oc 75 ` TRENDS november 16, 2020 16, november means FESTIVE LUXURY SPECIAL: LUXURY in W orld HEAD W A arris the h and GAME PLAN GAME ndia i THE BJP’S BIHAR THE BJP’S Biden-Kamala merica, a Joe for

the

RED RED TAPE IN

What HARD ROAD

www.indiatoday.in

MIRED DEFENCE DEFENCE PURCHASES:

rni no. 28587/75 28587/75 no. rni registered no. dl(nd)-11/6068/2018-20; U(c)-88/2018-20; FAridABAd/05/2020-22 licensed to post withoUt prepAyment withoUt post to licensed FAridABAd/05/2020-22 U(c)-88/2018-20; dl(nd)-11/6068/2018-20; no. registered

FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

he recent US presidential election had several very fact that this contest went down to the wire indicates that binaries: Good vs Evil, Decency vs Indecency, Trumpism is alive and kicking in America. This does not bode Truth vs Lies, Racism vs Inclusion, Rich vs Poor, well for the country’s future. These are serious divides that will T Unity vs Division, Reason vs Irrationality, Con- hamper the ability of the Biden administration to govern. sensus vs Confrontation, Science vs Stupidity, Globalisation vs Isolationism. Fortunately for America and the world, the ur cover story, ‘Hard Road Ahead’, written by Group better side of human nature prevailed. Just about. I must say O Editorial Director (Publishing) Raj Chengappa, looks I was shocked at the byzantine American electoral process. at what the Biden-Harris partnership means for India and Completely absurd that a president can be elected even after the world. The six experts we consulted are upbeat about the losing the popular vote—as Donald Trump did in 2016— future. Former NSA Shivshankar Menon believes Biden’s pri- and the chaotic counting process. We may not orities will be domestic issues and not foreign always get everything right, but we should feel policy. “He is going to have to try hard to bring proud of the efficient way our general elections jobs back, get manufacturing going and push are conducted, and the results announced. The for economic growth.” victory of Joe Biden in a closely fought US presi- The high point of Indo-US ties under the dential election is as much about the triumph Trump administration had been in the fields of democracy as it is about the defeat of one of of defence and security. The two countries are the most toxic presidents in US history, one who now locked in a Comprehensive Global Strategic even tried to delegitimise the election. The 2020 Partnership, have signed three major founda- vote, as Biden put it succinctly at the start of his tional defence agreements and have arms deals campaign, was to restore the ‘soul of America’ worth billions of dollars in the pipeline. March 13, 2017 and erase the ‘darkness’ that had descended on Bilateral trade remains a thorny issue, the country under Donald Trump. though. Trump took India off a preferential The president, despite all his bluster, was trade scheme offering Indian exporters tariff- already under a darkening cloud this year. free access to US markets. Biden is unlikely to Covid-19 has ravaged the United States, with significantly steer away from his predecessor’s 9.5 million cases and 234,000 fatalities as ‘America First’ policy of focusing on the US of November 5, making it the world’s worst- markets and economic recovery. This could affected country. Trump was slow to move cause India some anxiety as the US is bound to against the pandemic and, by some accounts, emphasise access to India’s markets. even downplayed it initially. The impact of the The free pass that Trump gave India on virus on the US economy has been catastroph- human rights and on Kashmir could also ic—ending the longest recorded US expansion July 8, 2019 become a point of friction in the months ahead, from 2009 to March 2020. particularly with vice-president Kamala Har- The former real estate tycoon from New ris. Harris, the first person of Indian origin to York now joins a short list of just two other become vice-president, spoke up in the Senate American presidents in the last half-century— in October 2019 in the context of the Indian Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush—who government diluting Article 370, saying that were defeated after a single term. They lost “we have to remind the Kashmiris that they are mainly because, as the memorable 1992 not alone in the world” and “there is a need to Bill Clinton campaign slogan put it, ‘It’s the intervene if the situation demands”. economy, stupid!’ In Trump’s case, it would be, It remains to be seen what path Biden walks ‘It was Covid-19, stupid!’ with China—whether he will choose to strike a Trump’s troubled legacy will endure long March 9, 2020 deal or continue his predecessor’s hostile policy. after he leaves the White House for various In any case, there are unlikely to be any huge reasons. He moved the United States away from its lead- surprises. However, in dealing with any American president, ership role in the world, shredded alliances and had the we should always remember what John Foster Dulles, the singular distinction of being a mercurial, unpredictable US eminent Secretary of State during the Eisenhower presidency, president, feared by friends and foes alike. The task before had said: “America has no friends, only interests.” That said, President Biden, who at 77 is the oldest president-elect ever, Biden marks a return to a predictable and, hopefully, a more is formidable, both at home and abroad. He has the arduous responsible United States. responsibility not just of restoring America’s leadership role in global affairs and rebuilding alliances but also of integrat- ing the ‘untied’ states of America, restoring racial harmony and fighting a likely second wave of Covid infections. The (Aroon Purie)

NOVEMBER 16, 2020 INDIA TODAY 3 UPFRONT LEISURE COVID: TOO CLOSE THE ART OF BEING FOR COMFORT PG 6 GANDHI PG 49 www.indiatoday.in DISINVESTMENT: THE Q&A WITH INTERMINABLE LOOP RAJKUMMAR RAO CHAIRMAN AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Aroon Purie VICE CHAIRPERSON: Kalli Purie PG 14 PG 56 GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Raj Chengappa INSIDE GROUP CREATIVE EDITOR: Nilanjan Das; GROUP PHOTO EDITOR: Bandeep Singh MANAGING EDITORS: Kai Jabir Friese, Rajesh Jha EXECUTIVE EDITORS: S. Sahaya Ranjit, Sandeep Unnithan, Manisha Saroop; Mumbai: M.G. Arun

SENIOR DEPUTY EDITOR: Hyderabad: Amarnath K. Menon DEPUTY EDITORS: Kaushik Deka, Shwweta Punj SENIOR EDITORS: Sasi Nair, Anilesh S. Mahajan 24 Mumbai: Suhani Singh; Jaipur: Rohit Parihar SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Ashish Mukherjee Mumbai: Kiran Dinkar Tare; patna: Amitabh Srivastava ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Sonali Acharjee Kolkata: Romita Sengupta; Bhopal: Rahul Noronha ASSISTANT EDITORS: Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri, Aditya Wig PHOTO DEPARTMENT: Yasir Iqbal (Deputy Chief Photographer), Rajwant Singh Rawat (Principal Photographer), Chandra Deep Kumar (Senior Photographer); Mumbai: Mandar Suresh Deodhar (Chief Photographer) PHOTO RESEARCHERS: Prabhakar Tiwari (Chief Photo Researcher), Saloni Vaid (Principal Photo Researcher), CHIEF OF GRAPHICS: Tanmoy Chakraborty ART DEPARTMENT: Sanjay Piplani (Senior Art Director); Angshuman De (Art Director); Devajit Bora (Deputy Art Director); Vikas Verma (Associate Art Director); Siddhant Jumde (Senior Illustrator) PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT: Harish Agarwal (Chief of Production), Naveen Gupta (Chief Coordinator)

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER: Manoj Sharma ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Anil Fernandes (Impact)

IMPACT TEAM Senior General Manager: Jitendra Lad (West) General Manager: Mayur Rastogi (North), Upendra Singh (Bangalore), Kaushiky Gangulie (East) GROUP CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER: Vivek Malhotra SALES AND OPERATIONS Deepak Bhatt, Senior General Manager (National Sales) Vipin Bagga, General Manager (Operations) COVER STORY Rajeev Gandhi, Deputy General Manager (North) Syed Asif Saleem, Regional Sales Manager (West) S Paramasivam, Deputy Regional Sales Manager (South) Piyush Ranjan Das, Senior Sales Manager (East) HARD ROAD AHEAD What the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris victory signifies for America, India and the world

Volume XLV Number 46; For the week BIHAR POLLS DEFENCE Nov 10-16, 2020, published on every Friday l Editorial/Corporate Office Living Media India Ltd., India Today Group Mediaplex, DOWN TO MIRED IN FC-8, Sector-16A, Film City, Noida - 201301; Phone: 0120-4807100 THE WIRE RED TAPE l Sub scriptions: For assistance contact Customer Care India Today Group, C-9, 20 38 Sector-10, Noida (UP)-201301; Phones: Toll-free number: 1800 1800 100 (from BSNL/MTNL lines); (95120) 2479900 from Delhi and Faridabad; (0120) 2479900 PM Modi and the BJP pull out all The defence ministry is moving to revive from Rest of India (Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.); Fax: (0120) 4078080; the stops as Tejashwi and the four critical weapons procurements, but Mumbai: 022-66063411/3412, Kolkata: 033-40525327, Chennai: 044-24303200; e-mail: [email protected] RJD threaten a fightback many factors prevent an early resolution l Sales: Direct all trade enquiries to General Manager (Sales), Living Media India Limited, C-9, Sector-10, Noida-201301 (UP) l Regd. Office: K-9 Con naught Circus, New Delhi-110001 l Impact Offices: 1201, 12th Floor, Tower 2 A, One Indiabulls Centre, (Jupiter LUXURY SPECIAL Mills), S.B. Marg, Lower Parel (West), Mumbai-400013; Phone: 66063355; Fax: 66063226 l E-1, Ground Floor, Videocon Towers, Jhandewalan Extn, New Delhi l Guna Complex, 5th Floor, Main Building, No.443, Anna Salai, Chennai-600018; Phone: 2847 8525 l 201-204 Richmond Towers, 2nd Floor, VISION FOR A 12, Richmond Road, Bangalore-560025; Phones: 22212448, 22213037, LUXE 2020-21 22218343; Fax: 22218335; l 52, Jawaharlal Nehru Road, 4th Floor, 42 Kolkata-700071; Phones: 22825398; Fax: 22827254; l 6-3-885/7/B, Somajiguda, A look at what the future holds for Hyderabad-500082; Phone: 23401657, 23400479, 23410100, 23402481, 23410982, 23411498; Fax: 23403484 l 39/1045, Karakkatt Road, Kochi 682016; the luxury sector in a post-pandemic Phones: 2377057, 2377058 ; Fax: 2377059 l 2/C, “Suryarath Bldg”, 2nd Floor, India and how digital tech will likely Behind White House, Panchwati, Office C.G. Road, Ahmedabad-380006; Phone: 26560393, 26560929; Fax: 26565293 l Copyright Living Media India Ltd. All transform this space rights reserved throughout the world. Reproduction in any manner is prohibited. Printed and published by Manoj Sharma on behalf of Living Media Cover by NILANJAN DAS India Limited. Printed at Thomson Press India Limited, 18-35 Milestone, Delhi Mathura Road, Faridabad-121007, (Haryana). Readers are recommended to make appropriate enquiries before sending money, incurring expenses or Published at K-9, Connaught Circus, New Delhi-110001. entering into commitments in relation to any advertisement appearing in this publication. The India Today Editor: Raj Chengappa. Group does not vouch for any claims made by the advertisers of products and services. The printer, l in dia today does not take the re sponsibility for returning unsolicited publication material. publisher, editor-in-chief and the editor of the India Today Group publications shall not be held liable for any consequences in the event of such claims not being honoured by the advertisers. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only FOR SUBSCRIPTION ASSISTANCE, CONTACT: Customer Care, India Today Group, C-9, Sector-10, Noida (Uttar Pradesh)-201301. E-MAIL to: Phones: 2479900 from Noida, 95120-2479900 from Delhi and [email protected] or Faridabad, and 0120-2479900 from Rest of India. Toll Free No.: 1800 1800 100. Fax: 0120-4078080. E-mail: [email protected] log on to www.indiatoday.in

GETTING MUMBAI WEST BENGAL: TO MOVE AGAIN FRIENDS IN NEED PG 8 PG 10

DISINVESTMENT: MP: KAMAL NATH THE INTERMINABLE PLAYS HIS HAND LOOP PG 12 UPFRONT PG 14 ANI ANI

NO SOCIAL DISTANCING (Clockwise from above) A market in Mumbai before the Ganesh Chaturthi festival; Sarojini Nagar market in New Delhi; a market in Kolkata before the Durga Puja festival

GETTY IMAGES COVID: SECOND WAVE Too Close for Comfort By Sonali Acharjee

n November 1, as Kerala parks, museums and other areas of department. “On one hand, the festive opened its beaches to the tourist interest have been opened up. season, particularly Onam celebrations, public for the first time in What this throws into relief about the sent numbers rising. So, doctors and O months, the state had 89,675 challenge of containing the spread of scientists are critical of reopening public active Covid cases, the second highest the virus is that the economic costs of a spaces. But equally, one cannot ignore in the country after Maharashtra, up lockdown or even severe containment the rising public discontent and the lack from only 16 active cases in May. Some are too high for governments to ignore. of jobs. Even if we kept the state closed, experts attribute the spike in case num- Hence, the new state predisposition to people are frustrated enough to ignore bers entirely to public complacency, to opening up, even while insisting that restrictions. So we decided to take a people focusing more on the economic people take necessary precautions to chance. But if things do not improve, we cost of lockdowns than the reason they ensure their own safety and of those might have to enforce a lockdown.” are being imposed and the public health they are likely to be in touch with. On the public health front, there benefits of doing so. And now, though “There has been pressure from both is evidence that lockdowns do work. health officials have warned against a sides—the public health administration In Australia’s Victoria, after a 112-day hasty easing of restrictions on move- and the economy,” says a nodal officer lockdown, on November 4, the state ment and public gatherings, beaches, from the Kerala government’s health recorded no new Covid cases for the

6 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 16, 2020

UPFRONT

fourth day in a row. While the lockdown “however, I have enough in the bank was strictly enforced through surveil- AFTER THE to allow myself to take it easy for a few lance and police supervision, economic FIRST WAVE months. It might have been different conditions also helped, including a low if I was hard up.” Efforts like these are unemployment rate—4.8 per cent—and What has worked and crucial now, with a ‘second wave’ taking government benefits to make it possible what has not worked for countries hold—the daily count of new cases is for the state’s residents to afford not to around the world back up to 4,000-5,000, up from leave their homes. Kerala has no such 1,200 in August. France: Learned that advantage—the employment rate was mass gatherings had Health officials have repeatedly 26.5 per cent in May, and many have to be prevented after a appealed for people to avoid gatherings, few or no savings to fall back on, forcing single wedding in Paris led to 76 people wear masks in public and maintain good them to step out of their homes to work. getting infected. Earlier, weddings were hand hygiene. But the apparent disre- Mental health professionals work- permitted with 200 guests; now, all gard of common sense seen in images ing with Covid patients highlight that wedding functions are banned overleaf, of milling crowds in markets financial instability is a major reason for during the festive season, challenge the both public discontent and lockdown Ireland: Despite having belief that people know what’s in their fewer cases than other violations. “Many patients say they are best interest. Experts point out that as European countries, it anxious because a relative of theirs is out imposed a strict lockdown with a 5 km winter sets in and states relax restric- working during the pandemic,” says Dr travel limit. Pandemic unemployment tions, infections are sure to increase. Anil Bhatia, a community psychologist. payments of €350 a week have helped This is already visible in Delhi, which “They point out that they have no option gain public cooperation has seen a major increase in new cases— but to work—when you have to make a 46 per cent spike—this past month. “In ends meet, there have to be very strong Scotland: A survey Delhi, cases are rising even as they are reasons for someone to remain indoors. showed that around 26 per falling in other states,” says Dr Randeep Awareness of the risks is a good cent of all cases in July were Guleria, director of AIIMS, Delhi. “The linked to visits to pubs or restaurants; all place to start, followed by a recogni- state did not see an end to the second pubs and restaurants now closed tion by authorities of why people are wave of infections, and the sudden pub- breaking the rules.” Dr B.N. Gangadhar, Australia: A 112-day lic complacency has led to the curve ris- director of NIMHANS, Bengaluru, also lockdown in the state of ing again.” He says public vigilance has highlights the psychological aspect: “To Victoria led to zero new decreased visibly in the past month or ensure that people behave responsibly, cases on November 1. The lockdown was so. “It almost looks as though people authorities have to realise that safety supported by public engagement, police have forgotten Covid exists—they are measures must consider not just physi- enforcement and an economic stimulus to not wearing masks and crowding in cal health but also mental health.” keep the unemployment rate low public spaces. The effort to keep Covid Vietnam: All travellers numbers low has to be a citizen move- o far, there are only stray exam- entering the country ment. In countries like South Korea ples in India of how strong are quarantined for 14 and Vietnam, this has worked—they Scommunity engagement can days. Public awareness programmes haven’t seen a second wave even though help control case numbers. Kerala conducted on asymptomatic Covid cases they have resumed economic activity. In itself is one such example—in the early and the need for quarantines. A vigorous Europe, responsible behaviour was not propaganda campaign using wartime months of the pandemic, public out- followed and it cost them.” imagery was used to unite the public. Has reach programmes included a 24-hour had only about 1,200 cases till date The UK recently announced its helpline to increase awareness about second national lockdown, beginning Covid safety measures, offer counsel- South Korea: Managed to November 5. France too has reintro- ling and to build community spirit, limit infections to only 26,000 duced restrictions and curfews. In con- highlighting that individuals main- cases by ensuring the public trast, South Korea and Vietnam have not taining safety protocols were not just understood the need for universal mask needed lockdowns at all. Their commu- protecting themselves—they were also coverage, self-isolation and testing. nity-led efforts—mask discipline, limited Masks are mandatory in all major cities acting in public interest. In Delhi, there public interactions and self-isolating are hopeful anecdotes from the private Spain: Giving in to when necessary—have allowed eco- sector. For instance, Shantanu Deb, economic pressure, it nomic activities to continue even while 36, who runs a small legal firm, says lifted most restrictions simultaneously prioritising public health he has been allowing his employees and reduced public engagement. On needs. If India is unable to do the same, to work from home even if he suffers November 2, it recorded 55,000 new a second lockdown might well be on the financial consequences. “It is my duty infections. Efforts are now being made to cards—with all the economic and social to ensure they are safe,” he says, adding, restrict public movement once again consequences that entails. n

8 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 16, 2020 SIDDHANT JUMDE SIDDHANT

Illustration by Illustration

Lions’ Share fter Lucknow and Kanpur, AUttar Pradesh is all set to get a third zoo in Chief Minister Yo g i Adityanath’s home district Gorakhpur in March. Occupying pride of place among the 200 animals and birds at the 121-acre zoo will be three lions relocated from another CM’s pet project—Akhilesh Yadav’s Etawah lion safari. The safari, finally inaugurated last year, had import- ed seven lions from Gujarat on September 26, 2019, of which one died. The remaining six will now be split between Etawah and Gorakhpur. Which three, a committee formed by the Chief Conservator of Wildlife in UP will decide.

