkeys as sacred; harming the monkeys was out of question. Douglas resorted to shouting and shaking her rifle at the monkeys, but with little effect.”Snakes, too, were a recurring hazard, and cultural beliefs often complicated medical practice. Patients observing purdah resisted operations, some postponed surgeries at the last minute deeming the hour “inauspicious,” while others consulted village elders who determinedhe hospital became a sanctuary for women’s health, normalizing dental extractions, eye surgeries, and maternity care in a city where traditional practices often prevailed.The British contribution to Lucknow’s health system was profound. Alongside Lady Kinnaird Memorial Hospital, the Lady Dufferin Hospital was established in 1889 under the Countess of Dufferin Fund to provide safe maternity care. Later, the Queen Mary’s Hospital arose in the early 20th century as a centre for women’s medical education. Together, these institutions marked the colonial effort to embed Western medicine into the city’s fabric, particularly for women and children. They were not merely hospitals but symbols of reform, philanthropy, and the gradual acceptance of modern medical practices in a society negotiating tradition and change.<figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:396px;" id="attachment_41916" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41916"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Lady_Dufferin_Hospital_Virabijee_Katrak_Maternity_Wing_768x432_4cbd6e4487.jpg" alt="Lady_Dufferin_Hospital-_Virabijee_Katrak_Maternity_Wing-768x432.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Lady_Dufferin_Hospital_Virabijee_Katrak_Maternity_Wing_768x432_4cbd6e4487.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Lady_Dufferin_Hospital_Virabijee_Katrak_Maternity_Wing_768x432_4cbd6e4487.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Lady_Dufferin_Hospital_Virabijee_Katrak_Maternity_Wing_768x432_4cbd6e4487.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41916">Lady Dufferin Hospital, Lucknow</figcaption></figure>By 1965, however, Lady Kinnaird Memorial Hospital succumbed to financial constraints and closed its doors. In 1971, the site was absorbed into King George Medical College, now popularly known as KGMU, housing its neurosurgical and mental health departments. Today, its memory lingers only in archives and recollections, overshadowed by its contemporaries. Yet, its legacy remains unique – a Christian missionary hospital that combined philanthropy, medical progress, and social reform. A place where doctors braved not only disease but monkeys, snakes, and cultural resistance to bring care to the women of Lucknow. An institution that has produced some of the world’s finest medical professionals, researchers and administrators. The pictures of these alumni are featured below.&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:276px;" id="attachment_41910" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41910"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/download_4_26ce212e58.png" alt="download-4.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_download_4_26ce212e58.png 235w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41910">Dr. BM Hedge – Alumni of KGMU</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:293px;" id="attachment_41911" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41911"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/download_5_c239ac1c62.png" alt="download-5.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_download_5_c239ac1c62.png 245w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41911">Dr. Sanduk Ruit – Alumni of KGMU</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:300px;" id="attachment_41912" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41912"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_1_d076bb83d3.png" alt="images-1.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_1_d076bb83d3.png 245w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41912">Dr. Naresh Trehan – Alumni of KGMU</figcaption></figure><figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:211px;" id="attachment_41913" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41913"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_1_1_300x300_b57c8c7015.png" alt="images-1-1-300x300.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_1_1_300x300_b57c8c7015.png 156w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41913">Dr. Anil Kohli – Alumni of KGMU</figcaption></figure>As I reflect upon this heritage, I am convinced that Lucknow’s medical history is incomplete without acknowledging the forgotten jewel that was Lady Kinnaird Memorial Hospital. Its story is not merely of bricks and mortar, but of pioneering women doctors, missionary zeal, and the evolution of healthcare in colonial and post-colonial India. Remembering it is essential to preserving the dignity of our city’s cultural and medical legacy.</div></div>

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