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Hailed as a matchless orator by his supporters and a master of teleprompter-backed monologues by his critics, Narendra Modi is guilty of degrading public discourse on several occasions.

No, Prime Minister: The Most Un-Prime Ministerial Remarks Made By Narendra Modi So Far

<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;">Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s belated response on the Manipur violence, especially the sexual crimes that have sensationally unravelled over the past few days, is the focus of this AIDEM interactions.<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;">Two young women socio-political-legal observers- Delhi based PhD student Kim and Supreme Court lawyer Thulasi K Raj- analyse the Prime Minister’s statement and the responses it has generated not only in Manipur but the country as a whole, with a special emphasis on the North Eastern States. Kim and Thulasi point out that beyond the emotional rhetoric, the Prime Minister and his associates in the governments at the Centre and the State have to take more substantive measures to rebuild Manipur and trust among the people.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s belated response on the Manipur violence, especially the sexual crimes that have sensationally unravelled over the past few days, is the focus of this AIDEM interactions.

Analysing Modi’s Belated Response on Manipur Violence

<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;">Mani Shankar Aiyar has been called many things but the word maverick fits him to a T. As one who never hesitates to shoot his mouth off, he has often landed himself and his party in trouble particularly vis-a-vis Prime Minister Modi.<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;">His memoir had been in the making for some time now; and it doesn’t disappoint as it is written with his typical gusto. Aiyar gives you a glimpse of his early life – the loss of his father at the tender age of 12, his years in the Doon School, St. Stephens College and Cambridge, and so on.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:53.71%;"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Manmohan_singh_2_20181219_350_630_fa142407ab.jpg" alt="Manmohan-singh_2_20181219_350_630.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Manmohan_singh_2_20181219_350_630_fa142407ab.jpg 196w" sizes="100vw" width="196"></figure><figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;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;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:400px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_23964" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-23964"><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-23964">Mani Shankar Aiyar with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh</figcaption></figure><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;">Although his rank in the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) Examination gave him the opt of joining the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) he preferred the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) to pursue his ambition of being a diplomat. Getting into the diplomatic corps was not without hiccups. As the Intelligence Bureau, after the mandatory verification of his background, had labeled him a Communist, his attempt turned out to be a bit of a merry-go-round as he had to to meet President S. Radahakrishnan, Home Minister G.L. Nanda and the Special Secretary in the Home Ministry, L.P. Singh (Aiyar’s account of the encounter with him is hilarious). However, after his name was cleared his career got off to a proper start. It fell upon his lot to work in the Indian missions at the European Economic Community in Brussels, Hanoi and Baghdad. In 1978, the Morarji Desai government decided to open a consulate in Karachi and chose Aiyar to head it as Consul General. His experience in this assignment is the most interesting part of his autobiography. He arrived in Karachi in December 1978, on the eve of certain tumultuous events like the declaration of Nizam-e-Mustafa (Rule of the Prophet) by President Zia-ul-Haq on February 01, 1979 and the execution of the former Premier Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto on April 4, 1979.<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 muted reaction of the public to the hanging of Bhutto is well described in the book as also a record of those who had suffered during the autocratic regime of Z.A. Bhutto, which to some extent explains the indifference of Pakistanis, especially those in Karachi, to the hanging of a man who had ruled the country with an iron hand.<figure class="image"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_1_69a52fac07.jpeg" alt="images (1).jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_1_69a52fac07.jpeg 122w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_1_69a52fac07.jpeg 391w" sizes="100vw" width="391"></figure><figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;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;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:490px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_23963" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-23963"><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-23963">Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto</figcaption></figure><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;">During Aiyar’s stay in Karachi, former High Commissioner Rajeshwar Dayal who visited Pakistan, told Aiyar that when he had been heading the mission in Pakistan Ayub Khan visited him in the aftermath of the 1958 coup that brought him to power. Ayub Khan, according to Dayal, offered a solution to the Kashmir dispute by which the existing borders would be left in their status quo position and the future generation would decide its status. This was on the lines of the 1955 agreement between Italy and Austria on South Tyrol. However the proposal never went through as Nehru was fearful of an adverse reaction from the Indian Army Chief General K.S. Thimayya. It is a pity that such a golden chance to settle the dispute was squandered.