GLASSHOUSE Missing in Action ounting protests against the farm bills in Punjab have seen the state BJP unit under siege. Occasion for the party’s only M Jat-Sikh MP in the state Sunny Deol to step in, right? Not SAHA ANINDYA really. The Bollywood action star is missing from the list of speakers— Hardeep Singh Puri, Hans Raj Hans and Smriti Irani—the state unit has asked the Centre to dispatch to the state. Deol the politician is nothing like his fire-spitting image on screen. He has rarely spoken up in the 17 months that he has been MP, has been absent from his constituency Gurdaspur and has no rapport with either state or central leaders.

‘HUE’ & CRY rinamool Congress SKIMMED AID Theavyweight Suvendu Adhikari’s defection to the BJP elangana chief minister K. Chandra­ has been predicted for a long time shekar Rao has announced Rs 10,000 T now. Tongues started wagging cash handouts to flood-affected families in again recently after his followers Hyderabad. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) claims it has distributed distributed saffron-coloured it to 380,000 families so far. With GHMC polls cards at a Bijaya Sammilani due in early 2021, there’s a sense of urgency to (post-Durga puja festivities) at the effort. Except that the move could backfire Nandigram in East Midnapore. on the government. Angry victims have been But then again, the pandal was protesting outside government offices accusing in Mamata’s favourite colours— corporators of skimming between Rs 2,000 and white and blue—and the chairs in Rs 5,000 off their compensation. the party’s colour, green. ANI

—Sandeep Unnithan with Anilesh S. Mahajan, Amarnath K. Menon, Romita Datta and Ashish Misra TRAIN PAIN Commuters at the Bhayander railway station in Mumbai

MILIND SHELTE

UNLOCK 5.0 GETTING MUMBAI TO MOVE AGAIN By Kiran D. Tare

he crowds at bus stops in Mum- except restricted operations for health 11 am to 4 pm, and 8 pm to 12.40 am. bai and its suburbs are growing and essential services workers, those in The railways refused, citing the risk to bigger by the day. Packed buses the pharma and food industries, and passengers from the pandemic. It wants T come and leave, with few able bankers and lawyers. An exception was the government to take responsibility for to get in. Frustration is building up, but also made for women commuters, for managing the crowds at railway stations; commuters have little choice. As Mum- whom train services resumed on Octo- the state says that’s the railways’ job. bai tries to unlock its economy, and more ber 21 in two time slots—11 am to 3 pm Before Covid struck, the suburban rail and more offices open up and industries and 7 pm to 12.40 am, the last train. network used to run some 2,200 daily try to get back to business, the stab at The Maharashtra government is keen train services across MMR. While the normalcy still requires the restoration of on a full resumption of local train services official capacity of each train is 1,700 pas- a vital missing link—suburban, or ‘local’, and has been in talks—albeit unsuccess- sengers, nearly double that number cram commuter trains, the city’s lifeline. ful so far—with the railways. On Octo- in during rush hour. On October 31, the Since the Covid outbreak, local ber 28, the state government requested Central Railway and Western Railway trains, which ferry an estimated 8 mil- the railways to open up the local train informed the government that their re- lion commuters every day in normal network for everyone in Mumbai, and stricted local train operations were cater- times, have stopped running in the suggested three time bands for travel: ing to only about 2.2 million people every Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), 4 am (the first local train) to 7.30 am, day, because social distancing norms had

10 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 16, 2020 UPFRONT

in the MMR. This is based on the rec- HOW THE CITY ommendations of transport experts and commuter associations. Wadet- TRAVELS tiwar’s department is considering vari- ous options, such as allowing private companies to decide their own shifts 8 4.5 and determining office hours based MILLION MILLION on the nature of work and the particu- Local train Local bus lar requirements of various industries. commuters commuters Most private and government of- per day per day fices in the MMR have 9-to-5 timings, which puts great pressure on the city’s public transport system between 8 ` and 10 in the morning and 6 to 8 in 4 500 the evening. Officials believe crowd- MILLION Average ing on public transport can be signifi- People monthly travel expense of cantly reduced, or at least managed, for work second-class by changing office timings to 11 am-7 in south travel on pm and 2 pm-10 pm. “Offices not into Mumbai local trains public dealings can go for staggered working hours,” says a relief and reha- ` bilitation department official. 2,000 Shift-based operations in govern- Average monthly expense ment and private offices in Mumbai of travel on Mumbai Metro were first proposed in 2015 by then Union railway minister Suresh Prab- hu to the Devendra Fadnavis govern- ment. However, the state government shot down the idea as ‘impractical’. drastically reduced passenger capacity While Lata Argade, secretary of the to 700 per train. Beginning November Suburban Railway Passenger Associa- 1, the railways introduced 610 local tion, says that a change in office hours train services, upping the total daily will drastically reduce overcrowding runs to over 2,000. in suburban trains, transport expert Maharashtra officials are hopeful Ashok Datar feels staggered office of a breakthrough when they hold a hours are a good option provided meeting with the railways in the sec- government offices, which have fixed I ond week of November. “This is not working hours, take the lead in adopt- the time to score political points,” says ing it. “Local trains are more popular Vijay Wadettiwar, Maharashtra min- than Metro rail and buses, but [given ister for relief and rehabilitation, ac- the pandemic situation] access should cusing Union railways minister Piyush not be unconditional,” says Datar. Goyal of not taking a “positive call” The railways have floated colour- on the state’s demand to open up local coded QR (quick response)-based trains for all. “The trains run as per his ticketing for commuters, under which (Goyal’s) wish. It is when he deems it they can board trains only in desig- appropriate that local trains will run nated time slots during the day. This for commoners,” says Wadettiwar. is expected to prevent overcrowding Under pressure to alleviate com- in trains. But a system like this can be muter woes while still ensuring that effective only when office timings are the new travel arrangements are staggered—and the state government Covid-safe, the state government is might have to take the lead in setting considering staggered working hours that trend and making it happen. n QUID PRO QUO GJM leader Bimal Gurung with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee

WEST BENGAL Mamata has sought an alliance with Gurung. In 2011, after coming to power, she had convinced him to give up his agitation for a separate Gorkhaland by forming an autonomous governing body for the region—the FRIENDS Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA)—and installing him as its chief executive. While this arrangement kept the peace for several years, Gurung IN NEED resigned from the GTA and went into By Romita Datta hiding in 2017, after fierce violence rocked the region that year. While there were several factors at play, ties between n October 21, Bimal Gurung, the third time in 2021”. He added that Gurung and the TMC had already leader of a Gorkha Janmukti the BJP “has done nothing about our been straining by then—in the 2014 Morcha (GJM) faction and a demand for a [separate] Gorkhaland”, Lok Sabha polls, the GJM helped the Ofugitive from the law in West and that “Mamata Banerjee does what BJP’s S.S. Ahluwalia defeat the TMC’s Bengal, made his first public appear- she says, so I’ll help her win seats in Bhaichung Bhutia in Darjeeling. ance in three years. Despite the many the Darjeeling region”. As a major The central issue was the persistent charges filed against him—including political force in West Bengal’s hill demand for a separate Gorkhaland. under the UAPA (Unlawful Activities regions—Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Political watchers say that with the Prevention Act)—he held a press con- the subdivisions of Kurseong, Mirik TMC unwilling to give in to this ference in Kolkata that day, announcing and Siliguri—Gurung’s support will be demand, Gurung’s support for the that he was ending his alliance with the crucial for the TMC in the upcoming BJP came from his fond hope that the BJP-led NDA (National Democratic assembly election, which is likely why Union government might do what the Alliance) and that he would help the he roams free despite the many cases state government would not. Another TMC’s (Trinamool Congress’) Mamata against him. factor was local politics. Aware that Banerjee become “chief minister for This is not the first time that Gurung’s political strength came from

12 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 16, 2020 UPFRONT

the unity of the Gorkha sub-tribes on Mamata and Gurung, with support- this issue, Mamata had attempted to ers arguing that Gurung’s return will splinter Gorkha unity by setting up THE GURUNG FACTOR lead to fresh unrest in the Darjeeling individual development boards for sub- North Bengal 2016 hills. Some even say that this will end tribes—such as the Lepcha, Limbu and assembly election results up benefiting the BJP by splitting the Tamang Development Boards. GJM and its votebank. In May 2017, matters boiled over 15 To forestall that possibil- when the state government made 25 ity, Mamata met with Tamang on Bangla a compulsory second language 8 1 November 3, urging him to work with in government schools across West Total Gurung. However, this appears to be Bengal. The GJM organised a series 54 5 the beginning of a long and difficult of protest marches in the Darjeeling road—at the meeting, Tamang report- region, timed to coincide with a visit by TMC Congress Left edly made it clear that he and his fac- the chief minister to the area in early NDA (BJP+GJM) Others tion of the GJM would have no truck June. Though a cabinet meeting at with Gurung. After the half an hour Even though the NDA (BJP+GJM) Darjeeling’s Raj Bhavan on June 8 led meeting with Mamata, Tamang held a won only five of north Bengal’s to a clarification that Bangla would be press conference at Gorkha Bhawan to 54 assembly seats in 2016, an optional subject, protests intensified the GJM can potentially influence announce this decision. “Who is Bimal into violence and the paramilitary forc- results in 15 constituencies, Gurung?” he asked. “That chapter is es had to be called in to restore order. more than a quarter of the total, closed. We will not share any adminis- Violence intensified in the following mainly in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri trative or political power with Gurung. weeks, leading to a complete shut- and Cooch Behar We are on the field and with the peo- down in the region for over 100 days, ple.” The same day, the Darjeeling hills culminating in two bomb blasts over Graphic by ASIT ROY region also witnessed a series of ral- August 19-20. This led to charges being lies, one led by Tamang’s faction of the filed against GJM leaders, including GJM in Kalimpong and Kurseong and Gurung, under the UAPA. As a result, another by Gurung’s faction in Mirik. Gurung went underground. THE QUID PRO QUO Tamang claimed that the rally was Following this, Mamata attempted DEAL WITH an outpouring of the people’s anguish to separate Gurung from the GJM, BIMAL GURUNG and resentment at Gurung’s return to supporting a faction of the group led the mainstream. by Binay Tamang and Anit Thapa. WILL SHORE UP Sources in the TMC say Gurung However, popular support remained THE PROSPECTS had been sending feelers to the TMC with Gurung. This was visible in the OF MAMATA for over a year to secure a deal that fact that in the 2019 Lok Sabha elec- BANERJEE’S would allow him to end his exile. An tions, Raju Bista, a Gurung-nominated TMC IN NORTH understanding was possibly reached in candidate fielded by the BJP, won the mid-October, when TMC heir appar- Darjeeling seat by a margin of about BENGAL FOR ent Abhishek Banerjee and poll strat- 400,000 votes. Later that year, anoth- ASSEMBLY 2021 egist Prashant Kishor visited North er Gurung loyalist, Neeraj Zimba, Bengal. Neither Gurung nor Tamang defeated Tamang in a bypoll for the could be reached for comment, though Darjeeling seat in the state assembly Gurung’s representative, Darjeeling by around 46,000 votes. This, and the seats in these areas, where it is current- MP Raju Bista, clarified that matters fact that the TMC had lost all eight ly at a disadvantage following the BJP’s were not quite cut and dried, saying, Lok Sabha seats in North Bengal in remarkable performance in the 2019 “Elections are a long way away, and the 2019 general election, likely made Lok Sabha election, when it won seven we will witness many other political it clear to Mamata that the she needed of the eight seats in North Bengal. developments [by then]. [But] the Gurung on her side. The TMC’s weakness in this area was safe return of Gurungji vindicates the The unofficial agreement between on display even in the 2016 assembly BJP’s stand that the TMC was using Mamata and Gurung is a clear trade- election, when it won only 25 of the 54 police and administrative machinery off, sources say, granting Gurung sanc- seats in north Bengal—the GJM and to browbeat its opponents into sub- tuary in his hometown in lieu of his the BJP together won five, while 23 mission.” While Mamata’s deal with support to Mamata in the Darjeeling went to the Left-Congress combine. Gurung may have given her an edge hills and surrounding areas. With However, hurdles still remain for over the BJP in the assembly election, this deal, the TMC hopes to secure the TMC. The GJM faction led by it has also saddled her with an entirely its chances of winning 15 assembly Tamang has opposed the deal between new political problem. n

NOVEMBER 16, 2020 INDIA TODAY 13 DISINVESTMENT THE INTERMINABLE LOOP By M.G. Arun

he Centre’s desperation for was even panned by analysts as mere gargantuan debt. As of March 31, 2019, funds has never been more grandstanding, even more so because Air India had a total debt of Rs 58,283 palpable. The clamour for a the market outlook on PSU stocks was crore. Servicing that debt itself will T fiscal stimulus to revive the far from bullish, and just did not sup- entail an annual outgo of more than economy is only growing, and the port that kind of optimism. So, it looks Rs 4,000 crore. The airline posted its government must also find the re- unlikely the government will make highest-ever net loss of Rs 8,556 crore sources for substantial unbudgeted, yet a good fist of the Rs 2.01 lakh crore in 2018-19, compared with a net loss of unavoidable, expenditure on managing targeted disinvestments during FY21. Rs 5,348 crore in 2017-18. the Covid-19 pandemic. Strategic dis- It is also making its desperation all too The government has already investment in public sector enterprises, plain by shifting deadlines for ‘expres- postponed the deadline for bids once again in the news, would have sion of interest’ and tweaking criteria several times. It missed the October come to the rescue, but chances are the to interest potential private investors. 30 deadline too, but just a day before government will once again miss its Take the case of Air India. The that deadline lapsed, the Centre made overambitious Budget 2020-21 target Centre had constituted a five-member some critical changes in the bidding of Rs 2.01 lakh crore. ministerial panel, headed by the then criteria, such as allowing prospec- On the evidence of what it actually finance minister Arun Jaitley, way tive bidders the flexibility to decide managed to raise in the previous fiscal back in 2017 to finalise the privatisa- the amount of debt they wish to take (Rs 50,300 crore) against a Budget tion of the airline. A few investors on, and mandating that the winning FY20 target of Rs 1.05 lakh crore (later did show interest, but baulked at the bidder must deposit at least 15 per cent scaled back to Rs 65,000 crore), the terms. The biggest stumbling block of the bid amount in cash before the new target appears a pie in the sky. It for potential investors was the airline’s sale goes through. The Centre has also

