The debate in the Lok Sabha on the no-confidence motion against Narendra Modi led BJP government lasted three days. The debates were marked by incisive speeches by several members from the opposition and the treasury benches. Several blazing topics including the communal violence in Haryana and Manipur are raised by members.&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;">Click <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMm1Wz5F3yfLC5ljbkbUKf0fL6N8shWqP">here</a> to watch on YouTube.<ul 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;list-style:disc;margin-bottom:20px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:20px;orphans:2;padding:0px 0px 0px 20px;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;"><li style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:17px;font-weight:400;line-height:1.8;list-style:disc;margin-bottom:10px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:0px;padding:0px;"><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://youtube.com/live/y1VHXLv_4Pk?feature=share">Day 01</a></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:17px;font-weight:400;line-height:1.8;list-style:disc;margin-bottom:10px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:0px;padding:0px;"><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://youtube.com/live/CCclkJFeXpw?feature=share">Day 02</a></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:17px;font-weight:400;line-height:1.8;list-style:disc;margin-bottom:10px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:0px;padding:0px;"><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://youtube.com/live/QWFKYZXifjI?feature=share">Day 03</a></li></ul>&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ksfe.com"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/600x600_1024x1024_c712ed611e.jpg" alt="600x600-1024x1024.jpg"></a>

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The debate in the Lok Sabha on the no-confidence motion against Narendra Modi led BJP government lasted three days. The debates were marked by incisive speeches by several members from the opposition and the treasury benches.

Discussion on No-Confidence Motion in Lok Sabha

We have read enough stories about how a whizkid named Bill Gates developed a software which was later developed as Microsoft, and how it made him the richest man on earth. The Microsoft family of softwares was copyrighted, but created a paradigm shift that revolutionised the entire software landscape. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_3_d460cd47f9.jpeg" alt="images-3.jpeg">Richard StallmanAt the same time, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology a visionary called Richard Stallman who believed in users' freedom to study, modify, and share the source code announced the GNU Project (GNU's Not Unix). The timelines are interesting. While MS-DOS was officially released in 1981, Stallman announced the GNU Project in 1983. Since its inception in 1985, Windows 1.0, the first Operating System (OS) of Microsoft with graphical user interface, almost monopolised the software industry. While Gates focused on a historic software product, hacker-turned-software-evangelist Stallman prioritised the fundamental concept of freedom and aimed at steering clear of monopolies.During the fall of 1991, a Finnish software engineer called Linus Torvalds, attracted by the ideals of Stallman and his free software movement, decided to turn his licence for path-breaking Linux prototype kernel into GNU licence. Earlier that year, he had released the kernel with a licence that prohibited commercial usage (Interestingly Linus also authored the hugely popular open-source versioning system, Git). Its open-source model allowed developers to access, modify and distribute it freely under its licence. It attracted a large community of software developers and enthusiasts around the world and gave birth to popular Linux distributions like Ubuntu, Redhat, Debian, Fedora, CentOS and many others. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_5_1_14d7c1d1c3.jpeg" alt="images-5-1.jpeg">Linus TorvaldsThe operating systems are only base building blocks of software. The next decade saw a tough rivalry between two technology stacks- free software and proprietary software. With the rise of the Internet, the ecosystem of programming languages, web servers, databases, standards and other related technologies began to grow together in both spectrums (Proprietary as well as Free Software). In the enterprise sector, while Microsoft continued with its technology stack proprietary segment with .NET framework, SQL server and windows server, the free software counterparts included Java/J2EE and Apache technology stack and free databases like MySQL and Postgres. With the advent of the cloud era, where softwares, applications and computing were packaged as a service, the difference between these two technology stacks gradually became irrelevant.It is interesting to see who stands where at the moment. Microsoft continues to command a significant presence in the OS market, maintaining over 75% global market share in the desktop/laptop sector. But the enterprise applications and technology sector is hugely dominated by open source software. A staggering 90% of software businesses leverage open-source solutions to varying degrees, as reported by Digital Information World. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/ca_1024x641_e6cfe5104c.png" alt="ca-1024x641.png">Source: Digital Information WorldOver the last decade, the mobile application industry has witnessed unprecedented growth in its user base. The proprietary software iOS, developed by Apple and open source Android are the key operating systems in the race. Android tends to have a more substantial presence in emerging markets and have 70% global market share.Fast forward to 2023, Generative AIIn the past couple of years, Artificial Intelligence has risen to prominence, becoming a transformative force across almost all domains. This rise in AI's influence can be attributed to advancements in ML research, increased computing power, and the availability of big data. One of the major milestones happened in November 2022, when the OpenAI consortium unveiled ChatGPT, a cutting-edge language model that took the world by storm. It was designed as a conversational chatbot model which can understand text inputs and produce human-like responses. The OpenAI consortium initially had non-profit beginnings, with backing from the likes of Elon Musk and Infosys soon changed its stance after gauging its potential. After its remarkable success, Microsoft started heavily investing in OpenAI, planning to use these Large Language Model (LLM) foundations in its software products like Bing, Edge, Microsoft 365 and others. Search giant Google, then came up with its own version of generative AI called Bard, which boasts of responses based on real time data unlike ChatGPT. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Screenshot_20230731_104405_Chrome2_a92727495f.jpg" alt="Screenshot_20230731_104405_Chrome2.jpg">ChatGPT Login screenOne can only say that the competition has just started. While ChatGPT has already reaped the rewards for being first in the market, Google, equipped with its superior data search engines and vast data, is expected to catch up swiftly. But one interesting thing to take note is that both are proprietary.Enter Llama 2, the Game changer!When Microsoft and Google made heavy inroads, the other tech giant Meta (former Facebook) launched its own LLM in February 2023. But unlike other two models Meta has released its model under a non-commercial licence focussed only on research use cases. They pledged themselves with responsible AI practices by focussing on known issues like bias, toxicity and misinformation. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_1_2_9fa13c75b2.jpeg" alt="images-1-2.jpeg">Llama 2 AnnouncementOn July 18th, 2023 Meta came up with a later version, Llama 2, by making the model free and open even for commercial use. Meta's decision to embrace the open-source philosophy can be likened to Linus Torvalds' pivotal move when he declared his Linux operating system under the GNU license. Just as Torvalds released Linux to the world as a open-source software, inviting collaboration and encouraging widespread adoption of the operating system, Meta made its language model, Llama 2, freely available for free research and commercial use. Currently the latest updated model, Llama 2 can be downloaded from Meta, AWS, Azure and HuggingFace. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20230731_WA_0003_5fce273072.jpg" alt="IMG-20230731-WA0003.jpg">Courtesy: Andre Havro/LinkedInLlama-V2 is getting widespread acceptance from technologists, researchers and academia across the world for its open source approach. Following is a statement signed by hundreds of leading personalities in the field.“We support an open innovation approach to AI. Responsible and open innovation gives us all a stake in the AI development process, bringing visibility, scrutiny and trust to these technologies. Opening today’s Llama models will let everyone benefit from this technology.”<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://about.fb.com/news/2023/07/llama-2-statement-of-support/"><em 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-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;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;">Read the full statement here.</a>While AI opens up multiple dimensions in business and technology, it also creates a lot of ethical and social challenges. There are a lot of questions that need to be addressed related to inherent bias, fairness, malicious usage, misinformation and privacy. While making the model public, one can argue that Llama’s claim for “Responsible AI” is one step ahead. Its transparency allows one to scrutinise the datasets for bias and fairness. But this can also be a double-edged-sword, as it is unpredictable when technology reaches malicious hands. But the open-source model has been there for quite some time, survived and thrived. (https://twitter.com/ylecun/status/1681336284453781505)The business scenarios are swiftly changing. The ChatGPT large language model APIs were the toast of technologists across the world until a few days ago. Let me suggest one example from my own experience. agentrunner.ai, a leading AI startup based in London, which primarily focuses on creating autonomous AI agents was largely focussing on OpenAI LLMs till a few weeks ago. It has adapted quickly to the Llama 2-based model which offers better flexibility. Many companies are now following this trend. Why would small or mid-sized startups invest millions in procuring proprietary APIs?Meta's decision to embrace Responsible AI and open-source philosophy with Llama 2 is undoubtedly commendable and has won widespread praise. It also remains to be seen how Meta's move will benefit their own ecosystem of software platforms, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads, and Instagram, in the long run. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_2_4f2112df6a.jpeg" alt="images-2.jpeg">Applications from Meta Inc.It will be intriguing to watch how OpenAI, Microsoft and Google will respond to this challenge. Remember, Microsoft already declared its support for Llama-V2, probably because it has recognised the extreme complexity of ethical and social challenges LLM technology. Collaborating or working in a hybrid mode in this endeavour may prove more effective than facing it alone.References: - <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ai.meta.com/blog/llama-2/">Meta Newsletter</a> -on LLaMa 2 Wikipedia LLaMa 2 Announcemen Hugging Face &amp; LLaMa 2 Integration Desktop OS Market Share Open Source Software Market share <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/KSFE_ad_1024x1024_1_a485d571ee.webp" alt="KSFE_ad-1024x1024 (1).webp">

