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Ear to the Ground is a special feature by The AIDEM that reports on offbeat field reports on people’s lives and livelihood issues.

Homeless in Prime Minister’s Varanasi…

<p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(85,85,85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;"><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 Kashi-Vishwanath temple’s mahant Rajendra Prasad Tiwary’s stinging comment —“Ye log dharma ke vyapari hain (These people are the merchants of religion)”—was aimed at none other than &nbsp;Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his courtiers. Tiwary had said these words specifically referring to the Kashi Vishwanath corridor, a new pathway to the temple of which he is the pujari , inaugurated recently by Modi with much fanfare . For the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) governments at the Centre and in the State of Uttar Pradesh , the new pathway was an instrument to etch the names of their leaders , including Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the history of the ancient town and its holy temple . They claim to have made the “ way to Lord Shiva &nbsp;“ smoother and easier for devotees . But for people like Tiwary and hundreds of other “ messengers of God “ in Varanasi, &nbsp;the pathway , which was built demolishing hundreds of smaller temples and historical buildings , including &nbsp;libraries dating back to several centuries , is a symbol of crass commercialisation and kitsch absolutely adverse to the tradition and culture of Varanasi .</span></span></p><figure class="image"><img alt="C0572T01-768x432.jpg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/C0572_T01_768x432_e043de98e1.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_C0572_T01_768x432_e043de98e1.jpg 245w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_C0572_T01_768x432_e043de98e1.jpg 500w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_C0572_T01_768x432_e043de98e1.jpg 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure><div 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;" dir="ltr">And indeed , &nbsp;voices of rebellion such as the ones of mahant Rajendra Prasad Tiwary’s , are deeply ingrained in the social ,cultural political and academic fabric of Varanasi since time immemorial. That it has come in the midst of an intense political campaign in the town for the last and final phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections ,scheduled for March 7 , adds greater significance to the continuation of this historical stream of dissent .</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">On his part , the Prime Minister has been doing everything at his command to save his prestige in Varanasi , the constituency he represents in the Lok Sabha; Road shows, door to door campaigns, rallies and of course his trademark rhetorical &nbsp;speeches. Apparently, he feels that a poor show of the BJP candidates in the assembly elections in this part might jeopardize his future prospects.Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath is another mahant—mahant of the Gorakhnath temple—depending on Narendra Modi to salvage the situation so that he (Yogi) could retain power in Uttar Pradesh. As many as 54 assembly seats are scheduled for polling on March 7 in Varanasi region—part of what is also known as the eastern Uttar Pradesh .</div><figure class="image"><img alt="C0569T01-768x432.jpg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/C0569_T01_768x432_64d8df144a.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_C0569_T01_768x432_64d8df144a.jpg 245w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_C0569_T01_768x432_64d8df144a.jpg 500w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_C0569_T01_768x432_64d8df144a.jpg 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure><div 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;" dir="ltr">This region is mired in poverty, backwardness, deprivation and inequality. But it is Varanasi—known as Kashi in the Vedic and post-Vedic literatures—that has been the seat of the high level of creativity, nuanced discourse in spiritualism, metaphysics and literature ever since its inception. Be it Shaivism, Vashnavism, Buddhism, Islam, right and left wing political philosophies—Varanasi has given space to everyone but has never allowed anyone stream or individual to conquer and dominate it. The history of Varanasi is full with the seers, saints, poets and writers challenging orthodoxy over the centuries and decades.</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">The rebellion against the then Brahmanical orthodoxy comes to the fore in this couplet of Tulsi Das , author of RamcharitManas: “Maang ke khaibo, Masit mein rahibo, Lebai ke ek and debai ke dou (I will eat by seeking alms, will live in a mosque, neither I have to take anything from you nor I am supposed to give anything to you). Researchers have interpreted Tulsi Das’s words as his rejection to the orthodox Brahmin priests who didn’t give him recognition for writing in the people’s language of Awadhi as against Sanskrit that they thought as the only godly language.