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Complaints filed against PM Modi for promoting religious hatred during his Banswara rally, accusing opposition Congress of working to distribute country’s wealth to Muslims

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240511_WA_0002_770x470_89b991314a.jpg" alt="IMG-20240511-WA0002-770x470.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240511_WA_0002_770x470_89b991314a.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20240511_WA_0002_770x470_89b991314a.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20240511_WA_0002_770x470_89b991314a.jpg 750w," 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;">Disappointment with the functioning (or rather the non-functioning) of the current Election Commission of India (ECI) has resulted in a citizen-led protest. On May 11, citizens and civil society organisations from across the country led a joint campaign where they sent postcards to the constitutional authority with the slogan “Grow a Spine or Resign”. Through these postcards, the citizenry has expressed their anger over the lack of action taken against the ruling pollical party Bharatiya Janata Party even after the party’s star campaigners have been openly indulging in electoral malpractices.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240511_WA_0004_768x1024_f313220301.jpg" alt="IMG-20240511-WA0004-768x1024.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240511_WA_0004_768x1024_f313220301.jpg 117w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20240511_WA_0004_768x1024_f313220301.jpg 375w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20240511_WA_0004_768x1024_f313220301.jpg 563w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_IMG_20240511_WA_0004_768x1024_f313220301.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">The main demand that has been raised by those participating in this campaign is for the ECI to take action against Prime Minister Modi, and other few top leaders of the party, for seeking votes by invoking the issues of caste, class, places of worship and religion. ECI’s unwillingness to act over the recent speeches of PM Modi, where he has openly used anti-Muslim slurs and attempted to create a communally volatile environment, as a part of the election campaigning for the Lok Sabha election of 2024 has not gone unnoticed.<video class="video" controls="" width="500px">
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 <video></video></video>Civil society groups and citizens creatively designed send mass postcards and joint statements in over a dozen cities, condemning the lack of action against malpractice by BJP in election campaigning, urges the constitutional authority to abide by their mandatory requirement of unbiased fairness.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:41.23%;"><img class="image_resized" style="aspect-ratio:undefined/undefined;" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Screenshot_20240511_184512_Chrome2_1_208x300_4284228801.jpg" alt="Screenshot_20240511_184512_Chrome2-1-208x300.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Screenshot_20240511_184512_Chrome2_1_208x300_4284228801.jpg 108w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure>Disappointment with the functioning (or rather the non-functioning) of the current Election Commission of India (ECI) has resulted in a citizen-led protest. On May 11, citizens and civil society organisations from across the country led a joint campaign where they sent postcards to the constitutional authority with the slogan “Grow a Spine or Resign”. Through these postcards, the citizenry has expressed their anger over the lack of action taken against the ruling pollical party Bharatiya Janata Party even after the party’s star campaigners have been openly indulging in electoral malpractices.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_2024_05_04_T165441_731_1a46671123.jpeg" alt="images-2024-05-04T165441.731.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_2024_05_04_T165441_731_1a46671123.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_2024_05_04_T165441_731_1a46671123.jpeg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">The main demand that has been raised by those participating in this campaign is for the ECI to take action against Prime Minister Modi, and other few top leaders of the party, for seeking votes by invoking the issues of caste, class, places of worship and religion. ECI’s unwillingness to act over the recent speeches of PM Modi, where he has openly used anti-Muslim slurs and attempted to create a communally volatile environment, as a part of the election campaigning for the Lok Sabha election of 2024 has not gone unnoticed.The calls for this nationwide protest stated “We, the people of India, must come together to demand that the ECI immediately takes action to protect our electoral democracy and Constitutional values. We must let the ECI know, that their inaction is neither going unnoticed, nor in any manner accepted by us.”<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:1280px;" id="attachment_27967" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-27967"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Mumbai3_1fe2812ca3.jpg" alt="Mumbai3.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Mumbai3_1fe2812ca3.jpg 208w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Mumbai3_1fe2812ca3.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Mumbai3_1fe2812ca3.jpg 750w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_Mumbai3_1fe2812ca3.jpg 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-27967">Campaign in Mumbai</figcaption></figure>It further said, “While the EC has taken action against Congress, AAP, BRS etc. it has refused to take action against PM Modi or the BJP social media handles which have been spreading hate against Indian Muslims, at an unprecedented level. They refused to act against the BJP for using religious symbols and appealing to communal feelings for securing votes. Each day, the party’s official social media accounts are releasing videos filled with hate against the Muslim community, spreading the false message that welfare for the Muslims will threaten the lives of SCs, STs and OBCs.”Thus, to urge the ECI to discharge their duty in accordance to the Constitution of India, rather than the whims and fancies of the ruling party, citizens and civil rights groups in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Pune sent the postcards.Citizens also wrote messages on these post cards, which included calls for saving the democracy and the Constitution of India to calling out the ECI for not taking any action against the BJP leaders for delivering hate speeches.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:1280px;" id="attachment_27968" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-27968"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/delhi4_b9ccfd10ca.jpg" alt="delhi4.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_delhi4_b9ccfd10ca.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_delhi4_b9ccfd10ca.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_delhi4_b9ccfd10ca.jpg 750w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_delhi4_b9ccfd10ca.jpg 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-27968">Campaign in Delhi</figcaption></figure>The “grow a spine or resign” campaign was a hit on social media, with people taking to ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) and Instagram to write their messages criticising the silence of the constitutional authority.Many citizens and groups also submitted joint letters and memorandums at the state election offices. As per a report of the Hindu, the activists in Bengaluru submitted a memorandum to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) for Karnataka holding the ECI accountable for its “inaction” against violations of the MCC and laws during the Lok Sabha elections. the same was also done in Mumbai with certain groups, including representatives from Mumbai groups giving a memorandum to the Chief Election Office, Maharashtra at Mantralaya, Mumbai at 11 am.<hr>This article was originally published on <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://sabrangindia.com/">Sabrang India</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://sabrangindia.in/growaspineorresign-citizens-mass-city-wide-protest-against-inaction-by-eci-over-pm-modis-hate-speech-suppression-of-voters-rights-during-ongoing-election/">here</a>.</div></div>

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#GrowASpineOrResign: Citizens’ mass city-wide protest against inaction by ECI over PM Modi’s hate speech & suppression of voters rights during ongoing election

Sudheendra Kulkarni, writer, political analyst and one-time associate of BJP founders Atal Behari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani, provides a close analysis of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign in the current elections and points out that the serial lies made by him has set a new record in terms of political lies in the country’s 72 year long electoral history. PollTalk anchored by Venkitesh Ramakrishnan, Managing Editor of The AIDEM.

