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What, When, Why and How of Republic Day Tableaux

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Kitne Jhanki thhe? Jhankis have always been the centre of attention at parades, but what goes behind the two minutes of beauty? What does it take to bring alive a tableau to life demonstrating centuries of heritage?

Back in the day, I remember singing Tagore’s  as West Bengal’s jhanki or tableau embellished the Rajpath! However, the joys of the past evolved into questions of the present; the jhankis are not just a moving galore of colour, culture, and entertainment, they harbour within them months of hard work, dedication, and skill.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) overlooks the nitty-gritty of the tableaux, right from issuing a number of guidelines to the smooth fl owing of the Parade, the MoD takes over six months to provide two minutes of joy. Over six different themes are suggested to the States, Union Territories (UT), and Central Departments ranging from history, cultural integrity, environment, to Government schemes. The Selection Committee enlists prominent personalities in the field of art, culture, architecture, sculpture, choreography, etc. The artists and designers of the tableaux are asked to not include any writings or logos other than the State’s and UT’s name in Hindi, English, and the Regional Language.

This follows two-rounds of vigorous scrutiny under the Committee: One, suggestions and modifications after the initial evaluation, and second, evaluating the three-dimensional models and cultural presentation videos, after which the final decision is taken. For the 2020 Republic Day Parade, out of 56 tableaux, only 22 have been selected. Kerala, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Bihar, all of them being non – Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led Governments have been rejected, thus causing a lot of stir. Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party allege vendetta by BJP for political gains. “There was no politics in a committee of artists, who decide the themes for the parade,” said Jayaprabha Menon, a jury member, regarding Kerala’s exclusion. Abhishek Anand, a Law student from Bihar, says, “I personally believe the BJP is targeting the major non-BJP states.”

What is rather interesting is that in over last 27 years, Delhi has presented their tableau only 11 times. There have been protests led by ex-Chief Minister (CM) Madan Lal Khurana, along with Member of Parliament’s from East Delhi, expressing discontentment over the MoD’s rejection. In 2019, an ex-senior Government official told Hindustan Times (HT) on how on certain occasions, the Centre did not want the States to promote their governance models.

Samir, an artisan from Assam was influential in Delhi’s tableau in 2017 showing the Aam Aadmi Party Government’s exemplary work in the education sector, told HT, “It takes time to make these things. The money we get is decent. It’s around Rs 8,000, some even get Rs 16,000 though per float,”. It takes around five months to give life to a tableau with over 30-40 hands on deck, however, the fate of these tableaux is rather unfortunate. After being dismantled to shreds they are sold as scraps. Bibhuti Adhikary, the designer of Delhi tableaux over the past few years, said, “So many people give their heart and soul to making the tableau. But no facility has been made to keep them or at least the best ones intact. Respective state houses keep them for a few days or months and later sell it off in bits to whoever wants to take it.” What is rather unfortunate is the sorry state of artisans who lose their art, not to forget the mediocre payment. What is rather interesting though, is the question of what can be done to improve the gloomy state of art deconstructed as scraps. There are several pertinent questions which stay unanswered; there are innumerable possibilities of being constructive with post-celebrations tableaux, and the lack of acknowledgement for art and artisans speaks volumes. Until then, as another R-Day comes around the corner, while you cheer at the vibrant display of culture, keep the aftermath in mind.

Image Credits: Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence

Anandi Sen

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The Preamble: How True Does It Stand Today?

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The Preamble to the Constitution of India is a brief statement that highlights the values and principles of the Constitution and our Country. How far have we strayed from it though?

Thanks to the very first page of our NCERT Books, we are all familiar with the Preamble. Although the Preamble is a concept borrowed from the American Constitution, it highlights the essence of what came out of the Constituent Assembly debates. The debates concluded in making India, a Nation based on the principles of social justice and democracy.

Indian nationalism had always been inclusive, overcoming conflicting social identities for the overall development of the Nation. The Constitution laid down a strong foundation for a newly independent Nation, following the principles of social justice and inclusivity, and promoting the ideology of social liberalism. Despite this strong foundation, it seems somewhere along the line we all deviated from these principles.