14 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 16, 2020 GROUNDED Air India’s high debt UPFRONT puts off potential investors

period this year had already touched THE BIG GAP 109 per cent of the full-year target— while revenue receipts stood at only 18 ` per cent of the target for the full year. 2.01 This has forced the Centre to borrow a LAKH CRORE hefty Rs 12 lakh crore from the market Centre’s disinvestment this fiscal, way above its originally target for FY21 planned Rs 7.8 lakh crore. The October GST revenues will give it some hope: at Rs 1.05 lakh crore, collections were at an eight-month high, but whether the ` uptrend sustains remains to be seen. 5,700 “What remains for sale among PSU CRORE Revenues from units are the tough ones,’’ says D.K. disinvestment in the Joshi, chief economist with Crisil. “The first half ofFY21 target is hefty. It is likely that the sales will get postponed.” It has perplexed some analysts that the government is unable to get going with the proposed ` divestments even though the stock 14,700 markets are still buoyant. “This (stocks CRORE rising) should have ideally helped Shortfall (basis revised listed companies that are up for disin- target) in disinvestment vestment, but it hasn’t,” Joshi adds. revenues in FY20 For the period 2019-20, the Centre had missed the revised divestment tar- get (of Rs 65,000 crore) by Rs 14,700 crore. Disinvestment targets set by the ` central government have fallen short of INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/ AFP 12 lakh the target in the past six years, except CRORE in 2017-18. Disinvestment of public The Centre’s sector units can happen in several projected market borrowing re-extended the deadline for bids to ways, including strategic sale, initial this fiscal to meet its December 14. revenue shortfall public offering, offer for sale, exchange traded fund, buyback and so on. ir India is not the only public According to the Public Enterprises sector undertaking the govern- Survey 2018-19, there were 249 op- A ment is struggling to offload; it erational central public sector firms as also wants to get out of Life Insurance AIR POCKET on March 31, 2019 . Of these, ONGC, Corporation of India, Bharat Petro- Indian Oil Corporation and NTPC leum Corporation (BPCL), Container were the top three profitable PSUs in Corporation of India and Shipping ` 2018-19, whereas BSNL, Air India and Corporation of India. Recently, the 8,556 MTNL incurred the highest losses for a CRORE government extended the disinvest- Air India’s losses third consecutive year. The top 10 loss- ment deadline for BPCL too—for a in 2018-19 making companies accounted for as fourth time—to November 16. The much as 94 per cent of the total losses result of such postponements has been made by all the 70 loss-making central telling. In September, the Centre said public sector firms during the year. it had managed to raise only Rs 5,700 ` While the government has repeatedly crore out of the disinvestment target of 58,283 stated that it wants to get out of public Rs 2.01 lakh crore for FY21. With lower CRORE sector units, it is unable to make a revenues and higher expenditure, the Air India’s debt, as on pitch for them that private players find fiscal deficit in the April to August March 31, 2019 tempting enough. n

NOVEMBER 16, 2020 INDIA TODAY 15 UPFRONT

MADHYA PRADESH BYPOLLS KAMAL NATH PLAYS HIS HAND By Rahul Noronha RAHUL NORONHA RAHUL

n the days preceding the November soon after the gover nment fell. “The hours in the field than his political 3 bypolls, 73-year-old Kamal people are unhappy with defectors, they adversaries, but Nath’s planning and Nath—whose government was will not accept this,” says Nath. meticulous detailing offset that lack to Ibrought down in March this year While addressing public meet ings, a large extent. A sheaf of papers has the by Congress rebels led by Jyotiraditya gaddari (betrayal) was the dominant constituency details and hand-written Scindia—had settled on a new routine. theme, followed by the catchy bikau/ cards have pointers to the issues that Nearly every morning, Nath, never tikau (buyable/ stable) binary, a ref- are to be highlighted at the rallies. His known to possess a special appetite for erence to the rebels who could be questions to party leaders working on public meetings, would set out in his ‘bought’ as opposed to his own govern- the ground are usually about constit- chopper to do just that—hit the ground ment, which might have steadily deliv- uency-specific caste arithmetic, local and meet people in 2-3 constituencies ered the goods but for the defections. issues, bringing in leaders who can pull every day. With Chhindwara MP and Only after this point had been made votes and keeping away those who can son Nakul as wingman, Nath clocked to his satisfaction did Nath move on cost the party votes. many hours on the campaign trail in the to critiquing the present government’s If gaddari is a state-level issue and small towns and villages of MP. These failures or to more local issues and the finds resonance in all 25 constituencies byelections have been different, for it Congress candidate for the particular (perhaps a little more in the 16 seats is after a long time that the Congress is seat of interest to the present gather- in the Gwalior-Chambal region), local not hamstrung by factional pulls and ing. Nakul Nath, too, addressed the issues too are making these byelections pressures, something the party’s MP meetings often, part of the move to difficult to call. unit has been (in)famous for. counter the BJP’s charge of an ageing In Satkunda village in Sanchi seg- After Scindia parted ways in March, Congress leadership. Nath assigned ment, Gopilal, who handled former there has been no opposition to Nath in worked to almost every state Congress Congress MLA Prabhuram Chaudhry’s the party. With ex-CM Digvijaya Singh leader of any standing in the constitu- campaign, now finds himself doing and Nath on the same page on most encies going to the polls, so that party the same for him, but as a BJP agent. issues, Nath, as PCC presid ent and workers from all over got involved and In the process, the local BJP cadre are leader of the Opposition, has complete felt they had a stake in the byelections. miffed. “We worked for the party the control over party matters now. And Back at the camp office in the con- last time, but this time we were not it shows. Ticket distribution, media stituencies, Nath goes into a huddle even asked by the BJP candidate,” says and general campaign strategy were all with party leaders and seeks feedback Premnarayan of the same village. In planned by him. He says planning for on other Congress leaders assigned to the 2018 assembly election, the BJP the campaign started eight months ago, the constituency. He may spend fewer candidate secured 550 votes out of the

16 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 16, 2020 “DNA to serve”. He also makes a dis- tinction between Sahu and other turn- coats, saying that Sahu’s father was a Congress MLA, so it is a homecoming of sorts for her.

ath affects optimism, but he knows the odds are stacked Nagainst him. The BJP needs to win just eight of the 28 seats in the fray to remain in power; the Congress needs to win all 28. Ask him what hap- pens if the Congress wins a majority of the seats but falls short of the 28 required to form the government and he answers, “The seven Independents, BSP and SP MLAs will come back to the Congress if I ask them to.” Nath looks confident but he disregards the fact that a BJP government in the state and at the Centre may compel them to go with the latter. What about the famed BJP organisation he has tried to match, the one that ensures a high BJP ALL ABOUT THE PLAN presents himself as a victim of a politi- voter turnout every time? “When the Kamal Nath addresses a poll gathering cal conspiracy. “What was my fault that people are angry, no organisation can in Gairatganj, Sanchi, Oct. 29 my government was pulled down?” save the guilty,” says Nath. he asks. Nath speaks of local Congress There is another malaise the Cong- candidate Parul Sahu, who was a BJP ress is battling—an inability to keep its 600 polled. This time, however, the vil- MLA earlier, as someone who has the MLAs together. The party claims it is lage is non-committal, mainly because returning to power and that the turn- a local rival who was with the Congress coats are losing. This, however, did not is now with the BJP. Many might still Will the lower prevent their MLA from Damoh, Rahul vote for the BJP but others are not so turnout yield Lodhi, from quitting the party to join sure, given the local realignments. ‘surprise results’? the BJP. There is speculation that the Similar situations exist across the BJP has more such Congress MLAs region with political lines now blurred, The byelections for the 28 seats on standby to resign if needed (further making it difficult for candidates to in MP recorded an average polling resignations would reduce the halfway percentage of 70 per cent, about credibly assert where they stand. “I mark for the BJP). It seems despite eve- 3.5 percentage points lower than voted for Modi in the Lok Sabha elec- that recorded in the same seats rything, Nath has failed to stem the tide. tion but I don’t appreciate the way the in the 2018 assembly election. Of A bright spark is the Congress’s IT Congress government was brought the 28 seats, only seven—Bhander, cell, which has been in the news for down. They should have been given Karera, Pohri, Ashok Nagar, Biaora, getting more views than its BJP coun- five years,” says Dinesh Sharma, a resi- Agar and Suwasara—recorded a terpart. “Elections even two years ago dent of Gairatganj. polling percentage higher than in were very different from what they are In Surkhi, one of the seats where 2018. The lower turnout has been today. Everyone is armed with a smart the Congress has fielded rebel BJP attributed to Covid and to the ongo- phone and is seeing things,” says Nath, leaders—an ironic twist on its own ing kharif harvesting (which is still hinting that the party’s IT wing got a not complete in many areas) while pitch about turncoats—the party looks major facelift before the byelections. rabi sowing has also begun. to other issues. “This election is not What if the Congress does reason- It remains to be seen which about the Congress or the BJP but political party gains or loses as ably well but falls short of the majority? about the future of democracy. If those a result of the lower turnout. Is it goodbye to politics for Nath? “I’m who sell themselves win, then you can Reacting to the turnout, Kamal Nath not going anywhere. I am in it for the forget about even panchayat elections claimed the results on November 10 long haul,” he says. November 10 will being fair,” says Nath in Surkhi. He will “surprise everyone”. prove the worth of his words. n

NOVEMBER 16, 2020 INDIA TODAY 17 UPFRONT

BOOKS

and instead of the fault line of purity, what we have is an openness to intel- A HISTORY OF lect, however infrequent. Then there is the opposition between the brahmana and the OPPOSITION sramana; the latter being a disparate By Dilip Menon and expanding group of dissenters from the orthodoxy that while capable of defining them is, in turn, shaped by omila Thapar has been our them. Thus, we have those who live on mentor and guide over a period the margins of society, those who depart R of half a century in understand- from the orthodoxy and create powerful ing the Indian past in all its complex- counter-dispositions like Buddhism, ity. She has engaged with the presence and those whose rational beliefs make of diversity, conflict, dissonance and them sceptical of social hierarchy and debate in the making of what we see as the arbitrary differentiation of humans. the past of India. The one idea carved We have to engage with multiplicity if with great clarity from her reading we are not to relapse into a polemical of the archives of the pasts is that to understanding that, ironically, rests on invent an idea of Indian civilisation as the understanding of the world created a monolith would be both false and de- by dominant orthodox thought. bilitating to the project of creating and These multiple streams of thought maintaining a civil society governed and practice then feed into the growth by ideas of compassion and the ethic of VOICES OF DISSENT of the Bhakti and Sufi movements dissent. This new essay puts dissent at An Essay and multiple dissenting sects that try the heart of the formation of India as by Romila Thapar and imagine the world anew. A world an idea and as a political entity. SEAGULL BOOKS free of hierarchy, constantly open to In the 1940s, Romila Thapar as `499; 164 pages change, and where thought can melt a young child meets the Mahatma. the violence of a society frozen by habit. Gandhi asks her why she wears mill- Dissent, expressed against the state as made cloth rather than khadi. A simple Historically, what we much as institutional forms of religion, and direct question taken on the face have is a constantly creates traditions of thinking that are of it. However, the symbol of khadi shifting landscape of always available as a resource. Hence, combines within it an idea of indigene- when Gandhi thinking against colonial ity, of patient withdrawal into thought contention between violence thinks through the idea of and a stern ethics of making centred on orthodoxy and satyagraha, he draws upon a library of the well-being of the many. Sixty years emerging thought dissent with its vocabulary and forms. later, she visits the women protesting As for instance, the idea of dharna peacefully at Shaheen Bagh against present in Gujarat which is about the Citizenship Amendment Act and moral persuasion towards doing the has another moment of epiphany. She and reacted to a field within which right thing. Thapar does not make an meets women of all classes invested multiple strands of opinion flourished. argument for passive inheritance. At in an idea of belonging for all and will- As she puts it, the idea of a Self and its each historical juncture, the reimagin- ing to engage in dissent in a patient Other would make sense only within ing of an ethical conception of equality and deliberative manner. These two a particular conjuncture. Historically, and compassion draws upon a rich vein moments are at the heart of the book, what we have is a constantly shifting of dissentient thought. putting the idea of dissent at the heart landscape of contention between ortho- Democracy survives because of dis- of an ethical democracy. doxies and emergent forms of practice sent. Forms of political and social or- What Thapar argues for in this and thought. During the Vedic period, thodoxy are contingent; and the battle lucid and reasoned essay is the long ge- there is the figure of the dasaputra against them is always ongoing. n nealogy of dissent in India. While there brahmana, a brahman born of a dasi was always an internal coherence with- or low-born woman and a Brahmin Dilip Menon is Mellon Chair in Indian in texts that created a hermetic world of father. An orthodoxy here engages with Studies, University of Witwatersrand, unanimity, they were produced within human frailty and its consequences, Johannesburg, South Africa

18 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 16, 2020 GUEST COLUMN

TILAK DEVASHER A Provisional Conflict

n November 1, Pakistan prime minister Imran judiciary that GB is a part of J&K; these will stand violated Khan, while in Gilgit amid an election campaign if Pakistan makes GB its fifth province, even provisionally. Othere, announced: “Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) will be Pakistan is trying to deflect such impediments by calling the given provisional provincial status.” Khan, though, did not decision a provisional arrangement, pending a final resolu- indicate any time-frame. It was in September that his gov- tion of the J&K issue. ernment’s minister for Kashmir affairs and GB, Ali Amin The decision is unlikely to be acceptable to the so- Khan Gandapur, had given indications of such a move. Yet, called Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) region since GB is in an interview to an Indian platform in October, Moeed considered to be a part of it. As it is, protests broke out in W. Yusuf, special assistant to the Pakistan PM on national early October in Muzaffarabad, the capital of AJK, against security, had stated categorically that no such decision was any such decision. The president of AJK, too, has gone on being considered. record opposing it. For over 70 years, Pakistan had kept Several constitutional amendments, GB out of its constitutional jurisdiction requiring two-thirds majority in both to ensure that its people voted in favour houses of Pakistan’s parliament, will be of Pakistan whenever a plebiscite man- needed to effect the change. It will require dated by the UN is held. Why then is the support of the opposition given how Islamabad contemplating changing the the numbers stack up in parliament. The status quo of GB and making it a provi- opposition, which has held a series of pro- sional province now? tests to remove Khan’s government, may Several factors have possibly dic- not extend such cooperation. tated the timing. China has been coax- To smoothen the process, Pakistan’s ing Pakistan to fully incorporate GB as army chief had to intervene since Khan, a province in order to secure its $60 bil- out of arrogance, refuses to engage with lion (around Rs 4.48 lakh crore) invest- the opposition. In mid-September, the ment in the China-Pakistan Economic army chief held a meeting with leaders Corridor (CPEC), which passes through of political parties to build consensus on the region. Pakistan is not in a position The decision could granting provisional provincial status to to resist such pressure. For one thing, it be timed to influence GB. Opposition leaders say it was decided will be seeking a rollover of a $3 billion polls in Gilgit-Baltistan in the meeting that the consultations will (around Rs 22,400 crore) Chinese trade or divert attention proceed after the November 15 election. finance facility that it has actually used from Pakistan’s Khan’s ‘premature’ announcement could to repay maturing debt. If China does well be construed as a contravention of not extend the facility when it expires, domestic problems the consensus forged by the army chief. Pakistan may find it extremely difficult to Any move to incorporate Indian ter- return the sum, especially when its other ritory into Pakistan—even provision- benefactors, such as Saudi Arabia and ally—clearly impacts India’s territorial the UAE, are estranged. integrity and goes against the unanimous parliamentary The timing could also be dictated by the need to dem- resolution of 1994 that the entire J&K region is an integral onstrate to India an effective response to the events of part of India. Not surprisingly, India has officially con- August 5, 2019, when Jammu and Kashmir’s special sta- veyed to Pakistan that the entire Union territory of J&K tus was withdrawn. It could also be aimed at influencing and Ladakh, including the areas of GB, are its integral part the elections to the GB legislative assembly scheduled for and attempts to bring material changes in these areas stand November 15. Finally, it could be a tactic to divert attention completely rejected. New Delhi asked Islamabad to imme- from Pakistan’s burgeoning domestic problems. diately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation. Khan’s There are, however, several aspects to changing the decision to give GB provisional provincial status could be as status of GB. It will require delinking the region from the challenging to implement as it has been easy to announce. n J&K issue—this will violate UN resolutions on J&K. So, Pakistan could well end up jeopardising its position on Tilak Devasher is member, National Security J&K. There are also several pronouncements of the superior Advisory Board (NSAB). Views are personal