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We have read enough stories about how a whizkid named Bill Gates developed a software which was later developed as Microsoft, and how it made him the richest man on earth.

Llama 2: Unleashing the Open-source Generative AI model

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“See, this is how a ‘Child of Karkitakam‘ becomes ‘Kismet’s (destiny’s) child’. Or rather, it is a rarest of rare classical instance of such a turnaround.” This was how N. Gopala Krishnan (NGK ) as his friends call him, writer, translator and erstwhile senior administrator in government services, referred to the media coverage of the 80th birthday celebrations of M. T. Vasudevan Nair. This comment was made in a private conversation in 2013 at Kozhikode, the coastal town in north Kerala where NGK and MT resided.

A Renaissance man with a wrong birthday

Recently, Malayalam social media platforms witnessed a viral media clip themed around a scene from the 1972 classic, The Godfather. However, what made this rendition a hit among Malayalis was the recreation of the roles of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), Moe Greene (Alex Rocco), and Fredo Corleone (John Cazale) by replacing them with Malayalam superstars Mohanlal, Mammootty, and Fahad Fazil respectively through Deepfake, one of the cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology tools. Even though this tool has been there for a while, it is perhaps now for the first time that the common Malayali has taken note of this particular generative AI technology. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/God_father_web_300x212_179e35b1c3.jpg" alt="God-father-web-300x212.jpg"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/God_father_O_Gweb_300x212_ee59566436.jpg" alt="God-father-OGweb-300x212.jpg">As everyone can see, it opens up a myriad of possibilities for the creative and entertainment industry. You can insert the images of popular figures into historical videos or make Hollywood classic actors speak Malayalam. Do you remember the famous scene from the Tamil movie Indian where Senapathi, the protagonist, receives a medal from Subhash Chandra Bose? Creating such computer graphics-related scenes has become a lot easier with the use of artificial intelligence. Unlike other generative AI techniques like ChatGPT and DALL·E 2, which deals with texts and images, deepfake is going to pose a bigger threat of being misused. Such artificially made videos/audios can be used for malicious purposes like blackmailing people, or damaging someone’s reputation by spreading misinformation and pornography involving their images. According to a 2018 report by leading AI research firm Deeptrace, a staggering 96% of the deepfake videos found online were pornographic. Earlier, high computational power, large datasets and exposure to advanced machine learning algorithms were absolutely necessary for creating a deepfake video. But with the latest advancement in generative AI technologies, people with limited machine learning expertise could make use of this technology with very few photos and fake videos. This obviously raises a lot of ethical, legal and social concerns for society.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_2023_07_05_144439577_1_473951cf8a.png" alt="image_2023-07-05_144439577 (1).png"> Demographic breakdown of deepfake videos from top five deepfake pornography websites and top 14 deepfake YouTube channels | Source: DeeptracePolitical RepercussionsMisinformation has become one of the key challenges faced by the online world for quite some time now. In the recent past, we witnessed a flood of photoshopped fake images claiming to be images of development, especially during elections. In a country like India where the Internet landscape and reach are extensive and accountability is minimal, the rapid spread of fake news, half-baked truths, gossip and unfounded rumours find eager recipients.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_2023_07_05_144319835_89288f639f.png" alt="image_2023-07-05_144319835.png"> Techniques behind creation of a deepfake contentFor example, a malicious user can create a deepfake video/audio of a politician saying something that he/she never said. Such misinformation can damage the politician’s reputation in the short and long terms affecting his electoral prospects. In fact, such tactics are already being deployed but we don’t have any specific mechanism in place to counter it.For example, a few days ago, a case was registered in Karnataka against Amit Malviya, the national head of the BJP’s IT wing, for allegedly posting a fake video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. This created a political furore, and a long legal battle is ahead.What is Deepfake and How did it all start?In 2017, a fake sex video of Gal Gadot (the Wonder Woman star) appeared in the online platform Reddit. The porn video, purported to raise an allegation of incest against her, was made from deep-learning algorithms by affixing Gal Gadot’s face onto a porn star’s body. It originated from Reddit handle with the pseudonym ‘deepfakes’. This was believed to be the first public exposure of the effect of a deepfake technology and the technology was named after that Reddit handle.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_2023_07_05_144919775_1_1ea09cfe5e.png" alt="image_2023-07-05_144919775 (1).png"> Screengrab of the fake porn video featuring Gal Gadot | Source: ViceHow can you spot Deepfake? As the machine-learning algorithms get smarter, it becomes increasingly harder to detect deepfake with human eyes. However, these are some tips to identify a deepfake created by a less-trained person.<ul><li>Unusual skin tones, color tones and lighting</li><li>Differences in audio quality</li><li>Unnatural body shape or movements</li><li>Repeated unnatural eye movements</li></ul>During the initial days of deepfake in 2018, researchers found that deepfake eyes don’t blink. That was mainly because the models were trained with images that had the eyes open (which was available in public domain). After this was observed, this issue was ‘fixed’ in the latter versions and deepfake faces started to blink. This only underscores the rat race that we engaged in. A lot of academic research is happening in this direction.How are Governments dealing with Deepfake?One can argue that this technology creates more problems than it solves. Revenge porns and politically insinuating videos will pose a tough challenge to legal systems across the world. Over the last few years, many countries, including the United States, China and the United Kingdom started amending the laws to address this new phenomenon.In the United Kingdom, the Online Safety Bill amendment process started in 2022 to address issues such as revenge porn, voyeurism and deepfakes; and now the U.K. has criminalised exchange of deepfake images showing intimacy. China has also banned creation of deepfakes in January 2023 on the basis of the guidelines of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the country’s Internet regulator. The United States is planning to introduce curbs on sharing non-consensual AI-generated pornography, and making it illegal. A bill moved by Congressman Joe Morelle is currently under discussion. India too might consider moving in a similar direction to address the challenges posed by deepfakes.References:<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 style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-laws-to-better-protect-victims-from-abuse-of-intimate-images">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-laws-to-better-protect-victims-from-abuse-of-intimate-images</a><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 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://regmedia.co.uk/2019/10/08/deepfake_report.pdf">https://regmedia.co.uk/2019/10/08/deepfake_report.pdf</a><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 style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/gydydm/gal-gadot-fake-ai-porn">https://www.vice.com/en/article/gydydm/gal-gadot-fake-ai-porn</a>

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Recently, Malayalam social media platforms witnessed a viral media clip themed around a scene from the 1972 classic, The Godfather. However, what made this rendition a hit among Malayalis was the recreation of the roles of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), Moe Greene (Alex Rocco), and Fredo Corleone (John Cazale) by replacing them with Malayalam superstars Mohanlal, Mammootty, and Fahad Fazil respectively through Deepfake, one of the cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology tools. 

