Innholdsfortegnelse for May 20, 2024 i India Today

The Matua community of West Bengal—who have long demanded formal Indian citizenship—has been the object of some assiduous courtship from the BJP in recent years. The legislative writ it enjoys at the Centre had allowed it to offer the Matuas a unique engagement ring: the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). But amidst the ruction of a protracted poll season, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) here has managed to put a spoke—rather, a spook—in the wheel by drawing attention to the law’s fine print. Now the All India Matua Mahasangha, the community’s umbrella outfit, led by Union minister and the BJP’s Bongaon MP Shantanu Thakur, has informally asked its members to not apply for citizenship under the law until the Lok Sabha election is over. The CAA seeks to fast-track citizenship for…

Maharashtra loves its wrestlers. And why not? Many villages in western Maharashtra have an akhada and a fair share of grapplers, and cities like Kolhapur, Pune and Sangli are known for their talims (wrestling schools). How could the heaving mud pit of politics be immune to this? Four grapplers are testing their hold on the popular psyche in the hurly-burly of elections. Two are in Sangli. Chandrahar Patil, a two-time ‘Maharashtra Kesari’ who learnt from legends like Olympian Ganpatrao Andhalkar, is challenging two-term BJP MP Sanjaykaka Patil on behalf of the Uddhav Sena. His opponent is no pushover, and not just in politics: Sanjaykaka is also a trained wrestler! But the result may hinge on how Congress rebel Vishal Patil, grandson of ex-CM Vasantdada Patil, plays. In Pune, former mayor…

From amanuensis to would-be nemesis: Dinesh Pratap Singh managed that role reversal against Sonia Gandhi, wangling 38 per cent votes against her from Rae Bareli in 2019. The BJP has lobbed him one more moment in reflected spotlight, against RaGa this time. But that also turned the knob off on a parallel subplot cooking since the Rajya Sabha election in February. Manoj Pandey, one among the eight Samajwadi Party MLAs who cross-voted in favour of the BJP, had fancied his chances from Rae Bareli and even met BJP big daddies in Delhi. Three more—Rakesh Pratap Singh, Vinod Chaturvedi and Puja Pal—were hopeful of a return gift, in the shape of a ticket. Alas, that wasn’t to be. The four quislings had made their Faustian deals on the cheap. All their…

Q. Who do you think is the most suitable candidate for the post of Prime Minister of India? Narendra Modi retains his lead in women’s affections over Rahul Gandhi Q How satisfied are you with the overall performance of the NDA government? More women are content with the government’s performance than their male counterparts Q Will you weigh in Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra while casting your vote in the 2024 Lok Sabha election? The BJNY will not translate into a positive vote for the Congress for at least half the women Q. What will be Prime Minister Modi most remembered for? The Ram temple construction in Ayodhya stands as PM Modi’s most notable feat, far exceeding the fight against corruption Q How do you view the unemployment situation…

A ‘Class-8 pass’ who has also been her village mukhiya for 10 years (2006-16), Reena Kumari comes from a financially stable family—her husband, Umesh Rai, is a farmer who also runs a successful dairy business. Yet, she is convinced that rising inflation has posed new challenges for every household, including hers. Managing expenses within a limited budget and also save money for exigencies has become particularly arduous. A mother of three, the eldest of whom—a daughter—is married, Reena is worried about the future of her two sons. The elder, 23, is assisting his father in the dairy business, while the younger, 19, is studying. She wants both of them to find government jobs. “You can see educated youth,” says Reena, “becoming disillusioned because they lack employment opportunities.” “If there are…

For 25 years, S. Chandrakala worked at a bag manufacturer before she decided to set up a small shop of her own six years ago. With her provident fund money and savings, Chandrakala bought two sewing machines. She now makes and sells school bags, raincoats, vehicle covers and mends all these. Self-reliance is a watchword with her. “Before casting our vote, we need to think about and evaluate the candidates who have done good work” “For our livelihood, we should not be dependent on anyone,” she says. She casts her vote with the same independent spirit. Chandrakala lost her husband early and stays with her mother. The latter is a beneficiary of the state Congress government’s welfare schemes, such as the Rs 2,000 monthly allowance for women heads of families…