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">On the subject of Pakistan, Aiyar writes on how the Morarji Desai government had decided to give the Jinnah House in Mumbai to Pakistan _ a decision annulled by Indira Gandhi when she returned to power in 1980. One is left wondering what would have been the trajectory of Indo-Pak relations had this happened.<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 story of how he landed in the Prime Minister’s Office during Rajiv Gandhi`s rule after being the spokesman for the Non-Aligned Movement’s meet in Delhi is undoubtedly interesting. Like many other middle class persons, he was appalled that an Indian Airlines pilot with hardly three years’ experience in politics had been thrust into the top job as Prime Minister, little knowing that he would soon be working with him.<figure class="image"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/408746_1201928_mumbai_jinnah_ho_veranda_1965_fcol_updates_566538c28c.jpg" alt="408746-1201928-mumbai-jinnah-ho-veranda-1965-fcol-updates.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_408746_1201928_mumbai_jinnah_ho_veranda_1965_fcol_updates_566538c28c.jpg 209w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_408746_1201928_mumbai_jinnah_ho_veranda_1965_fcol_updates_566538c28c.jpg 500w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_408746_1201928_mumbai_jinnah_ho_veranda_1965_fcol_updates_566538c28c.jpg 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure><figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;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;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:960px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_23962" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-23962"><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-23962">nside the Jinnah House in Mumbai’s Malabar Hill</figcaption></figure><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;">It was through a meeting with Arun Singh, the Parliamentary Secretary in the PMO and a close confidant of the Prime Minister (whom Rajiv called Roon, we learn), that Aiyar landed the appointment as a Joint Secretary in the same office. Aiyar denies that his Doon School and Cambridge link with the Rajiv Gandhi had anything to do with it.<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;">Aiyar describes himself as the “Manager Travels and Tours” in the PMO. He did some speech writing for Rajiv Gandhi as well – he was in the team that drafted Rajiv`s well known speech bemoaning the fact that the party was in the hands of ‘power brokers’ who had to be weeded out. Unfortunately this never happened. Aiyar notes that most of those present at the venue when Rajiv delivered the speech were non-English speaking who applauded him out of formality without understanding the speech and later turned against him when they realised the import of what he had said. It was a pity that an opportunity to change the working of the grand old party was lost before it could be taken up. Probably Gandhi lacked the political experience to do so. He had probably acquired the maturity required later but his life was cut short by his assassination in 1991. <img class="image_resized" style="width:90.6%;" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_2_3_49b54cb3ee.jpeg" alt="images-2 (3).jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_2_3_49b54cb3ee.jpeg 245w" sizes="100vw" width="245"><figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;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;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:400px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_23961" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-23961"><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-23961">Funeral procession of Rajiv Gandhi</figcaption></figure><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;">Writing about Arun Singh and Arun Nehru, both chief advisors of Rajiv Gandhi during his first years in power, Aiyar says both were as different as chalk and cheese. Arun Singh was sophisticated and principled, and Nehru was a typical politician for whom scruples mattered little. Aiyar largely blames Nehru for two things: first, his ‘active role in the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 as Rajiv Gandhi was busy with the funeral arrangements and the other ceremonies connected with the assassinated Prime Minister Indira Gandhi; secondly, his (Nehru`s) role in having the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi controversy by getting the locks of the disputed structure opened by the local court in Ayodhya in cohorts with the local administration. The internal inquiry ordered by Rajiv Gandhi pointed to Nehru, leading to his exit from the government a few months later. The Ayodhya decision was taken as a reaction to the Muslim Women.<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;">(Protection of Rights on Divorce) Bill which was passed after the Shah Bano verdict by the Supreme Court. It was a ploy to win over Hindu voters who were perceived to be moving away from the Congress following the Muslim Women Bill, which was portrayed as Muslim appeasement.<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;">Aiyar gives a clean chit to his boss but one remains unconvinced as to why a person like Nehru was given such unlimited powers. The book ends with the author joining active politics in 1989 and his years in the opposition during the V.P. Singh regime and later the Chandra Sehkar government supported by the Congress. Political developments in that period led to the general election of 1991 during which Rajiv Gandhi fell victim to a human bomb. Aiyar has written an interesting memoir, but one can’t help disagreeing with him when he overplays the maverick bit in his writing.