Modi Has Beaten All Records of Political Lies in This Election Campaign

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240529_WA_0031_770x470_3757fc3051.jpg" alt="IMG-20240529-WA0031-770x470.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240529_WA_0031_770x470_3757fc3051.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20240529_WA_0031_770x470_3757fc3051.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20240529_WA_0031_770x470_3757fc3051.jpg 750w," 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;">As India’s most contentious election comes to a close, journalist Revati Laul went down to the city of Varanasi where Prime Minister Modi is hoping to score a third landslide victory. She found however that even in this BJP bastion, there is considerable dissent.<hr>There’s always a to and fro, an uneasy stutter, a flicker before a change of scene. The end of a romance, an empire, an era. Was this all there was? Will this be there tomorrow? It is only then, after that last conversation, that the curtain lifts on a dark stage, the moon goes out to dinner and an uncertain sky moves from dark to light, with that purple uncertainty between tonight and tomorrow.&nbsp;We are in that last conversation in India, before the lights go out on this election and a verdict comes in. And the last wisps are heard as a cascade of things been blown east, towards the ghats of Varanasi, where souls are cremated and people say their last goodbyes, releasing energy, toxic and good, as ash, into the river Ganga that has been swallowing civilizations and ideas for thousands of years. It is now preparing for another such interlude. I was there to listen for one thing in particular. I didn’t come here for balance, to try and ask fifty people five questions and then gauge what will come next. I wanted to put my ear to the ground where Prime Minister Modi is contesting for a third time in office, listening for only one sound – possible dissent.&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:640px;" id="attachment_28199" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28199"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240529_WA_0034_768x433_edfbf55115.jpg" alt="IMG-20240529-WA0034-768x433.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240529_WA_0034_768x433_edfbf55115.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20240529_WA_0034_768x433_edfbf55115.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20240529_WA_0034_768x433_edfbf55115.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-28199">An evening view of the Assi Ghat</figcaption></figure>They say this is not the way to write about an election. If you go looking for something you will of course find it, and then what of it? How will it tell us anything about anything? I had a counter. In an election where the country seems poised between democracy and possible dictatorship, where the polarising is so extreme and the country is in collective anxiety, it seemed as if the regime in power had orchestrated most mainstream sound one way, its way. So altering the balance might require listening for voices from the street that might not please Mr. Modi and seeing if these voices could possibly come even from the ruling party’s most bankable constituency – Modi’s own.The stage was set. Or rather the un-stage. I wanted to close in on the un-scene after the evening aarti was done at the Assi Ghat. The last shop was closing. The last balloon-seller child on stick-figure emaciated legs bounced off stage, out of the ghat, to the gully behind, with the five remaining globular pink lollipop-like balloons. The boats formed grey teeth at the far end of the river.&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:640px;" id="attachment_28198" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28198"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240529_WA_0032_768x432_58c5861831.jpg" alt="IMG-20240529-WA0032-768x432.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240529_WA_0032_768x432_58c5861831.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20240529_WA_0032_768x432_58c5861831.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20240529_WA_0032_768x432_58c5861831.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-28198">Assi Ghat and Ganga – a night view</figcaption></figure>Three art students were looking for models to practise their sketches, to make up the portfolio for their degree. “If this election is fair and there isn’t cheating in the EVMs or voting machines, Modi could lose a lot of votes even here, in his constituency,” said one. “He just waltzes in here and does whatever he likes, he needs to be shaken up, even if it means shaving off a few thousand votes,” said another and he explained. “He came to the Assi Ghat the other day and said this road needs to be widened and then he sent off an order to that effect and this now means some of those street vendors will be made to go. Where will they go?”A street vendor listening to the art students chipped in. “There is an 18% GST tax on Education. If education and food can’t be made affordable, what is the point of anything, that’s what he’s done.”I needed to do a quick round of who’s who – from what community, to find out if this conversation was limited to a particular caste or community that has generally been dissenting. “I’m OBC Saini, I’m Maurya, I’m Brahmin, I’m from the SC – I’m Rao.” The four people in conversation were from castes normally seen as voting firmly for Modi like the upper caste brahmin and the OBC Saini and Maurya students.Another young boy decided to chip in here. “I don’t care about any election, everyone is somebody’s puppet – this regime or the other…everyone is colluding with everybody…Indira Gandhi was assassinated, what happened to Nehru, and now the Iranian President has died, how can we be certain it was an accident, how can we be certain of anything? There are conspiracies everywhere.”&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:640px;" id="attachment_28201" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28201"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240529_WA_0035_768x432_6757579c5d.jpg" alt="IMG-20240529-WA0035-768x432.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240529_WA_0035_768x432_6757579c5d.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20240529_WA_0035_768x432_6757579c5d.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20240529_WA_0035_768x432_6757579c5d.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-28201">Art students look for prospective models at Assi Ghat</figcaption></figure>Earlier in the day, at a more predictable place for dissent, I listened to what people said as they exited a big, fat Opposition Rally with the Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi speaking.&nbsp;“Change, there will be a regime change,” said some, emerging animated as flags were being rolled up and dust flew everywhere. “We’ve had enough of unemployment and skyrocketing prices,” said another. “That’s why we have to shake things up, even here, where Modi is contesting.”“He’s scared, that much I’m certain of,” said another who did not want to be identified because he has a government job. When I asked how he could be so certain, this was his reply. “For an ordinary power outage, which happens every summer, it’s 48 degrees, a man was sacked from his job and I read that even the Union Power Minister got involved. And the whole Union Cabinet is here, that’s how I know he’s scared.” I didn’t want this to be about facts – was the Union Cabinet in Varanasi? I was recording perceptions.&nbsp;I asked once again, for people in conversation, to tell me their castes. “There is an assumption that political watchers have made. Upper-caste and many OBCs have been loyal to Mr. Modi,” I said, spooning in an ingredient into the dialogue in progress. “Therefore, tell me what communities you come from.”&nbsp;“We’re a mix here – Brahmin – Sharma and Seth, OBC – Vishwakarma, Yadav, Muslim OBC – Ansari…” Two Beat constables had relaxed because the crowds had thinned, so they joined in. “There will most likely be a regime change, we can sense it,” they said, their eyes shining bright.&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:640px;" id="attachment_28194" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28194"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240529_WA_0037_768x432_cc151fa8d9.jpg" alt="IMG-20240529-WA0037-768x432.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240529_WA_0037_768x432_cc151fa8d9.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20240529_WA_0037_768x432_cc151fa8d9.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20240529_WA_0037_768x432_cc151fa8d9.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-28194">People sleeping on the raised platforms at Assi Ghat</figcaption></figure>A woman emerged from amongst the crowd, accompanied by a male relative. I asked her what she had heard at the opposition rally and what she liked. “If the regime changes, there will be 8,500 given to women in our accounts, ‘taka-tak-taka-tak,’ she said, quoting from Rahul Gandhi’s campaign speech.&nbsp;It was hot, the night was upon us and the Ghat was grinning itself to sleep, the last lights slowly fading out on the horizon. Dissent was clearly not the only conversation the river carried with it. It may not even be the most significant.&nbsp;That enough of it was out and about Varanasi, in places it ought not to be may not cause Prime Minister Modi to exit stage as it were, or for there to be a new play in town. But its presence has given this election a decidedly Shakespearean ring. Macbeth, eyes green and heavy with indecision as he ascends the stairs, preparing to kill King Duncan. As he prepares his knife, he sees ghosts, he talks to himself, should he ascend the stairs?&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:640px;" id="attachment_28196" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28196"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240529_WA_0039_768x432_f766f6110c.jpg" alt="IMG-20240529-WA0039-768x432.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240529_WA_0039_768x432_f766f6110c.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20240529_WA_0039_768x432_f766f6110c.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20240529_WA_0039_768x432_f766f6110c.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-28196">Boats lined up at the shores of the Ganga</figcaption></figure>The Ghats are bewitching when the aarti is done and no one is watching. The garbage is piled up on one side, to be removed in the morning, along with the stars and the lights and the Moon. A few people have propped up their wasting away bodies against gunny sacks and after the day’s begging, are preparing to sleep. Nobody knows what’s coming next.<hr>Photographs taken at Assi Ghat, Varanasi by Revati Laul.</div></div>