Deepfake Dystopia

How do social media and smartphones affect the mental well being of our kids? A pertinent question that all parents among us ask ourselves. A new study from the US paints a bleak picture and warns about terrible consequences. A report from The AIDEM Desk.
Psychologists like Jean Marie Twinge have been warning the world about this for a while. Now the US Surgeon General has published an advisory corroborating the negative impacts of social media and smartphones on the mental health of children and young people. The advisory is based on the current body of evidence available regarding the use of social media and its impact on the young. It also points to the existing lacunae in serious and comprehensive research in this field. The major worry that this advisory expresses is about the potential threat that social media poses in the brain development of young people in their critical formative years. 
The negative impact depends on the time spent on social media, the disruption that it causes to sleep and physical activity, the type of content each kid is exposed to, and the kind of engagement. The advisory says that brain development in an individual happens between the ages, 10 to 19. The problem is that this is also the age when risk taking behaviour is at its peak, and mental health issues such as depression sets in. When the impact of social media co-evolves with the mental vulnerabilities of this age, it is observed, life satisfaction is greatly reduced. 
The advisory does not completely ignore the benefits of social media and smartphones, community and connection being the best of them. Access to information is also another crucial benefit. 
Yet, the advisory cites many US-based studies to point to concrete evidence suggesting the potential harms of social media use for young people. One study reveals that adolescents who spend more than 3 hours per day on social media have double the possibility of having mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. Since social media was introduced in the US, there has been a 9% increase in depression and 12% increase in anxiety among the college-aged population. When social media use was reduced to 30 minutes daily for 3 weeks, the severity of depression also came down.
The US Surgeon General’s advisory concludes that social media perpetuates “body image concerns and eating disorders”. Another major issue of concern is the finding that 6 in 10 adolescent girls reported that they had been contacted by strangers on social media platforms “in ways that make them feel uncomfortable”.
Problematic social media use has been associated with reported and diagnosed Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The advisory says that there is a serious evidence gap here which needs to be addressed immediately.
<img alt="image_2023-06-19_140625905-e1687163849372-1024x484.png" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_2023_06_19_140625905_e1687163849372_1024x484_3d0a70922a.png" />
Actions Suggested by the US Surgeon General
The advisory does not mince words when calling for interventions from policy makers to strengthen protection for children and young adults on social media platforms and ensure data privacy. Create a family media plan, create tech-free zones, encourage children to develop in-person friendships, be a model social media user for children, teach kids to be responsible online participants, teach kids about proper use of technology, report cyberbullying and online abuse, work with other parents to establish shared norms… these are the advices that the US Surgeon General gives the parents.
More Study Outcomes on Social Media and Young People
Here are a few more reported study outcomes related to social media use among children and young adults.
In the US, between 2011 and 2021, clinical depression among teenagers doubled. Between 2007 and 2019, suicide rates among teenagers nearly doubled. Among the 10-15 year age group, suicide rates tripled. Mental health of Gen Z (18-24 age group) is worse than their previous generations when they were at this age.
The China Interventions
In China, it is reported that the government has enforced rules for social media companies for compulsory blackout hours, and time limits for young people. Douyin is the Chinese version of Tiktok. For children aged under 14, the app will work only for 40 minutes per day. The government also made the companies add “go to bed” and “put down the phone” messages after each video is played for a child or adolescent user.
The Indian Situation
In India, no major comprehensive study has been conducted so far on the impact of social media on young people. A few studies with limited sample size and scope have identified both positive and negative impacts. Dr. A K Jayashree, a medical doctor, renowned community medicine expert and gender activist of Kerala, told The AIDEM that there is still no concrete evidence to pinpoint the roots of the mental health issues faced by the youth on social media. However, she agreed that during the pandemic and after it, mental health issues among children and young people have increased in alarming proportions, the major manifestation being suicides and depression, and some of these could be attributed to excessive social media use as well. She also said that mental health issues caused by lack of physical activity and insecure body image would most probably be directly connected to social media use but stressed the need for in-depth studies before we reach conclusions. 
To assess the impact of social media use, it is clear, India also needs comprehensive studies based on unbiased approaches and methodologies.

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How do social media and smartphones affect the mental well being of our kids? A pertinent question that all parents among us ask ourselves. A new study from the US paints a bleak picture and warns about terrible consequences. A report from The AIDEM Desk.