</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">It was Munshi Premchant—by far the greatest of the Hindi novelists born and brought up at Lamahi, a village in the vicinity of Varanasi—who wrote in 1930’s: “ &nbsp;Communalism feels shy in coming alone; it comes clothed in nationalism”. It was at Akbarpur—close to Varanasi that the iconic Socialist leader, Ram Manohar Lohia was born . His early experiments with his unique brand of socialism had also its beginnings in &nbsp;this region. Incidentally, the Samajwadi Party that has emerged as the prime challenger to the BJP has built its political edifice on Lohia’s philosophy. Lohia was known for his trenchant rebellion against the entrenched power represented by the Congress then.</div><figure class="image"><img alt="C0567T01-768x432.jpg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/C0567_T01_768x432_0542249adf.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_C0567_T01_768x432_0542249adf.jpg 245w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_C0567_T01_768x432_0542249adf.jpg 500w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_C0567_T01_768x432_0542249adf.jpg 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure><div 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;" dir="ltr">It was at the Kashi-Vishwanath temple where Bismillah Khan—a devout Muslim who religiously did his namaz five times a day—found the right ambience to hone his skill and mastery over the musical instrument of shehnai . Khan Saab took his art to its highest glory in the world. He stayed indebted and devoted to Lord Vishwanath, the Ganga and the ambience for whole life.</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">Way back in 6th century BC a prince from Lumbini (Nepal), Siddharth Gautam Buddha acquired enlightenment at Bodhgaya (Bihar) and gave his sermons rooted in rebellion against the Vedic order at Sarnath in Varansasi. And Kabir—the saint poet from Varanasi—attacked orthodoxy in the manner only he could have done: “Je tun babhan Babhni jaya, aani dwar kah-e na aaya; je tum turk-turkini jaya,bhtr-e khatna kah-e na karaya (If you claim distinctness on the basis of being a Brahmin why didn’t you came in this world from a distinct route; if you claim to be a Turk-Muslim why did you not get circumcised in your mother’s womb)”.</div><figure class="image"><img alt="C0638T01-768x432.jpg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/C0638_T01_768x432_8939e605c2.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_C0638_T01_768x432_8939e605c2.jpg 245w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_C0638_T01_768x432_8939e605c2.jpg 500w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_C0638_T01_768x432_8939e605c2.jpg 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure><div 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;" dir="ltr">Banaras or Varanasi has been full of the vision for new possibilities. The former Prime Minister, Late Atal Bihari Vajpayee was rejected from Mathura in Lucknow in his first election in 1957. But he made his debut in the Lok Sabha from Balrampur—part of the larger Banaras region. The region saw immense possibility in Vajpayee very early. Varanasi’s vision in seeing new possibilities gets reflected in poet Feraq Gorakhpur’s verse,”Teray kadmon ki aahat pahle him hum bhaanp leteay hain; Tujh-e ai jindagi hum door se pahchant lete hain (We notice your footsteps very early! O life! I understand you from quite afar)”.</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">Thus when the Kashi-Vishwanath Mahant Rajendra Tiwary challenges as powerful a person as Modi and his acolytes he keeps up to the rebellious tradition of Varanasi. (Ye log Banaras ko maal bana rahe hain,yeh sadhna ke sthali hai (These people—read Modi,Yogi and likes—are morphing Varanasi into an abode of consumers and consumerism. It is the land of penance and devotion)”.</div><figure class="image"><img alt="C0580T01-768x432.jpg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/C0580_T01_768x432_50045fb1ca.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_C0580_T01_768x432_50045fb1ca.jpg 245w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_C0580_T01_768x432_50045fb1ca.jpg 500w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_C0580_T01_768x432_50045fb1ca.jpg 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure><p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(85,85,85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;"><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;">It’s hard to tell how long NarendraModi will represent Varanasi in the Lok Sabha. But what is very clear is his style of politics—interpreting Hindutva as designed by the Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh and othering the minorities—is antithesis to what Varanasi has represented over the centuries .</span></span></p>