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The Last Conversation

<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;">In this PollTalk writer and political activist Yogendra Yadav says that the 2024 Lok Sabha polls have given a fresh breath of life to Indian democracy and people’s movements. He lists several positives, including the dwindling influence of Hindutva politics and the reversals BJP suffered in the areas with large farming communities.<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;">He also listed BJP’s rising influence in South India as a positive, which would work against a possible North-South divide. But Yadav emphasised that, beyond all these encouraging signs, the struggles to strengthen democracy have to continue with enhanced vigour.

Struggles to Strengthen Democracy Will Continue More Forcefully: Yogendra Yadav

<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;">In this special discussion on the eve of the swearing in of the Modi 3.0 government, well known policy-political analyst and communication consultant Dilip Cherian states that the new dispensation would have multiple power centres in governance, both in the BJP as well as in its allies in the NDA, unlike the past ten years when things were completely concentrated in the Prime Minister’s Office.<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;">He pointed out that signals of this are already visible in the national capital and added that this would have significant implications for policy orientations of the government as well as the functioning of the media.

Multiple Power Centres Will Emerge in Modi’s "Mili-Juli Sarkar"

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_25_83b2f52527.jpeg" alt="images-25.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_25_83b2f52527.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_25_83b2f52527.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(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;">Narendra Modi’s pronouncedly feeble win from Varanasi in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections has caused consternation among supporters and amazement in detractors. For a large number of Varanasi residents, however, the result is on expected lines.In this <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://frontline.thehindu.com/newsletter/poll-vault-anand-mishra/raga-of-rajneeti-in-the-ghats-of-benaras-frontline-newsletter/article68232490.ece">article</a> in Frontline magazine published on 30 May, two days before the 1 June voting in Varanasi, I was quoted as follows: “The fight could be a bit closer this time, but nothing that will worry the BJP.”&nbsp;<h3 style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:20px;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;text-align:left;">History of high vote margins</h3>In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi defeated Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal by nearly 3.7 lakh votes. Samajwadi Party (SP), Congress, and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) had all contested separately in that election. Votes received by the AAP, Congress, and Samajwadi Party in 2014 added to nearly 3.3 lakh votes. Bahujan Samaj Party’s candidate had received around 60,000 votes. Had the opposition contested together, the winning margin at the peak of the Modi wave in Uttar Pradesh in 2014, when it alone won 71 seats in Uttar Pradesh, would have been 2.5 lakh votes.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:640px;" id="attachment_26212" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26212"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/mod_iat_ayodhya_768x432_0b6500474b.jpeg" alt="mod-iat-ayodhya-768x432.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_mod_iat_ayodhya_768x432_0b6500474b.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_mod_iat_ayodhya_768x432_0b6500474b.jpeg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_mod_iat_ayodhya_768x432_0b6500474b.jpeg 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-26212">Narendra Modi at Ayodhya</figcaption></figure>In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi defeated Shalini Yadav by nearly 4.8 lakh votes. Samajwadi Paty and Bahujan Samaj Party fought the 2019 election in alliance. Shalini Yadav, the combined candidate of the SP and BSP alliance, received around 1.9 lakh votes. Congress’s Ajay Rai got around 1.5 lakh. Opposition votes added to around 3.4 lakh votes. A combined opposition candidate would have got 3.4 lakh votes, reducing the win margin to 3.3 lakh.&nbsp;<h3 style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:20px;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;text-align:left;">Composition of the Constituency</h3>The assembly segments of Varanasi North, Varanasi South, Varanasi Cantt, Rohaniya, and Sewapuri constitute the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat. Out of these five assembly constituencies, three constituencies, Varanasi South, Varanasi Cantt, and Varanasi North are urban parts of the Lok Sabha seat. The other two, Rohaniya and Sewapuri, are semi-urban, located at the city’s periphery. Currently, as per the last assembly election results, the BJP, in alliance with Apna Dal (Soneylal), the party’s faction led by Anupriya Patel, holds all the assembly constituencies.&nbsp;<h3 style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:20px;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;text-align:left;">2022 Assembly elections as a guide</h3>In the assembly elections held in Uttar Pradesh in 2022, the Samajwadi Party and Congress contested separately. If you add the votes received by the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in these five assembly constituencies, the following were the results:<figure class="table" style="height:168px;width:770px;"><table style="background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-collapse:collapse;box-sizing:border-box;font-size:16px;font-weight:500;line-height:28px;margin:0px 0px 2rem;padding:0px;"><tbody style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><tr style="box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:256.285px;">Constituency</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:256.285px;">BJP</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:256.319px;">INDIA</td></tr><tr style="box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:256.285px;">Rohaniya</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:256.285px;">118663</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:256.319px;">88976</td></tr><tr style="box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:256.285px;">Sewapuri</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:256.285px;">104913</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:256.319px;">85194</td></tr><tr style="box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:256.285px;">Varanasi Cantt</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:256.285px;">147833</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:256.319px;">84796</td></tr><tr style="box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:256.285px;">Varanasi North</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:256.285px;">133833</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:256.319px;">96141</td></tr><tr style="box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:256.285px;">Varanasi South</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:256.285px;">99622</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:256.319px;">91066</td></tr><tr style="box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:256.285px;">Total</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:256.285px;">604864</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:256.319px;">446173</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>The difference in total votes is 1.58 lakh votes, close to the 1.52 lakh votes difference of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.&nbsp;<h3 style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:20px;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;text-align:left;">Diminishing returns of the temple politics</h3>Supporters of the BJP cite the development of the Kashi Vishwanath temple corridor as the main achievement of the ten years of Narendra Modi’s reign as a local MP. Opponents cite the stunted employment avenues as a failure of his tenure. The big businesses have not come to this historic city.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:640px;" id="attachment_21508" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-21508"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/kashi_varanasi_768x490_4fec91c8b3.jpg" alt="kashi-varanasi-768x490.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_kashi_varanasi_768x490_4fec91c8b3.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_kashi_varanasi_768x490_4fec91c8b3.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_kashi_varanasi_768x490_4fec91c8b3.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-21508">Kashi Vishwanath Temple</figcaption></figure>Compared to 2019, an additional 6% votes were polled in 2024, but, Narendra Modi received fewer votes in all five assembly constituencies, including in Varanasi South constituency, where the Kashi Vishwanath corridor is situated. He lost most votes in the two constituencies at the city’s periphery.<figure class="table" style="height:144px;width:770px;"><table style="background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-collapse:collapse;box-sizing:border-box;font-size:16px;font-weight:500;line-height:28px;margin:0px 0px 2rem;padding:0px;"><tbody style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><tr style="box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">Constituency</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">2019</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">2024</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">% reduction</td></tr><tr style="box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">Rohaniya</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">145379</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">127508</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">12.3</td></tr><tr style="box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">Sewapuri</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">128000</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">108890</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">14.9</td></tr><tr style="box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">Varanasi Cantt</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">155813</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">145922</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">6.3</td></tr><tr style="box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">Varanasi North</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">139279</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">131241</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">5.8</td></tr><tr style="box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">Varanasi South</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">104982</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">97878</td><td style="border:1px solid rgb(211, 219, 226);box-sizing:border-box;height:24px;margin:0px;padding:10px 13px;width:192.222px;">6.8</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>Despite ten years of tenure as the country’s Prime Minister, the local MP has lost more voters than he has added. If votes tell any story, it is indeed that of a striking loss of people’s love for Modi during his ten-year reign. It is a loss of love that found articulation among the common people repeatedly throughout the campaign. Indeed, the BJP has a powerful organizational machinery and dedicated cadre in Varanasi and they did concentrate on building a larger-than-life image of the Prime Minister. However, the voting story shows that such a concerted campaign failed to produce the desired result as conceptualized in the “ab ki baar, dus lakh paar” (This time, Ten Lakh Majority) slogan.</div></div>