Lakshmi’s family has been selling the fragrant sampige (champak) flowers near the entrance of Mysuru’s famous Devaraja Market for three generations. “My grandmother sold flowers at this same spot and so did my parents,” she says. The 48-year-old flower-seller reveres the erstwhile royal family of Mysuru, who constructed the market in the 1880s. Hence, she was thrilled to see the titular head of the family, Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, whom the Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded from Karnataka’s Mysuru-Kodagu seat this election, as he stepped out to campaign in the constituency ahead of the April 26 election. When she votes, Lakshmi says, she is only thinking about the “greater good” of the people. In the May 2023 Karnataka assembly election, she had voted for the Congress with that thought in…

Geography teacher Prof. Upma Chaturvedi keeps a keen eye on the electoral landscape of the country. She is pleased that the ruling BJP government has placed a strong emphasis on infrastructure development and women’s empowerment in recent years. According to her, the building of a network of highways and new roads has significantly eased travel across the state. Women’s safety too has improved. “The government has taken decisive actions to address the issue. This has instilled a sense of security among my students, which is significant from an educator’s perspective.” Chaturvedi also appreciates the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, confident that developments like these are likely to influence the voting decisions of the women in her state. Upma Chaturvedi, 55 Lucknow, Professor, Geography, Avadh Girls’ Degree College, Lucknow Constituency: Lucknow…

Every day at 6 am, Reshma Devi sets out on an autorickshaw from her Patna suburb home, carrying two large loads of fish to the city. She spends the entire day on the footpath under a canopy umbrella, which partially shields her from the scorching sun, as she sells her catch. That gets her about Rs 400 a day. Reshma’s casual labourer husband struggles to secure steady work. She does not complain though. “It’s good to work hard and earn honestly. You cannot expect God or Modiji to solve all our problems,” says Reshma, who has studied till Class V and belongs to the backward Mallah caste. Reshma lauds the Ram temple construction and the provision of 5 kg free foodgrain by the Modi government. She also acknowledges the improvement…

On contesting It’s an exhilarating experience. It gives tremendous opportunity to connect with the local people, a sense of belonging and a feet-on-the-ground feeling. I will ever be grateful to PM Narendra Modi for the opportunity. On slum development in his constituency In ‘Modi ki Guarantee’, the first chapter is ‘Garib Parivar Jan’ where we have talked of redevelopment of slums. We will give them a house in the same place, in Uttar Mumbai. With the PM’s blessings, I will make sure this is the first area in which everybody gets a home and has a good quality of life. On the possible outcome of the Mahayuddh in Maharashtra Both Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar are trying to create a story of sympathy for themselves, but people have recognised that…

ACCUSTOMED TO QUIET LAIDBACK SUNDAY AFTERNOONS, the residents of Thammanwal village, in the Nakodar assembly segment, were taken aback at the unusual burst of activity in late April. It was former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi grappling with the fallout of Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary—wife of former Jalandhar MP, the late Santokh Singh Chaudhary—defecting to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Addressing a hurriedly convened meeting, Channi, who is the Congress’s Lok Sabha candidate from Jalandhar, sought to pacify disgruntled delegates, mostly from the Phillaur segment, represented by Karamjit’s son Vikramjit. (The latter has since been suspended from all party posts.) Miles away, in Patiala, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring was also engaged in damage control, persuading local leaders to accept the high command’s decision to field former Aam Aadmi…

On a humid afternoon in May, seated against the backdrop of a poster of Amélie, Shriya Pilgaonkar is savouring a small pizza on what she says is her “last cheat day”. She has just finished a round of promotions for the second season of the Zee5 show, The Broken News (released on May 3). Unlike her peers, she loves the publicity tour. “I get to dress up,” she says. “A lot of characters I play don’t end up dressing so much.” Pilgaonkar is talking about her parts in The Broken News (Radha, an intrepid reporter) and Guilty Minds (Advocate Kashaf, a righteous lawyer) which have made her the woke girl of streaming, who fights the good fight. They showcase an actor adept at heavy dramas, and also earned her the…