The Preamble starts with the words Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, and Republic. While India’s position as a socialist country is open to question, it is no secret that India has deviated from the belief of secularism. What had started way back through identity politics was only heightened during the Babri Masjid demolition and the Gujarat riots. The openly inflammatory speeches, mob-lynching, and the recently passed Citizenship (Amendment) Act are proofs all around us. On paper, India is also the world’s largest democracy. But can a Country, whose Government remains unavailable to questions and criticism on its policies and statements by its citizens, be called democratic?

The first thing the Preamble promises is Justice (social, economic, and political). Social Justice stands for eliminating all forms of exploitation and the presence of socially privileged classes from the society. But, exploitation of women, minorities, and the poor exists all around us- in manual labour, in manual scavenging, and in the very concept of working class. Economic justice stands for equitable distribution of wealth and economic equality, but recent reports say that the richest one per cent of the Country’s population, now holds 73 per cent of the Country’s wealth. Fortunately, the basic rights of universal adult suffrage and equal political participation are still secure.

The next thing the Preamble promises is Liberty (of thought, expression, belief, faith, and worship). The lack of this principle in practice is glaringly obvious. Thought and expression are accepted, only when it conforms to the ideals of the Government. Labels of ‘anti-national’ and ‘urban Naxal’ are quick to be attached to anyone and anything that raises a strong argument against the Government. Unsurprisingly, India’s rank on World Press Freedom Index is 140 out of 180. While the liberty of belief, faith, and worship do exist, believing in different Gods has now become a cause of enmity.

The third thing the Preamble promises is Equality (of status and opportunity). But, there’s discrimination on the basis of class, caste, religion, sex, gender, and colour in our daily lives. There is an outrageous gap between the privileged and the less privileged classes of society. While the Country also guarantees us, Rule of Law, a careful look at just the recent events in the Country speak more than enough. George Orwell’s famous words in his book Animal Farm, “All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others,” are intimidatingly accurate in the context of the country. The last thing the Preamble promises is Fraternity (assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation). Fraternity, here, refers to a feeling of ‘brotherhood’, a brotherhood which gets clouded with communalism and casteism too often. Although, seeing the solidarity among the universities across the Nation against violence and police brutality in the university campuses, we hopefully haven’t diverged much from this principle.

Every day, it seems like this Country moves further away from light, and these complex terms- Justice, Equality, and Democracy- lose meaning to become mere ritualistic words. In these testing political times, we must not forget what our Constitution and our Country stand for. In these political times, we must not forget what we stand for.

 

Image Credits: Aditi Gutgutia for DU Beat

Satviki Sanjay

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General Qassem Soleimani: India’s long lost Friend?

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With the geopolitical engagements on a surge, General Qassem Soleimani’s death has posed challenges for Ministry of External Affairs of India, but not as just another nation, the late General’s cause has a strong vote from history and policy to substantiate the claim of support.

Ever since the George W. Bush administered Iraq Skirmish surpassed the thirty year long Vietnam War to clinch the title of the biggest geopolitical blunder by the United States; the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or Iran Nuclear Deal in July 2015 was deemed to be a progression towards stability in the Middle East and the world at large. But, the Donald Trump government’s withdrawal from this historic advancement in global peacekeeping in May 2018 escalated tensions through out the world including the United States.

Just three days after the entry into the ultimate year of the decade sets the world forth with World War 3 trending; despite the expert’s sacking the chances of one in the first place, the United State’s air strike on Iranian Military Base to assassinate Iran’s topmost official & commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) General Qassem Soleimani, the attack has aggravated tensions through out the Middle East ensuing severe repercussions for the entire world. With, the killing of a military officer like Soleimani who was viewed as a ‘hero’ inside the Iranian Republic, the United States identified him as a ‘terrorist’ dangerous for US Troops and Ambassadors through out the globe.

As, the man in charge of the proxy wars in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, General Soleimani was to be credited for limiting the influence of Islamic State of Iraq & Levant (ISIL)/(ISIS) in the area and played a crucial role in fighting terrorist from Iran, and more from Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Lebanon. Soleimani was the chief architect in saving Basshar Al Assad’s regime in Syria whose survival was on the line and helped him take back the control of important cities & towns from ISIL, the process did cost thousands of Syrian civillians their lives and loss to public property.