Social Media and Mental Health of Adolescents: New Warnings

“Turned out you were just like us.So, it turned out you were just like us!Where were you hiding all this time, buddy?That stupidity, that ignorancewe wallowed in for a century –look, it arrived at your shores too!Many congratulations to you! “(तुम बिल्कुल हम जैसे निकलेअब तक कहाँ छुपे थे भाईवो मूरखता वो घामड़-पनजिस में हम ने सदी गँवाईआख़िर पहुँची द्वार तुहारेअरे बधाई बहुत बधाई )This was written by noted India-born Pakistani poet and human rights activist Fahmida Riaz three decades ago, after the demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya on December 6,1992, by the Hindutva oriented Karsevaks of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) led Sangh Parivar. Thirty years have passed since then and the Hindutva extremists who once occupied the fringes of Indian society have not only moved on to the centre stage of polity and society, but have a stranglehold across these domains. In many ways, contemporary India looks a mirror image of Pakistan, where religious fundamentalism has been the domineering trait of society and politics for decades, right from its inception. However, there is considerable churning happening in the Pakistan civil society in recent times and in the following nuanced observation, Resmi P Bhaskaran, Policy Analyst, points out how the civil society’s response to sexual abuse in the neighbouring countries is significantly different. The analysis specifically takes into consideration the situation that exists in the country in the context of the agitation of the female wrestlers against sexual abuse. Resmi points out that the civil society in Pakistan seems to be moving towards a positive and judicious response, the Indian civil society is getting engulfed more and more by sectarian positions, marked by total absence of compunction and sense of probity.Read on – Editor, The AIDEMScene 1: Pakistan “Tere Bin” is a popular Pakistani drama starring talented actors such as Yumna Zaidi, Wahaj Ali, and Bushra Anzari. It has garnered over 30 million views per episode and has recently sparked a social media debate due to a controversial scene depicting marital rape.“Tere Bin” distinguishes itself through the portrayal of an alpha male character’s evolution into an understanding husband of a forced cousin marriage within a feudal family. Husband signs a contract based on his wife’s terms, agreeing to a marriage that exists only on paper. Their conflicting personalities and growing feelings for each other create a continuous struggle throughout the narrative.In one intense conflict scene where the husband angrily closed the bedroom door, implying his intention to force himself on his wife. The writer’s public justification for including this portrayal of marital rape as a necessary for the story’s progression; sparked a heated debate on marital rape. Viewers strongly rejecting violence and emphasizing that rape remains rape, even when committed by spouse.Viewers criticized the writer, content team and even actors for portraying normalization of marital rape and the problematic nature of story’s portrayal of a happy ending between the victim and the perpetrator. Critics argued that such portrayal reinforces the perception of marital rape as a normal occurrence in a patriarchal society like Pakistan, despite being unacceptable by law or religion.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_2023_06_01_112917484_768x377_1_9600fd6249.png" alt="image_2023-06-01_112917484-768x377 (1).png"> Screengrab from Tere Bin (TV Series, 2022)Furthermore, the popular male lead character, initially seen as a role model, as he respected the wife’s rights and sought her consent; being scrutinized for embodying toxic traits prevalent in society. These discussions shed light on the suffering of women in forced marriages and the importance of consent.People expressed the opinion that the media should reconsider endorsing such crimes as plot devices, especially when it sacrifices the dignity of the female characters. Discussions indicate a positive shift in societal awareness in Pakistan, prompting conversations about marital rape prevalence and the significance of consent in relationships. The discussions also serve as a reminder that rape is a heinous crime that cannot be forgiven under any circumstances.However, it is important to consider whether the public would react similarly if the story involved different social class and power dynamics. Additionally, discussions undermined legal or religious recourse for victims, despite the absence of criminalization of marital rape in Pakistan. Nevertheless, the ongoing debate on marital rape in “Tere Bin” contributes to raising awareness and challenging societal norms, reinforcing the idea that consent should always be prioritized in sexual relationships, and condemning forced behaviour.Scene 2: India Six internationally accomplished women wrestlers, including a minor, have accused Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a BJP Member of Parliament and President of the Wrestling Federation of India, on seven charges of sexual abuse. Despite reporting the incidents, their pleas were ignored by authorities. Since April 23, 2023, they have been protesting on Jantar Mantar, New Delhi. The allegations against Singh are severe, with the victim facing threats of murder if they spoke out. The wrestlers, celebrated for their international achievements, lived in fear, humiliation, and continuous trauma while the authorities turned a blind eye.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_2023_06_01_113319992_2_5db7ecd5a4.png" alt="image_2023-06-01_113319992 (2).png"> Brij Bhushan Sharan SinghThe wrestlers had no choice but to take to the streets, demanding justice and the arrest of the accused. Unfortunately, their efforts were met with a lack of response and intimidation from the government. The involvement of the Supreme Court compelled the Delhi police to file an FIR on April 27. However, even now no investigation or look-out notice has been issued, disregarding law especially the POCSO law. The complacency of the law-and-order system in this case, despite the victims being national icons, is evident. Meanwhile, the accused has a criminal record, including charges of murder and rape.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Whats_App_Image_2023_06_01_at_11_51_03_1_300x300_2_d36b428bcd.jpeg" alt="WhatsApp-Image-2023-06-01-at-11.51.03-1-300x300 (2).jpeg"> Women protesters being stamped on with police bootsAlthough the protesting wrestlers have received support from opposition parties and other sources, it is insufficient to awaken civil society’s consciousness. Unlike the media’s fervent coverage and public support during the 2012 Nirbhaya case, the media’s role in 2023 has been muted, leaving raising questions about why the accused remains free and why the ruling party ignores grievances of the wrestlers. This further diminishes public’s trust in the media.Furthermore, according to the POCSO Act and sexual harassment Act, it is crucial to remove the accused from their positions to prevent manipulation or influence over the investigation. Why has the government and the BJP not taken steps to strip Singh of his positions? This failure to act indicates that members of the ruling party can evade the legal process and potential punishment. It grants culprits immunity in similar cases, reinforcing the belief that the law-and-order system favours the powerful. In this case, the victims cannot be considered ordinary individuals as they are public figures.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_2023_06_01_112000594_2_c410f5c415.png" alt="image_2023-06-01_112000594 (2).png"> Wrestlers Protest in New Delhi (2023)On May 28, 2023, the wrestlers were forcefully arrested and their protest site was dismantled by the Delhi police. However, the public outcry remains minimal, and only a few people speak out against these abuses. This raises questions about the shift in public perception regarding sexual harassment between 2012 and 2023. Has the severity of the crime become less significant when it involves a habitual offender who represents ruling party in the Lok Sabha, compared to the Nirbhaya case involving slum dwellers?Today, despite legal provisions and complaint processes, the wrestlers have to protest to get justice. Does this indicate social and judicial consciousness is determined by the dynamics of socio-economic and political status of both the victims as well as perpetuators? Can we conclude that the public response to sexual abuse in India is influenced by the hierarchical position of who inflicted the crime on whom, in other words the public outcry for righteous justice depends less on the gravity of the crime, but more on who committed it? The role of media in shaping such public consciousness is visibly evident and which is dangerously leading to a lawlessness condition.Marital rape to sexual assault at work placeIndia, in comparison to Pakistan, is known for its modern legal system that upholds principles of social justice and equity. The enactment of the POCSO Act in 2012 and the Nirbhaya case shed light on the issue of sexual harassment of children and women in India. The legal framework provides clear definitions, particularly addressing sexual abuse of minors and workplace harassment. However, the Supreme Court is still deliberating on defining and criminalizing marital rape, lacking a definitive stance on the matter. India has yet to witness a widespread public debate on marital rape similar to the “Tere Bin” moment in Pakistan. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_2023_06_01_112413657_2_9494ec6526.png" alt="image_2023-06-01_112413657 (2).png">Representative ImageWhile there is clarity within the judicial system regarding sexual assault, actual discharge of justice is often denied and delayed, especially when the perpetrator holds positions of power. At the same time, the victims are further victimized by the system and society at large. The Nirbhaya incident (2012 gangrape of a girl in Delhi, the national capital) served as a wake-up call, raising public awareness on such issues. However, in the past decade, many sexual harassment cases have received mixed responses, particularly when the perpetrator comes from the top echelons of society and the victims belong to lower social classes or marginalized groups. This suggests that a society striving for equality and social justice compromises its values by responding to crimes based on the social status of the involved parties. Erosion of the public’s moral and social values has, eventually, resulted in weakening of the implementation of judicial provisions.The plight of wrestlers seeking justice is all the more disconcerting and agonizing in a polity and society that claims to honor the “daughters of the nation.” Yet, the civil response to this incident, even after nearly 40 days, is a grave concern. It highlights a fractured consciousness and a society divided at various levels, leaving individuals isolated in their own worlds. This creates an ideal environment for authoritarianism and a socio-political climate that helps cement the privileges of the privileged. The unravelling of the social fabric is a perilous sign of a failing State and a lost society.When it comes to harassment of women, response of neighbouring countries may vary on the basis of social development. Factors such as cultural norms, legal frameworks, and societal attitudes can influence the prevalence of and response to harassment. India and Pakistan are at different levels of gender development. Nevertheless, the recent incidents indicate that Indian civil society’s sense of awareness and responses towards gender-based violence and discrimination are muted, while Pakistan civil society is showing signs of waking up.<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;">Read this article in <a style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/hi-policy-analyst-looks-at-civic-responses-towards-sexual-abuse/">Hindi</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">, <a style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/ml-policy-analyst-looks-at-civic-responses-towards-sexual-abuse/">Malayalam</a>

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This was written by noted India-born Pakistani poet and human rights activist Fahmida Riaz three decades ago, after the demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya on December 6,1992, by the Hindutva oriented Karsevaks of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) led Sangh Parivar.