He’s incisored right between a giant Modi and a smaller Devendra Fadnavis, with a diminutive Ajit Pawar on the far left, quite the smallest matryoshka doll. So you can’t be too sure that Eknath Shinde likes his awkward placement. But it’s not his relative size in that quartet that matters. The Maharashtra CM probably never imagined he’d live to see a day where his image has more prominence than the two Shiv Sena giants he reveres as his ideological preceptors: Bal Thackeray and Shinde’s own political mentor and Thane strongman ‘Dharmaveer’ Anand Dighe. And these hoardings adorn bus stops on arterial roads all across Mumbai, the city that Thackeray Sr could play like a Paganini played his violin: at will. For decades since 1989, when their Hindutva partnership began, the Sena…

REGISTERED VOTERS There’s been a 260% rise in the female electorate since 1971 compared to 245% in case of men VOTER TURNOUT (%) Women voter turnout has shown a higher rise over men since 1962 when gender data was first published Source: Election Commission of India GENDER RATIO The ratio of women electors has taken a turn for the better since 2019 GENDER GAP (%) The gap between male and female voter turnouts narrowed in 2014 and turned negative in 2019 *As on Feb. 8, 2024 UNTAPPED WOMEN VOTERS 130 million female electors in India still don’t reach the booth to vote Source: SBI Research…

A 3-Generation View April 19 was the first time 18-year-old Mansi voted in an election. Coming from a family divided in its loyalties between the BJP and the Congress, the first-year student opted to exercise her own choice, but since the candidate of the party she wanted to vote for was not good in her estimation, for a moment she contemplated pressing NOTA on the electronic voting machine. What she did eventually, she did not disclose. Her mum Aaditi was just 15 years old and in Class 10 when she got married in Trilokpura village in Sikar. She joined her husband in Jaipur after completing Class 12, and went on to complete her graduation, post-graduation in political science, degree in journalism and a PG diploma in finance and banking. Aaditi…

It has been 18 years since Suryavanshi’s husband passed away, and the childless widow who has studied till class X, takes on stitching jobs at home to make a living. “The prices of LPG cylinders have soared; I have no option but to use them, though I can ill afford it. The cost of essentials is also rising and electricity tariffs and GST are pinching the common man. Unfortunately, I have no aid from anyone to fall back on,” she says. Suryavanshi says her vote will go to the Congress, as she feels they can rectify these issues. “I want to go to the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya and also to Kashi. But issues like the Ram temple and the abrogation of Article 370 [which gave special status to…

A graduate from IIT Roorkee, Goyal has a postgraduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US. The 38-year-old says she will vote “because I care for a stable government”. Goyal adds that there is no better candidate than Prime Minister Narendra Modi currently, especially in the absence of a strong opposition. “Therefore, I will vote for him, as he has elevated India’s position on the global stage, taken a firm stand against terrorism,” she says. “Things are not as bad as they used to be,” she adds. “I strongly believe that reservation is detrimental to India’s progress and should be eliminated at all levels” She also praises the PM for the abolition of Triple Talaq in 2019 and helping improve the position of Muslim women. Manju…

Part of an agricultural household, Vilasben is the wife of a former sarpanch, who is also an office-bearer of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the taluka level. Though her loyalty clearly lies with the saffron party, she is in two minds this time about voting for it. The reason being the ongoing Kshatriya stir in Gujarat after Union minister Parshottam Rupala’s controversial remarks against the erstwhile princely states. Even as a saffron flag bearing Lord Ram’s image flutters outside her house, Vilasben insists core Hindutva issues, like the Ram temple construction and the abrogation of Article 370, never influenced her vote. “Women are safe in Gujarat. We can work, go out alone. That is important to me,” she says, adding that her village has seen unprecedented development in recent…