But, General Soleimani’s presence wasn’t confined to Iran or the Middle East, the highly influential leader has been a strong ally of India at multiple fronts and occasions; exercising deep influence in administrative and cultural life of Iran, under his leadership India has continued to enjoy Iran’s support economically, strategically and generally. Iran continues to be the second largest supplier of Crude Oil to India with an average supply of 425,000 barrels per day. A poll conducted in 2005 found out that, 71% of Iranians viewed India’s influence positively, counting as the most favourable rating of India for any country in the world.

In the same year, India had voted against Iran’s interests at the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA), casting hindrances on Iran’s claim of peaceful nuclear research. The Indian vote against Iran came as a surprise to Iranians as they considered India to be one of their closest friends with a strong historical linkage. Later at the diplomatic dialogue with the Iranian armed officials, India cleared it stance citing politico-military consideratios and it’s larger interest in the peace of the region. To this, the Iranian general positively responded by respecting India’s concerns and assuring India of Iran’s unaffected support and friendship. Further, it was General Soleimani who assisted India in operating with the Northern Alliance later despite the IAEA votings at Vienna.

These reasons might have probed the rejection of Trump’s claim with regard to plan of attacks extending to New Delhi, which wasn’t received to be credible with experts and former diplomats.

Soleimani and Iran have often even objected to Pakistan’s attempts to engage in activities and resolutions against the interests of India at international organisations such as the Organisation of Islamic Countries(OIC) and the Human Rights Commission. One of these was observed when Soleimani backed India at The International Court of Justice in Pakistan’s case against Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian Commander who is allegedly charged for spying for Research & Analysis Wing of India in Balochistan, Pakistan.

“Be it the negotiations on the Chabahar port or Islamabad’s case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Kulbhushan Jadhav, he had been been a backer of India on issues of national interest,” says veteran defense expert Qamar Agha.

Soleimani was even instrumental in the construction of Chabahar Port which is expected to boost the Indian economy by giving passage for Indian Goods in Central Asia and imports from Iran & other states. The joint interest construction between India and Iran is resultant of the favourable policies by both countries in which General Soleimani had a huge role to play.

To honor this veteran general and ally India needs to be more proactive in the persian region for its economic and strategic interests and abandon its stance of neutrality. This might pose as a serious examination for New Delhi to balance between Tehran and Washington DC, the Ministry of External Affairs needs a very comprehensive action to withstand country’s honor and fulfill its interests.

Faizan Salik

[email protected]

Image Credits: Vox.com

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National Press Day: The Era of Alternate Journalism

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On National Press Day, this piece is an attempt to highlight the lack of verification in mainstream media, and the rise of alternative journalism.

“I want this Government to be criticised. Criticism makes democracy strong. Democracy cannot succeed without constructive criticism,” so said Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, well after he came to power in 2014 on a wave of optimism.

As circumstances have changed, so has the Modi Government’s media strategy. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) oriented, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), often known as the “Modi Government”, faces weakened economy, communal tensions, and unemployment across the country. To shed light elsewhere, they have resorted to hijacking the country’s once free media.

The Government has not created an official state-run news service, but instead relies on independent news organisations to peddle its economic narrative, chastise a Muslim minority, and prey on Hindu anxieties in the country.

In order to achieve this, the Government often relies on media networks called in slang as Modia or Godi Media like Zee News, India TV, Aaj Tak and Republic TV. Out of all, Republic TV appealed to the worst of the Indian media’s characteristics. It was loud, brash, and theatrics mattered more than civil discourse. And sadly, is one of the most viewed channel in mainstream media.

Take this segment for an example articulated well in The Diplomat, it says, “Goswami begins a fiery tirade against Waris Pathan, a member of the legislative assembly for the All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (India’s only large-scale Muslim political party) in which he attacks Pathan for refusing to stand for the national anthem. On eight separate occasions in a mere 30 seconds, Goswami yells some version of ‘Why can’t you stand up for the national anthem?’. He proceeds to claim that he knows why Pathan does not stand. Goswami’s answer? According to Goswami, Pathan is an anti-national.”

If you don’t believe me that all of this is just a facade to distract the gullible audience from pressing national issues to communal politics, and India’s mainstream media is empowered and free, here are some facts which clearly justify — India is ranked at 140th of 180 on the World Press Freedom Index 2019.