images-25.jpeg

How Varanasi Lost Its Immense Love for Modi

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240716_WA_0027_770x470_3a49de309a.jpg" alt="IMG-20240716-WA0027-770x470.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240716_WA_0027_770x470_3a49de309a.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20240716_WA_0027_770x470_3a49de309a.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20240716_WA_0027_770x470_3a49de309a.jpg 750w," 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;">Renowned writer and journalist P. Sainath published a thread on X (formerly twitter) on the manner in which some media, including the BBC, analysed the Big Fat Ambani Wedding, and sought to portray it as something which “most Indians see as a national achievement.” In the thread, Sainath questioned this notion and pointed out that the wedding had only “won (or purchased) the hearts and pockets of a nauseatingly narcissistic elite.” The AIDEM is herewith republishing the thread as a composite article.<hr>Most Indians see the Big Fat Indian Wedding (BFIW) as a national achievement and are not put off by it, according to TV commentary, including on BBC. Really? Did the BBC, anyone, do a poll/survey of most Indians? People hit the streets for what they see as a national achievement – like to greet the returning T20 World Cup winning team. Anyone seen Mumbaikars dancing on the streets to celebrate the Ambani wedding?In our decades-old ongoing agrarian crisis, lakhs of weddings in farming communities have collapsed. In one year, Maharashtra officially recorded more than 3 lakh families in just six districts with daughters whose marriages they could not afford. That was a factor in some farmer suicides – followed in some cases by the suicides of the daughters, feeling responsible for their fathers’ deaths. I doubt the countryside sees the BFIW as a national achievement.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:680px;" id="attachment_28909" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28909"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240716_WA_0020_2ac8f3664b.jpg" alt="IMG-20240716-WA0020.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240716_WA_0020_2ac8f3664b.jpg 104w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20240716_WA_0020_2ac8f3664b.jpg 333w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20240716_WA_0020_2ac8f3664b.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_IMG_20240716_WA_0020_2ac8f3664b.jpg 667w," 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-28909">Anant-Radhika pre-wedding ceremony</figcaption></figure>Sure, there’s celebration in some media. You know who India’s biggest media baron is. Those media Mukesh Ambani does not own – he’s likely the biggest advertiser. And this is the era of Editor/ Anchor as Event Manager. There may be dancing in some TV studios, and breathless prose in print. What stands out is the absence of an iota of embarrassment in the wedding’s hosts and their celebrity guests both national and global – only the arrogance of excess, and a scarcity of shame. This crowd manages to give vulgarity a bad name. On this occasion, though, there was some stout scepticism on social media.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:678px;" id="attachment_28910" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28910"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_2024_07_16_T115534_607_1540ec6ec2.jpeg" alt="images-2024-07-16T115534.607.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_2024_07_16_T115534_607_1540ec6ec2.jpeg 234w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_2024_07_16_T115534_607_1540ec6ec2.jpeg 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-28910">A farmer in his field</figcaption></figure>‘But it’s his hard-earned money, made through hard work’ – everyone, capitalism promises us, can be as rich as they, if you work as hard. Really? If hard work makes you a billionaire, every woman in rural India would be one. But yes, a rural household with 100 days’ work on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme could match Ambani’s 118 billion dollar wealth – in 340.6 million years.Much of Indian billionaire wealth comes from publicly-owned resources either through government leases or contracts, or through privatisation of public-owned assets. And with a little bit of help from their friends. With several, the rise in their fortunes neatly matches the rise to power of their friends.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:690px;" id="attachment_28907" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28907"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_2024_07_16_T114444_748_c0411d50fd.jpeg" alt="images-2024-07-16T114444.748.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_2024_07_16_T114444_748_c0411d50fd.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_2024_07_16_T114444_748_c0411d50fd.jpeg 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-28907">Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the wedding</figcaption></figure>There is salivating speculation on whether The Big Fat Wedding and its prequel cost 132 or 156 – or 320 million dollars (Rs. 2,673 crore). Don’t let the suspense kill you, guys – the Ambanis will undoubtedly let us know how much it cost. Not that the Nation Wants to Know, but that the Ambanis want us and the world to know. They didn’t spend this much to keep it a secret. They will flaunt it, they will flog it.Anyways, 320 million USD is just 0.27 percent of Ambani’s wealth of 118 billion dollars. That 118 billion is 7.5 times India’s agriculture budget. And he’d have been a huge labharthi of the farm laws had those not been repealed. He and his fellow 199 Indian billionaires hold cumulative wealth of 974 billion dollars – over a fifth of India’s GDP, 62 times our agriculture budget, and 100 times what we last spent on the MNREGs scheme. And do remember we abolished wealth tax in 2015.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:600px;" id="attachment_28908" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28908"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_2024_07_16_T115004_865_3c937e858a.jpeg" alt="images-2024-07-16T115004.865.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_2024_07_16_T115004_865_3c937e858a.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_2024_07_16_T115004_865_3c937e858a.jpeg 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-28908">Workers at a field</figcaption></figure>Nothing indicates that the marriage of the millennium had the enthusiastic approval of ‘most Indians.’ But it certainly won (or purchased) the hearts and pockets of a nauseatingly narcissistic elite. These are not just Nero’s Guests, these are Nero’s Hosts.</div></div>

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The Big Fat Ambani Wedding And The Idea of National Achievement