Member of a family of BJP supporters, Roopa says the ruling party at the Centre has introduced many schemes that have helped those living in the villages. “Nobody thought about providing drinking water connections and toilets in village homes, rural electrification and direct transfer of subsidies to our accounts,” she says, explaining why she supports the BJP. She is also happy that the Modi government has built the new Ram temple at Ayodhya. But she wishes that the PM in a third tenure at the Centre would help provide more jobs for rural youth and ST status for the Gurjars, ensuring more quota in jobs and education. “So many members of our community have lost their lives in the agitation demanding more reservation for Gurjars, still we have yet to…

Malla Devi Visalakshi takes a special interest in politics as “it is the best mode to serve the people on a mass scale”. The interior designer is not aware of how Viksit Bharat, Ujjwala, Har Ghar Jal, Lakhpati Didi and other Union government schemes are changing women’s lives but hopes the government devises programmes that can help make women independent. “Women’s decisions can steer more people towards development, considering they are the beneficiaries of state-operated schemes,” she says. In her own state, Visalakshi’s vote will go to the YSR Congress Party because “Jagan garu [CM Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy] has strived towards eradicating poverty and reduced the percentage of people below the poverty line while taking care of the state’s development.” Malla Devi Visalakshi 47 Visakhapatnam Interior Designer Constituency: Visakhapatnam…

Mamta comes from a BPL family but Chalkchandpur is a prosperous village of 2,000 families. Her son is in Class 3 and her daughter in Class 1 in a government school. She’s happy that there are teachers at the school and doctors at the dispensaries and the fact that she gets free medicines. Mamta studied till Class 12 while her husband, Jaldari Meena, is an ITI graduate and has done a course in computer programming. “Modi is good as PM, but what can he do in a village? In the village, it is the sarpanch who matters” However, despite their Scheduled Tribe (ST) reserved status, he has found it hard to land a job. The couple make a living by farming on their small holding. “There are too many job…

The resident of Sahakar Nagar in Pune city works as a housemaid in the local highrises, while her husband Balu Jangli Kasbe is a rickshaw driver. Kasbe, a Dalit from the Matang community, complains that the couple (they have no children) can barely make ends meet with their monthly income of around Rs 25,000. “Everything is so costly, prices are soaring and all my women friends are very upset. I have been forced to put our gas cylinder away and cook using firewood and cow-dung cakes,” she rues. “Even when we buy things like clothes, we have to pay extra for GST. What can the poor do, we are badly affected by inflation. This is not a good government for us,” says Kasbe. She feels that issues like the Ram…

On APRIL 21, KAMAL NAIK, A 50-YEAR-OLD FARMER AND BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY (BJP) WORKER FROM BHOPAL’S HUZUR ASSEMBLY SEGMENT, received a call informing him about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s road show in the state capital three days later. Naik, who had been camping at a wheat procurement centre awaiting his turn to sell his produce, at first couldn’t understand the need for such an event in Bhopal—a BJP stronghold that the party has been winning handsomely since 1989. Nonetheless, he gathered a group of people and reached the venue at the designated time. “Victory in Bhopal is a foregone conclusion, but this is how we contest elections. Nothing is left to chance,” Naik remarked, finally comprehending the rationale behind the PM’s rally, as he waited for his arrival under the scorching sun.…

Sister Midnight Karan Kandhari’s British production will be premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight section. Radhika Apte stars as a newly married woman in a Mumbai slum. Circumstances make her set out for revenge in what the makers promise is “a fantastical punk comedy, a feminist revenge film, and a revamped vampire movie rolled into one”. Santosh Sandhya Suri’s feature film, premiering in the Un Certain Regard section, follows a widowed woman (Shahana Goswami) who gets her husband’s job of being a police constable in rural north India. She gets drawn into the investigation of a rape and murder of a low-caste girl by a charismatic, feminist inspector. First Ones to Know Film and Television Institute of India student Chidanand Naik’s short film about an elderly woman stealing a village rooster…