Reel to Real: Civic Responses Towards Sexual Abuse in India and Pakistan

Karnataka has a history of multi-party politics, with no single party consistently dominating the political landscape. It has never re-elected ruling parties since 1989. While the Congress and the BJP have dominated the State’s electoral contests many elections in the few past years, the Janata Dal (S) has continued to be a significant third factor.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20230507_WA_0003_768x447_9e7ed879e9.jpg" alt="IMG-20230507-WA0003-768x447.jpg">The only time a single party has won a clear majority in the last two decades was in 2013, when the Indian National Congress returned to power after a gap of nine years and Siddaramaiah became the Chief Minister.Interestingly, other parties and independents received a little more than 20% of the vote in this election. Other than the big three, two smaller parties played important roles. B. S. Yediyurappa‘s Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP), which he formed after he resigned from the BJP in 2012, received 9.8 per cent of the polled votes. B. Sriramulu’s Badavara Shramikara Raitara Congress (BSRCP) received 2.7 per cent of the vote.With Yediyurappa and Sriramulu rejoining the BJP in 2014, these two parties ceased to exist. The impact of these homecomings was clearly visible in the 2018 elections. Even though the BJP did not manage to secure a clear majority (its tally was 104 in the 224-seat Assembly), its vote share saw an impressive improvement, from 19.9% in the previous election to 36.2%. The vote share of the other parties makes it clear that the major reason for the BJP’s gain was the dissolution of those smaller parties. In fact, the Congress managed to secure a higher vote share than the BJP (38.06%), even though it managed to win only 80 seats in the 2018 elections.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20230507_WA_0004_768x442_462dac989e.jpg" alt="IMG-20230507-WA0004-768x442.jpg">Towards a bipolar political landscapeThe political landscape of Karnataka is clearly tripolar. Three major political parties have received roughly 80% of the total votes cast since 2004. However, a vote share analysis by constituency reveals a more nuanced picture.According to data compiled by Chunaav, an organisation focused on actionable political intelligence, the 2018 Assembly election saw ‘two-party contests’ in 151 of the 224 seats The winner and runner-up together received more than 80% of the votes in these seats, essentially making the contest bipolar. In other words, in roughly 70% of the constituencies, only two prominent parties competed against each other. No third political force has significantly impacted the outcome of these elections.‘Three party (tripolar) contests’ happened in only 64 constituencies. Nine constituencies witnessed a minimum of three significant political formations competing.In 110 bipolar contests, the fight was between Congress and the BJP. While Congress fought with JD(S) in 29 constituencies, the BJP had a bipolar contest with it in only 9 seats.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20230507_WA_0005_768x377_f34d2883a3.jpg" alt="IMG-20230507-WA0005-768x377.jpg">The BJP won 65 of the 110 seats in the direct contests between the Congress and the BJP. An interesting aspect to note in the bipolar contests is that in 95% of the cases the winner secured more than 50% of the votes.In most tripolar cases, it is clear that the results would have been different in the absence of the three-way division of the votes.The break-up of bipolar and tripolar contests and voting share patterns are shown in the tables below: <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20230507_WA_0006_768x340_594725e826.jpg" alt="IMG-20230507-WA0006-768x340.jpg"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20230507_WA_0007_768x500_ce57a0995d.jpg" alt="IMG-20230507-WA0007-768x500.jpg">Disappearing third forcesThough bipolar contests became prominent in 2018, that has not been the case in the period prior to 2018. In that period, there were more tripolar contests than bipolar contests. In 2013, while there were 98 three-way and 25 four-way contests, two-way contests were only 97. In 2008, these numbers were 111, 19, and 91 respectively.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20230507_WA_0008_1024x380_6b09730519.jpg" alt="IMG-20230507-WA0008-1024x380.jpg">This seems to indicate that, at the constituency level, alternatives to two main contestants are losing relevance and contests are essentially becoming bipolar. It doesn’t necessarily mean that this consolidation is affecting any particular political formation specifically.<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">The AIDEM presents the opinion of common people about the impending elections to the Karnataka state assembly:&nbsp;<a style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/tag/karnataka-janathayonthike/">Karnataka Janathayonthike</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">.

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Karnataka has a history of multi-party politics, with no single party consistently dominating the political landscape. It has never re-elected ruling parties since 1989. While the Congress and the BJP have dominated the State’s electoral contests many elections in the few past years, the Janata Dal (S) has continued to be a significant third factor.



Karnataka Elections; Bipolar or Tripolar? 