Illustration by SIDDHANT JUMDE NOVEMBER 16, 2020 INDIA TODAY 19 ANI THE DOUBLE ENGINE PM Modi and Nitish Kumar at an election rally in Samastipur, Nov. 1

ASSEMBLY POLL n all the election rallies Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed in Bihar, he has tried to ham- mer home three points—that an alliance govern- ment of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) is the state’s best bet for vikaas (development); that Nitish Kumar is the chief ministerial face of the National Democratic DOWN AllianceI (NDA); and that the opposition spearhead and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Tejashwi Yadav is a dynast—“the yuvraj of jungle raj” as the prime minister calls him—who must be cast aside by the electorate. TO THE Of late, though, PM Modi and Nitish have stepped up the attacks, a tacit acknowledgment that Lalu Prasad’s son has come into his own and is the prime challenger to the throne in Bihar. There are perhaps WIRE some jitters as preliminary reports from the ground have not been very encouraging for the NDA on the 71 PM MODI AND THE BJP PULL OUT ALL THE constituencies that went to the polls in the first phase on STOPS AS TEJASHWI AND A RESURGENT October 28. Analysts now feel the constant emphasis on RJD THREATEN A FIGHTBACK the RJD’s ‘15 years of misrule’ is sending out the impres- By Amitabh Srivastava sion that the NDA is feeling the heat. The BJP’s Bihar strategy, however, is far more com- plex and multi-dimensional than the PM’s pitch alone. The full cast of characters the party has fielded is itself THREE PHASES rebel NDA ally Chirag Paswan of the Oct. 28, 2020 Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) is fielding FOR BIHAR 71 constituencies some former BJP men against JD(U) Nov. 3, 2020 candidates and also the traction that 94 constituencies Tejashwi’s one million jobs promise Total Nov. 7, 2020 seems to be getting. 78 constituencies Late in the day, the BJP also seems to have realised that Chirag undercut- Result ting the JD(U) may end up hurting the NDA. The triangular contests in Nov. 10, 2020 Madhubani a number of seats suit the RJD, and Purnia Current assembly Modi’s effort now is to retain the com- Patna position mitted vote bank of the NDA. Still, even now the PM refuses to directly Bhagalpur Cong. target Chirag. BJP sources say there BJP RJD 53 are two reasons for this: the 4.5 per Gaya JD(U) 80 27 cent Paswan votes associated with the 71 12 LJP and a post-poll Plan B—if Chirag Halfway mark: 122/ 243 Others does manage to sweep up enough seats, dragging the JD(U) down, the NDA government in the state could Graphic by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY see some partner swaps. But, as things stand, PM Modi testimony to this. So one day there’s well-worked purpose for the BJP— looks committed to the three NDA Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi upsetting the opposition campaign and partners in Bihar. He has been taking Adityanath talking about the Ram securing the party’s committed vote their names—the JD(U), Hindustani Mandir in Ayodhya and how abroga- bank. “Not even 1 per cent of Bihar’s vot- Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S) and tion of Article 370 has given Indians ers will want to own property in J&K. the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP)—at from other states “licence” to own Similarly, people may not vote for the rallies and cautioning people against property in Jammu and Kashmir, while Congress but not because of their China those trying to “mislead the electorate”. on the next defence minister Rajnath policy,” he said, speaking off the record. Singh is seen pushing the China bor- “What this sort of pitch does is get the Why Bihar matters der narrative and how the Congress’s fence-sitters, or those who are vacillat- While the Bihar election is make-or- past mistakes led us to this impasse. ing, back on our side. This narrative is break for Nitish, it is no less significant Meanwhile, BJP president J.P. Nadda required to remind them about their for Prime Minister Modi. Not much picks on the “anarchist”, “anti-national” roots, what they stand for and which has gone the BJP way in the state elements in the opposition alliance alliance fulfils their ideology,” he says. assembly elections after its massive while Union finance minister Nirmala Off the record, BJP insiders admit Lok Sabha sweep in 2019. A victory in Sitharaman goes to Patna to release a neck-and-neck contest—the RJD- Bihar can put a spring back into the the BJP poll manifesto, which prom- Congress-Left alliance has the Muslim- saffron step before the crucial West ised to create 1.9 million jobs and free Yadav consolidation solidly behind Bengal election next year. Covid vaccine for all in the poll-bound it and analysts say the Dalit votes of The Bihar election also assumes state. The Union MoS for finance the CPI(M-L) will get transferred in crucial significance as it is being held Anurag Thakur was also in Patna, and toto whereas some division is being amid the shadow of the Covid-19 pan- at a press conference on October 27 seen in the committed vote bank of demic and a sagging economy. An invoked film villain Gabbar Singh to the NDA. This division, going by some NDA win could be seen as an endorse- red-flag the risks of the RJD returning ground reports, is largely because ment of the central government’s poli- to power, no matter that he himself was cies and programmes. At stake is also pulled up by the Election Commission the BJP’s hope to rule the state alone for egging the people on with slogans in the days to come (a wish the lower- like “Desh ke gaddaaron ko...” (the The BJP’s Bihar rung state leadership had expressed in follow-up to which was ‘goli maaro strategy is far more the run-up to this election too, saying saalon ko’ or ‘shoot the traitors’, which the anti-incumbency against Nitish his followers lustily echoed) during the complex and multi- was only weighing the party down). Delhi poll campaign. dimensional than From just 10.97 per cent of the vote in But, as one senior JD(U) leader the 2005 assembly poll, the BJP had analysed, all these seemingly dispa- Prime Minister Modi’s more than doubled its vote share to rate campaign lines serve a common, campaign pitch 24.42 per cent by 2015.

NOVEMBER 16, 2020 INDIA TODAY 21 ASSEMBLY POLL ANI BJP SUPPORT CAST (Clockwise from top left) Nirmala Sitharaman with the party manifesto; Yogi at a rally in Patna; Anurag Thakur in Patna; J.P. Nadda in Hajipur and Rajnath Singh in Champaran

Photographs by Photographs

The Endgame Party (Loktantrik) of Pappu Yadav, To say that Bihar is a crucial elec­ A CSDS (Centre for the Study of which is again fighting separately. The tion is to state the obvious. For the Developing Societies) opinion poll last BJP calculates that these parties will BJP, a good showing here will be a month gave 38 per cent of the vote to cut into the mahagathbandhan votes balm for the fall in Jharkhand and set the NDA against 32 per cent for the in Muslim as well as RJD strongholds. the stage for the mega battle against grand alliance. But ground reports sug­ The party is also hoping the “dou­ Mamata Banerjee in Bengal. Extending g est a closer battle is at hand. The BJP ble engine theory” being promoted the logic, the party may even think of has given 11 seats to Mukesh Sahani’s by the alliance partners—that a state becoming the “bada bhai (big brother)” VIP, which has a hold over the Mallah government in tune with the Centre to the JD(U) in a post­poll scenario, EBC (extremely backward classes) is better for Bihar’s vikaas—and the if it does end up as the single­largest group. Sahani is yet to prove his elec­ BJP propaganda on the work the Modi party by some margin. toral worth (the VIP lost all three Lok government has done for the state will For Nitish, November 10 will Sabha seats it contested in 2019 as an have an impact. As BJP chief Nadda dec ide whether his political career RJD ally), but the BJP’s idea is to con­ puts it, “Development is our main hits another high or not. For young solidate its social combination. plank. The Prime Minister Modi gov­ Tejashwi, a win will bump him up sev­ One factor that could help the NDA ernment has done many great things eral notches, scripting a bounceback is the third alliance in the fray—the All for Bihar in the past six years, but the for the beleaguered RJD. The BJP may India Majlis­e­Ittehadul­Muslimeen state stands at a crucial crossroads not look like the top player among the (AIMIM), the Bahujan Samaj Party now. Our poll plank is that a regime three now, but it has made sure that (BSP) and the Rashtriya Lok Samta that is in tune with the central govern­ on November 10, Team Saffron will be Party (RLSP)—and the Jan Adhikar ment will work wonders for Bihar.” holding a few aces. n

22 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 16, 2020

COVER STORY US 2020 ELECTION

A CHANCE

ANTHONY LANZILOTE/ GETTY IMAGES TO RESET WHAT A JOE BIDEN-KAMALA HARRIS ADMINISTRATION IN THE UNITED STATES PRESAGES FOR INDIA AND THE WORLD

BY RAJ CHENGAPPA DREAM TEAM Joe Biden and Kamala Harris during the Democratic presidential candidates’ debate in Detroit, Michigan, July 2019 COVER STORY US 2020 ELECTION

WHEN JOSEPH ROBINETTE BIDEN JR is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on January 20, 2021, he will be 78 years of age, already the oldest ever leader to hold that office. He will also have the distinction of winning the highest num- ber of popular votes in the US presidential sion. Worse, Trump’s boast to ‘Make America Great Again’ elections, ahead of even Barack Obama. has been reduced to ‘America Alone’. He quarrelled with America’s trusted allies, broke away from treaties and agree- Not bad for a former vice-president who ments, declined to be the global super-cop and conducted was regarded as a has-been till he overtook a disruptive, tweet-driven diplomacy that has considerably the Democratic party’s frontrunners in the undermined the status and stature of the world’s premier primaries to win the nomination. He then power. And all this while the coronavirus crisis has acceler- went on to win the presidency, defeating in- ated the process of de-globalisation the world over, increas- ing isolation and eroding individual liberties and freedoms. cumbent Donald Trump who had scornfully So, Biden’s task for the next four years is pretty much cut dismissed him as ‘Sleepy Joe’. out. But is he up to it? And what does his presidency mean On the flip side, Biden will be leading a for India and the world? country that is deeply divided and polarised SAVING HOME by the vote itself, and along more enduring The answers to these questions lie in the forces that pro- fault-lines of race, class and geography. This pelled Biden to the presidency. Before the elections, Amer- at a time when the global Covid-19 pandemic has hit Ameri- ica faced what experts called the Four Horsemen of the ca the hardest with 9.5 million cases and 234,000 deaths as Apocalypse: the pandemic and the physical toll it took on of November 5. It has already severely diminished the coun- Americans, the steep economic downturn it caused, the deep try’s economy, rendering over 20 million people jobless—a racial divisions triggered by heavy-handed and often bigoted catastrophe that invites comparison with the Great Depres- policing, and the growing sense of social injustice felt across

26 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 16, 2020 SURE FOOTING US President Donald Trump at his campaign rally in Lumberton, North Carolina in October

SOUTH BLOCK WILL BE RELIEVED THAT IT WILL NO LONGER HAVE TO DEAL WITH TRUMP’S YO-YO DIPLOMACY. BIDEN WILL BE LESS VOLATILE AND MORE CONSISTENT

MANDEL NGAN / GETTY IMAGES the country. If Biden finally won the US election, it was rapport across the aisles as well as a reputation for securing not because people totally rejected Trump’s policies, as the bipartisan support on key issues. president did win a high percentage of the popular vote. The Biden is also seen as more of a restorer than a reformer nation embraced Biden because he seemed to have a better or transformer. Michael Krepon, co-founder of the Stimson plan to pull the nation out of its health and economic woes Center, who had interacted with him when he held office, -de and was regarded as more of a unifying force than Trump to scribes him as “a decent human being—more of a kind uncle heal some of the deep wounds across the country. rather than a bright shiny object. We know about him, what his limitations are and that he will try his best to do the job”. iden, despite his penchant for and expertise on A former Senate foreign relations committee chairman, Biden foreign policy, is likely to spend most of his tenure impressed most wonks with his prescience on key interna- focusing on solving critical domestic issues. How tional issues confronting the US. As vice-president, he had strong a president he will make may be deter- pushed for a lighter footprint strategy in Afghanistan. Sameer minedB by whether the Democrats can wrest control of the Lalwani, Krepon’s colleague at Stimson, says, “Those involved Senate from the Republicans and retain control of the House spoke highly of Biden’s decision-making ability and strategic of Representatives. If the Republicans retain control of the grasp of the big picture. They said it was not just instinctive Senate, it will considerably cramp Biden’s style and speed of but came from his deep study of a problem. His dispassionate decision-making. That’s because this important wing of the assessment and his courage to pursue counter-conventional Congress confirms key appointments, including the presi- wisdom made him an effective leader.” dent’s cabinet secretaries and judges of the Supreme Court, Now, Biden will have to bring these skills to bear on the apart from ratifying bills and approving treaties. Biden’s ad- crucial domestic issues his country faces. On top of the list is vantage is that he has been senator for 36 years and has good containing the third wave of the pandemic. Unlike Trump,

NOVEMBER 16, 2020 INDIA TODAY 27 COVER STORY US 2020 ELECTION Biden owns Favourite movie: Corvette a 1967 Chariots of Fire Stingray BIDEN’S Ran for president in The Bidens 1987 and He has a earned $15.6 mn penchant LONG 2008 from book deals and for ice cream, speaking engage- on which his MARCH ments since Joe’s campaign vice-presidency spent more Long-time US s ended Delaware (1973 than $10,000 as of April the fifth younge 2020 in history; will b sitting presiden 78 at his inaugu

Has endured pe tragedies; lost and daughter in in 1972; lost his to brain cancer Neilia Hunter (Biden’s first wife) A Washington i Married in 1966; died Jill Tracy Biden commut in a car crash in 1972 Jacobs for more than 3 (Current wife) between Delaw Married in 1977 where he lived, Washington D. TANMOY CHAKRABORTY TANMOY As V-P, an influ advisor to Bar Hunter Biden

Graphicsby One of the reas (Biden’s only didn’t run for p surviving child Ashley Blazer 2016 is that Ob from first wife; believed Hillary was fingered for Biden had a better ch corruption by the (Daughter) SIDDHANTJUMDE; to defeat the Trump campaign Executive director, over his role in a Republican Delaware Center for Ukrainian gas firm) nominee Justice; social worker

Illustrations by by Illustrations

Biden is a passionate advocate of wearing masks and social has emerged as the backbone of the country and is now distancing measures. There are concerns, though, that he considered his main support base. Unlike Trump, who may resort to frequent lockdowns to curtail its spread and favoured a fossil fuel-driven revival of the economy, Biden hurt the economy. To provide better health facilities, Biden has boldly pushed for clean technology and promises an is likely to restore the Affordable Care Act, better known as energy revolution that will create 10 million jobs, includ- Obamacare, which Trump negated while failing to pro- ing a massive expansion in infrastructure. For boosting the vide an alternative. Biden’s plan is to give the elderly better manufacturing sector, the president-elect is championing a healthcare at lower cost—a move that won him support ‘Buy American’ programme (which sounds suspiciously like across an ageing nation where a third of the population is Trump’s ‘America First’) that calls for $400 billion worth above 60 years of age. of government purchases of US manufactured goods and For the economy, Biden will focus heavily on improv- services and an additional $300 billion to fund new research ing the state of America’s burgeoning middle class, which and development in key technology areas.