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_2024_07_16_T114444_748_dfabb8ec3f.jpeg" alt="images-2024-07-16T114444.748.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_2024_07_16_T114444_748_dfabb8ec3f.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_2024_07_16_T114444_748_dfabb8ec3f.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(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;">This is an analysis of certain notable aspects of the media coverage on The Big Fat Ambani Wedding by R. Rajagopal, Editor at Large, The Telegraph. This is sourced from his social media posts and has been edited by The AIDEM.&nbsp;<hr>Some journalism schools ask students to write a report without subjective words such as “major”, “significant”, “whopping”, “iconic”, “historic”, “landmark” etc to train them on writing precise reports. Many newspapers on Sunday morning and Monday morning reminded me of that long-forgotten exercise. Most papers have pulled off the impossible mission of covering or not covering the Ambani wedding without mentioning Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:400px;" id="attachment_28925" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28925"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_2024_07_16_T152420_663_f8e3d5e901.jpeg" alt="images-2024-07-16T152420.663.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_2024_07_16_T152420_663_f8e3d5e901.jpeg 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-28925">Narendra Modi blessing the couple</figcaption></figure>None of the nine newspapers, barring one, I saw mentioned that Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the Ambani wedding. None, barring one, carried the picture either. How can a newspaper miss the Prime Minister? It indeed has to be a miracle.The blackout was so stark that I thought there must have been some kind of non-disclosure agreement on the guests who turned up at what was essentially a private affair. Or, it must have been too late, I assumed.Then I saw The Sunday Times of India, which had a picture of Modi with the newlyweds and the groom’s parents at one of the ceremonies linked to the wedding. The publication of the picture answered two questions: there was no non-disclosure diktat and if The Times of India, a stickler for deadlines, got the picture on time, the others also would have got it if they tried.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:1200px;" id="attachment_28920" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28920"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_2024_07_15_T155724_425_305078a323.jpeg" alt="image-2024-07-15T155724.425.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_image_2024_07_15_T155724_425_305078a323.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_image_2024_07_15_T155724_425_305078a323.jpeg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_image_2024_07_15_T155724_425_305078a323.jpeg 750w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_image_2024_07_15_T155724_425_305078a323.jpeg 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-28920">A Indian newspaper reporting assassination attempt on Donald Trump. (on right, Donald Trump)</figcaption></figure>Besides, as the Trump shooting coverage in India shows (full with maps and graphics and the history of assassinations), if Indian newspapers put their minds to it, no picture will be inaccessible to them. The Trump coverage also suggests that the hearts of Indian newsrooms bleed more for him than the victims in Manipur and the Muslims who have been attacked in the past few weeks in India.On Sunday morning, I had mistakenly assumed that the tempo that was made famous by Modi on the campaign trail would finally make the front pages. The tempo, Modi’s disclosure on Ambani bankrolling Rahul Gandhi and Modi rubbing shoulders with the Ambanis would have made a nice package with the bypoll results. Alas! It was not to be.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:720px;" id="attachment_28922" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28922"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Screenshot_20240716_151422_Instagram2_09d3379bbe.jpg" alt="Screenshot_20240716_151422_Instagram2.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Screenshot_20240716_151422_Instagram2_09d3379bbe.jpg 118w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Screenshot_20240716_151422_Instagram2_09d3379bbe.jpg 377w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Screenshot_20240716_151422_Instagram2_09d3379bbe.jpg 565w," 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-28922">Rahul Gandhi in a Pizzeria (screengrab from video shared on Instagram)</figcaption></figure>Neither did I see any story that mentioned Rahul Gandhi Gandhi was not seen at the wedding ceremonies — at least at the time of going to the press. You can’t blame the newspapers if Rahul Gandhi snuck in after the printing machines started to roll. Also, Rahul Gandhi’s pizza picture was undated. So, there is no way newspapers would print pictures that they cannot independently verify. So, that omission is understandable.Unfamiliar with such rigours of journalism, Valson Thampu, the former principal of St. Stephen’s College, has pointed out that Rahul Gandhi was the only national leader who absented himself (till the time of writing this) at the Ambani wedding. Several India bloc leaders and even DK Shivakumar of the Congress were there. Thampu has described Rahul Gandhi’s absence as a “stirring moment” in Indian public life. He interprets it as a repudiation of the power of money that has been ruling Indian politics for a long time, especially in the past decade when money has been used to break and make governments in violation of the popular mandate and through a collusion of parties and the corporate sector as reflected by the electoral bonds scandal.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:1920px;" id="attachment_23951" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-23951"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_2023_09_13_163923930_1536x518_11cac80354.png" alt="image_2023-09-13_163923930-1536x518.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_image_2023_09_13_163923930_1536x518_11cac80354.png 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_image_2023_09_13_163923930_1536x518_11cac80354.png 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_image_2023_09_13_163923930_1536x518_11cac80354.png 750w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_image_2023_09_13_163923930_1536x518_11cac80354.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-23951">Leaders of various Political parties in the INDIA Alliance</figcaption></figure>The “balak buddhi” of Rahul Gandhi understands that the greatest threat to Indian democracy is the collusion between the powerbrokers of the State and the corporate moneybags, Thampu contends. Rahul Gandhi is sending an unmistakable message to the corporate sector that some individuals are still left in the country who cannot be bought by money power, Thampu says. “He owes a big salute from us. This is the proudest moment, I dare say, in the history of democratic India… irrespective of party affiliations…. It is a powerful statement,” Thampu adds.I also saw an excellent <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://youtu.be/4645ay8_-DQ?feature=shared">video</a> by Sunitha Devadas, based in Canada, who connects Rahul Gandhi’s absence from the wedding and his appeal not to harass Smriti Irani and suggests an attempt to herald a new morality and decency into public life. Devadas draws a telling distinction between a “DEALER” and a “LEADER”.You need not agree with Thampu and Devadas. As good citizens, we must be sceptical of all public figures, including Rahul Gandhi.But the point is the decision to stay away from Mumbai on Saturday evening has been noticed by several people and made them wonder what it means. Can newspapers afford to or should newspapers ignore an issue that the citizens are discussing and debating? Can they completely black out the appearance of Modi and non-appearance of Rahul Gandhi and focus on the obscene display of wealth?<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:696px;" id="attachment_28923" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28923"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_2024_07_16_T152014_495_356e9bff27.jpeg" alt="images-2024-07-16T152014.495.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_2024_07_16_T152014_495_356e9bff27.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_2024_07_16_T152014_495_356e9bff27.jpeg 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-28923">Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi</figcaption></figure>Most of the common people do not have ready access to public figures. Isn’t it the job of newspapers to convey these questions to public figures and relay their answers to the citizens? Or, are our newspapers happy reproducing the minute details of Trump shooting from The New York Times hours after the original reporting?</div></div>

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Newspaper Miracle in Mumbai Or How Newspapers Pulled Off An Improbable Feat.

<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;">In this detailed interview with senior journalist Anand Haridas, Inner Manipur MP Dr. Bimol Akoijam dwells on of his multifaceted life, including his latest role as a politician, as well as his illustrious career as a filmmaker, writer and educationist.<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;">&nbsp;<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;">With the unprecedented majority he has got in the elections Dr. Bimol Akoijam has literally become the voice of Manipur. He highlights the gross and callous indifference that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown towards his trouble torn State and points that this would have grave consequences for the entire North East.<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;">&nbsp;<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;">Dr. Akoijam also spoke at length about the roots of the Manipur issue, the dramatic changes in the higher education environment as well as the impressions he is carrying back home from Kadamakudy village, where he inaugurated the first International Film Festival. Watch the interview here.