As per a statistical survey conducted by Peeing Human, in the past 202 debates held at Zee News, Aaj Tak, News 18 and India TV collectively had 79 debates on Pakistan, 66 debates on attacking opposition, 37 debates praising the RSS and Modi, and not one debate on economy, unemployment, education, women’s safety, healthcare or even the farmer’s crisis, which encompasses 10 suicides by farmers everyday.

A sting operation done by the media house Cobrapost revealed that nearly two dozen media houses were willing to promote a Hindutva agenda and influence coverage for the 2019 elections. Simply put, media channels that are willing to play along find a lucrative payday and increased access by a Government that refuses to hold press conferences.

The BJP’s social media online troll army remains untouched. As Bloomberg noted, the troll farm, referred to as the BJP’s IT Cell regularly sends out death and rape threats to female journalists. A notable case is Barkha Dutt, who is not only viewed as being against Modi’s agenda, but is one of India’s only journalists who provides alternate perspectives on hotbed issues. The social media army is also used to stoke communal hatred, spread fake news, and intimidate those who would take a stand against Modi.

All these facts become much more horrific when realised that media is supposed to be the fourth pillar of democracy and not the slave of political propaganda.

There has been a rise in the need and establishment of alternate media. Alternate media is just like the left to mainstream rightist media. The proliferation of alternative journalism in India has happened, say experts, in the past five years with an attack on fundamental freedoms and a realisation that a space for uncensored information had to be created at personal cost as it were.

Alternate journalism paves way for unbiased, factual and verified news to be provided to mainstream media.

Taking an example of media coverage of Kashmir after scrapping of the Article 370. While Aaj Tak and India TV celebrated this decision and called the lockdown “peaceful”, independent channels like The Quint, Brut India and The Wire broadcasted the true harsh reality of this dictatorial rule.

YouTube channels like Dhruv Rathee’s, take time and space to explain and analysis of political decisions. His videos on the reality of air pollution in Delhi, India’s economic crisis and the Ayodhya verdict are dedicated to provide holistic information from all narratives, based on facts that he even cites in the description.

It has also made news much more accessible, and easy to comprehend. EIC’s outrage series on YouTube provided news in the second most entertaining way possible, appealing to a large audience. First obviously being a debate on Yogi Adityanath’s barber.

Patriot Act by Hasan Minhaj, A Netflix series brings light to many hidden issues of national and international relevance. The episodes on Student Loans, Sudan Protests, Indian Elections, and Censorship have been essential in their awareness movements.

Hence, the need for alternative journalism is real. How long would people depend on one anchor at one channel (obviously talking about Ravish Kumar) to prove them with news, not a narrative but news?

 

 

Feature Image Credits: Chhavi Bahmba for DU Beat.

Graphic Credits: Kunal Kamra.

 

 

Chhavi Bahmba

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The Story of Great Indian Divorce

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It doesn’t come as a surprise that India has the lowest divorce rate in the world, which sounds good but isn’t necessarily a good sign.

According to a report, stating the ten most and least divorced nations, India stood at the lowest with a contribution of 1% to the total divorces in the world.

Only 13 marriages out of 1,000 result in divorces in our country, making it even less than 1% which clearly tells us that people here are more comfortable with unhappy marriages rather than a broken marriage. Couples could be living under the same roof but be separated for years, maintaining a thin line between failed marriages and divorces.

The main reason for this atrocity remains societal pressure. People think that they are liable to live according to society’s idea of what counts as a good life, which is basically putting efforts for everybody’s happiness but yours. The need for seeking everyone’s validation has made our decisions restricted and counterproductive.

Furthermore, the concept of arranged marriages completely ignores the needs of the only two people involved. As long as their families are happy, who cares about them? And these are the same families who turn their backs on the couple when they are withstanding marital problems by giving the ultimate solution, “Have a kid, that’ll solve everything”.

Apart from this, there is hardly any concept of remarriage in our society, so a lot of people drop the idea of divorce and incline towards adjusting due to the fear of dying alone rather than having a second chance at love. Because, after somebody gathers all the courage to let go of an unhealthy marriage and start a new life, how dare they consider moving on with someone new?