28 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 16, 2020 Wakes up at 6 am and THE RISE works out for half an hour OF KAMALA daily HARRIS She enjoys cooking; roast Collects Born to Indian and chicken is her Converse P.V. GOPALAN RAJAM GOPALAN Jamaican immigrants in go-to dinner sneakers; they (Maternal (Maternal California in 1964, Harris are her go-to grandfather) grandmother) grew up in Berkeley but travel shoes visited her grandparents in Chennai; learnt to wear a sari and even speak Favourite books some Tamil include Native Son by Her name’s Richard Wright, The pronunciation Studied politics and Kite Runner by Khaled became an election issue after a economics at Howard Hosseini The Joy Luck Republican Senator University, a historically DONALD SHYAMALA called her ‘Ka- mala J. HARRIS GOPALAN Black college, and attained –mala –mala’ a law degree after that (Father) (Mother)

Was California’s attorney general from 2011-2017

Became the first Indian American and second African American woman to join the Senate in 2017; DOUGLAS will be the first woman to MAYA HARRIS EMHOFF become US vice-president (Sister) (Husband) Married to Tony Harris has advocated for West. Meena Douglas DREAMers (undocumented Harris is her Emhoff was daughter immigrants who arrived in married for 25 years to the US as children), equal film producer pay and abortion rights; Kerstin faced some pushback for Emhoff. They her allegedly overzealous have two record as California’s children—Cole prosecutor Emhoff and Ella Emhoff

To fund his promised $700 billion expansion plans for RETURN OF THE GLOBAL BOSS the economy, Biden plans to raise taxes on the super-rich What is clear is that Biden’s domestic economic plans will apart from corporate houses. To win over the big constitu- heavily influence his conduct of foreign policy. He is de- ency of Left-leaning Democrats, Biden has also committed termined to undo the harm he believes Trump brought to to double the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. The America’s international interests. On Biden’s first day in office, Republican-controlled Senate refused to consider voting on he “will get on the phone to key allies and say that America is such a bill passed by the House of Representatives last year, back and America has your back”, Brian McKeon, his foreign citing the higher costs it would impose on business. Biden policy advisor, told CNN in an interview in September. McKe- also plans to strengthen labour-friendly laws. Both propos- on added that Trump “had poked his finger in the eye of all als are designed to attract the votes of the vast band of sup- our friends and allies, and he has embraced every autocrat in porters of Bernie Sanders, a leader of the Democrats’ far left, the world…we have lost all our friends”. whom he defeated in the primaries. Ashley Tellis, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment

NOVEMBER 16, 2020 INDIA TODAY 29 FROM MISTRUST TO A MUST-HAVE FRIEND The Cold War, then the nuclear thaw, and now the strategic alliance—the highs and lows of the Indo-US relationship through the tenures of American presidents

HARRY S. TRUMAN JOHN F. KENNEDY RICHARD NIXON JIMMY CARTER 1945-1953 1961-1963 1969-1974 1977-1981

HIGH: Emergency HIGH: $1 bn aid for HIGH: Waives interest HIGH: US becomes wheat loans to Third Plan. Steel payments on $3 bn India’s largest trading India plant in Bokaro, worth of rupee partner LOW: Rankled by N-plant in Tarapur payments for food LOW: US ire over India’s India’s neutrality in LOW: Criticises LOW: Sends US navy refusal to condemn Cold War India’s annexation into the Bay of Bengal Soviet invasion of of Goa Afghanistan

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER LYNDON B. RONALD GEORGE 1953-1961 JOHNSON REAGAN H.W. BUSH 1963-1969 GERALD FORD 1981-1989 1989-1993 HIGH: Economic aid 1974-1977 packages to India. HIGH: Support to HIGH: US HIGH: Hosting US concludes India’s emergency IMF assistance for HIGH: Indo-US PMs Indira neutrality not loans to India in Green Revolution joint commission Gandhi and against its interests Rajiv Gandhi 1991 LOW: Embargo set up LOW: Start of a LOW: US aircraft on military LOW: Cancels LOW: $2.5 bn military relationship refuelling in India supplies during India visit arms package to with Pakistan creates political 1965 war after Emergency Pakistan storm

for International Affairs, agrees with this assessment and World Health Organization (WHO). says that topping the list of Trump’s liabilities is “the total Unlike Trump, who believed in conducting diplomacy repudiation of America’s traditional role in global relations over tweets and shifted his stand rapidly on issues, Biden is and a complete disinterest in protecting the global systems expected to be less volatile and more consistent in his foreign that the US had built from the end of the second world war”. policy. Shivshankar Menon, who was the national security Next, Tellis cites the brusque and transactional manner in advisor in the Manmohan Singh government, recalls that the way Trump treated America’s close alliances and key Biden, as vice president, pushed hard to persuade Obama to friendships in Europe and East Asia. Likewise, Trump’s follow through on the Indo-US nuclear deal. Menon be- failure to support international institutions that the US built lieves that Biden is a process-driven leader who will hire top to economise the use of hard power and enhance its global professionals or competent political representatives to man standing, most recently evidenced by walking out of the his administration and rely on them for advice. This is in

30 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 16, 2020 COVER STORY US 2020 BILL CLINTON BARACK OBAMA ELECTION 1993-2001 2009-2017

HIGH: State visit, HIGH: Reco- vision statement gnition of India as underlining India’s a major defence INDO-US TIES HAVE SEEN rising economic partner on par AN UPWARD TREND potential with closest LOW: Sanctions allies OVER THE TERMS OF THE against India for LOW: Failure to PAST FOUR PRESIDENTS, 1998 Pokhran get India into NSG REPUBLICAN AND tests DEMOCRAT. BIDEN NOW NEEDS TO BUILD ON THE STRONG FOUNDATION ALREADY IN PLACE

mate Change Agreement which Barack Obama had signed in 2015 when Biden was his vice-president. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, had backed the agreement and India was dismayed when Trump reneged on the commitments the US had made to cut its emissions, provide funds to needy countries and share clean technology. Biden has also GEORGE signalled that he will get the US to renegotiate the deal to get W. BUSH Iran to give up its nuclear weapons plan, which Trump had DONALD TRUMP 2001-2009 broken away from. Trump had imposed economic sanctions 2017-2021 on any country that was purchasing oil from Iran, including HIGH: Indo-US India. On Afghanistan, though, Biden is on the same page as nuclear deal HIGH: Comprehensive Global Trump and will want to pull back American troops. bringing India out Strategic Partnership with of global nuclear India; three key foundational hat India will watch with particular inter- isolation. deals signed. Support during est is how Biden deals with an aggressive Transformation of border row with China China. Trump followed a haphazard policy Indo-US military LOW: Took India off the on China, focusing largely on reducing the relationship Generalized System of Pre- unfavourableW trade balance between them. But he was blunt LOW: Military aid ferences, which had allowed enough to call out China as a political rival and competitor to Pakistan for Indian exporters tariff-free and aggressively took it on for its expansionist policy in the war on terror access to US markets final months of his presidency. China, meanwhile, exposed itself with its lack of transparency and manipulation of facts on the Covid pandemic, its aggressive, arrogant and expansionist behaviour not just with India but with others contrast to Trump of whom he says: “There is really no Trump across the South China Sea, and its wolf warrior diplomacy administration below Trump.” Navtej Sarna, a former Indian that used social media as a stealth weapon against its op- ambassador to the US who dealt with the Trump administra- ponents. The Trump administration offered all support tion, agrees with Menon. “I used to walk down ghost corridors to India in dealing with Chinese aggression on the Line of in key government departments where there was nobody in Actual Control. Biden has made it clear that he is against an the rooms for months,” he recalls. “With Biden, we will have expansionist China and has even described Xi Jinping as “a less unpredictability and more people to talk to.” thug”, saying “he doesn’t have a ‘democratic with a small d’ Biden’s commitment to put America back at the head of bone in his body”. Biden, therefore, is likely to continue to the table on key global issues will be welcomed not just by extend support to India in its standoff against China. India but by much of the world. Especially his statement that However, the new president will have to engage with he will reverse Trump’s decision to walk out of the Paris Cli- China when America rejoins the Paris Climate Change Agree-

NOVEMBER 16, 2020 INDIA TODAY 31 WILL BIDEN PROVE BETTER FOR INDIA THAN TRUMP? Experts predict continuity in strategic cooperation but also no let-up in the US hard line on trade issues, albeit without the volatility of the Trump administration

‘NO FREE ‘RELIEF IN ‘THE US WANTS ‘INDIA HAS A SECURITY PASSES’ SOUTH BLOCK’ INDIA IN ITS CAMP’ BLANKET—CHINA’

ASHLEY J. TELLIS TANVI MADAN APARNA PANDE MICHAEL KREPON Senior Fellow, Carnegie Senior Fellow; Director, Research Fellow and Co-founder and Endowment for the India Project, Director, Initiative on the Distinguished Fellow, International Peace, Brookings Institution, Future of India and South Stimson Center, Washington DC Washington DC Asia, Hudson Institute Washington DC iden will be in the ith Biden taking here will be a con- oe Biden is a kind Bmould of a tradi- Wover, South Block Ttinuity in Indo-US Juncle and not a tional US president. Ex- will heave a sigh of relief relations, which, over great shiny object. We ternally, there will be over the lack of volatil- the past two decades, know about him, what a recommitment to US ity and ups and downs. have seen a marked his limitations are, leadership, reinvest- Unlike Trump, whom upswing. On the stra- and that he will try ment in our alliances India had to scramble tegic front, I don’t see his best. He is a decent and re-engagement to understand, Biden changes. The China human being and the with multilateral is not an unknown. factor looms over the contrast between him institutions. The US- India knows him well globe and if the US is and Trump is stark in India relationship is at and Biden knows India looking for a country to this regard. It will take a good place and the well too. He believes be in its camp, then In- a long time for the US Biden administration in working with allies dia is and will remain at to repair the wounds will want to protect and and taking them along. the heart of its national of the Trump admin- build on what Trump On China, he favours security strategy. But istration. India has left behind. However, a collective approach on the economic side, this security blanket Biden won’t give India of nations so that they concerns like India vis-a-vis its relation- a pass on three issues: can combine and put not lowering trade ship with the US— 1) Liberalism and the pressure together. He tariffs and opening China. So Biden will changing character of is going to make the US up its economy and work to help India in Indian democracy; 2) rejoin the Paris Climate being protection- the security domain. I What India’s self-re- Change Agreement. ist, will remain. Also, doubt you will see the liance push means for He has said they are being a Democratic Biden administration their trade ties; 3) The not going to walk out of administration, will it trying to fix Kashmir— US’s attitude towards WHO and they will put ask India to do more on the last one that did countries like China more effort to be pres- human rights, religious try was John F. Ken- and Pakistan. With ent in other interna- freedom and living up nedy and we all know Pakistan, I see greater tional institutions. All to its own ideals and the result. The advice continuity and not a things India would like. constitutions? Yes. But Biden will get from fall back to the old US The big unknown is the will it be the only issue his team is that we policy since its utility economic side and what that will determine have too many other to the US is minimal as the new president’s ap- how it will work with problems at home and compared to the past. proach is going to be. India? No. abroad.

32 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 16, 2020 COVER STORY US 2020 WILL BIDEN PROVE BETTER FOR INDIA THAN TRUMP? ELECTION

ment to push Xi to deliver on his country’s com- mitments. In addition, he remains aware that the American economy is still deeply intertwined with ‘THE UPWARD TREND ‘BIDEN’S PRIORITIES and dependent on China and will avoid a debilitat- WILL CONTINUE’ ARE DOMESTIC’ ing confrontation with it. Instead, he has talked about building a coalition of democracies, with India as a key player, to put pressure on China to observe a rules-based international order, freedom of navigation and the law of the sea. As a Biden aide said in a press interview, “It’s a possible geopolitical gang-up against China. We need to rally the demo- cratic world together. It cannot be a race to the bot- tom like a new Cold War.” India, for its part, says NAVTEJ SARNA SHIVSHANKAR Tanvi Madan, senior fellow at Brookings Institu- Former Indian MENON Ambassador to the Former National tion, “wants the US to have ‘a Goldilocks approach’ United States Security Advisor and for putting pressure on China. Not to press too Foreign Secretary hard to make the situation go out of control and not too little to be ineffective in containing China”. iden’s foreign iden has been very Bpolicy machine Bcommitted in his SHOULD INDIA WORRY? is well settled. He has relationship with India. When it comes to relations with the US, India is a standard Democrat He helped India during currently in a sweet spot. Post our nuclear tests in view which will be more the civil nuclear deal. I 1998, when relations between the two countries systemic, more about don’t think we have to touched a nadir, there has been a steady upward engaging with allies worry about his com- trend, which has gathered even more momentum and multilateral issues ing. Personally, though, and substance in recent years. This has happened and institutions. All this I feel his priorities won’t through three Republican and three Democratic is good for India. Biden be foreign policy, but governments and spanning the terms of four will be tough on China, domestic issues—getting presidents, indicating strong bipartisan support. but in a different way— jobs back, getting manu- South Block is secretly relieved that they will not not by shrieking. When facturing going and have to put up with Trump’s yo-yo diplomatic style it comes to strategic pushing for economic any more, though Modi had learnt to play the cur- issues with India, things growth. But that doesn’t rent US president well. Biden’s job will be to build are fairly well locked in, mean we will be let off on the strong foundation already in place. Aparna thanks to four years of on the economic (and Pande, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, says: work with the Trump trade) side. It may well “Indo-US relations are going to see continuity in administration. On the get tougher. I don’t see a terms of the upswing that we have seen in the past trade side, I expect an quick restoration of the two decades, though Biden may not follow the quid easing up of attitudes Generalized System of pro quo approach that Trump did.” and being more reason- Preferences that Trump Yet, despite the stability and growth of the able. The human rights pulled the plug on. The Indo-US relationship, concerns remain. Defence issue will come up more. free pass Trump gave cooperation has been the spearhead of the rela- Kashmir will have to be us on issues of human tions between the two countries. The US has not handled better as there rights will vanish. Plus, only recognised India as a major defence partner are issues of human because Kamala Harris but has also cleared the sale of advanced defence rights and religious is of Indian origin, she technology, a status accorded only to its closest intolerance that may be will have to prove her allies. The past two decades have seen a major raised. Overall, we will objectivity, which is not a growth in US defence sales to India, amounting continue to see an up- good thing for India, and to close to $20 billion, with more on the anvil. ward trend in Indo-US Biden and she may be Now that the two countries have signed four relations under Biden. harder on these issues. —As told to Raj Chengappa

NOVEMBER 16, 2020 INDIA TODAY 33 COVER STORY US 2020 DIVIDED STATES ELECTION OF AMERICA Election 2020 was not the Blue Wave Democrats had Hillary Clinton 232 hoped it would be, nor could they flip Florida, Ohio or Election 2016 Donald Trump 306 Texas, which stayed with Trump

Washington New Hampshire (4) (12) Vermont (3) North Montana Maine Dakota Massachusetts (11) (3) (4) (3) Oregon Minnesota (7) South (10) Idaho Dakota Wisconsin New York (4) Wyoming (3) (10) Michigan (29) (3) Iowa (16) Pennsylvania Nebraska Rhode Island (4) Nevada (6) Ohio (20) (5) (6) Illinois (18) West Connecticut (7) Utah (20) Indiana Virginia Colorado New Jersey (14) (6) (11) (5) Virginia California (9) Kansas Kentucky (13) Delaware (3) (55) (6) Missouri (10) (8) North Maryland (10) Carolina (15) New Tennessee (11) Arizona Oklahoma South District of Columbia (3) Mexico (7) Arkansas (11) (5) Carolina (6) Alabama (9) (9) Georgia *Candidates need 270 Mississippi (16) votes to win. At the time of Texas (6) going to press—Nov. 6, 3.30 pm (38) Louisiana IST— Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina (8) Florida and Alaska had not been called. Alaska (29) (3) Biden has multiple routes to victory (Pennsylvania alone will win him the White House), while Hawaii Trump must win Pennsylvania, (4) North Carolina and Georgia as Joe Biden Donald Trump well as Nevada or Arizona to retain the Presidency Figures in brackets * * denote electoral 253 213 Biden leading Trump leading college votes (Source: CNN) foundational agreements (the last one was signed a week early harvest trade deal despite a summit meeting between before the US elections), the links between their militar- Trump and Modi in February. The US remains concerned ies are expected to grow further. However, as Tellis points with India’s growing protectionism and its Atmanirbhar out, “Defence may be the strongest arrow in the quiver, but Bharat drive. Biden is likely to push India to open out its India’s a la carte approach on issues is under watch. There is markets more to American companies to arrest the manu- a sense that India needs to step up to the plate and do a lot facturing slide that the US is currently facing. more.” The US is dismayed by India’s low defence budget of Madan of Brookings Institution believes that given the 1.6 per cent of its GDP and its unwillingness to go beyond inclination of the US and other countries to reduce their joint military exercises in its support. dependence on China, India should move quickly to build global value chains to corner some of that business. The hile Biden will continue to strengthen the country will become a non-permanent member of the UN defence alliance, trade relations had run Security Council for a two-year term beginning January 2021 into rough weather under Trump’s regime. and India will be chairing the G20 in 2022. In May, India Dubbing India as “the tariff king”, he was elected chair of the WHO’s executive board for a period of Wwanted India to not only lower tariffs but also reduce the three years. Madan urges “India to seize the moment”, build $28.9 billion trade deficit. Trump withdrew the General- resilience and expand its sphere of influence and power. Biden ized System of Preferences (GSP), which permitted India is keen to prevent China from converting the Asian century to sell over 2,000 goods worth around $6.3 billion duty into a purely Chinese one. It would be in America’s interest free to the US, and raised tariffs on steel and aluminium. to foster India’s rise to counterbalance China. On immigra- India retaliated by raising import duty tariffs on over 28 tion, Biden is unlikely to resort to the kind of executive orders US-manufactured goods. The two sides failed to strike an that Trump used to put restrictions on skilled Indian workers