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Mani Shankar Aiyar has been called many things but the word maverick fits him to a T. As one who never hesitates to shoot his mouth off, he has often landed himself and his party in trouble particularly vis-a-vis Prime Minister Modi.

Down Memory Lane with a Man with an Acerbic Pen

<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;">A review of veteran political journalist Neerja Chowdhury’s recent book ‘How Prime Ministers Decide’<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;">This book is a must-read for anyone interested in in-depth information of the politics of India from the late 1970s to the middle of the 2010s. It starts with the post-Emergency elections of 1977 and ends around 2014, when Narendra Modi assumed office as Prime Minister. It gives the reader a wholesome understanding of the shape of Indian politics of this period and its essence.<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 1977, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi called elections in January when she had no reason to do so – the Emergency regime was running smoothly on the surface; the tenure of the Lok Sabha had been extended (thoroughly unconstitutionally) by another year until 1978; she had given priority to the implementation of her 20-point Programme, which was a ready excuse to continue with her government and she needed time to groom her wayward son Sanjay Gandhi for a larger political role. Yet she took a leap into the dark and called the elections after releasing her opponents from prison. Why did she do it? Neerjah Chowdhury throws light on the possible reasons, mainly zeroing in on the fact that Indira Gandhi felt that she was riding a tiger which she could not dismount and that Sanjay was becoming uncontrollable, especially with his family planning and slum clearance drives.<figure class="image"><img alt="image_2023-08-26_131047634-300x225.png" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_2023_08_26_131047634_300x225_fad844112b.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_image_2023_08_26_131047634_300x225_fad844112b.png 208w" sizes="100vw" width="208"></figure><figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;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;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:300px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_23778" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-23778"><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-23778">How Prime Ministers Decide by Neerja Chowdhury</figcaption></figure><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;">Of the Janata period, the book deals with what was happening inf the Morarji Desai government in those crucial 28 months from 1977 to 1979. The three top guns in the government _ Morarji Desai, Jagajivan Ram and Charan Singh could not get on well together and Charan Singh pulled the rug and brought down the Ministry. Years later, Morarji told me, “but for him (Charan Singh) the government would not have fallen.” Probably he was right; it is unlikely that Jagajivan Ram would have upset the apple cart. A new nugget of this period which appears in the book is that R.K. Dhawan, Indira Gandhi`s ever loyal Personal Secretary, was willing to turn approver before the Shah Commission of inquiry into the Emergency excesses and had contacted the Janata MP Krishan Kant (later Vice President of India) in this context; it was Kant who disabused him of the idea. On the Rajiv Gandhi administration, the author reveals that Sonia Gandhi herself was unconvinced about the Muslim Women`s Bill after the Shah Bano Judgment which was followed by the opening of the locks of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya, a decision unleashed a chain of events culminating in the destruction of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992. Rajiv Gandhi`s Prime Ministership is given it`s due in the book. The Bofors issue, which ultimately brought about the demise of his government in the 1989 elections, occupies a good part of the portion on Rajiv Gandhi who was described as “Mr. Clean” and later “Mr. Whitewash” in that era! However, the book could have also spared some space to the anti-defection law which Rajiv Gandhi enacted and remains contentious even today. <img alt="image_2023-08-26_132039767-768x432.png" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_2023_08_26_132039767_768x432_8b99d022f0.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_image_2023_08_26_132039767_768x432_8b99d022f0.png 245w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_image_2023_08_26_132039767_768x432_8b99d022f0.png 500w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_image_2023_08_26_132039767_768x432_8b99d022f0.png 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"><figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;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;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:442px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_23782" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-23782"><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-23782">Launch of the book ‘How Prime Ministers Decide’</figcaption></figure><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 V.P. Singh regime of 11 months also comes in the chronological order of politics in the volume. The twin problems of Mandal and Mandir, which defined his rule, are covered adequately. As is well known, he decided to implement the Mandal Commission report as a reaction to the threat from the Haryana strongman Devi Lal. Chowdury also traces V.P Singh`s rise to the top job, his “raid raj” as Finance Minister, his shift to the Defence Ministry and his final bid for the top job at the hustings in 1989. He was the only leader to leave the Congress and become Prime Minister in about two years.