How many times have we compromised our happiness over the thought of log kya kahenge? This fear is indulged inside us so deeply that we follow the ideology of “Sanskar over happiness” but at what stake?

Staying in failed marriages not only creates life long problems but also promotes the mentality in the future generations that it’s okay to stay with someone you’re not happy with, only giving rise to toxic relationships with a dead end.

We’re long into 2019 and still the Indian society, a society whose utopian dreams has made the younger generation hell-bent on westernising themselves, remains deeply rooted in centuries’ old values. Low divorce rate might look nice and ideal on paper but in practical, it hints at the rigidity in our society. Indian society needs to understand that divorce is not the end of a happy marriage but an escape from a bad marriage. In the end, it results in two happy individuals rather than one miserable couple.

Feature Image Credits: 

Avni Dhawan

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Tenth Day of Turmoil in Jamia Millia Islamia Ends

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Usually called as a politically ‘shy’ University, this Tuesday, Jamia Millia Islamia erupted with thousands of students outside the Vice Chancellor’s office which was subsequently followed by a muscle fight between the protesters and some goons, which are alleged to be hired by the administration itself.

The event raises significant questions that ought to formulate certain conjectures, but through a detailed assessment and statements from both the parties, we have tried to trace down most possible answers to these questions.

The first question that arises in our cerebral manifestations is what was the protest all about?

Apparently, yesterday on 22 October, a number of student organisations arranged a Solidarity March from the Central Canteen to VC’s Office as an extension of the 10-day long ongoing protest against the University administration which has issued a show cause notice in the name of five students of the University.

Protests in support of Palestine, outside the Edward W Said Hall, named after famous Palestinian- American Scholar Edward W Said. Credits: The Jamia Review
Protests in support of Palestine, outside the Edward W Said Hall, named after famous Palestinian- American Scholar Edward W Said.
Credits: The Jamia Review

What was it with regard to the show cause notice?

The five students who have received the show cause notice were among the 12 students who were a part of a symbolic protest probing the intrusion of an Israeli delegation that was supposed to be the country partner of ‘Global Health Zenith Confluence’19’, organized by the Faculty of Architecture and Ekistics, JMI, on October 5, 2019.

According to the administration, the students were rewarded with this show cause for hampering the University’s image and vandalising in an otherwise peaceful campus with an unnecessary protest.

One of the members of the All India Students Association says as we quote,

“It is our fundamental right to express our voices and it is utter nonsense to say that we engaged in some kind of vandalism, rather it was us who were manhandled by the guards.”

What was the progression of the protest?

For past one week the All India Students Association and the Dayar-e-Shauq Student Charter, another student organisation assembled near the central canteen demonstrating their contempt regarding the administration, and demanding for a revocation of the show cause notice against the students and a total boycott of Israel.

What happened at the Solidarity March?

On the ninth day of the protest, the students planned for a peaceful protest seeking a reply from the administration regarding the show cause notice and a face-to-face talk with the vice chancellor, reportedly almost a thousand students joined the March chanting slogans of ‘Inquilab‘ and ‘Azadi‘. After a day-long protest, in the second set of the day, some 10-15 students appeared at the venue, asking the protesters to vacate the place within next 30 minutes, failing which severe repercussions may befall upon them (as reported by one of the protesters).

Subsequently, the protesters refused to withdraw the protest following which they were attacked with flower pots and which were later dragged around, creating a huge scuffle, injuring many students; one of them being Shah Alam of B.A. (Hons.) Political Science is reported to be in extremely critical condition. The varsity campus was then flooded with a Delhi Police delegation which attracted lots of eyeballs.

The students then went on to protest for the entire night and were joined by more students from all over the University in the later part of the tenth day of protest. Songs and slogans complemented the fulmination, with flags of Palestine and India being raised outside the office to signify the protest. They were also extended support by the Hon’ble MP of the Thissur Constituency, Mr. T N Prathapan, who expressed his grievances against the authority and ensured his support to the students protesting. Protest also witnessed support from the JNU General Secretary, Satish Chandra Yadav, who backed the students with his words.