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The Kashi-Vishwanath temple’s mahant Rajendra Prasad Tiwary’s stinging comment —“Ye log dharma ke vyapari hain (These people are the merchants of religion)”—was aimed at none other than  Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his courtiers. 

Hard for Modi to Stamp ‘Hindutva’ in Varanasi—Land of Rebellion and Creativity

<div 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;" dir="ltr">In terms of pure electoral arithmetics the results to the five assembly elections – in Uttar Pradesh , Uttarakhand , Punjab , Manipur and Goa – &nbsp;underscores the continuing march of Hindutva politics as represented by the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP). The BJP is set to form the government in four out of these five States , with clear majority in Uttar Pradesh , Uttarakhand and Manipur while it has to draw support from independents and smaller parties in Goa . But at the same time , the results have also underscored the steady resistance being put up by regional forces in the form of the stupendous victory of the Aam Aadmi Party ( AAP) in Punjab and the spirited fight of the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh . The election process has also heralded virtual demise of the grand old party of India Congress, suffering heavy loses across all the five States . Once prominent regional parties like the &nbsp;Akali Dal and the Bahujan Samaj Party have also met the same fate .</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">Historically , Punjab been the gateway to the ‘karvan (procession)’ of the diverse streams of culture, civilization, ideas, stories and politics for centuries that has made what is known as Hindustan or India or Bharat today. The same Punjab is seeing &nbsp;today the rise of Arvind Kejrival with his novel experiments in politics . By all indications , it appears to have the potential to travel down to other northern and western Indian states such as Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. A dominant factor that spurred its rise in Punjab was the aspirational young generation getting disenchanted with the traditional parties and looking for a solution driven one approach to politics. Winning a phenomenal 92 seats out the 117 &nbsp;seats in Punjab Kejriwal’s Aam Admi Party (AAP) has emerged as the first regional party in post Independent India to take over a second state in a matter of 10 years since its inception.</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">While there is merit in the opinion of some political pundits highlighting the BJP’s show in Uttar Pradesh as a ‘booster dose” for the saffron party , a closer look at the voting trends also points to the bigger gains made by the Akhilesh Yadav led SP in terms of voting percentage points , though the SP led alliance could win only 125 seats against the BJP led National Democratic Alliance’s ( NDA ) 273. The BJP and its allies had 325 seats in 2017. On the other hand, the Samajvadi Party had barely 43 seats and thus, it is has registered a threefold rise in its legislative strength.</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">Back to the comparison between the BJP and the AAP, the AAP’s political philosophy is entirely based on the delivery of the services, schemes and solutions to the people with perfection and speed whereas the BJP has combined welfare schemes with Hindutva and nationalism to increase its sway.</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">The AAP’s policy—which has the stamp of Arvind Kejriwal—has penetrated deeper in the psyche of the voters first in Delhi and now in Punjab. On the other hand, the BJP has the reasons for worries in future with the aspirational voters agitating for employment and livelihood showing faith in Akhilesh and turning to his party. Even if not to his satisfaction, the farmers’ stir has enervated Hindutva to some extent uniting the Hindus and Muslims that has added to the rise in the seats and vote share for the Samajwadi Party all across Uttar Pradesh. In all regions of Uttar Pradesh – western , Awadh , Bundhelkhand and Poorvanchal – the SP vote share Chas risen to the tune of 15 to 17 percent . Indeed the NDA too has registered a three and a half percent rise in vote share as compared to 2017 polls . It has got 45 percent vote this time . In comparison the SP has risen from 21.8 percent five years ago to 36.1 percent now.</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">Of course, the BJP’s welfare scheme that has ensured free ration and Rs 6000 cash in three installments financed by Rs 54000 crore of allocation in the union budget and the beneficiaries confirming it to the touring journalists has weighed over the S.P’s efforts, facilitating Adityanath to hold on with power.</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">&nbsp; &nbsp;But &nbsp;viewed from a futuristic perspective, the BJP has reasons for worry in 2024 in Uttar Pradesh. It goes without saying that Narendra Modi has lorded over the psyche of the youths since 2014 onwards. Frustrated and angry for not getting jobs, they have shifted to the SP and now Akhilesh is faced with the challenge to retain and expand on his gains in the long haul of the political battle that he is likely to be involved with the BJP.</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">The elections have certainly &nbsp;catapulted Kejriwal at the national level pointing to the possibility of his emergence as one of the challengers to Prime Minister Narendra Modi . At the same time , there is also &nbsp;hope for Akhilesh to build on the relative gains he has made in the country’s most populous State , Uttar Pradesh . In all probability , the fulcrum of opposition politics in the run up to the 2024 polls would revolve around Kejriwal , Akhilesh and the Trinamool Congress Chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee , who routed the BJP in the West Bengal elections earlier . But the &nbsp;current results as well as the once over the last couple of years has underscored the free fall of the Congress and it &nbsp;has denervated the party nearly beyond repair.</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><div 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;" dir="ltr">It’s a saga of the Congress steadily losing on its organizational and mass base owing to the inaptitude on the part of its leadership versus a better organized and hugely resourceful BJP in Uttarakhand, Goa andn Manipur. The BJP despite changing three CM has retained Uttarakhand which the Congress because of the weaknesses a multiple layers of its structure has failed to capitalize on the apparently anti-incumbency dogging the BJP in the hill state.</div>