<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;">Another Prime Minister who occupies substantial space in this work is P.V. Narashima Rao who is described as “The Prime Minister Who Refused to Decide”, an echo of Rao`s well known statement that “not taking a decision is itself a decision” The part on him focuses mainly on the demolition of the Babri Masjid, which was a major event during his Prime Ministership; but the economic liberalisation and other aspects like ending terrorism in Punjab which took place in those years could have had more space.<figure class="image"><img alt="image_2023-08-26_134019662-768x432.png" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_2023_08_26_134019662_768x432_a63be2a409.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_image_2023_08_26_134019662_768x432_a63be2a409.png 245w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_image_2023_08_26_134019662_768x432_a63be2a409.png 500w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_image_2023_08_26_134019662_768x432_a63be2a409.png 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure><figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;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;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:596px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_23786" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-23786"><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-23786">Demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992</figcaption></figure><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">On Atal Behari Vajpayee, Chowdhury gives a ring side view of his decision to conduct a nuclear test on May 11, 1998. Narashima Rao had backed down on the nuclear decison at the last minute in the winter of 1995, but Vajpayee went ahead mostly because it was something the BJP was committed to. However, he himself had been a peacenik in 1979 as External Affairs Minister! This was when the then Prime Minister Morarji Desai had called a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs to discuss a report by defence expert K. Subrahmanyam to the effect that Pakistan “was only a screwdriver away from the bomb.” Vajpayee had then supported Desai in his contention that India should refrain from going nuclear. This a scoop in the book. Later, Desai told the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission Homi Sethna: “As long as I am Prime Minister I will never permit an experiment”. We were still in the era of the Gandhian ideology. <img class="image_resized" style="width:84.85%;" alt="image_2023-08-26_132833279.png" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_2023_08_26_132833279_98270532a4.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_image_2023_08_26_132833279_98270532a4.png 220w" sizes="100vw" width="220"><figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;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;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:650px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_23784" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-23784"><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-23784">Indira Gandhi, then Indian prime minister, at Pokhran, the site of India’s first underground nuclear test</figcaption></figure><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 book mentions the oft-repeated quote that Nehru introduced Vajpayee to Soviet strongman Nikita Krushchev as “India`s future Prime Minister”. However, it must be borne in mind that this has recently been refuted by Vajpayee`s biographer Abhishek Choudhary who has written a serious work on the late BJP Prime Minister. The writer covers most of the main aspects of Vajpayee`s tenure at the helm and, at a personal level, his relationship with Rajkumari Kaul.<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;">Manmomhan Singh`s Prime Ministership goes through Chowdhury`s X-ray as well and he emerges without much criticism. His role in as Finance Minister in Narashima Rao`s Cabinet and the economic liberalisation of 1991 is given its due as also the fact that Narasimha Rao`s first choice was former Reserve Bank Governor I.G. Patel for the Finance Ministry. It transpires that R. Venkataraman, the then President, suggested both I.G. Patel and Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister probables and then when Patel declined the offer, Manmohan Singh was the obvious choice. Also highlighted is Manmohan Singh`s strong stand on the Indo-U.S. civil nuclear deal when he openly made a statement against the Left, which was threatening to withdraw support if his government went ahead with the deal; the book records the developments leading up to Manmohan Singh winning the vote of confidence on July 22, 2008, despite the Left parties’ withdrawal of support. While the books gives Manmohan Singh a thumbs up for his job as Prime Minister she concedes that during his tenurt the high office’s image took a beating owing to the perceived role of 10 Janpath in decision-making. The book does not cover the present Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Chowdhury feels he is still “a work in progress” but in the epilogue she compares him to Indira Gandhi on one aspect: building of a personality cult. But the comparison ends there.<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;">Apart from the few errors, Neerja Chowdhury has done a seminal work about the politics and lives of the Prime Ministers she has covered. It is a book worthy of a journalist of standing, which she is.<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;"> <img alt="KSFE-AD-768x768 (2).jpg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/KSFE_AD_768x768_2_dd53bedb0f.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_KSFE_AD_768x768_2_dd53bedb0f.jpg 156w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_KSFE_AD_768x768_2_dd53bedb0f.jpg 500w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_KSFE_AD_768x768_2_dd53bedb0f.jpg 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750">