A ruling party with an inept leadership, a government whose main ‘claims to fame’ are a communally divisive agenda and allegations of corruption, a strong anti-incumbency sentiment – the Congress has no reason to lose the May 10 Assembly elections. Clear favourites in the latest round of elections, the Congress looks confident and comfortable amidst a bitter election campaign. It has successfully managed to steer the hotly contested debates away from national and/or communal politics, and focused on the local and the regional – the lack of development, unemployment, poverty and social justice under the BJP government and ‘Kannadiga pride’. But, with hardly a week to go for the polling day, the battle for the 224 Assembly seats appears far from over. Emotional rhetoric, religious polarisation, sectarianism, Hindutva and hate speeches appear to be rapidly gaining prominence in the context of the Congress’ perceptible advantage.Invoking Bajrang BaliThe BJP campaign is being led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has crisscrossed the State several times addressing public meetings and conducting road shows, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, party president J.P. Nadda and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, besides the Karnataka strongman B.S. Yediyurappa. It is on the defensive trying to ward off allegations that its government led by Basavaraj S. Bommai has not only done precious little for the State but indulged in corruption.The saffron party has gleefully latched on to what it calls the Congress’ “blunder” in declaring that it will ban the Bajrang Dal (and any other fundamentalist organisations), a fringe outfit of the Sangh Parivar if it comes to power. The Congress’ manifesto equating the Bajrang Dal and the Popular Front of India (PFI) as terror organisations has been conveniently projected by the saffron forces as denigration of Bajrang Bali (the Hindu god Lord Hanuman), an affront to the Hindu faith, and another instance of appeasement politics. The BJP cites the statements of the leaders of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political wing of the banned PFI, that it had withdrawn its candidates from 84 constituencies in favour of the contestants of the Congress and other secular parties and that it is only contesting 16 seats as evidence of the Congress’ compromise with Muslim communalism. Said Bommai: “The Congress party is under the influence of the SDPI and the PFI.”Modi chose to make the promised ban on the Bajrang Dal a big election issue by not only defending the Bajrang Dal (whose proclivity to violence is well recorded), but also asking crowds at several public meetings to chant “Jai Bajrang Bali”. He said that the Congress initially locked up Lord Ram and is now looking to imprison Bajrang Bali. In the blatantly communal turn of the BJP’s campaign, the Congress, which has until now steered clear of any religious issues, appears to be in a dilemma over what stand to take on the issue. While Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president D.K. Shivakumar went out of his way to distinguish between Bajrang Bali and the Bajrang Dal and announced that Hanuman temples will be constructed, repaired and renovated in Karnataka, senior leader M. Veerappa Moily said there was no plan to ban the Bajrang Dal. But Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera stuck to the stand that the Bajrang Dal will be banned by the Congress, if required.Though the BJP has repeatedly stated that development and its government’s achievements will be the focus of its election campaign, the Hindutva message behind this façade is all too evident. The party is banking on a polarised political environment to tackle the anti-incumbency sentiment. BJP general secretary C.T. Ravi, a three-time MLA from Chikmagalur, summed up the party’s position when he said that for the BJP, Hindutva was synonymous with nationalism and that there would be no compromise on its commitment to that concept. For the party, which has never secured a majority in the 224-member Assembly – the last three Assembly elections have also not given a majority to any party – a victory in Karnataka is crucial. For the Congress, a grand win could mean several things ranging from a resurgence of Rahul Gandhi’s political fortunes, to signifying a moral victory in its efforts to bring about opposition unity to defeat Modi. For the Janata Dal (S), the elections are another test of its ability to survive as a political party. A big loss could very well be the beginning of the end for an outfit which hopes to win 30 to 35 seats.‘40 percent Government’ Ever since Basavaraj Somappa Bommai took over as the 17th Chief Minister in July 2021, his government has been facing allegations of corruption, misgovernance, groupism and malfeasance. (Bommai took over from the BJP’s most well-known leader in the South, B.S. Yediyurappa, who had become Chief Ministership in July 2019 by dethroning the Janata Dal (S)-Congress coalition government after a series of defections.) In April 2022, the contractors association alleged that BJP MLAs and the then Panchayat Raj Minister K.S. Eshwarappa demanded 40% commission or bribes from contractors for every project. The Association had even dashed off a letter to the Chief Minister, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot. The letters went unanswered but both the BJP and Eshwarappa stoutly denied the allegations. Eshwarappa was also forced to resign subsequently. At a press conference on March 27, 2023, D. Kempanna, the contractor association’s president, said: “After writing to the Prime Minister (on July 6, 2021), we had a lot of expectations. During the run-up to (2018) elections, the Prime Minister termed the previous (Congress) regime as 10% government. We wrote to him stating that the bribe amount has increased to 40%.” Though no formal complaint was filed before the authorities, the 40% corruption charge has had a Teflon effect..In March, the son of BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa was arrested after the Lok Ayukta, the anti-corruption watchdog of the Karnataka government – caught him in the act of taking a bribe of Rs 40 lakh. The officials also recovered Rs 7 crore in cash from the MLA’s residence. Madal Virupakshappa, who was then the chairman of the Karnataka Soaps &amp; Detergents Limited, was later arrested.Reservation CardIn the run-up to the elections, the BJP attempted to woo the electorate with some social engineering by offering additional reservation in educational institutions and government jobs to the State’s two most socially, economically, politically dominant and land-owning communities – the Veerashaiva-Lingayats and Vokkaligas – under the 2D category of reservations of the OBC quota. The Bommai government also controversially scrapped the 4% religion-based reservation that the Muslims in the State had enjoyed since 1995, under Category 2B, on grounds of being socially and educationally backward. The government announced that Muslims would be removed from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category and that the 4% reservation taken away from them would be distributed equally among the Veerashaiva-Lingayats and Vokkaligas. Quick on the heels of this move, the government support base accorded reservation for 101 Scheduled Castes (SC). Both these decisions triggered a political controversy. In a related case, the Supreme Court held that the decision to exclude the Muslims from their 4% quota was “prima facie shaky and flawed. Prima facie, on the basis of the documents that are before us, it appears that the foundation of your decision-making process is highly shaky and flawed…Because it is on the basis of an interim report. Why could you not wait for the final report? What was the great hurry?” the Supreme Court bench asked Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Karnataka government. Further, the bench said: “This is not about religion. It is about socially and educationally backward classes. The 4% reservation is totally knocked out and the percentage of those who already had it has increased. There is a class of persons whose benefits are taken away by a stroke and on the basis of an interim report.”Lingayat BaseThe BJP’s core strength in Karnataka has been its base among the Lingayats. Riding largely on the back of this support, the BJP has managed to increase its vote share and seat tally steadily; its vote share went up from 4.14% in 1989 to 36.22% in 2018, and the seat tally increased from four to 104 during the same period. The official count of the Lingayat population is anywhere between 15% to 17% of the population. But some statistics leaked from the caste survey done during Siddarmaiah’s chief ministerial tenure indicated that they accounted for not more than 12%. Whatever be the exact number, the Lingayats have had a disproportionate share in power ever since Karnataka’s formation in 1956. The Lingayat community has in its sub-sects like the Banajigas, Ganigas and Panchamasalis, who are spread across the State, and wield influence almost throughout the State.In recent months the BJP’s central leadership, sensing its diminishing sway over the Lingayats after the removal of Yediyurappa as Chief Minister, replaced him with Bommai, also a Lingayat. Then it appointed Yediyurappa as a Parliamentary Board member of the party. It also increased the reservation for the community.The BJP has also been forced to defend itself against the criticism that it has humiliated and ignored the interests of the community. But an off-the-cuff remark by the Congress stalwart Siddaramaiah helped the BJP to portray him as anti-Lingayat. In an interview to a Kannada news, Siddaramaiah had quipped: “There’s already a Lingayat CM (Bommai) who is at the root of all corruption in the state”. BJP leaders, including Bommai, were quick to launch a scathing attack on Siddaramaiah. Said Bommai: “It is not right for a former CM to make a statement like this. He has said that the entire Lingayat community is corrupt. The Brahmin community had been ridiculed in the past. Earlier, he had tried to break the Lingayat-Veerashaiva community when he was Chief Minister. The people of the State will teach Siddaramaiah a lesson.” Siddaramaiah clarified that his remarks had been “twisted and misinterpreted” by the BJP, and that his “comments referred only to Bommai being corrupt”.However, the BJP is facing rumblings in its Lingayat support base. As a consequence of the party’s strategy to field new faces – a strategy that was successfully implemented in the Gujarat elections – it denied the ticket to two of its seniormost Lingayat leaders- former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and former Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi. The two promptly switched their loyalties to the Congress and are now contesting the Hubli-Dharwad (Central) and Athani seats on the Congress ticket. Both Shettar, a six time MLA and Savadi, a three time MLA, wield considerable influence among the community.Wooing VokkaligasThe BJP has also sought to woo the State’s other dominant community, the Vokkaligas, other smaller OBC groups, and also the Dalits. Incidentally, Eshwarappa has blatantly stated that the BJP does not need the votes of the Muslims. Though the BJP has been in power in Karnataka, it has been able to establish a presence in only around 120 of the 224 Assembly constituencies.The party has tried to woo the Vokkaligas by installing a 108-foot tall statue of Kempe Gowda, the community’s icon and architect of Bengaluru city, at the international airport in Bengalauru. The Vokkaligas constitute 40% of the population in the Old Mysuru region – primarily territories that came under the former Mysore princely state in south Karnataka – which stretches from Bengaluru (Rural) to Chamarajanagar districts and encompasses the districts of Ramanagara, Chamarajanagar, Bengaluru (Rural) Mandya, Mysuru, Kodagu, Kolar, Tumakuru and Hassan districts. The JD(U) has a significant presence in the region. The Muslims in the region have traditionally voted for the JD(S). The Vokkaliga-Muslim combination has earned the JD(S) the reputation of being the kingmaker whenever the State throws up a split verdict. Both the Congress and the BJP find it difficult to come to power on their own because of the Vokkaliga factor. The two parties are now trying their best to wrest the Vokkaliga vote. The BJP has unleashed its star campaigners including Modi and Yogi Adityanath in this region. Modi is scheduled to close his campaign with a visit to the Nanjundeshwara Temple (also called the Srikanteshwara Temple) in the Hindu pilgrimage town of Nanjanagudu in Old Mysuru.Of the 62 seats in the Old Mysuru region the Congress relies on its base among AHINDA (a Kannada acronym for Alpasankhyataru or minorities, Hindulidavaru or backward classes, and Dalitaru or Dalits) along with the support from a section of Vokkaligas. It is in a straight fight with the JD(S) in most seats. But the BJP has, buoyed by the 2019 Lok Sabha election results when the party for the first time ever received 40 per cent of the votes in southern Karnataka, has made inroads in this region. The party is hoping to double its tally. The Prime Minister in rallies in the Old Mysuru area has claimed a vote for the JD(S) is a vote for the Congress. “The JD(S) is the B team of the Congress,” he said. In the current assembly, the JD(S) holds 26 seats from this region, while the Congress has 20, and the BJP 16.Of the 17 CMs Karnataka has had, seven were from the Vokkaliga community. The Vokkaligas are also present in sizable numbers in 27 of Bengaluru urban district’s 28 constituencies (Anekal being the lone exception), Bengaluru rural district’s four constituencies, and Chikkaballapura’s eight constituencies.Both the Congress and the BJP are banking on winning Bengaluru, which accounts for 28 seats, and Belagavi, which has 18. In Bengaluru, the party won 15 seats in 2018, while in Belagavi, it pocketed 13. Modi has already done a road show in Bengaluru and two more covering 34 kms are planned over the weekend.The BJP continues to hold sway in the coastal region, which is known as the ‘laboratory’. Though dissidence has surfaced in a couple of seats, the Congress has not been able to alter the political balance in the region’s 19 seats.No party can hope to come to power in Karnataka without winning a majority of the seats in the Kalyana-Karnataka and Kittur-Karnataka regions. The Kalyana-Karnataka region comprising the seven districts of Bidar, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal and Kalaburagi – which were once part of the Kingdom of Hyderabad ruled by the Nizams – and, Ballari and Vijayanagara of the erstwhile Madras province, has 40 seats. Lingayats are the dominant political force here. The Congress, which takes credit for according special status to this backward region through the introduction of Article 371(J) in the Constitution in 2012 during the UPA-II regime at the Centre, has traditionally done well here. The move has benefited the region in a big way, with reservations in education and employment, apart from special grants for infrastructure development. Incidentally, the BJP, when it led the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, rejected the demand for special status.In 2008, the Congress bagged 22 seats, while in 2013 it won 23. In 2018 the party bagged 21 seats. The northeastern corner of the State, which comes under the Kalyana-Karnataka region, has produced several tall Congress leaders including two Chief Ministers – Veerendra Patil and N. Dharam Singh. And Congress president Mallikarjuna Kharge hails from this region. Kharge’s elevation in the party has certainly enthused Congress cadre in the region.The BJP which won 15 seats from this region in 2018 riding on its support from the Lingayats, increased its tally to 18 after three Congress legislators defected. The BJP takes credit for renaming the Hyderabad Karnataka region as the Kalyana Karnataka region, claiming that “the B.S. Yediyurappa-led government liberated the region from psychological slavery to Nizam rule.” The mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy, a power centre who recently quit the saffron party, has launched the Kalyana Rajya Pragati Paksha (KRPP) and is contesting in most seats in the region. The JD(S) won four seats in this region in 2018.Much churn has taken place in the Kittur-Karnataka region in the run-up to the elections. Earlier known as the Bombay Karnataka region, it comprises the districts of Dharwad, Haveri, Gadag, Belagavi, Vijayapura and Bagalkot. This region solidly behind the BJP in the 2018 elections, the BJP won 30 of the 48 seats on offer, with the Congress winning 17, and the JD(S) two.The Congress and the BJP are in a close fight in Central Karnataka comprising the districts of Davangere and Chitradurga, where the BJP won 10 of 13 constituencies in 2018. In the Malanad districts of Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru, the BJP won 10 of the 12 seats.A united Congress seeks to highlight the corruption charges against the Bommai regime, its policy of troubling the minorities, and its failure to take forward Brand Karnataka. The BJP, with its central leadership literally managing the campaign, is attempting to hold on to its position as the party with the largest number of seats. The third player, the JD(S), continues to remain a distant third.<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">The AIDEM presents the opinion of common people about the impending elections to the Karnataka state assembly:&nbsp;<a style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/tag/karnataka-janathayonthike/">Karnataka Janathayonthike</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">.