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In terms of pure electoral arithmetics the results to the five assembly elections – in Uttar Pradesh , Uttarakhand , Punjab , Manipur and Goa –  underscores the continuing march of Hindutva politics as represented by the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP). T

Hindutva Continues its March , But AAP too Rises and SP Puts up a Spirited Fight

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<p><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_9_45ef5452cd.jpeg" alt="images-9.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_9_45ef5452cd.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_9_45ef5452cd.jpeg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></p><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">The following article is part of the Trailblazing Women of India series. A series presented by The AIDEM, exploring the lives and ideas of women who played a decisive role in shaping India’s social, political, and intellectual history.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">The AIDEM underscores the enduring contemporary relevance of revisiting the lives of these women leaders and the ideas they championed. Click <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://youtu.be/G_sxvcXO0tg"><u>here</u></a> to watch the video.</p><hr><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">Picture this: It’s 1930. A 27-year-old woman stands before Mahatma Gandhi, telling him he’s making a historic mistake.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">Gandhi is planning the Salt March. His vision? Men march and women stand on street corners selling salt and singing songs.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay says: No.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">“Women have stood shoulder to shoulder with men, building the Congress party. They deserve to march,” she insists.</p><figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:654px;" id="attachment_42087" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-42087"><p><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyaya_Leading_a_Congress_march_in_the_early_1930s_a72f010da1.jpg" alt="Kamaladevi-Chattopadhyaya-Leading-a-Congress-march-in-the-early-1930s.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyaya_Leading_a_Congress_march_in_the_early_1930s_a72f010da1.jpg 102w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyaya_Leading_a_Congress_march_in_the_early_1930s_a72f010da1.jpg 327w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyaya_Leading_a_Congress_march_in_the_early_1930s_a72f010da1.jpg 491w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></p><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-42087">Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya leading a Congress march in the early 1930s</figcaption></figure><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">Gandhi concedes. But she’s not finished. “Issue a formal call to action.”</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">“Why?” Gandhi asks. “Don’t you know your sisters?”</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">Her response? Pure political genius: “Because history will record that YOU called them to participate.”</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">History did record it. Women marched beside Gandhi, breaking salt laws. Kamaladevi became one of the first women arrested for civil disobedience. She auctioned “freedom salt” at the Bombay Stock Exchange for Rs. 501. On January 26, 1930, she clung to the Indian tricolour during a scuffle with authorities, refusing to let go.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">Who was this woman bold enough to challenge Gandhi?</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">Born in 1903 in Mangalore, married at fourteen, widowed at sixteen. She remarried—scandalous. She divorced—one of India’s first civil divorces. In 1926, encouraged by Margaret Cousins, she became the first woman to contest a legislative office, losing by just 55 votes. In 1927, she founded the All India Women’s Conference as its organizing secretary.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">In 1936, she became a founding member of the Congress Socialist Party, working alongside Jayaprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia. Yet when we celebrate Indian socialism, we remember only the men.</p><figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:300px;" id="attachment_42084" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-42084"><p><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyay_aa0f5dde3b.jpg" alt="Kamaladevi-Chattopadhyay.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyay_aa0f5dde3b.jpg 113w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></p><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-42084">Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay</figcaption></figure><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">Her ideas were revolutionary. She connected capitalism, imperialism, and women’s subjection: “This imperial capitalist system encourages endless wars and expects women to produce children who become soldiers.” She challenged glorified motherhood itself.