Congress MP Mr T N Prathapan extending support to the protesters at Jamia Millia Islamia. Credits: The Jamia Review
Congress MP Mr T N Prathapan extending support to the protesters at Jamia Millia Islamia.
Credits: The Jamia Review

What next?

The students have now raised their demands to be fulfilled by the administration, following which they are ready to withdraw the protest and return to the classes which elsewise witnessed a boycott of classes in the University today.

The demands by the protesters include three major points which include, a withdrawal of the show cause notice against the five students, an assurance of the safety of the protesters which ensures no action to be taken against the students, and a serious action against the ‘goons’ that prompted the attack on the protesters.

What happens further is yet to be discovered but this incident has surely engaged number of students who have expressed their solidarity and support in concerning times.

Feature Image Credits: The Jamia Review

Faizan Salik
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Apna Time Aa Gaya: Entry of Gully Boy in the Oscars

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From Dharavi to Oscars, read how Gully Boy’s nomination and how “apna time aa gaya”.

Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy, which created a stir and started a lyrical revolution for the underdogs of Indian music, has been selected as India’s official entry in the International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards, more popularly referred to as the Oscars. This film, featuring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, has been inspired by the lives of two Indian rappers, Divine and Naezy. The story of an aspiring rapper rising from the slums of Dharavi in Mumbai, fighting against the odds and obstacles was tied together with brilliant music and lyrics that touched upon the realities of life. Singh’s character, Murad, represents a myriad of ideas in the film. He is a young boy who finally finds meaning, and a voice in the songs that he writes. The struggles in his life take the centre stage in his songs, and authenticity becomes his uniqueness.

A dominant part of these struggles was the stark difference between the “haves” and “have-nots”. It draws out these visual contrasts when unaffluent Murad passes tall towers in his boss’ fancy car. Gully Boy also talks about the issues over authority between the protagonist and his father; it shows the plight of his mother when her husband remarries, and the persistent desire to be emancipated from the endless struggles that the “common man” faces. When this nomination was announced, it was met with appreciation, except several people also voiced out the other side to this decision. The Indian Film Federation unanimously selected Gully Boy over 27 other films, including Article 15, Super Deluxe, and Pahuna. Critics have argued that a Bollywood film of this scale and star-cast has certain factors playing in its favour, and while smaller films from other regions, languages, and demographics are also strong contenders in terms of the quality of cinema, they will not be given the recognition they deserve. Netizens are tweeting about other such critically acclaimed films such as Andhadhun, And the Oscar Goes To, Tumbbad, Uyare, among several others. Over the years, the films that have been nominated have been in the mainstream domain of the Hindi language. Till date, only two Malayalam films have been selected, along with one Telugu film, and no Kannada film has ever made it to the nominations. A common narrative that exists is that the Indian cinema is synonymous with Bollywood. There is a prevalent lack of awareness about other important industries, and those domains of Indian cinema are seen as the “others”. It is forgotten, almost always, that the Indian cinemascape goes beyond the dominance of Bollywood, to the diverse regions, languages, and identities that our land comprises of.

This film was lauded for its social and political undertones, except many also argue how it addressed these issues in a very ambiguous manner. The scene where Singh’s character goes around the city with Kalki Koechlin’s character and they spray-paint billboards all over the town and write “Feed Me” next to a model, “Brown and Beautiful” on a fairness cream advertisement are some of the ambiguities in the message it attempts to put forth. Even the ideas of majoritarianism, politics, and corruption are subtly hinted at. Many people also called out Bhatt’s character, Safeena, to be problematic after the Kabir Singh debates. For some, these mixed ideas of politics added to the layers in the film as they did not overpower the story, while leaving an impact. They further argue that this film opened doors to the discourse on these issues, except some others emphasise on how the film shrugs off its burdens by using subtlety as a tool. It is said that the jury which was responsible for the selection believed that a “feel-good factor” was essential for an Oscars nomination. While these are the many sides to this debate, apna time aa gaya (our time is here) and Gully Boy is now heading towards a much-awaited Oscars. It is a film which gave us a reality check, Siddhant Chaturvedi, catchy dialogues, and a seat at the Oscars.

Feature Image Credits: India Today

Shivani Dadhwal

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Digitisation of Currency: India and Its Financial Future

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With the advent of plastic money, e-banking, Paytm, cryptocurrency, and other digitised methods of payment, can India become a cashless economy?