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A review of veteran political journalist Neerja Chowdhury’s recent book ‘How Prime Ministers Decide’



A Chronicle of Prime Ministers Down the Years

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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">
 <source src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/VID_20240511_WA_0005_5efe51d42e.mp4" type="video/mp4">
 <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

<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Talking to The AIDEM on the day Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh went to polls CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali traces the collapse of the industrial hub in this region and points out how the Narendra Modi government’s inaction on this front too is hurting the BJP’s chances in this election. She underscores that people from all sections of society are reacting against the communal and corporate oriented policies of the BJP and that the saffron party is clearly shaken in Uttar Pradesh. Watch the interview here.

BJP’s Confidence is Shaken in UP

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

<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">TreIn this “PollTalk” Political Activist Yogendra Yadav analyses the polling trends in the five phases of the seven phased Lok Sabha elections and observes that BJP and its allies in the NDA would suffer significant losses in the seats where elections have been concluded. Yadav has been travelling across the country during these polls and points out that the BJP is bound to suffer losses in States such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Yadav also asserted that these losses would lead to a situation where the BJP will not have a majority on its own in the next Lok Sabha. Watch the full interview here.

BJP Will Not Get A Majority On Its Own: Yogendra Yadav

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How the Ram Temple Made BJP Lose Ayodhya

Malayalam (ml)

Tamil (ta)

English (en)

Hindi (hi)

Telugu (te)

Kannada (kn)

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Dancing To Her Tune

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An Unwritten National Autobiography

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_1_6258d15665.jpeg" alt="images-1.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_1_6258d15665.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_1_6258d15665.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;">People who read literature in India knew him, MT Vasudevan Nair. Language was no hurdle for his works to reach out beyond the state borders of Kerala. While Malayali diaspora took a handful of nostalgia along to the places they went, a little bit of MT was also in that.Today, the big business of literature finds translators to translate anything that moves. All tetrapods of literature are given awards that stink of corporate imperialistic nexus. But MT belonged to a different era when blood recognised blood, genius recognised genius. He got translated not once but several times.Basheer, Takazhi and MT were the triumvirate that could transcend the borders and stand tall among the Indian modernist literature. Yes, MT’s literature also had a fair amount of auto-fiction but he hoodwinked it with the magic of text. He was a persuasive minimalist both in writing and in person.An unsmiling MT could generate generations of readers who could smile through tears. MT wrote about a collapsing social structure that divested the old feudal class with their ill-gotten properties. But their social capital remained intact and could exert a lot of influence among the readers by becoming the surrogate emotional ethos of a transition time of Kerala’s socio-political history.<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:1196px;" id="attachment_31084" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31084"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg" alt="mt-1024x575.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg 750w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.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-31084">MT during his Interview with Sabha TV (Watch <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.youtube.com/watch?v=NttnjeaVqn0">Here</a>)</figcaption></figure>When society evolved into a different being altogether, MT turned to the treasure trove of myths and itihasas to eke out allegories that explained the pain of loss, of class, roots and love. His literature spat on the face of bigotry, whether it was religious or familial. He was so stoically poised in his literature that none could have challenged him and expelled him from the world of literature.MT’s literature spoke of love and separation as vehemently as he wrote about the changing social complexions. But he was not sentimental. There was something in his writing that touched some chord in every reader. Before initiating themselves into Ambedkarite politics, the Dalit ideologues also, in their torturous nights of youth, pined for MT’s characters.Those who call the modernists, Dad Vibes, have really lost the sight of the forest while focusing on shrubs and thicket. MT was a forest that moved, as in the great tragedies. He remained a serious writer while the post modernists fell in the trap of publishers and wrote lightning stories and became laughing stokes.MT remains, so is the MT critique. That’s the beauty of a great writer’s life and of course, death.</div></div>