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">In the 1930s—decades before global women’s liberation—she championed bodily autonomy and birth control. Not for population control, but for women’s choice. She traveled to America, worked with Margaret Sanger, and in 1951 established India’s first family planning commission centered on women’s autonomy.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">She championed what we now refer as feminist economics, preceding the Feminist Care Ethics Debate by decades. She documented sexual division of labor, wage discrimination, and systematic underpayment of women workers in industrial and agricultural sectors—when labor movements barely acknowledged women as workers.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">Interestingly, she refused the label “feminist,” understanding that in her hostile patriarchal environment, strategic pragmatism mattered. But her ideas? Profoundly feminist.</p><p><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Kamaladevi_4_58727afc75.jpg" alt="Kamaladevi-4.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Kamaladevi_4_58727afc75.jpg 216w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Kamaladevi_4_58727afc75.jpg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">After Partition, heartbroken, she resettled 50,000 refugees from the North-West Frontier Province, helping create Faridabad—independent India’s crucial early industrial township. In 1948, she founded and led the Indian Cooperative Union for the rehabilitation of the refugees.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">Her greatest legacy? Reviving India’s dying crafts as economic empowerment. As chairperson of the All India Handicrafts Board for twenty years, she understood that handicrafts meant livelihoods for millions, grassroots democratic participation, and India’s answer to exploitative industrialization.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">Her institutions still stand: Indian National Theatre established in 1944, which later became National School of Drama, All India Handicrafts Board established in 1952, Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1953, Crafts Council of India in 1964, and Delhi’s Crafts Museum in 1967. She made Indian handicrafts a major export, serving as an Advisor to the World Craft Council and first President for the Asia-Pacific Region.</p><figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:555px;" id="attachment_42085" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-42085"><p><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Leading_Their_Imperial_Highnesses_to_the_dias_60795d4aa2.jpg" alt="Leading-Their-Imperial-Highnesses-to-the-dias.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Leading_Their_Imperial_Highnesses_to_the_dias_60795d4aa2.jpg 216w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Leading_Their_Imperial_Highnesses_to_the_dias_60795d4aa2.jpg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></p><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-42085">Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya leading their Imperial Highnesses to the dias</figcaption></figure><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">From UNESCO Awards to the Padma Vibhushan, her legacy endures in every artisan earning a dignified living today.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">Kamaladevi died in 1988, but her question echoes: What does freedom mean without bodily autonomy, economic independence, and cultural sovereignty?</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">As you explore her work—and I hope you will—ask yourself: What would Kamaladevi be fighting for today?</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G_sxvcXO0tg" title="Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay and the Idea of Cultural Sovereignty by Priyanka Jha | New Series | EP 02 " frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></div>

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Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay: The Woman who taught Gandhi a Lesson

<div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">Shuruart Foundation has been using art to make education more joyful and effective since 2017. Does your child often draw the same thing again and again? Should parents be worried if this happens? In this episode of Child and Art: Myths &amp; Facts, we talk about why children repeat drawings and what it really tells us about their confidence and emotional growth. Learn how your positive feedback and encouragement can help your child express freely, think creatively, and build genuine self-confidence.<br>Watch the video to learn more.</p></div></div>