With the rise of Digital India Campaign, and the growth of e-commerce in the country, it looks like the future of the Indian currency is moving forward in the digital sphere. However, this is not as easy as it may seem. With problems such as the country having an internet penetration rate of just 27%, as compared to the global average of 67%, only 60% of the country having bank accounts, and with 98% of the economic transactions by volume being done through cash, it is evident that the journey ahead is long and difficult.

Adding on to all this, India is a developing country with a very high poverty rate, as a student from the University of Delhi (DU) points out, “I don’t know what our Government is trying to achieve by Digital India when half the people in this country can’t even afford the internet. There are people suffering all over the country but nothing has been done about that”.

Along with this, cryptocurrency has been virtually banned by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as stated in a circular, prohibiting banks, and financial institutions from rendering all services related to cryptocurrency in 2018. This, in turn, has also led to criticism from many who argue that the RBI has no right to pass this legislation on cryptocurrency, as it is not within the ambit of the Banking Regulation Act, through which the RBI draws most of its power.

In the face of all these statistics and opinions, why is the digitisation of currency even in the conversation? The positives of greater digitisation include paper trails which would make it harder to hide income, and would make finding black money easier, which was also one of the failed objectives of the infamous demonetisation done by the Modi administration. It would save the Government money, with the RBI currently spending INR 2,700 crores in the fiscal year 2018 on just currency issuance and management, it would be easier to conduct international payments, and the entire problem of fake currency would essentially disappear.

One of the arguments put forward against digitisation in India is that India is a majorly agrarian country, with most people depending on rural cooperative banks, most of which might not have an internet connection and the Government would not have the funds to provide it. However, this statement at its base can be proven wrong. According to the Indian Brand Equity Foundation, there are around 94,384 rural banks in India, as of the fiscal year 2017. Assuming all these banks do not have internet service, calculations of the initial cost can be made. Internet service would cost around INR one lakh for the initial licensing and legal admin fees, along with INR three to four lakhs to set up the infrastructure covering one square kilometre of the area around the tower. This leads us to a total cost of INR five lakhs on the highest end of the spectrum. Now, making the assumption that all rural collective banks do not have internet access, multiplying the number of rural banks with the initial cost would amount to around INR 4,719 crores or around USD 655 million. To put this into perspective, the Statue of Unity cost around INR 3,000 crores, and therefore, it is evident that funding this is not out of the reach of the Indian Government.

In this age of globalisation and technological revolution, the world economy and, more importantly for us, the Indian Economy is constantly changing and evolving. While digitisation of currency might be a part of this evolution further down the line, there is a still a long way for this country to go in order to make that possible, with work required in every sphere to even think about fully implementing it.

 

Feature Image Credits: 

Prabhanu Kumar Das

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A Lunar Disconnect: India and Kashmir

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Amidst outpouring sympathies after the failure of the Chandrayaan 2 mission, questions arise on “losing communication”. Read why mainland India has forgotten Kashmir from its memory.

Chandrayaan 2, India’s second lunar mission was meant to explore an area never explored before, the south pole of the moon. On 7th September, as the Vikram lander began its descent to the lunar surface, the country watched carefully. Just 2.1 kilometres over the surface of the moon, ISRO abruptly lost contact with the lander. The rover was found on 8th September, with a possibility of a harsh landing. At the time of writing this article, NASA promised to send pictures of the landing region and the rover for ISRO’s analysis.

A wave of social media sympathy took over. People immediately took the responsibility – for being proud of ISRO and for the failure of their efforts – into their own hands. A video of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and the ISRO Chairman, K. Sivan, emerged where Sivan can be seen wiping away his tears. Trolls took to mansplaining a female engineer who worked on the mission. Hate politics on social media also emerged between India and Pakistan, leading nowhere.

On social media and otherwise, the issue was widely compared to the communication blockade in Kashmir. Importantly, analogies were drawn between ISRO’s loss of communication with the Chandrayaan and the Kashmiris’ loss of connection with the rest of the world. “I want to know how India feels, knowing that there is no connection even in modern times like these. It also raises questions about if India is progressing at all,” a student from Kashmir said, under the condition of anonymity. “On one hand you claim the knowledge of the moon, but Kashmir has gone back several decades with a complete gag on communications for (now) more than 40 days.”