34 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 16, 2020 SAUL LOEB/ GETTY IMAGES AP

MEET AND GREET: (left) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Joe Biden, then US vice- president, during a luncheon at the US State Department in Washington D.C. in 2014; Chinese President Xi Jinping with Biden in 2015 at the Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland

migrating to the US. India has to make China. He points out, “US admin- Biden understand that its diaspora is the istrations believe that India has the umbilical cord that strengthens relations national endowment in terms of ge- with the US, and any hostile immigration BIDEN IS KEEN TO ography, demography and military policy will be detrimental to the cause. capability to play a heavyweight Where the Modi government is likely PREVENT CHINA role in the Asian region. But beyond to feel pressure from the Biden adminis- FROM MAKING THE that, there is an expectation that it tration is on the issues of human rights, ASIAN CENTURY A should be a liberal democratic an- treatment of minorities and on religious chor of the region that is politically tolerance. Trump gave India a pass on PURELY CHINESE stable to be a strong counterpoint the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, ONE. IT WOULD to the Chinese model. The entire and the US, along with France, prevented controversy over the CAA did raise China from taking the abrogation of BE IN AMERICA’S questions in certain influential Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir to INTEREST TO circles in the US.” the UN Security Council. But Biden and FOSTER INDIA’S When it comes to dealing with the Democratic Party feel strongly about Pakistan, the Biden administra- human rights issues, though, as presi- RISE IN THE REGION tion is unlikely to go back to the old dent, Biden is more likely to discuss his days of deeper engagement with concerns, if any, in private conversations it or hyphenating it with India. rather than in public. Stimson’s Lalwani That’s because if the Afghanistan says when the US talks of shared values, pullout goes through, Pakistan’s including a vibrant democracy, it upholds India as a model equity will considerably lessen. As Krepon says, “In terms in contrast to the authoritarian and intolerant rule in China. of salience, the LoC has given way to the LAC, given China’s One of the reasons India has been able to build a broad-based recent aggression.” But it does suit India for the US to stay constituency in the US is because its political class views us engaged with Pakistan so that it can continue to apply pres- as a liberal democracy, its business sees us as a large market sure on Islamabad not to behave irresponsibly and to curb and the strategist community views us as a counterweight to cross-border terrorism.

NOVEMBER 16, 2020 INDIA TODAY 35 COVER STORY ADNAN ABIDI/POOL/ GETTY IMAGES US 2020 ELECTION

INDIA RETAINS BROAD SUPPORT IN AMERICA AS ITS POLITICAL CLASS VIEWS US AS A LIBERAL DEMOCRACY AND ITS BUSINESSES SEE A HUGE MARKET

FOREIGN EXCHANGE: (from left to right) US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, ahead of the India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi on October 27, 2020

THE KAMALA CONNECTION Opinion is divided on whether Harris will be good for One of the big reasons that the Biden presidential campaign India or become a pressure point. Menon believes her Indian drew more than usual attention in India was his choice of origin will make Kamala come down on India even harder in Kamala Harris as his running mate. Harris, whose mother order to prove her objectivity and Americanness. Others, like came from India and father from Jamaica, enjoys the unique Pande of the Hudson Institute, believe that she will be preoc- position of being regarded by both Americans of Indian ori- cupied with other domestic issues, and that foreign policy will gin and African Americans as one of their own. Her nomi- be the president’s domain. However, having been vice-presi- nation strengthened the support for the Democratic Party dent, Biden just may decide to delegate a lot more authority to among the 1 million-odd voters of Indian origin. When she her, as Obama did to him. Pande adds a caveat, though: “The is sworn in as vice-president on January 20, she will be the president is all-powerful—whatever Biden did as vice-presi- first woman of colour to occupy the post. dent, it was always regarded as being the Obama presidency.” Harris’s advantage is that she checks all the right boxes: here have been concerns in some quarters that, she is more liberal and progressive than Biden. She is part as vice-president, she may raise questions about of the rainbow coalition in America, which is becoming in- human rights violations in Kashmir. Last year, two creasingly important in the country as it undergoes massive months after the Indian government had abrogated demo graphic changes. She brings a great amount of energy TArticle 370, in answer to a media question, she said, “We have and intelligence to the office. Those who know her say she has to remind the Kashmiris that they are not alone in the world. the political savvy to grow into the job. Though she may not We are keeping track of the situation. There is a need to inter- be an expert on foreign policy and security issues, she is said vene if the situation demands.” Harris also expressed concern to be a quick learner and shows obvious promise. Krepon about foreign minister S. Jaishankar cancelling a scheduled believes that given Biden’s age, he is likely to be a one-term meeting with some members of Congress when he was in- president and he may groom her to contest for the presidency formed that Pramila Jayapal, a US Congresswoman of Indian after his term is over. Krepon says: “Everyone will be watch- origin, was to attend it. Jayapal had earlier moved a resolution ing carefully how Kamala grows into her power. She is the critical of the Modi government’s handling of Kashmir that president-in-waiting.” It is appropriate that India welcomes failed to pass in the House of Representatives. her as one of our own. n

36 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 16, 2020

THE BIG STORY DEFENCE ACQUISITIONS ARMS FREEZE The defence ministry has been trying to unclog four Indian Army deals worth over $5 billion (Rs 36,000 crore) caught in the pipeline

SELF-PROPELLED AIR DEFENCE GUN MISSILE 104 units Cost: $2.5 billion MIRED Status: RFP issued in 2013. South Korean firm beat two Russian contenders in trials and emerged as lowest bidder in 2019 Reason for delay: MoD recommended cancellation in September 2020. Yet to IN RED be scrapped. Army wants contract to be TAPE revived with greater indigenous content AS THE BORDER CRISIS WITH CHINA CONTINUES, THE DEFENCE MINISTRY MOVES TO REVIVE FOUR CRITICALLY REQUIRED WEAPONS PROCUREMENTS. MULTIPLE FACTORS, HOWEVER, PREVENT AN EARLY RESOLUTION

By Sandeep Unnithan

our big-ticket Indian Army Two cases are particularly urgent as they are meant to procurements for carbines, replace the army’s vintage in-service military hardware. mobile air defence gun-mis- The army’s 1970s model Cheetah helicopters used to re- sile systems, light helicopters supply troops in high altitudes at Siachen and Ladakh and and shoulder-launched mis- the dwindling stock of shoulder-fired missiles meant to siles worth over $5 billion provide low-cost air defence solutions, particularly in the F (Rs 36,000 crore) have been frontlines, are nearing the end of their lifespans. The army caught in an impasse for sev- needs new air defence gun-missile systems to replace the eral months now. But for the World War II-era L-70 guns. For three of these imports— ongoing military standoff with China, delays in acquir- light helicopters, air defence guns and carbines—we have ing this urgently required hardware would not have indigenous alternatives which are fit cases for the govern- spelt a crisis. This is because India’s process-driven ment’s ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative. Yet, these deals— defence acquisitions move at a snail’s pace, with each held up for reasons ranging from deviations in procedure, contract taking an average 7-8 years to be concluded. budgetary constraints, complaints from competitors and These four cases are only part of the Rs 90,048 a recent renewed thrust for indigenisation—have become crore the ministry of defence (MoD) plans to spend a sort of Gordian knot the ministry seems unable to slice on buying new hardware for the forces in the present through. Adding to the difficulties is the looming shadow financial year, minister of state (MoS) for defence Shri- of India’s largest arms supplier and strategic partner Rus- pad Naik told the Lok Sabha on September 15. sia. Russian state-owned firms are in the fray for three of

38 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 16, 2020 KAMOV 226 LIGHT SHOULDER-FIRED TRANSPORT (KA- MISSILES 226T) HELICOPTER 5,175 units 200 units (60 flyaway + Cost: $1.5 billion 40 to be built in India through a JV) Contract: Since 2010 Cost: $1 billion Status: Russian Igla-S shortlisted in 2017. Price Status: MoU signed with negotiations completed. Russia in 2015, joint Contract yet to be signed. venture Indo-Russian Army to buy smaller Helicopters Ltd created in number of missiles under 2017. Yet to be approved emergency procurement by CCS powers Reason for delay: Non- Reason for delay: compliance with original Multiple complaints from CLOSE QUARTER RFP requirement competitors alleging CARBINES deviations in trial 93,895 units procedures Cost: Rs 700 crore Status: UAE firm short- listed for contract Reason for delay: MoD recommended cancell- ation in September 2020. Yet to be scrapped. Ministry is examining case for procuring smaller number of weapons

Graphic by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY the big-ticket items and Moscow is believed to have lob- Hanhwa Defense had emerged lowest bidder. The carbine bied for stalling the deals at the political level. The UAE deal was scrapped because only one company qualified, government, another country with significant diplomatic an undesirable ‘single vendor situation’; the air defence heft in New Delhi, owns the firm in the fray for carbines. system because of complaints from the Russian competi- The defence ministry has held a series of recent meet- tor alleging deviations in trials. ings to resolve the intractable delays in these cases, but Over a month later, however, both deals continue to without much success. be in limbo and are yet to be scrapped because the army is keen on going ahead with the procurements. Caracal, a THE ETERNAL LOOP subsidiary of the UAE government-owned EDGE group, On September 15, the defence ministry made its most has now offered local production (earlier all the weapons determined effort to ‘un-jam’ three of these procure- were to be imported from the UAE under a fast-track pro- ments. A meeting attended by chief of defence staff Gen. cedure). A key defence ministry official has recommended Bipin Rawat, in his capacity as secretary, department a smaller, off-the-shelf buy of around 25,000 carbines. of military affairs, vice-chief of army staff (VCOAS) Lt The army has been advised to extend the life of its 2019 Gen. S.K. Saini and top MoD officials took some swift ‘acceptance of necessity’ given for an order of 350,000 decisions. It decided to scrap the imports of over 93,000 carbines to ‘buy and make’ the weapons in India. The carbines from UAE’s Caracal International LLC (the MoD-owned Ordnance Factory Board and private com- shortlisted firm) and the self-propelled air-defence gun panies like Adani Defence and SSS Defence are in the fray. missile systems (SPADGMS) for which South Korea’s It is in the case of the gun-missile system that the de-

NOVEMBER 16, 2020 INDIA TODAY 39 THE BIG STORY DEFENCE ACQUISITIONS

lays could be protracted. The army had in 2013 floated a requirement for five regiments of a self-propelled air defence gun-missile system. The 104 units were budgeted at ap- proximately $2.5 billion, with each unit having twin 30 mm cannons and four short-range missiles fitted on a tracked chassis. These self-propelled gun-missile systems are meant to protect vital areas and installations from threats like low- flying aircraft, helicopters and drones. South Korea’s K30, made by Hanwha Defense, emerged as the lowest bidder beating out two Russian contenders. Cost negotiations did not proceed after the Russian side objected to their exclu- sion from the deal. The defence ministry recommended that the deal be scrapped on the grounds that the army’s specifications for the contract, dating back to 2011, were nearly a decade old. Hanwha has now offered maximum indigenisation in manufacturing, assembly and integra- tion at existing facilities of Larsen & Toubro or other Indian defence companies, government sources said.

he MoD is also trying to revive a stalled joint Indo-Russian deal to jointly manu- facture 200 Ka-226T helicopters. The 2015 Modi-Putin IGA. But it wouldn’t be the first time India T deal was part of an inter-governmental has walked out of similar JVs. In July 2018, then defence agreement (IGA) signed in Moscow in minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the government 2015 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s summit was backing out of the Indo-Russian Fifth General Fighter visit with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Aircraft (FGFA) project. The reasons had to do with an Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Russian He- increase in costs and the IAF and HAL’s unhappiness with licopters and Russia’s state arms exporting firm Rosobo- the technology being shared. ronexport formed a joint venture, Indo-Russian Helicop- If the MoD does walk down a similar path with the Ka- ters Ltd (IRHL), in 2017 with a holding of 50.5 per cent, 226T, it has the homegrown Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) 42 per cent and 7.5 per cent, respectively, but the deal has to fall back on. The LUH, designed and built by HAL in a not progressed because the MoD has flagged a serious short span of five years, demonstrated its ability to operate divergence in procedure. The deal has been found to be in high altitudes in September this year. During 10-day non-compliant with the original requirement of the request trials, the machine flew from Leh and did a ‘hot and high’ for proposal (RFP)—that the indigenous component must hover performance at the Daulat Beg Oldie advanced land- be 70 per cent. The helicopters currently have 70 per cent ing ground which, at over 16,000 feet, is the world’s highest. Russian components and 26 per cent French (the engines). HAL officials say the helicopter also demonstrated its pay- IRHL has said it can achieve 70 per cent indigenous com- load capability at the Siachen glacier. HAL CMD R. Madha- ponents only in the fourth and final batch of helicopters. van says the army version of the LUH is now ready for initial Delays in this deal have been a recent bugbear in defence operational clearance (IOC). Government sources, however, ties between India and Russia and the say that the LUH’s slow rate of induc- MoD has suggested that the case be fast- tion will not be able to meet the army’s tracked. Government officials say that the THE AIR DEFENCE needs. “Meeting our requirements in army, HAL, IRHL and the MoD have con- SYSTEM DEAL HAS an acceptable time-frame dictates cluded that Russia needs to increase the BEEN MIRED IN dual route induction of Ka-226 T and indigenous content in the helicopters and the LUH...it was a conscious decision also transfer critical technologies. CONTROVERSY taken back in 2015,” says a govern- The MoD has two alternatives: altering EVER SINCE THE ment official. the RFP requirements, or scrapping the FIVE-YEAR-LONG deal altogether. The former would need FIELD TRIALS 0F THE THE RUSSIAN MISSILE fresh approvals from the defence acquisi- In February this year, Gorgen Jo - tion committee (DAC) headed by defence THREE MISSILE hansson, president of Saab Dynam- minister Rajnath Singh; scrapping the deal SYSTEMS ics AB, wrote a letter to Rajnath could be difficult since it was part of the CONCLUDED IN 2017 Singh. The chief of Sweden’s largest

40 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 16, 2020 ANI

BLADE RUNNERS Defence minister Rajnath Singh meets his Russian counterpart Gen. Sergey Shoigu in Moscow, Sep. 4; trials of the HAL-designed Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) were successful in high altitude ‘hot and high’ conditions in the Himalayas in end-August

defence firm made serious charges against Russia’s Ro- off the shelf under the fast-track procedure and explore soboronexport which had emerged lowest bidder in the indigenous options later. But unlike the HAL-built light Indian army’s decade-old search for a new shoulder-fired helicopter which can be brought to service within five air defence missile. Johansson said that the Russian firm years, there is no swift indigenous solution here. The De- ‘had repeatedly been given undue advantages outside the fence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) perimeter of the defence procurement procedure’ and has made promises of delivering a man-portable missile hence should have been disqualified. The Russian military in three years but it needs to convince the army that it was replacing the Igla-S with a newer missile, the Verba, can do so within the time-frame. The army is procuring Johansson said, and hence India would not get the benefit a certain quantity of lgla-S missiles through the Rs 500 of state-of-the-art technology. The letter, which is the crore emergency powers route delegated to the VCOAS. second one in two years from the Swedish firm, has put a spoke in the procurement of what the army calls an urgent NEEDED, A HOLISTIC REASSESSMENT operational requirement. Many of these deals have been in the pipeline for close to The army’s search began way back in 2009 with an a decade and from a time when it was assumed defence AON (acceptance of necessity) to buy 5,175 VSHORAD budgets would increase to keep pace with the growing (Very Short Range Air Defence) man portable systems. requirements of the forces. Meanwhile, the standoff in Leh The missiles were categorised a ‘Buy and Make’ deal in has refocused the army’s efforts towards a whole new set of which the lowest bidding foreign vendor would supply an hardware requirements—from drones capable of operating initial lot of missiles and equipment and transfer technol- at high altitudes to weapons that can shoot down enemy ogy to an Indian public sector undertaking to manufac- drones to sensors that can look deep across the LAC in ture the remaining missiles locally with full transfer of all-weather conditions. It remains to be seen if the army’s critical technology like the booster and seeker. The deal already constrained budgets will permit these newer ac- has been mired in controversy ever since the five-year-long quisitions as well as replace its legacy systems in a unit- field trials of three missile systems—French, Swedish and for-unit case. “We require a de novo joint service capability Russian—concluded in 2017. Saab’s first letter alleging review to remove irrelevant procurements, duplication or deviations in trials favouring the Russian side was sent multiple inventories,” says Lt Gen. A.B. Shivane, the army’s in 2018. An MoD-appointed committee that year did not former DG, Mechanised Forces. Such a capability review see any deviations in procedure and gave the deal the go- would notice, for instance, the multiple inventories created ahead. Fresh complications have arisen with the Russian if the MoD went ahead and bought both the Ka-226T and side refusing to transfer booster and seeker technology. the indigenous LUH, creating two separate production The 2020 letter from the Swedish firm, however, has lines for a machine essentially meeting the same require- stalled the deal as the ministry looks for ways to overcome ment. As always, there are no easy solutions without a deep this. One option is to buy a limited number of missiles reform of the procurement system. n