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

<div class="post-featured-image" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px 0px 50px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp;</div><figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:undefined/undefined;" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Wearing_My_Face_Before_a_Media_that_Has_the_Power_to_Make_and_Unmake_4_optimized_100_f65d7f55f3.png" alt="Wearing_My_Face_Before_a_Media_that_Has_the_Power_to_Make_and_Unmake_4_optimized_100.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Wearing_My_Face_Before_a_Media_that_Has_the_Power_to_Make_and_Unmake_4_optimized_100_f65d7f55f3.png 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Wearing_My_Face_Before_a_Media_that_Has_the_Power_to_Make_and_Unmake_4_optimized_100_f65d7f55f3.png 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure><div class="post-featured-image" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px 0px 50px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:400;margin:0px;padding:0px;">As advocates, our lives are consumed by briefs and arguments, leaving little room for leisure. For me, the finest pastime is research and writing, a legacy I proudly inherit from my late grandfather, Shri S.A.A. Rizvi, IAS (Retd.). He was a gold medallist and a remarkable scholar of his times. His example instilled in me the conviction that the pursuit of knowledge is not merely an adornment, but a discipline that enriches both profession and personality.</span></div><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:400;margin:0px;padding:0px;">It was in this spirit that a casual exchange with my colleague Nadeem Murtaza at the High Court rekindled this passion. His query, whether I had ever heard of “Douglas” or “Kinnaird Hospital” of Lucknow was not a passing remark, but a spark that illuminated a forgotten chapter of Lucknow’s medical heritage. His mother, Zahida Auntie, had often spoken of it, pointing to the site near today’s Lari Cardiology Centre, where the geriatric and mental health departments of KGMU (King George Medical University) now stand. That conversation became the bridge between my inherited love for inquiry and the living memory of our city, compelling me to delve into archives and dissertations, and to uncover the remarkable story of a hospital that once stood shoulder to shoulder with Queen Mary and Lady Dufferin Hospitals in Lucknow.&nbsp;</span></p><figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:426px;" id="attachment_41918" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41918"><p><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Kinnaird_Memorial_Hospital_1_1_1024x666_2b0c4cee0d.png" alt="Kinnaird-Memorial-Hospital-1-1-1024x666.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Kinnaird_Memorial_Hospital_1_1_1024x666_2b0c4cee0d.png 240w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Kinnaird_Memorial_Hospital_1_1_1024x666_2b0c4cee0d.png 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Kinnaird_Memorial_Hospital_1_1_1024x666_2b0c4cee0d.png 750w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_Kinnaird_Memorial_Hospital_1_1_1024x666_2b0c4cee0d.png 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></p><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41918">Lady Kinnaird Memorial Hospital</figcaption></figure><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:400;margin:0px;padding:0px;">The story begins in 1875, when Elizabeth Bielby, a nurse sent by the Zenana Mission Society, began her medical mission near Lucknow. Though beset by tragedy, her sister Alice died soon after arrival, and Bielby herself fell gravely ill, the mission still endured. By 1891, through the efforts of Dr. Grace Mackinnon, the Lady Kinnaird Memorial Hospital was established on government-granted land, named after Lady Kinnaird. She was a devout Presbyterian philanthropist remembered for founding the YWCA.&nbsp;</span></p><figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:416px;" id="attachment_41915" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41915"><p><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/CMS_CRL_IW_1899_08_0007_cropped1_7b434dba61.jpg" alt="CMS_CRL_IW_1899_08_0007-cropped1.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_CMS_CRL_IW_1899_08_0007_cropped1_7b434dba61.jpg 244w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></p><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41915">England Zenana Missionary Society</figcaption></figure><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:400;margin:0px;padding:0px;">In 1910, Dr. Ethel Douglas took charge, and for the next 36 years she transformed the institution, expanding facilities, raising standards, and establishing training protocols that led to the North India Board of Examiners and State Registration Councils. Her dedication earned her the Kaiser-i-Hind Medal in Gold in 1927, and government grants that enabled new wards and modern equipment. As Beth Bullock Spencer’s dissertation records, Douglas’s “extraordinary influence” kept the Lucknow hospital “overflowing,” even as she grappled with challenges ranging from reluctant purdah patients to the infamous monkey menace.</span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:400;margin:0px;padding:0px;">“Even the veteran doctor Ethel Douglas struggled to find a solution to the monkey problem, for some of the local people regarded the monkeys as sacred; harming the monkeys was out of question. Douglas resorted to shouting and shaking her rifle at the monkeys, but with little effect.”