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MT: A Forest that Moved

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An ‘Overture’ Stringing The Pope, Yesudas and the ‘Songster Chaplain’

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/1_cc9df0fe47.png" alt="വലതുപക്ഷവുമായുള്ള-സംവാദത്തിൻ്റെ-വ്യർത്ഥത-1.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_1_cc9df0fe47.png 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_1_cc9df0fe47.png 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;">When old age shall this generation waste,Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woeThan ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st,“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is allYe know on earth, and all ye need to know.” (John Keats, Ode on a Grecian Urn)<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/6_904b2e9f2a.jpg" alt="6.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_6_904b2e9f2a.jpg 147w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_6_904b2e9f2a.jpg 470w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">Siddharth Tagore, Founder Director of Delhi’s <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.facebook.com/artkonsultindia/photos">Art Konsult</a> Gallery is no more. He cannot be contained in such a cold statement, so matter of fact like death itself. Besides the gallery, he founded magazines such as Art and Deal, Travel and Deal and many other publications. Even when he knew that he wouldn’t make any profit out of the publications, he invested money in them because he knew art wouldn’t survive without the literature surrounding it.&nbsp;Yet another venture of Tagore’s was an auction house, namely Art Bull. The name was perfect for a bullish art market of the 2000s. But the glitch was this: Siddharth Tagore was not bullish. Nor was he bearish. He was cherubic, complete with a benign smile on his face and a burning cigarette between his fingers. Whenever I came out after having a meeting with him, I would ask myself, was he cut for this business?&nbsp;Tagore could have been a poet and dreamer like his internationally renowned namesake of yesteryears.. After the pandemic period I met Tagore after a gap of four years at the Visual Art Gallery, India Habitat Centre where Art Konsult had organized a group exhibition. After the inaugural function, I shook hands with him and I realized that his hands had lost the firm grip though the warmth remained. “I have not been keeping well,” he told me.&nbsp;<div class="gallery galleryid-31051 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-full" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:30px -8.96875px 0px;padding:0px;" id="gallery-1"><figure class="gallery-item" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;height:auto;margin:0px 0px 1rem;max-width:33.33%;padding:0px 8.96875px 17.9531px;text-align:center;vertical-align:top;width:262.609px;"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg" alt="c-768x993.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg 121w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg 387w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg 580w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure><figure class="gallery-item" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;height:auto;margin:0px 0px 1rem;max-width:33.33%;padding:0px 8.96875px 17.9531px;text-align:center;vertical-align:top;width:262.609px;"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg" alt="b-768x985.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg 122w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg 390w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg 585w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure><figure class="gallery-item" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;height:auto;margin:0px 0px 1rem;max-width:33.33%;padding:0px 8.96875px 17.9531px;text-align:center;vertical-align:top;width:262.609px;"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/a_7888f94e4b.jpg" alt="a.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_a_7888f94e4b.jpg 121w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_a_7888f94e4b.jpg 385w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_a_7888f94e4b.jpg 577w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure></div>Then on another occasion, at the same gallery, I met him again, this time without the crowd. He preferred to wear a pair of fading blue jeans and white shirt, a reminder of those romantic 1970s when every youth in West Bengal dreamt of poetry, love and revolution. Jeans and Shirt were the uniform of love and revolution. I think, when Tagore came to Delhi as a young man, he carried those qualities along, plus his sense of dressing. Lovers in those days smoked rather constantly and drank Old Monk Rum.&nbsp;On that day when I met him, Tagore told me that he had quit smoking, which was news to me. I couldn’t have imagined the man without a cigarette between his fingers or at least a packet of cigarettes to fuss with. I understood the gravity of the situation.&nbsp;Then again, we met when Praveen Upadhyay of the Progressive Gallery at Laddo Sarai organized a talk session with art professionals that included Tagore, Prayag Shukla, Vinod Bharadwaj and myself. Tagore was supposed to talk about the art market. When the mike was handed over to him, he fussed with it for a while and said that he always wanted to make it big by promoting young artists, but somehow, he never made huge business.<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:689px;" id="attachment_31054" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31054"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/7_768x511_149563fe01.jpg" alt="7-768x511.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_7_768x511_149563fe01.jpg 235w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_7_768x511_149563fe01.