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PM Modi’s Indifference Towards Manipur Will Have Grave Consequences

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<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240930_WA_0007_770x470_d5062615d1.jpg" alt="IMG-20240930-WA0007-770x470.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240930_WA_0007_770x470_d5062615d1.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20240930_WA_0007_770x470_d5062615d1.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20240930_WA_0007_770x470_d5062615d1.jpg 750w," 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;">Communication is an art that many struggle with, but few realize it can be learned. Whether you’re talking to a friend, colleague, family member, or stranger, mastering this skill is within reach. Ever struggled to start a conversation or keep it going? Finding common topics of interest can be tricky, and navigating differing social or political views can feel like a minefield. But with the right approach, you can turn any interaction into a meaningful exchange.&nbsp;How do you find the right approach? More importantly, can you learn the required skills?“<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://www.charlesduhigg.com/supercommunicators">Supercommunicators</a>,” written by Charles Duhigg, is a book that teaches you to learn the skills to convert a conversation into a connection. It distills the art of conversation, any conversation, including the ones with your friends and family, into actionable steps that you can readily practice and improve.<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://www.charlesduhigg.com/">Charles Duhigg</a> is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist and author of bestselling books. I read his first book, “The Power of Habit,” which is a constant presence in many bookstores, and liked it. I read it in 2013, and it convinced me about the importance of habits. Last year, I read his <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://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/12/11/the-inside-story-of-microsofts-partnership-with-openai">article</a> on the ChatGPT saga and liked it for its reporting breadth and depth.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:629px;" id="attachment_30055" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-30055"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/811bz_Oshn5_L_AC_UF_10001000_QL_80_F_Mwebp_7ad3ac888f.webp" alt="811bzOshn5L._AC_UF10001000_QL80_FMwebp_.webp" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_811bz_Oshn5_L_AC_UF_10001000_QL_80_F_Mwebp_7ad3ac888f.webp 98w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_811bz_Oshn5_L_AC_UF_10001000_QL_80_F_Mwebp_7ad3ac888f.webp 314w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_811bz_Oshn5_L_AC_UF_10001000_QL_80_F_Mwebp_7ad3ac888f.webp 472w," 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-30055">Cover of the book ‘Supercommunicators’</figcaption></figure>This book starts by breaking down every conversation into three types: Analytical, Emotional, and Social. Every conversation is essentially one of these three types. In analytical talk, the conversation is a transaction where facts and details matter. In emotional talk, the conversation is all about the feelings. In social talk, the conversation is about an identity. Now, listing the types helps in nothing. You still need to know what to do with this information.Suppose you argued with your father in the morning over a trivial issue. You reach the office and share the incident with your friend. Are you looking for a solution? Do you want to be listened to intently, get advice on who was wrong, or would just a hug do ? Suppose you differed with a colleague about a work issue. Another colleague, a friend, was listening. What do you want to hear from your friend? Advice or silence or just a hug? Suppose you hear about the sudden death of a friend’s loved one. What do you say to your friend? Advice or listen or a hug? As situations differ, so does the conversation, hence the importance of its type.After breaking the communication into its types, Charles goes on to break it into a step-by-step process of turning every conversation into meaningful, often joyful interactions, and in some cases, less stressful ones, even with a person with contrasting views. He uses psychological studies and instances of experts’ communication to establish the rules of effective communication.Stories form the backbone of narration and writing style, making it easy for everyone to understand, relate, and remember the content. Charles has used his recommendation to write the book as the writing oscillates between personal anecdotes, stories, and facts, often combining all three. As you turn the pages, you gradually get convinced about the process.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:767px;" id="attachment_30056" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-30056"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/high_rez_duhigg_headshot_20160720afmduhigg0082_thumb_1536x1536_1_53a5660a0f.jpg" alt="high-rez-duhigg-headshot-20160720afmduhigg0082-thumb-1536x1536-1.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_high_rez_duhigg_headshot_20160720afmduhigg0082_thumb_1536x1536_1_53a5660a0f.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_high_rez_duhigg_headshot_20160720afmduhigg0082_thumb_1536x1536_1_53a5660a0f.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_high_rez_duhigg_headshot_20160720afmduhigg0082_thumb_1536x1536_1_53a5660a0f.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-30056">Charles Duhigg</figcaption></figure>If you have read books on personal growth, they tend to follow a pattern. Every chapter makes a proposition supported by academic research or theories, followed by a story that establishes the usefulness of the proposition. Stories of failures are not part of this scheme. This book is no exception to this formula. However, this conformance should not take away the usefulness of this book.A few days after finishing the book, I took a train journey to New Delhi. The train starts at 6 in the morning from Varanasi, requiring me to get up at 4 AM. I always travel with a book, sometimes 2. If it is a mid-noon journey, I prefer reading books to talking to a co-passenger. But, early in the morning, I like a slow warmup to come to my full senses before picking a book. Opening a conversation with a co-passenger who is perhaps also in the same state has always been a nervous affair. But I had read this book, so at least I knew a theory I could test.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_2024_09_30_T164448_607_ee3a11384b.jpeg" alt="images-2024-09-30T164448.607.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_2024_09_30_T164448_607_ee3a11384b.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_2024_09_30_T164448_607_ee3a11384b.jpeg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_images_2024_09_30_T164448_607_ee3a11384b.jpeg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">Charles suggests starting a conversation with a question that doesn’t have a 1-word answer. He calls them Deep questions. For example, instead of asking questions like, “Where are you going?” or “Are you from Varanasi?” you may ask, “What do you like about early morning train journeys?”. I started with a similar question. However, a few minutes into the conversation, the person said, “I do not like the Congress party (India’s principal opposition party).”Now, I like the Congress party. Had I not read the book, I would have gone on to list several reasons to prefer the Congress party. I would have given one argument after another, countering his response with facts and figures. I would have transformed myself into an evangelist, on a mission to reform this man and make him fall in love with the Congress party. After a few minutes of conversation, he would have silently waited for me to drain all my energy and stop. We would have withdrawn into our shells for the rest of the journey, talking only to ask for a way to leave the seat. Thankfully, I had read this book, and none of this happened.I instead said, “They give many reasons to people to dislike them.” It opened him up to offer his reasons for this blanket statement, which allowed me to steer the conversation to his upbringing, parents, childhood, values, work, motivations, etc. When I shared about my organization’s work with school children from economically underprivileged families, he shared his wife’s efforts of sheltering orphaned street dogs. We agreed on several issues, including the complete failure of the current central government, despite opposing political preferences. Neither did I contradict his personal experiences, nor did he contradict mine. Moreover, we agreed that our experiences shape our views, which are bound to change if we remain open.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_2024_09_30_T164615_165_ec71a30e5a.jpeg" alt="images-2024-09-30T164615.165.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_2024_09_30_T164615_165_ec71a30e5a.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_2024_09_30_T164615_165_ec71a30e5a.jpeg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">“Supercommunicators” book taught me to treat every conversation as a learning opportunity. It taught me not to approach a conversation as a right vs wrong battle but to connect by sharing stories and anecdotes more than the facts. Ultimately, you can convince a person more by listening than by speaking. In a world getting more polarised, we all need to learn to talk to each other and listen better. Thankfully, we have this book.</div></div>