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A ruling party with an inept leadership, a government whose main ‘claims to fame’ are a communally divisive agenda and allegations of corruption, a strong anti-incumbency sentiment – the Congress has no reason to lose the May 10 Assembly elections. Clear favourites in the latest round of elections, the Congress looks confident and comfortable amidst a bitter election campaign.

Karnataka Elections: Congress ahead, BJP on the defensive

This column will deal with words and concepts and their changing and nuanced meanings. Indeed , many more interpretations and value additions are possible on the words and descriptions that figure in this series. The AIDEM invites further discussions on these words and concepts from readers.A Pakistani Christian once asked me how India could call itself a secular country when its people are deeply religious. “What an unworkable concept you have adopted!”, he said. In the November 29, 2013 edition of The Hindu, historian Sanjay Subrahmanyam, who has a prestigious chair in France, said Indian secularism meant the state mediating between religions. Between a common man’s perception and a scholarly interpretation, where do we locate the meaning and practice of secularism in India? Admittedly, secularism is misunderstood by both citizens and leadership.According to the Encyclopaedia of Sciences and Religions, secularism is an attitude or a political ideology aiming to eradicate religion from public and social life, or at least regulate and control religion, or limit its influence on state politics. Further, it is a condition where religion is absent from specific areas of society, that is, state and public sphere, and/or the minds and practices of people. Thus, secularism means reducing the overarching and, as it often seems, the transcendent religious systems to a subsystem or a marginal dimension of cultural identity.The Origin and MeaningThe concept of secularism was created by the British writer George Jacob Holyoake in 1846. He used the term to describe a social order that is separate from religion, without actively dismissing religious beliefs. In Europe, ‘secular’ meant non-religious, and ‘secular work’ meant anything not related to church activities. Once my English friend who met me at my residence in Hull, United Kingdom; apologetically said, “I did not go to the church today”. I asked him, “why not!” He said he had to do some secular work. In a bit of confusion, I exclaimed, “What were you doing?” He answered, “I did some gardening and cleaned my car”.His reply implied the dominant understanding of secularism in Europe. Anything unrelated to church meant secular work. Unlike in India, secularism did not become an ethical principle or a code of conduct. Thus, a cluttered definition of secularism which is a fundamental principle of the state makes life difficult.In France, secularism is explained by a concept called laicite. This means even a stronger separation between the state and religion; in fact, pushing the latter into the private realm. The strong state in France attempts to privatise religion. The essence of laicism is to create a neutral public space in which religious beliefs, practices and instincts have lost their political significance and have been pushed to the private sphere. Mixing politics and religion is regarded as irrational and dangerous. With such an understanding, the French government prohibits outwardly religious practices like Muslims wearing burkha or Sikhs sporting turbans and even Christian wearing a cross too visibly. Consequently, France gets embroiled continually in religious tensions.In the United States, religion has been separated from the state from the day of founding of the Constitution. The first amendment to the Constitution expressly prohibits Congress from making laws “respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. In other words, the government is barred from preferring one religion over another, and from preferring religion over non-religion.European countries like England, Finland and Denmark recognise an official church. In Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain, the state and church take up common tasks. The government in those countries even fund church organisations. Therefore, secularist division between religion and politics is not fixed, but rather historically and socially constructed.Indian SecularismIndian secularism has been interpreted in various ways. The literal meaning of secularism in the Constitution, looking at the Hindi translation of the word as mentioned in the Amendment, is dhramanirpekhsata. This means the state-neutrality. There are also many religious scholars who would not equate dharma with religion. Dharma means the principle or law that orders the universe, an individual conduct in conformity with this principle and the essential function or nature of a thing. Furthermore, in Hinduism, dharma is an individual obligation with respect to caste, social custom, civil law, and sacred law etc.The other interpretation of secularism (considered a bit Nehruvian) is “sarvadharma sambhava”, meaning all religions should be equal. Commentators have questioned the practicality of this interpretation, how unequal religions, (Hindus are 83 per cent or more, Buddhists are 0.9 per cent, Christians are 2.3 per cent, Jews are too small in number) can be possibly treated equally? Consequent to this interpretation, the small religious groups are allegedly crowded out of public space by big religious groups namely, Hindus and Muslims. One more distinct interpretation is by the Communists, who equate secularism in public life with atheism, or agnosticism. Karl Marx, the Guru of Communists, had famously said, “Religion is the opium of the people”. Marxism has declined, so has the indifference if not the opposition to religion. Besides, in India, the vast majority of people are religious, atheists are few.It is clear that there is no standard definition of secularism in Indian politics.What should Secularism mean in India?Secularism should be seen as an ethical principle by itself in regard to religion, not a negation of the latter. It should be seen as doing at least three things. One, it should maintain harmony in a pluralist society. When people call themselves secular, they respect all other identities in a society, be it religious, linguistic, ethnic, or regional. That is how people should respect and learn from one another. The beauty of life lies in “unity in diversity”.A society is not monolithic. If it is, it will not be viable because many interdependent units would not come together to make it work. Secondly, secularism leads to growth of modern knowledge systems, and concepts such a rationality. Problems like poverty, malnutrition, hunger and disease that cannot be handled by religion. They can be tackled only by science, technology, medicines, and so on. That is why secular institutions like laboratories, hospitals, banks, and universities exist. Thirdly, secularism should balance the twin spheres of life- religion and politics.According to believers, religion, whatever be its interpretation, is needed in life; the essence of any religion is anchored in humanism. Any project of modernity or rationality cannot explain existential questions such as the pain and pleasure and life and death. Therefore, religion and politics will have to work in a multi-religious, pluralist format. They could be separated contextually and be mixed constructively. Different interpretations of religions could be mediated by constitutional principles enshrining human rights, civil liberties, equality etc.That said, even non-believers are covered in an Indian secular format described above. The Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) has been guaranteed as a human right under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) since 1966. So, our discussion goes beyond secularism vs religion to secularism and multiple beliefs outside the domain of religion. What is important in this concept is that it includes freedom to ‘to leave or abandon religions and hold non-religious beliefs. No one should be discriminated against, coerced or persecuted for their beliefs.Also, like all human rights, FoRB belongs to people, whether individual or a collective, and it lends freedom to their beliefs whatever they may be – religious, non-religious, agnostic atheism, animism, paganism and so on. The only rider is that, as said before, those beliefs should not run counter to the constitutional rights and duties of a country.<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;">For past releases of Words and Concepts, <a style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/tag/words-and-concepts/">Click Here</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">.