The Kashmir Valley has been under clampdown since 5th August, the day Article 370 was abrogated. Curfews have been imposed almost regularly. The clampdown has also been criticised for its authoritarian and colonial nature. Freedom of the Press no longer exists in the Valley and reports of violence, curfews, and killings have emerged as the Indian state urges that “the situation is normal”.

It is interesting that people chose to mourn the lander, a non-living object, instead of an entire state of over six million under clampdown. The poignant question to ask is this: if the people of this state are your own citizens, why are you not worried about their repression yet?

The insensitivity of the masses adds to the absurdity of the situation; as if it is normal for a population to exist without phone networks and the internet for more than a month! The common argument that the Bharatiya Janata Party propagates is that people lived before there was the internet. Yes, but the times have changed and because of an ambiguous “threat from militants”, it is not justifiable to keep human beings deprived of their civil rights.

The Kashmir clampdown is no longer seen in the mainstream media channels or the front pages of newspapers. Kashmir has been an object of selective outrage, or rather, an intermittent outrage.

Dr. Dharan Sharma, a senior aerospace engineer at NASA, said, “The timing of this mission was wrong, the mission seemed to have bleak chances of success. The economic crisis means every penny is priceless. The failure of this mission could mean the loss of what India has gained on the international space platform. It will weaken the flow of investment in science and technology.”

Many scientists on Twitter refused to call Chandrayaan 2 India’s greatest scientific feat since it takes away the light from other fields of science which lack funding.

India has been seeing disasters from multiple sides – be it the floods, the Kashmir issue, the economic crisis, or now the failure of Chandrayaan. What remains to be seen is how the Government deals with them to ensure that no more damage, than has already been made, is endured.

 

Feature Image Credits: BBC

 

Maumil Mehraj

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Jaishree Kumar

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Arts & Culture

The Eco-Feminist Village of Piplantri

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In Rajasthan, a state often characterised by low sex ratio and an arid climate, the villagers of Piplantri in Rajsamand have resorted to planting 111 trees with the birth of every girl child to battle female foeticide and climate issues.

In Piplantri, whenever a girl child was born, the family pushed a hard, jagged grain into her mouth to cause infection and ensure her death. Shyam Lal Paliwal never understood this practice.He had always loved his daughter. So when Sarpanch Shyam Lal Paliwal’s 16-year old daughter Kiran died in 2006, he planted a burflower tree in her remembrance and vowed that no one would mourn the birth of a baby-girl in Piplantri anymore. Instead, it would be celebrated with the planting of trees.

Before 2005, Piplantri had been a drought-prone area. Shyam Lal recalls that once in 2005, the drought had been so bad that the government were forced to send water trains to the village. But it all ended with Kiran’s tree and Shyam Lal’s vision.

Alongside planting 111 trees, whenever a girl child is born in Piplantri, donations are collected so that INR 31,000 can be saved and put aside, so that with investment, there is a sum to match a potential dowry, allowing the families to become financially independent and in turn, be able to send their daughters to school, not marry them before they turn 18, and care for the planted trees as well. Along with this, getting inspiration from his wife, Shyam Lal also helped establish an aloe vera business in the village. After training, women can make and market aloe vera gel, juice and pickle, and some earn up to INR 6,000 a month.  The Sarpanch has also started a rainwater harvesting plant in the village.

Aloe Vera gel made by the women of Piplantri village. image Credits: Lifegate
Aloe Vera gel made by the women of Piplantri village.
image Credits: Lifegate

The government of Rajasthan, which has been shamed with a concerning sex ratio for years, decided to introduce a yojana (scheme) inspired by Paliwal’s work. Under the policy, the family receives INR 2,500 on her birth and the same amount on her first birthday. This is doubled to INR 5,000 if she finishes class five and class eight. When girls complete their senior secondary education i.e. class 12th, they get INR 35,000, making an overall total of  INR 50,000.

Piplantri has become an inspiration to various villages in rural India and holds itself up to be an important symbol of not only women empowerment, but also sustainable development in India.

Feature Image Credits: Procaffenation

Shreya Juyal

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