</span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:400;margin:0px;padding:0px;">Snakes, too, were a recurring hazard, and cultural beliefs often complicated medical practice. Patients observing purdah resisted operations, some postponed surgeries at the last minute deeming the hour “inauspicious,” while others consulted village elders who determined</span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:400;margin:0px;padding:0px;">he hospital became a sanctuary for women’s health, normalizing dental extractions, eye surgeries, and maternity care in a city where traditional practices often prevailed.</span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:400;margin:0px;padding:0px;">The British contribution to Lucknow’s health system was profound. Alongside Lady Kinnaird Memorial Hospital, the Lady Dufferin Hospital was established in 1889 under the Countess of Dufferin Fund to provide safe maternity care. Later, the Queen Mary’s Hospital arose in the early 20th century as a centre for women’s medical education. Together, these institutions marked the colonial effort to embed Western medicine into the city’s fabric, particularly for women and children. They were not merely hospitals but symbols of reform, philanthropy, and the gradual acceptance of modern medical practices in a society negotiating tradition and change.</span></p><figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:396px;" id="attachment_41916" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41916"><p><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Lady_Dufferin_Hospital_Virabijee_Katrak_Maternity_Wing_768x432_4cbd6e4487.jpg" alt="Lady_Dufferin_Hospital-_Virabijee_Katrak_Maternity_Wing-768x432.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Lady_Dufferin_Hospital_Virabijee_Katrak_Maternity_Wing_768x432_4cbd6e4487.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Lady_Dufferin_Hospital_Virabijee_Katrak_Maternity_Wing_768x432_4cbd6e4487.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Lady_Dufferin_Hospital_Virabijee_Katrak_Maternity_Wing_768x432_4cbd6e4487.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></p><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41916">Lady Dufferin Hospital, Lucknow</figcaption></figure><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:400;margin:0px;padding:0px;">By 1965, however, Lady Kinnaird Memorial Hospital succumbed to financial constraints and closed its doors. In 1971, the site was absorbed into King George Medical College, now popularly known as KGMU, housing its neurosurgical and mental health departments. Today, its memory lingers only in archives and recollections, overshadowed by its contemporaries. Yet, its legacy remains unique – a Christian missionary hospital that combined philanthropy, medical progress, and social reform. A place where doctors braved not only disease but monkeys, snakes, and cultural resistance to bring care to the women of Lucknow. An institution that has produced some of the world’s finest medical professionals, researchers and administrators. The pictures of these alumni are featured below.&nbsp;</span></p><figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:276px;" id="attachment_41910" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41910"><p><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/download_4_26ce212e58.png" alt="download-4.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_download_4_26ce212e58.png 235w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></p><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41910">Dr. BM Hedge – Alumni of KGMU</figcaption></figure><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</p><figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:293px;" id="attachment_41911" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41911"><p><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/download_5_c239ac1c62.png" alt="download-5.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_download_5_c239ac1c62.png 245w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></p><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41911">Dr. Sanduk Ruit – Alumni of KGMU</figcaption></figure><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</p><figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:300px;" id="attachment_41912" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41912"><p><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_1_d076bb83d3.png" alt="images-1.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_1_d076bb83d3.png 245w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></p><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41912">Dr. Naresh Trehan – Alumni of KGMU</figcaption></figure><figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:211px;" id="attachment_41913" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41913"><p><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_1_1_300x300_b57c8c7015.png" alt="images-1-1-300x300.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_1_1_300x300_b57c8c7015.png 156w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></p><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41913">Dr. Anil Kohli – Alumni of KGMU</figcaption></figure><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-size:17px;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:400;margin:0px;padding:0px;">As I reflect upon this heritage, I am convinced that Lucknow’s medical history is incomplete without acknowledging the forgotten jewel that was Lady Kinnaird Memorial Hospital. Its story is not merely of bricks and mortar, but of pioneering women doctors, missionary zeal, and the evolution of healthcare in colonial and post-colonial India. Remembering it is essential to preserving the dignity of our city’s cultural and medical legacy.</span></p></div></div>

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