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This column will deal with words and concepts and their changing and nuanced meanings. Indeed , many more interpretations and value additions are possible on the words and descriptions that figure in this series. The AIDEM invites further discussions on these words and concepts from readers.

Words and Concepts- 3: Secularism

By enacting the Right to Health Act, 2022, the Rajasthan Assembly has written a remarkable chapter in the history of health legislation in India. This is undoubtedly the first Act that explicitly brings health (care) into the ambit of citizens’ rights and fixes the responsibility of delivering it on the state. The Rajasthan government has stated that it is planning to improve upon this legislation as well. This gives hope as Rajasthan is also the pioneering north Indian state to roll out the much discussed free medicines scheme almost a decade ago. The scheme aimed at providing prescribed medicines free of cost to all patients in the State, thus considerably reducing out-of-pocket spending by the common people on health care needs.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/gehlot_768x432_36098a1e60.jpg" alt="gehlot-768x432.jpg"> Rajasthan CM Ashok GehlotAs someone who has engaged actively with public health in different capacities _ as a community practitioner, as a social activist, as a public health/health systems/health policy researcher, as an academic, and a former administrator _ I have analysed this legislation. Here, I am sharing my reflections, with a hope that these will help the State of Rajasthan to strengthen its initiative and the other States to enact a comprehensive public health law:<ol><li>While the law is titled the Right to Health Act, it’s on the right to health care services, especially the emergency services. In this area, a lot more features have to be added to make the Act comprehensive. Significant additions in terms of entitlements related to preventive and promotive health, environmental health, social health, health determinants, and so on, have to be made. However, we need to note that often health, public health and health care are considered one and the same by many quarters.</li><li>Even to fulfil the current minimal level of commitments made by the Act, the state has to put in a lot of efforts to make the government-run health service delivery network more reliable, responsive, and accountable. This means filling the human and other infrastructure gaps on a priority basis, addressing behavioral gaps, updating technologies regularly and substantially improving the quality of care. All these measures require not only sufficient financial resources but also institutional abilities and capacities to utilise these resources in the best possible manner. Above all, leadership and political will are absolutely essential because the right to health cannot be achieved in a five-year tenure of any State government. We need to also note that this law has been enacted during the last year of the incumbent government, which makes the leadership and sustainability requirements even more crucial.</li><li>For including private health providers in the health care network in an equitable manner, the state will have to do away with the insurance coverage-based systems, which have been proved to be not useful for the needy populations and wasteful for the exchequer. Instead, a just and justifiable rate-fixation system for services as well as a dignified and time-bound payment system need to be set up under a state- managed risk-pooling mechanism, which will save a lot of financial resources for the state. For managing reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses by the individuals, the state can rely upon a localised system run by reliable community level institutions. Such systems should be supported by well-equipped regulatory systems to ensure the quality of facilities, processes, actual service delivery and payments therein.</li><li>Grievance redress systems should be set up in an inclusive manner avoiding conflicts of interests _ which is a problem with the present Act _ so that these systems could be extended to both government and privately provided services. In addition to this, community level feedback and improvement systems are also a must for realising the right to health in a participatory manner.</li><li>To ensure that the most vulnerable sections of society avail themselves of the various benefits and services provided under the Act, it has to be made more inclusive and equitable in terms of instrumenting systems.</li><li>A strong information system is essential for people and providers to understand the Act’s provisions and to positively improve the health seeking behaviour and quality of service.</li></ol>Taking the critics alongAt times, vehement opposition to something shows its significance. This is the case with the present Act. The State government successfully managed to negotiate with those who opposed the Act and notify it in the gazette. At the same time, I feel that the government should have been a bit more careful in drafting the contents and processes of the Act, which would have averted the protests. Among the critics of the Act were well-meaning medical professionals, who seem to be genuinely concerned about some of its provisions. Of course, nothing can be done about those with conflict of interest who will continue to disseminate misinformation and provoke agitations despite the best intent and contents of the Act.Nevertheless, it is also to be stated that the state did set up a consultative system in the run-up to the enactment of the law, and has accepted a number of demands of the agitating; in fact, such concessions have weakened or compromised many important provisions of the Act. I can only hope that the government will be able to strengthen such weaker provisions on the go, and the agitating professional communities will soon realise this fact, come forward and help the government strengthen and roll out the Act in a better way. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/raja_768x512_30b527d6ea.jpg" alt="raja-768x512.jpg">Doctor’s protest against Rajasthan Health ActWhile it is important to bring clarity to various provisions and ensure justice to the private service providers’ demands, it is also the duty of medical professionals and associations to respect and strengthen the law’s primary intent of delivering people’s health rights. I am also hopeful that the Government of Rajasthan will formulate affirmative rules that will facilitate a meaningful rollout of the Act and introduce changes to make it a comprehensive legal instrument. The government must take the active support of those who have been working for people’s health in strengthening the provisions of the Act and making it comprehensive. Organisations like the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan has already come forward to offer such support.The Assam experienceThere are some important failures to remember too. In 2010, the State governmentof Assam had enacted The Assam Public Health Act, which sought to establish people’s health rights in India for the first time. This Act defined the health and health care rights of the people, duties and rights of the providers, and the health services to be rendered to the people across the State – although the title of the Act did not explicitly express the “rights” paradigm like the Rajasthan did. Unfortunately, the last 13 years have not seen any major progress in the implementation of this Act.Rajasthan has the opportunity and momentum that Assam has lost. The Rajasthan government, medical and health professionals in the State, media personnel and the people of Rajasthan (and also other States) have a lot to learn from the history of the Assam Act. Worryingly, the current Rajasthan government is at the end of its five-year tenure, a situation similar to Assam where the Health Act was enacted by the Congress when the Assembly elections were round the corner. Though the Congress returned to power, the momentum created by the passing of the Public Health Act was not followed up by the succeeding government because the Health Minister of Assam who had tabled this Bill in the Assembly defected to another party and became the Chief Minister of the State. As a result, the Act lies in cold storage. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_4_1_768x432_0dc9df1790.png" alt="image-4-1-768x432.png">Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, who tabled the Assam Public Health Act in Assam assembly when he was a minister in the Congress government in 2010I sincerely believe this will not be the case in Rajasthan. It should not be too because the right to health is definitely a political tool to achieve the goal of ‘health for all’ and empower those committed to people’s health. However, the promise of health care should not be reduced to a tactical election promise to win votes. This is where I expect the Rajasthan government, whichever party leads it, to carry forward the ‘health for all’ agenda taking along all sections of people in a sincere and serious manner.I am also thinking of how the other States can establish the right to health and health care in their respective jurisdictions, learning from the Rajasthan case. A lot of groundwork and system strengthenin needs to be done by States intending to make such initiatives comprehensive and acceptable. While the duties and accountability of the private sector needs to be clearly stated and institutional measures to realise these to be built in an adequate manner, the state should cover the justifiable costs incurred by the private sector. One has to realise the importance of taking the private actors on board and to ensure timely and smooth transfer of financial resources to them.Kerala and Tamil NaduThe States of Kerala and Tamil Nadu demonstrate how health entitlements could be ensured. The Public Health Act enacted by the Kerala Legislative Assembly recently and the preparatory measures being undertaken by the Tamil Nadu government to establishing the right to health show that they are legally sound ground. The way the health systems, private actors and the communities worked together in these States during the Covid-19 pandemic recently, led by the local and State governments indicate there preparedness to move forward on the right to health front. This does not mean that the other States cannot do this. Let us hope that the journey that Rajasthan has embarked on will show the way to the other States in establishing health as a legally enforceable right.<strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;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;">Subscribe to our channels on&nbsp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/c/THEAIDEM"><strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;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;">YouTube</a><strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;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;">&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/ELqD1D1bImgAP6MrG8jskq"><strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;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;">WhatsApp</a>

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By enacting the Right to Health Act, 2022, the Rajasthan Assembly has written a remarkable chapter in the history of health legislation in India.

Rajasthan’s Right to Health Act: The Way Forward and Some Hitches

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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>

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