NOVEMBER 16, 2020 INDIA TODAY 41 LUXURY SPECIAL LEAD VISION FOR

PRASHANT GAURAV GUPTA Vice-president A LUXE and Head, DLF Luxury Malls 2020-21 PRIYA PATHAK PRIYA

IIlustration by by IIlustration

Augmented reality technology, like smart mirrors, is helping make the retail experience fun Products offered by Kama Ayurveda, an Indian luxury skin care brand

he coronavirus and its socio- economic impact on India and the world is unprecedented. No report, no survey could have pre- dicted a six-month lockdown and life as we knew it coming to a standstill. But then that’s a pandemic for you. TAnd while we are yet to come out of it completely, the Indian luxury industry has been amazing in its bullishness to get back on its branded feet. Even though the past seven months or so of forced confinement have made the well-read and aware consumer introspect more profoundly on their on a shopping spree after a long period of exercising restraint). spends, what it has also done is reassured them that their Retail has always been about experiences and relationships investment in luxury products was never misplaced. between a store or a brand and a consumer. One of the biggest trends we will likely witness is the Mind over matter increased focus by brands on engaging with consumers, Luxury is a state of mind achieved by an assurance of un- who, in turn, will return to businesses that speak to their paralleled quality and refinement. People have realised that individuality. The 2020-21 period will also see the luxury if you truly want to be sustainable, you need to consume industry pay greater attention to adaptive services and ex- that which will last longer and always inspire joy. periences to fit the changing needs of the consumers. Since 2019, the Indian luxury landscape has been under- going a shift—from the intent of owning luxury to experienc- Digital aims ing it. While for the first decade or so, it was the big inter- Technology will play a big part in helping brands deliver national brands that were entering the market, in the past seamlessly and real-time. Over the past five years, technology four to five years, we have seen not only a steady growth of has become an essential tool for the luxury businesses and, homegrown luxury labels but also the entry of niche brands. going forward, we will see an increase in its use and presence. Creating experiences is key to this shift. Today’s cus- Brands have been steadily experimenting with blockchain tomer knows that the true essence of luxury lies in how one in order to ensure authenticity and traceability. With the feels when they touch a product and not just in what they pandemic increasing online sales for all businesses, digital see. Also, it is the heritage, craftsmanship, individuality and authenticity will be a top theme for 2020-21. authenticity of a brand a consumer connects with nowa- days. As far as Indian luxury retail is concerned, a continu- A rarefied world ing trend will be a focus on quality of service. It will be what Exclusivity has always been fundamental to luxury as it differentiates one within the luxury segment—how well we maintains consumer desire through scarcity and rarity. serve our customer and the trust we can build with them. Hence we must achieve a delicate balance between the physi- cal and digital experience. Brands need to actively reach out ’Tis the season to their customers with their offering of an on-call personal Earlier, consumers held off on luxury shopping for their shopper who will understand their specific requirements, international trips but, now, due to Covid-imposed travel exact sizing options and guide them via video calls to help restrictions, we are witnessing, and will continue to see, an pick their favourite styles, etc. With the festive season in full increased demand and consumption in the luxury goods swing, people are utilising this service to make their gift- segment within the country. shopping process seamless and comfortable via personal ap- At both the luxury malls of DLF—Emporio and The pointments to pick up the final merchandise from the mall. Chanakya—we have seen a significant increase in footfall To summarise, the key trend for the next year in the luxury each month since the unlock. And now, with the festive sea- segment will be an emphasis on curating experiences that son here, even more so. In fact, we are matching the numbers include consumers while using technology to provide a certain we had before the lockdown. But, unlike China, I wouldn’t quality of service and authenticity in product and interaction. tag this as “revenge buying”! India has never been big on the After all, a satisfied customer is a repeat customer, and that is concept of revenge buying (where one overindulges and goes the ultimate return on investment. n

NOVEMBER 16, 2020 INDIA TODAY 43 LUXURY SPECIAL LIGHTING

TRIP THE

SANDEEP KAUSHIK LIGHT Country Manager, India, Sans Souci FANTASTIC FROM SMART LIGHTING AND DAZZLING PENDANTS TO GRAND CHANDELIERS AND SMALL LAMPS, ILLUMINATION WILL BE KEY TO A DAZZLING DÉCOR THIS FESTIVE SEASON

he festive season is incom- Statement decorative lighting plete without the sparkle Let’s face it, simple lights don’t make the cut any more. of lights. In fact, this year, It’s all about the “wow factor” these days. People want more than ever, with the to make a statement with decorative lighting pieces focus moving inwards, akin to works of art. These include playful and awe- lights will no longer just inspiring lighting fixtures and installations that fea- be an accessory—illumi- ture striking designs in exquisite blown glass and die nation is in the spotlight. cast aluminium. T Whether you are planning on using your living spaces to primarily entertain or Geometric designs simply enjoy a family dinner, lighting will have the A contemporary home requires lighting that reflects ability to make or mar the experience. However, with this style of design. This is why there has been a shift the market full of options, making the right choice can towards geometric wall brackets, pendants, chande- be difficult. Here are the top luxury lighting trends for liers and lamps. Think square dangling lights, oval and your home. triangular wall sconces, rectangular floor lamps and abstract rhombus chandeliers. They take centre stage Dynamic lighting in a home, no matter which room you place them in. Controllability and comfort are crucial for custom- ers. Currently, people are moving away from tradi- Festive season themed lighting tional chandeliers and conventional lamps towards With the festive season around the corner, lights for LED and dynamic lights which can be controlled celebrations are in vogue. People are choosing lighting via mobile apps. These dynamic lights can change fixtures in the shape of bells or flowers (such as mari- colour and increase or decrease in intensity with a gold) for their temples as well as special nooks in their switch of a button or a swipe of the finger. Also called homes. These lights can be as large as an installation, smart lights, these can connect to the wi-fi and boast or small and dainty. Additionally, people desire indi- a plethora of functions. rect, soft and soothing lighting during this time. This

44 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 16, 2020 (From top) ‘Aurora’ and ‘Twinkle’ lighting installations and ‘Kerchief’ handcrafted lights by Sans Souci

is why festive-themed illumination is not as bright as task lighting; instead they fall in the ambient lighting category, casting a warm glow over the festivities.

Energy-saving and environment-friendly If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that sustainability is the need of the hour. Therefore, it comes as little surprise that the green theme is trend- ing even in lighting. Incorporating energy-saving and environmental-friendly lighting in homes is becoming more and more important to people. We are seeing an increasing trend towards the use of energy-saving LED lights as well as dimmable lights. Almost all high-end illumination devices come with a dimmer, so that the homeowner is able to change the mood in a matter of seconds.

Easy to maintain With little or no help during the lockdown, there has also been a shift towards low-maintenance designs and products. Similarly, for lighting, devices with a special coating that reduces dust accumulation by 80 per cent are gaining popularity. Whether you go for a sculptural chandelier or small LEDs, these trends will ensure that the lights you choose will be the highlight of your home. n

NOVEMBER 16, 2020 INDIA TODAY 45 LUXURY SPECIAL DÉCOR LIVING

RASEEL GUJRAL ANSAL Interior Architect and Co-founder, LARGE Casa Paradox Luxe MALACHITE PLATES, ROCK CRYSTAL CANDLE STANDS, GOLD-PLATED FORKS AND SPOONS AND CASHMERE FURNISHINGS—2020 WILL BE ALL ABOUT INVESTING IN PERSONALISED, HIGH-END DÉCOR

Rock crystal obelisks (left); and a malachite chair by Casa Paradox Luxe

46 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 16, 2020

Malachite and porcelain serve ware; and (below) a photo frame with 24 karat gold, platinum and Swarovski crystal embellishment by Casa Paradox Luxe

uxury by definition cannot be sea- Also in fashion right now is glitz and glamour, sonal. The pursuit and the subse - which one will see on the dining table. Instead of simple quent attainment of an object of one’s sit-down dinners, to maintain social distancing, buffet desire is equivalent to a love affair. style tables will be laid. The dining area will be dressed This year, more than any other, it is in the best. Think large centrepieces, tall candles, high- about preciousness. Time is precious, end serve ware and floral arrangements made up of In- Lfriends are precious, while occasions are smaller. dian flowers. A meal enhanced with the right décor on Therefore, people are focusing on making gifting and the table turns even the most banal repast into a feast. décor more intimate and special. It is not just about a When it comes to soft furnishings, velvets and few cushions and lights any more, people are investing cashmere in a combination of natural and jewel tones in bespoke items for their homes. are a must. From cushions in Nakkashi fabric to an This festive season is about luxury you can invest investment in some cashmere blankets, the idea is to in and not an object for one-time use. Semi-precious experience personalised luxury. It pampers and se- stones such as onyx and malachite have a timeless ap- duces, encouraging hibernation and nesting. Printed peal that is worth spending on. We are seeing them patterns will be added as layers, such as a cushion or a on everything—from plates to accessories and lamps. throw on a few chairs. There will be more tonal pieces Another material that’s gaining momentum for the with one bright one such as an emerald or garnet sofa right reasons is high-quality porcelain with intricate to make a statement. A cooler clime also provides the detailing. Gold-plated cutlery, a beautiful bar cart or perfect occasion to introduce a show-stopping area rug, rock crystal obelisk—statement pieces like these are which simultaneously adds pattern, colour, character, going to add that grandiose element within the home tactile comfort and warmth underfoot. since everyone is spending more time indoors. An infusion of colour, from the muted to the strik- The drama in design this year will start from the ing, highlights the beauty of contrast with the elegance entrance itself, with beautiful sculptural inserts. Of of rich materials. The living spaces will encapsulate course, there is no luxury like original art. An inspir- boldness in furniture design, transcending the obvious ing canvas or sculpture never fails to give and transforming the echoes of the past, be it back joy. Colour, whether muted or bright traditional motifs or neo-classical details and bold, in its own right can transmute that are inherently lavish and intrinsically mood and temperature more easily than appealing. any other medium. A bright and colour- The celebrations are going to be more ful digital art on canvas can inject an intimate this year with people who matter instant dose of playful vibe, leading to the most, so luxe décor and design will be an effortless transformation. more striking than ever. n HOW MUSICAL JEHANGIR SABAVALA: WAS THE MAHATMA? THE PARSI PG 53 PILGRIM PG 55

FATIMA SANA Q&A WITH SHAIKH PLAYING RAJKUMMAR RAO FOR KEEPS PG 56 PG 58

BOOKS THE ART OF BEING GANDHI An icon in his lifetime, the ‘father of the nation’ has had a colourful parallel existence in the art world as a new book reveals

Artist Gigi Scaria’s ‘Caution! Men at Work’, 2015 LEISURE

GANDHI IN THE GALLERY The Art of Disobedience by Sumathi Ramaswamy ROLI BOOKS `1,495; 224 pages

n February 2010, the famous Mont- Gandhi. Assembled here are artistic detailed commentaries on all these by blanc Company withdrew the sale creations and commentaries on both the Gandhi himself. in India of their luxury Mahatma Mahatma and us inheritors of the nation Our eyes have got so fixated on the Gandhi pen, priced at Rs 14 lakh a that he forged into being, made unrecog- imagery of the “loin cloth”, the “half- piece. Good sense and the threat of nisable by the violence of Partition riots. naked fakir” of Churchill’s scornful legal action had prevailed, for the Some of our most innovative artists, past jibe, that Gandhi-the-sparsely-clad has Swiss producers were in clear viola- and present, are showcased here. Gan- become a well-meaning cliche. Gandhi tion of the Emblems and Names dhi in the Gallery is not the usual glossy had won a famous victory for the Cham- (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950, catalogue, with brief captions, dates and paran peasants fully clad in his Gujarati Iwhich, incidentally, brought “the name names of the artists that we find in art attire, and without the lathi. A woodcut or pictorial representation of Mahatma galleries and museums. Ramaswamy print by Lalit Mohan Sen, ‘Mahatma Gandhi” within its ambit only in 1959. has on offer a virtual feast for the eye and Gandhi, c. 1922’ portrays him at the The company, whose trademark Mont- the mind, and something more in addi- time of ‘Chauri Chaura’, unrecognisable blanc pens stick demonstrably out of the tion. She has coupled the images of the as the Mahatma he had already become. pockets of our elite countrymen, were artists with Gandhi’s own thoughts and The “loin cloth”, despite Gandhi’s clearly appealing to the vanity of the words. The editor has trawled through own description, cautions Ramswamy, super rich: with a little pressure of the the hundred volumes of his Collected was a shortened dhoti, and not the writing finger, blue or black ink would Works (counting the Index) to cull ap- sadhu/ pahelwan non-attire, though, flow literally through a small opening propriate quotations to help readers’ arguably, it did denote celibacy. Atul in the left shoulder of a stenciled image eyes travel from image to text and back. Dodiya’s ‘Sea-Bath (Before Break- of a gold-plated Walking Gandhi. At Instead of capturing Gandhi from an ing the Salt Law)’, painted in 1998, the other end, in 1921, a Gandhi rubber indifferent childhood to his epochal portraying Gandhi in conversation stamp, with customised name and ad- martyrdom/ assassination, the book with his Dandi march associates clad dress, was on offer for Rs 3.50—quite focuses on the artworks connected with only in a langot, might scandalise us, high for its time—as letterhead for the the different facets of his life—the dress, but it is an artist’s representation of a District Congress Committees that or the lack of it, his walks, his fasts—and well-known photograph taken on April were spearheading the Gandhi-led 6, 1930, the day he scooped up a fistful Non-cooperation Movement. Over of salt in defiance of the law and the the years, Gandhi image-making has Sumathi authority of the Raj. Or look at Ram- indeed seen its highs and lows. Ramaswamy, in kinkar Baij’s ‘Dandi March-II’. Mod- Sumathi Ramaswamy, a historian Gandhi in the Gallery, elled first in plaster of paris and cast of prints and images—visual history as has coupled the later in bronze, here Gandhi’s lathi, his it is called in the trade—has now put to- images of the artists feet, as well as a downcast head seem gether a magnificent book of paintings, with Gandhi’s own frozen stiff. Comments Ramaswamy: sculptures and artworks on and about thoughts and words “The memory of the Mahatma’s lonely

50 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 16, 2020 Facing the Music BOOKS How musical was the Mahatma? It’s complicated...