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_7_768x511_149563fe01.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-31054">Siddharth speaking to the media at Art Konsult</figcaption></figure>Then I remembered Tagore telling the same during the market boom years that lasted in India for around ten years starting from 2005 to 2015. In 2008, the world market had collapsed, but the Indian art market using its cunning and reserve withstood the pressures and dragged the impending failure for a few more years only to revive itself by the beginning of the third decade of the new millennium.&nbsp;Had Tagore acquired a penchant for failure despite his resilience in running a gallery, publications and an auction house for over three and a half decades ? Did he enjoy calling himself a failure in the art market? Was he romantically involved with the idea of failure even when he kept others who were with him in the business, floating? I don’t know for sure. But Tagore remained grounded and rooted; he tried his best to keep himself away from the nefarious market practices.&nbsp;There were a few people who stood with Tagore in his highs and lows (lows that lasted for not some months but for years together), never deserting him, following his orders. Prashant Seal and Rajula Bisht are two people I remember. These two people have been so close to his heart and even after his twin daughters joining him in the business, both Seal and Bisht never lost their position as the confidantes of Tagore. He loved them like family.&nbsp;I met Siddharth Tagore in 1995. He had started Art Konsult in Hauz Khas Village. Meena Tagore (now Meena Varma) was with him then. Late Vijayan Kannanpally was the editor of Art and Deal. With the growth of art scene, Tagore’s gallery also grew in stature. Art Konsult was one of the few A listed galleries in the city. Tagore took it to South Delhi’s art district, Laddo Sarai during the boom years and later relocated it to Hauz Khas again.&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:562px;" id="attachment_31055" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31055"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.jpg" alt="0-768x512.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.jpg 234w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.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-31055">Siddharth Tagore with art critic and curator Jyoti A Kathpalia at the Art Konsult, New Delhi</figcaption></figure>It was in his Laddo Sarai phase that I joined him as the Editor of Art and Deal. It was the same when he decided to start Art Bull and Travel and Deal. I brought out around ten issues of Art and Deal between 2010 and 2013, with a gap in 2012 when I joined the United Art Logistics to establish the United Art Fair. Tagore literally lent me to the other organization with a promise that I could walk into the editor’s office at any time that I wanted. And I did go back.&nbsp;As a part of Tagore’s team, he gave me full freedom to edit the magazine and curate exhibitions. I curated a few shows and introduced a few new artists of which some are very reckonable names in today’s art scene. The exhibition ‘Merging/Submerging’ was a showcasing of contemporary photography art and ‘R.A.P.E’ (Rare Acts of Political Engagement), an all-woman show responding to the brutal murder of Nirbhaya in Delhi. This exhibition was a super hit and was discussed in all the print and television media. Art Bull did do a couple of exhibitions and auctions. I did not take much interest in it though Tagore hoped that his auction house could change the scenario and also break certain monopolies. Tagore also initiated an Art History Lecture series which I conducted on his behalf.&nbsp;Siddharth Tagore remained true to his calling. With a kind of detachment, he sponsored exhibitions that he knew well, would not bring any business. He was an avid collector of folk and tribal art and together with Meena Varma, he initiated an organization called ‘Art of the Earth’ for promoting the folk and tribal art of India, much before the ‘folkploitation’ of today’s art market became rampant. Tagore helped whoever came to him with a request for an exhibition or an immediate financial relief. &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_31053" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31053"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg" alt="3-e1734762508660-669x1024.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 102w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 327w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 490w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 653w," 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-31053">Siddharth Tagore signing the <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://amzn.in/d/4TijcgO">book</a> “Ganika- In the visual culture of the 19th-20th Century India” at the Art Konsult</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg" alt="4-560x1024.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 85w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 273w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 410w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 547w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">When artists in Calcutta packed their wares and set out for Delhi, they knew Siddharth Tagore was there if nothing else worked (perhaps he was their primary destination), along with cigarettes and Old Monk Rum. He never discouraged the people who came to him with a clear intention to exploit. He was not cautious about relationships that brought him a fair amount of heartburn. As I said elsewhere, Tagore was a poet in his heart, with a heart ready to bleed for love and art.</div></div>