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Navigating Difficult Dialogues: How 'Supercommunicators' Can Help in a Polarised World"

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_34_770x393_796d24e9a6.jpeg" alt="images-34-770x393.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_34_770x393_796d24e9a6.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_34_770x393_796d24e9a6.jpeg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_images_34_770x393_796d24e9a6.jpeg 750w," 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;">Prolific documentary filmmaker R.P Amudhan’s body of work is unique and striking, especially in the manner in which his creations address issues and concerns of the marginalised sections of society. He is known as a media activist too. Hailing from Madurai, in Tamil Nadu, he founded the Marupakkam Media Activist Group (MMAG) in in his home district. The MMAG produces documentaries, screens films, and conducts workshops. He has over 20 documentaries to his credit. His films primarily focus on caste and labour issues. In this Interview with poet and writer Rashida Nasriya, filmmaker Amudhan RP discusses his craft, concerns and challenges.&nbsp;Rashidha Nasriya: What do you consider as the most significant challenge you have faced during the making of your documentaries?Amudhan RP: The biggest challenges I have faced in documenting the kind of social issues I have chosen to film are threefold. First, identifying a crucial topic which requires in-depth understanding and sufficient data to substantiate the narrative. Once I have a clear understanding of the topic, I would conduct thorough research and convince people, that is the characters in my film and their kith and kin. This has been my approach from my very first film, Leelavathi, a documentary on a Communist Party of India (Marxist) – CPIM- cadre killed in Madurai in 1997. I was relatively young at that time and the task of persuading her family and the district CPIM committee took a lot of effort. I finally did get their consent. It was a difficult task to get their trust.The second challenge – although a joyful one – is researching and gathering credible information, while the third is securing funding. As a solo filmmaker, I have learned to be self-sufficient. But still finding funds is a challenge. Any filmmaker would go through these challenges in varying degrees.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_35_721e230496.jpeg" alt="images-35.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_35_721e230496.jpeg 208w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_35_721e230496.jpeg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">Nasriya: Did your activist background influence your decision to become a filmmaker?Amudhan: During my MA studies, I attended a workshop in Madurai organised by Center for Development of Instructional Technology (CENDIT), an organisation based in New Delhi. Here, I was exposed to several powerful documentary films. This experience opened my eyes to the significance of political documentaries. I was introduced to the concept of using film as a tool for social change, and I immediately knew I wanted to become a documentary filmmaker and an activist. This workshop sparked my passion for creating and screening films that inspire critical thinking and trigger meaningful conversations. It was a turning point that led me to merge my interests in social activism and filmmaking, ultimately shaping my identity as an activist-filmmaker. Activism and filmmaking are deeply intertwined for me – they’re two sides of the same coin. My filmmaking is an extension of my activism, and vice versa; the two are inseparable.Nasriya: Your film “My Caste” examines the intersection of caste, hegemony, and consensus in Indian society. What has driven your focus on caste in your activism and filmmaking?Amudhan: I wanted to take on the Caste issue from the perpetuator point of view rather than from the victim’s or survivor’s point of view. I wanted to get into the minds of the people who either follow or negotiate or negate caste in their lives. I wanted to know what happens in people’s minds when they deal with caste matters. That’s why I made the film ‘My Caste’ ‘recording the views of various people on caste related questions.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:951px;" id="attachment_30033" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-30033"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240927_WA_0021_d0a7a9b78c.jpg" alt="IMG-20240927-WA0021.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240927_WA_0021_d0a7a9b78c.jpg 154w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20240927_WA_0021_d0a7a9b78c.jpg 495w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20240927_WA_0021_d0a7a9b78c.jpg 743w," 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-30033">Amudhan speaking at an event</figcaption></figure>Nasriya: Can you give some details on how you investigated labour exploitation in Tirupur’s garment industry for your documentary “Dollar City”?Amudhan: Many of my films focus on labour issues, with a considerable number exploring labour practices. For my trilogy on hegemony and consensus, I chose Tirupur as a case study. This city exemplifies how consensus is manufactured to prioritise the industry’s interests.In Tiruppur, a tacit understanding exists among industries, trade unions, workers, NGOs, and political parties to protect the industry at all costs. The prevailing narrative is: ‘Without the industry, we cannot survive.’ This consensus leads to widespread compromise and adjustment, perpetuating the exploitation.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:739px;" id="attachment_30028" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-30028"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_36_2e37ef3154.jpeg" alt="images-36.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_36_2e37ef3154.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_36_2e37ef3154.jpeg 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-30028">During production of Amudhan’s documentary</figcaption></figure>I want to capture this complex dynamic in my film, highlighting how Tiruppur’s industry-centric consensus affects labor rights and social justice.&nbsp;Nasriya: How did you approach exploring the complex and sensitive topic of manual scavenging in your film “Pee (Shit)”?Amudhan: I wanted to make a Tamil version of Lesser Humans – a documentary on Manual Scavenging in Gujarat by Stalin K. Although I wanted to make a similar comprehensive film about Tamilnadu, my encounter with Mariamma, a sanitary worker in Madurai convinced me to make a short documentary which practically covers every aspect of the work.I realised a shorter format could powerfully convey the urgency of this issue, making a compelling argument against manual scavenging. This inspired me to create the film titled ‘Pee’ (Shit) [Watch Below], highlighting the harsh realities of manual scavenging.<div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="640" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a0eWOHAvVn4" title="Shit - a documentary by Amudhan R.P." frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>&nbsp;Nasriya: What inspired you to create a documentary about Mercury pollution in Kodaikanal?Amudhan: The film ‘Mercury in the Mist’ was initiated by workers from the Kodaikanal thermometer factory, who had been fighting against the company’s harmful practices. They sought my help to create a documentary supporting their cause, highlighting the devastating health effects of mercury exposure and their ongoing court battles. It was partially funded by the workers and their well wishers like Nityanand Jayaraman and others.&nbsp;Nasriya: Do you think the documentary can contribute to the border understanding of the challenges facing Indian democracy?Amudhan: Documentary watching is, in my opinion, one of the most engaging and intellectually stimulating activities. It offers a unique blend of education, art, and social awareness, empowering individuals to become responsible citizens. By watching documentaries, we gain perspectives on the world around us, exercising our right to informed decision-making and participatory governance. Through my screenings, I aim to create opportunities for social and political education, fostering a culture of critical thinking and civic engagement. Documentaries provide a valuable platform for raising awareness on critical issues, making meaningful conversations and inspiring social change.&nbsp;Nasriya: How crucial is creative freedom in documentary filmmaking for fostering critical thinking and public debate?Amudhan: In documentary filmmaking, merely reporting or recording is not enough. It is an opportunity to critically examine any subject, sparking meaningful discussions. We must be courageous enough to ask difficult questions, amplify marginalized voices and confront uncomfortable truthsUnlike commercial cinema, documentary filmmakers must take risks, challenging the status quo and pushing boundaries. By doing so, we humanize overlooked stories, Inspire critical thinking and foster empathy and understanding.&nbsp;Nasriya: How did your initiative “Marupakkam” come about…?Amudhan: Marupakkam is a network of people collaborating to promote documentary filmmaking and social change. We invite participation from individuals across India in various capacities, including funding, research, topic development, filmmaking, screening, and documentary workshops.&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption alignright" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;display:inline;float:right;height:auto;margin:5px 0px 20px 20px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:1080px;" id="attachment_30029" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-30029"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Screenshot_20240927_1713542_bec309fa73.png" alt="Screenshot_20240927-1713542.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Screenshot_20240927_1713542_bec309fa73.png 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Screenshot_20240927_1713542_bec309fa73.png 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Screenshot_20240927_1713542_bec309fa73.png 750w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_Screenshot_20240927_1713542_bec309fa73.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-30029">Homepage of Marupakkam [Visit <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="http://marupakkammadurai.blogspot.com/?m=1">Here</a>]</figcaption></figure>Our activities involve screening documentaries, researching social issues, making films on relevant topics, teaching documentary filmmaking, and showcasing films made by others. Through these efforts, we aim to foster a community that inspires social change through documentary filmmaking.&nbsp;&nbsp;Nasriya: As a prolific documentary creator what advice would you give to emerging filmmakers?Amudhan: To young and upcoming filmmakers, I say: read widely, travel extensively, and cultivate an open-minded perspective. Listen to diverse voices, even in everyday settings like markets, where numerous perspectives converge. If you don’t have an open mind, you will only hear the voices that confirm your existing views. But with an open mind, you will identify and appreciate the varied voices, even within the same marketplace.</div></div>