and belief and, as with Lakshmi Subramanian’s new book, a his- tory of music during the heady but difficult times of the Gandhi-led march to our freedom. Singing Gandhi’s India is a title that both entices and provokes. It ‘Sea-Bath (Before Breaking the Salt Law)’, Henry Ford, the American car invites us to share in the devotion, 1998, by Atul Dodiya (left); and ‘Gandhi and capitalist, is best known for two His Things’, 2013, by Haku Shah delight and yearning of our colo- things: first, the mass-produced, nised people as they broke into affordable Ford Model; and walk on bare feet in Noakhali likely haunted dhuns—Ramdhuns as modified by second, the remark that “History Gandhi, evoking a commonality of Baij, as did the fact that the pair of walking feet is one damn thing after another”. had been stilled forever by 1948.” belief—bhajans, Bankim’s Vande Much has changed since Mataram and politically and Gandhi in the Gallery is not confined to pic- Model T rolled out in cially revolutionary turing Gandhi and his times; it is equally about 1908—‘Aspire’ and sentiments, often set the Mahatma’s prized possessions. In ‘Gandhi insisted ‘Freestyle’ Models GANDHI to marching tunes. and His Things’, the great Gandhian Haku have now hit the on a strict musical regimen at his The book gives us —for everyone, Shah paints the iconic dhoti-watch—Gandhi Indian market in the ashram a ringside view of wore no pockets—his glasses, spun yarn and under Rs 600,000 the morning began with community he tricky yet inflam- leather sandals that he proudly crafted himself, range. We have singing able issue of what was arraying these casually in a swirling sea of green newer types of histo- sic to one community and yellow. Gandhi’s watch which is stuck for- ries as well—visual his- sounding like cacophony ever at 5.17 pm, registers its presence in several tories, histories of emotions and a disturbing amplification of other artworks as well. Pore carefully over the noise to another. This, and the beautifully studded panorama, ‘Ahmedabad, conflict that it generated between the City Gandhi left Behind’, by the master communities in the mid-1920s, artist Gulam Mohammed Sheikh, and you will was the cause of much concern find the watch along with Gandhi’s eating bowl for Gandhi as he strove to foster in the bottom middle. commonality and a kinship of Gandhi was assassinated at 5.17 pm on Tees shared sentiments. January Marg (then Albuquerque Road). Grow- As with much else, Gandhi in- ing up in the 1960s, we “midnight’s children” sisted on a strict musical regimen knew only of the two minutes at 11 o’clock on at his ashram—for everyone, the that day when we all stood up in our classes to day began with early- remember briefly Gandhiji and his life. Even morning community singing. He even invited accomplished if incongruous, a community of purpose got musicians to sing on the banks created. Condoling 5.17 pm over evening cups of the Sabarmati. As to Gandhi’s of tea with our parents, individually in our own considered views on the joys of homes, would have, I now think, fractured our music, he was again elliptical in teenage solidarity with the Mahatma who liter- SINGING GANDHI’S INDIA that special Gandhian way: “I have ally came before our time. n Music and Sonic discovered no easy way of enjoy- —Shahid Amin Nationalism ing the music of songs. I cannot, A former Professor of History at Delhi By Lakshmi Subramanian therefore, easily drink in the joy University, Shahid Amin is the author of Event, ROLI BOOKS they are capable of giving.” n Metaphor, Memory: Chauri Chaura, 1922-1992 `495; 240 pages —Shahid Amin DHRUVI ACHARYA AND NATURE MORTE LEISURE

Art for the ART Binge-watcher Virtual platforms are breaking the barriers of social distancing with new ways of exhibiting art DAG courtesy

You might think that visual artists have hadY it better than most during the Covid-propelled lockdown—and you would be right. Most artists work alone—and display only needs courtesy NITYAN UNNIKRISHNAN AND CHATTERJEE & LAL to shift from the clean white 3D and ’30s watercolours on the Chat- cube of the art gallery to the 2D terjee and Lal site, Kanu Gandhi’s rectangle of the digital screen. So astonishingly intimate photographs even as the lockdown left a series of of the Mahatma on PhotoInk, Dhruvi shuttered shows in its wake, many Acharya’s arresting pandemic- galleries rose to the challenge. One inspired work at Nature Morte, and exciting development has been In Buddhadev Mukherjee’s marvellously Touch, a digital platform created humorous human figures, playful collaboratively by galleries across studies in scale, at Mirchandani + India (Artintouch.in/). Steinruecke. Chemould Prescott ‘Evaporating Voices’ by Dhruvi Acharya (top); ‘The Edition 4 of In Touch, which Road is showing Lavanya Mani’s Half of It’, 2020, by Nityan Unnikrishnan (left); runs till November 10, includes ‘Game of Chance’, mixing science and ‘Radha and Krishna’ by M.V. Dhurandhar (on Rustom Siodia’s little-seen 1920s with miracles and omens in a manner display in DAG’s The World Will Go On

Art Restart

1 Nityan Unnikrishnan’s solo show It is 2 Art Heritage Gallery, Delhi, together 3 DAG’s The World Will Go On, on Getting Louder, showing at with Kolkata’s Seagull Foundation, is view online since October 25, will be Mumbai’s Chatterjee and Lal gallery from showing The Self Portrait, a show of open to visitors at The Claridges, Delhi, November 13 to January 2, feels very much early and rare woodblock prints, sketches between November 2 and 12. Highlights like India right now. The acrylic images on and watercolours by the late K.G. include a 1980 Raza, an M.F. Husain khadi spill over with people: reading, Subramanyan, who died in 2016, aged 92. Hanuman, Nandalal Bose’s ‘Diwali’, and one eating, dreaming, waiting. The other set of They aren’t all depictions of the artist: of Krishen Khanna’s bandwalla images. the images, graphite on muslin or bamboo watch out for ‘Jangpura Women’ (1950), and fibre paper, are abstract, filled with black many striking untitled linocuts and litho 4 Prasanta Sahu’s Suburban and white forms which could be anything: prints of seated women. Open by appoint- Shadows, on the Emami Gallery masts, mountains, plants, porcupines. All ment till December 15. website till November 30, visibilises the that unites them is their jaggedness. links between rural and urban through his Jehangir Sabavala perfect for a pandemic year. In the Southeast Asian wildlife (left); and ‘Earthen- trade—“unarchived fragments ware against the Sea’, ‘Miraculous Sights 2’, a town 1952, by the artist floats into the sea aboard a ship, of a conflict that is pushing us which itself hovers over the scaly into a war with the very world back of a submarine creature. In we inhabit”. Nature Morte offers the hypnotic ‘Portents’, a gigan- up a downloadable colouring tic red flower opens a bleeding book by Acharya, while Kolka- glass eye to a world buffeted by ta’s Emami Gallery has devised strange animal-headed comets. a virtual flipbook. The flipbook In Touch’s on-screen display is a great format both for Pras- is effective: you can see a chosen anta Sahu’s Suburban Shadows artwork as it might look on a (see below) and Aroh, a group wall (with a virtual chair for show that came out of Emami’s scale) and zoom in. I wish, open call for lockdown work though, that more galleries by young artists (I particularly had done what Gallery Espace liked Arindam Sinha’s ‘Mark- THE PARSI PILGRIM has with Manjunath Kamath’s ing’, Arpita Akhanda’s ‘Hung A new show on the late Jehangir dream-like pastiches—to Up On the Past’ and Jahnavi identify sections Khemka’s ‘Lock- Sabavala explores his enigmatic of each work for down 1’). Finally, the interplay of light on landscapes higher-resolution digital crossing of Art galleries, umbai’s Akara Art gallery’s latest, Pilgrim reproduction. It geographical limits by embracing Souls, Soaring Skies, Crystalline Seas, feels like a privilege the virtual allowed us to view, opened recently with Covid guidelines in to have his strange, world, rose to sitting in India, 35 place. The show, on till December 10, cov- vivid imagina- sketches from the M the challenge ers Jehangir Sabavala’s seven-decade-long artistic tion enlargeable thrown by late great modernist sprawl with 15 paintings from different phases of his on one’s private the pandemic Ram Kumar’s 1960s life. “At least 11 of these have never been in public screen: a pile of and ’70s notebooks view before,” promises Akara Art founder Puneet books in flames as on Art Basel’s Online Shah. One of them, ‘Elegy’ (1967), was traced to a an elephant grazes Viewing Rooms. private stash in Switzerland. Rendered in a mixture of placidly in a field But while the abstract and cubism with a tender palette, ‘Elegy’, the owner had hoped, would “someday return to India, outside, a television splashing hushed silences and ‘no touch- where he felt it truly belonged”. into a bathtub, an angel ap- ing’ rules of the gallery may For long, Sabavala’s fame was obscured by the proaching a Mumbai taxi, or a feel only a step away from the haze of the more popular post-Independence artists giraffe a buffet. literal untouchability of a vir- such as M.F. Husain, S.H. Raza and Tyeb Mehta. But in Others, too, have made tual display, an aura still clings the past few years, demand for his works has surged. efforts online. The Kiran Nadar to the work of art in the era of Born into a Parsi family in 1920s Bombay, Sabavala’s Museum of Art has a superb vir- digital reproduction. Three of first love was the stage. But being painfully shy, paint- tual tour. Kolkata’s CIMA has the five shows to look out for ing and its attendant anonymity offered him both a a new website. The uncertainty this month—at DAG and Art refuge as well as freedom. He studied in London and of recent months seems to have Heritage Galleries in Delhi, post-war Paris, where he met his wife, Shirin. When he returned to a free India, the Bombay artscape pushed the artistic process into and at Chatterjee and Lal in was dominated by the Progressive Artists’ Group. A the foreground. Mumbai’s Tarq Mumbai—are open for offline modernist like them, the artist who died in 2011 aged Gallery is presenting Garima visitors. n 89, never fully qualified as a cubist or an impression- Gupta’s notes and sketches from —Trisha Gup ough he borrowed from both. Instead he saw self, as he once told Deccan Herald, “as a For a painfully ilgrim, moving towards unknown vistas”. JEHANGIR shy painting Renowned as much for his old-school SABAVALA, charm, complete with a Dali-esque stache, and its attendant as for his serene landscapes and solitary anonymity offered a refuge as well as gures, the exhibition also affirms his lifelong freedom est for perfection. Many with knowledge studies of food and farming: a lettuce in a shopping cart, is art will find familiar motifs in ‘Pilgrim vegetables sprouting from human limbs, a bhindi as Souls...’. There’s the sea, harbour and headlands skeleton, shadows of the labouring body. along with peripatetic shepherds and monks in quiet contemplation. But the show’s real aim is to highlight Five Million Incidents, a set of public art 5 his mastery over light. Ranjit Hoskote, Sabavala’s of- interventions funded by the Goethe Institute, has ficial biographer, says: “Across the 1960s and 1970s, been reconceptualised in digital form. Visit Goethe.de/ins/ the presence of light—dawn’s radiance, sunlight in/en/ver.cfm to join the imaginary chatroom of Ranjana diffused through mist, the twilight—became one of his Dave’s Age Sex Location, add to Sultana Zana’s Fieldness, key subjects.” This meticulous engagement with na- a collaborative digital archive of time spent in nature in the ture transformed a simple landscape into what Henri city, or log in to play Shraddha Borawake’s virtual game Matisse called “art of purity and serenity”. n Chaat Meets... A New World Order on November 7. n —Trisha Gupta —Shaikh Ayaz LEISURE FILM PLAYING FOR KEEPS Not one to admit defeat easily, Fatima Sana Shaikh is slowly and steadily carving a space for herself in a cut-throat industry

who uses her besotted classmate (Rajkummar Rao) to help her; in the other, also a comedy, she is a woman shuttling between being an ideal sister and a carefree girlfriend. Shaikh is relieved that the films are out even if it is on streaming platforms. “There is a nervousness to be seen. If you are not visible, especially when there’s so much content out there, then people forget. And it’s not their fault,” she says. “Films are all I have to be relevant.” Suraj, she says, came to her when life was in limbo post Thugs. She ran into Abhishek Vyas, then a producer at Zee Studios, and candidly told him, “Main berozgaar hoon, kuchh hai toh bata dena (I am jobless. If there’s something, please let me know).” She was called for a narration and instantly identified with the duplic- ity of her character. “I have lived that life when I was a teenager,” says Shaikh. “Saying that you don’t have male Fatima Sana Shaikh had it all going for her. After a friends and lying that you are at a friend’s place so that couple of blink-and-miss roles, she bagged a key part in you can go to a concert in Pune.” With Manoj Bajpayee Dangal, playing the rebellious daughter to Aamir Khan’s and Diljit Dosanjh already on board, she knew she had stern patriarch Mahavir. The film earned Rs 374 crore at found the film to restart. the box office, second only toBaahubali: The Beginning, Shaikh cites the example of actors like Bajpayee Indian cinema’s highest-earning film. She soon landed along with Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra- a plum role in Yash Raj Films’ Thugs of Hindostan Jonas to illustrate that success and fame is not elusive with Khan and Amitabh Bachchan as her co-stars. It to outsiders. But the road for them, she adds, has a set seemed that nothing could stop Shaikh from fulfilling of challenges that those with families in show busi- her dream to be successful in the industry in which she ness don’t face. “They get work and many chances, but started out as a child actor (Chachi 420). However, after nepotism is in every industry, be it politics or business.” Thugs crashed at the box office, Shaikh wondered if her Shaikh is open about her struggle. “There are times I days were numbered. “It was hated and how!” sa have een mistreated when I have played char- Shaikh. “I was heartbroken.” r roles,” she says. “I am not somebody who She lost projects. It didn’t help that as a olds grudges. It is a cut-throat and ruthless After her success the actress newcomer and an “outsider”, she knew little of in Dangal, Thugs business. I know what I have gotten into.” how the film industry functions. So she did ran out of luckbut in she’s Five years in the industry and Shaikh of Hindostan, what everybody does: got a public relations back with a brace s finding her feet gradually. “She’s not agency to promote her. But then she asked of new launches on shing but thinking and slowly carving a herself what would she talk about? Says Shaikh OTT platforms ace,” says casting director Mukesh Chhabra “What’s the point of giving interviews if there’s vividly remembers how she entered with nothing to talk about?” a tomboyish attitude to audition for Dangal. Chhabra Two years after the Diwali debacle that was Thugs, credits her resilience that has ensured she didn’t fade the 28-year-old finally has something to say with not one despite the setback. Meanwhile, Shaikh is getting the but two releases lined up for the festive season. First up hang of the industry and the self-promotion it demands. is Ludo on Netflix on November 12, followed bySuraj “It’s exhausting but it is part of the game,” she says. And Pe Mangal Bhari arriving the next day. The first is an Shaikh is here to play for the long haul. n ensemble crime caper in which she plays a young mother —Suhani Singh FESTIVE SPIRIT Hindi film releases to watch out for in the run up to Diwali

LAXMII Disney+ Hotstar, November 9 Akshay Kumar stars in this horror-comedy, a remake of popular Tamil franchise, Muni. Kumar’s Asif, a ghost agnostic man, gets pos- sessed by a transgender spirit with vengeance on her mind. That the transformation happens at his in-laws’ house creates more chaos.

LUDO Netflix, November 12 Anurag Basu’s action-comedy follows multiple journeys—of Abhishek Bachchan as a kidnapper; of Rajkummar Rao as he helps his unrequited love (Fatima Sana Shaikh) with a jailbreak operation; and Pankaj Tripathi’s gangster’s as he chases two on-the-run couples.

SURAJ PE MANGAL BHARI November 13 Manoj Bajpayee plays a detective specialising in background checks of prospec- tive grooms. Diljit Dosanjh is a vengeful suitor, who, after his proposal is rejected, decides to get even with the detective by wooing his sister (Fatima Sana Shaikh).

CHHALAANG Amazon Prime Video, November 13 Rajkummar Rao plays a lackadai- sical PT teacher Montu who takes on a peer (Zeeshan Ayyub) in a sporting contest in the battle to save his job and win over his love. QA ‘I’m very hungry as an actor’ Rajkummar Rao on the blurring lines between OTT and theatre and keeping an eye out for the next exciting opportunity

Q. You have two online releases—Ludo and Chhalaang—coming up. Is 2020 when the lines between OTT and theatre get blurred? Certainly. The kind of love shows like Paatal Lok and Mirzapur have got is huge. The actors in it have become popular, like Jaideep [Ahlawat], my classmate from FTII. OTT will be a very strong, parallel industry. People want to see good con- tent regardless of medium.

Q. Jaideep, you and Vijay Varma are graduates of the 2008 acting batch. Back then, did you imagine that you would find a foothold in the film industry? That was the plan but we didn’t think it would happen. When I see people from FTII—Divy- Q. Is it easier now for you enndu, Rasika (Dugal) or Faisal to find leading parts? (Rashid) on screen, I get so I am very hungry as an actor. happy. After watching Paatal If tomorrow I find out that Lok, I was so proud Jaideep Sriram (Raghavan) or Imtiaz was getting what he deserves. (Ali) are planning a film, I don’t mind reaching out to them and saying, ‘Sir, why not [cast] me?’ I don’t mind a screen Q. You performed a brief test. There is amazing work piece for mental health happening outside Hindi film awareness online. Given industry too. I wish I knew how little it takes to trigger more languages so I could trolls, was there appre- work in all kinds of films. hension on your part? None at all. I liked that it wasn’t preachy but more like —with Suhani Singh a conversation between loved

ones. I didn’t think of how BANDEEPSINGH people are going to react to it. Your intent has to be right. I just recited it wholeheartedly. Photographby

56 Volume XLV Number 46; For the week Nov 10-16, 2020, published on every Friday Total number of pages 58 (including cover pages)