Resistance against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for “non-fulfillment of poll promises”. Infighting within that party. And cracks within the Opposition INDIA bloc, mirroring the fractured politics of the region. Ladakh may be all of one Lok Sabha constituency, even if India’s biggest one, but it bristles with multiple personalities—enough to make 2024 a particularly thorny election season. In the fray are the BJP’s Tashi Gyalson, the Congress’s Tshering Namgyal and the National Conference’s (NC) Haji Hanifa Jan, fighting as an Independent. With an electorate numbering 182,571, Ladakh votes on May 20, against the backdrop of a popular agitation joined by all sides. The BJP, which had won the seat in the two previous general elections, has fielded Gyalson—a 57-year-old advocate. Challenges for the party include both infighting and anti-incumbency.…

On the morning of May 7, political circles in Haryana were abuzz with the news that four independent MLAs had quit the BJP-led alliance, putting the Nayab Singh Saini government in crisis. By evening, three of them—Sombir Sangwan (Dadri), Randhir Gollen (Pundri) and Dharampal Gonder (Nilokheri)—appeared with ex-Congress chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to announce that they had withdrawn support to the Saini government. Saini, who took over the reins only in mid-March from Manohar Lal Khattar, is in fire-fighting mode. Before the crisis, the BJP had 41 MLAs and the support of five independents and two members of smaller parties (it had dumped ally Jannayak Janta Party, which had 10 MLAs) in the 90-member house. Now, with the exits and the earlier resignations of Khattar and another independent, Ranjit…

FEMALE WORKFORCE Women are still lagging behind men significantly in the country’s workforce INTERNET USAGE Given its limited usage among rural women, internet is yet to become their primary source of information FEMALE LITERACY Despite vast improvement in the past four decades, 3 in 10 women are still non-literate FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT Women have been substantial beneficiaries in these government welfare schemes Source: PLFS 2022-23, World Bank, SBI Research, NFHS-V…

For Ulka Kharat, a widow living with her brother in Lasurne in Pune’s Indapur taluka, inflation matters more than anything else. “LPG cylinders have become exorbitant,” she says. “What will the poor do when they cannot make ends meet? The situation of the working class and daily wagers is miserable.” Kharat studied only up to standard VIII, but completed her education and acquired a BA degree at age 50. The one thing she is most concerned about is the job scene for the youth. It looks bleak and they seem to have no future. As for herself, the anganwadi worker says that employees of the childcare scheme must get better remuneration. Ulka Kharat, 58 Lasurne, Maharashtra Anganwadi worker Constituency: Baramati Issues that will decide her vote: Inflation, high LPG prices…

Suman Devi is not against any political party. But she is angry with the local officials. Reason: A ration card, which could have helped her avail of the government welfare schemes, has eluded her despite several appeals to the village head. “Many people in my village get free ration and have benefitted from the PM Awas Yojana whereas we have been unlucky. Why would we praise the government?” asks Suman, the wife of a farm labourer. She believes Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done a lot of good work but it hasn’t reached everyone. “There are several loopholes at the implementation stages,” says Suman, who has studied till Class V. “More than the Ram temple, we need basic infrastructure for the poor. We do not have money and power, so…

THE STAGE WAS SET ON A HOT summer’s day in Hindupur, in the arid Anantapur region of Andhra Pradesh, where Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy made passionate appeal on May 4 to voters about the state’s controversial Land Titling Act of 2023. “Your child is a land giver, not a land grabber,” he said, referring to himself and what his rival Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has called the legislation that has sparked some concerns vis-à-vis transparency. “Beware of all the lies spread by Chandrababu Naidu out of desperation to come to power…. The Land Titling Act is a law made by the Union government by which farmers will have full rights over their lands…. Your child will make sure that…

Hindsight is a great teacher. Even though there have been many volumes on the noble painter Raja Ravi Varma, the three under review show, with the present’s technological telescopes zoomed on the past, that there is much room left for fresh interpretations. In 1894, an anonymous Malayalam book appeared on Ravi Varma which stopped at the opening of his Press in Bombay. Then came Ramananda Chatterjee in 1904, followed by Balakrishnan Nair in the 1950s, E.M.J. Venniyoor in 1980, and Rupika Chawla in 2010. What differentiates the tomes under review is not just the weight of the author’s scholarship, but a very sharp eye which zooms into the many layers beyond the obvious. The principal difference, which Shivaswamy brings with his work, is the awakening of the artist’s context. He…