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Amudhan’s Craft, Concerns and Challenges

<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;">The victory of Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Presidential election in Sri Lanka has been described as a political Tsunami by international politicians and observers. Sri Lanka based Independent policy analyst and writer Amita Arudpragasam analyses the context of the results in detail and points out that it was the economic mismanagement and corruption of earlier, dynasty oriented, regimes as well as Anura’s clean image that propelled significant sections of voters towards the Leftist JVP leader.<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;">She also points out that while the victory does indeed signify the emergence of new hopes in the country, it would be too early to predict dramatic policy and ideological shifts, including in the island nation’s orientation towards India and China. Watch the interview here.<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;">ഈ വിഷയത്തിൽ പരിസ്ഥിതി പ്രവർത്തകനും എഴുത്തുകാരനുമായ കെ സഹദേവൻ എഴുതിയ കുറിപ്പ് ചുവടെ നൽകുന്നു:<h2 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:25px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.2;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;">അദാനിയും ശ്രീലങ്കയിലെയും ബംഗ്ലാദേശിലേയും ഭരണ വ്യവസ്ഥയിലെ വമ്പൻ മാറ്റങ്ങളും</h2><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;">ശ്രീലങ്കയിലെയും ബംഗ്ലാദേശിലെയും എന്തിന് ഓസ്‌ട്രേലിയയിലെപ്പോലും രാഷ്ട്രീയ ഭരണമാറ്റത്തിന് പിന്നിലെ പൊതുഘടകത്തെ കണ്ടെത്താൻ ശ്രമിച്ചാൽ ഗൗതം അദാനിയിൽ ചെന്ന് മുട്ടും. ഉഭയകക്ഷി ബന്ധങ്ങളെ വ്യവസായി താൽപ്പര്യങ്ങൾക്കായി ഉപയോഗപ്പെടുത്താൻ ഭരണകൂടങ്ങൾ തുനിഞ്ഞിറങ്ങിയാൽ അതിന്റെ അനിവാര്യഫലമെന്നത് ആ രാജ്യത്തിന്റെ സാമ്പത്തിക സുസ്ഥിരത തകർക്കപ്പെടുക എന്നതായിരിക്കും.<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;">ബംഗ്ലാദേശിന് വൈദ്യുതി വിൽക്കുന്നതുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട കരാർ അദാനിക്ക് ലഭ്യമാക്കുന്നതിന് ബീഗം ഹസീനയ്ക്ക് മേൽ സമ്മർദ്ദമുയർത്താൻ നരേന്ദ്ര മോദിക്ക് യാതൊരു മടിയുമുണ്ടായിരുന്നില്ല. 2015ലെ മോദിയുടെ ബംഗ്ലാദേശ് സന്ദർശനത്തിന്റെ മുഖ്യ അജണ്ടതന്നെ അദാനിക്ക് വൈദ്യുതി വിതരണക്കരാർ നേടിയെടുക്കുക എന്നതായിരുന്നു.<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;">ഇന്ന് ബംഗ്ലാദേശ് ഭരണകൂടത്തിന്റെ മുന്നിലുള്ള പ്രധാന അജണ്ട അദാനിയുമായുള്ള കരാറിൽ നിന്ന് എങ്ങിനെ രക്ഷപ്പെടാം എന്നതാണ്. ശ്രീലങ്കയിൽ 400 മില്യൺ ഡോളറിന്റെ ഗ്രീൻ എനർജി പ്രോജക്ടുകളാണ് അദാനി നേടിയെടുത്തത്. 225 മെഗാവാട്ടിന്റെ കാറ്റാടിപ്പാട നിർമ്മാണ പദ്ധതി നേടിയെടുക്കുന്നതിനും നയതന്ത്ര ബന്ധങ്ങൾ ഉപയോഗപ്പെടുത്തപ്പെട്ടു.<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;">ഇതിനുപുറമെ 700 ദശലക്ഷം ഡോളറിന്റെ കണ്ടൈയ്‌നർ തുറമുഖ പദ്ധതിയും നേടിയെടുക്കാൻ അദാനിക്ക് സാധിച്ചു. ഈ രണ്ട് പദ്ധതികളും ശ്രീലങ്കയുടെ ദീർഘകാല താൽപ്പര്യങ്ങൾക്ക് വിരുദ്ധമാണെന്ന ആരോപണം പാർലമെന്റിലും പുറത്തും ശക്തമായി ഉന്നയിക്കപ്പെട്ടുകൊണ്ടിരിക്കുകയാണ്.<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;">ഓസ്‌ട്രേലിയയിൽ അദാനി നേടിയെടുത്ത കാർമൈക്കൾ കൽക്കരി ഖനന കരാറും ഇതേരീതിയിൽ അതിശക്തമായ രാഷ്ട്രീയ എതിർപ്പ് ക്ഷണിച്ചുവരുത്തിയ ഒന്നാണ്. ഒരു ദശകക്കാലത്തെ കൺസർവേറ്റീവ് ഭരണത്തിന് അറുതിവരുത്തിക്കൊണ്ട് ലെഫ്റ്റ് ചായ്വുള്ള ആന്റണി അൽബനീസ് ഗവൺമെന്റ് അധികാരക്കസേരയിലെത്തിയതിന് പിന്നിലും ഗൗതം അദാനിക്കെതിരായ പ്രതിഷേധത്തിന്റെ വേരുകൾ കണ്ടെത്താൻ കഴിയും…

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